Εμφανίζονται 100 (επί συνόλου 157) τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Πληροφορίες για τον τόπο στην ευρύτερη περιοχή: "ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ Νομός ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑ" .
ΑΓΙΟΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ (Οικισμός) ΑΛΜΥΡΟΣ
Βρίσκεται στα Ν παράλια της χερσονήσου, γνωστή με το όνομα Τραγοβούνι, η οποία αποτελεί το ΒΑ άκρο του Διαύλου Ωρεών. Το ανατολικό ακρωτήρι της χερσονήσου, ο Σταυρός, στην αρχαιότητα Ποσείδιον Ακρον, είναι το όριο τριών στενών (διαύλων), του Δίαυλου Ωρεών ΝΔ, του Δίαυλου Τρικερίου Α, και του Δίαυλου Βόλου Β.
ΠΟΡΤΑΡΙΑ (Χωριό) ΒΟΛΟΣ
Ο Δήμος Πορταριάς
αποτελείται από τέσσερα χωριά, σκαρφαλωμένα στις πλαγιές του Β.Δ Πηλίου.
Βρίσκεται ανάμεσα στις όμορφες ακτές του Παγασητικού
και στο χιόνι των κορυφών του Πηλίου
όπου έχουν διαμορφωθεί εξαιρετικές χιονοδρομικές πίστες.
Διαθέτει δεκάδες ξενοδοχεία και ξενώνες. Επικοινωνεί με το Βόλο
με αυτοκινητόδρομο. Στην ανάβαση παρουσιάζεται μια υπέροχη θέα του Βόλου
στο μυχό του κόλπου.
Στην Πορταριά υπάρχει Αστυνομικός Σταθμός, Ταχυδρομείο, Τράπεζα, Ιατρείο
και Φαρμακείο.
Το κείμενο (απόσπασμα) παρατίθεται το Φεβρουάριο 2004 από τουριστικό φυλλάδιο
του Δήμου Πορταριάς
(2001).
ΜΑΚΡΙΝΙΤΣΑ (Δημοτική ενότητα) ΒΟΛΟΣ
ΜΟΥΡΕΣΙ (Δημοτική ενότητα) ΖΑΓΟΡΑ-ΜΟΥΡΕΣΙ
ΑΙΣΩΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
Aeson or Aesonis (Aidon, Aidonhis: Eth. Aidhonios), a town of Magnesia in Thessaly,
the name of which is derived from Aeson, the father of Jason.
ΑΛΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ (Νησί) ΒΟΡΕΙΟΙ ΣΠΟΡΑΔΕΣ
Halonnesus (Halonnesos: Eth. Halonnesios), an island in the Aegaean
sea, lying off the southern extremity of the Magnesian coast in Thessaly. The
possession of this island gave rise to a dispute between Philip and the Athenians
in B.C. 343, and is the subject of an oration which is included among the works
of Demosthenes, but which was ascribed, even by the ancients, to Hegesippus, who
was the head of the embassy sent by the Athenians to Philip to demand restitution
of Halonnesus. Halonnesus lies between Sciathus and Peparethus, and appears to
be the same island as the one called Scopelus (Skopelos) by Ptolemy (iii. 13.
§ 47) and Hierocles (p. 643, Wessel.), which name the central one of these three
islands still bears. Strabo (ix. p. 436) speaks of Sciathus, Halonnesus, and Peparethus
without mentioning Scopelus; while in the lists of Ptolemy and Hierocles the names
of Sciathus, Scopelus, and Peparethus occur without that of Halonnesus. Halonnesus
is also mentioned by Pliny (iv. 12. s. 23), Mela (ii. 7), and Stephanus B. (s.
v.); but they do not speak of Scopelus. The modern island of Skopelo is one of
the most flourishing in the Aegaean, in consequence of its wines, which it exports
in large quantities. (Leake, Norther Greece, vol. iii. p. 111, seq.; Fiedler,
Reise durch Griechenland, vol. ii. p. 13, seq.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΑΛΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
ho or he Halos, Alos: Eth. Haleus. A town of Phthiotis in Thessaly, mentioned
by Homer. (Il. ii. 682.) It is described by Strabo as situated near the sea, at
the extremity of Mount Othrys, above the plain called Crocium, of which the part
around Halus was called Athamantium, from Athamas, the reputed founder of Halus.
(Strab. ix. pp. 432, 433.) Strabo also says that the river Amphrysus, on the banks
of which Apollo is said to have fed the oxen of Admetus, flowed near the walls
of Halus. Halus is likewise mentioned by a few other writers. (Herod. vii. 173;
Dem. de Fals. Leg. p. 392; Mela, ii. 3; Plin. iv. 7. s. 14.) Leake places Halus
at Kefalosi, which is situated at a short distance from the sea on a projecting
extremity of Mt. Othrys above the Crocian plain, exactly as Strabo has described.
A Hellenic citadel occupied the summit of the projecting height; and remains of
the walls are seen also on the northern slope of the hill, having short flanks
at intervals, and formed of masonry which, although massive, is not so accurately
united as we generally find it in the southern provinces of Greece. The walls
may be traced also on the descent to the south-east, and seem to have been united
at the foot of the hill to a quadrangular inclosure situated entirely in the plain,
and of which the northern side followed the course of the stream, and the western
the foot of the height. The walls of this lower inclosure are nine feet and a
half thick, are flanked with towers, and their masonry, wherever traceable, is
of the most accurate and regular kind; two or three courses of it still exist
in some places. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 336.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΑΦΕΤΑΙ (Αρχαίο λιμάνι) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
Aphetae (Aphetai or Aphetai: Eth. Aphetaios), a port of Magnesia in
Thessaly, said to have derived its name from the departure of the Argonauts from
it. The Persian fleet occupied the bay of Aphetae, previous to the battle of Artemisium,
from which Aphetae was distant 80 stadia, according to Herodotus. Leake identifies
Aphetae with the modern harbour of Trikeri, or with that between the island of
Palea Trikeri and the main. (Herod. vii. 193, 196, viii. 4; Strab. p. 436; Apoll.
Rhod. i. 591; Steph. B. s. v.; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 397, Demi of
Attica, p. 243, seq.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΒΟΙΒΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
Boibe: (Eth. Boibeus, fem. Boibeis), a town of Magnesia in Thessaly,
mentioned by Homer, and situated on the eastern side of the lake, called after
it Boebeis Lacus (Boibeis limne, Horn. Il. ii. 712; Herod. vii. 129, et alii;
also Boibia limne, Eurip. Alc. 590; and Boibias, Pind. Pyth. iii. 34.) The lake
is frequently mentioned by the ancient writers, but the name of the town rarely
occurs. The lake receives the rivers Onchestus, Amyrus, and several smaller streams,
but has no outlet for its waters. From its proximity to Mt. Ossa, it is called
Ossaea Boebeis by Lucan (vii. 176). Athena is said to have bathed her feet in
its waters (Hes. ap. Strab. ix. p. 442), which is perhaps the reason why Propertius
(ii. 2. 11) speaks of sanctae Boebeidos undae. The lake is a long narrow piece
of water, and is now called Karla from a village which has disappeared. It produces
at present a large quantity of fish, of which no mention is made in the ancient
writers, unless, as Leake suggests, Boibe should be substituted for Bolbe in a
fragment of Archestratus quoted by Athenaeus (vii. p. 311, a.). The same writer
remarks that the numerous flocks on the heights around the villages of Kaprena
and Kanalia on the lake illustrate the epithet polumelotate bestowed upon Boebe
by Euripides; while the precipitous rocks of Petra are probably the Boibiados
kremnoi alluded to by Pindar.
The town of Boebe was at a later time dependent upon Demetrias. Its
site and remains are described by Leake. It occupied a height advanced in front
of the mountain [of Kanulia], sloping gradually towards the plain, and defended
by a steep fall at the back of the hill. It appears to have been constructed of
Hellenic masonry, properly so called. The acropolis may be traced on the summit,
where several large quadrangular blocks of stones are still in their places, among
more considerable ruins formed of small stones and mortar. Of the town walls there
are some remains at a small church dedicated to St. Athanasius at the foot of
the hill, where are several large masses of stone showing, by their distance from
the acropolis, that the city was not less than two miles in circumference.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΓΛΑΦΥΡΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
Glaphupai. A town of Thessaly, mentioned by Homer along with Boebe
and Iolcos (II. ii. 712; comp. Steph. B. s. v.), but of which the name does not
subsequently occur. Leake conjectures that it is represented by the Hellenic ruins
situated upon one of the hills above the modern village of Kaprena, between Boebe
and Iolcos. The entire circuit of the citadel on the summit of the hill may be
traced, and on its lower side part of the wall is still standing.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΑΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
Eth. Demetrieus. A city of Magnesia in Thessaly, situated at the head
of the Pagasaean gulf, was founded about. B.C. 290 by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who
removed thither the inhabitants of Nelia, Pagasae, Ormenium, Rhizus, Sepias, Olizon,
Boebe and lolcos, all of which were afterwards included in the territory of Demetrias.
(Strab. ix.) It soon became an important place, and the favourite residence of
the Macedonian kings. It was favourably situated for commanding the interior of
Thessaly, as well as the neighbouring seas; and such was the importance of its
position that it was called by the last Philip of Macedon one of the three fetters
of Greece, the other two being Chalcis and Corinth. (Pol. xvii. 11; Liv. xxxii.
