Thessaly

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Thessaly

Thessalia redirects here. For the butterfly
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, see Thessalia (butterfly).

For the Ancient Thessalian dialect, see Aeolic Greek
Aeolic Greek

Aeolic or Aeolian Greek is a Linguistics term used to describe a set of rather Archaic period in Greece Greek language sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia , in Lesbos Island and in other Greek colonies....

Thessaly (Greek
Modern Greek

Modern Greek refers the varieties of Greek spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic modern features of the language had been present centuries earli...
: Tessa??a, Thessalía — Thessalian
Aeolic Greek

Aeolic or Aeolian Greek is a Linguistics term used to describe a set of rather Archaic period in Greece Greek language sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia , in Lesbos Island and in other Greek colonies....
: Petthalia) is one of the 13 peripheries
Peripheries of Greece

The peripheries are the official regional administrative divisions of Greece. There are 13 peripheries , which are further subdivided into 54 Prefectures of Greece....
of Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures
Prefectures of Greece

Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 3 Super-prefectures of Greece and 54 prefectures or nomes ....
. The capital of the periphery and traditional geographical region
Regions of Greece

The regions are the traditional administrative divisions of Greece, still widely used in daily discourse. There are 10 regions , which are further subdivided into 54 Prefectures of Greece....
(and until 1987 official) is Larissa
Larissa

Larissa is a city and the capital of the Thessaly Peripheries of Greece of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by rail with the port of Volos and with Thessaloniki and Athens....
. Together with the regions of Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical Regions of Greece in Southeastern Europe Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greece region....
and Thrace
Western Thrace

Thrace is a geographic and historical regions of Greece of Greece, located between the Mesta River and Maritsa rivers in the northeast of the country....
, it is often referred to unofficially as Northern Greece.

Discussion

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Encyclopedia

Thessalia redirects here. For the butterfly
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, see Thessalia (butterfly).
For the Ancient Thessalian dialect, see Aeolic Greek
Aeolic Greek

Aeolic or Aeolian Greek is a Linguistics term used to describe a set of rather Archaic period in Greece Greek language sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia , in Lesbos Island and in other Greek colonies....

Thessaly (Greek
Modern Greek

Modern Greek refers the varieties of Greek spoken in the modern era. The beginning of the "modern" period of the language is often symbolically assigned to the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, even though that date marks no clear linguistic boundary and many characteristic modern features of the language had been present centuries earli...
: Tessa??a, Thessalía — Thessalian
Aeolic Greek

Aeolic or Aeolian Greek is a Linguistics term used to describe a set of rather Archaic period in Greece Greek language sub-dialects, spoken mainly in Boeotia , in Lesbos Island and in other Greek colonies....
: Petthalia) is one of the 13 peripheries
Peripheries of Greece

The peripheries are the official regional administrative divisions of Greece. There are 13 peripheries , which are further subdivided into 54 Prefectures of Greece....
of Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures
Prefectures of Greece

Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 3 Super-prefectures of Greece and 54 prefectures or nomes ....
. The capital of the periphery and traditional geographical region
Regions of Greece

The regions are the traditional administrative divisions of Greece, still widely used in daily discourse. There are 10 regions , which are further subdivided into 54 Prefectures of Greece....
(and until 1987 official) is Larissa
Larissa

Larissa is a city and the capital of the Thessaly Peripheries of Greece of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by rail with the port of Volos and with Thessaloniki and Athens....
. Together with the regions of Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical Regions of Greece in Southeastern Europe Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greece region....
and Thrace
Western Thrace

Thrace is a geographic and historical regions of Greece of Greece, located between the Mesta River and Maritsa rivers in the northeast of the country....
, it is often referred to unofficially as Northern Greece. The periphery lies in central Greece and borders Macedonia on the north, Epirus
Epirus (periphery)

Epirus , is a Peripheries of Greece in northwestern Greece. It borders the peripheries of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, Stere? Ell?da to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and Albania to the north....
on the west, Sterea Hellas or Central Greece
Central Greece

Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Rumelia , is a Regions of Greece of Greece. Its territory is divided into the peripheries of Central Greece , Attica, and one Prefectures of Greece of West Greece....
on the south and the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkans and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively....
on the east. Before the Greek Dark Ages
Greek Dark Ages

The Greek Dark Ages refers to Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 12th century BC, to the first Ancient Greece poleiss in the 9th century BC....
, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer
Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
's Odyssey
Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Hellenic civilization epic poetrys attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer....
.

