Listed 100 (total found 354) sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "THESSALIA Region GREECE" .
PORTARIA (Village) VOLOS
The Municipality
of Portaria comprises four villages perched on the slopes of northwestern
Pelion. It lies between the
beautiful beaches of the Pagasitikos
Gulf and snow-capped peaks where exceptional ski runs have been created.
There are dozens of hotels and hostels. There is a good road link
with Volos and on the way
up there is a wonderful view of Volos
nestling in the bay.
There is a police station, a post office, a bank, a medical centre
and a pharmacy in Portaria.
This text (extract) is cited February 2004 from the Municipality of Portaria
pamphlet (2001).
MONI AGIOU DIMITRIOU (Monastery) LARISSA
The St. Demetrios Monastery dates to the 14th century.
AFETES (Ancient port) SOUTH PELION
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
ALONISSOS (Island) NORTH SPORADES
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
ALOS (Ancient city) MAGNESSIA
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
AMYROS (Ancient city) AGIA
Amyrus (Amuros: Eth. Amureus), a town in Thessaly, situated on a river
of the same name falling into the lake Boebeis. It is mentioned by Hesiod as the
vine-bearing Amyrus. The surrounding country is called the Amyric plain (to Amurikon
pedion) by Polybius. Leake supposes the ruins at Kastri to represent Amyrus. (Hes.
ap Strab. p. 442, and Steph. B. s. v.; Schol. ad Apoll. Rhod. i. 596; Val. Flacc.
ii. 11; Pol. v. 99; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 447.)
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
ARGISSA (Ancient city) LARISSA
Argura (Argoupa: Eth. Argoupaios). Called Argissa (Argissa)
in Homer (Il. ii. 738), a town in Pelasgiotis in Thessaly, on the Peneus, and
near Larissa. The distance between this place and Larissa is so small as to
explain the remark of the Scholiast on Apollonius, that the Argissa of Homer
was the same as Larissa. Leake supposes the site of Argura to be indicated by
the tumuli at a little distance from Larissa, extending three quarters of a
mile from east to west. (Strab. ix. p. 440; Schol. in Apoll. Rhod. i. 40; Steph.
B. s. v.; Eustath. ad II. l. c.; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 367, vol.
iv. p. 534.)
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
ARNI (Ancient city) KARDITSA
Eth. Arnaios. The chief town of the Aeolian Boeotians in Thessaly,
which was said to have derived its name from Arne, a daughter of Aeolus. (Paus.
ix. 40. § 5.) The town was said to have been founded three generations before
the Trojan war. (Diod. iv. 67.) According to Thucydides (i. 12) the Aeolian Boeotians
were expelled from Arne by the Thessalians sixty years after the Trojan war, and
settled in the country called Boeotia after them; but other writers, inverting
the order of events, represent the Thessalian Arne as founded by Boeotians, who
had been expelled from their country by the Pelasgians. (Strab. ix. pp. 401, 411,
413 ; Steph. B. s. v.) Muller has brought forward many reasons for believing that
in the Aeolian Boeotians occupied the centre of Thessaly, and nearly the same
district as the Thessaliotis of later times; and his views are confirmed by Leake's
discovery of the site of Cierium (Kierion), which, according to Stephanus B. was
identical with Arne, and which must be placed at Mataranga, between the Epineus
or Apidanus, and a tributary of the latter river, probably the ancient Curalius.
This 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
ATRAX (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Atrax (Atrax, also Atrakia, Steph. B.; Ptol. iii. 13. § 42: Eth. Atrakios),
a Perrhaebian town in Thessaly, described by Livy as situated above the river
Peneius, at the distance of about 10 miles from Larissa. (Liv. xxxii. 15, comp.
xxxvi. 13.) Strabo says that the Peneius passed by the cities of Tricca, Pelinnaeum
and Parcadon, on its left, on its course to Atrax and Larissa. (Strab. ix. p.
438.) Leake places Atrax on a height upon the left bank of the Peneius, opposite
the village of Gunitza. On this height, which is now called Sidhiro-peliko (Sidepopelikos),
a place where chippings of iron are found, Leake found stones and fragments of
ancient pottery, and in one place foundations of an Hellenic wall. (Leake, Northern
Greece, vol. iii. p. 368, vol. iv. p. 292.)
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
AZORON (Ancient city) ELASSONA
Azoros, Azorion (Ptol. iii. 13. § 42): Eth. Azorites. A town in Perrhaebia in
Thessaly situated at the foot of Mount Olympus. Azorus, with the two neighbouring
towns of Pythium and Doliche, formed a Tripolis. (Liv. xlii. 53, xliv. 2.) There
was also a town of the name of Azoras in Pelagonia in Macedonia. (Strab. vii.)
CHYRETIES (Ancient city) ELASSONA
Cyretiae (Churetiai, Ptol. iii. 13. § 44: Eth. Kuretieus, Kuretiaios,
Inscr., Cyretiensis), a town of Perrhaebia in Thessaly, frequently mentioned in
the Roman wars in Greece. It was plundered by the Aetolians, B.C. 200 (Liv. xxxi.
41), was taken by Antiochus, B.C. 191, but recovered by M. Baebius and Philip
in the same year (xxxvi. 10, 13), and was occupied by Perseus in B.C. 171 (xlii.
53). It was situated upon a small tributary of the Titaresius at the modern village
of Dheminiko. Its acropolis occupied the hill, on which now stands the church
of St. George, where Leake found several inscriptions, among which is a public
letter in Greek, addressed to the Tagi (magistrates) and city of the Cyretienses
by T. Quinctius Flamininus, when he commanded the Roman armies in Greece. (Leake,
Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 304.)
DIMITRIAS (Ancient city) MAGNESSIA
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
DOLOPIA (Ancient country) THESSALIA
Dolopia (Dolopia inhabited by the Dolopes (Dolopes), a mountainous
district in the SW. corner of Thessaly, lying between Mt. Tymphrestus, a branch
of Pindus, on the one side, and Mt. Othrys on the other. The Dolopes were, like
the Magnetes, an ancient Hellenic people, and members of the Amphictyonic league.
They are mentioned by Homer (Il. ix. 484) as included in Phthia, but were governed
by a subordinate chieftain of their own. Though nominally belonging to Thessaly,
they seem practically to have been independent: and their country was at a later
period a constant subject of contention between the Aetolians and the kings of
Macedonia. The only place in Dolopia of the slightest importance was Ctimene.
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
EGINION (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Aighinion: Eth. Aiginiens, Aiytvtmes, Aeginiensis: Stagus, a town
of the Tymphaei in Thessaly, is described by Livy as a place of great strength
and nearly impregnable (Liv. xxxii. 15). It is frequently mentioned in the Roman
wars in Greece. It was given up to plunder by L. Aemilius Paulus for having refused
to open its gates after the battle of Pydna. It was here that Caesar in his march
from Apollonia effected a junction with Domitius. It occupied the site of the
modern Stagus, a town at a short distance from the Peneus. At this place Leake
found an inscription, in which Aeginium is mentioned. Its situation, fortified
on two sides by perpendicular rocks, accords with Livy's account of its position.
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
ERETRIA (Ancient city) FARSALA
A town of Thessaly, in the district Phthiotis, near Pharsalus. It
was here that Quintius Flamininus halted at the end of the first day's march from
Pherae towards Scotussa, in B.C. 197. Leake places it at the village of Tjangli,
where he found the ruined walls of an ancient city. A long and narrow table-summit
formed the citadel, of which the lower courses of the walls still exist in their
whole circuit. The town walls are still better preserved, and are extant in some
parts on the eastern side to the height of 18 or 20 feet. Here also are two door-ways
still perfect.
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
ERITION (Ancient city) THESSALIA
A town of Perrhaebia in Thessaly, appears to have been near Cyretiae, since it
was taken along with the latter town by M. Baebius in B.C. 191. (Liv. xxxvi. 13.)
Leake places it at Paleokastro, a village above Sykia, on the left bank of the
Vurgaris, a river of Tripolitis. In the church of St. George, which occupies the
site of the ancient Cyretiae, Leake noticed an inscribed stone, on which the name
of Apollodorus is followed by a word beginning ERE, which he conjectures with
much probability may be the place called Eritium by Livy.
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ESSON (Ancient city) MAGNESIA
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.
ESTIEOTIS (Ancient area) THESSALIA
Hestiaeotis or Histiaeotis (Hestiaiotis, Histiaiotis), inhabited by
the Hestiaeotae (Hestiaiotai), was the northern part of Thessaly, of which the
Peneius may be described in general as its southern boundary. It occupied the
passes of Olympus, and extended westward as far as Pindus. (Plin. iv. 1; Strab.
ix. pp. 430, 437, 438.) It was the seat of the Perrhaebi (Perrhaibai), a warlike
and powerful tribe, who possessed in historical times several towns strongly situated
upon the mountains. They are mentioned by Homer (Il. ii. 749) as taking part in
the Trojan War, and were regarded as genuine Hellenes, being one of the Amphictyonic
states (Aeschin. de Fals. Leg. p. 122). The part of Hestiaeotis inhabited by them
was frequently called Perrhaebia, but it never formed a separate Thessalian province.
The Perrhaebi are said at one time to have extended south of the Peneius as far
as the lake Boebeis, but to have been driven out of this district by the mythical
race of the Lapithae. (Strab. ix. pp. 439, 440.) It is probable that at an early
period the Perrhaebi occupied the whole of Hestiaeotis, but were subsequently
driven out of the plain and confined to the mountains by the Thessalian conquerors
from Thesprotia. Strabo states that Hestiaeotis, was formerly, according to some
authorities, called Doris (ix. p. 437), and Herodotus relates that the Dorians
once dwelt in this district at the foot of Mts. Ossa and Olympus (i. 56). It is
said to have derived the name of Hestiaeotis from the district of this name in
Euboea, the inhabitants of which were transplanted to Thessaly by the Perrhaebi
(Strab. ix. p. 437); but this is an uncertified statement, probably founded alone
upon similarity of name. Homer mentions another ancient tribe in this part of
Thessaly called the Aethices, who are placed by Strabo upon the Thessalian side
of Pindus near the sources of the Peneius. They are described as a barbarous tribe,
living by plunder and robbery. (Horn. Il. ii. 744; Strab. vii. p. 327, ix. p.
434; Steph. B. s. v. Aithikia.)
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
EVRYMENES (Ancient city) AGIA
Eurumenai (Apoll. Rhod., Steph. B. s. v.); Erumnai, (Strab.): Eth.
