VII - THESSALY - PREHISTORIC AEOLIA

VII - THESSALY - PREHISTORIC AEOLIA

Thessaly, located south of Macedonia and north of mainland Greece, consists of a number of spacious valleys surrounded by high mountains. Thessaly has been home to a younger Neolithic culture associated with the “Dimeni” (Dimini) Culture of Sesklo and Proto-Sekslo located west of Volos from where it spread out south to Corinth and central Greece and north to Macedonia and beyond. This culture was similar to the “Vincha” Culture. The Dimini Culture existed in the period from the V to the IV millennium BC and still bears the name “Minoian Culture”. Besides the pottery found there, which according to Schliemann (1878) carries the name “Minoian ceramics”, there were also vases with special decorations and forms etc. The bearers of this culture are famous for the megalithic fortifications they built around their settlements, as opposed to their older open neighbourhoods. Inside their fortifications the Dimini built “Megaroni houses” of a rectangular type, some with more than one floor and some with a porch. The houses were built with stone foundations and the walls with unbaked mud bricks. This is the first time such buildings appeared.

According to historian Papastavrou (Papastavrou, I., Istoria tis Arhaias Ellados, p. 16, Hiotelli, Athinai, 1972), professor at the Faculty of Athens and Solun, the first Dimini Culture bearers were tribes that came to Thessaly from the north in waves. Quoting Elegen (The Coming of the Greeks, Amer. J. оf Archeology, 1897, 32, 146), he further states that these tribes built the first Troy, between 3200-2600 BC, evidenced by the similar style of “megaroni”.

Thomson (Thomson, G.: I Arhaia Eilliniki Koinonia-to Proistoriko Algaio, p. 124, Athina, 1954) identified the Dimini Culture bearers as having lived on Greek soil and having spoken an ancient “Greek” language from which he surmised they were the Aeolians from Hyperborea who came to the region around the II millennium BC. Among the Aeolians he included the “Minici”, “Lapiti”, “Tiroci”, “Flegici”, Macedonians and others who migrated from the valleys of the Central Danube following the Vardar (Aksios) River flow and settled in the rich plains of Thessaly. Analogous toponyms have been found in Serbia. Named after the “Minici” we have “Minichevo” in Timok. Named after the “Lapiti” we have “Lapovo”, “Tiroici” we have “Sirakovo” and named after the “Flegici” we have “Pozarevac”. About the Macedonians, Hesiod (Hesiodus, Fragmenta & Theogonia, p. 29) said that they were the children of Zeus, Magnet and Macedon.

Prehistoric colonization of the southern Balkans 62 Magnet was the eponimenical king of the Macedonian “Magnet” tribe living in the mountainous part of eastern Thessaly, today known as Magnesia. Macedon was the eponimenical hero king of Macedonia and the father of the Macedonian people who lived in the region of the Olympus, Pieria and Pindus mountains. The “Minici” of Thessaly lived in the Thessalean “Ohomen” or “Mini”, in the basin of the River Enipei in Peneus, in the Beotian Orhomen near the mouth of the River Kefis and around Lake Kopais. In time they became powerful and the famous creators of the “miniski” Culture. Belonging to that dynasty, whose founder was king Mini, were “Trofon” and “Agamed” sons of king Kliment, two famous architects known for building forts, temples and treasuries. After that came king Ergin, who imposed taxes on the Kadmian Thebans and because of that he had to fight Hercules. Many people took part in the Trojan War, in the Argonaut expeditions etc. The descendants of the “Minici” were also founders and kings of the “miniski” colony in “Kirenea” in Libya and ruled there from 630 to 460 BC. With the arrival of the Hellenes, the minici migrated, mostly to Egypt (El Minya) and the Caucasus (Ar-menia).

The regions settled by the “Lapiti” in Thessaly included “Atraks”, “Girton”, “Elatia” and “Korona” north of today’s Larissa and south of the slopes of Olympus in Histoitida. The first king and founder of the Lapiti was king Lapit, son of the Hyperborean god Apollo. Included among Lapit’s descendants were “Forbant”, “Perifant”, “Iksion”, “Piritoi” “Polipet”, the Centaur “Hiron”, “Elath”, “Kenei”, “Koron”, “Andremon”, “Toant”, “Hemon”, “Oksil”, “aktor”, “Augi”, “Filei”, “Meget”, “Etol”, “Pleuron”, “Kalidon”, “Kipsel”, “Periandar” and “Butad”. We will mention something only about a few of them who became kings in the southern Balkans.

