Larisa (Troad)
Encyclopedia
Larisa was a Greek
city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia
. Its surrounding territory was known in Greek
as the (Larisaia). It has been located on a small rise by the coast now known as Limantepe, about 3.5 km from the village of Kösedere to the north-east and 3 km from the village of Babadere to the east, in the Ayvacık
district of Çanakkale
province, Turkey
. As with other Greek toponyms containing the consonantal string -ss-, spellings that drop one 's' exist alongside those that retain both in the ancient literary sources. Larisa in the Troad should not be confused with 'Aeolian
' Larisa
, near Menemen
, or with 'Ionian
' Larisa in İzmir
province.
population. The Augustan
geographer Strabo
considered the toponym 'Laris(s)a' to be Pelasgian
, and it was understood by lexicographers
in Antiquity
to mean 'citadel'. The specific attribution to the little understood Pelasgians should be treated with caution, as scholars now generally consider this a catch-all term used by Greeks to refer to the non-Greek peoples whom they knew had previously inhabited Asia Minor, but understood little about. Nevertheless, modern philologists
do consider the consonantal string -ss- to be pre-Greek
, and possibly Luwian
, in origin, and so it is quite possible that the name Larisa represents a pre-Greek
survival.
occupation from the late 8th century BC. In 427
BC Larisa was one of the so-called Actaean cities that Athens
took from Mytilene
following the end of the Mytilenean revolt
, and it appears in the Athenian tribute assessments in 425/4 BC and 422/1 BC. In 425/4 BC it had an assessment of 3 talents, a relatively high figure compared to other cities in the Troad. As a former member of the Mytilenaean peraia
, it is thought that the Greeks who originally settled Larisa were from Mytilene, as was the case with the other Actaean cities. A corrupt passage of Strabo
used to be understood as instead supporting the idea that Larisa and its neighbour to the north Kolonai
belonged to the peraia of the island of Tenedos
, but scholars now prefer to restore Lesbos in the lacuna
. Larisa was forcibly re-incorporated into the Persian Empire
in 399
BC before being freed once more by the Spartan Dercylidas
in 398
BC.
The relatively high Athenian tribute assessment for Larisa of 3 talents suggests that during the Classical
period it was a comparatively wealthy settlement. It lay in a large fertile plain between the Acheloos river to the north and the Satnioeis river to the south that would have provided good farmland. In addition, it had access in Classical Antiquity
to an excellent harbour. Its border to the south with Hamaxitus
was marked by the Satnioeis river (modern Tuzla Çay), and for a period in the late 4th century BC it may have controlled the lucrative salt pans
at Tragasai
, which, though north of the Satnioeis, were in general controlled by Hamaxitus. Beyond the Acheloos lay the territory of Kolonai
, which appears to have been in some sort of semi-dependent relationship with Larisa, further increasing the city's revenues.
is extremely obscure. It has generally been thought that Larisa lost its political independence in a synoecism
with Antigoneia Troas
c. 310 BC. However, the eminent French epigrapher
Louis Robert
consistently challenged this view, arguing that Larisa and Hamaxitus
remained independent until after the Treaty of Apamea
. Moreover, he proposed on the basis of a legend on a coin found at Limantepe (the site of Larisa) that for a period in the 3rd century BC Larisa was refounded by the Ptolemaic dynasty
as Ptolemais. This theory has by no means won universal favour, and at present there is too little archaeological
or numismatic
evidence to decide the matter. Whether or not Larisa was still a polis
at the time, the Delphi
c thearodokoi stopped off there c. 230 - 220 BC, indicating that there was still a settlement of some description on the site at this point. However, by the beginning of the Roman
period Larisa appears to have been abandoned altogether.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. Its surrounding territory was known in Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
as the (Larisaia). It has been located on a small rise by the coast now known as Limantepe, about 3.5 km from the village of Kösedere to the north-east and 3 km from the village of Babadere to the east, in the Ayvacık
Ayvacik
Ayvacık is a town and district of Çanakkale Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. According to the 2007 census, population of the district is 30.027 of which 7,457 live in the town of Ayvacık. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .-External links:* * * *...
district of Çanakkale
Çanakkale
Çanakkale is a town and seaport in Turkey, in Çanakkale Province, on the southern coast of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the town is 106,116 . The mayor is Ülgür Gökhan ....
province, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. As with other Greek toponyms containing the consonantal string -ss-, spellings that drop one 's' exist alongside those that retain both in the ancient literary sources. Larisa in the Troad should not be confused with 'Aeolian
Aeolians
The Aeolians were one of the four major ancient Greek tribes comprising Ancient Greeks. Their name derives from Aeolus, the mythical ancestor of the Aeolic branch and son of Hellen, the mythical patriarch of the Greek nation...
