Pelasgia, Phthiotis
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Pelasgia (, formerly Γαρδίκι, ''Gardiki''), is a town and a former
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in
Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...
,
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 ...
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Stylida Stylida (; older Στυλίς, Stylis) is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. The population of the municipality was 11,389 (2021). In ancient times the town was named Phalara (). Municipality The municipality Stylida was formed at ...
, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 128.334 km2, the community 52.089 km2. In the 2021 census, the municipal unit of Pelasgia numbered 2,383 inhabitants, the town proper 1,442.


History

The village is located at the northern entrance of the
Malian Gulf The Malian or Maliac Gulf () is a gulf in the western Aegean Sea. It forms part of the coastline of Greece's region of Phthiotis. The gulf stretches east to west to a distance of , depending on the definition, and is very shallow, with a maximum ...
, some 2 km south of the
acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...
of the ancient city of Larissa Kremaste. The ancient city is still mentioned until the early
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
period, but was abandoned after the
Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...
invasions of the 7th century and reappears only in the 11th century under the new, Slavic, name of Gardiki, which the settlement bore until 1927, when it was renamed to Pelasgia. In the 11th century, Gardiki—referred to in Byzantine sources also as ''hetera Gardikia'' (ἑτέρα Γαρδικία), "the other Gardiki", to distinguish it from the town of the same name near
Trikala Trikala () is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala (regional unit), Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios (Thessaly), Pineios. According to the Greek Natio ...
—was an
episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...
(a
suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, ...
of the
Metropolis of Larissa The Metropolis of Larissa and Tyrnavos () is a Greek Orthodox metropolitan see in Thessaly, Greece. History Christianity penetrated early to Larissa, though its first bishop is recorded only in 325 at the Council of Nicaea. Saint Achillius of L ...
). The Jewish traveller
Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela (), also known as Benjamin ben Jonah, was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, and Africa in the twelfth century. His vivid descriptions of western Asia preceded those of Marco Polo by a hundred years. With his ...
, who visited it in 1165, found it almost deserted, with only a few Greek and Jewish families resident. Nevertheless, under Emperor
Isaac II Angelos Isaac II Angelos or Angelus (; September 1156 – 28 January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and co-Emperor with his son Alexios IV Angelos from 1203 to 1204. In a 1185 revolt against the Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, Isaac ...
in 1189 it is listed as among the
metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...
s, albeit without any suffragans. A manuscript list indicates that there was a Greek bishop named John in 1191–92.Sophrone Pétridès, "Cardica"
in ''
Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
'' (New York 1908)
In the aftermath of the
Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
, the town came under
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
rule, and was known as ''Gardichy'', ''Cardiche'', ''Lacardica'', and ''Gaudica''. The local see accordingly came under the
Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
. Gams mentions five Latin bishops from 1208 to 1389, the first being Bartholomew, to whom many letters of
Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
are addressed; Bartholomew was also bishop of
Velestino Velestino (; ) is a town in the Magnesia regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality Rigas Feraios. Location It is situated at elevation on a hillside, at the southeastern end of the Thessalian Plain. It is west of ...
and
Demetrias Demetrias () 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 Poliorcetes, who removed th ...
, and seems to have been the only residential Latin bishop. In 1222 it was recovered by the Epirote Greeks and the see was restored to its
Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
clergy, becoming an
archbishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...
and eventually again a metropolis. In 1275 it was ceded by the ruler of
Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...
,
John I Doukas John I Doukas (), List of Latinised names, Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Medieval Thessaly, Thessaly from to his own death in 1 ...
, along with
Zetounion Lamia (, ''Lamía'', ) is a city in central Greece. The city dates back to antiquity, and is today the capital of the regional unit of Phthiotis and of the Central Greece region (comprising five regional units). According to the 2021 census, th ...
,
Gravia Gravia () is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the Kallikratis plan, 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...
, and
Siderokastron Siderokastron () was a medieval fortified settlement on Mount Oeta in Central Greece. Siderokastron was first mentioned in the 13th century. Some scholars have identified it with a place on Mount Knemis ( Buchon), Delphi or Arachova ( Gregorovius ...
, to the
Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek language, Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during ...
as part of the dowry of his daughter
Helena Angelina Komnene Helena Angelina Komnene () was a daughter of the Greek ''sebastokrator'' John I Doukas, ruler of Thessaly in ca. 1268–1289, and a Greek princess of Aromanian origin, known only by her monastic name, Hypomone. In 1275, the Byzantine Emperor Mich ...
. In ca. 1294 the town was granted by the Duke of Athens Guy II de la Roche to
Boniface of Verona Boniface of Verona (, died late 1317 or early 1318) was a Lombard Crusader lord in Frankish Greece during the late 13th and early 14th century. A third son from a junior branch of his family, he sold his castle to equip himself as a knight, bec ...
, who held its lordship at least until the
Battle of Halmyros The Battle of Halmyros, known by earlier scholars as the Battle of the Cephissus or Battle of Orchomenos, was fought on 15 March 1311, between the forces of the Frankish Greece, Frankish Duchy of Athens and its vassals under Walter V of Brienn ...
in 1311. Along with other towns in southern Thessaly such as
Domokos Domokos (), the ancient Thaumacus or Thaumace (Θαυμακός, Θαυμάκη), is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. The town Domokos is the seat of the municipality of Domokos and of the former Domokos Province. The town is built ...
and
Pharsalus Pharsalus may refer to: * ''Pharsalus'' (planthopper), a genus of insects in the family Ricaniidae * Farsala Farsala (), known in Antiquity as Pharsalos (, ), is a town in southern Thessaly, in Greece. Farsala is located in the southern part ...
, in the mid-1320s Gardiki came briefly under the rule of the
Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (; , , , or ) was a company of mercenaries led by Roger de Flor in the early 14th century and hired by Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos to combat the increasing power of the Anatolian b ...
, which had taken over the Duchy of Athens in the aftermath of Halmyros. Latin bishops of the ''Dioecesis Cardicensis'' are still mentioned in 1363 and ca. 1396. The town surrendered to the
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...
after the fall of Euboea in 1470, and its inhabitants were deported to
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. The diocese is today listed by the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
as a
titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...
.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), "Sedi titolari", p. 858 The substantial boundary walls of the ancient acropolis are still visible, and mosaics from an early Christian basilica have been uncovered a short distance away near the shore.


References


Sources

* * {{Stylida div Populated places in Phthiotis Stylida