37.) Leake remarks that it may have been recommended to the kings of Macedonia
as a residence not more for its convenience as a military and naval station in
the centre of Greece, than for many natural advantages, in some of which it seems
to have been very preferable to Pella. The surrounding seas and fertile districts
of Thessaly supplied an abundance of the necessaries and luxuries of life: in
summer the position is cool and salubrious, in winter mild, even when the interior
of Thessaly is involved in snow or fog. The cape on which the town stood commands
a beautiful view of the gulf, which appears like an extensive lake surrounded
by rich and varied scenery; the neighbouring woods supply an abundance of delightful
retreats, embellished by prospects of the Aegaean sea and its islands, while Mount
Pelion might at once have afforded a park, an icehouse, and a preserve of game
for the chase.
After the battle of Cynoscephalae, B.C. 196, Demetrias was taken away
from Philip, and garrisoned by the Romans. (Pol. xviii. 28; Liv. xxxiii. 31.)
In B.C. 192, it was surprised by the Aetolians; and the news of its defection
from the Romans determined Antiochus to defer no longer his departure to Greece.
(Liv. xxxv. 34, 43.) After the return of Antiochus to Asia in B.C. 191, Demetrias
surrendered to Philip, who was allowed by the Romans to retain possession of the
place. (Liv. xxxvi. 33.) It continued in the hands of Philip and his successor
till the over-throw of the Macedonian monarchy at the battle of Pydna, B.C. 169.
(Liv. xliv. 13.) Demetrias is mentioned by Hierocles in the sixth century.
The ancient town is described by Leake as occupying the southern or
maritime face of a height, now called Goritza, which projects from the coast of
Magnesia, between 2 and 3 miles to the southward of the middle of Volo. Though
little more than foundations remains, the inclosure of the city, which was less
than 2 miles in circumference, is traceable in almost every part. On three sides
the walls followed the crest of a declivity which falls steeply to the east and
west, as well as towards the sea. To the north the summit of the hill, together
with an oblong space below it, formed a small citadel, of which the foundations
still subsist. A level space in the middle elevation of the height was conveniently
placed for the central part of the city. The acropolis contained a large cistern
cut in the rock, which is now partly filled with earth...Many of the ancient streets
of the town are traceable in the level which lies midway to the sea, and even
the foundations of private houses: the space between one street and the next parallel
to it, is little more than 15 feet. About the centre of the town is a hollow,
now called the lagumi or mine, where a long rectangular excavation in the rock,
2 feet wide, 7 deep, and covered with flat stones, shows by marks of the action
of water in the interior of the channel that it was part of an aqueduct, probably
for the purpose of conducting some source in the height upon which stood the citadel,
into the middle of the city. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 375, seq.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΙΚΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΛΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
Icus (Ikos: Eth. Ikios), one of the group of islands off the coast
of Magnesia in Thessaly, lay near Peparethus, and was colonised at the same time
by the Cnossians of Crete. (Scymn. Chins, 582; Strab. ix. p. 436; Appian, B.C.
v. 7.) The fleet of Attalus and the Rhodians sailed past Scyrus to Icus. (Liv.
xxxi. 45.) Phanodemus wrote an account of this insignificant island. (Steph. B.
s. v.) It is now called Sarakno. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 312.)
ΙΩΛΚΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
Iolkos, Ep. Iaolkos, Dor. Ialkos: Eth. Iolkios, fem. Iolkis, Iolkias.
An ancient city of Magnesia in Thessaly, situated at the head of the Pagasaean
gulf and at the foot of Mt. Pelion (Pind. Nem. iv. 88), and celebrated in the
heroic ages as the residence of Jason, and the place where the Argonauts assembled.
It is mentioned by Homer, who gives it the epithets of euktimene and euruchoros.
It is said to have been founded by Cretheus (Apollod. i. 9. § 11), and to have
been colonised by Minyans from Orchomenos. (Strab. ix.) lolcus is rarely mentioned
in historical times. It was given by the Thessalians to Hippias, upon his expulsion
from Athens. (Herod. v. 94.) The town afterwards suffered from the dissensions
of its inhabitants, but it was finally ruined by the foundation of Demetrias in
B.C. 290, when the inhabitants of Iolcos and of other adjoining towns were removed
to this place. It seems to have been no longer in existence in the time of Strabo,
since he speaks of the place where Iolcos stood (ho tes Iolkou topos).
The position of Iolcos is indicated by Strabo, who says that it was
on the road from Boebe to Demetrias, and at the distance of 7 stadia from the
latter. In another passage he says that lolcos is situated above the sea at the
distance of 7 stadia from Demetrias. Pindar also, as we have already seen, places
Iolcos at the foot of Mt. Pelion, consequently a little inland. From these descriptions
there is little doubt that Leake is right in placing Iolcos on the steep height
between the southernmost houses of Volo and Vlckho-makhala, upon which stands
a church called Episkopi. There are at present no ancient remains at this place;
but some large squared blocks of stone are said to have formerly existed at the
foot of the height, and to have been carried away for the construction of buildings
elsewhere. Moreover, it is the only spot in the neighbourhood which has any appearance
of being an ancient site. It might indeed appear, from Livy (xliv. 12, 13), that
lolcus was situated upon the coast; but in this passage, as well as in Strabo,
the name of lolcos seems to have been given to this part of the coast as well
as to the city itself.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΚΑΣΘΑΝΑΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΡΗΓΑΣ ΦΕΡΡΑΙΟΣ
Kasthanaia, Kastanaia, Eth. Kasthanaios. A town of Magnesia in Thessaly,
at the foot of Mt. Pelium, with a temple of Aphrodite Casthanitis. It is mentioned
by Herodotus in his account of the terrible storm which the fleet of Xerxes experienced
off this part of the coast. Leake places it at some ruins, near a small port named
Tamukhari. It was from this town that the chesnut tree, which still abounds on
the eastern side of Mt. Pelium, derived its name in Greek and the modern languages
of Europe.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑ
Magnesia, inhabited by the Magnets (Magnetes), was the long and narrow
slip of country between Mts. Ossa and Pelion on the W. and the sea on the E.,
and extending from the mouth of the Peneius on the N. to the Pagasaean gulf on
the S. The Magnetes were members of the Amphictyonic league, and were settled
in this district in the Homeric times. (Il. ii. 756.) The Thessalian Magnetes
are said to have founded the Asiatic cities of Magnesia on Mt. Sipylus and of
Magnesia on the river Maeander. (Aristot. ap. Athen. iv. p. 173; Conon, 29; Strab.
xiv. p. 647).
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΜΗΘΩΝΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
A town of Thessaly, mentioned by Homer (Il. ii. 716) as belonging to Philoctetes.
Later writers describe it as a town of Magnesia, but we have no further particulars
respecting it.
ΝΗΛΕΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
A town of Magnesia in Thessaly, between which and lolcus Demetrias was situated.
Leake identifies it with the remains of a small Hellenic town above Lekhonia.
ΟΛΙΖΩΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
Eth. Olizonios. An ancient town of Magnesia in Thessaly, mentioned
by Homer, who gives it the epithet of rugged. (Hom. Il. ii. 717.) It possessed
a harbour (Scylax, p. 25); and as it was opposite Artemisium in Euboea (Plut.
Them. 8), it is placed by Leake on the isthmus connecting the peninsula of Trikhiri
with the rest of Magnesia.
ΟΡΜΙΝΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
A town of Thessaly, mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships along with
Hypereia and Asterium as belonging to Eurypylus (Hom. Il. ii. 734). It was said
to have been founded by Ormenus, the grandson of Aeolus, and was the birthplace
of Phoenix. (Demetr. Scepsius, ap. Strab. ix. p. 438, seq.) Strabo identifies
this town with a place in Magnesia named Orminium, situated at the foot of Mt.
Pelion, at the distance of 27 stadia from Demetrias, on the road passing through
Iolcus, which was 7 stadia from Demetrias and 20 from Orminium. (Strab. l. c.)
Leake, however, observes that the Ormenium of Homer can hardly have been the same
as the Orminium of Strabo, since it appears from the situation of Asterium that
Eurypylus ruled over the plains of Thessaliotis, which are watered by the Apidanus
and Enipeus. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 434, seq.)
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ΠΑΓΑΣΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
Pagasai: also Pagasa, gen. - ae, Eth. Pagasaios, Pagasaeus. A town
of Magnesia in Thessaly, situated at the northern extremity of the bay named after
it. (Pagasetikos kolpos, Scylax, p. 24; Strab. ix. p. 438; Pagasites, Dem. Phil.
Epist. 159; Pagasaeus Sinus, Mela, . c. c. Pagasicus, Plin. iv. 8. s. 15.) Pagasae
is celebrated in mythology as the port where Jason built the ship Argo, and from
which he sailed upon his adventurous voyage: hence some of the ancients derived
its name from the construction of that vessel, (from pegnumi), but others from
the numerous and abundant springs which were found at this spot. (Strab. ix. p.
436.) Pagasae was conquered by Philip after the defeat of Onomarchus. (Dem. Ol.
i. pp. 11, 13; Diod. xvi. 31, where for Pagai we ought probably to read Pagasai.)
