
Metropolis ( grc, Μητρόπολις) was a town in
Perrhaebia in
Ancient Thessaly
Thessaly or Thessalia ( Attic Greek: , ''Thessalía'' or , ''Thettalía'') was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean period, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name that continued to be used for one of the major tribe ...
.
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...
calls it simply a town in Thessaly, distinct from
its more-renowned namesake.
This appears to be the Metropolis mentioned by
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
in his account of the campaign of
Antiochus III
Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...
, in 191 BCE, where it is related that the Syrian king having landed at
Demetrias
Demetrias ( grc, Δημητριάς) was a Greek city in Magnesia in ancient Thessaly (east central Greece), situated at the head of the Pagasaean Gulf, near the modern city of Volos.
History
It was founded in 294 BCE by Demetrius Polio ...
, first took
Pherae
Pherae (Greek: Φεραί) was a city and polis (city-state) in southeastern Ancient Thessaly. One of the oldest Thessalian cities, it was located in the southeast corner of Pelasgiotis. According to Strabo, it was near Lake Boebeïs 90 stadi ...
, then
Crannon, then
Cypaera, Metropolis, and all the neighbouring fortresses, except
Atrax and
Gyrton, and afterwards proceeded to
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
. From this account it would appear that this Metropolis was in Perrhaebia; and its site has been discovered by
William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English military man, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British military, spending much of his career in the
Mediterran ...
, near that of Atrax, at
Kastri village in the municipal unit of
Lakereia
Lakereia ( el, Λακέρεια) is a former municipality in the Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip o ...
, where the name of Μητροπολίτης occurs in an inscription.
[Leake, ''Travels in Northern Greece'', vol. iii. p. 371.]
References
Cities in ancient Greece
Populated places in ancient Thessaly
Former populated places in Greece
Perrhaebia
{{AncientThessaly-geo-stub