The village of Kyvelia is built at an altitude of 500 metres, near the village of Milea, and has approximately 20 permanent residents. It is located on the western side of the Taygetos mountain range, in the middle of one of the routes that led from ancient Sparta to the Messenian coast. The village’s name is connected to the deity of mythology, Kyveli, while its old name was Garbelia. It was renamed Kyvelia in 1956.
The village has the rare feature where all residents have the surname "Kyvelos" and are related to each other by kinship. This is due to the village tradition that a girl who married someone from another village had to leave Kyvelia and follow her husband. At the same time, men inherited the paternal hearth staying in the village next to their parents and creating their own families.
In Kyvelia, a Mycenaean tomb has been found, which dates back to around 1250 BC, while in the broader area, the father of Theodoros Kolokotronis, Konstantinos, who was killed in 1780 after the Orlov Revolt, is buried. Finally, on a small plateau, higher than the village (at an altitude of 1000 metres), the Monastery of Panagia Giatrissa, which celebrates on the 8th of September, dominates the area.