On the foundation of Demetrias in B.C. 290, Pagasae was one of the towns, whose
inhabitants were transferred to the new city; but after the Roman conquest Pagasae
was restored, and again became an important place. In the time of Strabo it was
the port of Pherae, which was the principal city in this part of Thessaly. Pagasae
was 90 stadia from Pherae, and 20 from Iolcos. (Strab. l. c.) The ruins of the
ancient city are to be seen near Volo, which has given the modern name to the
bay. The acropolis occupied the summit of some rocky heights above Cape Angkistri,
and at the foot of the rocks are many copious sources of water, of which Strabo
speaks. But as these springs are rather saline to the taste, the city was provided
in the Roman times with water from a distance by means of an aqueduct, the ruined
piers of which are still a conspicuous object. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv.
p. 368, seq.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΠΗΛΙΟΝ (Βουνό) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
Pelium (Pelion), a lofty mountain in Thessaly, extending along the
coast of Magnesia. It rises to the south of Ossa, and the last falls of the two
mountains are connected by a low ridge. (Herod. vii. 129.) It forms a chain of
some extent, stretching from Mt. Ossa to the extremity of Magnesia, where it terminates
in the promontories of Sepias and Aeantium. It attains its greatest height above
Iolcos. According to Ovid it is lower than Ossa (Fast. iii. 441), which Dodwell
describes as about 5000 feet high. In form it has a broad and extended outline,
and is well contrasted with the steeply conical shape of Ossa. On its eastern
side Mt. Pelium rises almost precipitously from the sea; and its rocky and inhospitable
shore (akta alimenos Peliou, Eurip. Alc. 595) proved fatal to the fleet of Xerxes.
(Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 384.) Mt. Pelium is still covered with venerable
forests, to which frequent allusion is made in the ancient poets. Homer constantly
gives it the epithet of einosiphullon (Il. ii. 744, &c.). Its northern summit
is clothed with oaks, and its eastern side abounds with chestnuts; besides which
there are forests of beeches, elms, and pines. (Dicaearch. Descript. Mont. Pel.
in Geogr. Graec. Min. p. 106, ed. Paris, 1855; Ov. Fast. v. 381; Valer. Flacc.
ii. 6.)
Mt. Pelium is celebrated in mythology. It plays an important part in the
war of the giants and the gods: since the giants are said to have piled Ossa upon
Pelium, in order to scale Olympus. It has been observed that this part of the
fable is well explained by the respective forms of Ossa and Pelium. As Pelium
is viewed from the south, two summits are seen at a considerable distance from
each other, - a concavity between them, but so slight as almost to give the effect
of a table-mountain, upon which fiction might readily suppose that another hill
of the conical form of Ossa should recline. (Holland, Travels, vol. ii. p. 96.)
Mt. Pelium was said to be the residence of the Centaurs, and more especially of
Cheiron, the instructor of Achilles, a legend to which the number of medicinal
plants found on the mountain perhaps gave rise. (Dicaearch. l. c.; Hom. Il. ii.
743, xvi. 143; Pind. Pyth. ii. 83, iii. 7; Virg. Georg. iii. 92.)
According to Dicaearchus (l. c.), the cave of Cheiron and a temple of Zeus
Actaeus occupied the summit of the mountain. The same writer relates that it was
the custom of the sons of the principal citizens of Demetrias, selected by the
priest, to ascend every year to this temple, clothed with thick skins, on account
of the cold. Between the two summits of Mt. Pelium there is a fine cavern, now
commonly known by the name of the cave of Achilles, and which accords with the
position of the cave of Cheiron, mentioned by Dicaearchus. The same writer likewise
speaks of two rivers of Mt. Pelium, called Crausindon and Brychon. One of them
is now named Zervokhia, and falls into the gulf between Nekhori and St. George.
(Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 384, seq.) Lastly, Pelium was connected with
the tale of the Argonauts, since the timber of which their ship was built was
cut down in the forests of this mountain. The north-western summit of Mt. Pelium
is now named Plessidhi but the mountain is frequently called Zagora, from the;
town of this name immediately below the summit on the eastern side. (Leake, l.
c. Mezieres, Memoire sur Ie Pelion et l'Ossa, Paris, 1853.)
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ΠΤΕΛΕΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΛΜΥΡΟΣ
Pteleon Eth. Pteleates, Pteleousios, Pteleeus. A town of Thessaly,
on the south-western side of Phthiotis, and near the entrance of the Sinus Pagasaeus.
It stood between Antron and Halos, and was distant from the latter 110 stadia,
according to Artemidorus. (Strab. ix. p. 433.) It is mentioned by Homer as governed
by Protesilaus, to whom the neighbouring town of Antron also belonged. (Il. ii.
697.) In B.C. 192, Antiochus landed at Pteleum in order to carry on the war against
the Romans in Greece (Liv. xxxv. 43). In B.C. 171, the town, having been deserted
by its inhabitants, was destroyed by the consul Licinius. (Liv. xlii. 67.) It
seems never to have recovered from this destruction, as Pliny speaks of Pteleum
only as a forest ( nemus Pteleon, Plin. iv. 8. s. 15). The form Pteleos is used
by Lucan (vi. 352) and Mela (ii. 3). Pteleum stood near the modern village of
Pteleo, or Ftelio, upon a peaked hill crowned by the remains of a town and castle
of the middle ages, called Old Ftelio. On its side is a large marsh, which, as
Leake observes, was probably in the more flourishing ages of Greece a rich and
productive meadow, and hence the epithet of lechepoien, which Homer has applied
to Pteleum. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. i.)
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ΠΥΡΑΣΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
Purasos, Purrhasos, Eth. Purasaios. A town of Phthiotis in Thessaly,
mentioned by Homer along with Phylace and Iton, and described by him as Purrhason
anthemoenta, Demetros temenos. (Il. ii. 695.) Pyrasus was situated on the Pagasaean
gulf, at the distance of 20 stadia from Thebes, and possessed a good harbour (eulimenos,
Strab. ix. p. 435). It had disappeared in the time of Strabo. Its name was superseded
by that of Demetrium, derived from the temple of Demeter, spoken of by Homer,
and which Strabo describes as distant two stadia from Pyrasus. Demetrium is mentioned
as a town of Phthiotis by Scylax (p. 24, Hudson), Livy (xxviii. 6), Stephanus
B. (s. v. Demetrion), and Mela (ii. 3). Leake places Pyrasus at Kokkina, where
there are vestiges of an ancient town, consisting of wrought quadrangular blocks,
together with many smaller fragments, and an oblong height with a flat summit,
partly if not wholly artificial. He also states that at Kokkina there is a circular
basin full of water near the shore, which was once probably a small harbour, since
there are traces of a mole not far from it. The exact site of the temple was probably
at a spot, 5 minutes short of Kokkina, where exist many stones and some hewn blocks.
(Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 366.)
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ΡΙΖΟΥΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑ
Pizous. A port-town of Pontus, at the mouth of the river Rhizius,
about 120 stadia to the east of the river Calus, and 30 stadia west of the mouth
of the Ascurus. In the time of Procopius (Bell. Goth. iv. 2) the place had risen
to considerable importance, so that Justinian surrounded it with strong fortifications.
The Table mentions on its site a place under the name of Reila, which is probably
only a corruption of the right name, which still exists in the form of Rizeh,
though the place is also called Irrish.
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ΣΗΠΙΑΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
A promontory of Magnesia, opposite the island of Sciathos, and forming the SE.
extremity of Thessaly. It is now called C. St. George. It is celebrated in mythology
as the spot where Peleus laid in wait for Thetis, and from whence he carried off
the goddess (Eurip. Androm. 1266) and in history as the scene of the great shipwreck
of the fleet of Xerxes.
ΣΚΙΑΘΟΣ (Νησί) ΒΟΡΕΙΟΙ ΣΠΟΡΑΔΕΣ
Sciathus (Skiathos: Eth. Skiathios: Skiatho), a small island in the
Aegaean sea, N. of Euboea, and a little E. of the Magnesian coast of Thessaly,
is described by Pliny as 15 miles in circumference (iv. 12. s. 23). It is said
to have been originally colonised by Pelasgians from Thrace, who were succeeded
by Chalcidians from Euboea. (Scymn. Ch. 584.) It possessed two towns, one of which
was also called Sciathus, but the name of the other is unknown. (Scylax, p. 23,
Hudson; Strab. ix. p, 436; Ptol. iii. 13. § 47.) It is frequently mentioned in
the history of the invasion of Greece by Xerxes, since the persian and grecian
fleets were stationed near its coasts. (Herod. vii. 176, 179, 182, 183, viii.
7.) it afterwards became one of the subject allies of athens, but was so insignificant
that it had to pay only the small tribute of 200 drachmae yearly. (Franz, Elem.
Epigr. 52.) the town of sciathus was destroyed by the last philip of macedonia,
B.C. 200, to prevent its falling into the hands of Attalus and the Romans. (Liv.
xxxi. 28, 45.) In the Mithridatic War it was one of the haunts of pirates. (Appian,
Mithr. 29.) It was subsequently given by Antony to the Athenians. (Appian, B.C.
v. 7.) Sciathus was celebrated for its wine (Athen, i. p. 30, f.), and for a species
of fish found off its coasts and called kestreus. (Athen. i. p. 4, c.; Pollux,
vi. 63.) the modern town lies in the se. part of the island, and possesses an
excellent harbour. The inhabitants have only been settled here since 1829, previous
to which time their town stood in the NE. part of the island upon a rock projecting
into the sea, and accessible only upon one side, as more secure against the pirates.