Forbant was king of Rhodes and Elida in the Peloponnesus. Perifant was king of Athens. Piritoi was king of Magnesia. Polipet was king of the Lapiti and participant in the Trojan War. The famous Centaur king Hiron was a teacher and educator of many heroes, such as Hercules, Achilles, Asclepius, Jason and others. King Kenei was a participant in the hunt for the wild Caledonian boar and in the Argonaut expeditions. Koron was king of the city Koron, located in the “Pagainski” Gulf. He was also a participant in the Argonaut expeditions and fought against the Doric king Egimi for possession of Mount Eta. Andremon was king of the city Amphys in Fokida. Toant was leader of the Etolci in the Trojan War and gave Odysseus refuge when he was expelled from Ithaca. Ten years later Odysseus died of old age in Toant’s court. Toant was Hemon’s father and Hemon was Oksil’s father. Oksil’s name is associated with the Doric Hellenic conquests in the Peloponnesus, when he became king of Elida, the country of his ancestors. He protected the Aheici when they were persecuted by the Hellenes. He also renewed the Olympics. Forbant’s son Aktor, lived in Elida as king. He inherited Augi’s (his brother’s) wealth, who had the world’s best and most numerous herds, and was known for having his stables cleaned by Hercules. He participated in the Argonaut expeditions. His successor was king Filei who participated in the hunt for the wild Caledonian boar. His son Meget was king of Elida and he too participated in the Trojan War with 40 ships. His mother Timaindra was Laerta’s daughter, and sister to Odysseus, Helen and Klitemnestra.

According to Pausanius (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, V, 3, (прев. Pasini: Vodič po Heladi), Logos, Split, 1989), in the period between Toant’s time and that of Epei and Etol, sons of Endimion, there were six generations of Eolci (Aeolians). During Epei’s rule with Elida, the Lydian or Phrygian (Brigian) king Pelops from Asia Minor expelled the Aheici from the Thessalean Ftia, occupied Piza and partitioned neighbouring Olympia from Epei’s country. Because Epei had no children, the throne was inherited by his brother Etol. Their brother Peon fled far north and settled near the river Axius (Vardar), where he became founder of the Peonci (Peonians).(Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, V, 4, (прев. Pasini: Vodič po Heladi), Logos, Split, 1989). Because of some murder, Etol fled to Aetolia, which was named after him. Etol was succeeded by his son Pleuron, eponimenical hero and king of the city Pleuron in Aetolia. His brother Kalidon also became an eponimenical hero and king of the city Kalidon also in Aetolia. The city was famous in the world then because of its collective hunting which attracted the bravest hunters from all over the country who hunted Artemis’s wild boar, also known as the “the hunt of the wild Caledonian boar”.

After the Etolians left the Peloponnesus, Epe’s kingdom became known as Ilis or Elida, named after Elei, the son of Evridika (Eurydice), daughter of Edimion. As a result of this the ethnic name of the population also changed from Epeians to Eleians. And while Elei was king of Elida, an army of Eleians and Dorians was raised and in 1104 BC the Peloponnesus was conquered. Much later, in 657 BC, under different conditions, “Kipsel”, one of king Kinei’s descendants from the Thessalian Lapiti family of Pannonia, became the first tyrant to rule Corinth in the Peloponnesus. Before he became a tyrant he ruled together with his relatives the Bahiadi. His rule was very successful and Corinth became a strong “city-state” in political, social and economic terms. King Kipsel was succeeded by his son Periandar who reigned from 627-582 BC and was even more successful. The Corinthian Channel was penetrated and colonies were created in Macedonia (Potideia) and Corfu (700 BC). He developed the production of goods and an economy, carried out social reorganization and promoted diplomacy not only in Egypt and Asia Minor, but also in other parts of the Mediterranean. He was considered one of the seven sages of his time.

Another son of Kipsel’s was Miltiad, who for political reasons in 559 BC, during Pezistrat’s time, was expelled to the Thracian Hersones. There he became very wealthy. His nephew, also named Miltiad, was supreme commander of the Greek armed forces which fought in Marathon against the Persians in the winner of 490 BC, forces which Athens contributed to secure a leading position.