Eurumenios. A town of Magnesia in Thessaly, situated upon the coast at the foot
of Mt. Ossa, between Rhizus and Myrae. (Scylax, p. 25; Strab. ix. p. 443; Liv.
xxxix. 25.) Pliny relates that crowns thrown into a fountain at Eurymenae became
stones. (Plin. xxxi. 2. s. 20.) Leake supposes the site of Eurymenae to be represented
by some ancient remains between Thanatu and Karitza.
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FALANNON (Ancient city) TYRNAVOS
Phalanna : Eth. Phalannaios. A town of the Perrhaebi in Thessaly,
situated on the left bank of the Peneius, SW. of Gonnus. Strabo says (ix. p. 440)
that the Homeric Orthe became the acropolis of Phalanna; but in the lists of Pliny
(iv. 9. s. 16) Orthe and Phalanna occur as two distinct towns. Phalanna was said
to have derived its name from a daughter of Tyro. (Steph. B. s. v.) It was written
Phalannus in Ephorus, and was called Hippia by Hecataeus. (Steph. B.) Phalanna
is mentioned in the war between the Romans and Perseus, B.C. 171. (Liv. xlii.
54, 65.) Phalanna probably stood at Karadjoli, where are the remains of an ancient
city upon a hill above the village.
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FALORIA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Phalore, Phaloreia, Eth. Phaloreus, Phaloreites. A town of Histiaeotis in Thessaly,
apparently between Tricca and the Macedonian frontier. Leake places it in one
of the valleys which intersect the mountains to the northward of Trikkala, either
at Sklatina or at Ardham.
FARKADON (Ancient city) TRIKALA
Pharkadon, Pharkedon; Eth. Pharkedonios. A city of Histiaeotis in Thessaly, situated
to the left of the Peneius, between Pelinnaeum and Atrax. It is probably represented
by the ruins situated upon the slope of the rocky height above Gritziano.
FARSALOS (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Pharsalos: Eth. Pharsalios: the territory is Pharsalia, (Strab. ix.),
one of the most important cities of Thessaly, situated in the district Thessaliotis
near the confines of Phthiotis, upon the left bank of the Enipeus, and at the
foot of Mt. Narthacium. The town is first mentioned after the Persian wars; but
it is probable that it existed much earlier, since there is no other locality
in this part of Thessaly to be compared to it for a combination of strength, resources,
and convenience. Hence it has been supposed that the city was probably named Phthia
at a remote period, and was the capital of Phthiotis. Among its ruins there are
some remains which belong apparently to the most ancient times. On one side of
the northern gateway of the acropolis are the remnants of Cyclopian walls; and
in the middle of the acropolis is a subterraneous construction, built in the same
manner as the treasury of Atreus at Mycenae. Leake observes that Pharsalus is
one of the most important military positions in Greece, as standing at the entrance
of the most direct and central of the passes which lead from the plains of Thessaly
to the vale of the Spercheius and Thermopylae. With a view to ancient warfare,
the place had all the best attributes of a Hellenic polis or fortified town: a
hill rising gradually to the height of 600 or 700 feet above the adjacent plain,
defended on three sides by precipices, crowned with a small level for an acropolis,
watered in every part of the declivity by subterraneous springs, and still more
abundantly at the foot by sources so copious as to form a perennial stream. With
these local advantages, and one of the most fertile plains in Greece for its territory,
Pharsalus inevitably attained to the highest rank among the states of Thessaly,
and became one of the largest cities of Greece, as its ruined walls still attest.
The city was nearly 4 miles in circuit, and of the form or an irregular triangle.
The acropolis consisted of two rocky tabular summits, united by a lower ridge.
It was about 500 yards long, and from 100 to 50 broad, but still narrower in the
connecting ridge. Livy speaks of Palaepharsalus (xliv. 1), and Strabo distinguishes
between Old and New Pharsalus. (Strab. ix.) It is probable that at the time of
these writers the acropolis and the upper part of the town were known by the name
of Palaepharsalus, and that it was only the lower part of the town which was then
inhabited.
Pharsalus is mentioned by Scylax among the towns of Thessaly. In B.C.
455 it was besieged by the Athenian commander Myronides, after his victory in
Boeotia, but without success. (Thuc. i. 111.) At the commencement of the Peloponnesian
War, Pharsalus was one of the Thessalian towns that sent succour to the Athenians.
(Thuc. ii. 22.) Medius, tyrant of Larissa, took Pharsalus by force, about B.C.
395. (Diod. xiv. 82.) Pharsalus, under the conduct of Polydamas, resisted Jason
for a time, but subsequently formed an alliance with him. (Xen. Hell. vi. 1. 2,
seq.) In the war between Antiochus and the Romans, Pharsalus was for a time in
the possession of the Syrian monarch; but on the retreat of the latter, it surrendered
to the consul Acilius Glabrio, B.C. 191. (Liv. xxxvi. 14.)
Pharsalus, however, is chiefly celebrated for the memorable battle
fought in its neighbourhood between Caesar and Pompey, B.C. 48. It is a curious
fact that Caesar has not mentioned the place where he gained his great victory;
and we are indebted for the name to other authorities. The exact site of the battle
has been pointed out by Leake with his usual clearness. Merivale, in his narrative
of the battle, has raised some difficulties in the interpretation of Caesar's
description, which have been commented upon by Leake in an essay printed in the
Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, from which the following account
is taken.
A few days previous to the battle Caesar had taken possession of Metropolis,
a city westward of Pharsalus, and had encamped in the plain between these two
cities. Meantime Pompey arrived at Larissa, and from thence advanced southwards
towards Pharsalus; he crossed the Enipeus, and encamped at the foot of the heights,
which are adjacent to the modern Fersala on the east. Caesar's camp, or rather
his last position before the battle, was in the plain between Pharsalus and the
Enipeus, at the distance of about 3 miles from the still extant north-western
angle of the walls of Pharsalus. There was a distance of 30 stadia, or about 4
Roman miles, from the two camps. (Appian, B.C. ii. 65.) Appian adds that the army
of Pompey, when drawn up for battle, extended from the city of Pharsalus to the
Enipeus, and that Caesar drew up his forces opposite to him. (B.C. ii. 75.) The
battle was fought in the plain immediately below the city of Pharsalus to the
north. There is a level of about 2 1/2 miles in breadth between the Enipeus and
the elevation or bank upon which stood the northern walls of Pharsalus. Merivale
is mistaken in saying that the plain of Pharsalus, 5 or 6 miles in breadth, extends
along the left bank of the Enipeus. It is true that 5 or 6 miles is about the
breadth of the plain, but this breadth is equally divided between the two sides
of the river; nor is there anything to support Merivale's conjecture that the
course of the river may have changed since the time of the battle. Leake observes
that the plain of 2 1/2 miles in breadth was amply sufficient for 45,000 men drawn
up in the usual manner of three orders, each ten in depth, and that there would
be still space enough for the 10,000 cavalry, upon which Pompey founded chiefly
his hopes of victory; for the breadth of the plain being too great for Caesar's
numbers, he thought himself sure of being able, by his commanding force of cavalry,
to turn the enemy's right.
At first Pompey drew up his forces at the foot of the hills; but when
Caesar refused to fight in this position, and began to move towards Scotussa,
Pompey descended into the plain, and arranged his army in the position already
described. His right wing being protected by the Enipeus, which has precipitous
banks, he placed his cavalry, as well as all his archers and slingers, on the
left. Caesar's left wing was in like manner protected by the Enipeus; and in the
rear of his right wing, behind his small body of horse, he stationed six cohorts,
in order to sustain the anticipated attack of the enemy's cavalry. Pompey resolved
to await the charge. Caesar's line advanced running, halted midway to recover
their breath, and then charged the enemy. While the two lines were thus occupied,
Pompey's cavalry on the left began to execute the movement upon which he placed
his hopes of victory; but after driving back Caesar's small body of horse, they
were unexpectedly assailed by the six cohorts and put to flight. These cohorts
now advanced against the rear of Pompey's left; while Caesar at the same time
brought up to his front the third line, which had been kept in reserve. Pompey's
troops now gave way in every direction. Caesar then advanced to attack the fortified
camp of the enemy, which was defended for some time by the cohorts left in charge
of it; but at length they fled to the mountains at the back of the camp. Pompey
proceeded straightway to Larissa, and from thence by night to the sea-coast. The
hill where the Pompeians had taken refuge being without water, they soon quitted
it and took the road towards Larissa. Caesar followed them with four legions,
and, by taking a shorter road, came up with them at the distance of 6 miles. The
fugitives now retired into another mountain, at the foot of which there was a
river; but Caesar having cut off their approach to the water before nightfall,
they descended from their position in the morning and laid down their arms. Caesar
proceeded on the same day to Larissa. Leake observes that the mountain towards
Larissa to which the Pompeians retired was probably near Scotussa, since in that
direction alone is any mountain to be found with a river at the foot of it.
In the time of Pliny, Pharsalus was a free state (iv. 8. s. 15). It
is also mentioned by Hierocles in the sixth century. It is now named Fersala (ta
Phersala), and the modern town lies at the foot of the ancient Acropolis.
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FERES (Ancient city) RIGAS FERAIOS
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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FTHIOTIDES THIVES (Ancient city) VOLOS
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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FYLAKI (Ancient city) ALMYROS
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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GLAFYRES (Ancient city) VOLOS
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.
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GOMFI (Ancient city) TRIKALA
Gomphoi (Strab. ix. p. 437; Steph. B. s. v.): Eth. Gomphos, Gompheus,
Gomphensis. A town of Histiaeotis in Thessaly, situated upon a tributary of the
Peneius, and near the frontiers of Athamania and Dolopia. Its position made it
a place of historical importance, since it guarded two of the chief passes into
the Thessalian plains: that of Musaki, distant two miles, which was the exit from
Dolopia, and the pass of Portes, at a distance of four miles, which led into Athamania,
and through that province to Ambracia. In the war against Philip, Amynander, king
of the Athamanes, in co-operation with the Roman consul Flamininus, having descended
from the latter pass ( Fauces angustae, quae ab Athamania Thessaliam dirimunt
), first took Pheca, a town lying between the pass and Gomphi, and then Gomphi
itself, B.C. 198. The possession of this place was of great importance to Flamininus,
since it secured him a communication with the Ambracian gulf, from which he derived
his supplies. The route from Gomphi to Ambracia is described by Livy as very short
but extremely difficult. The capture of Gomphi was followed by the surrender of
the towns named Argenta, Pherinum, Thimarum, Lisinae, Stimo, and Lampsus, the
position of which is quite uncertain. (Liv. xxxii. 14, 15.) When Athamania revolted
from Philip in B.C. 189, he marched into their country by the above-mentioned
pass, but was obliged to retire with heavy loss. (Liv. xxxviii. 2.) There can
be no doubt that it was by the same route that the Roman consul Q. Marcius Philippus
marched from Ambracia into Thessaly in B.C. 169. (Liv. xliv. 1.) In the campaign
between Caesar and Pompey in B.C. 48, the inhabitants of Gomphi, having heard
of Caesar's repulse at Dyrrhachium, shut their gates against him, when he arrived
at the place from Aeginium; but he took the place by assault in a few hours. Caesar,
in his account of these events, describes Gomphi as the first town in Thessaly
to those coming from Epirus. (Caes. B.C. iii. 80; Appian, B.C. ii. 64; Dion Cass.
xli. 51.)