Ross says that the new town stands upon the site of the ancient city, but the
latter was not the homonymous capital of the island, which occupied the site of
the old town in the NE. part of the island, as appears from an inscription found
there by Leake. The ancient city in the SE. of the island, upon which the modern
town now stands, is probably the second city mentioned by Scylax, but without
a name. (Ross, Wanderungen in Griechenland, vol. ii. p. 50; Leake, Northern Greece,
vol. iii. p. 111.)
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ΣΚΟΠΕΛΟΣ (Νησί) ΒΟΡΕΙΟΙ ΣΠΟΡΑΔΕΣ
Peparethos, Eth. Peparethios. An island in the Aegaean sea, lying
off the coast of Thessaly, to the east of Halonnesus. Pliny describes it as 9
miles in circuit, and says that it was formerly called Evoenus (iv. 12. s. 23).
It was said to have been colonised by some Cretans under the command of Staphylus.
(Scymn. Ch. 579; Hom. Hymn. Apoll. 32.) Peparethus was an island of some importance,
as appears from its frequent mention in history, and from its possessing three
towns (tripolis, Scylax, p. 23), one of which bore the same name as the island.
(Strab. ix. p. 436.) The town suffered from an earthquake in the Peloponnesian
War, B.C. 426. (Thuc. iii. 89.) It was attacked by Alexander of Pherae (Diod.
xv. 95), and the island was laid waste by Philip, because the inhabitants, at
the instigation of the Athenians, had taken; possession of Halonnesus. (Dem. de
Cor. p. 248, Epist. Phil. p. 162.) In B.C. 207, Philip sent a garrison to the
city of Peparethus, to defend it against the Romans (Liv. xxviii. 5); but he destroyed
it in B.C. 200, that it might not fall into the hands of the latter. (Liv. xxxi.
28.) Peparethus; was celebrated in antiquity for its wine (Athen. i, p. 29; Heracl.
Pont. Fragm. 13; Plin. xiv. 7. s. 9) and oil. (Ov. Met. vii. 470) Diodes, the
earliest Greek historian who wrote upon the foundation of Rome, was a native of
Peparethus. Peparethus is now called Khilidhromia, and still produces wine, which
finds a good market on the mainland.
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ΣΠΑΛΑΥΘΡΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
Spalauthra, Spalethre, Spalathron, Eth. Spalathraios. A town of Magnesia, in Thessaly,
upon the Pagasaean gulf. It is conjectured that this town is meant by Lycophron
(899), who describes Prothous, the leader of the Magnetes in the Iliad, as ho
ek Palauthron (Spalauthron).
ΤΡΙΚΕΡΙ ΠΑΛΑΙΟ (Νησί) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
Cicynethus (Kikunethos: trikeri), a small island off the coast of
Thessaly in the Pagasaean gulf. (Scylax, p. 29; Artemiod. ap. Strab. ix. p. 436;
Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 396.)
ΦΕΡΕΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΡΗΓΑΣ ΦΕΡΡΑΙΟΣ
Pherai: Eth. Pheraios, Pheraeus. One of the most ancient cities of
Thessaly, was situated in the SE. corner of Pelasgiotis, W. of the lake Boebeis,
and 90 stadia from Pagasae, which served as its harbour. (Strab. ix. 436.) It
was celebrated in mythology as the residence of Admetus and his son Eumelus, the
latter of whom led from Pherae and the neighbouring towns eleven ships to the
Trojan War. (Hom. Il. ii. 711-715.) Pherae was one of the Thessalian towns which
assisted the Athenians at the commencement of the Peloponnesian War. (Thuc. ii.22.)
At this time it was under the government of an aristocracy; but towards the end
of the war Lycophron established a tyranny at Pherae, and aimed at the dominion
of all Thessaly. His designs were carried into effect by his son Jason, who was
elected Tagus or general-issimo of Thessaly about B.C. 374, and exercised an important
influence in the affairs of Greece. He had so firmly established his power, that,
after his assassination in B.C. 370, he was succeeded in the office of Tagus by
his two brothers Polydorus and Polyphron. The former of these was shortly afterwards
assassinated by the latter; and Polyphron was murdered in his turn by Alexander,
who was either his nephew or his brother. Alexander governed his native city and
Thessaly with great cruelty till B.C. 359, when he likewise was put to death by
his wife Thebe and her brothers. Two of these brothers, Tisiphonus and Lycophron,
successively held the supreme power, till at length in B.C. 352 Lycophlron was
deposed by Philip, king of Macedon, and Pherae, with the rest of Thessaly, became
virtually subject to Macedonia.
In B.C. 191 Pherae surrendered to Antiochus, king of Syria, but it
shortly afterwards fell into the hands of the Roman consul Acilius. (Liv. xxxvi.
9, 14.) Situated at the end of the Pelasgian plain, Pherae possessed a fertile
territory. The city was surrounded with plantations, gardens, and walled enclosures.
(Polyb. xviii. 3.) Stephanus B. (s. v.) speaks of an old and new Pherae distant
8 stadia from each other.
In the middle of Pherae was a celebrated fountain called Hypereia.
(Hupereia, Strab. ix.; Pind. Pyth. iv. 221; Sophocl. ap. School. ad Pind. l. c.;
Plin. iv. 8. s. 15.) The fountain Messeis was also probably in Pherae. (Strab.
ix.; Hom. Il. vi. 457; Val. Flacc. iv. 374; Plin. l. c.)
The remains of Pherae are situated at Velestino, where the ancient
walls may be traced on every side except towards the plain. On the northern side
are two tabular summits, below the easternmost of which on the southern side is
the fountain Hypereia, which rushes from several openings in the rock, and immediately
forms a stream. Apollonius says (i. 49) that Pherae was situated at the foot of
Mt. Chalcodonium (Chalko donion), which is perhaps the southern and highest summit
of Mt. Karadagh.
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ΦΘΙΩΤΙΔΕΣ ΘΗΒΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
Phthiae (Thebai hai phthiotides, Polyb. v. 99; Strab. ix. p. 433;
Thebae Phthiae, Liv. xxxii. 33), an important town of Phthiotis in Thessaly, was
situated in the northeastern corner of this district, near the sea, and at the
distance of 300 stadia from Larissa. (Polyb. l. c.) It is not mentioned in the
Iliad, but it was at a later time the most important maritime city in Thessaly,
till the foundation of Demetrias, by Demetrius Poliorcetes, about B.C. 290. (
Thebas Phthias unum maritimum emporium fuisse quondam Thessalis quaestuosum et
fugiferum, Liv. xxxix. 25.) It is first mentioned in B.C. 282, as the only Thessalian
city, except Pelinnaeum, that did not take part in the Lamiac war. (Diod. xviii.
11.). In the war between Demetrius Poliorcetes and Cassander, in B.C. 302, Thebes
was one of the strongholds of Cassander. (Diod. xx. 110.) It became at a later
time the chief possession of the Aetolians in northern Greece; but it was wrested
from them, after an obstinate siege, by Philip, the son of Demetrius, who changed
its name into Philippopolis. (Polyb. v. 99, 100; Diod. xxvi. p. 513, ed. Wesseling.)
It was attacked by the consul Flamininus, previous to the battle of Cynoscephalae,
B.C. 197, but without success. (Liv. xxxiii. 5; Polyb. xviii. 2.) After the defeat
of Philip, the name of Philippopolis was gradually dropped, though both names
are used by Livy in narrating the transactions of the year B.C. 185. (Liv. xxxix,
25.) It continued to exist under the name of Thebes in the time of the Roman Empire,
and is mentioned by Hierocles in the sixth century. ( Thebae Thessalae, Plin.
v. 8. s. 15; Thebai phthiotidos, Ptol. iii. 13. § 17; Steph. B. s. v.; Hierocl.
p. 642, ed. Wess.) The ruins of Thebes are situated upon a height half a mile
to the north-east of Ak-Ketjel. The entire circuit of the walls and towers, both
of the town and citadel, still exist; and the circumference is between 2 and 3
miles. The theatre, of which only a small part of tile exterior circular wall
of the cavea remains, stood about the centre of the city, looking towards the
sea.
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ΦΥΛΑΚΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΛΜΥΡΟΣ
Phulake: Eth. Phulakesios. A town of Phthiotis in Thessaly, one of
the places subject to Protesilaus, and frequently mentioned in the Homeric poems.
(Il. ii. 695, xiii. 696, xv. 335, Od. xi. 290; comp. Apoll. Rhod. i. 45; Steph.
B. s. v.) It contained a temple of Protesilaus. (Pind. Isthm. i. 84.) Pliny erroneously
calls it a town of Magnesia (iv. 9. s. 16). Strabo describes it as standing between
Pharsalus and Phthiotic Thebes, at the distance of about 100 stadia from the latter
(ix. pp. 433, 435). Leake places it at about 40 minutes from Ghidek, in the descent
from a pass, where there are remains of an ancient town. The situation near the
entrance of a pass is well suited to the name of Phylace.
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ΑΛΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ (Νησί) ΒΟΡΕΙΟΙ ΣΠΟΡΑΔΕΣ
(Halonnesos), and Halonesus (Halonesos). An island of the Aegaean
Sea, off the coast of Thessaly, and east of Sciathos and Peparethos, with a town
of the same name upon it. The possession of this island occasioned great disputes
between Philip and the Athenians: there is a speech on this subject among the
extant orations of Demosthenes, but probably written by Hegesippus.
