Phylace or Phylake (, �fyˈlaˌkɛː, was a town and

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

(city-state) of

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

ancient Thessaly Thessaly or Thessalia (Attic Greek: , ''Thessalía'' or , ''Thettalía'') was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean period, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name that continued to be used for one of ...

. According to

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, this city was founded by

Phylacus In Greek mythology, Phylacus (; Ancient Greek: Φύλακος means "guardian") was the name of the following figures: * Phylacus, founder of the city of Phylace, Thessaly. Eustathius on Homer, p. 323 He was the son of Deioneus and Diomede, husba ...

. In

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, Phylace was a kingdom. Homer writes that this was one of the places subject to

Protesilaus In Greek mythology, Protesilaus (; ) was a Greek hero, hero in the ''Iliad'' who was venerated at Temenos, cult sites in Thessaly and Thrace. Protesilaus was the son of Iphiclus (mythology), Iphiclus, a "lord of many sheep"; as grandson of the e ...

, who was the first Greek hero killed in the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

, and the place is frequently mentioned in the Homeric poems. It contained a temple of Protesilaus. Pliny erroneously calls it a town of Magnesia.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

describes it as standing between

Pharsalus Pharsalus may refer to: * ''Pharsalus'' (planthopper), a genus of insects in the family Ricaniidae * Farsala Farsala (), known in Antiquity as Pharsalos (, ), is a town in southern Thessaly, in Greece. Farsala is located in the southern part ...

and

Phthiotic Thebes Phthiotic Thebes ( or Φθιώτιδες Θήβες or Φθιώτιδος Θήβες; ) or Thessalian Thebes (Θῆβαι Θεσσαλικαἰ, ''Thebai Thessalikai'') was a city and polis in ancient Thessaly, Greece; its site was north of the mo ...

, at the distance of about 100 stadia from the latter. The site of ancient Phylace has traditionally been identified with a low hill at Kitiki (renamed Filaki), in the municipal unit of Filaki. As no inscriptions have been found at this location confirming the identification, it must be regarded as tentative. Another candidate is the hill of Dervisi close to Aerino (formerly Persoufli).

References

Populated places in ancient Thessaly Places in the Iliad Former populated places in Greece Cities in ancient Greece Achaea Phthiotis Thessalian city-states Almyros {{AncientThessaly-geo-stub