The Malians ( grc, Μαλιεῖς, ''Malieis'') were a Greek tribe that resided at the mouth of the river

Spercheios The Spercheios (, ''Sperkheiós''), also known as the Spercheus from its Latin name, is a river in Phthiotis in central Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . It was worshipped as a god in the ancient Greek religion and appears in some c ...

in Greece. The Malian Gulf is named after them. In the western valley of the

, their land was adjacent to the

Aenianes Ainis (Ancient Greek Αἰνίς, , Modern Greek Αινίδα, ) or Aeniania, was a region of ancient Greece located near Lamia in modern Central Greece, roughly corresponding to the upper Valley of Spercheios. Name The region takes its name fro ...

. Their main town was Trachis. In the town of Anthele, the Malians had an important temple of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

; an early centre of the Delphinian Amphictiony. According to Herodotus, the Malian

Ephialtes of Trachis Ephialtes (; el, Ἐφιάλτης, ''Ephialtēs''; although Herodotus spelled it as , ''Epialtes'') was the son of Eurydemus ( el, Εὐρύδημος) of Malis. He betrayed his homeland, in hope of receiving some kind of reward from the Persian ...

, betrayed the Spartans and their allies in the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label=Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting o ...

, helping the Persians surround the Greek army. In 426BCE, the Malians asked Sparta for help in their war against the Oetaeans. The Spartans then founded the town

Heraclea Trachis Heraclea (Herakleia) in Trachis ( grc, Ἡράκλεια ἡ ἐν Τραχῖνι), also called Heraclea Trachinia (), was a colony founded by the Spartans in 426 BC, the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War. It was also a polis (city-state). Sit ...

in place of Trachis. In the following decades, the Malians were under the hegemony of Sparta, until they revolted against it in the

Corinthian War The Corinthian War (395–387 BC) was a conflict in ancient Greece which pitted Sparta against a coalition of city-states comprising Thebes, Athens, Corinth and Argos, backed by the Achaemenid Empire. The war was caused by dissatisfaction with ...

. In this war, they lost their land south of the Spercheios, Herakleia Trachis was given to the Oitaians, and Lamia became the new capital of the Malians. Together with the Oitaians and the Ainians, the Malians became members of the

Corinthian League The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was created ...

, and in 235BCE, the Aetolian League. In 189BCE, they became part of Achaea Phthiotis, and since that time the Malians were regarded as Thessalians.

References

Aetolian League Ancient Thessalians Ancient tribes in central Greece Greek tribes History of Phthiotis Spercheios Valley {{AncientGreece-stub