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THESSALY

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 843 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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THESSALY , a See also:

district of See also:northern See also:Greece, between See also:Macedonia and the more purely Hellenic countries towards the See also:south, and between the upland region of See also:Epirus and the See also:Aegean See also:Sea. It forms an irregular square, extending for about sixty See also:miles in each direction, and this See also:area, which is for the most See also:part level, is enclosed by well-marked boundaries—by the Cambunian Mountains on the See also:north, and by Othrys on the south, while on its western See also:side runs the massive See also:chain of See also:Pindus, which is the backbone of this part of Greece, and towards the See also:east See also:Ossa and See also:Pelion stand in a continuous See also:line; at the north-eastern See also:angle is See also:Olympus, the See also:keystone of the whole See also:mountain See also:system. The See also:elevation of some of the summits in these ranges is considerable, for three of the peaks of Pindus are over 5000 ft., and Olympus, Ossa and Pelion reach respectively the height of 9790, 6398 and 5350 ft. The See also:country that is contained within these limits is drained by a single See also:river, the Peneius, which, together with the See also:water of its numerous confluents, passes into the sea through the Vale of See also:Tempe. On the north side of Thessaly there was an important pass from See also:Petra in Pieria by the western side of Olympus, debouching on the See also:plain northward of See also:Larissa; it was by this that See also:Xerxes entered, and we learn from l-Ierodotus (vii. 173) that, when thf Greeks discovered the existence of this passage, they gave up all' thoughts of defending Tempe. On the side of Epirus the See also:main line of communication passed over that part af: Pindus which was called See also:Mount Lacmon, and descended the upper valley of the Peneius to Aeginium in the north-See also:west angle of Thessaly. This was the route by which See also:Julius See also:Caesar arrived before the See also:battle of Pharsalia. Another pass through the Pindus chain was that of Gomphi, farther south, by means of which there was communication with the Ambracian Gulf. The See also:great See also:southern pass was that of Coela, which crosses Mount Othrys nearly opposite See also:Thermopylae. These Thessalian passes were of the utmost importance to southern Greece, as commanding the approaches to that part of the country. Though Thessaly is the most level district of Greece, it does not See also:present a See also:uniform unbroken See also:surface, but is composed of a number of sections which open out into one another, divided by ranges of hills.

The See also:

principal of these were called Upper and See also:Lower Thessaly, the former comprising the western and south-western part, which contains the higher course of the Peneius and an those of its tributaries that flow from the south—the Enipeus, the Apidanus, the Onochonus and the Pamisus; while the latter, which reaches eastward to the See also:foot of Ossa and Pelion, is inundated in parts at certain seasons of the See also:year by the Peneius, the See also:flood-water from which forms the See also:lake Nessonis, and, when that is full, escapes again and pours itself into the lake of Boebe. The See also:chief See also:city of the latter of these districts was Larissa; and the two were separated from one another by a See also:long See also:spur, which runs southwards from the Cambunian Mountains on the western side of that city. Again, when Thessaly, is entered from the south by the pass of See also:Coda, another plain, containing a small lake, which was formerly called Xynias, intervenes, and a line of See also:low hills has to be crossed before the See also:town of Thaumaki is reached, which from its commanding position over-looks the whole of the upper plain. The view from this point has been described by See also:Livy in the following remarkable passage.--" When the traveller, in passing through the rugged districts of Thessaly, where the roads are entangled in the windings of the valleys, arrives at this city, on a sudden an immense level expanse, resembling a vast sea, is outspread before him in such a manner that the See also:eye cannot easily reach the limit of the plains extended beneath_" (xxxii. 4). To the north-east of this, where a portion of the great plain begins to run up into the mountains, the Plain of Pharsalia is formed, which is intersected by the river Enipeus; and still farther in the same direction is the See also:scene of another great battle, Cynoscephalae. Thessaly was further subdivided into four districts, of which Pelasgiotis embraced the lower plain of the Peneius, and Hestiaeotis and Thessaliotis respectively the northern and the southern portions of the upper plain; while the See also:fourth, Phthiotis, which lies towards the south-east, was geographically distinct from the See also:rest of the country, being separated from it by a See also:watershed. The determining feature of this is the Pagasaeus Sinus (Gulf of See also:Vole), a landlocked See also:basin, extending from Pagasae at its See also:head to Aphetae at its narrow outlet, where the chain of Pelion, turning at right angles to its See also:axis at the end of See also:Magnesia, throws out a projecting line of broken ridges, while on the opposite side rise the heights of Othrys. In the heroic See also:age this district was of great importance. It was the birthplace of See also:Greek See also:navigation, for this seems to be implied in the See also:story of the See also:Argonauts, who started from this neighbourhood in quest of the See also:golden fleece. From it the great See also:Achilles came, and, according to See also:Thucydides (i. 3), it was the See also:early See also:home of the Hellenic See also:race.

