Listed 28 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "TRIKALA Province THESSALIA" .
FARKADON (Ancient city) TRIKALA
Pharkadon, Pharkedon; Eth. Pharkedonios. A city of Histiaeotis in Thessaly, situated
to the left of the Peneius, between Pelinnaeum and Atrax. It is probably represented
by the ruins situated upon the slope of the rocky height above Gritziano.
GOMFI (Ancient city) TRIKALA
Gomphoi (Strab. ix. p. 437; Steph. B. s. v.): Eth. Gomphos, Gompheus,
Gomphensis. A town of Histiaeotis in Thessaly, situated upon a tributary of the
Peneius, and near the frontiers of Athamania and Dolopia. Its position made it
a place of historical importance, since it guarded two of the chief passes into
the Thessalian plains: that of Musaki, distant two miles, which was the exit from
Dolopia, and the pass of Portes, at a distance of four miles, which led into Athamania,
and through that province to Ambracia. In the war against Philip, Amynander, king
of the Athamanes, in co-operation with the Roman consul Flamininus, having descended
from the latter pass ( Fauces angustae, quae ab Athamania Thessaliam dirimunt
), first took Pheca, a town lying between the pass and Gomphi, and then Gomphi
itself, B.C. 198. The possession of this place was of great importance to Flamininus,
since it secured him a communication with the Ambracian gulf, from which he derived
his supplies. The route from Gomphi to Ambracia is described by Livy as very short
but extremely difficult. The capture of Gomphi was followed by the surrender of
the towns named Argenta, Pherinum, Thimarum, Lisinae, Stimo, and Lampsus, the
position of which is quite uncertain. (Liv. xxxii. 14, 15.) When Athamania revolted
from Philip in B.C. 189, he marched into their country by the above-mentioned
pass, but was obliged to retire with heavy loss. (Liv. xxxviii. 2.) There can
be no doubt that it was by the same route that the Roman consul Q. Marcius Philippus
marched from Ambracia into Thessaly in B.C. 169. (Liv. xliv. 1.) In the campaign
between Caesar and Pompey in B.C. 48, the inhabitants of Gomphi, having heard
of Caesar's repulse at Dyrrhachium, shut their gates against him, when he arrived
at the place from Aeginium; but he took the place by assault in a few hours. Caesar,
in his account of these events, describes Gomphi as the first town in Thessaly
to those coming from Epirus. (Caes. B.C. iii. 80; Appian, B.C. ii. 64; Dion Cass.
xli. 51.)
The Greek geographer Meletius placed Gomphi at Stages, but, from an
inscription found at Stagus, it is clear that this is the site of Aeginium. Leake,
however, has shown that Gomphi is represented by Episkopi, which is the name of
an uncultivated height lying along the left bank of the Bliuri at a distance of
two or three miles from the mountains. On this height there are still some remains
of the ancient town. The modern name is owing to the fact of Gomphi having been
a bishopric in later times. Leake places Pheca at a small village called Bletzi,
midway between the hill of Episkcopi and the pass of Portes.
This text 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
PELINNA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
More commonly Pellinaum. Pelinna, Pelinnaion, Pelenaion on coins,
Eth. Pelinnaios. A town of Thessaly, in the district Histiaeotis, a little above
the left bank of the Peneius. (Strab. ix. p. 437.) It seems to have been a place
of some importance even in the time of Pindar. Alexander the Great passed through
the town in his rapid march from Illyria to Boeotia. (Arrian, Anab. i. 7.) It
did not revolt from the Macedonians together with the other Thessalians after
the death of Alexander the Great. (Diod. xviii. 11.) In the war between Antiochus
and the Romans, B.C. 191, Pelinnaeum was occupied by the Athamanians, but was
soon afterwards recovered by the Romans. (Liv. xxxvi. 10, 14.) There are considerable
remains of Pelinnaeum at Old Kardhiki or Gardhiki. 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. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 288.)
