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This page is part of the "tools" section of a site, Plato and his dialogues, dedicated to developing a new interpretation of Plato's dialogues. The "tools" section provides historical and geographical context (chronology, maps, entries on characters and locations) for Socrates, Plato and their time. By clicking on the minimap at the beginning of the entry, you can go to a full size map in which the city or location appears. For more information on the structure of entries and links available from them, read the notice at the beginning of the index of persons and locations.
Region of northern Greece between Doris south and Macedon
north, the coast of the Ægean Sea east and Epirus
west (area 2).
Thessalia was a region of plains surrounded by mountains : east, along the coast of the Ægean Sea, Mount Ossa and, further south, in the peninsula of Magnesia, Mount Pelion ; north, Mount Olympus ; west, the Pindus Range ; and south, the Othrys Range. Several rivers, gathering to form the Peneus, were flowing from the surrounding mountains across these plains and a great lake, lake Boebeis, remnant of a time when most of these plains were under water, still covered a large area of southeastern Thessalia (see Herodotus, VII, 129). Because of these plains, Thessalia was a rich country and, among other things, a major supplier of horse to Athens and other parts of Greece, governed by a few noble families (Thucydides, IV, 78, 3) owning most of the land and herds and controling the cities, especialy the four major ones : Larissa, Crannon, Pheres and Pharsalus. These nobles had enslaved local peoples that were there when they arrived, in much the same way Sparta had enslaved local Helots, and were living in luxury, sponsoring such artists as Simonides and Pindar. Their families provided kings to the several "states" that together were forming Thessalia. Indeed, in the Vth and IVth centuries B. C., Thessalia was a sort of "federal" state that could, in time of war at least, be placed under the supreme leadership of a commander in chief called tagos (see for instance Xenophon's Hellenica, VI, IV, 27). It was divided into four major regions : Hestiaotis in the northwest, Pelasgiotis in the northeast, Thessaliotis in the southwest and Phthiotis in the southeast, but it is hard to know how united they were and we know of rivalries between leading families (see for instance Thucydides, I, 111 where a Thessalian king is shown exiled in Athens and seeking help to regain power). Peoples in the regions surrounding Thessalia, such as Dolopes from the Pindus range, Magnetes from the eartern peninsula of Magnesia, Achæans from Phthiotis were at times subjected to a tribute by Thessalian kings (Xenophon's Hellenica, VI, I, 19).
Thessalia was playing a major role in the protection of the sanctuary of Delphi as a leading member of the Delphic Amphictiony.
Mythology knows of several heroes named Thessalus who were supposed
to have given their name to the region. One was the son of Heracles
and Chalciope, daughter of Eurypylus, king of the island of Cos
and a son of Poseidon, that Heracles killed on his way back from Troy
because he didn't want to let him land in his island. This Thessalus became
king of Cos as had been his grandfather and had two sons, Phidippus and Antiphus,
who took part in the Trojan war (Iliad,
II, 577-579) and, after coming back, settled in Thessalia, giving the region
its name in memory of their father.
Another Thessalus was a son of Jason and Medea who escaped his mother's wrath and fled to Iolcos to become king of the place at the death of Acastus, the son of Pelias.