Ormenium () was a town of

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 ...

, mentioned in the

Catalogue of Ships The Catalogue of Ships (, ''neōn katálogos'') is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's ''Iliad'' (2.494–759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the names of the leaders of each conting ...

in Homer's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'', along with Hypereia and Asterium, as belonging to

Eurypylus In Greek mythology, Eurypylus (; ) was the name of several different people: * Eurypylus, was a Thessalian king, son of Euaemon and Ops. He was a former suitor of Helen thus he led the Thessalians during Trojan War. * Eurypylus, was son of T ...

. In

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 ...

, it was said to have been founded by

Ormenus In Greek mythology Ormenus or Ormenos (Ancient Greek: Ὄρμενος) is the name of eight men. * Ormenus, one of the Telchines. *Ormenus, king of Ormenion in Thessaly and son of Cercaphus. He was the father of Amyntor and Euaemon. *Ormenus, o ...

, the grandson of

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 ...

, and was the birthplace of Phoenix (a grandson of Ormenus).

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 ...

identifies this town with a place in Magnesia named Orminium, situated at the foot of Mt. Pelion near the Pagasaean Gulf, at the distance of 27 stadia from

Demetrias Demetrias () 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 Poliorcetes, who removed th ...

, on the road passing through

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 ...

, which was 7 stadia from Demetrias and 20 from Orminium.

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake FRS (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British Army, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

, however, observes that the Ormenium of Homer can hardly have been the same as the Orminium of Strabo, since it appears from the situation of Asterium that Eurypylus ruled over the plains of

Thessaliotis Thessaliotis () was one of the four districts into which ancient Thessaly was divided. The others were Pelasgiotis, Histiaeotis, and Phthiotis. Thessaliotis corresponded to the central plain of Thessaly and the upper course of the river Peneius, ...

, which are watered by the Apidanus and Enipeus. The questioning of Strabo's equation of Ormenium with Orminium is still the norm among current scholars; some believing that, instead, Ormenium should be close to

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 ...

, in a Mycenaean site in modern Ktouri. Some archaeologists have related it to the remains found on the Goritsa hill. Others point to a site otherwise called

Armenium Armenium or Armenion () was a town of Pelasgiotis in ancient Thessaly, situated between Pherae and Larissa, near Boebeis Lake, said to have been the birthplace of Armenus, who accompanied Jason to Asia, and gave his name to the country of Armenia ...

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

. While others leave the site as unlocated.

References

Populated places in ancient Thessaly Former populated places in Greece Places in the Iliad Lost ancient cities and towns {{AncientThessaly-geo-stub