This text 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
TRIKKI (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Trikke: Eth. Trikkaios: Trikkala. An ancient city of Thessaly in the
district Histiaeotis, stood upon the left bank of the Peneius, and near a small
stream named Lethaeus. (Strab. ix. p. 438, xiv. p. 647.) This city is said to
have derived its name from Tricca, a daughter of Peneius. It is mentioned in Homer
as subject to Podaleirius and Machaon, the two sons of Asclepius or Aesculapius,
who led the Triccaeans to the Trojan War (Hom. Il. ii. 729, iv. 202); and it possessed
a temple of Asclepius, which was regarded as the most ancient and illustrious
of all the temples of this god. (Strab. ix. p. 437.) This temple was visited by
the sick, whose cures were recorded there, as in the temples of Asclepius at Epidaurus
and Cos. (Strab. viii. p. 374.) There were probably physicians attached to the
temple; and Leake gives an inscription in four elegiac verses, to the memory of
a god-like physician named Cimber, by his wife Andromache, which he found upon
a marble in a bridge over the ancient Lethaeus. (Northern Greece, vol. iv. p.
285.) In the edict published by Polysperchon and the other generals of Alexander,
after the death of the latter, allowing the exiles from the different Greek cities
to return to their homes, those of Tricca and of the neighbouring town of Pharcadon
were excepted for some reason, which is not recorded. (Diod. xviii. 56.) Tricca
was the first town in Thessaly at which Philip V. arrived after his defeat on
the Aous. (Liv. xxxii. 13.) Tricca is also mentioned by Liv. xxxvi. 13; Plin.
iv. 8. s. 15 Ptol. iii. 13. § 44; Them. Orat. xxvii. p. 333.
Procopius, who calls the town Tricattus (Trikattous), says that it
was restored by Justinian (de Aedif. iv. 3); but it is still called Tricca by
Hierocles in the sixth century, and the form in Justinian may be a corruption.
In the twelfth century it already bears its modern name (Trikkala, Anna Comn.
v. p. 137, ed. Paris.; Eustath. ad Il. ii. p. 330.) Trikkala is now one of the
largest towns in this part of Greece. The castle occupies a hill projecting from
the last falls of the mountain of Khassia; but the only traces of the ancient
city which Leake could discover were some small remains of Hellenic masonry, forming
part of the wall of the castle, and some squared blocks of stone of the same ages
dispersed in different parts of the town. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. i. p.
425, seq., vol. iv. p. 287.)
This text 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
GOMFI (Ancient city) TRIKALA
(Gomphoi). A town in Hestiaeotis in Thessaly, a strong fortress on the confines of Epirus, commanding the chief pass between Thessaly and Epirus.
ICHALIA (Ancient city) TRIKALA
A town in Thessaly, on the Peneus, near Tricca.
PELINNA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
(Pelinna) and Pelinnaeum (Pelinnaion). A town of Hestiaeotis in Thessaly.
TRIKKI (Ancient city) THESSALIA
(Trikke), subsequently Tricala (Trikala). Now Trikkala; an ancient
town of Thessaly in the district Hestiaeotis, situated on the Lethaeus, north
of the Peneus. Homer represents it as governed by the sons of Asclepius; and it
contained in later times a celebrated temple of this god.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ETHIKIA (Municipality) TRIKALA
The Municipality of Aithikon is located in the northwest side of Pindos
mountain range, in the Prefecture of Trikala and covers a total area of 279,825
sq km. It is an exclusively mountainous Municipality. The economy of its citizens
is based primarily on cattle-breeding, rural tourism and seasonally on logging.
During the past years, rural tourism keeps flourishing, which finds its explanation
in the geographical position and the beauty of the landscape.
