Gonnus or Gonnos ( grc, Γόννος) or Gonni (Γόννοι) was a town and

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

(city-state) of the Perrhaebi in ancient Thessaly, which derived its name, according to the later Greek critics, from Gonneus, mentioned in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

''. Its position made it one of the most important places in the north of Thessaly. It stood on the northern side of the

Peneius In Greek mythology, Peneus (; Ancient Greek: Πηνειός) was a Thessalian river god, one of the three thousand Rivers (Potamoi), a child of Oceanus and Tethys. Family The nymph Creusa bore him one son, Hypseus, who was King of the Lapith ...

, near the entrance of the only two passes by which an enemy can penetrate into Thessaly from the north. The celebrated

vale of Tempe The Vale of Tempe ( el, Κοιλάδα των Τεμπών) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The ...

begins to narrow at Gonnus; and the pass across

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

a little to the west of Tempe leads into Thessaly at Gonnus. It was by the latter route that the army of Xerxes I entered Thessaly. The position of Gonnus with respect to Tempe is clearly shown by the numerous passages in which it is mentioned by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

. After the Battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BCE),

Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...

fled in haste to Tempe, but halted a day at Gonnus, to receive such of his troops as might have survived the battle. In the war against

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the res ...

, in 191 BCE, when the king, having marched from Demetrias, had advanced as far north as

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

, a portion of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

army under the command of

Appius Claudius Appius Claudius may refer to: * Appius Claudius Caecus * Appius Claudius Caudex * Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis Sabinus * Appius Claudius Pulcher (disambiguation) * Appius Claudius Sabinus Inregillensis Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis ...

marched through the pass across Mount Olympus, and thus arrived at Gonnus. On this occasion Livy says that Gonnus was from Larissa, and describes it as situated "''in ipsis faucibus saltus quæ Tempe appellantur''." In 171 BCE it was strongly fortified by Perseus of Macedon; and when this monarch retired into

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

, the Roman consul

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...

advanced against the town, but found it impregnable. Gonnus does not occur in history after the wars of the Romans in Greece, but it is mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

. The editors of the '' Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World'' locate Gonnus at the modern town of Gonnoi. A site, called Gonoussa (Γονούσσα), about southeast of the modern town has been excavated extensively.

References

{{DGRG, title=Gonnus Cities in ancient Greece Populated places in ancient Thessaly Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Thessaly Perrhaebia Former populated places in Greece Thessalian city-states Larissa (regional unit)