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΑΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
nbsp; A town in Magnesia in Thessaly, on the innermost recesses of
the Pagasaean Gulf, founded by Demetrius Poliorcetes, and peopled by the inhabitants
of Iolcus and the surrounding towns. Its position was such that it was styled
by the last Philip of Macedon one of the three fetters of Greece, the other two
being Chalcis and Corinth.
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ΙΩΛΚΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
(Iolkos). An ancient town in Magnesia in Thessaly, at the top of the Pagasean Gulf, about a mile from the sea. It was celebrated in mythology as the residence of Pelias and Iason, and as the place from which the Argonauts sailed in quest of the golden fleece.
ΚΑΣΘΑΝΑΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΡΗΓΑΣ ΦΕΡΡΑΙΟΣ
A town of Thessaly, on the coast of Magnesia, northwest of the promontory Sepias. It is noticed by Herodotus in his account of the terrible storm experienced by the fleet of Xerxes off this coast.
ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑ
A narrow strip of country along the eastern coast of Thessaly, extending from the Peneus on the north to the Pagasaean Gulf on the south. Its inhabitants, the Magnetes, are said to have founded the two cities in Asia mentioned below.
ΠΕΠΑΡΗΘΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΣΚΟΠΕΛΟΣ
A small island in the Aegaean Sea, off the coast of Thessaly, and east of Halonesus. It produced a considerable quantity of wine.
ΠΗΛΙΟΝ (Βουνό) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
(to Pelion oros), more rarely Pelios (Pelios). A lofty range
of mountains in Thessaly, in the district of Magnesia, situated between the lake
Boebeis and the Pagasaean Gulf. Its sides were covered with wood, and on its summit
was a temple of Zeus Actaeus. Mount Pelion was celebrated in mythology. Near its
summit was the cave of the Centaur Chiron. The Giants, in their war with the gods,
are said to have attempted to heap Ossa and Olympus on Pelion, or Pelion and Ossa
on Olympus, in order to scale heaven. On Pelion the timber was felled with which
the ship Argo was built.
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ΠΤΕΛΕΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΛΜΥΡΟΣ
(Pteleon). An ancient seaport town of Thessaly in the district Phthiotis, at the southwestern extremity of the Sinus Pagasaeus, was destroyed by the Romans.
ΡΙΖΟΥΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑ
(Rhizous). A town of Magnesia in Thessaly.
ΣΗΠΙΑΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
Now St. George. A promontory in the southeast of Thessaly, in the district Magnesia, on which a great part of the fleet of Xerxes was wrecked.
ΣΚΙΑΘΟΣ (Νησί) ΒΟΡΕΙΟΙ ΣΠΟΡΑΔΕΣ
Now Skiatho; a small island in the Aegaean Sea, north of Euboea and east of the Magnesian coast of Thessaly, with a town of the same name upon it. Near it both the Greek and the Persian fleets were stationed at the time of the invasion by Xerxes.
ΦΕΡΕΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΡΗΓΑΣ ΦΕΡΡΑΙΟΣ
(Pherai). An ancient town of Thessaly in the Pelasgian plain,
ninety stadia from its porttown Pagasae, on the Pagasaean Gulf. It is celebrated
in mythology as the residence of Admetus, and in history on account of its tyrants,
who extended their power over nearly the whole of Thessaly. Of these the most
powerful was Iason, who was made Tagus, or military chief, of Thessaly about B.C.
374.
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ΦΘΙΩΤΙΔΕΣ ΘΗΒΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
Called Phthioticae (hai Phthiotides), an important city of Thessaly in the district Phthiotis, at a short distance from the coast, and with a good harbour.
ΦΥΛΑΚΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΛΜΥΡΟΣ
(Phulake). A small town of Thessaly in Phthiotis, the birthplace of Protesilaus, hence called Phylacides; his wife Laodamia is also called Phylaceis.
ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΘΕΣΣΑΛΙΑ
Peninsula of Thessalia
north of Euboea.
Magnesia owed its name to the mythological hero Magnes, a son of Aeolus,
who was himself the father of Polydectes, the tyrant of the island of Seriphos
where Perseus, still a baby, and his mother Danae landed after being abandoned
at sea by Danae's father Acrisius, and of Dictys, who found them and became their
protector against his brother who had fallen in love with Danae.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1998), ed.
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ΦΘΙΩΤΙΔΕΣ ΘΗΒΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
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ΑΛΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
A city of Achaia Phthiotis, situated on the W side of the Gulf of
Pagasai, 3 km from the shore by a deep bay (modern Sourpi) which is sheltered
except from the N by Cape Zelasion (modern Halmyrou, or Perikli). The city lay
on the rough shore road which runs from the Gulf of Pagasai to the Maliac gulf
around the foot of Mt. Othrys. It controlled the S part of the fertile coastal
plain (Krokion); the part around it being called Athamantion. Halos was a seaport
(the main one?) for Thessaly in the 5th c. B.C., issued coinage in the 4th, was
taken by Philip II of Macedon in 346 B.C. and given to Pharsalos. The city issued
coinage again in the 3d c., being probably then free of Pharsalos, and was important
in the post-196 B.C. Thessalian League (Hdt. 7.173, 197; Strab. 9.432, 433; Steph.
Byz. s. v.; Dem. 19.36, 163; 11.1).
There are city walls above the coastal plain on a spur projecting
N from a N peak (Haghios Elias) of Mt. Othrys. On a peak (208 m) near the end
of the spur are the walls of a small round fort of Cyclopean masonry, 2 m thick.
Around this peak and around the end of the spur to the NE are Classical walls,
built of rectangular and trapezoidal blocks of irregular heights, preserved in
places to two courses high. There were towers irregularly spaced along the circuit.
The NE end of the circuit is missing. A wall of polygonal masonry runs N from
the circuit wall down towards the plain, and one of rectangular blocks down to
the E, but the ends of these walls cannot be seen. Leake thought they joined the
city walls on the hill with those in the plain (see below). The walls on the hill
are probably of the 4th c. B.C. No remains of buildings are visible within this
circuit.
At the N foot of the spur is a copious, brackish spring (Kephalosis).
In the plain five minutes E of the spring are city walls in the form of a rectangle,
750 x 710 m, aligned roughly N-S. The walls are of good Hellenistic masonry, double
faced and stone filled, the faces constructed of heavy, rough-faced rectangular
blocks laid in regular courses. The wall is some 3 m thick, and had 15 square
projecting towers on a side, not including the tower at every corner. The E wall
and much of the N is missing; the W and S walls are in good shape, preserved to
two to three courses high (1924). There are no gates in the W side; the S and
N sides each had a gate flanked by towers and small portals (one? in the N, two
in the S). The stream from the spring Kephalosis flows by the N wall and may be
the ancient river Amphrysos referred to by Strabo (9.433) as being in this position,
although elsewhere he says it flows through the middle of the plain (Krokion),
a position better described by the modern Platanos river. The area inside the
walls is thick with sherds, and, according to Leake, foundations of buildings.
The ruins on the hill are probably those of the Halos of the Trojan War (Il. 2.282),
taken in 346 B.C.; the walls in the plain, those of a refounding of the city,
possibly connected with Demetrios Poliorketes' activities in Thessaly.
In the plain to the NE of the acropolis, N of the Kephalosis stream,
are several tumuli. One of these was excavated in 1912 and contained burials of
the Geometric period. NE of the city, on the shore by Paralia 2 hours SE of Halmyros,
were visible, according to Vollgraff in 1906, the scanty ruins of a large building
of the Classical period within a rectangular temenos wall, apparently a temple
belonging to Halos. A brief trial excavation turned up black-glazed sherds.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΓΛΑΦΥΡΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
A town near Lake Boibeis, mentioned in Homer but not by later authors;
it belonged to Magnesia. The site is now generally taken to be the hill N of the
village of Kaprena near modern Glafira. Leake was able to trace the full circuit
of the walls, built of roughly shaped blocks in irregular courses, and reported
considerable remains of walls inside. Inscriptions found there indicate that the
town continued to be inhabited in the Classical period.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΑΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΑΓΝΗΣΙΑ
A city of Magnesia. It was founded in ca. 293 B.C. by Demetrios Poliorketes
as a synoecism, according to Strabo (9.436, 443), of Neleia, Pagasai, Ormenion,
Rhizus, Sepias, Boibe, lolkos, and probably Kasthanaie. From inscriptions we learn
that Spalauthra, Korope, Halos, Aiole, Homolion were absorbed into it then or
later. Demetrias was then and through the 3d c. B.C. a strong point and harbor
for the Antigonids. In 196 B.C. it fell to Rome and in 194 B.C. was made head
of the Magnesian League (Livy 34.51.3). With inside help it fell to the Aitolians
in 192 B.C. (Livy 35.34) and was used by Antiochus III until his retreat from
Greece. The confused city was retaken by Philip V of Macedon in 191 B.C. (Livy
36.33) and remained in Macedonian control until the battle of Pydna in 167 B.C.,
when its fortifications were destroyed. It continued, however, as head of the
reformed Magnesian League, and flourished through the Roman period, although its
most splendid days were past. It was a bishopric in the Christian period, was
ravaged by the Saracens in the 9th c., and declined until its desertion by 1600.
