Achaea Phthiotis () or simply Phthiotis () was a historical region of

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

, 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 ...

. It lay in southeastern Thessaly, between

Mount Othrys Mount Othrys ( – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on the border of Phthiotis ...

and the northern shore of the Pagasetic Gulf. Inhabited by , it was originally formally not a part of Thessaly proper but a Thessalian dependency, and had a seat of its own in the Delphic Amphictyony. From 363 BC it came under

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

n control, but split away during the Lamian War. In the 3rd century BC it became a member of the

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League () was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in Central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Ac ...

, until declared free and autonomous by the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

in 196 BC, following the

Second Macedonian War The Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. Philip was defeated and was forced to abandon all possessions in southern Greece, Thrace and Asia Minor. ...

, and re-incorporated into Thessaly. Phthiotis was inhabited by the Phthiotic Achaeans (), under which name they are usually mentioned as members of the Delphic Amphictyony. This district, according to

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 ...

, included the southern part of Thessaly, extending from the

Maliac Gulf The Malian or Maliac Gulf () is a gulf in the western Aegean Sea. It forms part of the coastline of Greece's region of Phthiotis. The gulf stretches east to west to a distance of , depending on the definition, and is very shallow, with a maximum ...

on the east, to Dolopia and Mount Pindus on the west, and stretching as far north as Pharsalus and the Thessalian plain. Phthiotis derived its name from the

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Phthia Phthia (; or Φθίη ''Phthía, Phthíē'') was a city or district in ancient Thessaly according to Greek mythology. In Literature It is frequently mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'' as the home of the Myrmidons, the contingent led by Achilles i ...

(), which appears to have included in the heroic times not only Hellas and Dolopia, which is expressly called the furthest part of Phthia, but also the southern portion of the Thessalian plain, since it is probable that Phthia was also the ancient name of Pharsalus. The cities of Phthiotis were: Amphanaeum or Amphanae, on the promontory Pyrrha and on the Pagasaean Gulf; Phthiotic Thebes,

Eretria Eretria (; , , , , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th century BC, mentioned by many famous writers ...

, Phylace, Iton, Halus, Pteleum, Antron, Larissa Cremaste, Proerna, Pras, Narthacium, Thaumaci, Melitaea, Coroneia, Xyniae, Lamia, Phalara, and Echinus. It has given its name to the modern

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

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 ...

. The Phthiotis Prefecture however lies to the south of the historical region and does not include it. Historical Phthiotis is today part of Magnesia Prefecture.

References

{{Authority control Magnesia (regional unit) Aetolian League Geography of ancient Thessaly