THE 



357 



THE 



the Athenians. Xenophon {Hellenic., vi. 1) speaks of it 

 :is an independent republic, but it afterwards fell into the 

 hands ol' Jason, tyrant of Pherae. There is a modern town 

 t .illed Phersale not far from, if not on, the site of the old 

 Pharsalus ; but there are only a few antiquities there. 

 South-west of it there is a hill surrounded with antient 

 walls, and on a lofty rock above it are other ruins of 

 greater magnitude, showing a considerable portion of the 

 walls of an antient Acropolis and remains of the Propylaea. 

 Other towns of Thessaliotis were Cierium, supposed by 

 Miiller to be identical with the antient Arne, the chief 

 town of the ^Eolian Boeotians ; Ichnae, or Achnee, where 

 the goddess Themis was especially worshipped ; Proerna, 

 not far from Pharsalus, mentioned by Strabo (ix., p. 434). 

 Sir W. Gell observed between Pharsalia and Thaumako 

 the ruins of an antient city, which he supposed might 

 belong to Proerna. They are situated upon the projecting 

 branch of a mountain, where there are many vestiges and 

 walls. 



Phthiotis, according to Strabo, included all the southern 

 part of Thessaly, stretching lengthwise from the Maliac 

 Bay on the east to Dolopia and Pindus on the west, and in 

 breadth from Mount CEta on the south as far as Pharsalus 

 and the Thessalian plains on the north, an average distance 

 of about 30 miles. Homer comprised within its limits the 

 districts of Phthia and Hellas properly so called, and the 

 dominions of Achilles. Its inhabitants were the Achaeans 

 ('Axaioi *8iiirai), a double name under which they were 

 generally enumerated in the lists of the Amphictyonic 

 nations. The principal cities of Phthiotis were Halos or 

 Alo.s, on the west side of the Gulf of Pagasae, usually called 

 the Phthiotic or Achaian, to distinguish it from a city of the 

 same name in Locris. It contained a temple sacred to Ju- 

 piter Laphystius, which was visited by Xerxes as he passed 

 through the city ; some remains of the town are thought 

 to be still existing. Iton, about six miles west of Halos, 

 on the river Cuarius (Strabo), celebrated for a temple of 

 Minerva Itonis, who was worshipped under the same name 

 in Bojotia. The district of Arne, from which the ^Eolian 

 Boeotians were expelled by the Thessalians, is by some 

 supposed to have been near these towns and on the 

 short.-, of the Pagasaean Bay; but Miiller (Dorians, ii. 

 47"); adduces satisfactory reasons for believing that the 

 Arne, which the Thessalians first occupied, lay to the 

 north-west in Thessaliotis, and that it was identical with 

 the antient Pierium. Xorth of Halos and Iton lay Thebes, 

 the most important town of this part of Thessaly. It 



called Phthiotic, to distinguish it from the Thebes 

 of Boeotia. In a military point of view it possessed con- 

 siderable importance, as it commanded the avenues of 

 Magnesia and the upper parts of Thessaly. It was once 

 in the occupation of the ./Etolians, but was wrested from 

 them by Philip, the son of Demetrius, who changed its 

 name to Philippopolis. According to Livy (xxxix. 25) it 

 was once a city of great commercial importance. Some 

 ruins between the modern towns of Armiro and Volo are 

 supposed by Sir W. Gell to be those of Thebes. They con- 



; an Acropolis, with very antient walls constructed 

 with very large blocks ; some towers also are still standing. 

 The port of Thebes appears to have been Pyrasus, about 

 two miles and a half distant. A little south of Thebes 

 was Larissa Cremaste, or the Hanging, so called from its 

 position on the side of a hill ; it was also called the Pelas- 

 gian. It lay in the dominions of Achilles, whence he is 

 called Larissaeus by Virgil (^Eneid, ii. 198). The ruins of 

 ii still exist, and Sir W. Gell says of it, 'The form of La- 

 rissa was, like that of many very ancient Greek cities, a 

 triangle, with its citadel at the highest point. In the 

 Acropolis are the fragments of a Doric temple ; and from 

 it is seen the magnificent prospect of the Maliac Gulf, the 

 whole range of (Eta, and over it Parnassus.' Melitia 



situated at the foot of Mount Othrys, on the river 

 Enipeus. Its antient name was Pyrrha, and it boasted of 

 : the tomb of Hellen, the son of Deucalion. It 

 .ibout a whole day's march from Pharsalus. (Thucyd., 

 iv. "8.; To the north-west of Melitia lay the town of 

 Thaumaki or Thomoko, so called (the Wonderful) from 

 tin- singularity of its position on a lofty and perpendicular 

 rock. It ;n'<m the great road leading from Thermopylae 

 by Lamia to the north of Thessaly. ' After a rugged 

 route over hill and dale,' says Livy (xxxii. 4), ' you sud- 

 denly open on an immense plain like a vast sea, which 

 stretches below as far as the eye can reach.' Dodwell 



says of it, ' It is about five hours from Pharsalia. It must 

 always have been a place of importance. The view from 

 it is one of the most wonderful and extensive I ever 

 beheld.' 



