Pelasgiotis (Ancient Greek:Πελασγιῶτις,romanized: Pelasgiōtis) was an elongated district ofancient Thessaly, extending from theVale of Tempe in the north to the city ofPherae in the south. The Pelasgiotis included the following localities:Argos Pelasgikon,Argyra,Armenium,Atrax,Crannon,Cynoscephalae,Elateia,Gyrton,Mopsion,Larissa,Kondaia,Onchestos river and town,Phayttos,Pherae,Scotussa, andSykourion. Thedemonym of the district's inhabitants is Pelasgiotae or Pelasgiotes (Πελασγιῶται,Pelasgiōtai).
Along withAchaea Phthiotis,Thessaliotis andHistiaeotis, the Pelasgiotis comprised theThessalian tetrarchy, governed by atagus, when occasion required.
The territory is mentioned byStrabo[1] but not byHerodotus, who seems to include it in the district of Thessaliotis.[2]
In epigraphy, Pelasgiotes are mentioned among other Thessalian ambassadors in Athensc. 353 BC.[3] A fragment of a marble stele at Larissa records that on request of theRoman consulQuintus Caecilius Metellus, son of Quintus, "friend and benefactor of our country [ethnei hēmōn]" in return for services rendered by him, his family and theRoman Senate and People, theThessalian League decreed to send 43,000 coffers of wheat toRome, to be taxed from different regions under the league. The Pelasgiotes and the Phthiotes are to provide 32,000 while the Histiaeotes and Thessaliotes must provide the remaining 11,000, with 25% going to the army, all in different months.[4]
The regional and ethnic toponym is a reminiscentPelasgian element from the Thessalian past. As in other parts of Thessaly,Aeolic Greek inscriptions are attested and after 2nd century BC,Koine Greek.
During the Thessalian Games at Larissa toZeus Eleuthereus in the 1st century BC, several winner athletes are described as "Thessalian from Larissa of Pelasgis" (Θεσσαλὸς ἀπὸ Λαρίσης τῆς Πελασγίδος,Thessalos apo Larisēs tēs Pelasgidos).[5] The 3rd-century BC funerary epigram for Erilaos ofKalchedon mentions alsoΛάρισα τᾶι Πελασγίδι,Larisa tai Pelasgidi.[6]
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