Abstract
The present thesis, entitled Contribution to the Historic Topography and Archaeology of Northern Pelasgiotis (Thessaly): Residential Network and Cults Based on the Epigraphic Corpus, examines the historic topography and cults of northern Pelasgiotis. As we know, Pelasgiotis was one of the most significant regionsof the Thessalian Confederacy. It comprised the area of the current prefecture of Larisa and had borders with the other three regions of Thessaly (Phthiotis,Thessaliotis, Hestiaiotis), as well as with the three perioecic regions: Perrhaibia, Magnesia, Achaia. More specifically, the boundaries of Pelasgiotis are as follows: it borders Perrhaibia to the north from the Kalamaki Valley to the pass between the mountains of Zarko (north) and that of Titanos (south). The frontier extends until the Rhodia pass following the river Peneus and in some points Titaresius/Xerias until the confluence of the two rivers. The rest of the frontier to the north with Perrhaibia was delimited by the ...
The present thesis, entitled Contribution to the Historic Topography and Archaeology of Northern Pelasgiotis (Thessaly): Residential Network and Cults Based on the Epigraphic Corpus, examines the historic topography and cults of northern Pelasgiotis. As we know, Pelasgiotis was one of the most significant regionsof the Thessalian Confederacy. It comprised the area of the current prefecture of Larisa and had borders with the other three regions of Thessaly (Phthiotis,Thessaliotis, Hestiaiotis), as well as with the three perioecic regions: Perrhaibia, Magnesia, Achaia. More specifically, the boundaries of Pelasgiotis are as follows: it borders Perrhaibia to the north from the Kalamaki Valley to the pass between the mountains of Zarko (north) and that of Titanos (south). The frontier extends until the Rhodia pass following the river Peneus and in some points Titaresius/Xerias until the confluence of the two rivers. The rest of the frontier to the north with Perrhaibia was delimited by the south bank of Peneus until the exit of Tempe and Omolion. To the east, Pelasgiotis bordered Magnesia and the boundary between the two regions was the NW–SW slope of mountain Ossa until the plain of Aghia and the west shore of Boibeis lake until Pilaf Tepe. The coastline from ancient Ampanai (Soros) and towards the west until the promontory of Pyrra belonged to Pelasgiotis and constituted the SE border of the region with Achaia Phthiotis until the south slopes of mount Chalcodonio. In the south, the boundary to Thessalic Phthiotis extended from Chalcodonio to the mountain of Phylliion. The western limit with theregion of Thessaliotis started from the mountain of Phylliion and reached themountain of Titanos. Therefore, the geographical limit of this thesis to the north is Peneus and to thewest towards Hestiaiotis and Perrhaibia is the point where the river passes the region of Revenia. The eastern border lies in the Valley of Tempe and the NW slopes of Ossa including the plain of Aghia until the lake of Boebeis. The ancient city of Pherai and the coastline of the Pagasitic Gulf are not treated in this study, while the important cities of Larisa and Pherai have recently been well studied. The period examined begins in the 8th century B.C. and continues until Late Antiquity, i.e., the end of the 4th century A.D. The invasions of barbarian tribes 1497 during this century set a clear chronological limit. There are few occasions on which my research exceeds these parameters, and these instances are presented briefly. This dissertation aims at establishing and studying the network of habitation and cult sites of northern Pelasgiotis by constituting an epigraphic corpus. As a study on the historic topography of the region of Pelasgiotis, it combines aspects of history and archaeology, relying on already-published material and, to a lesser extent, on unpublished archaeological evidence from various excavations in northern Thessaly. An important role in this study was played by the surveys I conducted in different archaeological sites during my research. First, I collected the ancient literary testimonia and early modern travel narratives referencing the region. I also prepared a catalogue of sites from which archaeological material has been published. In addition, I drafted a detailed list of inscriptions containing valuable information on the cults of northern Pelasgiotis. I finally combined the information provided by the literary and epigraphical testimonia with recent scholarly publications in order to construct a new comprehensive study on the ancient cities in this region of Thessaly. After compiling this archaeological, literary, and epigraphic data set, I conducted fieldwork in the countryside of Pelasgiotis. I visited sites already known and looked for new ones in order to complete the examination of this Thessalian tetras. During my survey, I took photos of the ancient remains and recorded the GPS coordinates of various sites.After the completion of the first phase of my research, I started preparing my analysis of the residential network of Pelasgiotis. In this context, I tried to solve the various problems regarding the topography of the region and put forward an updated map of the region that takes into account new and old evidence on northern Pelasgiotis. In parallel, I studied the cults based mainly on the epigraphic corpus and I subsequently put together the results of the whole research. Methodologically, this dissertation combines ‘armchair’ research with fieldwork survey. Scrutiny of modern bibliography was first necessary in order to acquire full knowledge of previous studies. The fieldwork that followed acquainted me with the landscape and the characteristics of the geography. It is to be noted that I studied the material that I found during my fieldwork in situ and I did not collect it. The maps that I used in this dissertation belong to the Geographical Service of the Greek Army(1:50.000, 1985–1986 edition). 1498 The study comprises six chapters: I. Introduction, including (A) Bibliography and an account of earlier scholarship; (B) Definition of the subject matter; (C) Methodology; (D) Plan of the study. II. Description of the physical characteristics of the landscape, including climate, etc. III. History of the area. IV. Site catalogue, arranged in geographical units, from east to west. V. (A) Examination of the organization of the inhabited sites in the region. The cities that are included in this study are the following: Almonia/Minya, Argoura, Armenion, Atrax, Gyrtone, Deipnias, Elateia, Ephyra, Krannon, Larissa (of Ossa), Mopsion, Nesson, Orchomenos, Skotoussa, Sykyrion, Tripolis Skaia, Chalkai. This chapter comprises observations and conclusions concerning water supplies, fortifications,cemeteries and road-networks. (B) Studies on the cults, sanctuaries and festivals that took place in Northern Pelasgiotis. VI. Conclusions. Appendix; Bibliography; Maps, plans and figures.
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