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Pelinna (Πέλιννα) or Pelinnaeum ( gr, Πελινναῖον)
[ Arrian, ''Anabasis'', 1.7.] was an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
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 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 ...
, in the district
Histiaeotis
Histiaeotis ( grc, Ἱστιαιῶτις, Histiaiōtis) or ''Hestiaeotis'' (Ἑστιαιῶτις - Hestiaiōtis) was a northwest district of ancient Thessaly, part of the Thessalian tetrarchy, roughly corresponding to modern Trikala regiona ...
, a little above the left bank of the
Peneius
In Greek mythology, Peneus (; Ancient Greek: Πηνειός) was a Thessalian river god, one of the three thousand Rivers (Potamoi), a child of Oceanus and Tethys.
Family
The nymph Creusa bore him one son, Hypseus, who was King of the Lapi ...
.
[
The city had a celebrated temple of Zeus Pelinnaeus. Pelinna was situated between ]Tricca
Tricca or Trikka ( grc, Τρίκκη or Τρίκκα) was a city and polis (city-state) of ancient Thessaly in the district Histiaeotis, standing upon the left bank of the Peneius, and near a small stream called Lethaeus. This city is said to ha ...
and Pharcadon
Pharcadon or Pharkadon ( grc, Φαρκαδών or Φαρκηδών) was a city and polis (city-state) of Histiaeotis in ancient Thessaly, situated to the left of the Peneius, between Pelinnaeum and Atrax.
In 200 BCE, during the Second Maced ...
, near modern Palaiogardiki ( Trikala regional unit). The city gained particular prominence in the fourth century BCE through its alliance with Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...
. Among other archaeological evidence of the religious significance of Pelinna are two Orphic
Orphism (more rarely Orphicism; grc, Ὀρφικά, Orphiká) is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus ...
gold tablets (''lamellae
Lamella (plural lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to:
Biology
* Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap
* Lamella (botany)
* Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal
* ...
'') found in 1985 on the site of Petroporos, dating to the late fourth century BCE.
It seems to have been a place of some importance even in the time of Pindar
Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...
. Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
passed through the town in his rapid march from Illyria to Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
.[ It did not revolt from the Macedonians together with the other Thessalians after the death of Alexander the Great. In the war between ]Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the res ...
and the Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, 191 BCE, Pelinna was occupied by the Athamanians
Athamanians or Athamanes (, ''Athamanes'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited south-eastern Epirus and west Thessaly. Today, the municipal unit of Athamania in Central Tzoumerka and the community of Athamania in Pyli are named after ...
, but was soon afterwards recovered by the Romans. The location of Pelinna is at Palaiogardíki (Petroporos), where there are considerable remains of the ancient town. 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 ...
, describing the situation in the 19th century, stated that "the city occupied the face of a rocky height, together with a large quadrangular space at the foot of it on the south. The southern wall is more than half a mile in length, and the whole circumference near three miles." Joseph Hilarius Eckhel
Joseph Hilarius Eckhel (13 January 1737 – 16 May 1798) was an Austrian Jesuit priest and numismatist.
Biography
Eckhel was born at Enzersfeld, in Lower Austria.
His father was farm-steward to Count Zinzendorf, and he received his early educ ...
writes that the coins of this town bore the inscription Πεληναῖον.[Eckhel, ''Doctrina numorum veterum'', vol. ii. p. 146.] The nearby modern town of Pelinnaioi
Pelinnaioi ( el, Πελινναίοι) is a former municipality in the Trikala regional unit, Thessaly, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern ...
reflects the ancient name.
References
External links
Coinage of Pelinna
Populated places in ancient Thessaly
Thessalian city-states
Cities in ancient Greece
Former populated places in Greece
Religion in ancient Thessaly
Greek religion inscriptions
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece
Histiaeotis
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