Larissa is the capital city of the central region of
Greece called Thessaly, it is also the capital of province and municipality
which bear the same name (‘Municipality of Larissa’). It is located in the
middle of largest and most fertile farmland of Greece, at 75 meters above sea
level. Penios river, a much sung about natural beauty, runs through the center
of the city. Larissa is one of the most populous Greek cities with almost
250.000 residents.
It is only 18 Km away from the exquisite bea
uty of Tempi Valley. This is an area between Mt OLYMPUS and Mt KISSAVOS, which because of its location,
according to legend has helped to mountain Peace between the two Mountains!!!
This is also the place where in ancient times, young
men came to be crowned with branches of laurel cut from the already
transformed into a laurel plant, daughter of Pinios. And all that in order to
‘cleanse’ themselves before their arrival to OLYMPIA, for the games.
Nowadays, Larissa is a modern city with a
network of road and highways which allow for quick and easy access to and from most
cities.
The city is 60 Km away from Trikala, another large city
of Thessaly, close to Meteora. Larissa is also 60 Km from Volos, a beautiful
city by the sea build at the foothills of picturesque Mt Pelion with 24
Villages. Also is less than a hour by car, one can reach the famous rocks of
Meteora with their centuries old Monasteries.
HISTORY
Larissa is a city with continuous historical presence
since 6.000 B.C. name was given to by the ‘Pelasgous’ and according to
archeological finding, it was inhabited by them in the pre-Homer year. After a
total destruction, nobody knows by who, the city was rebuilt by
‘Thessaluos’, the first king of Larissa was ALEYAS who was a know hero and
belonged to the family of ‘Alevadon’. Historically proven kings of an
ancient Larissa where the brothers Eyripilos and Trassideos.
The city went through some decline during the Persian
Wars when some of the ‘Alevadon’ family allied themselves with the Persians.
In later years Larissa participated in the
Peloponnesian Wars and according to an old treaty of 461 B.C., they sent there
two chieftains. At the end of the war there were two political parties in
Larissa. The Oligarchy and the Nobility parties. Democratic Athens supported the
Alevadon family while the oligarchic Sparta backed the tyrant Lycofronas who in
404 B.C. besieged Larissa and conquered it. Larissa lost its rights to issue
moneys and for that reason Alevadon Aristippos asked for the help of Cyrus the
younger to bring to Larissa the king of Macedonia Archelaos, who contributed
greatly in the restroration the political normality.
During the 4th century B.C. it revert the
domination of Alevadons and develops a great progress in the fields of
civilization. Arts and Sciences.
The orator Aristippos was raised in Larissa and the
father of Medicine Hippocratis died and buried here. Also Menonas, a Socrates
dispiple was born in Larissa.
Larissa was conquered by the Romans in 197 B.C. and
during the Roman civil war it was the military headquarters of Pompeius. Under
emperor Augustus it realized a great progress and it was a flourishing city.
From the first years of the Byzantine Empire Larissa
belonged to the province of Thessaly. Christianity was introduced to Larissa by
Iridonas, the Apostole.On the ruins of ancient places of worship, new Byzantine
buildings were founded and. Later on the Turks build their own Muslim mosques.
In the years to come the city was, at first, ransacked by many ‘barbarians’
(foreigners) and then by the Boulgarians, under the command of CZAR Samuel.
After a six-year resistance of the Byzantine, general Kekavmenos the Bulgarians
to conquer the city, in 1386 A.C.
After many ‘changes in ownership’ Larissa falls
under the Byzantine domination and it remains so until 1423, when the whole of
Thessaly becomes part of the new Turkish Empire.
Larissa during the Turkish years is called ‘Geni
Shehir’ which means ‘New City’. During that time the city was abandoned by
its inhabitants who moved to the mountains and those who remained suffered the
worst during the revolution of former bishop of Larissa Dionysos Skylosophos in
the 1600’s. In the following years there were two more attempts to overhrow
the Turks. One by the Orlofs, and the latest ony by Perevos in 1823. Two more
attempts were made in 1854 and again in 1878 both these attempts were
‘unsuccefull’. Finaly, on Augoust 20, 1881 the city was given back to
Greece. In 1882 the ‘Law of Larissa’ was established and the city started to
recuperate.
In 1897, during the Greek-Turkish war, Turkish
troops entered the city but after a treaty for peace was signed, they withdrew
and Larissa remained permanently in Greece.
Old
bridge of Pinios.
ARCHEOLOGY
The
Acropolis of Larissa lies in the center of the city in the hill of castle at 70
meters above the city. A big wall used to separate it from the city. In the NE
side of the hill lies the ancient theater and, opposite on the NW side was the
temple of Demetra. In its place a Christian church was built and, later, the
Muslim mosque of Hassan Bei. From the ruins of the wall a few pieces have been
saved which, through, are buried under the newer apartment buildings Recent
excavations brought to light fragments of the ancient market and, according to
signs and information found, in ancient Larissa there were temples of Zeus,
Athena, Dionysos, Appolo’s, Aphrodite’s etc. It is also found that the
archives of the city were housed in the temple of Apollo.
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Ôhe Alsos of Larissa