Larissa ( grc, Λάρισσα) or Larisa (Λάρισα) Phrikonis was a Bronze Age city in the

Aegean Region The Aegean Region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. Located in w ...

of Turkey. It is in the immediate vicinity of Menemen, in the district of İzmir province. The ruins of the city are on a hill top next to today's Buruncuk village. The main road to Çanakkale from İzmir skirts the same hill, making a considerable curve to the northwest. It must also be emphasized that Larissa is very close to the Gediz River (called 'Hermus' in antiquity), which formed a fertile plain on its own delta, with the alluvial soil carried from the Anatolian inland. The first nucleus of Larissa formed during the third millennium BC. The city survived all through the Persian and

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

periods, though it was largely destroyed during the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

in 405 BC. Larissa was rebuilt after the War but was annihilated by the

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...

ns (

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

s) in 279 BC. It is known as one of the twelve

Aeolian Aeolian commonly refers to things related to either of two Greek mythological figures: * Aeolus (son of Hippotes), ruler of the winds * Aeolus (son of Hellen), son of Hellen and eponym of the Aeolians * Aeolians, an ancient Greek tribe thought to ...

cities.

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 ...

considered that this Larissa was the one mentioned in Homer's '' Iliad''. Xenophon writes that

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

established a colony of Egyptian soldiers there. Xenophon also relates that it was besieged in vain by

Thimbrom Thibron ( grc-gre, Θίβρων; died 391 BC) was a Spartan general. He was sent out as harmost in 400 BC, with an army of about 5,000 men, composed of 1,000 emancipated helots and 4,000 other Peleponesians, to aid the Ionians against Tissaphernes ...

. In Strabo's time it was deserted, although it is mentioned by other ancient geographers such as Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy, and

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

. The first excavations in Larissa were initiated in 1902 by Swedish and German archeologists. The findings were taken to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and to İstanbul archeological museums.

References

{{Authority control Geography of İzmir Province Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region Cities in ancient Aeolis Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Populated places in ancient Aeolis Former populated places in Turkey