Geography

The Trikala
Trikala

Trikala is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala Prefecture, and is located NW of Athens, NW of Karditsa , Greece, E of Ioannina and Metsovo, S of Grevena, SW of Thessaloniki, and W of Larissa....
and Larissa
Larissa

Larissa is a city and the capital of the Thessaly Peripheries of Greece of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by rail with the port of Volos and with Thessaloniki and Athens....
lowlands form a central plain which is surrounded by ring of mountains. It has a distinct summer and winter season, with summer rains augmenting the fertility of the plains. This has led to Thessaly occasionally being called the breadbasket of Greece.

The region is well delineated by topographical boundaries. The Khásia and Cambunian mountains lie to the north, the mount Olympus
Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece at 2,919 metres high . Since its base is located at sea level, it is one of the highest mountains in Europe in terms of topographic prominence, the relative altitude from base to top....
massif to the northeast. To the west lies the Pindus
Pindus

The Pindus , mountain range is located in northern Greece and southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km long, with a maximum elevation of 2637 m ....
mountain range, to the southeast the coastal ranges of Óssa
Ossa

Mount Ossa , alternative Kissavos , is a mountain in the Larissa prefecture, in Thessaly, Greece. It is located between Pelion to the south and Mount Olympus to the north, separated from the latter by the Vale of Tempe, with its height at ....
and Pelion
Pelion

Pelion or Pelium is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in central Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean Sea....
.

Several tributaries of the Pineios river
Pineios River (Thessaly)

The Pinei?s is a river in Thessaly, Greece.The river is named after the god Peneus and was known for most of the 1000s as the Salambria....
flow through the region.

Transport

There are a number of highways E75 and the main railway from Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
to Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , Thessalonica, or Salonica is the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country in Greece and the capital of Macedonia , the nation's largest Regions of Greece....
(Salonika) crosses Thessaly. The region is directly linked to the rest of Europe through International Airport of Central Greece
International Airport of Central Greece

International Airport Of Central Greece known as "Nea Anchialos" or "Volos", , which began operation on February 1991, is the only civilian airport that serves the cities of Volos, Lamia , Larisa, Trikala, Karditsa....
located in Nea Anchialos
Nea Anchialos

Nea Anchialos is a town of Magnesia prefecture. It is situated southwest of Volos and north of Almyros. It is placed on the national highway Athens-Lamia -Volos....
in a small distance from Volos
Volos

Volos is a coastal port city situated at the center of the Greece mainland, about 326 km north from Athens and 215 km south from Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia Prefectures of Greece....
and Larisa. Until today charter
Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified....
flights links the region and brings tourists to the wider area, mainly in Pelion
Pelion

Pelion or Pelium is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in central Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean Sea....
and Meteora
Meteora

The Met?ora is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monastery in Kalambaka, Greece and is second only to Mount Athos....
. The new infrastructure includes a brand new terminal ready to serve 1500 passengers per hour and new airlanes.

History

Thessaly was home to an extensive Neolithic
Neolithic

The Neolithic period was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 Before the Christian Era in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age....
culture around 2500 BC. Mycenaean
Mycenaean Greece

Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece....
settlements have also been discovered, for example at the sites of Iolcos
Iolcos

Lolcos was an ancient city in Thessaly, central-eastern Greece . Today Lolcos is a small village , which has a school and a small square . It is located in the surrounding Iolk?s Communities and Municipalities of Greece, in central Magnesia Prefecture, north of the Pagasitic Gulf....
, Dimini
Dimini

Dimini was a village nearby the city of Volos, in Thessaly , in the prefecture of Magnesia. It is also the seat of the municipality of Aisonia....
and Sesklo
Sesklo