According to the historical diagram of the Municipalities of Greece
(1833-1912) and the Royal Decree of March 31st 1883 (FEK 126) "The division
into Municipalities of the homonymous county in the Prefecture of Trikala"
the Municipality of Athamanon, B class, with Gardiki being the capital and a population
of 3400 citizens, arose. Its original synthesis was Gardiki, Tsiourtza, Moutsara,
Desi, Kamnai, Tyfloseli and later on the Monasteries of Agia Triada and the Assumption
of Virgin Mary were added. Kamnai, Tyfloseli and Desi played the role of small
communities in the Municipality.
Following the same Royal Decree, the Municipality of Aithikon was
formed, B class also, with Tyrna being the capital and a total population of 3464
citizens. Its original synthesis was Tyrna, Dramizi, Kalogiroi, Lantzou, Tichai,
Zioli, Gavaliora, Paliokaria, Vitsena, Veternikon, Koutsiana, Pertouli, Rachovon,
Pyrra, Porta Panagia, Gravanaki, Porta Bazaar and Douskon.
The Municipality of Aithikon was named after the ancient country of
the Macedonian Kingdom in the years of Alexander the Great and his successors.
The man qualified for naming the Municipalities, P. Efstratiadis suggested the
name "Municipality of Pyrreas". As emblem on the rubber stamp, the recommendation
of the Municipal Council was adopted, that is, "...a man wearing a shepherd’s
coat and holding a sheep with to his right...".
Nowadays, Municipality of Aithikon consists of the following villages:
Kalogiroi, Vrontero, Elati, which is the capital, as in the first Municipality
that was set up, Pertouli, Neraidochori (Veternik), Pyrra, Desi, Agios Nikolaos
(Kamnai), Drosochori, (Tyfloseli), Gardiki, Athamania (Moutsiara).
This text is cited June 2005 from the Municipality of Ethikon URL below, which contains image
ICHALIA (Ancient city) TRIKALA
The Thessalians say that Eurytium, which to day is not inhabited, was formerly a city and was called Oechalia.
GARDIKI (Village) TRIKALA
A titular see of Thessaly.
Cardica is a Latinized medieval form for Gardicium, the true Greek name being
Gardikion. It figures only in the twelfth or thirteenth century as a suffragan
of Larissa.
When Thessaly was united with Greece
(1881) the see had been vacant since 1875. It was suppressed in 1899, and Gardikion,
commonly Gardiki, is now but a little town with about 3,000 inhabitants in the
Diocese of Phthiotis.
S. Petrides, ed.
Transcribed by: Gerald M. Knight
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
TRIKKI (Ancient city) THESSALIA
Titular see, suffragan of Larissa
in Thessaly. It was an ancient
city of Thessaly, near the
River Peneius and on the
River Lethaeus which devastated it in 1907.
It is mentioned in Homer as the Kingdom of Machaon and Podaleirius.
It possessed the oldest known temple of AEsculapius, which was discovered in 1902,
with a hospital for pilgrims. Tricca is mentioned by other writers, but not in
connection with important events.
It was a suffragan of Larissa
at an early date and remained so until 1882 when this portion of Thessaly
was annexed to the Kingdom of Greece.
Since then the see, which bears the names of Triccala and Stagoi, is dependent
on the Holy Synod of Athena.
Tricca, now Triccala is the capital of the nome of the same name.