In time more and more Lepiti settled Attica, especially Athens, where the native Pelasgians were found. In mythological tradition this was tied with the Eteobutadi, i.e. the first offspring of the Butadi ancient tribe of priests, an important branch of the Thessalean Lapiti (Thomson, G.: I Arhaia Eilliniki Koinonia-to Proistoriko Algaio, p. 183, Athina, 1954) about which we will say more in the chapter on Athens.

The Tiroici of Thessaly

The next Thessalian tribe belonging to the Dimini Culture originating from the Danube Region was the “Tiroici” or “Sirakovci” from the Stishko Valley. According to Thomson (Thomson, G.: I Arhaia Eilliniki Koinonia-to Proistoriko Algaio, p. 134, Athina, 1954) the “Tiroici” and the “Lapiti” belonged to the same branch of people. The Tiroici of Thessaly inhabited the plain around the Pagaitian Gulf, around today’s city Volos. Their new homeland constituted of settlements by the sea, such as the “Filake”, “Ferai”, “Jolk”, “Nelei”, “Boiba” and “Kranon”. The largest Dimini Culture sites are located near the ancient Jolk settlement.

The Tiroici are named after their original and eponimical mother “Tiro”. The lyric poet Pindar (520-445 BC) in Pitia (Pindar, Pitia, 4, 138) said that the Tiroici migrated from the north, through Macedonia, and that their original mother was Tiro who fell in love with the god Poseidon of Petra, on the slopes of Mount Olympus. They brought with them their religion from “Gierdap-Tartar” and their belief in the god Poseidon when they settled Thessaly with their compatriots the Lapiti.

In mythology, the name “Tiro” appeared in prehistory in Thessaly and in Elida, located northwest the Peloponnesus. The Thessalian “Tiro” was the wife of the god Poseidon (Herodotus, History, VII, 55, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988 and Pausanians 2.1 etc.) and king “Kretei” king of “Jolk”, son of “Eol”. In Thessalian legends Kretei was a mortal, king of Jolk. He married his brother’s granddaughter Tiro who bore him three sons, “Feret”, “Amitaon”, and “Eson”. Kretei also had two more sons “Pelei” and “Nelei” (Apollodori, Bibliotheca (I-II century BC), 1,7,3), children of his wife and the god Poseidon. Feret was the founder and eponimenical hero of the city “Fera” (Riga Fera) in Thessaly, located northwest of Volos. Feret was married to Periklimena, daughter of king Mini. Their children were “Admet”, “Eidomena”, “Perioped” and Lycurgus, who was king of the Peloponnesian Немеiа during the campaign of “Seven against Thebes”, in 1213 BC, when the Cadmians and Phoenicians ruled.

Admet inherited his father’s (Feret’s) kingdom and extended his rule throughout Eolia (Thessaly). Admet married “Alkesta” and had three children “Eumel”, “Perimel” and “Hipas”. Amitaon, Kretei’s second son, married “Idomena” (there is a city named “Idomeni” in the Republic of Macedonia, near Gevgelia), daughter of Ferei who bore him two sons, “Melampod” and “Biant”, who later became kings of “Megara”, “Mesenia” and “Akarnania”. In mythology Amitaon, together with his relatives Nelei and Pelei were known for founding the Olympic games. (Thomson, G.: I Arhaia Eilliniki Koinonia-to Proistoriko Algaio, p. 129, Athina, 1954)

Filak, a famous hero, was one of Eol’s descendants who founded the city “Filaka” in Thessaly. According to Homer (Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, I, 1, II, 705, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. M.N.Gjurigj)), Filak was also known for his cattle from which he is connected to the legend of his son “Ifikle” who was impotent and who Melampod healed. Ifikle then had two sons “Podark” and “Protesilai” who participated in the Argonaut expeditions. Podark participated in the Trojan War with 40 ships and so did his brother Protesilai who was then killed.

Eson, king of Jolk, was Kretei’s third son. He married Alkimeda, granddaughter of king Mini, who gave birth to “Jason”. Peli stripped his half-brother Eson, illegitimate son of Thira and Poseidon, from the throne. Peli then sent Eson to jail because he refused to renounce his inheritance. Jason was a hero in the Argonaut myth as well as a Thessalian hero whose legend is described by Apollonius Rogianis (295-230 BC) in the “Aeronautica”.