Sesklo is an Aromanian village nearby the city of Volos, in Thessaly , in the prefecture of Magnesia. The Neolithic settlement was discovered at the end of the 19th century and the first excavations were made by Greek archaeologist, Christos Tsountas....
(near Volos
Volos

Volos is a coastal port city situated at the center of the Greece mainland, about 326 km north from Athens and 215 km south from Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia Prefectures of Greece....
). Later, in ancient Greek times, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, such as the Aleuadae
Aleuadae

The Aleuadae were an ancient Thessaly family of Larissa who claimed descent from the mythical Aleuas. The Aleuadae were the noblest and most powerful among all the families of Thessaly, whence Herodotus calls its members "rulers" or "kings" ....
of Larissa
Larissa

Larissa is a city and the capital of the Thessaly Peripheries of Greece of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by rail with the port of Volos and with Thessaloniki and Athens....
or the Scopads of Crannon. These baronial families organized a federation across the Thessaly region, later went on to control the Amphictyonic League
Amphictyonic League

In the Archaic period in Greece, an amphictyony or Amphictyonic League was an association of ancient Greek tribes formed in the dim past, before the rise of the Greek polis....
in northern Greece. The Thessalians were renowned for their cavalry.

During the Greco-Persian wars
Greco-Persian Wars

For other Persian wars, see Roman-Persian Wars, Islamic conquest of Persia, Iraq war , and Military history of Iran.The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between several ancient Greece city-states and the Achaemenid Empire that started in 499 BC and lasted until 448 BC....
(499 BC to 448 BC) the Aleuadae
Aleuadae

The Aleuadae were an ancient Thessaly family of Larissa who claimed descent from the mythical Aleuas. The Aleuadae were the noblest and most powerful among all the families of Thessaly, whence Herodotus calls its members "rulers" or "kings" ....
joined the Persians. Jason of Pherae
Jason of Pherae

Jason of Pherae , was the ruler of Thessaly during the period just before Philip II of Macedon Macedon came to power. He was appointed tagus, or king, of Thessaly in the 370s BC and soon extended his control to much of the surrounding region....
briefly transformed the country into a significant military power, though he was assassinated before any lasting achievements were made. In the 4th century BC Thessaly became dependent on Macedon
Macedon

Macedon or Macedonia was the name of a monarchy centred in the northernmost part of ancient Greece. The homeland of the ancient Macedonians, it was bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east....
and many served as vassals. In 148 BC the Romans formally incorporated Thessaly into the province of Macedonia
Macedonia (Roman province)

The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus defeated Andriscus of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved....
, though in 300 AD Thessaly was made a separate province with its capital at Larissa
Larissa

Larissa is a city and the capital of the Thessaly Peripheries of Greece of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by rail with the port of Volos and with Thessaloniki and Athens....
. It remained as a part of the east Roman empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
until the 13th century, when large portions were controlled by Vlach
Vlachs

Vlachs is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe....
herdsmen (see Great Wallachia
Great Wallachia

Great Wallachia , also Thessaly Wallachia, was a medieval state of the Aromanians shepherds, which included the mountains of Thessaly in Greece, the southern and central ranges of Pindus and extending over part of Macedonia ....
). In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade was originally designed to conquer Islam Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christianity city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire....
Thessaly fell under the control of the Kingdom of Thessalonica
Kingdom of Thessalonica

The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over the conquered Byzantine lands....
, but in 1215 was conquered again by Theodore Komnenos Doukas
Theodore Komnenos Doukas

Theodore Komnenos Doukas or Theodore Comnenus Ducas , ruler of Despotate of Epirus from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica from 1224 to 1230, died c....
and became one of the independent territories governed by that family. The dynasty ended in 1318 and was followed by a period of Byzantine and Serbian domination. After another period of independence, Thessaly was conquered by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
in 1394. In 1881 the Ottoman Empire ceded most of Thessaly to Greece. Ottomans occupied again the region during Greco-Turkish War (1897)
Greco-Turkish War (1897)

The Greco-Turkish War of 1897, also called the Thirty Days' War and known as the black '97 in Greece was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and Ottoman Empire....
shortly and took small portions of it in 1897.