S. Vailhe, ed.
Transcribed by: Scott Anthony Hibbs
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
FARKADON (Ancient city) TRIKALA
The Classical city has been identified with fortifications on an isolated
hill above the modern town of Klokoto. The walls, of ashlar with some Byzantine
repairs, circle the W and lower of two peaks. The line of the wall runs E along
the saddle but turns S to the plain without enclosing the higher peak. The city
presumably extended into the plain but has left no visible remains.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
GOMFI (Ancient city) TRIKALA
One of the principal cities of the region and an important site in
military history, Gomphoi lies 2 km NE of the modern village of Muzaki and about
15 km SW of Trikkala. It guarded the route to the Pindos and was used as a rallying
point by Philip V of Macedon. The principal cult was that of Dionysos Karpios,
but inscriptions also mention Zeus Palamnios. The walls are the principal architectural
remains on the triangular acropolis, which is hollowed out on one side like a
natural theater.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
PELINNA (Ancient city) THESSALIA
A city of Hestiaiotis, on the left bank of the Peneios (Strab. 9.438),
on the S slope of a spur which extends into the middle of the N edge of the W
Thessalian plain. Pelinna was flanked on the W by Trikka and on the E by Pharkadon
(probably ruins at Klokoto) and formed a defensive square with Trikka, Gomphoi,
and Metropolis (Strab. 9.437-438). It was the home of a Pythian victor (Pind.,
Pyth. 10). It issued coinage ca. 400 B.C. On Philip II's intervention in a quarrel
between Pelinna and Pharkadon (?) in the late 350s B.C., the latter was destroyed,
and Pelinna became the main city of W Thessaly, and loyal to Macedon (Polyaen.
4.2.18-19; Arr. Anab. 1.7.5; Diod. Sic. 18.11.1). In 191 B.C. it was taken by
Amynander of the Athamanians, an ally of Antiochus III (Livy 36.10.5) but was
retaken by M' Acilius in the same year (Livy 36.13.7-9, 14.3-5). It became the
site of a bishopric in Christian times.
On the top of the acropolis hill (185 m) is a natural sink hole some
100 m deep. There are two ancient city walls. The upper starts from the E and
W sides of the hole and includes a part of the hill slope. The other circuit starts
from the N ends of the inner wall and includes a wider section of hillside and
a considerable area of the plain. The upper wall, of polygonal masonry, was strengthened
at its NW corner at the sink hole by a massive double-towered bulwark, apparently
somewhat later in date than the wall. There are some 11 other towers irregularly
placed along its extent, the 13th tower being at the NE end of the wall, next
to the hole. This upper wall seems to be 5th c. B.C. in date. The lower city wall,
fairly well preserved on the hill and poorly in the plain, was furnished with
some 50 or more towers fairly regularly spaced at 30 m intervals. It had gates
on the W, S, and E sides, all protected by towers, and is built of rectangular
blocks. Stahlin dated it to the mid 4th c. B.C. The length of the upper wall is
1630 m; of the lower, 2600.
Inside the lower city are numerous traces of roads and buildings.
Just inside the S gate is a long foundation wall (59 m) presumably of a stoa or
similar building, which would have flanked the E side of the road into the city.
Opposite it and roughly parallel is a short section of another foundation wall.
A hollow at the foot of the hill, in the center of the city, was probably the
site of the theater. Stahlin saw traces of digging (stone robbery?) where the
scene building should be. About 110 m to the SW of this is the foundation of a
rectangular building, perhaps a temple. A cistern is cut in the hill just below
the middle of the upper wall, and another in the plain about 170 m E of the W
gate. Near the bottom of the hill and about 200 m from the W wall is a raised
area and on it the remains of a temple (ca. 8 x 14 m) divided into two inner rooms.
Around this was a rectangular peribolos (30 x ca. 40 m) now destroyed on the N
side. Along the S side of this was a long stoa-shaped building 40 m long and 6
m wide. This was divided by cross walls into two short outer rooms and one long
inner one. On the hill above this temple complex are some remains, including a
small rectangular foundation, perhaps of another temple, and the edging of a road
which ran up the hill.
