Farsala ( Greek : Φάρσαλα ), known in Antiquity as Pharsalos ( Ancient Greek : Φάρσαλος , Latin : Pharsalus ), is a city in southern Thessaly , in Greece . Farsala is located in the southern part of Larissa regional unit, and is one of its largest towns. Farsala is an economic and agricultural centre of the region. Cotton and livestock are the main agricultural products, and many inhabitants are employed in the production of textile. The area is mostly famous for being the birthplace of the mythical ancient Greek hero Achilles , and the site of a major battle between Roman generals Gaius Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in 48 BC.
17-516: Farsala lies at the southern edge of the Thessalian Plain , 4 km south of the river Enipeas . The Greek National Road 3 ( Larissa - Lamia ) and the Greek National Road 30 ( Karditsa - Volos ) pass through the town. The Palaiofarsalos railway station (litt. " Ancient Pharsalus "), on the line from Athens to Thessaloniki and head of the branch line to Kalambaka , is located in
34-518: A World War II bombardment and a catastrophic earthquake that struck the area in 1954. Small scale urbanization processes attracted population from surrounding villages during the 80's and 90's creating an urban landscape typical of Greek cities with small apartment buildings in nearby plots of land. The municipality Farsala was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units: The province of Farsala ( Greek : Επαρχία Φαρσάλων )
51-470: A locality identified as Palaepharsalus . This is supported by excavated remains of a fortified site called Xylades near Enipeus , which is located in the easternmost part of the Pharsalian territory. This ancient site was also associated by accounts of ancient writers with a holy place dedicated to Thetis called Thetidium . For instance, Euripides used this as a setting for Andromache . The Pharsalos of
68-678: The Athenian commander Myronides , after his victory in Boeotia , but without success. At the commencement of the Peloponnesian War , Pharsalus was one of the Thessalian towns that sent succour to the Athenians. Medius of Larissa took Pharsalus by force, about 395 BC. Pharsalus, under the conduct of Polydamas , resisted Jason of Pherae for a time, but subsequently formed an alliance with him. In
85-560: The Mycenaean period, capital of the Kingdom of the Myrmidons and of Peleus , father of Achilles , has sometimes been identified with the later city of Pharsalos (Greek: Φάρσαλος), now Farsala. A Cyclopean Wall which protected a city still exists today near modern Farsala, as does a vaulted tomb from that period. There is a theory that claimed the existence of an earlier Pharsalos in the form of
102-552: The Pindus mountain range to the west, which separates Thessaly from Epirus ; Mount Othrys and its outliers in the south; Mount Pelion to the east; Mount Ossa and Mount Olympus to the northeast, with the pass of the Tempe Valley leading to Macedonia ; and the Chasia and Kamvounia mountains to the north. The plain was extremely fertile, and up until the early 20th century the area
119-714: The Romans , Pharsalus was for a time in the possession of the Syrian monarch; but on the retreat of the latter, it surrendered to the consul Acilius Glabrio in 191 BC. After the defeat of the Macedonian Kingdom, Pharsalos and the whole area became a part of the Roman Republic . The whole area suffered great destruction during the Roman Civil War . The Battle of Pharsalus , where Julius Caesar defeated Pompey and changed
136-624: The British School at Athens , No. XXIV, 1919–21) that the battle of 48 BC must have been fought north of the Enipeus, near modern-day Krini. It has been suggested that Krini was built on the site of Palaeopharsalos, where the old road south from Larissa emerged from the hills on to the Pharsalian Plain. In the time of Pliny the Elder , Pharsalus was a free state. It is also mentioned by Hierocles in
153-614: The course of the Roman Republic forever, took place in 48 BC in the fields of the Pharsalian Plain. The geographer Strabo speaks of two towns, Old Pharsalos, Παλαιοφάρσαλος (Palaeopharsalos) and Pharsalos, existing in historical times. His statement (9.5.6) that the Thetideion, the temple to Thetis south of Scotussa , was “near both the Pharsaloi, the Old and the New”, seems to imply that Palaeopharsalos
170-791: The early 4th century BC, the city was a part of the Thessalian Commons. Later, it joined the Macedonian Kingdom under Philip II . The area became a theatre of war where the Aetolians and the Thessalians clashed with the Macedonians, especially during the Second and the Third Macedonian Wars . The city during the classical period was influential as demonstrated in the influence wielded by
187-618: The historic era was built over a hillside of the Narthacius mountains at an elevation of some 160 m, where modern Farsala stands. It was one of the main cities in Thessaly and was the capital of the Phthian tetrarch . It was also a polis (city-state). In the Persian Wars it sided with the Athenians. A distinctive tribe of the city was that of Echecratidon. In 455 BC Pharsalos was besieged by
SECTION 10
#1732868789375204-578: The sixth century. Farsala was known as Çatalca during Ottoman rule. Following the Treaty of Berlin the city became part of the Hellenic Kingdom together with the rest of Thessaly in 1881. During the First Greco-Turkish War (1897), a major battle [ el ] took place in the vicinity of Farsala. The contemporary town has no historical or medieval buildings left as a result of
221-568: The tetrarch Daochos, who ruled from Pharsalos. He was part of the Council of Amphictyonic League , administered the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and conducted the Pythian Games . Daochos built several monuments at Pharsalos dedicated to members of his family. Parts of the eight portraits that survived showed classical style, depicting subjects in their youthful vigor. In the war between Antiochus III and
238-400: The village of Stavros , 12 km to the west. Farsala is located 38 km south of Larissa, 41 km east of Karditsa , 44 km north of Lamia and 49 km west of Volos . The municipality Farsala has an area of 739.74 km, the municipal unit Farsala has an area of 121.433 km, and the community Farsala has an area of 57.928 km. Φ A / P Σ The Homeric Phthia of
255-672: Was a breadbasket for Greece. The existence of the plain also made Thessaly one of the few areas in ancient Greece that could field large numbers of cavalry; the Thessalian cavalry was an important component in the Ancient Macedonian army of Philip II and Alexander the Great . Manius Acilius Glabrio (consul 191 BC) Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
272-612: Was not itself close by Pharsalos. Although the battle of 48 BC is called after Pharsalos, four ancient writers – the author of the Bellum Alexandrinum (48.1), Frontinus ( Strategemata 2.3.22), Eutropius (20), and Orosius (6.15.27) – place it specifically at Palaeo pharsalos. In 198 B.C. Philip V had sacked Palaeopharsalos ( Livy 32.13.9). If that town had been close to Pharsalos he would have sacked both, and Livy would have written “Pharsalus” instead of “Palaeopharsalus”. The British scholar F. L. Lucas demonstrated ( Annual of
289-624: Was one of the provinces of the Larissa Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present municipality. It was abolished in 2006. Thessalian Plain The Thessalian plain ( Greek : Θεσσαλική πεδιάδα, Θεσσαλικός κάμπος ) is the dominant geographical feature of the Greek region of Thessaly . The plain is formed by the Pineios River and its tributaries and is surrounded by mountains:
#374625