Administration
Thessaly is divided into 4 prefectures:
Karditsa
Karditsa Prefecture

Karditsa is one of the prefectures of Greece. Located in the south-western Thessaly, it is primarily an agricultural prefecture. The name of the prefecture is derived from its capital Karditsa, a small city of approximately 35,000 people....
Larissa
Larissa Prefecture

Larissa is a Prefectures of Greece of Greece, in the Peripheries of Greece of Thessaly. Its capital is the city of Larissa. The prefecture was created in 1881 after the war when most of Thessaly became a part of Greece and the entire region in 1913 after the Balkan Wars....
Magnesia
Magnesia

Magnesia , deriving from the tribe name Magnetes, is the name of the southeastern area of Thessaly in central Greece. The modern prefecture was created in 1947 out of the Larissa prefecture....
Trikala
Trikala Prefecture

Trikala is a prefectures of Greece in northwestern Thessaly, Greece ; its capital is the city of Trikala. The prefecture was created in 1881 and Karditsa Prefecture separated in 1947, and contains Kalampaka and Meteora, with monasteries above the rocky ledges....

Major communities

Kardítsa (?a?d?tsa)
Karditsa

Karditsa is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa Prefecture.Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BCE....
Lárisa (????sa)
Larissa

Larissa is a city and the capital of the Thessaly Peripheries of Greece of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by rail with the port of Volos and with Thessaloniki and Athens....
Néa Ionía (??a ????a)
Nea Ionia, Magnesia

Nea Ionia is a city in Thessaly, Greece. It is part of the Magnesia prefecture, and a Communities and Municipalities of Greece bordering the city of Volos....
Tríkala (????a?a)
Trikala

Trikala is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala Prefecture, and is located NW of Athens, NW of Karditsa , Greece, E of Ioannina and Metsovo, S of Grevena, SW of Thessaloniki, and W of Larissa....
Vólos
Volos

Volos is a coastal port city situated at the center of the Greece mainland, about 326 km north from Athens and 215 km south from Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia Prefectures of Greece....
Elassona (??ass??a)
Elassona

Elassona or Elasona , older form: Elassonas is a town and a municipality in the Larissa Prefecture in Greece. During antiquity Elassona was called "Oloosson" and was a town of the ancient "Perrhaebi", known today as Thessaly....
Agia
Agia

Agia may refer to:*Agia , the Greek word for "saint" , e.g. Agia Varvara.*Agia, Chania, a town in Chania prefecture, Crete, Greece*Agia, Larissa, a town in the prefecture of Larissa, Greece...
Tyrnavos (????aß??)
Tyrnavos

Tyrnavos or Tirnavos is a municipality in the Larissa Prefecture, of the Thessaly Peripheries of Greece of Greece. Its population was 16,900 ....
Farsala (F??sa?a)
Farsala

Farsala or Pharsala , known in Antiquity as Pharsalus, is a city in southern Thessaly, in Greece. Pharsala is located in the southern part of Larissa Prefecture, and is one of its largest cities....

In Mythology
In Homer
Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
's epic, the Odyssey
Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Hellenic civilization epic poetrys attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer....
, Odysseus
Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
visits the kingdom of Aeolus, and this is the old name for Thessaly.

The Thessaly Sixty
The Thessaly Sixty

The Thessaly Sixty is an ancient Greeks legend from dating to approximately 850 BCE. The legend deals with sixty soldiers from Thessaly, a city-state in Greece north of Athens on the mainland....
is a legend about sixty soldiers from Thessaly.

See also

List of traditional Greek place names
List of traditional Greek place names

This is a list of Greek place names. That is, a list of the toponym as they exist in the Greek language. This list includes:* Places involved in the history of Greek culture, including but not limited to:...
CERETETH
CERETETH

The CEnter for REsearch and TEchnology THessaly, or CE.RE.TE.TH , is a legal, non profit entity orgabized under the auspices of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology , of the Greece Ministry of Development....
, Center of Technology Thessaly

External links

(in Greek)