Pelinna () or Pelinnaeum () was an

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 ...

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

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 ...

, in the district

Histiaeotis Histiaeotis () or ''Hestiaeotis'' (Ἑστιαιῶτις - Hestiaiotis) was a northwest district of ancient Thessaly, part of the Thessalian tetrarchy, roughly corresponding to the modern Trikala regional unit. Anciently, it was inhabited ...

, a little above the left bank of the Peneius. The city had a celebrated temple of Zeus Pelinnaeus. Pelinna was situated between Tricca and Pharcadon, near modern Palaiogardiki ( Trikala regional unit). The city gained particular prominence in the fourth century BCE through its alliance with

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 ...

. Among other archaeological evidence of the religious significance of Pelinna are two Orphic gold tablets (''

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

'') found in 1985 on the site of Petroporos, dating to the late fourth century BCE. It seems to have been a place of some importance even in the time of

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

passed through the town in his rapid march from

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

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 ...

. It did not revolt from the Macedonians together with the other Thessalians after the death of Alexander the Great. In the war between

Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

and the Romans, 191 BCE, Pelinna was occupied by the

Athamanians Athamanians or Athamanes (, ''Athamanes'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited south-eastern Epirus and west Thessaly. Today, the municipal unit of Athamania in Central Tzoumerka and the community of Athamania in Pyli are named after t ...

, but was soon afterwards recovered by the Romans. The location of Pelinna is at Palaiogardíki (Petroporos), where there are considerable remains of the ancient town.

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 ...

, describing the situation in the 19th century, stated that "the city occupied the face of a rocky height, together with a large quadrangular space at the foot of it on the south. The southern wall is more than half a mile in length, and the whole circumference near three miles."

Joseph Hilarius Eckhel Joseph Hilarius Eckhel (13 January 1737 – 16 May 1798) was an Austrian Jesuit priest and numismatist. Biography Eckhel was born at Enzersfeld, in Lower Austria. His father was farm-steward to Count Zinzendorf, and he received his early educa ...

writes that the coins of this town bore the inscription Πεληναῖον.Eckhel, ''Doctrina numorum veterum'', vol. ii. p. 146. The nearby modern town of Pelinnaioi reflects the ancient name.

References

External links

Coinage of Pelinna
Populated places in ancient Thessaly Thessalian city-states Cities in ancient Greece Former populated places in Greece Religion in ancient Thessaly Greek religion inscriptions Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Histiaeotis {{AncientThessaly-geo-stub