' Larisa
Larissa, Turkey
Larissa is an ancient city in western Anatolia, Turkey. It is in the immediate vicinity of Menemen, in the district of İzmir province. The ruins of the city are on a hill top next to today's Buruncuk village. The main road to Çanakkale from İzmir skirts the same hill, making a considerable curve to...
, near Menemen
Menemen
Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey as well as the district's central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River...
, or with 'Ionian
Ionians
The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided...
' Larisa in İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
province.
Bronze Age
Ceramic finds of Early Bronze Age III (c. 2700 - c. 2200 BC) and Troy VI material suggest that Limantepe had been occupied since the mid-3rd millennium BC by a pre-GreekAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
population. The Augustan
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
geographer Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
considered the toponym 'Laris(s)a' to be Pelasgian
Pelasgians
The name Pelasgians was used by some ancient Greek writers to refer to populations that were either the ancestors of the Greeks or who preceded the Greeks in Greece, "a hold-all term for any ancient, primitive and presumably indigenous people in the Greek world." In general, "Pelasgian" has come...
, and it was understood by lexicographers
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
in Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
to mean 'citadel'. The specific attribution to the little understood Pelasgians should be treated with caution, as scholars now generally consider this a catch-all term used by Greeks to refer to the non-Greek peoples whom they knew had previously inhabited Asia Minor, but understood little about. Nevertheless, modern philologists
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
do consider the consonantal string -ss- to be pre-Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, and possibly Luwian
Luwian language
Luwian is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. Luwian is closely related to Hittite, and was among the languages spoken during the second and first millennia BC by population groups in central and western Anatolia and northern Syria...
, in origin, and so it is quite possible that the name Larisa represents a pre-Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
survival.
Archaic and Classical
We hear nothing about Larisa in the Archaic Greek period from our literary sources, but ceramic finds at Limantepe indicate GreekAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
occupation from the late 8th century BC. In 427
427
Year 427 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hierus and Ardabur...
BC Larisa was one of the so-called Actaean cities that Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
took from Mytilene
Mytilene
Mytilene is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island of Lesbos. Mytilene, whose name is pre-Greek, is built on the...
following the end of the Mytilenean revolt
Mytilenean revolt
The Mytilenean revolt was an incident in the Peloponnesian War in which the city of Mytilene attempted to unify the island of Lesbos under its control and revolt from the Athenian Empire...
, and it appears in the Athenian tribute assessments in 425/4 BC and 422/1 BC. In 425/4 BC it had an assessment of 3 talents, a relatively high figure compared to other cities in the Troad. As a former member of the Mytilenaean peraia
Peraia
Peraia , also written as Perea, has the meaning of "place opposite", usually a place lying across the sea from a city or an island, and may refer to any of several places, including:in Greece:...
, it is thought that the Greeks who originally settled Larisa were from Mytilene, as was the case with the other Actaean cities. A corrupt passage of Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
used to be understood as instead supporting the idea that Larisa and its neighbour to the north Kolonai
Kolonai
Kolonai was a Greek city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia. It has been located on a hill by the coast known as Beşiktepe , about equidistant between Larisa to the south and Alexandreia Troas to the north. It is 3.3 km east of the modern village of Alemşah in the Ezine district of...
belonged to the peraia of the island of Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
, but scholars now prefer to restore Lesbos in the lacuna
Lacuna (manuscripts)
A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...
. Larisa was forcibly re-incorporated into the Persian Empire
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...
in 399
399
Year 399 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Eutropius and Theodorus...