The city was long thought to be located at Goritza across the way,
but has proved to be, as Strabo (9.436) stated, exactly between Pagasai and Neleia,
indeed it absorbed part of the walled area of Pagasai and probably all of Neleia.
Pagasai is immediately SW of Demetrias and Neleia was probably at the tip of modern
Cape Pevkakia (Tarsanas) within the wall circuit of Demetrias. Demetrias is on
the W shore of the Gulf of Pagasai, 3 km SE of modern Volo. Its wall included
a rocky cape (Pevkakia) jutting E into the gulf and a hill inland to the W. The
low hill of the cape and the higher one inland are separated by a flat valley
through which runs the modern Volo-Halmyros road. Immediately to the S of this
cape is a marsh (Halykes) which may have been the S harbor of the city, and to
the N a bay (N harbor) with a marsh (Bourboulithra) at its W end.
The wall of Demetrias, ca. 7 km in circumference, is fairly well preserved
to several courses high along much of its length; it has largely disappeared along
the shore between the Pevkakia peninsula and the Bourboulithra marsh. The enclosed
acropolis is on a high point (Palatia, 170 m) on the W hill of the city. There
remain 182 projecting towers, more or less evenly spaced along the wall. The wall
and towers consist of a stone socle with mudbrick upper parts, the brick represented
now only by some earth covering. The socle is built of rough-faced rectangular
and trapezoidal blocks laid in more or less regular courses, and varying somewhat
in style depending on the material at hand. It is double with a filling of stones.
In some places the remains of an outer wall (proteichisma) also furnished with
towers (included in the 182) may be seen. The wall must date from the early 3d
c. B.C. A few of the towers at the SW end of the city were hastily enlarged, perhaps
at some time between 192 and 191 B.C. in connection with the Aitolian takeover,
or Antiochus' use of the city, or in the disturbed period after his departure.
These towers included painted grave stelai from a necropolis immediately outside
the original wall.
Several buildings are visible within the circuit. No comprehensive
excavations have ever been carried out, although in the early part of the century
Arvanitopoullos excavated here and there (including the stelai towers) and some
areas have been cleared or recleared recently.
The civic center of the ancient city seems to have been at least partly
at the base of the peninsula. Here are the foundations of a temple, perhaps originally
peripteral, excavated in 1908 and recently cleared. It is attributed to Artemis
lolkia, and apparently dates to the early 3d c. B.C. Remains of its peribolos
wall can be seen to the N and S of it. It appears that at least on the W side
the precinct was bounded by a stoa. Within the peribolos was a Sacred Market,
known from inscriptions. Just N of this is a large (54 x 55 m) building with a
square central peristyle court surrounded by rooms. Stahlin thought this was a
market, but by analogy with, e.g., the Macedonian palace at Verghina it has recently
tentatively been identified as the Antigonid palace known to have been built at
Demetrias. Partially excavated and recently cleared, it is dated to the first
half of the 3d c. B.C. West of this is a flat area with the remains of a terrace
wall at its W side. On the peninsula are various other ruins, including a shrine
of Pasikrata excavated by Arvanitopoullos. Some remains of the ancient harbor
may be seen. At the tip of the peninsula recent excavations have uncovered numerous
Mycenaean remains, probably those of Neleia, and some Hellenistic remains, notably
those of a purple-dye factory.
The ancient theater lay at the foot of the W hill, just across the
valley from the Macedonian palace (?). It was partially excavated early in the
century, and finally cleared in 1958 and 1959. The edge of the orchestra was discovered,
and the first row of seats. The theater apparently dates from the period of the
city's foundation. Only the foundations of the Hellenistic proskenion remain.
The fairly well-preserved skene is of the Late Roman period. North of the theater
are two large hollow areas, and some ancient remains including washbasins. It
is presumed the hippodrome and stadium were here. On the N harbor there is a modern
lighthouse. Near this in 1912 were discovered the poros foundations of a temple.
The main Late Roman and Christian settlement was evidently in the
flat valley by the N harbor. Here are numerous wall remains, the foundations of
a basilica, etc. Seventy-six piers of a Roman Imperial aqueduct (now called Dontia,
teeth) cross the valley from just S of the theater. In 1962 an Early Christian
(late 4th c. B.C.) basilica was excavated above the S harbor of the city.
There are few remains to be seen on the city's W hill. Above the theater
is a not completely understood building partially cleared in 1961. This is a complex
of rooms and terraces with a rough surrounding wall, and a roadway leading to
an entrance, perhaps with propylon, on the W side. There was an altar in the center
of the complex. Stahlin suggested the Macedonian palace might have been here,
but at present this building is considered to be a shrine.
The finds from Demetrias are mainly in the Museum of Volo; some of
the objects from tombs are in the Stathatos Collection in the National Museum
of Athens. Perhaps the most notable group of objects is that of the painted grave
stelai from the towers. Numbering ca. 400 and dating mainly from the 3d c. B.C.,
they are of marble, painted with encaustic, generally with farewell scenes, or
single or grouped figures. Most are faded; a few retain considerable color.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΚΑΣΘΑΝΑΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΡΗΓΑΣ ΦΕΡΡΑΙΟΣ
Mentioned by Herodotos in the account of the storm that wrecked part
of the Persian fleet on the E coast of the Magnesia peninsula. Locations both
N and S of Cape Pori have been proposed, but the name is probably correctly assigned
to an acropolis near Keramidhi. The walls are preserved to a maximum height of
seven courses.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΚΟΚΚΩΤΟΙ (Χωριό) ΑΛΜΥΡΟΣ
An isolated hill S of Halmyros, crowned with the remains of Macedonian
fortifications. The ancient name is unknown. The walls are of double construction
in ashlar masonry with rubble fill, and strengthened with towers and rectangular
projections. The site was inhabited in the prehistoric as well as Classical and
Hellenistic periods.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΚΟΡΩΠΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
City and site of the oracular Shrine of Apollo Koropaios. The god
was one of the Magnesian triad; the sanctuary was in existence from at least archaic
times. The city was incorporated into Demetrias on its foundation in 293 B.C.,
but the oracle continued to function through Roman times. The site is located
on the right bank of the (modern) river Bufa, ca. 20 km S of Volo on the shore
road which runs along the inner coast of Magnesia. A small modern settlement is
presently known as Korope. The site was identified in 1882 by the discovery of
a decree of Demetrias relating to the management of the shrine. In 1906 and 1907
the area of the sanctuary was discovered and partially excavated. This is on level
ground above the modern road and just below a hill called Petralona. The excavation
has now entirely filled in. Parts of the base of the NW corner of the peribolos
(?) wall constructed of rough stones was found, and joining the W wall another
wall (E end not found) parallel to the N peribolos wall and 8 m away, perhaps
belonging to a stoa. Numerous terracotta figurines and black-glazed and black-figure
sherds of the 7th-6th c. B.C. were found, and a number of pieces of the handsomely
painted archaic terracotta revetment of the temple (?) and part of the wing of
a lateral acroterion, a gryphon or sphinx. Some terracottas and fragments of terracotta
revetment were also found. The finds from the excavation (unpublished) are in
the Volo Archaeological Museum.
On a peak of the hill Petralona (175 m) above and ca. one km to the
E of the sanctuary are traces of habitation in the form of roof tiles, sherds,
etc. To the SE of the peak, at the edge of a flattish area is a semicircular retaining
wall about one to two m high, built of polygonal masonry. Between the peak of
the hill and the sanctuary are two ancient tombs. There is no sign of acropolis
or city defense walls. The remains on the hill date from the archaic through the
early Hellenistic periods. By the shore, SW of the sanctuary are remains of a
Roman tomb, and a floor probably of the Roman or Christian period. Late Hellenistic
and Roman sherds are commonly found in this area, indicating that the settlement
of Korope moved from the hill to the shore.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΟΡΜΙΝΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
An ancient site on a ridge just SE of modern Volo. The ridge stretches
down from the mass of Pelion to the sea, and cuts off the plain of Volo from that
of (modern) Agria to the SE; thus the site on it controls the road from Thessaly
along the inner coast of Magnesia. This site and Demetrias across the way control
shipping into the innermost recess of the Gulf of Pagasai, now the harbor of Volo.
The site used to be thought Demetrias but Stahlin suggested that it was Orminion.
Strabo (9.438) says Orminion is 27 stades (ca. S m) distant from Demetrias by
land, and 20 (ca. 4 km) from the site of Iolkos, which is on the road between
the two. This is approximately correct for equating Orminion with Goritsa. Orminion
was one of the cities incorporated into Demetrias in 293 B.C., but otherwise nothing
is known of its history.
A considerable amount of the wall circuit remains on the hill, in
form an oval with pointed ends running roughly SW-NE, and ca. 2,480 m around.
The NW long wall runs along the irregular spine of the ridge, and the SE wall
along its sloping side, close above the sea. The old road from Volo to Agria ran
through the center of the walled city, but a new road has been built along the
shore, below the walls. The wall is double faced, with tie blocks, the interior
filled with earth. The faces are built of large rectangular or trapezoidal blocks
laid in fairly regular courses. Like the fortifications of Demetrias, the wall
consisted of a stone socle and upperworks of earth or mudbrick. The wall was furnished
with 26 projecting square towers. The highest point of the ridge, about in the
middle of the long wall, is enclosed to make a fortified acropolis of very small
area; this now contains a Church of the Panaghia. Here are a cistern and, before
the rebuilding of the church, the foundation of a building 14 x 10 m. In 1931
some tests in the church foundations revealed ancient blocks (part of this foundation?).
