Pherae
Pherae was an ancient city located in the region of Pelasgiotis in northeastern Greece, specifically on a spur of Mount Chalkedonion. Historically significant, it was associated with Greek mythology as the home of Admetus, who was celebrated in the play "Alcestis" by Euripides. Archaeological evidence suggests that Pherae thrived during the Middle and Late Bronze Age, and it issued its own coins starting in the early fifth century BC. The city controlled the port of Pagasae, granting it access to the Aegean Sea and facilitating trade, particularly in grain. During the Peloponnesian War, Pherae allied with Athens and later became the capital of a powerful state in Greece under local leaders such as Lycophon and Jason of Pherae. Its cultural significance included worship of deities like Artemis Ennodia and Hecate, with notable temples and a famous fountain, Hypereia. Despite its prominence, Pherae's historical record fades after its involvement in various conflicts, including those with Macedonian rulers and later the Romans.
Subject Terms
Pherae
(Velestinou)
A city of Pelasgiotis (eastern Thessaly, in northeastern Greece). The acropolis of Pherae was situated on a flat-topped spur of Mount Chalkedonion flanked by the Maluka and Makalo ravines. The town lay close to important land routes, and dominated the eastern end of the pass leading to Pharsalus. In Greek mythology, it was the home of Admetus, whose wife Alcestis was willing to sacrifice herself on his behalf (as in Euripides' play named after her); their son Eumelus was named as a participant in the Trojan War. These traditions correspond with recent archaeological evidence confirming the richness and importance of Pherae in the Middle and Late Bronze Age.
It issued its own coins from the early fifth century BC onward, and was in control of the port of Pagasae (Volos) before 500, thus becoming the only Thessalian city to enjoy access to the Aegean Sea and benefit from the recent growth of a grain export trade by way of the Pagasaean Gulf. During the Peloponnesian War (431–404) Pherae was an ally of Athens. Thereafter, for half a century, it became the capital of one of the strongest states in Greece. The groundwork for this rise to power was apparently laid by a local leader Lycophon, who defeated the nobles of Larissa and other cities (404), forming an alliance with Sparta. Then c 378 Jason of Pherae became master of most of Thessaly and extended his influence throughout northern Greece, as far as Macedonia and the Adriatic. His assassination (370) was followed by the rule of his nephew Alexander, who was defeated by the Theban Pelopidas in 364 and murdered by Jason's sons six years later.
After a brief usurpation by Alexander's brothers-in-law (including Tisiphonus, who issued the city's last coins), Philip II of Macedonia first detached Pagasae from the Pheraean kingdom, and then established a Macedonian garrison in Pherae itself (344). After the defeat of Philip V by the Romans (197), however, Pherae assumed some importance in the Thessalian League, despite a siege and temporary occupation by the Seleucid Antiochus III the Great (192/91). But thereafter it vanishes from the historical record.
From the Kastraki crag overlooking the city, the famous fountain Hypereia gushed forth; it is depicted on the coinage as a stream of water flowing from the mouth of a lion's head. Coins also show the heads of Artemis Ennodia and Hecate (goddess of the crossroads), whose associated worships formed the city's principal cult; although the Pheraean ruler Alexander also devoted special attention to the cult of Dionysus at Pagasae. Remains of a temple of the later fourth century (perhaps that of Artemis Ennodia) have been found on the site of a sixth-century building and of an eighth-century necropolis. The city wall, of which traces are visible at various points, has been shown, by recent test excavations, to extend over a larger area than had been supposed (including the adjoining hill of Ayios Athanasios).