BC before being freed once more by the Spartan Dercylidas
Dercylidas
Dercylidas was a Spartan commander during the 4th century BC. For his cunning and inventiveness, he was nicknamed Sisyphus. In 411 he was harmost at Abydos. From 399 to 397 BC, Dercylidas superseded Thibron and led the Spartans through Thrace to the west coast of Asia, where he plundered...
in 398
398
Year 398 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Eutychianus...
BC.
The relatively high Athenian tribute assessment for Larisa of 3 talents suggests that during the Classical
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
period it was a comparatively wealthy settlement. It lay in a large fertile plain between the Acheloos river to the north and the Satnioeis river to the south that would have provided good farmland. In addition, it had access in Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
to an excellent harbour. Its border to the south with Hamaxitus
Hamaxitus
Hamaxitus was a Greek city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia which was considered to mark the boundary between the Troad and Aeolis. Its surrounding territory was known in Greek as , and included the temple of Apollo Smintheus, the salt pans at Tragasai, and the Satnioeis river...
was marked by the Satnioeis river (modern Tuzla Çay), and for a period in the late 4th century BC it may have controlled the lucrative salt pans
Salt pan (geology)
Natural salt pans are flat expanses of ground covered with salt and other minerals, usually shining white under the sun. They are found in deserts, and should not be confused with salt evaporation ponds.A salt pan is formed where water pools...
at Tragasai
Tragasus
In Greek mythology, Tragasus was the father of Philonome, the deceitful wife of Cycnus, King of Colonae in the Troad. The name Tragasus may be connected with the Tragasaean salt-pan near Hamaxitus, mentioned by Strabo, which was located south of Troy....
, which, though north of the Satnioeis, were in general controlled by Hamaxitus. Beyond the Acheloos lay the territory of Kolonai
Kolonai
Kolonai was a Greek city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia. It has been located on a hill by the coast known as Beşiktepe , about equidistant between Larisa to the south and Alexandreia Troas to the north. It is 3.3 km east of the modern village of Alemşah in the Ezine district of...
, which appears to have been in some sort of semi-dependent relationship with Larisa, further increasing the city's revenues.
Hellenistic and Roman
The history of Larisa in the Hellenistic periodHellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
is extremely obscure. It has generally been thought that Larisa lost its political independence in a synoecism
Synoecism
Synoecism or synecism , also spelled synoikism , was originally the amalgamation of villages in Ancient Hellas into poleis, or city-states. Etymologically the word means "dwelling together in the same house ." Subsequently any act of civic union between polities of any size was described by the...
with Antigoneia Troas
Alexandria Troas
Alexandria Troas is an ancient Greek city situated on the Aegean Sea near the northern tip of Turkey's western coast, a little south of Tenedos . It is located in the modern Turkish province of Çanakkale...
c. 310 BC. However, the eminent French epigrapher
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
Louis Robert
Louis Robert
Louis Robert was a professor of Greek history and Epigraphy at the Collège de France, and author of many volumes and articles on Greek epigraphy , numismatics, and the historical geography of Greek lands...
consistently challenged this view, arguing that Larisa and Hamaxitus
Hamaxitus
Hamaxitus was a Greek city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia which was considered to mark the boundary between the Troad and Aeolis. Its surrounding territory was known in Greek as , and included the temple of Apollo Smintheus, the salt pans at Tragasai, and the Satnioeis river...
remained independent until after the Treaty of Apamea
Treaty of Apamea
The Treaty of Apamea of 188 BC, was peace treaty between the Roman Republic and Antiochus III , ruler of the Seleucid Empire. It took place after the Romans' victories in the battle of Thermopylae , in the Battle of Magnesia , and after Roman and Rhodian naval victories over the Seleucid navy.In...
. Moreover, he proposed on the basis of a legend on a coin found at Limantepe (the site of Larisa) that for a period in the 3rd century BC Larisa was refounded by the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
as Ptolemais. This theory has by no means won universal favour, and at present there is too little archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
or numismatic
Numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...
evidence to decide the matter. Whether or not Larisa was still a polis
Polis
Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...
at the time, the Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
c thearodokoi stopped off there c. 230 - 220 BC, indicating that there was still a settlement of some description on the site at this point. However, by the beginning of the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
period Larisa appears to have been abandoned altogether.