Iolcus
Iolcus is an ancient city located in the district of Magnesia in Thessaly, Greece, near the Gulf of Pagasae and the river Anaurus. It is primarily known for its significance in Greek mythology as the home of Jason, the legendary hero who sought the Golden Fleece. According to myth, Jason was deprived of his rightful throne by his half-brother Pelias, who sent him on the perilous quest that led to the famous voyage of the Argonauts. Iolcus was recognized as a crucial departure point for this expedition, which is celebrated in various ancient texts, including the "Argonautica" by Apollonius Rhodius.
Archaeological excavations have uncovered a notable Mycenaean-style palace in Iolcus, indicating its historical prominence during the late Bronze Age, when Mycenaean culture influenced the region. Though the palace was destroyed around 1150 BC, Iolcus maintained some degree of prosperity into the early first millennium. Over time, however, it declined, overshadowed by nearby cities like Pagasae and Demetrias, yet it continued to hold cultural significance with a temple and festival dedicated to Artemis Iolkia. By the time of the geographer Strabo, Iolcus had lost its former glory and was no longer a populated town.
Iolcus
Iolkos (near Volos)
A city in the district of Magnesia (Thessaly, eastern Greece), near the head of the Gulf of Pagasae (Bay of Volos), beside the river Anaurus (now dry) and beneath Mount Pelion. Iolcus was famed in mythology as the home of Jason (son of Aeson and grandson of Aeolus), said to have been deprived of the throne by his half-brother Pelias, who then induced him to go and fetch the Golden Fleece from Colchis. Iolcus, which possessed ports at Neleia (Cape Pefkakia?) and Pagasae, was reputed to have been the starting point of the expedition of the Argonauts, which is the theme of many ancient legends, embroidered by the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius.
Excavations (at the western end of the town of Volos) have shown that Iolcus had a Mycenaean-style palace—the northernmost structure of this kind known to us—from which, in the late Bronze Age, Mycenaean influence apparently spread inland into the rest of Thessaly. The palace was burned c 1150 BC, but the habitation center retained a certain prosperity at the beginning of the first millennium. Later, however, it suffered eclipse first from Pagasae and then from Demetrias, though retaining a temple and festival of Artemis Iolkia. Strabo records that by his time the town had long since been razed to the ground.