39°20′52″N22°54′39″E / 39.34773°N 22.91091°E /39.34773; 22.91091
Demetrias (Ancient Greek:Δημητριάς) was aGreek city inMagnesia inancient Thessaly (east centralGreece), situated at the head of thePagasaean Gulf, near the modern city ofVolos.
It was founded in 294 BCE byDemetrius Poliorcetes, who removed thither the inhabitants ofNelia,Pagasae,Ormenium,Rhizus,Sepias,Olizon,Boebe andIolcos, all of which were afterwards included in the territory of Demetrias.[1] It soon became an important place, and the favourite residence of the Macedonian kings. It was favourably situated for commanding the interior of Thessaly, as well as the neighbouring seas; and such was the importance of its position that it was called byPhilip V of Macedon one of the threefetters of Greece, the other two beingChalcis andCorinth.[2][3]
In 196 BCE, the Romans, victorious in theBattle of Cynoscephalae over Philip V in the previous year, took possession of Demetrias and garrisoned the town.[4][5] Four years later theAetolian League captured it by surprise. The Aetolians allied themselves withAntiochus III of theSeleucid Empire in theRoman–Seleucid War. This ended in the defeat of Antiochus.[6] After the return of Antiochus to Asia in 191 BCE, Demetrias surrendered to Philip, who was allowed by the Romans to retain possession of the place.[7] It continued in the hands of Philip and his successor till the over-throw of the Macedonian monarchy at theBattle of Pydna, 169 BCE.[8]
During Roman times it lost importance, but it was the capital of theMagnesian League. In Christian times some buildings were built, especially two churches, one in the northern port, called Basilica of Damokratia, and another one to the south of the city, outside the walls, known as the Cemetery Basilica. Under Roman emperorConstantine the Great (ruled 306–337) it became a Christianepiscopal see and is now atitular see of the Catholic Church.[9]
According toProcopius (De Aedificiis, 4.3.5), Demetrias was rebuilt byJustinian I (r. 527–565), but other evidence points to the possibility that "ancient urban life may have already come to an end by the beginning of the 6th century" (T.E. Gregory). Demetrias is mentioned byHierocles in the sixth century.[10] Its territory was settled by theSlavic tribe of theBelegezitai in the 7th/8th centuries, raided and sacked by theSaracens in 901/2, and by rebels during theUprising of Peter Delyan in 1040.[11]
Following theFourth Crusade, the town was granted to the exiled Byzantine empressEuphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera, and after her death in 1210 toMargaret of Hungary, the widow of theKing of Thessalonica,Boniface of Montferrat.[11] The city came under the rule ofManuel Komnenos Doukas ca. 1240, but wasde facto controlled by a branch of theMelissenos family.[11] In the 1270s, the Byzantines scored an important victory against theVenetians and theLombard barons of Euboea at theBattle of Demetrias.
TheCatalan Company sacked the town in 1310 and kept it until 1381 at least, but from 1333 on, it began to be abandoned for neighbouringVolos. It was finally captured by theOttoman Empire in 1393.[11]
Demetrias was located at Aivaliotika (Αϊβαλιώτικα), about 3 km south ofVolos.[12][13] Remains of the walls (about 11 km) and theacropolis that was to the northwest in the highest point of the city are preserved. Also uncovered were the theater, theHeroon (a temple above the theater), an aqueduct, the sacredagora (with a temple and the administrative center of the city), and theAnaktoron (royal palace) east of the city on the top of a hill, which was occupied until the middle of second century BCE, and later used by the Romans as a cemetery.[14]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Demetrias".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.