Magnesia (, ''Magnisía'', ,

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: ''Magnēsía'', deriving from the tribe name '' Magnetes'') is one of the

regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece (, ; singular , ) are the country's third-level administrative units (counting decentralized administrations as first-level). They are subdivisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into munici ...

. It is part of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

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 ...

. Its capital is the city of

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

. About 70% of the population of Magnesia live in the Greater Volos area, which is the second-largest city in Thessaly and the third busiest commercial port in Greece. According to the most recent census (2021), the population stands at 177,448. The regional unit hosts 2,000,000 tourists annually. Magnesia is represented in the

Greek Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic instit ...

by six seats. Its main agricultural products are wheat, cotton, tomatoes, grapes, olives, apples and honey.

Geography

A prominent geographic feature of Magnesia is the Pagasetic Gulf, a bay of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. The

Pelion Pelion or Pelium (Modern , ''Pílio''; Ancient Greek/Katharevousa: Πήλιον, ''Pēlion'') is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in northern Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean Sea. Its ...

mountain range closes off the Gulf on the east and south side, leaving only a narrow channel near Trikeri. The highest peak of the wooded Pelion is ''Pourianos Stavros'' or ''Xeforti'', (altitude ). On the south edge of Magnesia

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Tisaio mountain is found. Mt. Maurovouni () is the northeasternmost mountain of the regional unit and extends to the neighboring regional unit of

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) 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 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

. The southwest border of Magnesia is formed by the

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 (regional unit), Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on ...

, with its highest peak ''Gerakovouni'' (). The interior of Magnesia has two plains. The plains southwest of the Pagasetic Gulf are called the

Almyros Almyros or Halmyros (, ) is a town and a municipality of the regional units of Greece, regional unit of Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia, modern regions of Greece, region of Thessaly, Greece. It lies in the center of prosperous fertile plain know ...

plains, while the plains northwest of the Gulf are called the

- Velestino plain. The hydrological network of Magnesia is not particularly rich and is characterized by the absence of big

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s. The waters coming from

shape the rivers Anavros, Platanorema, and Xirias. In the North section of Magnesia, Lake Karla was formerly found. Lake Karla was drained in 1962, but attempts have been made for its partial restoration. On the bight of Sourpi, next to Amaliapolis a coastal

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

is located, with various species of

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

. This wetland together with the forest of Kouri – an infrequent

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

close to

– is included in the list of the protected regions of the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an Network

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

Climate

The average

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

is 17 degrees Celsius and the average rainfall about 540 millimetres per year. Heat waves and intense cold periods are rare. During the summer the temperature rises up to about in August. The climate varies in different parts of the prefecture; close to the Pagasetic Gulf conditions are humid, in

Nea Ionia Nea Ionia (, meaning New Ionia) is a town and a northern suburb of the Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s as a part ...

it is quite dry and in Velestino and

is the climate is continental. In winter there is significant snowfall in the mountains and often freezing temperatures.

Administration

The regional unit Magnesia is subdivided into 5 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): *

(2) *

Rigas Feraios Rigas Feraios ( , sometimes ''Rhegas Pheraeos''; ) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής , also transliterated ''Velestinles''); 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis (), was a Greek writer, political thinker and revo ...

(6) * South Pelion (''Notio Pilio'', 5) *

(1) * Zagora-Mouresi (4)

Prefecture

Magnesia was created as a

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 ...

. In addition to the territory of the present regional unit of Magnesia, the Magnesia Prefecture included the Northern

Sporades The (Northern) Sporades are an archipelago along the east coast of Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea,"Skyros - Britannica Concise" (description), Britannica Concise, 2006, webpageEB-Skyrosnotes "including Skiathos, Skopelos, Skyros, and Al ...

group of islands ( Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonnisos). As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the prefecture was split into the Magnesia and

regional units. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

*Province of

– Volos *Province of

– Almyros *Province of Skopelos and

– Skopelos ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

History

Antiquity

Founding

According to

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

's (probably) "Eoiae" () or "

Catalogue of Women The ''Catalogue of Women'' ()—also known as the ''Ehoiai '' (, )The Latin transliterations ''Eoeae'' and ''Ehoeae'' are also used (e.g. , ); see Catalogue of Women#Title and the ē' hoiē-formula, Title and the ''ē' hoiē''-formula, below. Th ...

"Hesiod (probably), "Eoiae" () or "

", c.650 BC. on the origin of the

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, Pandora (named after her grandmother

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each god cooperated by giving her unique gifts. Her other name—inscribed against her figure on a white-ground '' ky ...

, sister of

Hellen In Greek mythology, Hellen (; ) is the eponymous progenitor of the Greeks, Hellenes. He is the son of Deucalion (or Zeus) and Pyrrha, and the father of three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus (son of Hellen), Aeolus, by whom he is the ancestor of t ...

and daughter of Deukalion and

Pyrrha In Greek mythology, Pyrrha (; ) was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and wife of Deucalion of whom she had three sons, Hellen, Amphictyon, Orestheus; and three daughters Protogeneia, Pandora and Thyia. According to some accounts, Hell ...