The Greek geographer Meletius placed Gomphi at Stages, but, from an
inscription found at Stagus, it is clear that this is the site of Aeginium. Leake,
however, has shown that Gomphi is represented by Episkopi, which is the name of
an uncultivated height lying along the left bank of the Bliuri at a distance of
two or three miles from the mountains. On this height there are still some remains
of the ancient town. The modern name is owing to the fact of Gomphi having been
a bishopric in later times. Leake places Pheca at a small village called Bletzi,
midway between the hill of Episkcopi and the pass of Portes.
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GONI (Ancient city) TYRNAVOS
Gonnus or Gonni (Gonnos, Herod., Strab.; Gonnoi, Polyb., Steph. B.: Eth. Gonnios,
also Gounios, Gonatas, Steph. B. s. v.), an ancient town of the Perrhaebi in Thessaly,
which derived its name, according to the later Greek critics, from Gonneus, mentioned
in the Iliad. (Il. ii. 748; Steph. B. s. v. Gonnoi.) Its position made it one
of the most important places in the north of Thessaly. It stood on the northern
side of the Peneius, near the entrance of the only two passes by which an enemy
can penetrate into Thessaly from the north. The celebrated vale of Tempe begins
to narrow at Gonni; and the pass across Mt. Olympus a little to the west of Tempe
leads into Thessaly at Gonni. It was by the latter route that the army of Xerxes
entered Thessaly. (Herod. vii. 128, 173.) The position of Gonni with respect to
Tempe is clearly shown by the numerous passages in which it is mentioned by Livy.
After the battle of Cynoscephalae, in B.C. 197, Philip fled in haste to Tempe,
but halted a day at Gonni, to receive such of his troops as might have survived
the battle. (Liv. xxxiii. 10; Polyb. xviii. 10.) In the war against Antiochus,
in B.C. 191, when the king, having marched from Demetrias, had advanced as far
north as Larissa, a portion of the Roman army under the command of App. Claudius
marched through the pass across Mt. Olympus, and thus arrived at Gonni. On this
occasion Livy says that Gonni was 20 miles from Larissa, and describes it as situated
in ipsis faucibus saltus qu? Tempe appellantur. (Liv. xxxvi. 10.) In B.C. 171
it was strongly fortified by Perseus; and when this monarch retired into Macedonia,
the Roman consul Licinius advanced against the town, but found it impregnable.
(Liv. xlii. 54, 67.) Gonni does not occur in history after the wars of the Romans
in Greece,. but it is mentioned by Strabo (ix. p. 440; Ptol. iii. 13. § 42).
The site of Gonni is fixed by Leake at a place called Lykostomo, or
the Wolf's Mouth, in the vale of Dereli, at the foot of a point of Mt. Olympus,
about a mile from the Peneius. Here are some remains of a Hellenic city, mixed
with other ruins of a later date. It would therefore appear that the town of Lycostomium
(Lykostomion), which occurs in Byzantine history as early as the eleventh century
(Cantacuz. ii. 28, iv. 19), was built upon the site of Gonni. (Leake, Northern
Greece, vol. iv. p. 388.)
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GYRTON (Ancient city) LARISSA
Gurtona, Gurtone, Eth. Gurtonios. A town of Perrhaebia in Thessaly,
situated in a fertile plain between the rivers Titaresius and Peneius. Its site
is represented by the modern village of Tatari. Strabo, indeed, connects Gyrton
with the mouth of the Peneius, and the Epitomiser of the seventh book places it
near the foot of Mt. Olympus; but it is evident from the description of Livy,
whose account has been derived from Polybius, that it stood in some part of those
plains in which Phalanna, Atrax, and Larissa were situated. (Liv. xxxvi. 10, xlii.
54.) It was only one day's march from Phalanna to Gyrton (Liv. xlii. 54); and
the Scholiast on Apollonius (i. 40) says that Gyrton was near Larissa. It was
an ancient town, mentioned by Homer Il. ii. 738), and continued to be a place
of importance till later times, when it is called opulent by Apollonius Rhodius
(i. 57). It was said to have been the original abode of the Phlegyae, and to have
been founded by Gyrton, the brother of Phlegyas.(Strabo; Steph. B. s. v. Gurton.)
The Gyrtonians are mentioned among the Thessalians who sent aid to
the Athenians at the commencement of the Peloponnesian War. (Thuc. ii. 22.) The
name of the city frequently occurs at a later period.
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IKOS (Ancient city) ALONISSOS
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.)
ILONI (Ancient city) THESSALIA
A town of Perrhaebia in Thessaly, mentioned by Homer along with Orthe
and Oloosson, afterwards called Leimone (Aeimone), according to Strabo. The same
writer says that it was in ruins in his time, and that it lay at the foot of Mt.
Olympus, not far from the river Eurotas, which the poet calls, Titaresius. Leake
places it at Selos, where there are said to be some ancient remains.
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IOLKOS (Ancient city) VOLOS
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.
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ITHOMI (Ancient city) KARDITSA
Eth. ithometes, Ithomaios. A town of Histiaeotis in Thessaly, described
by Homer as the rocky Ithome, is placed by Strabo within a quadrangle formed by
the four cities, Tricca, Metropolis, Pelinnaeum, and Gomphi. It probably occupied
the site of the castle which stands on the summit above the village of Fandri.
Leake observed, near the north-western face of the castle, some remains of a very
ancient Hellenic wall, consisting of a few large masses of stone, roughly hewn
on the outside, but accurately joined to one another without cement.
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KASTHANEA (Ancient city) RIGAS FERAIOS
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.
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KRANNON (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Kranon, Krannon; the name is written indifferently with the single
and double n in inscriptions and coins, as well as in ancient authors: Eth. Kranonios).
A town of Pelasgiotis, in Thessaly, situated S.W. of Larissa, and at the distance
of 100 stadia from Gyrton, according to Strabo (vii. p. 330, frag. 14). Its most
ancient name is said to have been Ephyra; and Homer, in his account of the wars
of the Ephyri and Phlegyae, is supposed by the ancient commentators to have meant
the people afterwards called Crannonians and Gyrtonians respectively. (Il. xiii.
301; Strab. l. c. ix. p. 442; Steph. B. s. v. Krannon). Pindar likewise speaks
of the Crannonii under the name of Ephyraei (Pyth. x. 85). Crannon was the residence
of the wealthy and powerful family of the Scopadae, whose numerous flocks and
herds grazed in the fertile plain surrounding the city. (Theocr. xvi. 36.) Diactorides,
one of the Scopadae of Crannon, was a suitor for the hand of the daughter of Cleisthenes
of Sicyon. (Herod. vi. 127.) Simonides resided some time at Crannon, under the
patronage of the Scopadae; and there was a celebrated story current in antiquity
respecting the mode in which the Dioscuri preserved the poet's life when the Scopadae
were crushed by the falling in of the roof of a building. (Cic. de Orat. ii. 86)
In the first year of the Peloponnesian War (B.C. 431) the Crannonians,
together with some of the other Thessalians, sent troops to the assistance of
the Athenians. (Thuc. ii. 22.) In B.C. 394 they are mentioned as allies of the
Boeotians, who molested Agesilaus in his march through Thessaly on his return
from Asia. (Xen. Hell. iv. 3. 3) In B.C. 191 Crannon was taken by Antiochus. (Liv.
xxxvi. 10.) It is mentioned again in the war with Perseus. (Liv. xlii. 65.) Catullus
(lxiv. 35) speaks of it as a declining place in his time: - Deseritur Scyros:
linquunt Phthiotica Tempe, Cranonisque domos, ac moenia Larissaea.
Its name occurs in Pliny (iv. 8. § 15). Its site has: been fixed by
Leake at some ruins called Palea Larissa, situated half an hour from Hadjilar,
which is distant 2 hours and 27 minutes from Larissa. At Palea Larissa Leake found
an ancient inscription containing the name of Crannon. The name of the ruins shows
that they were once more considerable than they are at present; but even now some
foundations of the walls of the town, or more probably of the citadel, may be
traced along the edge of a quadrangular height called Paleokastro, which is nearly
a mile in circumference, and towards the upper part of which are some vestiges
of a transverse wall, forming a double inclosure. This height, and all the fields
around, are covered with pottery; and on the side of the height, or on the rise
of the hills behind it, are eight or nine small tumuli.
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KTIMENI (Village) KARDITSA
Ctimene (Ktimene), a town in Thessaly, on the borders of Dolopia and
Phthia, near the lake Xynias. (Apoll. Rhod. i. 67.) The town called Cymene in
the present text of Livy (xxxii. 13) is probably a corruption of Ctimene. Stephanus
B. mentions a tradition, that Ctimene had been given by Peleus to Phoenix (s.
v. Ktimene). (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 517.)
KYFOS (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Cyphus. Kuphos: Eth. Kuphaios. A town of Perrhaebia in Thessaly, which supplied 22 ships
for the Trojan war. It is placed by Strabo at the foot of Mt. Olympus. (Hom. Il.
ii. 748; Strab. ix. p. 441; Lycophr. 897.) According to Stephanus there were two
cities of the name of Cyphus, one mentioned by Homer, and the other by Lycophron;
but in this he appears to have been mistaken.
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KYNOS KEFALES (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Kunos kephalai. The names of two ranges of hills, so called from their
supposed resemblance to the heads of dogs. 1. In Thessaly, a little to the south
of Scotussa, in whose territory they were situated. They are described by Polybius
(xviii. 5) as rugged, broken, and of considerable height; and are memorable as
the scene of two battles: one fought, in B.C. 364, between the Thebans and Alexander
of Pherae, in which Pelopidas was slain; and the other, of still greater celebrity,
fought in B.C. 197, in which the last Philip of Macedon was defeated by the Roman
consul Flamininus.
