Ancient Thessaly
Thessalia
Θεσσαλία | |
---|---|
Region | |
Thessaly | |
Major cities | Larissa, Pherae |
Dialects | Aeolic |
Key periods | Pheraean Ascendancy |
Thessaly or Thessalia (Attic Greek: Θεσσαλία, Thessalía or Θετταλία, Thettalía[1]) was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean period, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name that continued to be used for one of the major tribes of Greece, the Aeolians, and their dialect of Greek, Aeolic.
Geography
At its greatest extent, ancient Thessaly was a wide area stretching from
Strictly speaking, Thessaly refers primarily to the central plains inhabited by the Thessalians in antiquity. The plains were divided in antiquity into four administrative regions called tetrads:
The Thessalian plains were ideally suited for cultivating grains and cereals, and were known in antiquity for horse-rearing. Alexander the Great's horse, Bucephalus, was originally from Pharsalos. The surrounding mountainous regions, however, were less suitable for agriculture and relied more heavily on pastoralism.
History
Thessaly was home to extensive
In mythology, Thessaly was homeland of the heroes
The name of Thessaly recorded epigraphically in Aeolic variants *Πετταλία, Πετθαλία, Φετταλία, Θετταλία.[1]
The Thessalians were a
- The Penestae, whose condition was nearly the same as that of the Helots.
- The subject people, who inhabited the districts not occupied by the Thessalian invaders. They paid tribute, as stated above, but were personally free, though they had no share in the government. They corresponded to the Perioeci of Laconia, by which name they are called by Xenophon.[4]
- The Thessalian conquerors, who alone had any share in the public administration, and whose lands were cultivated by the Penestae.
For some time after the conquest, Thessaly seems to have been governed by kings of the race of Heracleidae, who may however have been only the heads of the great aristocratic families, invested with the supreme power for a certain time. Under one of these princes, named Aleuas, the country was divided into four districts – Phthiotis, Plistiaeotis, Thessaliotis and Pelasgiotis:[5] This division continued throughout Thessalian history, and it may therefore be concluded that it was not merely a nominal one. Each district may have regulated its affairs by some kind of provincial council, but we are almost entirely in the dark concerning the internal government of each district.[6]
When occasion required, a chief
However, Thessaly was hardly ever united under one government. The different cities administered their own affairs independently of one another, though the smaller towns seem to have frequently "been under the influence of the more important ones (Xenoph. Hell. vi. 1. § 8). In almost all the cities, the form of government was
In the summer of 480 BC, during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, the Persians invaded Thessaly. The Greek army that guarded the Vale of Tempe, evacuated the road before the enemy arrived. Not much later, Thessaly surrendered and the Aleuadae joined the Persians. (See Thorax of Larissa, Thargelia (hetaera))
However, the power of the aristocratical families seems to have continued with little diminution until towards the close of the Peloponnesian War, when decidedly democratic movements first begin to appear. At this time, the Aleuadae and the Scopadae had lost much of their ancient influence.
Ancient coinage of Thessaly
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Silver hemidrachm ofPharsalosstruck 450–400 BC
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Silver hemidrachm ofTrikkastruck 440–400 BC
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Bronze coin of Ekkarra struck 325–320 BC
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Bronze coin ofKrannonstruck 400–344 BC
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Hemidrachm coin of Pelinna struck 460–420 BC
See also
References
- ^ Thessalian tetrarchy; Phthiotis, Thessaliotis, Histiaeotis and Pelasgiotis), according to G. N. Khatzidaki, "Koskylmatia", Athena 8 (1896), p. 119εκ του πέτταρες ( = τέτταρες, δια την εις τετράδας διαίρεσιν της χώρας, ἤτοι εις Θεσσαλιώτιδα, Φθιώτιδα, Πελασγιώτιδα και Ἱστιαιώτιδα). Daniēl Magnēs, Lexikon historikomythikon kai geōgraphikon (1834), 161f..
- ^ Smith, William (1870). "TAGUS". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (2nd ed.). London: James Walton. pp. 1093–1094.
TAGUS (Τάγου), a leader or general, was more especially the name of the military leader of the Thessalians. Under this head it is proposed to give a short account of the Thessalian constitution.
- ^ Thucyd. ii. 101, iv. 78, viii. 3,; Aristot. Pol. ii. 6.
- ^ Hell. vi. 1. § 19.
- ^ Aristot. ap. Harpocrat. s. v. Tetrarchy: Strab. ix. p. 430.
- ^ Thirlwall, Hist, of Greece, vol. i. p. 437.
- ^ Id. vi. 1. § 8,
- ^ Liv. xxxiii. 34, xxxiv. 51, Polyb. xviii. 30.
Attribution
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External links
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