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 The Pagasetic Gulf () is a rounded gulf (max. depth 102 metres) in the Magnesia regional unit (east central Greece) that is formed by the Mount Pelion peninsula. It is connected with the Euboic Sea. The passage into the Euboic Sea is narrow an ...

. 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 The Lamian War or the Hellenic War (323–322 BC), was an unsuccessful attempt by Athens and a large coalition of Greek states to end the hegemony of Macedonia over Greece just after the death of Alexander the Great. It was the last time Athen ...

. 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 Dolopia () is a mountainous region of Greece, located north of Aetolia. Geography Dolopia was located between Epirus and Thessaly, eventually absorbed into the latter. It was a mountainous district in the southwestern corner of Thessaly, lying bet ...

and

Mount Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; ; ; ) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly long, with a maximum elevation of (Mount Smolikas). Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epirus, the Pin ...

on the west, and stretching as far north as

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 the

Thessalian plain The Thessalian plain () is the dominant geographical feature of the Greek region of Thessaly. The plain is formed by the Pineios River and its tributaries and is surrounded by mountains: the Pindus mountain range to the west, which separates The ...

. 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 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 ...

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 The Iton () is a Rivers of France, river in Normandy, France, left tributary of the river Eure (river), Eure. It is long. Its source is near Moulins-la-Marche. For about 10 km between Orvaux and Glisolles, it disappears and pursues a subter ...

, Halus,

Pteleum Pteleum or Pteleon (), also Pteleos (Πτελεός), was a town of ancient Thessaly, on the south-western side of Achaea Phthiotis, Phthiotis, and near the entrance of the Sinus Pagasaeus. It stood between Antron and Halos (Thessaly), Halos, and ...

Antron Antron () or Antrones (Ἀντρῶνες)Demosthenes ''Phil.'' iv. p. 133, Reiske. was a town and polis (city-state) of ancient Thessaly in the district Achaea Phthiotis, at the entrance of the Maliac Gulf, and opposite Oreus in Euboea. It is m ...

, Larissa Cremaste, Proerna,

Pras Prakazrel Samuel Michel (born October 19, 1972), known professionally as Pras (), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known as a member of the hip-hop group Fugees, which he formed with fellow New Jerseyans Wyclef Jean and Laur ...

Narthacium Narthacium or Narthakion () was a city of Phthiotis in ancient Thessaly, in the neighbourhood of which Agesilaus, on his return from Asia in 394 BCE, gained a victory over the Thessalian cavalry. The Thessalians, after their defeat, took refu ...

, Thaumaci,

Melitaea ''Melitaea'' is a genus of brush-footed butterflies (family (biology), family Nymphalidae). They are here placed in the tribe (biology), tribe Melitaeini of subfamily Nymphalinae; some authors elevate this tribe to subfamily rank. As delimited ...

, Coroneia,

Xyniae Xyniae or Xyniai () or Xynia () was an ancient city in Achaea Phthiotis, Ancient Thessaly, in Greece. In the Middle Ages, it was known as Ezeros (Ἐζερός). The city was located on the western slopes of Mount Othrys, some 4 km southwe ...

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

, 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 Magnesia Prefecture () was one of the prefectures of Greece. Its capital was Volos. It was established in 1899 from the Larissa Prefecture. The prefecture was disbanded on 1 January 2011 by the Kallikratis programme, and split into the regional ...

References

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