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LARISSA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
On coins and inscriptions Larisa or Lareisa: Eth. Larissaios, Larisaios.
A name common to many Pelasgic towns, and probably a Pelasgic word signifying
city. Hence in mythology Larissa is represented as the daughter of Pelasgus (Paus.
ii. 24. § 1), or of Piasus, a Pelasgian prince. (Strab. xiv.)
An important town of Thessaly, the capital of the district Pelasgiotis,
was situated in a fertile plain upon a. gently rising ground, on the right or
south bank of the Peneius. It had a strongly fortified citadel. (Diod. xv. 61.)
Larissa is not mentioned by Homer. Some commentators, however, suppose it to be
the same as the Pelasgic Argos of Homer (Il. ii. 681), but the latter was the
name of a district rather than of a town. Others, with more probability, identify
it with the Argissa of the poet. (Il. ii. 738.) Its foundation was ascribed to
Acrisius. (Steph. B. s. v.) The plain of Larissa was formerly inhabited by the
Perrhaebi, who were partly expelled by the Larissaeans, and partly reduced to
subjection. They continued subject to Larissa, till Philip made himself master
of Thessaly. (Strab. ix.) The constitution of Larissa was democratical (Aristot.
Pol. v. 6), and this was probably one reason why the Larissaeans were allies of
the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War. (Thuc. ii. 22.) During the Roman wars
in Greece, Larissa is frequently mentioned as a place of importance. It was here
that Philip, the son of Demetrius, kept all his royal papers during his campaign
against Flamininus in Greece; but after the battle of Cynoscephalae, in B.C. 197,
he was obliged to abandon Larissa to the Romans, having previously destroyed these
documents. (Polyb. xviii. 16.) It was still in the hands of the Romans when Antiochus
crossed over into Greece, B.C. 191, and this king made an ineffectual attempt
upon the town. (Liv. xxxvi. 10.) In the time of Strabo Larissa continued to be
a flourishing town. It is mentioned by Hierocles in the sixth century as the first
town in Thessaly. It is still a considerable place, the residence of an archbishop
and a pasha, and containing 30,000 inhabitants. It continues to bear its ancient
name, though the Turks call it Yenisheher, which is its official appellation.
Its circumference is less than three miles. Like other towns in Greece, which
have been continually inhabited, it presents few remains of Hellenic times. They
are chiefly found in the Turkish cemeteries, consisting of plain quadrangular
stones, fragments of columns, mostly fluted, and a great number of ancient cippi
and sepulchral stelae, which now serve for Turkish tombstones.
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MAGNESIA (Ancient area) THESSALIA
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).
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MELIVIA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Meliboia: Eth. Meliboeus. An ancient town of Magnesia in Thessaly,
mentioned by Homer as one of the places subject to Philoctetes (Il. ii. 717).
It was situated upon the sea-coast (Herod. vii. 188; Scylax, p. 25; Apoll. Rhod.
i. 592), andis described by Livy (xliv. 13) as situated at the roots of Mt. Ossa,
and by Strabo (ix. p. 443) as lying in the gulf between Ossa and Pelium. Leake
therefore places it near Aghia (Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 414). Meliboea was
taken and plundered by the Romans under Cn. Octavius, B.C. 168. (Liv. xliv 46:
Meliboea is also mentioned by Strab. ix. p. 436; Steph. B. s. v.; Mela, ii. 3;
Plin. iv. 9. s. 16.) The Meliboean purple is said by Lucretius (ii. 499; Virg.
Aen. v. 251) to have derived its name from this town. Many modern writers, however,
suppose the name to have come from the small island Meliboea at the mouth of the
Orontes in Syria; but there is no reason for this supposition, as the shellfish
from which the purple dye is obtained is found in the present day off the coast
of Thessaly.
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MITHONI (Ancient city) SOUTH PELION
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.
MITROPOLIS (Ancient city) KARDITSA
Eth. Metropolites. A town of Histiaeotis in Thessaly, described by
Stephanus B. (s. v.) as a town in Upper Thessaly. Strabo says (ix. p. 438), that
Metropolis was founded by three insignificant towns, but that a larger number
was afterwards added, among which was Ithome. He further says, that Ithome was
within a quadrangle, formed by the four cities Tricca, Metropolis, Pelinnaeum,
and Gomphi. The position of Metropolis is also determined by its being on Caesar's
march from Gomphi to Pharsalus. (Caes. B C. iii. 81; Appian, B.C. ii. 64; Dion
Cass. xli. 51.) It was taken by Flamininus on his descending into this part of
Thessaly, after the battle of the Aous, B.C. 198. (Liv. xxxii. 15.) We learn from
an inscription that the territory of Metropolis adjoined that of Cierium (the
ancient Arne), and that the adjustment of their boundaries was a frequent subject
of discussion between the two peoples. Metropolis is mentioned in the sixth century
by Hierocles, and continued to exist in the middle ages under the name of Neo-Patrae
(Neai Patrai, Constant. de Them. ii. p. 50, ed. Bonn). The remains of Metropolis
are placed by Leake at the small village of Paleokastro, about 5 miles SW. of
Kardhitza. The city was of a circular form, and in the centre of the circle are
the vestiges of a circular citadel, part of the wall of which still exists in
the yard of the village church of Paleokastro, where is a collection of the sculptured
or inscribed remains found upon the spot within late years. Among other sculptures
Leake noticed one in low relief, representing a figure seated upon a rock, in
long drapery, and a mountain rising in face of the figure, at the foot of which
there is a man in a posture of adoration, while on the top of the mountain there
are other men, one of whom holds a hog in his hands. Leake conjectured with great
probability that the seated figure represents the Aphrodite of Metropolis, to
whom Strabo says (l. c.) that hogs were offered in sacrifice. (Leake, Northern
Greece, vol. iv. p. 506.)
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MYLES (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Mulai: Eth. Mulaios. A town of Perrhaebia in Thessaly, taken by Perseus
in B.C. 171. (Liv. xlii. 54; Steph. B. s. v.) As Livy describes it as a strong
place near Cyretiae, it is placed by Leake at Dhamasi, which is not only strong
in itself, but very important, as commanding the pass of the Titaresius, leading
into Perrhaebia from the Pelasgiotis. (Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 311.)
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NILIA (Ancient city) VOLOS
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.
OITEA (Ancient area) THESSALIA
Oetaea (Oitaia inhabited by the Oetaei (Oitaioi), was the mountainous
district around Mt. Oeta in the upper valley of the Spercheius, and to the E.
of Dolopia. The Oetaeans appear to have been the collective name of the various
predatory tribes, dwelling upon the northern declivities of Mt. Oeta, who are
mentioned as plundering both the Malians on the east, and the Dorians on the south
(Thuc. iii. 92-97, viii. 3.) The most important of these tribes were the Aenianes
(Ainianes), called Enienes (Enienes) by Homer (Il. ii. 749) and Herodotus (vii.
132), an ancient Hellenic Amphictyonic race. (Paus. x. 8. § 2; Harpocrat. s. v.
Amphiktuones.) They are said to have first occupied the Dotian plain in Pelasgiotis;
afterwards to have wandered to the borders of Epeirus, and finally to have settled
in the upper valley of the Spercheius, where Hypata was their chief town. (Plut.
Quaest. Gr. 13. p. 294; Strab. i. p. 61, ix. p. 442.) Besides Hypata, which was
the only place of importance in Oetaea, we find mention of Sperchiae and Macra
Come by Livy (xxxii. 13), and of Sosthenis (Sosthenis), Homilae (Homilai), Cypaera
(Kupmira) and Phalachthia (Phalachthia) by Ptolemy (iii. 13. § 45.)
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OLIZON (Ancient city) SOUTH PELION
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.
OLOSSON (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Eth. Oloossonios. A town of Perrhaebia in Thessaly, mentioned by Homer,
who gives to it the epithet of white, from its white argillaceous soil. In Procopius
the name occurs in the corrupt form of Lossonus. It is now called Elassona, and
is a place of some importance. It is situated on the edge of a plain near Tempe,
and at the foot of a hill, on which there is a large ancient monastery, defended
on either side by a deep ravine. The ancient town, or at least the citadel, stood
upon this hill, and there are a few fragments of ancient walls, and some foundations
behind and around the monastery.
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OMOLIO (Ancient city) AGIA
A town of Thessaly, situated at the foot of Mt. Homole, and near the
edge of the vale of Tempe. Mt. Homole was the part of the chain of Ossa lying
between Tempe and the modern village of Karitza. Mt. Homole is sometimes used
as synonymous with Ossa. It was celebrated as a favourite haunt of Pan, and as
the abode of the Centaurs and the Lapithae. Pausanias describes it as the most
fertile mountain in Thessaly, and well supplied with fountains. (Paus. ix. 8.
§ 6; Eurip. Here. Fur. 371; Theocr. Idyll. vii. 104; Virg. Aen. vii. 675; Steph.
B. s. v. Omole.) The exact site of the town is uncertain. Both Scylax and Strabo
seem to place it on the right bank of the Peneius near the exit of the vale of
Tempe, and consequently at some distance from the sea (Scylax, p. 12; Strab. ix.
p. 445); but in Apollonius Rhodius and in the Orphic poems Homole is described
as situated near the sea-shore, and in Apollonius even another town, Eurymenae,
is placed between Homole and Tempe. (Apoll. Rhod. i. 594; Orpheus, Argon. 460.)
Eurymenae, how. ever, stood upon the coast more to the south. Leake conjectures
that the celebrated convent of St. Demetrius, situated upon the lower part of
Mt. Kissavo, stands on the site of Homolium.
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ORMINION (Ancient city) VOLOS
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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OSSA (Mountain) LARISSA
Ossa, a lofty mountain in Thessaly on the coast of Magnesia, separated from Olympus
only by the narrow vale of Tempe. Hence it was supposed by the ancients that these
mountains were once united, and had been separated by an earthquake. (Herod. vii.
129; Strab. ix. pp. 430, 442; Lucan, vi. 347; Claudian, Rapt. Proserp. ii. 183.)
