Thessaly

Thessaly (Greek Thessalia), largest region of ancient Greece, a vast plain, separated from Greek Macedonia by the Cambunian Mountains to the north, from Epirus by the Pindus range to the west, and from Locris and Phocis by the Malian Gulf to the south. It is bounded by the Aegean sea to the east. The plain is drained by the Salambria (ancient Peneus) River and its tributaries and is the most fertile in Greece; the river flows into the sea through the mountain gorge of Tempe, between Mounts Olympus and Ossa. In ancient times the plain produced an abundance of grain and cattle and a breed of horses considered to be the finest in Greece. In Greek mythology, Thessaly was the home of the Centaurs, and it was from here that Jason and the Argonauts set out in quest of the Golden Fleece.

In the early historical period Thessaly appears to have been governed by several oligarchies based in separate cities, of which Pharsalus, Larissa (now Larisa), Crannon, and Pherae were the most important. During the 6th and 5th centuries bc power was concentrated in the hands of the two families: the Aleudae of Larissa, and the Scopadae of Crannon and Pharsalus. About 374 bc Jason, tyrant of Pherae, was elected tagus, or chief magistrate, of all Thessaly. The rule of Jason's successors became so tyrannical that aid was sought from Philip II of Macedon, who in 344 bc subjugated the country. Thessaly remained subject to the Macedonian kings until the victory of Titus Quinctius Flamininus at Cynoscephalae in 197 bc brought it under the protection of Rome. Under the Roman emperors Thessaly was united with Macedonia, but by the mid-4th century ad it had become a separate province within the Byzantine Empire (formerly the eastern half of the Roman Empire). In ad 1204, Thessaly came under Venetian control, and in 1335 it fell to the Ottoman Turks. Turkey ceded Thessaly to Greece in 1881, as a result of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, which followed the Russo-Turkish War. In 1897 Thessaly was the main battleground of the Graeco-Turkish War.

Today the plain of ancient Thessaly, more than 12,950 sq km (5,000 sq mi) in area, is divided into the Greek departments (or nomes) of Kardhitsa, Larisa, Magnesia, and Trikkala. The region is essentially agricultural and pastoral.