The city wall presently visible is successor to an earlier one of much the same
construction. A stretch of this earlier wall is visible outside the later one
to the S of the city's W gate, another section at the middle of the long SE wall
where the earlier wall lies along the edge of a ravine, partly outside and partly
inside the later one. The original wall included a small hill at the NE end of
the city, which the later wall excluded. The later wall had gates well protected
by towers at the SW end of the circuit, a N gate between the acropolis and the
outlying hill mentioned above, a SE gate at the head of a ravine just above the
W end of the Agria plain (where there used to be a marshy area, perhaps an ancient
boat landing or harbor, but then by the 1930s a cement factory) and a narrow gate
at the head of the ravine where the earlier wall is visible, in the middle of
the SE wall. At the NE end of the circuit where the later wall was built considerably
inside the line of the earlier one are the remains of a powerful bastion built
to protect this rather accessible section. This bastion was partially excavated
in 1931, but only described in 1956. It consisted of a thick stretch of wall flanked
by two projecting rectangular towers with half-round outer faces. The towers inside
had each a rectangular room; the outer semicircle was solid. There was a door
into each tower from the city, and small entrances into each from the outside,
at the corner between the tower and the wall between them. The whole bastion is
ca. 34 m wide and 14 m deep.
In the center of the city is a square level area 61 x 61 m, probably
the ancient agora. A water channel cut in the rock and covered with slabs can
be seen along the N side, and for a little way down the E side. Near the NE corner
of this area is a small (9 x 6 m) foundation, probably of a temple. The street
pattern of the ancient town was a grid, oriented NS by EW. Streets and house remains
can be made out in many places.
Outside the walls, above the modern road from Volo to Agria, on the
slope of the hill, a private excavation in 1931 revealed some ancient tombs--one
containing objects of silver, bronze, and alabaster--of the Hellenistic period,
now in the Volo Museum. In 1962 a cist grave of the same period was excavated
here. In the SE end of the Volo plain under the Goritsa hill, and near the beach
could be seen (1930s) some Roman and/or Byzantine wall remains.
It has been suggested by Meyer that the fortifications of the city
were constructed at the same time as those of Demetrias as part of the same scheme.
The later wall is of problematic date, but may, with the bastion, have been constructed
by Antiochus III in 192-191 B.C., in connection with his use of Demetrias as a
headquarters in his war with the Romans.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΠΑΓΑΣΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
The city seems to have existed from the 7th or the 6th c. B.C. as
the port of Pherai. In 353-352 B.C. it was taken by Philip II of Macedon, who
made it an independent city, probably of Magnesia (Diod. Sic. 16.31.6, 35.5; Theopomp.:
FGrH 115 fr. 53, 54; Dem. 4.35). In 293 B.C. it was absorbed into Demetrias. Pagasai
was supposed to be 90 stades (14 km) from Pherai, 20 stades (ca. 4 km) from Iolkos
(Strab. 9.436), between the latter and Amphanai (Skylax 64f). Ruins on the W shore
of the Gulf of Volo, ca. 4 km S of Volo, were long recognized as those of Pagasai.
Walls of two periods were involved. In 1908, however, Arvanitopoullos determined
that the later part of the walls belonged to Demetrias and only the older wall
circuit adjoining it to the S were the walls of Pagasai.
This wall runs from a hill called Prophitis Elias (44 m) which is
ca. one km from the sea just to the E of the modern shore road Volo, SW across
a dry wash (Ligarorema) and along the SW side of a low ridge about 2 km long,
then around its end (Damari) and along the N side. The wall crosses the Ligarorema
a little less than 2 km NW of the Prophitis Elias hill. It runs less than 1 km
NW to the Kastro hill (201 m), and then N for a short distance where it disappears.
Both ends of the wall are very close to the walls of Demetrias. There is no indication
of how the two ends joined; it seems likely the wall must have curved through
the city area of later Demetrias. The masonry varies from roughly polygonal to
rectangular blocks, depending on the native type of rock. It is poorly preserved.
There are the remains of 69 towers to be seen, but apparently traces of 138 regularly
spaced along the wall. The preserved section is 5 km long; the estimated original
length about 8 km. The wall seems to date from the first half of the 4th c. The
walls seem not to have included a harbor. Just to the E of the city is a promontory
(modern Pevkakia, formerly Tarsanas, ancient Neleia). To the S and N of this are
possible harbors (the N later included in the walls of Demetrias); it is not clear
which Pagasai's harbor was or whether both were used. Only one small square foundation
has been found inside the city's SE wall and no buildings certainly earlier than
Demetrias' foundation outside. Some sculpture, including a head of the 5th c.,
now in Volo, has been found in the area, and some graves belonging to the city.
It has been suggested that the walled area was generally disused after Demetrias'
foundation, as Hellenistic graves have been found outside the walls of Demetrias
but inside those of Pagasai.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΠΥΡΑΣΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
The harbor town of Thessalian Thebes on a small hill overlooking the
Bay of Volo. A small fish pond between the hill and the sea represents the site
of the ancient harbor, known in later times as Demetrion from the early and important
Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore. The site of the sanctuary is disputed, but numerous
gravestones attest the international character of the harbor. Stahlin found an
early circuit wall of field stones and mudbrick overlaid by Byzantine remains
near the top of the hill, and other similar walls at the foot on the NE and E.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΣΗΠΙΑΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΟΤΙΟ ΠΗΛΙΟ
Modern name of a promontory and town about half way down the E coast
of the Magnesian peninsula, where the main mass of Pelion juts into the sea. The
cape is very likely ancient Cape Sepias, where part of Xerxes' fleet was wrecked
in a storm (Hdt. 7.188; Strab. 9.443) although the identification is uncertain
and disputed; Magnesia's SE cape, Haghios Georgi, now Sepias, and the whole coast
between the two capes are also suggested. There was also an ancient town of Sepias,
whose population was later incorporated in Demetrias (Strab. 9.443). The tombstone
of a man from Sepias was discovered near modern Keramidhi.
In the area of Pouri are some ancient landmarks and sites, none securely
identified. Immediately N of the cape itself is a shallow bay (6 km wide), from
Asprovrachos N to Kavos Koutsovou. The shore of the bay is formed of a steep cliff
with a series of caves at sea level, almost certainly the ovens (ipnoi) of Herodotos
(7.188), where some of the Persian ships were wrecked. The ships had been moored
on and off a beach between Kasthanaie and Sepias; this was possibly the beach
now called Koulouri to the E of modern Keramidhi and N of the ovens. Kasthanaie
has frequently been identified as an ancient site NE of modern Keramidhi, on a
hill which slopes to the sea. Below the hill is a shallow beach at the mouth of
modern Kakorema, which may have served as a harbor. The hill is abrupt on the
N and S sides, easier to the W. The acropolis was on a low hill to the W. In the
19th c. the walls were impressive. They are of good Hellenic (4th c.?) masonry.
The wall circuit included the acropolis, which was cut off from the lower city
by a cross wall with round towers at each end. The walls were traceable down to
the point above the sea and were furnished with towers. Apparently no wall was
built on the steep slope at N and E. The circuit was about half a mile. No remains
of buildings are reported. The hill is presently heavily overgrown, but some parts
of the wall, preserved several courses high, can be seen. On a hill near Keramidhi
is an ancient necropolis.
Other remains in the area have been reported from Tamuchari (modern
Damouchari), a harbor about 11 km S of Pouri, and the site has been suggested
for Kasthanaie. These ruins seem not to have been described by anyone. Hellenic
and Byzantine ruins at a place called Kalyvi tou Panagiotou, near the modern town
of Pouri have been reported and these have been suggested for the ancient Sepias
town, but again, are nowhere described.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΦΕΡΕΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΡΗΓΑΣ ΦΕΡΡΑΙΟΣ
A city of Pelasgiotis, lying just S of the road between Larissa and
the Gulf of Pagasai. The site is on the tail end of a N spur (modern Maluka) of
the mountain Chalkedonion (modern Karadag); the spur flanked by two ravines, the
Maluka revma to the SE and the Makalo to the NW. The city controls also the E
end of a pass (modern railroad) which leads E from Pharsalos. Modern Velestinou
occupies a part of the ancient city. The city site has been settled since prehistoric
times. In antiquity it was known as the home of Admetos, whose son Eumelos figured
in the Trojan war (Eur., Alk. etc.; Hom., Il. 2.711, Od. 4.798). It controlled
the port of Pagasai by the late 5th c. B C partly from this it grew powerful under
the tyrant Lycophron and much more under his successor, Jason, who tried to unite
Thessaly under his leadership. Jason was killed in 370 B.C. and was soon succeeded
by Alexander, who was defeated by a Thessalian League-Theban alliance in 364 B.C.
and his territory reduced to Pherai, Pagasai, and part of Magnesia. He was killed
in 358 B.C. but his expansionist policies continued until Philip II of Macedon
took over Magnesia and Pagasai and in 344 B.C. placed a Macedonian garrison in
Pherai. The city remained fairly prosperous and was important in the post 196
B.C. Thessalian League. It was besieged by Antiochos III in 192 B.C. (Livy 36.8f,
14.11); it was at that time divided into an upper and lower city. Steph. Byz.
says (s.v.) that it was divided into Old and New Pherai, 8 stades (one km) apart.