Ossa is conical in form and has only one summit. Polybius mentions it as one of
the highest mountains in Greece (xxxiv. 10); but it is considerably lower than
Olympus, and according to Ovid even lower than Pelion. (Ov. Fast. iii. 441.) According
to Dodwell, who speaks, however, only from conjecture, Ossa is about 5000 feet
high. To the south of Ossa rises Mt. Pelion, and the last falls of the two mountains
are united by a low ridge. (Herod. vii. 129.) Olympus, Ossa, and Pelion differ
greatly in character; and the conical peak, standing between the other two, is
well contrasted with the broad majesty of Olympus, and the extended outline of
Pelion. The length of Ossa along the coast is said by Strabo to be 80 stadia (ix.
p. 443). It is hardly necessary to allude to the passages in the poets, in which
Ossa is mentioned, along with Olympus and Pelion, in the war of the giants and
the gods. (Hom. Od. xi. 312; Virg. Georg. i. 282, &c.) The modern name of Ossa
is Kissavo.
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OXYNIA (Village) KALAMBAKA
Oxyneia (Oxuneia), a town of Thessaly, situated on the Ion, a tributary of the
Peneius, and perhaps the capital of the Talares, occupied probably the valley
of Miritza. It is described by Strabo as distant 120 stadia from Azorus. (Strab.
vii. p. 327; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 279.)
PAGASSES (Ancient city) VOLOS
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.)
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PELASGIOTIS (Ancient area) THESSALIA
Pelasgiotis, inhabited by the Pelasgiotae (Pelasgiotai,), extended
S. of the Peneius, and along the western side of Pelion and Ossa, including the
districtcalled the Pelasgic plain. (Strab. ix. p. 443.) The name shows that this
district was originally inhabited by Pelasgians; and its chief town was Larissa,
a well known name of Pelasgic cities.
PELINNA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
More commonly Pellinaum. Pelinna, Pelinnaion, Pelenaion on coins,
Eth. Pelinnaios. A town of Thessaly, in the district Histiaeotis, a little above
the left bank of the Peneius. (Strab. ix. p. 437.) It seems to have been a place
of some importance even in the time of Pindar. Alexander the Great passed through
the town in his rapid march from Illyria to Boeotia. (Arrian, Anab. i. 7.) It
did not revolt from the Macedonians together with the other Thessalians after
the death of Alexander the Great. (Diod. xviii. 11.) In the war between Antiochus
and the Romans, B.C. 191, Pelinnaeum was occupied by the Athamanians, but was
soon afterwards recovered by the Romans. (Liv. xxxvi. 10, 14.) There are considerable
remains of Pelinnaeum at Old Kardhiki or Gardhiki. The city occupied the face
of a rocky height, together with a large quadrangular space at the foot of it
on the south. The southern wall is more than half a mile in length, and the whole
circumference near three miles. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 288.)
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PELION (Mountain) MAGNESSIA
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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PIRASSIA (Ancient city) KARDITSA
Asterium (Asterion: Eth. Asteriotes), a town of Thessaly, mentioned
by Homer, who speaks of Asterium and the white summits of Titanus. (Asterion Titanoio
te leuka karena, II. ii. 735.) Asterium was said to be the same city as Peiresia
or Peiresiae (Steph. B. s. v. Asterion), which is described by Apollonius Rhodius
(i. 35) as placed near the junction of the Apidanus and Enipeus, and by the author
of the Orphica as near the confluence of the Apidanus and Enipeus. (Orphic. Argon.
164.) Leake remarks that both these descriptions may be applied to the hill of
Vlokho, which is situated between the junction of the Apidanus and the Enipeus
and that of the united stream with the Peneius, and at no great distance from
either confluence. There are some ruins at Vlockho, which represent Asterium or
Peiresiae; while the white calcareous rocks of the hill explain and justify the
epithet which Homer gives to Titanus. Strabo (ix. p. 439), who places Titanus
near Arne, also speaks of its white colour. Peiresiae is said by Apollonius to
have been near Mount Phylleium, which Leake supposes to be the heights separated
by the river from the hill of Vlokho. Near Mount Phylleium Strabo (ix. p. 435)
places a city Phyllus, noted for a temple of Apollo Phylleius. Statius (Theb.
iv. 45) calls this city Phylli. The town of Iresiae mentioned by Livy (xxxii.
13), is perhaps a false reading for Peiresiae. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv.
p. 322, seq.)
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PTELEOS (Ancient city) ALMYROS
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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PYRASSOS (Ancient city) VOLOS
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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RIZOUS (Ancient city) THESSALIA
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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SILANA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
A town in the NW. of Thessaly, near the frontiers of Athamania, mentioned along
with Gomphi and Tricca by Livy. Leake conjectures that it occupied the site of
Poliana, near which are several squared blocks of ancient workmanship.
SIPIAS (Ancient city) SOUTH PELION
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.
SKIATHOS (Island) NORTH SPORADES
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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SKOPELOS (Island) NORTH SPORADES
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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SKOTOUSSA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Skotoussa or Skotousa: Eth. Skotoussaios. An ancient town of Pelasgiotis
in Thessaly, lying between Pherae and Pharsalus, near the frontiers of Phthiotis.
Scotussa is not mentioned in Homer, but according to some accounts the oracle
of Dodona in Epeirus originally came from this place. (Strab. vii. p. 329.) In
B.C. 394 the Scotussaei joined the other Thessalians in opposing the march of
Agesilaus through their country. (Xen. Hell. iv. 3. 3) In B.C. 367 Scotussa was
treacherously seized by Alexander, tyrant of the neighbouring town of Pherae.
(Diod. xv. 75.) In. the territory of Scotussa were the hills called Cynoscephalae,
which are memorable as the scene of two battles, one fought in B.C. 364, between
the Thebans and Alexander of Pherae, in which Pelopidas was slain, and the other,
of still greater celebrity, fought in B.C. 197, in which the last Philip of Macedonia
was defeated by the Roman consul Flamininus. (Plut. Pelop. 32; Strab. ix. p. 441;
Polyb. xviii. 3, seq.; Liv. xxxiii. 6, seq.) In B.C. 191 Scotussa surrendered
to Antiochus, but was recovered shortly afterwards, along with Pharsalus and Pherae,
by the consul Acilius. (Liv. xxxvi. 9, 14.) The ruins of Scotussa are found at
Supli. The city was about two or three miles in circumference; but of the walls
only a few courses of masonry have been preserved. The acropolis stood at the
south-western end of the site, below which, on the east and north, the ground
is covered with foundations of buildings, heaps of stones, and fragments of tiles
and pottery. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 454, seq.)
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SPALAFTHRA (Ancient city) SOUTH PELION
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).
TEMBI (Valley) LARISSA
Tempe (ta Tempe, contr. of Tempea), a celebrated valley in the NE. of Thessaly,
is a gorge between Mounts Olympus and Ossa, through which the waters of the Peneius
force their way into the sea. The beauties of Tempe were a favourite subject with
the ancient poets, and have been described at great length in a well-known passage
of Aelian, and more briefly by Pliny: but none of these writers appear to have
drawn their pictures from actual observation; and the scenery is distinguished
rather by savage grandeur than by the sylvan beauty which Aelian and others attribute
to it. (Catull. lxiv. 285; Ov. Met. i. 568; Virg. Georg. ii. 469; Aelian, V. H.
iii. 1; Plin. iv. 8. s. 15.) The account of Livy, who copies from Polybius, an
eye-witness, is more in accordance with reality. This writer says, Tempe is a
defile, difficult of access, even though not guarded by an enemy; for besides
the narrowness of the pass for 5 miles, where there is scarcely room for a beast
of burden, the rocks on both sides are so perpendicular as to cause giddiness
both in the mind and eyes of those who look down from the precipice. Their terror
is also increased by the depth and roar of the Peneus rushing through the midst
of the valley. (Liv. xliv. 6.) He adds that this pass, so inaccessible by nature,
was defended by four fortresses, one at the western entrance at Gonnus, a second
at Condylon, a third at Charax, and a fourth in the road itself, in the middle
and narrowest part of the valley, which could be easily defended by ten men. The
pass is now called Lykostomo, or the Wolf's Mouth. Col. Leake gives about four
miles and a half as the distance of the road through the valley. In this space
the width of the gorge is in some parts less than 100 yards, comprehending in
fact no more than the breadth of the road in addition to that of the river. The
modern road follows in the track of the ancient military road made by the Romans,
which ran along the right bank of the river. Leake remarks that even Livy in his
description of Tempe seems to have added embellishments to the authority from
which he borrowed; for, instead of the Peneius flowing rapidly and with a loud
noise, nothing can be more tranquil and steady than its ordinary course. The remains
of the fourth castle mentioned by Livy are noticed by Leake as standing on one
side of an immense fissure in the precipices of Ossa, which afford an extremely
rocky, though not impracticable descent from the heights into the vale; while
between the castle and the river space only was left for the road. About half
a mile beyond this fort there still remains an inscription engraved upon the rock,
on the right-hand side of the road, where it ascends the hill: L. Cassius Longinus
Pro Cos. Tempe munivit. It is probable from the position of this inscription that
it relates to the making of the road, though some refer it to defensive works
erected by Longinus in Tempe. This Longinus appears to have been the L. Cassius
Longinus who was sent by Caesar from Illyria into Thessaly. (Caes. B.C. iii. 34.)
When Xerxes invaded Greece, B.C. 480, the Greeks sent a force of 10,000 men to
Tempe, with the intention of defending the pass against the Persians; but having
learnt from Alexander, the king of Macedonia, that there was another pass across
Mt. Olympus, which entered Thessaly near Gonnus, where the gorge of Tempe commenced,
the Greeks withdrew to Thermopylae. (Herod. vii. 173.)
It was believed by the ancient historians and geographers that the
gorge of Tempe had been produced by an earthquake, which rent asunder the mountains,
and afforded the waters of the Peneius an egress to the sea. (Herod. vii. 129;
Strab. ix. p. 430.) But the Thessalians maintained that it was the god Poseidon
who had split the mountains (Herod. l. c.); while others supposed that this had
been the work of Hercules. (Diod. iv. 58; Lucan, vi. 345.)
The pass of Tempe was connected with the worship of Apollo. This god
was believed to have gone thither to receive expiation after the slaughter of
the serpent Pytho, and afterwards to have returned to Delphi, bearing in his hand
a branch of laurel plucked in the valley. Every ninth year the Delphians sent
a procession to Tempe consisting of wellborn youths, of which the chief youth
plucked a branch of laurel and brought it back to Delphi. On this occasion a solemn
festival, in which the inhabitants of the neighbouring regions took part, was
celebrated at Tempe in honour of Apollo Tempeites. The procession was accompanied
by a flute-player. (Aelian, V. H. iii. 1; Plut. Quaest. Graec. c. 11. p. 292,
de Musica, c. 14. p. 1136; Bockh, Inscr. No. 17 67, quoted by Grote, Hist. of
Greece, vol. ii. p. 365.)
