MYTHOLOGY

The ancient region of Magnesia is the host of some of the most characteristic pages of Greek mythology. It was named after Magnus, the son of the king of wind, Aiolos, who was settled in Pelion. The mountain was the home of the Centaurs, half-human, half-horse looking beasts, which were born from the elegiac union of Ixion and Nefele (Nebula). A famous Centaur was Chiron, who was instrumental in the marriage between Peleus and Thetis. During the wedding ceremony, due to a dispute over the 'Apple of Eris', the Trojan War began. Asclepius, the God of Medicine, as well as Achilles, the hero of Trojan War, were both students of the wise Centaur Chiron. The Argonaut expedition  started also from Magnesia.

ACIENT TIMES

Forty Neolithic settlements, some of the most important ones in the Balkans, are situated in Magnesia. Some of them continued being active until 3000-1500 BC. The most important ones are Sesklo and Dimini, where many interesting finds include painted ceramics, bone and stone tools, and objects from Greek islands, such as Milos.

Certain significant Mycenaean locations include the hill of Agioi Theodoroi, Palea, the oldest neighbourhood of Volos, and Pefkakia. During the same period, ancient Iolkos was founded, which was the most important economic and cultural centre of the time. According to recent archaeological investigation, the royal estate of Iolkos was situated at Dimini, where most of the agricultural activities took place. The sea fearing and trade handling was conducted from the port at Pefkakia. During the Classical period (C6th BC) Pagases, the seaport of Feres, flourished.

At 295-92 BC, the Macedonian king Dimitrius the Besieger, founded and named a city after him. Dimitriada turn out to be a powerful military station of the Macedonians, and a strong trading centre of the Hellenistic times, and especially between 217-168 BC. In 197 BC, the Romans occupied Dimitriada. The city was built according to the Hippodamian system and was surrounded by a fortified citadel. In the east side a palace was erected, the south was occupied by the agora, and a theatre was built in the west. Important finds of the period are the Stele, the ancient tombstones decorated with writing, giving us information on the economy, society and art of the time.

PALAIOCHRISTIANIC , BYZANTINE, POST-BYZANTINE ERA

The city of Dimitriada continued its successful presence even during the Roman occupation. Together with Fthiotides Thebes, the present-day Nea Anchialos, were the most principal coastal cities of Palaiochristianic and Byzantine Thessaly. During the C5th AD, Dimitriada became the Episcopal Cathedra.

At the end of the C6th AD, due to the Slavic attacks, Nea Anchialos was abandoned and the citizens of Dimitriada looked for safety on the hill of Agioi Theodoroi, where a fortified settlement already existed since the reign of Ioustinianos (551 AD). The following centuries found the city to have lost her power, being an easy target to Saracen pirates.

In 1204, after the fall of Constantinople to the Francs, Dimitriada was offered to the renowned family of Melissinoi. In the 14th century, we first encounter the place-name of Volos. In 1423 the Turks occupied the castle of Palea. Gradually, the coastal towns were abandoned, and around 1600 the last residents moved to Pelion, around the area of Ano Volos, the new Episcopal Cathedra.

TURKISH OCCUPATION

During the Turkish occupation, the financial and cultural activities took place in mountain Pelion, which was enjoying many privileges. Through the 18th century, Pelion evolved into one of the most significant centres of the Greek region, yet the entry of Christians inside the fort of Volos remained forbidden.

With the onset of the Greek war of independence, of 1821, the villages of Pelion revolted, and the liberating ships from the Greek island of Spetses besieged the fortification of Volos unsuccessfully. A little later, in 1830, the new city of Volos was built, outside the fort, though. Due to its geographical position, and its great port, the city was thriving and it was where the financial heart of the whole of Thessaly started beating. By 1881, after the Constantinople Convention, Volos and the wider Magnesian territory joined the recently liberated Greek state.

RECENT HISTORY