Outside the S gate is a grave tumulus near the Larissa-Trikka road,
2 km to the S of the gate. This was investigated in 1906 and found to contain
a vaulted chamber tomb. Near this two cist graves of the Hellenistic period, discovered
in 1969, contained some remarkable gold jewelry (earrings, bracelet, necklace,
ring, gold wreaths) dated from approximately 200-150 B.C. A certain amount of
sculpture has been found, including pieces of the 6th and 5th c. B.C.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
TRIKKI (Ancient city) THESSALIA
A city of Hestiaiotis known to Homer (B.729); its Asklepieion was
reputed to be the oldest in Greece (Strab. 8.360; 9.437). It issued coinage in
the 5th and 4th c. B.C., but virtually nothing is known of its history. It may
have been destroyed by Philip II of Macedon along with Pharkadon since its exiles
and Pharkadon's were later refused permission to return (Diod. Sic. 18.5.5). It
became a member of the Aitolian League, however (Livy 39.25.3f), and it prospered
in Roman times and later.
Trikka is situated in the W Thessalian plain, at the end of a long
ridge which runs S from the (modern) Antichasia Mts. and cuts the NW part of the
plain in two. The last hill of the ridge stops just N of the Lethaios (Trikkalinos)
river. Routes from Epeiros and Macedonia met at Aiginion (near modern Kalambaka);
the road then led to Trikka, and from it roads led S and E. The ancient city lay
on the left bank of the Lethaios river; modern Trikkala lies on both sides. An
impressive mediaeval castle is built around the last hill of the ridge, near the
river's left bank, on the site presumed to be the ancient acropolis. The plan
of the ancient city is scarcely known, since very few remains of it are left.
In the early part of the century Kastriotis uncovered what he took
to be the asklepieion. In 1956 further excavations were carried out on this building,
which lies to the E of the Church of Haghios Nikolaus in the old section of Trikkala
(ca. 100 m N of the river, ca. 200 m E of the castle). The excavations were carried
out amid great difficulties, and it was possible to uncover only the NE end of
the building. In its final form this building was made up of a large room (N part
only exposed) at the SE end (its length running NE-SW) and a series of four narrow
rooms to the NW of it, then a wide room with a hypocaust floor which was evidently
an addition to the earlier structure. The hypocaust room apparently dated from
the 4th c. A.D., and the original building, although not certainly dated, was
of the Roman Imperial period. The total NW-SE dimension (whether length or width)
is unknown. The original purpose of the building is not known.
In 1958 another building was discovered to the NW of the last, and
was more thoroughly investigated in 1965-66, although again, only a part of it
was uncovered. This was oriented in the same direction as the last, and lies ca.
22 m to the NW of it. The S corner of two adjoining stoa-shaped buildings at right
angles to each other was also discovered. The buildings are ca. 13 m wide; the
discovered length of the SE wing was 34 m. Part of the outer wall of a similar
building parallel to the SE one was discovered. The whole complex is tentatively
identified as a square or rectangular court surrounded by stoas, the NE side is
undiscovered. The outer dimension of the complex (NW-SE) is 78 m, and for the
court 53 m if the NW stoa was also 13 m wide. The construction of the walls and
the finds from the foundation trench seem to date the building to the 2d c. B.C.
Most significant in regard to it was the discovery within the court of fragments
of decrees. Theocharis considered that, since such decrees are normally found
in the chief sanctuary of a city, this building may well have been (part of) the
ancient asklepieion. In the 2d c. A.D. the SE wing had been provided with a very
handsome figured mosaic floor, of which a considerable part remains. The rest
of the building seems to have been considerably altered at this time.
In test trenches during the recent series of excavations part of a
Roman peristyle was uncovered near the Church of the Phaneromene. Sherds from
the Early Bronze Age through Hellenistic and Roman periods were found in several
of the trenches. Tests on the acropolis revealed no remains earlier than the Roman
period, although sherds indicated the area had been in use in prehistoric times.
A test near the fortress gate revealed no ancient wall under this part of the
mediaeval one, although Leake noted some remains of "Hellenic masonry forming
part of the wall of the castle," no longer visible today. In the late 19th
c. Ziehen saw some ancient architectural fragments, including two statue bases
near the Gurna spring S of Haghios Nikolaus, by the river.
T. S. Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!