The name of Tempe was applied to other beautiful valleys. Thus the
valley, through which the Helorus flows in Sicily, is called Heloria Tempe (Ov.
Fast. iv. 477); and Cicero gives the name of Tempe to the valley of the Velinus,
near Reate (ad Att. iv. 15). In the same way Ovid speaks of the Heliconia Tempe
(Am. i. 1. 15).
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THAVMAKIA (Ancient city) AGIA
Thaumakia: Eth. Thaumakieus. A town of Magnesia in Thessaly, one of
the four cities whose ships in the Trojan War were commanded by Philoctetes. It
was said to have been founded by Thaumacus, the son of Poeas. Leake supposes it
to be represented by the paleokastro of Askiti, one of the villages on the Magnesian
coast. This Thaumacia must not be confounded with Thaumaci in Phthiotis mentioned
above.
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THESSALIA (Ancient area) GREECE
Thessalia (Thettalos, or Thettalia: Eth. Thessalos or Thettalos, Thessalus,
fem. Thssalis, Thettalis, Thessalis: Adj. Thessalikos, Thettalikos, Thessalicus,
Thessalius), the largest political division of Greece, was in its widest extent
the whole country lying N. of Thermopylae as far as the Cambunian mountains, and
bounded upon the W. by the range of Pindus. But the name of Thessaly was more
specifically applied to the great plain, by far the widest and largest in all
Greece, enclosed by the four great mountain barriers of Pindus, Othrys, Ossa and
Pelion, and the Cambunian mountains. From Mount Pindus,--the Apennines or back-bone
of Greece,--which separates Thessaly from Epeirus, two large arms branch off towards
the eastern sea, running parallel to one another at the distance of 60 miles.
The northern, called the Cambunian mountains, forms the boundary between Thessaly
and Macedonia, and terminates in the summit of Olympus, which is the highest mountain
in all Greece. The southern arm, named Othrys, separates the plain of Thessaly
from Malis, and reaches the sea between the Malian and Pagasaean gulfs. The fourth
barrier is the range of mountains, first called Ossa and afterwards Pelion, which
run along the coast of Thessaly upon the E., nearly parallel to the range of Pindus.
The plain of Thessaly, which is thus enclosed by natural ramparts, is broken only
at the NE. corner by the celebrated vale of Tempe, which separates Ossa from Olympus,
and is the only way of entering Greece from the N., except by a pass across the
Cambunian mountains. This plain, which is drained by the river Peneius and its
affiuents, is said to have been originally a vast lake, the waters of which were
afterwards carried off through the vale of Tempe by some sudden convulsion, which
rent the rocks of the valley asunder. (Herod. vii. 129.) The lakes of Nessonis
and Boebeis, which are connected by a channel, were supposed by Strabo (ix. p.
430) to have been the remains of this vast lake. In addition to this plain there
are two other districts included under the general name of Thessaly, of which
one is the long and narrow slip of rocky coast, called Magnesia, extending from
the vale of Tempe to the gulf of Pagasae, and lying between Mounts Ossa and Pelion
and the sea; while the other, known under the name of Malis, is quite distinct
in its physical features from the rest of Thessaly, being a long narrow valley
between Mounts Othrys and Oeta, through which the river Spercheius flows into
the Maliac gulf.
The plain of Thessaly properly consists of two plains, which received
in antiquity the name of Upper and Lower Thessaly; the Upper, as in similar cases,
meaning the country near Mount Pindus most distant from the sea, and the Lower
the country near the Thermaic gulf. (Strab. ix. pp. 430, 437.) These two plains
are separated by a range of hills between the lakes Nessonis and Boebeis on the
one hand, and the river Enipeus on the other. Lower Thessaly, which constituted
the ancient division Pelasgiotis, extends from Mounts Titarus and Ossa on the
N. to Mount Othrys and the shores of the Pagasaean gulf on the S. Its chief town
was Larissa. Upper Thessaly, which corresponded to the ancient divisions Thessaliotis
and Histiaeotis, of which the chief city was Pharsalus, stretches from Aeginium
in the N. to Thaumaci in the S., a distance of at least 50 miles in a straight
line. The road from Thermopylae into Upper Thessaly entered the plain at Thaumaci,
which was situated at the pass called Coela, where the traveller came in sight
of a plain resembling a vast sea. (Liv. xxxii. 4.)
The river Peneius, now called the Salamvria or Salambria (Salambrias,
Salamprias), rises at the NW. extremity of Thessaly, and is composed of streams
collected in the valleys of Mount Pindus and the offshoots of the Cambunian mountains.
At first it flows through a contracted valley till it reaches the perpendicular
rocks, named the Meteora, upon the summits of which several monasteries are perched.
Below this spot, and near the town of Aeginium or Stagus, the valley opens out
into the vast plain of Upper Thessaly, and the river flows in a general southerly
direction. At Tricca, or Trikkala, the Peneius makes a bend to the E., and shortly
afterwards reaches the lowest point in the plain of Upper Thessaly, where it receives
within a very short space many of its tributaries. Next it passes through a valley
formed by a range of hills, of which those upon the right divide the plains of
Upper and Lower Thessaly. It then emerges into the plain a few miles westward
of Larissa; after passing which city it makes a sudden bend to the N., and flows
through the vale of Tempe to the sea. Although the Peneius drains the greater
part of Thessaly, and receives many tributaries, it is in the greater part of
its course a shallow and sluggish river, except after the melting of the snows,
when it sometimes floods the surrounding plain. Hence on either side of the river
there is frequently a wide gravelly uncultivable space, described by Strabo as
poramoklustos (ix. p. 430; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. i. p. 420). When the river
is swollen in the spring, a channel near Larissa conducts the superfluous waters
into the Karatjai‘r or Maurolimne, the ancient Nessonis; and when this basin is
filled, another channel conveys the waters into the lake of Karla, the ancient
Boebeis. (Leake, iv. p. 403.) In the lower part of its course, after leaving Larissa,
the Peneius flows with more rapidity, and is full of small vortices, which may
have. suggested to Homer the epithet argurodines (Il. ii. 753); though, as Leake
has remarked, the poet carries his flattery to an extreme in comparing to silver
the white hue of its turbid waters, derived entirely from the earth suspended
in them. (Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 291.) The principal rivers of Thessaly,
according to Herodotus (vii. 129), are the Peneius, Apidanus, Onochonus, Enipeus
and Pamisus. The four latter rivers all flow from the S. Of these the most important
is the Enipeus, now called the Fersaliti, which flows through the plain of Pharsalus,
and falls into the Peneius near Piresiae in the lowest part of the plain. The
Apidanus, now called Vrysia, into which the Cuarius (Sofadhitiko) falls, is a
tributary of the Enipeus. The Pamisus, now called the Bliuri or Piliuri,
also joins the Peneius a little to the W. of the Enipeus. The Onochonus, which
is probably the same as the Onchestus, flows into the lake Boebeis and not into
the Peneius. [For details, see Vol. II. p. 483, a.] The chief tributary of the
Peneius on the N. is the Titaresius, now called Elassonitiko or Xeraghi, which
rises in Mt. Titarus, a part of the Cambunian range, and joins the main stream
between Larissa and the vale of Tempe. Homer relates (Il. ii. 753, seq.) that
the waters of the Titaresius did not mingle with those of the Peneius, but floated
upon the surface of the latter like oil upon water, whence it was regarded as
a branch of the infernal river Styx. (Comp. Lucan, vi. 375.) Leake calls attention
to the fact that Strabo (ix. p. 441), probably misled by the epithet (argurodines)
applied by the poet to the Peneius, has reversed the true interpretation of the
poet's comparison of the Peneius and the Titaresius, supposing that the Peneius
was the pellucid river, whereas the apparent reluctance of the Titaresius to mingle
with the Peneius arises from the former being clear and the latter muddy. (Northern
Greece, iii. p. 396, iv. p. 296.) The Titaresius was also called Eurotas (Strab.
vii. p. 329) and Horcus or Orcus (Plin. iv. 8. s. 15). The plain of Thessaly is
the most fertile in all Greece. It produced in antiquity a large quantity of corn
and cattle, which supported a numerous population in the towns, and especially
a rich and proud aristocracy, who were at frequent feuds with one another and
much given to luxury and the pleasures of the table (ekei gar de pleiste ataxia
kai akolasia, Plat. Crit. 15; Athen. xii. p. 564; Theopomp. ap. Athen. vi. p.
260; Dem. Olynth. p. 16). The Thessalian horses were the finest in Greece, and
their cavalry was at all times efficient; but we rarely read of their infantry.
The nobles, such as the Aleuadae of Larissa and the Scopadae of Crannon, supplied
the poorer citizens with horses; but there was no class of free equal citizens,
from which the hoplites were drawn in other Grecian states. (See Grote, Hist.
of Greece, vol. ii. p. 367.) Hence the political power was generally either in
the hands of these nobles or of a single man who established himself as despot.
The numerous flocks and herds of the Scopadae at Crannon are alluded to by Theocritus
(Id. xvi. 36), and the wealth of the Thessalian nobles is frequently mentioned
by the ancient writers. Thessaly is said to have been originally known by the
names of Pyrrha, Aemonia, and Aeolis. (Rhian. ap. Schol. Rhod. iii. 1089; Steph.
