Listed 1 sub titles with search on: Name of the location for wider area of: "THESSALONIKI Prefecture MAKEDONIA CENTRAL" .
THESSALONIKI (Ancient city) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Two legendary names, which Thessalonica is said to have borne in early
times, are Emathia (Zonar. Hist. xii. 26) and Halia (Steph. B. s. v.), the latter
probably having reference to the maritime position of the town. During the first
period of its authentic history, it was known under the name of Therma (Therma,
Aesch.; Therme, Herod., Thucyd.; Thermai, Mal. Chronog. p. 190, ed. Bonn), derived,
in common with the designation of the gulf (Thermaicus Sinus), from the hot salt-springs,
which are found on various parts of this coast, and one of which especially is
described by Pococke as being at a distance of 4 English miles from the modern
city. Three stories are told of the origin of the name Thessalonica. The first
(and by far the most probable) is given by Strabo (vii. Epit. 10), who says that
Therma was rebuilt by Cassander, and called after his wife Thessalonica, the daughter
of Philip: the second is found in. Steph. B. (s. v.), who says that its new name
was a memorial of a victory obtained by Philip over the Thessalians (see Const.
Porphyrog. De Them. ii. p. 51, ed Bonn): the third is in the Etym. Magn. where
it is stated that Philip himself gave the name in honour of his daughter. Whichever
of these stories is true, the new name of Thessalonica, and the new eminence connected
with the name, are distinctly associated with the Macedonian period, and not at
all with the earlier passages of true Greek history. The name, thus given, became
permanent. Through the Roman and Byzantine periods it remained unaltered. In the
Middle Ages the Italians gave it the form of Salonichi or Saloniki, which is still
frequent. In Latin chronicles we find Salonicia. In German poems of the thirteenth
century the name appears, with a Teutonic termination, as Salnek. The uneducated
Greeks of the present day call the place Salonike, the Turks Selanik.
This extract is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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