The Thessalian plain ( el, Θεσσαλική πεδιάδα, Θεσσαλικός κάμπος) is the dominant geographical feature of the Greek region of

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

. The plain is formed by the Pineios River and its tributaries and is surrounded by mountains: the

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; el, Πίνδος, Píndos; sq, Pindet; rup, Pindu) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km (100 miles) long, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 metres ...

mountain range to the west, which separates Thessaly from

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

; Mount Othrys and its outliers in the south; Mount Pelion to the east; Mount Ossa and

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

to the northeast, with the pass of the

Tempe Valley The Vale of Tempe ( el, Κοιλάδα των Τεμπών) is a gorge in the Tempi municipality of northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south, and between the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia. The v ...

leading to Macedonia; and the Chasia and Kamvounia mountains to the north. The plain was extremely fertile, and up until the early 20th century the area was a breadbasket for Greece. The existence of the plain also made Thessaly one of the few areas in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...

that could field large numbers of cavalry; the

Thessalian cavalry The army of the Kingdom of Macedon was among the greatest military forces of the ancient world. It was created and made formidable by King Philip II of Macedon; previously the army of Macedon had been of little account in the politics of the Gre ...

was an important component in the Ancient Macedonian army of Philip II and

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 ...

Gallery

File:Θεσσαλικός κάμπος 01.jpg File:Θεσσαλικός κάμπος 02.jpg File:Θεσσαλικός κάμπος 03.jpg File:Θεσσαλικός κάμπος 04.jpg {{coord missing, Greece Geography of Thessaly Plains of Greece