B. s. v. Aimonia; Herod. vii. 176.) The two former appellations belong to mythology,
but the latter refers to the time when the country was inhabited by the Aeolian
Pelasgi, who were afterwards expelled from the country by the Thessalians. This
people are said to have been immigrants, who came from Thesprotia in Epeirus,
and conquered the plain of the Peneius. (Herod. vii. 176, comp. i. 57; Strab.
ix. p. 444.) The Boeotians are said to have originally dwelt at Arne, in the country
afterwards called Thessaly, and to have been expelled by the Thessalian invaders
60 years after the Trojan War. (Thuc. i. 12.) The expulsion of the Boeotians by
the Thessalians seems to have been conceived as an immediate consequence of the
immigration of the Thessalian invaders; but, however this may be, the name of
Thessaly is unknown in Homer, who only speaks of the several principalities of
which the country was composed. In the Homeric catalogue Pheidippus and Antiphus,
who led the Greeks from Carpathus, Cos, and the neighbouring islands, are called
the sons of Thessalus, the son of Hercules (Hom. Il. ii. 676); and, in order to
connect this name with the Thessalians of Thesprotia, it was reported that these
two chiefs had, upon their return from Troy, been driven by a storm upon the coast
of Epeirus, and that Thessalus, the grandson of Pheidippus, led the Thessalians
across Mount Pindus and imposed his name upon the country. (Vell. Pat. i. 2, 3;
Steph. B. s. v. Dorion; Polyaen. viii. 44.) There are many circumstances in the
historical period which make it probable that the Thessalians were a body of immigrant
conquerors; though, if they came from Thesprotia, they must have gradually dropt
their original language, and learnt that of the conquered people, as the Thessalian
was a variety of the Aeolic dialect. There was in Thessaly a triple division of
the population analogous to that in Laconia. First, there were the Thessalians
proper, the rich landed proprietors of the plain. Secondly, there were the descendants
of the original inhabitants of the country, who were not expelled by the Thessalian
conquerors, and who were more or less dependent upon them, corresponding to the
Lacedaemonian Perioeci, but, unlike the latter, retaining their original names
and their seats in the Amphictyonic council. These were the Perrhaebi who occupied
the mountainous district between Mount Olympus and the lower course of the Peneius;
the Magnetes, who dwelt along the eastern coast between Mounts Pelion and
Ossa and the sea; the Achaeans, who inhabited the district called Phthiotis,
which extended S. of the Upper Thessalian plain, from Mount Pindus on the W. to
the gulf of Pagasae on the S.; the Dolopes who occupied the mountainous
regions of Pindus, S. of Phthiotis; and the Mialians, who dwelt between
Phthiotis and Thermopylae. The third class of the Thessalian population were the
Penestae, serfs or dependent cultivators, corresponding to the Helots of Laconia,
although their condition seems upon the whole to have been superior. They tilled
the estates of the great nobles, paying them a certain proportion of the produce,
and followed their masters to war upon horseback. They could not, however, be
sold out of the country, and they possessed the means of acquiring property, as
many of them were said to have been richer than their masters. (Archemach. ap.
Athen. vi. p. 264; Plat. Leg. vi. p. 777; Aristot. Pol. ii. 6. § 3, vii. 9. §
9; Dionys. ii. 84.) They were probably the descendants of the original inhabitants
of the country, reduced to slavery by the conquering Thesprotians; but when Theopompus
states that they were the descendants of the conquered Perrhaebians and Magnetes
(ap. Athen. vi. p. 265), this can only be true of a part of these tribes, as we
know that the Penestae were entirely distinct from the subject Perrhaebians, Magnetes,
and Achaeans. (Aristot. Polit. ii. 6. § 3.) The Penestae, like the Laconian Helots,
frequently rose in revolt against their masters.
In the Homeric poems the names of Perrhaebi, Magnetes, Achaeans, and
Dolopes occur; and Achaea Phthiotis was the residence of the great hero Achilles.
This district was the seat of Hellen, the founder of the Hellenic race, and contained
the original Hellas, from which the Hellenes gradually spread over the rest of
Greece. (Hem. Il. ii. 683; Thuc. i. 3; Strab. ix. p. 431; Dicaearch. p. 21, ed.
Hudson; Steph. B. s. v. Hellas). The Achaeans of Phthiotis may fairly be regarded
as the same race as the Achaeans of Peloponnesus.
Thessaly Proper was divided at an early period into four districts
or tetrarchies, named Thessaliotis, Pelasgiotis, Histiaeotis and Phthiotis. When
this division was introduced is unknown. It was older than Hecataeus (Steph. B.
s. v. Krannon), and was ascribed to Aleuas, the founder of the family of the Aleuadae.
(Hellenic. Fragm. 28, ed. Didot; Harpocrat. s. v. Terrarchia; Strab. ix. p. 430.)
This quadruple division continued to the latest times, and seems to have been
instituted for political purposes; but respecting the internal government of each
we have no precise information. The four districts were nominally united under
a chief magistrate, called Tagus; but he seems to have been only appointed in
war, and his commands were frequently disobeyed by the Thessalian cities. When
Thessaly is under a Tagus, said Jason, despot of Pherae, she can send into the
field an army of 6000 cavalry and 10,000 hoplites. (Xen. Hell. vi. 1. 8) But Thessaly
was rarely united. The different cities, upon which the smaller: towns were dependent,
not only administered their own affairs independent of one another, but the three
most important, Larissa, Pharsalus and Pherae, were frequently at feud with one
another, and at the same time torn with intestine faction. Hence they were able
to offer little resistance to invaders, and never occupied that position in Grecian
history to which their population and wealth would seem to have entitled them.
(Respecting the Thessalians in general, see Mr. Grote's excellent remarks, Hist.
of Greece, vol. ii. p. 363, seq.)
The history of Thessaly may be briefly dismissed, as the most important
events are related under the separate cities. Before the Persian invasion, the
Thessalians had extended their power as far as Thermopylae, and threatened to
overrun Phocis and the country of the Locrians. The Phocians built a wall across
the pass of Thermopylae to keep off the Thessalians; and though active hostilities
seem to have ceased before the Persian invasion, as the wall was at that time
in ruins, the two nations continued to cherish bitter animosity towards one another.
(Herod. vii. 176.) When Xerxes invaded Greece, the Thessalians were at first opposed
to the Persians. It is true that the powerful family of the Aleuadae, whom Herodotus
calls (vii. 6) kings of Thessaly, had urged Xerxes to invade Greece, and had promised
the early submission of their countrymen; but it is evident that their party was
in the minority, and it is probable that they were themselves in exile, like the
Athenian Peisistratidae. The majority of the Thessalians sent envoys to the confederate
Greeks at the Isthmus, urging them to send a force to the pass of Tempe, and promising
them active co-operation in the defence. Their request was complied with, and
a body of 10,000 heavy-armed infantry was despatched to Thessaly; but the Grecian
commanders, upon arriving at Tempe, found that there was another pass across Mount
Olympus, and believing it impossible to make any effectual resistance north of
Thermopylae, retreated to their ships and abandoned Thessaly. (Herod. vii. 172,
seq.) The Thessalians, thus deserted, hastened to make their submission to Xerxes;
and under the influence of the Aleuadae, who now regained the ascendency in Thessaly,
they rendered zealous and effectual assistance to the Persians. After the death
of Leonidas and his heroic companions at Thermopylae, the Thessalians gratified
their enmity against the Phocians by directing the march of the Persians against
the Phocian towns and laying their country waste with fire and sword.
From the Persian to the Peloponnesian wars the Thessalians are rarely
mentioned. After the battle of Oenophyta (B.C. 456) had given the Athenians the
ascendency in Boeotia, Locris, and Phocis, they endeavoured to extend their power
over Thessaly. With this view they marched into Thessaly under the command of
Myronides in B.C. 454, for the purpose of restoring Orestes, one of the exiled
nobles or princes of Pharsalus, whom Thucydides calls son of the king of the Thessalians.
The progress of Myronides was checked by the powerful Thessalian cavalry; and
though he advanced as far as Pharsalus, he was unable to accomplish anything against
the city, and was compelled to retreat. (Thuc. i. 111; Diodor. xi. 85.) In the
Peloponnesian War the Thessalians took no part; but the mass of the population
was friendly to the Athenians, though the oligarchical governments favoured the
Spartans. With the assistance of the latter, combined with his own rapidity and
address, Brasidas contrived to march through Thessaly in B.C. 424, on his way
to attack the Athenian dependencies in Macedonia (Thuc. iv. 78); but when the
Lacedaemonians wished to send reinforcements to Brasidas in the following year,
the Thessalians positively refused them a passage through their country. (Thuc.
iv. 132.) In B.C. 395 the Thessalians joined the Boeotians and their allies in
the league against Sparta; and when Agesilaus marched through their country in
the following year, having been recalled by the Spartan government from Asia,
they endeavoured to intercept him on his return; but their cavalry was defeated
by the skilful manoeuvres of Agesilaus. (Xen. Hell. vi. 3. 3, seq.)
About this time or a little earlier an important change took place
in the political condition and relative importance of the Thessalian cities. Almost
down to the end of the Peloponnesian War the powerful families of the Aleuadae
at Larissa, of the Scopadae at Crannon, and of the Creondae at Pharsalus, possessed
the chief power in Thessaly. But shortly before the close of this war Pherae rose
into importance under the administration of Lycophron, and aspired to the supremacy
of Thessaly. Lycophron overthrew the government of the nobles at Pherae, and made
himself tyrant of the city. In prosecution of his ambitious schemes he attacked
Larissa; and in B.C. 404 he gained a great victory over the Larissaeans and the
other Thessalians who were opposed to him. (Xen. Hell. ii. 3. 4) In B.C. 395 Lycophron
was still engaged in a contest with Larissa, which was then under the government
of Medius, probably the head of the Aleuadae. Lycophron was supported by Sparta;
and Medius accordingly applied for succour to the confederacy of Greek states
which had been lately formed to resist the Lacedaemonian power. With their assistance
Medius took Pharsalus, which was then occupied by a Lacedaemonian garrison, and
is said to have sold all its inhabitants as slaves. (Diod. xiv. 82.) The return
of Agesilaus, and his victory over the Thessalians, probably deprived Medius and
his party of their power, and Larissa no longer appears as the rival of Pherae
for the supremacy of Thessaly. Pharsalus soon recovered from the blow which it
had received from Medius, and became, next to Pherae, the most important city
in Thessaly. The inhabitants of Pharsalus agreed to entrust the supreme power
to Polydamas, one of their own citizens, in whose integrity and abilities all
parties placed the greatest confidence. The acropolis and the whole management
of the finances were placed in his hands, and he discharged his trust to the satisfaction
of all parties. (Xen. Hell. vi. 1. 2, 3.)
Meantime the supreme power at Pherae had passed into the hands of
Jason, a man of great energy and ability, and probably the son of Lycophron, though
this is not expressly stated. He inherited the ambitious views of Lycophron, and
meditated nothing less than extending his dominion over the whole of Greece, for
which his central situation seemed to offer many facilities. He cherished even
still more extensive projects of aggrandisement, and, once master of Greece, he
looked forward to conquer the Persian empire, which the retreat of the Ten Thousand
Greeks and the campaigns of Agesilaus in Asia seemed to point out as an easy enterprise.
But the first step was his election as Tagus of Thessaly, and the submission of
all the Thessalian cities to his authority. For this purpose it was necessary
to obtain the acquiescence of Pharsalus, and although he might have gained his
object by force, he preferred to effect it by negotiation, and accordingly frankly
disclosed his schemes to Polydamas, and offered him the second place in Thessaly,
if he would support his views. Polydamas asked the advice of the Spartans, and
finding that he could receive from them no help, he acceded to the proposals of
Jason, and induced the Pharsalians to espouse his cause. Soon after this, probably
in B.C. 374, Jason was elected Tagus of Thessaly, and proceeded to settle the
contingent of cavalry and heavy-armed troops which the Pharsalian cities were
to furnish. He now possessed a force of 8000 cavalry and more than 20,000 infantry;
and Alcetas I., king of Epeirus, and Amyntas II., king of Macedonia were his allies.