) together with Zeus had one son Graecus, while Zeus had two more with Thyia, another of Deukalion's daughter: Magnes and

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

. Magnes and Makednos together with

's three sons

Dorus In Greek mythology, Dorus (, probably derived from ''dōron'' "gift") was the Eponym, eponymous founder of the Dorians. Family Each of Hellen, Hellen's sons founded a primary tribe of Greece: Aeolus (son of Hellen), Aeolus the Aeolians, Dorus t ...

, Xuthus (with his sons

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

and Achaeus) and

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aiolos, transcribed as Aeolus (; ; ) refers to three characters. These three are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Aeolus was which. Diodorus Siculus m ...

, comprised the set of progenitors of the ancient tribes that formed the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

/ Hellenic nation. Magnes ruled the area and people under his name. Magnesia is also homeland of the mythical heroes

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

Peleus In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC. Biogra ...

and his son

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

. The Magnetes contributed to the

Greek colonization Greek colonisation refers to the expansion of Archaic Greeks, particularly during the 8th–6th centuries BC, across the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. The Archaic expansion differed from the Iron Age migrations of the Greek Dark Ages ...

, with their main colonies being established before the 7th century BC, under the names of Magnesia beside Sipylus in

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

and Magnesia on the Maeander in

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

Nomenclature

The word

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

comes from the Greek (), which means 'stone of Magnesia'. The names for the elements

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

are also derived from either this region or its colony

Magnesia ad Sipylum Magnesia Sipylum ( or ; modern Manisa, Turkey) was a city of Lydia, situated about 65 km northeast of Smyrna (now İzmir) on the river Hermus (now Gediz) at the foot of Mount Sipylus. The city should not be confused with its older neigh ...

, which in addition to the magnetic magnetite (an iron ore), produces certain ores of magnesium and manganese that were known to alchemists.

Common era

Written accounts and remains from the 5th century CE document the appearance of Christianity in Magnesia. The minutes of the 3rd Ecumenical Conference are co-signed by the Bishop of Dimitriada Cleonikos. Five basilicas have been revealed in Nea Anhialos, showing that the area was undergoing a spiritual growth in that era. Magnesias has churches, monasteries and chapels, many of which are architectural masterpieces in the style that is called "Pelioritica". In the area of Pelion are the monasteries of Saint Gerasimos in Makrinitsa, The Holy Archangels in Agios Georgios Nilias, Osios Lavredios in Agios Lavrendis, Saint John the Baptist in Siki and Saint Spiridon in Promiri. The most famous is the Flamouriou Monastery, built in the 16th century by Osios Simeon, the so-called "barefoot and loin-clothed", located near Veneto. In the Almyros area and on the mountain of Othris two other monasteries were built, one inhabited by monks in Ano Panagia (Virgin Mary) Xenia and the other by

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of Evangelical counsels, poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Enclosed religious orders, enclosure of a monastery or convent.' ...

in Kato Panagia Xenia. This monastery holds historical monuments of the area from the 12th century, with of frescoes, treasuries and a library. In Kato Panagia Xenia monastery, an icon of the Virgin Mary, venerated by the people of the area, is kept. All the monasteries are of archeological, historical and artistic interest and are accessible (Flamouriou Monastery only by men).

Archaeological sites

* Demetrias *

Iolcus Iolcus (; also rendered ''Iolkos'' ; and Ἰαωλκός; ; ) is an ancient city, a modern village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of Volos, of which it is a municipal un ...

* Mikrothives * Nea Anchialos * Pagasae

Media

TRT TVASTRA TELEVISION

Transport

The prefecture was linked to the National railway (ΟΣΕ) in the late 19th century. In 1964, the GR-1 North-South superhighway was opened to traffic. The

is directly linked to the rest of

through International Airport of Central Greece, located in Nea Anchialo a short distance from Volos. The airport includes a terminal which can serve 1,500 passengers per hour. The prefecture's roads include: * Greek National Road 1/ E75, SW, W, NW * Greek National Road 6, Cen., NW * Greek National Road 30, W, Cen.

Notable residents

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( ; ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His ...

, (1888–1978) *

Lavrentis Dianellos Lavrentis Dianellos (Greek: Λαυρέντης Διανέλλος; 1911 – 16 September 1978) was a Greeks, Greek actor. From 1948 to 1975, he appeared in 200 films, leading one reviewer to call him "ubiquitous." Indicative filmography * ''The ...

, a Greek actor *

, the first

revolutionary and poet, national hero * Anthimos Gazis, (died 1828) * Phaidon Gizikis (June 13, 1917 – July 17, 1999 in Athens), Greek politician * Theophilos Hatzimihail, artist, (1871–1934) * Lavrentis Machairitsas, composer, musician * Alexandros Papadiamantis, (1851–1911) * Vangelis Papathanassiou, composer, (1943-2022) * Paraskevi Tsiamita, Gold Medalist in

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, between the Augus ...

* Olga Vasdeki, Bronze Medalist in

Sofia Vembo Sofia Bembou (; 10 February 1910 – 10 March 1978), known professionally as Sofia Vembo (), was a leading Greek singer and actress active from the interwar period to the early postwar years and the 1950s. She became best known for her perfor ...

, (1910–1978), musician, artist

References

External links

Nea Anchialos Municipality
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnesia (Regional Unit) 2011 establishments in Greece Regional units of Thessaly