On the west of Phthiotis, and close to it, but still sepa- 

 rated from it, lay the territories, of the Dolopians. Ac- 

 cording to Homer (II., i. 480), Dolopia was at the ex- 

 tremity of Phthiotis ; but it does not follow that it was in- 

 cluded in that district ; nor are the Dolopians in early times 

 ever mentioned as the vassals of the Thessalians. They 

 occupied the extreme south-west angle of Thessaly, formed 

 by the chain of Tymphrestus, a branch of Pindus, on 

 one side, and Mount Othrys on the other. They were 

 a very antient nation, as appears from their sending 

 deputies to the Amphictyonic council. At a later pe- 

 riod they were subjects of Jason, the tyrant of Pherae. 

 (Xenophon, Hell., vi. 1.) Afterwards the possession of 

 Dolopia was frequently contested between the jflitolians 

 and the kings of Macedon, but it was finally conquered 

 by Perseus, the last king of that country. The limits of 

 Dolopia were different at different times. Thucydides (ii. 

 102) seems to have extended it to the west of Pindus. It 

 was a rugged mountainous district, with few towns of note. 

 Ctemene, or Ctimene, was perhaps the most important. 



Tlie /Enianes lived in the upper valley of the river 

 Spercheius, being separated from the Dolopes by the 

 hills of Tymphrestus and Othrys. They were also called 

 (Eteans from their position on the slopes of Mount O2ta. 

 They were a tribe of great antiquity and of some import- 

 ance, as appears from the fact of their belonging to the 

 Amphictyonic council. Their origin is uncertain, and 

 they made many migrations from one part of Thessaly 

 to another. Plutarch says of them that they occupied in 

 the first instance the Dotian plain ; after which they wan- 

 dered to the borders of Epirus, and finally settled to the 

 south of the Dolopes, with Mount O3ta for their boundary 

 on the south. In Strabo's time they had nearly disap- 

 peared, having been exterminated by the ^Etohans and 

 Athamanes, their neighbours on the west. Their chief 

 town was Hypata, on the banks of the Spercheius. 



The Malians, or Melies, as they were called in the 

 Attic dialect, were the most southern tribe connected with 

 Thessaly. They occupied principally the shores of the 

 Maliac Gulf (the Bay of Zeitoun), from the Pass of Ther- 

 mopylae on the south to the northern boundary of the 

 valley of the Spercheius. Their country is generally flat ; 

 the plains in some parts are extensive, in others narrow, 

 where they are confined on one side by the shores of the 

 Maliac Gulf, and on the other by the mountains of Tra- 

 chinia. Thucydides divides them into three tribes, the 

 Paralii or Shore-men, the Hierenses or Sacerdotal, and the 

 Trachinians. The second of these classes probably dwelt 

 near the Amphictyonic temple at Thermopylae ; the third 

 on the rocky declivities of Mount (Eta. They were al- 

 ways- a warlike people, and those persons only who had 

 served as heavy-armed soldiers were admitted to a share of 

 the government. (Aristot., Polit., iv. 100.) The Amphic- 

 tyonic council was held in their country, and the Malians 

 are included in the lists of the Amphictyonic states. They 

 always maintained friendly relations with the Dorians of 

 Laeedsemon. The principal towns of the Malians were as 

 follows : Anticyra, at the mouth of the Spercheius : it was 

 said to produce the genuine hellebore, considered by the 

 antients as a cure for insanity. Lamia, four or five miles 

 north of Anticyra : it was celebrated as the scene of 

 the Lamian war, carried on between the Athenians and 

 their confederates against the Macedonians under Anti- 

 pater. It is generally supposed to have occupied the site 

 of the modern Zeitoun. Trachis, or Trachin (the ' rough '), 

 was so called from the mountainous character of the sur- 

 rounding country : it was once the chief town of the Tra- 

 chinians, who were in such close alliance with the Dorians 

 that Diodorus (xii. 59) speaks of Traehis as the mother- 

 town of Laeedsemon. The friendship between Ceyx, a 

 Trachinian hero, and Hercules, together with that of liis 

 sons, is the mythological expression for this connection. 

 In later times Heraclea was the most important town of 

 Trachinia. It was a colony from Lacedi-emon, founded 

 (B.C. 42C) at the request of the Trachinians, about three 

 miles from the sea. Their object in making the request 

 was to gain additional strength against the ^Enianes, or 

 (Eteans, with whom they were at war : there was also an 

 old enmity between the CEteans and the Lacedaemonians. 