Remains from the Imperial period are practically nonexistent, and his statement
remains enigmatic.
A flat-topped prehistoric mound (150 m) was the acropolis. This is
protected at the back by the Makalo revma, which flows NE. The Maluka revma is
roughly parallel to the Makalo, ca. one km to the S. Between the streams the land
slopes from the acropolis to the plain, about 50 m away. At the edge of the plain,
under the S face of a rocky hill (Kastraki) is a copious fountain. Traces of the
city wall can be seen at the back (W) of the acropolis hill above the Makalo ravine
and following its bank towards the plain for about 500 m where it disappears.
The S wall ran from behind the acropolis towards the Makalo revma and along its
N edge to the plain. A wall, of which few traces remain, ran along the edge of
the hill just above the plain, presumably connecting the N and S sections of wall,
but its junction with the NW side of the city wall is not clear. Bequignon saw
blocks in the plain which led him to believe this wall along the edge of the hill
was a cross wall, and that the lower city wall made a curve into the plain E of
the modern railroad. The wall is double faced, ca. 3 to 5 m thick, of rough-faced
rectangular and trapezoidal blocks laid in fairly regular courses. There are no
towers visible. It must date from the first half of the 4th c. A short stretch
of wall (or terrace wall?) on the N side of the Kastraki hill is built of careful,
flat-faced polygonal masonry. No walls have been reported on or around the acropolis
hill.
Very few ancient remains are to be seen within the city. Dedications
to Herakles and a Doric column capital and parts of a wall (peribolos?) were found
in 1907 by the Church of Haghios Charalambos S of the acropolis. Part of an early
5th c. marble statue of Athena, nearly life-sized, was found on the acropolis
in 1967, which indicates the presence of a temple there. The fountain (ancient
Hypereia) in the city center is bordered by a semicircular retaining wall of thin
rectangular slabs laid in courses. This may or may not be ancient. The ground
of the Kastraki hill above is littered with sherds, but no ancient foundations
or blocks are visible. The sites of the ancient agora, theater, etc. are not determined.
The most notable remains are those of a large Doric temple outside (?) the city
walls, ca. 0.8 km NE of the acropolis, on the right bank of the Makalo revma.
This was excavated in 1920-27. Here a temple of the later 4th c. had been built
on the site of one of the 6th. The 4th c. temple was Doric, peripteral, 16 x 32
m, perhaps 6 x 12 columns. The foundations were of conglomerate and the exposed
parts of the euthynteria and krepis of marble. At the E end the euthynteria and
one step of the krepis were preserved. Of architectural fragments, some column
drums, fragments of capitals, epistyle, a sima carved with a lotus and acanthus
motif remain. Incorporated in the foundations are some Doric column drums of the
earlier temple and around about were other architectural fragments including painted
terracotta revetment and a capital fragment dating from the second half of the
6th c. B.C. In front of the later temple's E end were several small foundations
for naiskoi, altar, and/or statues.
The temple had been built on top of an early Geometric necropolis.
It must have been on or near the site of an early shrine, since a temple deposit
pit S of it yielded a large number of terracotta and bronze offerings of the 8th
through the 6th-5th c. Other bronzes had come from the area previously. Some are
in the National Museum of Athens, some in Volo, and some probably in Cambridge.
The temple, once thought to be to Zeus Thaulios, is more likely to be that of
Artemis Ennodia, the chief goddess of Pherni.
The main necropolis of the city was on the road to Larissa, just outside
the wall. Some grave mounds have been noted and/or excavated in the plain, near
the railroad line. A chamber tomb was excavated at Souvleri Magoula in 1910. In
1899 a mound (Pilaf-Tepe, or Mal-Tepe) on the road about half way between Pherai
and Pagasai was excavated. This contained a shaft grave and in it a silver situla
of the 3d c. B.C. The grave seems to have dated from the 2d c. B.C. and may have
held a notable citizen of Pherai. At Rizomylo, 5 km N of the city, foundations
and various architectural remains have been discovered.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΦΘΙΩΤΙΔΕΣ ΘΗΒΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΒΟΛΟΣ
A city located at the N end of the ancient Krokian plain (modern plain
of Halmyros). It is also known as Thebes of Achaia and Thebes of Thessaly. Modern
Mikrothivai (formerly Akitsi) is in the plain a little S of the ancient city.
Thebes shared the plain with Halos to the S. Its inland neighbors were Pherai
and Pharsalos, its neighbor to the N was Demetrias/Pagasai (Strab. 9.433, 435;
Polyb. 5.99).
The site has been occupied since the Stone Age, but does not appear
by name until the 4th c. B.C. It was enlarged by a synoecism with the neighboring
cities of Phylake and Pyrasos (the latter at modern Nea Anchialos, on the shore
ca. 6 km to the E) probably in the second half of the 4th c. B.C. It became the
leading city of the Phthiotic Achaian League and flourished as the main harbor
on the Gulf of Pagasai until the foundation of Demetrias in ca. 293 B.C. In the
second half of the 3d c. B.C. it was joined to the Aitolians. Philip V of Macedon
took it after a siege in 217 B.C. for that reason. He enslaved the inhabitants
and placed a Macedonian colony there. In 189 B.C. it became again capital of the
newly reformed Phthiotic Achaian League, which was in Augustus' time reattached
completely to Thessaly. Thebes was then in existence and Pyrasos abandoned, but
in the Roman Imperial period Thebes moved to the old site of Pyrasos, where it
flourished then and later. The old site was apparently not abandoned completely,
but the main development of the city was at its harbor.
The ancient acropolis was a rocky peak overlooking the plain. It was
surrounded by a wall of large rough blocks, apparently Cyclopean. The wall surrounding
the lower city is still visible, although in some places only the foundation is
left. It makes a large circuit down the hill from the acropolis SE to the plain.
It is ca. 2 m long. The acropolis and hill slope are flanked by two deep ravines.
There are some 40 towers along the wall, which is constructed of rectangular and
trapezoidal blocks of irregular size, laid in more or less regular courses except
where stepped in the slopes. Stahlin dated the wall to the 4th c. B.C.
Excavations, principally on the acropolis, uncovered prehistoric through
Byzantine layers, and in the Greek level the foundations of a temple (9 x 12 m)
perhaps originally distyle in antis. It may have been the Temple of Athena Polias,
who is known to have had a cult at this site. It was built with materials from
an earlier temple. Near the acropolis some post-Classical statuary was recently
discovered, including a head of Asklepios? from a sanctuary.
A few remains of the lower city are visible. The ancient theater of
which some seats are to be seen was about half way down the hill, looking towards
the sea. South of this was a stoa of the Hellenistic period and another building
excavated in 1907. South of these were the foundations of a large building (14
x 19 m) also excavated at that time.
Objects from Thebes are largely in the Museum of Volo, although some
are in the small Halmyros Museum.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ΑΓΙΟΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ ΠΗΛΙΟΥ (Χωριό) ΖΑΓΟΡΑ-ΜΟΥΡΕΣΙ
Είναι το πέμπτο στη σειρά Δημοτικό διαμέρισμα του Δήμου που συναντάμε
ερχόμενοι από Βόλο. Ενα γραφικό χωριό, το μπαλκόνι του Πηλίου θα λέγαμε, με υπέροχη
θέα προς το Αιγαίο. Τα καλντερίμια, τα μονοπάτια και οι πετρόκτιστες βρύσες δίνουν
την δυνατότητα στον επισκέπτη για περιπάτους στο χωριό και το δάσος. Οι γραφικές
του εκκλησίες Αγίου Γεωργίου, Αγίου Δημητρίου, Αγίου Ιωάννη Θεολόγου, Μεταμορφώσεως
του Σωτήρα και Παναγίας είναι στολισμένες με θαυμάσιες τοιχογραφίες και ξυλόγλυπτα
τέμπλα που αποτελούν αξιόλογα μνημεία. Ξεχωρίζει ο γραφικός ναός της Μεταμόρφωσης
του Σωτήρος βυζαντινού ρυθμού ο μοναδικός στο Πήλιο με πέντε τρούλους.
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται τον Σεπτέμβριο 2002 από παλαιά ιστοσελίδα του Δήμου Μουρεσίου
ΑΝΗΛΙΟ (Χωριό) ΖΑΓΟΡΑ-ΜΟΥΡΕΣΙ
Είναι το έκτο και τελευταίο στη σειρά Δημοτικό διαμέρισμα του Δήμου
που συναντάμε ερχόμενοι από Βόλο. Ενα ορεινό χωριό στο δρόμο φαντάζει λαξεμένο
πάνω στις πλαγιές των καταπράσινων βουνών. Τοπίο του ορεινού Πηλίου πνιγμένο στην
πυκνή βλάστηση καστανιάς και καρυδιάς. Γραφικές εκκλησίες και ξωκλήσια ιδιαίτερα
της Παναγίας, Αγίας Τριάδας με τις τοιχογραφίες του, Αγίου Αθανασίου με ωραίο
ξυλόγλυπτο τέμπλο και λαμπρά δείγματα τρίκλιτης βασιλικής. Περίπου 4 χιλιόμετρα
από το χωριό βρίσκονται οι πανέμορφες παραλίες του Μπάνικα και τις Πλάκας.
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται τον Σεπτέμβριο 2002 από παλαιά ιστοσελίδα του Δήμου Μουρεσίου
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