Lamia
Lamia is a historic city located in central Greece, positioned at the foothills of Mount Othrys and near the Malian Gulf. Initially of little significance, Lamia rose to prominence after 400 BC, particularly following the decline of the Spartan colony at Heraclea. The city's mint began issuing coins depicting Philoctetes, a figure from Greek tragedy linked to the region, marking its cultural relevance. Lamia is notably associated with the Lamian War of 323/2 BC, where Greek states, led by Athenian commander Leosthenes, tried to resist Macedonian control following Alexander the Great's death. Despite initial successes, the city eventually fell to Roman forces under Manius Acilius Glabrio, becoming part of a Roman-structured Thessalian Confederacy. During late imperial times, it served as an episcopal see known as Zitouni. Archaeological remains, including ancient walls and tombs, alongside a medieval castle built on earlier foundations, reflect Lamia's rich historical tapestry and its evolution through various periods of occupation and governance.
Subject Terms
Lamia
The chief city of Malis (central Greece), situated on the foothills of Mount Othrys—west of the Malian Gulf (Gulf of Lamia) and northwest of Thermopylae—and dominating the principal route leading southwards from Thessaly
Lamia was of little or no significance until after 400 BC, when it benefited from the elimination of the Spartan colony at Heraclea in Trachis; the coins its mint now issued show the wounded Philoctetes, the central figure of plays of that name by Sophocles and other tragedians, who attributed his origins to Malis.
Lamia gave its name to the Lamian War of 323/2 BC in which, after the death of Alexander the Great, a number of Greek states sought to shake off Macedonian domination. The Athenian commander Leosthenes, supported by troops from Aetolia, Thessaly, Phocis, Locris, and Delphi, besieged the Macedonian Antipater in Lamia, but was killed, and in the absence of a siege-train the city held out throughout the winter until relief arrived; whereupon the allied states—with which Antipater insisted on dealing separately—felt obliged to come to terms.
Before and after 200 Lamia reached the height of its prosperity as a member of the Aetolian League, serving as a headquarters of the forces of the Seleucid Antiochus III the Great in the war which, in association with the Aetolians, he waged against Rome (191). In the following year, however, the city was captured by Manius Acilius Glabrio and attached by the Romans to the district of Phthiotis in the puppet Thessalian Confederacy which they had established. In late imperial times the town became an episcopal see, under the name of Zitouni. Traces of ancient walls and tombs have been found, and the medieval Catalan castle is built on Greek and Roman foundations.