Mygdonia, Thessaloniki
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Mygdonia () is an administrative area in the Thessaloniki regional unit,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. A former municipality, since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Oraiokastro Oraiokastro (, also Oreokastro) is a municipality in the Thessaloniki (regional unit), Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece, and a suburb of Thessaloniki. Municipality The municipality Oraiokastro was formed at the 2011 local government reform by t ...
, of which it is a municipal unit. It has a population of 9,830 (2021). The municipal unit of Mygdonia includes three communities, Drymos, Liti and Melissochori. The seat of the municipality was in Liti. The municipal unit has an area of 98.506 km2.


Etymology

Mygdonia is named after the historical region of
Mygdonia Mygdonia (; ) was an ancient territory, part of ancient Thrace, later conquered by Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon, which comprised the plains around Therma (Thessalonica) together with the valleys of Klisali and Besikia, including the ar ...
, which encompassed a much larger region than the modern municipal unit, stretching from
Lake Volvi Lake Volvi ( - ''Límni Vólvi'') is located at the root of the Chalkidiki peninsula, in the Thessaloniki regional unit of Greece. It is the second largest lake in the country at length and width. Its area is 68 km² and its depth is 20 m ...
to the
Axios river The Vardar (; , , ) or Axios (, ) is the longest river in North Macedonia and a major river in Greece, where it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of ...
, including the city of
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
. According to the legend, it was named after Mygdon, a mythological figure considered to be a son of
Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...
and Callirhoe.


History

According to archaeologists, the area has been inhabited since the Mesolithic era (9000-7000 BC). The first inhabitants were
Pelasgians The name Pelasgians (, ) was used by Classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergence of the Greeks. In general, "Pelasgian" has come to mean more broadly all ...
, followed by
Thracian tribes This is a list of ancient tribes in Thrace and Dacia () including possibly or partly Thracian or Dacian tribes, and non-Thracian or non-Dacian tribes that inhabited the lands known as Thrace and Dacia. A great number of Ancient Greek tribes live ...
such as the Mygdones and the
Edoni The Edoni (also ''Edones'', ''Edonians'', ''Edonides'') () were a Thracian tribe who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Strymon rivers in southern Thrace, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon at least as far as the Axios. They inhabited ...
, until
Alexander I of Macedon Alexander I (; died 454 BC), also known as Alexander the Philhellene (; ), was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 498/497 BC until his death in 454 BC. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Perdiccas II. Biography Alexander wa ...
conquered and annexed the area. Archaeological discoveries have been made in the area, near the Liti village and at the location of Derveni. Discoveries include the ruins of the ancient city of Lete, ancient Macedonian tombs, tombstones, altars, statues, clay statuettes, coins, etc. Perhaps the most important discovery is the
Derveni papyrus The Derveni papyrus is an Ancient Greek papyrus roll that was discovered in 1962 at the archaeological site of Derveni, near Thessaloniki, in Central Macedonia. A philosophical treatise, the text is an allegorical commentary on an Orphic poem, a ...
, an ancient Greek
papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...
scroll, found in the city's
necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...
in 1962 - a philosophical
treatise A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...
on Orphic religion.


See also

* Ancient Mygdonia


References


External links

*Local news, cultural events, sports and educational activities can be found at http://www.mygdonia.gr, an active local web site. Populated places in Thessaloniki (regional unit) Oraiokastro Pelasgians Mesolithic settlements {{CentralMacedonia-geo-stub bg:Даутбал (дем)