Halos ( grc-gre, Ἅλος), Latinised as Halus, 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 ...

in the region of

Achaea Phthiotis Achaea Phthiotis ( grc, Ἀχαΐα Φθιῶτις, "Achaea of Phthia") or simply Phthiotis (Φθιῶτις) was a historical region of ancient Thessaly in ancient Greece. It lay in southeastern Thessaly, between Mount Othrys and the northern s ...

ancient Thessaly Thessaly or Thessalia (Attic Greek: , ''Thessalía'' or , ''Thettalía'') was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean period, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name that continued to be used for one of the major tribes ...

, on the west side of the

Pagasetic Gulf The Pagasetic Gulf ( el, Παγασητικός κόλπος, Pagasitikós kólpos) is a rounded gulf (max. depth 102 metres) in the Magnesia regional unit (east central Greece) that is formed by the Mount Pelion peninsula. It is connected with ...

Location

It is located 10 km south from present-day

Almyros Almyros or Halmyros ( el, Αλμυρός, , , ) is a town and a municipality of the regional unit of Magnesia, region of Thessaly, Greece. It lies in the center of prosperous fertile plain known as 'Krokio Pedio', which is crossed by torrents. Alm ...

. In Greek mythology Halos and Orchomenus are variously recorded as starting point of Phrixos' and Helle's flight to

Colchis In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia (country), Georgia. Its population, the Colchians a ...

. The classical city, sometimes referred to as Old Halos, is located at Chorostasi, located at while the Hellenistic city, sometimes referred to as New Halos, is located nearby at Neos Platanos, located at .

History

The Hellenistic city lies very close to the surface and is greatly disturbed, but several houses have been excavated by

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. Greek colleagues have investigated a part of the city walls. This city was abandoned in the mid-third century, perhaps after an earthquake. A

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

fort is the last building phase from Antiquity. The town is mentioned in Homer's

Catalogue of Ships The Catalogue of Ships ( grc, νεῶν κατάλογος, ''neōn katálogos'') is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's ''Iliad'' (2.494–759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the na ...

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 ...

.'' According to

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 ...

, the town was situated near the sea, at the extremity of

Mount Othrys Mount Othrys ( el, όρος Όθρυς – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on ...

, above the plain called Crocium, of which the part around Halos was called Athamantium, from

Athamas In Greek mythology, Athamas (; grc, Ἀθάμας, Athámas) was a Boeotian king.Apollodorus1.9.1/ref> Family Athamas was formerly a Thessalian prince and the son of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. He was the brothe ...

, the reputed founder of Halus. Strabo also says that the river Amphrysus, on the banks of which

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

is said to have fed the oxen of

Admetus In Greek mythology, Admetus (; Ancient Greek: ''Admetos'' means 'untamed, untameable') was a king of Pherae in Thessaly. Biography Admetus succeeded his father Pheres after whom the city was named. His mother was identified as Periclymene or ...

, flowed near the walls of Halus. The city is mentioned by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

as one of the places where the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

king Xerxes stayed in the summer of 480 BCE during his attack on Greece. The site of the classical city, which was destroyed in 346 BCE by

Parmenion Parmenion (also Parmenio; grc-gre, Παρμενίων; c. 400 – 330 BC), son of Philotas, was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. A nobleman, Parmenion rose to become Philip's chief milita ...

during the

Third Sacred War The Third Sacred War (356–346 BC) was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed in 3 ...

, has been identified, but not excavated. The city was refounded in 302 BCE by

Demetrius Poliorcetes Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to t ...

. Several later writers mention the city, including

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

and

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...

. In the sixth-century gazetteer ''Ethnica'', Stephanus erroneously refers to the city as "Alea", confusing it with a town in Arcadia.Hansen & Nielsen, ''Inventory'', p. 678.

References

Literature

* M. J. Haagsma, ''Domestic Economy and Social Organisation in New Halos'' (2010) *

Mogens Herman Hansen Mogens Herman Hansen FBA (born 20 August 1940, Frederiksberg) is a Danish classical philologist and classical demographer who is one of the leading scholars in Athenian Democracy and the Polis. Academic career Hansen finished his masters at U ...

& Thomas Heine Nielsen, ''An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis'', Oxford University Press. * R. Reinders, ''New Halos. A Hellenistic Town in Thessalía, Greece'' (1988) * R. Reinders and W. Prummel (eds.), ''Housing in New Halos. A Hellenistic Town in Thessaly, Greece'' (2003)

External links

Halos
Photos and simple map {{Authority control Cities in ancient Greece Achaea Phthiotis Former populated places in Greece Locations in the Iliad Populated places in ancient Thessaly Thessalian city-states