Pagasae or Pagases (), also Pagasa, 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 Magnesia in

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 ...

, currently a suburb 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 ...

. It is situated at the northern extremity of the bay named after it (Παγασητικὸς κόλπος, or ). Pagasae is celebrated in mythology as the port where

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 ...

built the ship ''

Argo In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...

'', and from which he sailed upon his adventurous voyage: hence some of the ancients derived its name from the construction of that vessel, (from πήγνυμι), but others from the numerous and abundant springs which were found at this spot.

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Go ...

describes the setting vividly in the first book of his ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...

''. Pagasae was conquered by

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

after the defeat of Onomarchus; in

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact, b ...

's report the place is spelt Παγαί - ''Pagaí''. On the foundation of

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 ...

in 290 or 293 BCE, Pagasae was one of the towns whose inhabitants were transferred to the new city; but after the Roman conquest Pagasae was restored, and again became an important place. In the time of

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 ...

it was the port of

Pherae Pherae (Greek: Φεραί) was a city and polis (city-state) in southeastern Ancient Thessaly. One of the oldest Thessalian cities, it was located in the southeast corner of Pelasgiotis. According to Strabo, it was near Lake Boebeïs 90 stadi ...

, which was the principal city in this part of Thessaly. Pagasae was 90 stadia from Pherae, and 20 from

Iolcos 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 ...

. As of the nineteenth century, the ruins of the ancient city were to be seen near

, which has given the modern name to the bay. The acropolis occupied the summit of some rocky heights above Cape Angkístri, and at the foot of the rocks are many copious sources of water, of which Strabo speaks. But as these springs are rather saline to the taste, the city was provided in the Roman times with water from a distance by means of an aqueduct, the ruined piers of which are still a conspicuous object. The accepted site is in the modern village of Nees Pagasees in the municipality of

; however, the most recent excavations seem to indicate that Pagasae may be the ruins at nearby

Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundatio ...

, also in the municipality of Volos.

References

{{Coord, 39.312923, N, 22.930713, E, format=dms, display=title, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/22810.html Populated places in ancient Thessaly Former populated places in Greece Thessalian city-states Cities in ancient Greece Ancient Magnesia Volos

See also

References