Casthanaea or Casthanea or Kasthanaia or Kasthaneia ( gr, Κασθαναία) or Castanea or Kastanaia (Κασταναία) 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
Ancient Magnesia
Anciently, Magnesia ( grc, Μαγνησία) was a region of Ancient Greece, eventually absorbed by ancient Thessaly. Originally inhabited by the Magnetes (Μάγνητες), Magnesia was the long and narrow slip of country between Mounts Ossa a ...
, at the foot of
Mount Pelium
Pelion or Pelium (Modern el, Πήλιο, ''Pílio''; Ancient Greek/Katharevousa: Πήλιον, ''Pēlion'') is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in northern Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the ...
, with a temple of
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
Casthanitis. It 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 ...
in his account of the terrible storm which the fleet of
Xerxes I
Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of ...
experienced off this part of the coast. It was from this town that the chestnut tree, which still abounds on the eastern side of Mt. Pelium, derived its name in Greek and the modern languages of Europe. Its location is at the modern village of
Keramidi
Keramidi ( el, Κεραμίδι) is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community in Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rigas Fera ...
.
References
Former populated places in Greece
Ancient Magnesia
Populated places in ancient Thessaly
Cities in ancient Greece
Thessalian city-states
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