Farsala
Farsala
Φάρσαλος | |
---|---|
UTC+3 (EEST) | |
Postal code | 403 00 |
Area code(s) | 24910 |
Vehicle registration | ΡΙ |
Website | www.farsala.gr |
Farsala (
Geography
Farsala lies at the southern edge of the
The municipality Farsala has an area of 739.74 km2, the municipal unit Farsala has an area of 121.433 km2, and the community Farsala has an area of 57.928 km2.[2]
History
Ancient Pharsalos
O: helmeted head of Athena | R: head of horse
Φ A / P Σ |
silver hemidrachm struck in Pharsalos 450-400 BC. |
Proto-historic era
The Homeric Phthia of the Mycenaean period, capital of the Kingdom of the Myrmidons and of Peleus, father of Achilles, has sometimes been identified with the later city of Pharsalos (Greek: Φάρσαλος), now Farsala. A Cyclopean Wall which protected a city still exists today near modern Farsala, as does a vaulted tomb from that period.
There is a theory that claimed the existence of an earlier Pharsalos in the form of a locality identified as Palaepharsalus. This is supported by excavated remains of a fortified site called Xylades near Enipeus, which is located in the easternmost part of the Pharsalian territory.[3] This ancient site was also associated by accounts of ancient writers with a holy place dedicated to Thetis called Thetidium.[3] For instance, Euripides used this as a setting for Andromache.
Archaic era
The Pharsalos of the historic era was built over a hillside of the
Classical era
In the
In the early 4th century BC, the city was a part of the Thessalian Commons. Later, it joined the
The city during the classical period was influential as demonstrated in the influence wielded by the tetrarch Daochos, who ruled from Pharsalos.
Hellenistic era
In the war between
Roman era
After the defeat of the Macedonian Kingdom, Pharsalos and the whole area became a part of the Roman Republic.
The whole area suffered great destruction during the
The geographer Strabo speaks of two towns, Old Pharsalos, Παλαιοφάρσαλος (Palaeopharsalos) and Pharsalos, existing in historical times. His statement (9.5.6) that the Thetideion, the temple to Thetis south of Scotussa, was “near both the Pharsaloi, the Old and the New”, seems to imply that Palaeopharsalos was not itself close by Pharsalos. Although the battle of 48 BC is called after Pharsalos, four ancient writers – the author of the Bellum Alexandrinum (48.1), Frontinus (Strategemata 2.3.22), Eutropius (20), and Orosius (6.15.27) – place it specifically at Palaeopharsalos. In 198 B.C. Philip V had sacked Palaeopharsalos (Livy 32.13.9). If that town had been close to Pharsalos he would have sacked both, and Livy would have written “Pharsalus” instead of “Palaeopharsalus”. The British scholar F. L. Lucas demonstrated (Annual of the British School at Athens, No. XXIV, 1919–21) that the battle of 48 BC must have been fought north of the Enipeus, near modern-day Krini. It has been suggested[11] that Krini was built on the site of Palaeopharsalos, where the old road south from Larissa emerged from the hills on to the Pharsalian Plain.
In the time of Pliny the Elder, Pharsalus was a free state.[12] It is also mentioned by Hierocles in the sixth century.[13]
Modern Farsala
Farsala was known as Çatalca during Ottoman rule.
Following the
The contemporary town has no historical or medieval buildings left as a result of a World War II bombardment and a catastrophic earthquake that struck the area in 1954. Small scale urbanization processes attracted population from surrounding villages during the 80's and 90's creating an urban landscape typical of Greek cities with small apartment buildings in nearby plots of land.
Municipality
The municipality Farsala was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[14]
- Enippeas
- Farsala
- Narthaki
- Polydamantas
Province
The province of Farsala (Greek: Επαρχία Φαρσάλων) was one of the provinces of the Larissa Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present municipality.[15] It was abolished in 2006.
Historical population
Year | Town | Municipal unit | Municipality |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | 7,211 | - | - |
1991 | 8,457 | 9,464 | - |
2001 | 9,801 | 10,812 | - |
2011 | 9,337 | 9,982 | 18,545 |
2021 | 9,027 | 9,520 | 16,341 |
See also
References
- ^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
- ^ ISBN 9789004297616.
- ISBN 0-19-814099-1.
- ^ Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 1.111.
- ^ Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 2.22.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus. Bibliotheca historica (Historical Library). Vol. 14.82.
- ^ Xenophon. Hellenica. Vol. 6.1. 2, et seq.
- ^ ISBN 0801431824.
- Ab urbe condita Libri[History of Rome]. Vol. 36.14.
- ^ John D. Morgan in “Palae-pharsalus – the Battle and the Town”, The American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 87, No. 1, Jan. 1983
- ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 4.8.15.
- ^ Hierocles. Synecdemus. Vol. 642.
- ^ "ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
- ^ "Detailed census results 1991" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. (39 MB) (in Greek and French)
External links
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- The official site of Farsala. Archived 2013-08-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Greek)
- Livius.org: Pharsalus (in antiquity)