The site of See also:

Wells, the centre of so many poetic legends, is at no great distance from the See also:modern Vole. Near that town also, at a later See also:period, See also:Demetrius Poliorcetes founded the city of Demetrias, which was called by See also:Philip V. of Macedon one of the three fetters of Greece, See also:Chalcis and See also:Corinth being the other two. The See also:history of Thessaly is closely connected with its See also:geography. The fertility of the See also:land offered a temptation to invaders, and was thus the See also:primary cause of the early migrations. It was this See also:motive which first induced the Thessalians to leave their home in Epirus and descend into this district, and from this See also:movement arose the See also:expulsion of the Boeotians from See also:Arne, and their See also:settlement in the country subsequently called See also:Boeotia; while another See also:wave of the same See also:tide drove the See also:Dorians also southward, whose migrations changed the See also:face of the Peloponnese. Again, this See also:rich See also:soil was the natural home of a powerful See also:aristocracy, such as the families of the Aleuadae of Larissa and the Scopadae of Crannon; and the See also:absence of elevated positions was unfavourable to the See also:foundation of cities, which might have fostered the spirit of freedom and See also:democracy. The plains, also, were suited to the breeding of horses, and consequently the force in which the Thessalian nation was strong was See also:cavalry, a See also:kind of troops which has usually been associated with See also:oligarchy. The See also:wealth and the semi-Hellenic See also:character of the See also:people—for in race, as in See also:geographical position,the Thessalians held an intermediate See also:place between the non, Hellenic Macedbnians ,and the Greeks of pure See also:blood—caused them to be wanting in patriotism, so that at the See also:time of the Persians See also:wars we find the Aleuadae making See also:common cause with the enemies of Greece. When they were See also:united they were a formidable See also:power, but, like other See also:half-organized communities, they seldom combined for long together, and consequently they influenced but little the fortunes of the Greeks. For several centuries during the See also:middle ages Rumanian immigrants formed so large a part of the See also:population of Thessal'y that that district was called by the See also:Byzantine writers Great Wallachia (Mey&X Maxie): the Jewish traveller, See also:Benjamin of See also:Tudela, who passed through the country in the latter half of the 12th See also:century, describes them as then occupying it. At the present See also:day only a few colonies of that race remain, the prin. cipal of which are found on the western side of Olympus and in some of the See also:gorges of Pindus. The See also:Turkish inhabitants were settled in the larger towns, and here and there in the country districts, the most important See also:colony being those called Koniarates, who were brought from See also:Konia in See also:Asia See also:Minor shortly before the taking of See also:Constantinople, and planted under the south-west angle of Olympus.

The Greeks, however, See also:

form the vast See also:majority of the population, so much so that, even while the country belonged to the Ottomans, Greek was • employed as the See also:official See also:language. In accordance with the provisions of the See also:Berlin treaty, Thessaly was ceded to the Greeks by the See also:Porte in 188x, and became a portion of the Hellenic See also:kingdom. Since that time the prosperity of the See also:province has greatly increased. The See also:port of Vole, which is almost the only outlet of the See also:trade of the whole district, has become an important town of 23,000 inhabitants, and daily communication by steamers no* exists between it and See also:Athens. The interior of the country has also been opened up by means of See also:railways. One line runs north-westwards from Vole by way of Velestino (the See also:ancient Pherae) to Larissa, which is situated on the Salambria (Peneius), and has a population of r8,000 soul, including 2000 See also:Jews. The Greeks, See also:Turks and Jews here occupy different quarters of the city, but most of the Turkish inhabitants have now quitted the country, 'so that only' four of the numerous mosques remain in use. From Velestino another line branches off to the west by Phersala (Pharsalos), Domokos (Thaumaki), Karditsa, and See also:Trikkala (Trika), to Kalabaka (Aeginiuni), where the upper valley of the Salambria is entered. In the neighbourhood of the last-named place, where the Cambunian chain of mountains descends in steep precipices to the plain, are the See also:Meteora (" See also:mid-See also:air ") monasteries (see METEORA).

End of Article: THESSALY

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