(Xen. Hell. vi. 1. 2--19; Diod. xv. 60.) He could in effect command a greater
force than any, other state in Greece; and from the disunion and exhaustion of
the other Grecian states, it seemed not improbable that he might be able to carry
his ambitious projects into effect. He had already formed an alliance with Thebes,
and after the battle of Leuctra (B.C. 371) he was invited by the Thebans to join
them in attacking the Lacedaemonian camp. But Jason's policy was to prevent any
other power from obtaining the preponderance in Greece, and accordingly upon his
arrival at Leuctra he advised the Thebans not to drive the Lacedaemonians to despair,
and obtained a truce for the latter, which enabled them to secure their safety
by a retreat. (Xen. Hell. vi. 4. 20, seq.) In the following year he announced
his intention of marching to Delphi at the head of a body of Thessalian troops
and presiding at the Pythian festival. Great alarm was felt throughout Greece;
but before the time came, he was assassinated by seven youths as he sat in public
to give audience to all comers. His death was felt as a relief by Greece; and
the honours paid in many of the Grecian cities to his assassins prove the general
fear which his ambitious schemes had excited. (Xen. Hell. vi. 4. 28--32.)
Jason had so firmly established his power that he was succeeded in
the post of Tagus of Thessaly by his two brothers Polyphron and Polydorus; but
they did not possess his abilities or energy, and Thessaly again sank into political
insignificance. Polyphron was assassinated by his brother Polydorus, who became
sole Tagus. Polydorus exercised his authority with great cruelty; he put to death
Polydamas of Pharsalus, and killed or drove into exile many other distinguished
persons of this city and of Larissa. (Xen. Hell. vi. 4. 33, 34.) At the end of
a year he was also assassinated by Alexander, who was either his brother (Diod.
xv. 61) or his nephew (Plut. Pelopid. 29.) Alexander surpassed even Polyphron
in cruelty, and was guilty of gross enormities. The Aleuadae and other noble families,
who were chiefly exposed to his vengeance, applied in their distress to Alexander,
the youthful king of Macedonia, who had recently succeeded his father Amyntas.
Alexander invaded Thessaly, defeated the tyrant, and took possession of Larissa
and Crannon, which he garrisoned with his troops. (Diodor. xv. 61.) It would seem,
however, that the necessities of his own kingdom compelled him shortly afterwards
to withdraw his troops from Thessaly; since we find the Thessalian cities opposed
to the tyrant inviting the aid of the Thebans. Accordingly, about B.C. 369, Pelopidas
invaded Thessaly, and took Larissa and several other cities under his protection,
apparently with the sanction of Alexander of Macedonia, with whom he formed an
alliance. (Diodor. xv. 67.) In the following year (B.C. 368) Pelopidas again marched
into Thessaly at the head of a Theban force, to protect Larissa and the other
cities against the projects of Alexander of Pherae, who had solicited aid from
Athens. Alexander was compelled to sue for peace; and Pelopidas, after arranging
the affairs of Thessaly, marched into Macedonia, where the young king had been
lately assassinated. Ptolemy, the regent of the kingdom, was also compelled to
enter into alliance with Pelopidas, and to give him several hostages, among whom
was the youthful Philip, afterwards king of Macedonia. (Diod. xv. 71; Plut. Pelop,
c. 26.) By these means the influence of Thebes was extended over the greater part
of Thessaly. Two years afterwards (B.C. 366) the Thebans obtained from the Persian
court a rescript acknowledging their claims to the headship of Greece; and in
the same year Pelopidas, accompanied by Ismenias, visited Thessaly with the view
of obtaining the recognition of their claim from Alexander of Pherae and the other
Thessalian cities. Alexander met them at Pharsalus, but when he found that they
were not supported by any armed force, he seized them as prisoners and carried
them off to Pherae. The first attempt of the Thebans to rescue their countryman
proved unsuccessful; and the army which they sent into Thessaly was only saved
from destruction by the genius of Epaminondas, who was then serving as a private,
and was compelled [p. 1169] by the soldiers to take the command. So greatly was
Alexander strengthened in his power by this failure that all the Thessalian cities
submitted to him, and the influence of Thebes in Thessaly was for a time destroyed.
Subsequently a second expedition was sent into Thessaly under the command of Epaminondas,
who compelled the tyrant to release Pelopidas and Ismenias, but without restoring
Thebes to the commanding position which she had formerly held in Thessaly. (Diod.
xv. 71-75; Plut. Pelop. 27-29; Cornel. Nep. Pelop. 5; Paus. ix. 15. § 1.) The
continued oppressions of Alexander of Pherae became so intolerable that the Thessalian
cities once more applied to Thebes for assistance. Accordingly in B.C. 364 Pelopidas
was again sent into Thessaly at the head of a Theban army. In the first engagemnent
Pelopidas was slain, but Alexander was defeated. (Diod. xv. 80, 81; Plut. Pelop.
31, 32; Cornel. Nep. Pelop. 5; respecting the different expeditions of Pelopidas
into Thessaly, as to which there are discrepancies in the accounts, see Grote,
Hist. of Greece, vol. x. p. 361, note, p. 391, note.) The death of Pelopidas,
however, proved almost fatal to Alexander. Burning to revenge his loss, the Thebans
sent a powerful army into Thessaly, which compelled him to renounce his supremacy
in Thessaly, to confine himself to Pherae, and to submit to all the demands of
Thebes. (Plut. Pelop. 35.)
After the death of Epaminondas at the battle of Mantineia (B.C. 362)
the supremacy of Thebes in Thessaly was weakened, and Alexander of Pherae recovered
much of his power, which he continued to exercise with his accustomed cruelty
and ferocity till his assassination in B.C. 359 by his wife Thebe and her brothers.
One of these brothers, Tisiphonus, succeeded to the supreme power, under the direction
of Thebe; but his reign lasted only a short time, and lie was followed in the
government by Lycophron, another brother. (Xen. Hell. vi. 4. 37; Diod. xvi. 14;
Plut. Pelop. 35.) Meanwhile Philip, who had ascended the throne of Macedon in
B.C. 369, had been steadily extending his dominions and his influence; and the
Aleuadae of Larissa now had recourse to him in preference to Thebes. Accordingly
Philip marched into Thessaly in B.C. 353. Lycophron, unable to resist him, invoked
the aid of Onomarchus and the Phocians; and Philip, after a severe struggle was
driven out of Thessaly. (Diodor. xvi. 35.) In the following year Philip returned
to Thessaly, and gained a signal victory over Onomarchus and Lycophron. Onomarchus
was slain in the battle; and when Philip followed up his victory by laying siege
to Pherae, Lycophron surrendered the city to him, upon being allowed to retire
to Phocis with his mercenaries. (Diodor. xvi. 37.) Thus ended the powerful dynasty
of the tyrants of Pherae. Philip established a popular government at Pherae (Diod.
xvi. 38), and gave nominal independence to the Thessalian cities. But at the same
time he garrisoned Magnesia and the port of Pagasae with his troops, and kept
steadily in view the subjugation of the whole country. An attempt made in B.C.
344 to restore the dynasty of the tyrants at Pherae gave him an opportunity of
carrying his designs into effect. Not only did he garrison Pherae with his own
troops, but he revived the ancient division of the country into four tetrarchies
or tetradarchies, and placed at the head of each some of the chiefs of the Aleuadae,
who were entirely devoted to his interests. The result of this arrangement was
the entire subjection of Thessaly to Philip, who drew from the country a considerable
addition to his revenues and to his military resources. (Harpocrat. s. v. Tetrarchia;
Dem. Olynth. i. § 23; Strab. ix. p. 440; Thirlwall, Hist. of Greece, vol. vi.
pp. 12-14.) Upon the death of Philip the Thessalians were the first Grecian people
who promised to support Alexander in obtaining the supremacy of Greece. (Diod.
xvii. 4.) After the death of Alexander the Thessalians took an active part with
the other Grecian states in attempting to throw off the Macedonian yoke, but by
the victory of Antipater they were again united to the Macedonian monarchy, to
which they remained subject till the defeat of Philip by the Romans at the battle
of Cynoscephalae, B.C. 197. The Roman senate then declared Thessaly free (Liv.
xxxiii. 32); but from this time it was virtually under the sovereignty of Rome.
The government was vested in the hands of the more wealthy persons, who formed
a kind of senate, which was accustomed to meet at Larissa. (Liv. xxxiv. 52, xxxvi.
8, xlii. 38.)
When Macedonia was reduced to the form of a Roman province, Thessaly
was incorporated with it. (Strab. xvii. p. 840.) Under Alexander Severus it formed
a separate province governed by a procurator (Gruter, Inscr. p. 474. 4); and in
the later constitution of the Empire after the time of Constantine, it also appears
as a separate province under the administration of a praeses. (Not. Dig. i. p.
7; Bocking, i. p. 151; Marquardt, in Becker's Rom. Alterth. vol. iii. pt. i. p.
117.)
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
Argos Pelasgicum (Argos Peladgikon), was probably employed by Homer
(Il. ii. 681) to signify the whole of Thessaly. Some critics have supposed that
by Pelasgic Argos the poet alluded to a city, and that this city was the same
as the Thessalian Larissa; but it has been correctly observed, that the line of
the Catalogue in which Pelasgic Argos is named marks a separation of the poet'
s topography of Southern Greece and the Islands from that of Northern Greece;
and that by Pelasgic Argos he meant Pelasgic Greece, or the country included within
the mountains Cnemis, Oeta, Pindus, and Olympus, and stretching eastward to the
sea; in short, Thessaly in its most extended sense. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol.
iv. p. 532.)
THETIDO (Settlement) FARSALA
Thetidium (Thetidion, Strab. ix. p. 431; Polyb. xviii. 3, 4; Thetideion,
Eurip. Androm. 20; Thestideion, Steph. B. s. v.: Eth. Thetideus), a place in Thessaly,
close to Pharsalus, where Flamininus encamped at the end of the second march from
Pherae towards Scotussa, before the battle of Cynoscephalae. It derived its name
from Thetis, the mother of Achilles, the national hero of the Achaean Phthiotae.
Leake places it at or near Magula, on the opposite bank of the Enipeus. (Northern
Greece, vol. iv. pp. 472, 473.)
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