Thessaly Revisited

Demetrias Poliorketes founded the Magnesian port of Demetrios, later subject to Philoctetes, situated on the north coast of the Pagasitic Gulf, near a temple of Demeter. The gulf was named after the old port of Pagasai or Pagai ( named after springs - pegai ) and was the place where Peleus ordered Jason to set sail in the Argo. Nearby Iolkos was razed by seditions and tyrannies, eventually swallowed up by Demetrios. Demetrios was a naval station used by many Macedonian kings in times past. ( Naupegia - ship building )
Thessaly, famed for beautiful women, had four parts: Thessalotis, Hestiotis, Pelasgiotis and Phthiotis. Phthiotis was subject to Achilles and his mate Patroclus, who fell at Troy. Other leaders were; Polypoites, Protesilaos, Eumelos, Medon,  Philoctetes, Eurypylus and Phoinix. Phoinix was a Dolopian. It is contested as to whether he was an advisor to Achilles in the Trojan war as he wouldn't have gone to war without his subjects. Ancient kings were Deucalion and the son of Heracles, Thessalos. Achilles once let his hair down to impress the River Sperchious, that emerges into the Maliac Gulf between Lamia and Thermopylai. Halos is nearby. Once central Thessaly, being flat and below sea level, was a big lake surrounded by mountains. An earthquake fractured the region between Ossa and Olympos and the lake flowed out to sea via the Pinious river near Tempe, thus draining the land. Lake Nessonis and Lake Boibis are the only remnants. Boibis is where an important local maiden once bathed her foot. Lake Nessonis is now dry farmland. It once had an embankment built by Perrhaibians to stop flooding. Philip II of Macedonia invaded the area, as he was prone to do at times. At the Lamian war, Antipatros lead the Macedonians against the Athenians under Leosthenes. The Romans beat the Macedonians later at Kynoscephalai. At Metropolis (Doris was one ) Kallimachus says that one of the Aphrodites preferred swine as a sacrifice. Pork sarnies all round!Skyros, where Achilles had a fling with Lycomedes, became one of Philip's conquests. It was an island renowned for goats and much exported variegated white stone, used in Rome to such excess, it was very common and thus became worthless, despite the stone's excellence. Pelasgian Larisa was a very popular city and indeed a popular name, what with there being at least a dozen Larisas across the Hellenistic lands. Pelasgian Argos is long gone. Phthiotic Thebes is gone. They say all of Phthiotis was once Achaian. Ithome became Thamai. Deucalion once ruled Thessaly and he named it Pyrrhia in honour of his wife, Pyrrha. The north was called Pandora after his mother and the south was called Haimonia. Deucalion had a son called Hellen and he gave his name to Hellas - the old name for Greece proper. Homer always thought of Hellas and Phtia as one. Antron is a port on the Maliac Gulf and gives its name to a reef called the arse of Antron. It is subject to Protesilaos. Xerxes' invasion by sea was foiled on the coast of Magnesia at Cape Sepias, when his ships were smashed up on rocks and beaches by typhoons. They say the Talarians once lived on Mt Pindos and took in some refugee Centaurs who were chased away from Hestiotis by Perrhaibians, but there's no trace of the Talarians today. Maybe the Centaurs killed them. Hesiod was a fan of the white peaks of Titanos and the Dotian lake and the Didymian Hills. River Titarios is said to be very oily. The magic helmet of Meges was burgled from a house in Eleon, near Mt Pindos, by Autolykos the tea leaf and it ended up being passed down to Odysseus. It rendered the wearer invisible, so Odysseus used it on a stealth mission and infiltrated the Trojan nightwatch during the build up to the siege of Troy. It's all true! Amphrysos river. Mopsos was here. Olizon is a port situated in Magnesia on the the southernmost cape. Mount Pelion dominates the skyline around the Pagasitic Gulf. Parocholeitai. Skotoussa is on the Pinious river. Pharkadon was another city, as was Pharsalos. Rhizous. There was also Aithikians Athamanians Elimotians and other tribes.