Pyrasus or Pyrasos ( or Πύρρασος) 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

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 ...

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 by

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 ...

along with Phylace and

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 ...

as ruled by

Protesilaus In Greek mythology, Protesilaus (; ) was a Greek hero, hero in the ''Iliad'' who was venerated at Temenos, cult sites in Thessaly and Thrace. Protesilaus was the son of Iphiclus (mythology), Iphiclus, a "lord of many sheep"; as grandson of the e ...

, 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 the ''

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 ...

'', and described by him as "Πύρρασον ἀνθεμόεντα, Δήμητρος τέμενος" (Pyrasus having a temple of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

) Pyrasus was situated on the Pagasaean Gulf, at the distance of 20 stadia from

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 ...

, and possessed a good harbour. It had disappeared 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 ...

( early first century CE), the town having moved to a nearby site, called Demetrium or Demetrion (Δημήτριον), derived from the temple of Demeter, spoken of by Homer, and which Strabo describes as distant two stadia from Pyrasus. At the beginning of the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

, it was one of the cities of Thessaly that supplied aid to the

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. At the end of the 4th century BCE, it was united (

synoecism Synoecism or synecism ( ; , ''sunoikismos'', ), also spelled synoikism ( ), was originally the amalgamation of villages in Ancient Greece into ''poleis'', or city-states. Etymologically, the word means "dwelling together (''syn'') in the same h ...

) with the neighboring cities of Phylace and Phthiotic Thebes to form a

. The new conurbation took the name of Phthiotic Thebes, and became the main city of the Achaean Phthiotis League until it joined 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 ...

at the end of the 3rd century BCE. Professor John Grainger of the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

concluded, from evidence relating to the election of men from Thebes to office in the Aetolian League, that the city became a member of the League in the 220s BCE. Until the construction 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 ...

Demetrius Poliorcetes Demetrius I Poliorcetes (; , , ; ) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, ...

, it was the main port 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 ...

. It was destroyed in 217 BCE by the army of

Philip V of Macedon Philip V (; 238–179 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by the Social War (220–217 BC), Social War in Greece (220-217 BC) ...

, and its inhabitants were enslaved and the city became a Macedonian colony. The site of Pyrasus is within the limits of Nea Anchialos. The only excavation that took place on the hill of Magoula, the ancient

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

, southeast of Nea Anchialos, shows that the place was inhabited since the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

(sixth millennium BCE) by fishermen and farmers. Stählin found a walled circuit covered by

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

remains near the top of the hill, and other walls similar at its foot. Archaeological remains are scarce and the city is barely known in historical times. An arm of a large statue, which came to light in 1965, was attributed to Demeter. Possibly the most important finding is a small fragment of an old epigraph, discovered in the remains of the great Basilica D with the name Pyrasus, which confirms the location of the town.

References

Populated places in ancient Thessaly Former populated places in Greece Places in the Iliad Neolithic settlements in Thessaly Thessalian city-states Achaea Phthiotis Cities in ancient Greece {{AncientThessaly-geo-stub Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Thessaly