Ormenium ( grc, Ὀρμένιον) was a town of

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 ...

, mentioned in the

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 Homer's ''

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 ...

'', along with Hypereia and Asterium, as belonging to

Eurypylus In Greek mythology, Eurypylus (; grc, Εὐρύπυλος ''Eurypylos'') was the name of several different people: * Eurypylus, was a Thessalian king, son of Euaemon and Ops. He was a former suitor of Helen thus he led the Thessalians during Troja ...

. In

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, it was said to have been founded by

Ormenus In Greek mythology Ormenus or Ormenos (Ancient Greek: Ὄρμενος) is the name of eight men. * Ormenus, one of the Telchines. *Ormenus, king of Ormenion in Thessaly and son of Cercaphus. He was the father of Amyntor and Euaemon. *Ormenus, one ...

, the grandson of

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

, and was the birthplace of

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

(a grandson of Ormenus).

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 ...

identifies this town with a place in Magnesia named Orminium, situated at the foot of Mt. Pelion near the

Pagasaean 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 ...

, at the distance of 27

stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

from

Demetrias Demetrias ( grc, Δημητριάς) was a Greek city in Magnesia in ancient Thessaly (east central Greece), situated at the head of the Pagasaean Gulf, near the modern city of Volos. History It was founded in 294 BCE by Demetrius Polior ...

, on the road passing through

Iolcus Iolcus (; also rendered ''Iolkos'' ; grc, Ἰωλκός and Ἰαωλκός; grc-x-doric, Ἰαλκός; ell, Ιωλκός) is an ancient city, a modern village and a former Municipalities and communities of Greece, municipality in Magnesia (re ...

, which was 7 stadia from Demetrias and 20 from Orminium.

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English military man, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British military, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

, however, observes that the Ormenium of Homer can hardly have been the same as the Orminium of Strabo, since it appears from the situation of Asterium that Eurypylus ruled over the plains of

Thessaliotis Thessaliotis ( grc, Θεσσαλιῶτις) was one of the four districts into which ancient Thessaly was divided. The others were Pelasgiotis, Histiaeotis, and Phthiotis. Thessaliotis corresponded to the central plain of Thessaly and the upper co ...

, which are watered by the Apidanus and Enipeus. The questioning of Strabo's equation of Ormenium with Orminium is still the norm among current scholars; some believing that, instead, Ormenium should be close to

Pharsalus ''Pharsalus''Melichar L (1906) ''Monographie der Issiden. (Homoptera). Abhandlungen der K. K. Zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien.'' Wien 3: 1-327 21 is the type genus of planthoppers in the subfamily Pharsalinae (family Ricaniidae); it ...

, in a Mycenaean site in modern Ktouri. Some archaeologists have related it to the remains found on the Goritsa hill. Others point to a site otherwise called

Armenium Armenium or Armenion ( grc, Ἀρμένιον) was a town of Pelasgiotis in ancient Thessaly, situated between Pherae and Larissa, near Boebeis Lake, said to have been the birthplace of Armenus, who accompanied Jason to Asia, and gave his name t ...

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...

. While others leave the site as unlocated.

References

Populated places in ancient Thessaly Former populated places in Greece Locations in the Iliad Lost ancient cities and towns {{AncientThessaly-geo-stub