Mygdonia (; el, Μυγδονία / Μygdonia) was an ancient territory, part of Ancient

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

, later conquered by

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

, which comprised the plains around

Therma Therma or Thermē ( grc, Θέρμα, ) was a Greek city founded by Eretrians or Corinthians in late 7th century BC in ancient Mygdonia (Europe), Mygdonia (which was later incorporated into Macedon), situated at the northeastern extremity of a great ...

(

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

) together with the valleys of Klisali and Besikia, including the area of the

Axios river The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around ...

mouth and extending as far east as Lake Bolbe. To the north it was joined by

Crestonia Crestonia (or Crestonice) ( el, Κρηστωνία) was an ancient region immediately north of Mygdonia. The Echeidorus river, which flowed through Mygdonia into the Thermaic Gulf, had its source in Crestonia. It was partly occupied by a remnant o ...

. The Echeidorus, which flowed into the

Thermaic Gulf The Thermaic Gulf (), also called the Gulf of Salonika and the Macedonian Gulf, is a gulf constituting the northwest corner of the Aegean Sea. The city of Thessaloniki is at its northeastern tip, and it is bounded by Pieria Imathia and Larissa ...

near the marshes of the Axios, had its sources in Crestonia. The pass of Aulon or Arethusa was probably the boundary of Mygdonia towards

Bisaltia Bisaltia ( el, Βισαλτία) or Bisaltica was an ancient country which was bordered by Sintice on the north, Crestonia on the west, Mygdonia on the south and was separated by Odomantis on the north-east and Edonis on the south-east by river ...

. The maritime part of Mygdonia formed a district called

Amphaxitis Amphaxitis ( grc, Ἀμφαξῖτις) refers to the western maritime part of the Mygdonia district of ancient Macedonia, on Axius river The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest rive ...

, a distinction which first occurs in

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

, who divides all the great plain at the head of the Thermaic gulf into Amphaxitis and

Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...

, and which is found three centuries later in

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 latter introduces Amphaxitis twice under the subdivisions of Macedonia (in one instance placing the mouths of the Echidorus and Axios in Amphaxitis, and mentioning Thessalonica as the only town in the district, which agrees with Polybius and with

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 ...

). In another place Ptolemy includes

Stageira Stagira (), Stagirus (), or Stageira ( el, Στάγειρα or ) was an ancient Greek city located near the eastern coast of the peninsula of Chalkidice, which is now part of the Greek province of Central Macedonia. It is chiefly known for bei ...

and Arethusa in Amphaxitis, which, if correct, would indicate that a portion of Amphaxitis, very distant from the Axios, was separated from the remainder by a part of Mygdonia; but since this is improbable, the word is perhaps an error of the text. The main cities of Mygdonia were

(

Sindus Sindos ( el, Σίνδος; la, Sindus; is a suburb of Thessaloniki, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Delta, Thessaloniki, Delta. Sindos is home to the main campus of the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki an ...

Chalastra Chalastra ( el, Χαλάστρα) is a town and former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Before 1926, it was known as Κουλουκιά - ''Kouloukia'' ( bg, Кулакия - ''Kulakiya''). It was renamed to ''Chalastra'' i ...

Altus Altus or ALTUS may refer to: Music * Alto, a musical term meaning second highest musical or vocal type *Altus (voice type), a vocal type also known as countertenor Places * Altus, Arkansas, US **Altus AVA, a wine-growing region near Altus, Arka ...

Strepsa Strepsa (; Greek: ) was an ancient city of Mygdonia, Macedon, near Therma, toward Chalcidice. The editors of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, tentatively identify Strepsa with the modern village of Basilika, in the municipality ...

Cissus ''Cissus'' is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas (Woody plant, woody vines) in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. Uses Medicinal ''Cissus quadrang ...

Mellisurgis Mellisurgis was a town of Mygdonia, in ancient Macedonia, situated on the road from Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with o ...

(today, Mellisourgós), and

Heracleustes Heracleustibus was a populated place, a station in the Jerusalem Itinerary, 11 Mille passus, M. P. from Apollonia (Mygdonia), Apollonia in Mygdonia. has conjectured that it is equivalent to Ἡρακλέους στίβος. The name comes down to u ...

. According to the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

, the town of Apollonia was visited by the apostles

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and et ...

. Besides these, the following obscure towns occur in Ptolemy: Chaetae, Moryllus, Antigoneia (which actually refers to

Antigonia Psaphara Antigonia Psaphara or Antigoneia Psaphara ( grc, Ἀντιγόνεια Ψαφαρά), or simply Antigonia, Antigonea, or Antigoneia (Ἀντιγόνεια) was a Hellenistic city in Macedon in the district Crusis (Krousis) in Chalcidice, placed by ...

in the

Chalcidice Chalkidiki (; el, Χαλκιδική , also spelled Halkidiki, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region c ...

), Calindaea, Boerus, Physca, Trepilus, Carabia, Xylopolis, Assorus, Lete, Phileres, Dicaea,

Aeneia Aenea (; grc, Αἴνεια, ''Aineia'') was an ancient Greek city in northwesternmost Chalcidice, said to have been founded by Aeneas, and was situated, according to Livy, opposite Pydna, and 15 miles from Thessalonica. It appears to have stood ...

and Arethusa . The area has been inhabited since the Mesolithic era (9000-7000 BC). Early inhabitants probably were the

Pelasgians The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...

, followed by the Mygdones, who gave their name to the region. The Mygdones may have been a Brigian or

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

tribe.The Assyrian and Babylonian empires and other states of the Near East, from the eighth to the sixth centuries B.C., John Boardman, Cambridge University Press, 1991
, p.601.

Paeonians Paeonians were an ancient Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania, to the west of Thrace and to the east of Illyria, most of their lan ...

and also

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...

(in particular, the

Edonians The Edoni (also ''Edones'', ''Edonians'', ''Edonides'') ( el, Ἠδωνιοί) were a Thracians, Thracian people who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Struma (river), Strymon rivers in southern Thrace, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon ...

) ruled and inhabited the region for a time, until it was annexed to

. Today, most of Mygdonia is comprehended within the Thessaloniki regional unitbr>
in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

References

{{reflist * Smith, William (editor);
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Vol 2
'; (1854), Pag. 384 Ancient Greek geography Geography of ancient Macedonia Geography of ancient Thrace Thracian tribes Historical regions in Greece

See also

References