|
Greek City of Magnesia (ad Maeandrum) in Ionia
Bronze 17mm (4.33 grams) Struck circa 350-200 B.C.
Kleainos, magistrate
Reference: Sear 4487 var.; SNG Copenhagen 813 var.
Armed horseman prancing right, holding couched spear.
Humped bull butting left, MAΓN above, ΚΛΕΑINΟΣ
in exergue; all within maeander pattern border.
Situated south-east of Ephesus, on a tributary of the Maeander,
Magnesia was originally founded from Thessaly but was re-established by
colonists from Miletos in the 7th century B.C.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Magnesia
(Greek:
Μαγνησία, Magnisía, IPA: [maɣniˈsia]),
deriving from the tribe name
Magnetes,
is the name of the southeastern area of
Thessaly in
central
Greece.
The modern prefecture (Νομός Μαγνησίας) was created in 1947 out of the Larissa
prefecture. About 70% of the population live in the Greater
Volos area which
is the second-largest city in Thessaly and the third busiest commercial port in
Greece. Much of the population lives near the
Pagasetic Gulf and in the eastern part. The chemical element,
Magnesium,
was named after the “City of Magnesia” by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1808[citation
needed]
The capital of Magnesia prefecture is the metropolitan city of
Volos. According
to the most recent census (2001), the population stands at 207,000. The
prefecture of Magnesia includes the
Northern
Sporades
group of islands (Skiathos,
Skopelos
and
Alonissos.
The prefecture also includes the
Alonissos Marine Park. The prefecture hosts 2,000,000 tourists annually.
Magnesia is represented in the
Greek Parliament by five members.
//
Geography
The natural landscape of Magnesia consists of wooded mountains, cultivated
flat land, and coastline. One of the area’s main elements is the
Pelion mountain
range which is located the eastern region of the Prefecture and forms the
eastern edge of the
Pagasetic Gulf.
The ranges’ highest peak is
Pourianos Stavros or Xeforti, (altitude 1624 metres). On the edge of
Magnesia
peninsula
Tiseo mountain is found, which is considered to be the Southeast edge of
Pelion.
Mt.
Maurovouni (1054 metres) is the northeastly most mountain of the prefecture
and extends to the neighboring prefecture of
Larissa.
The southwest border of the prefecture is Mt.Othry,
with its highest peak called
Gerakovouni (1726 metres) and forms the boundary with the prefecture of
Phthiotis.
The interior of Magnesia has two plains. One found between Mt. Halkodonio
(725 metres) and Othry is called
Almyros
plain, while the
other between Halkodonio and
Pelion is
called the
Volos-Velestino
plain. The hydrological network of the prefecture is not particularly rich and
is characterized by the absence of big
rivers. The waters coming from
Pelion shape
the rivers
Anavros, Platanorema, and Xirias.
In the
North
section of the prefecture
Lake Karla
was formerly found. Lake Karla was drained in 1962, but attempts have been made
for its partial restoration.
On the bight of
Sourpi, next to
Amaliapolis a coastal
wetland is
found, with various species of
migratory birds. This wetland together with the forest of
Kouri – an
infrequent
lowland of
Oak
tree
forest
close to
Almyros
– is included in the list of the protected regions of the
European
Network
Natura 2000.
The
Pagasetic Gulf dominates the interior coastline of Magnesia.
Climate
The average
temperature is 17
degrees Celsius and the average rainfall about 540 millimetres per year.
Heat waves and intense cold periods are rare. During the summer the temperature
rises up to about 37 to 38 °C in August. The climate varies in different parts
of the prefecture; close to the
Pagasetic Gulf conditions are humid, in
Nea Ionia
it is quite dry and in
Velestino and
Almyros is the climate is continental. In winter there is significant
snowfall in the mountains and often freezing temperatures.
History
Antiquity
According to
Hesiod’s (probably) “Eoiae” (Greek:
Ηοίαι) or “Catalogue
of Women”[2]
on the origin of the
Greeks, Pandora
(named after her grandmother
Pandora,
sister of
Hellen
and daughter of
Deukalion and
Pyrrha) together with Zeus had one son
Graecus,
while Zeus had two more with
Thyia, another of
Deukalion’s daughter:
Magnes and
Macedon. Magnes and Makednos together with
Hellen’s three
sons
Dorus,
Xuthus (with
his sons
Ion and
Achaeus) and
Aeolos, comprised the set of progenitors of the ancient tribes that formed
the
Greek/Hellenic
nation. Magnes ruled the area and people under his name. Magnesia is also
homeland of the mythical heroes
Jason,
Peleus and his
son
Achilles.
The word
magnet
comes from the Greek “magnítis líthos” (μαγνήτης λίθος), which means “magnesian
stone”. The names for the elements
magnesium
and
manganese
are also derived from this region, which in addition to the magnetic magnetite
(an iron ore), produces certain ores of magnesium and manganese that were known
to alchemists. The Magnetes contributed to the
Greek colonization, with their main colonies being established before the
7th century BC, under the names of Magnesia beside Sipylus in Lydia and Magnesia
on the Maeander in Ionia.
Christian
era
Written accounts and remains from the 5th century AD document the appearance
of Christianity in Magnesia. The minutes of the 3rd Ecumenical Conference are
co-signed by the Bishop of Dimitriada Cleonikos. Five basilicas have been
revealed in Nea Anhialos, showing that the area was undergoing a spiritual
growth in that era. Magnesias has churches, monasteries and chapels, many of
which are architectural masterpieces in the style that is called “Pelioritica”.
In the area of Pelion are the monastery of Saint Yerasimos in Makrinitsa, The
Holy Archangels in Agios Georgios Nilias, Osios Lavredios in Agios Lavrendis,
Saint John the Baptist in Siki and Saint Spiridon in Promiri. The most famous is
the Monastery in Flamouri, built in the 16th century by Osios Simeon, the
so-called “barefoot and loin-clothed”, located above Veneto.
In the Almiros area and on the mountain of Othris two other monasteries were
built, one inhabited by
monks in Ano Pagania (Virgin Mary) Xenia and the other by
nuns in Kato Panagia Xenia. This monastery holds historical monuments of the
area from the 12th century, with of frescoes, treasuries and a library. In Kato
Panagia Xenia monastery, an icon of the Virgin Mary, venerated by the people of
the area, is kept. All the monasteries are of archeological, historical and
artistic interest and are accessible (the one in Flamouri only by men).
|