When Pelei became king of Jolk, he drove his brother Nelei out, who then fled to Messenia located southwest of the Peloponnesus, where south of the Navarino Gulf he founded the town Pil, and where he brought with him his relatives Melampod and Biant. Pelei married Filomaha, Amfion’s daughter from the Minici tribe with whom she had a son named “Aksat” and several daughters called the “Peleiadi”. Pelei ruled Jolk until the arrival of Jason from Kolhida with the “golden fleece”. Pelei was killed by his daughters, the Peliadi, thanks to the lie of the magician Medea who assured them that he would return younger if they killed him. Fearing revenge, Jason fled Peliad’s (son of Akast’s) kingdom and went to Istam in the Peloponnesus. Akast was involved in the hunt of the Caledonian wild boar and the Argonaut expeditions. He was married to Astidamia who had attempted to seduce their guest Pelei, son of the Eginski king Eak, king of Ftia in Thessaly, father to the great hero Achilles, who had come to be cleansed after a murder. Because he rejected the love of Astidamina, the hurt queen told her husband that Pelei had tried to rape her. Akast did not like to personally kill his guest, so he drove him to Mount Pelion without any weapons.

Nelei’s second illegitimate son with Tira, after having an argument with his brother Pelei, fled to Messenia, his fate will be examined in the chapter about the Peloponnesus.

Thessalian Ftia

The southern part of Thessaly was called Ftia. It was located in the triangular plain of the Sperhei River basin, a river that flows into Malida Bay in the Aegean Sea. The plain is surrounded on all sides by high mountains, making the valley inaccessible. Located to the north of the valley is Mount Otris (1726 m), to the south is Mount Eta (2152 m) and to the west is Mount Timfrest (2315 m). To the east, facing towards the sea, is an open area about 30 km wide and about 50 km long. The only southern access to the valley is from Boeotia, leading through the very narrow Thermopylaic Gorge through which only a single car can pass. The west side is very steep and rises high making it inaccessible from the steep slopes of Eta and from the eastern part of the Sea. There is a wedge in the bay penetrating Cape Artemisia belonging to the Eubei Island.

When environmental conditions became favourable, Ftia was first settled by the descendants of the Pelasgians from the Peloponnesus, immigrants from the Black Sea. (Thomson, G.: I Arhaia Eilliniki Koinonia-to Proistoriko Algaio, p. 115, Athina, 1954) After them, around 1600 BC, the Aheici (Achaeans) from Pannonia arrived through Epirus. One group of Aheici settled in Epirus and made the city Dodona their centre. The rest migrated to Ftia and historically became known as the Thessalian Achaeans. Our earliest historical knowledge of the Achaeans comes from the Hittites of Asia Minor and from the XIII century BC Egyptians when the Achaeans were called “Ahhiawa” or “Ahhiwawan”. (Papastavrou, I.: Istoria tis Arhaias Ellados, p. 29 Hiotelli, Athinai, 1972).

In mythology the Pelasgians of Ftia were the descendents of the god “Asop” who had two sons “Pelasg” (today there is a city named Pelasgia at the shores of Ftia), and “Ismen”, and a daughter named “Egina”. Egina married Aktor, king of Ftia, and bore him two sons, of whom “Meneti” is the father of “Patrokle” a famous hero in the Trojan War and inseparable friend of Achilles. Egina also bore Eak, son of Zeus at Egina Island. Eak was the founder of a newly arrived Achaean tribe in Ftia, later named Eakidi or Mirmidonci (ant-hills). Achilles was Eak’s nephew. Achilles was the most famous hero of the Achaeans in the Trojan War from 1192 to1182 BC.

According to Homer, (Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, II, 681, Novi Sad, 1985 (prev. MN Gjurigj)) the Achaeans of Ftia settled in the following five cities: “Alopa”, “Ala”, “Trehina”, “Ftia” and “Hellada”. Also according to Homer they had beautiful women…

While the Thessalian Achaeans lived crowded and poor in Ftia, together with the Pelasgians, Pelops in the middle of XIII century BC, promised them a lot of wealth and drove many of them to go to the Peloponnesus. Pelops, son of the Lydian king Tantalus, was known as a Phrygian or Brigian from Asia Minor.