GREECE
THESSALY
MAGNESIA
DEMETRIAS
2025-01-15
When Demetrios Poliorketes had become king of Macedonia in 294 BC, he unified the small cities of the region and established Demetrias as new royal city in a prominent position on the Pagasitikos Gulf in 293 BC. Fortified by a formidable wall of 11 km length, the city attracted settlers from all over the province, and remained one of the most unpregnable cities of the kingdom until the battle of Pydna in 167 BC, when the Romans subdued Macedonia.
Above: Next to the seaside-road from Volos to Nea Anchilaos are the architectural remains of the Hellenistic harbour installations.
| Plan of ancient Demetrias: | ||
| 1. Prehistoric settlement Pefkakia | 10. Roman house with mosaic floor | |
| 2. City wall of Demetrius Poliorketes | 11. Early christian basilica of Damocratia | |
| 3. City wall of Antigonus Gonatas | 12. Hellenistic palace | |
| 4. Citadel of Antigonus Gonatas | 13. Sanctuary of Artemis Ioklia and market | |
| 5. Harbour | 14. Hellenistic house with peristyle | |
| 6. Hellenistic heroon | 15. Early christian basilica | |
| 7. Hellenistic house | 16. Cemeteries | |
| 8. Hellenistic theatre | 17. Aligatorema | |
| 9. Roman aqueduct | ||
Above left: A sign directs you from the harbour installations to the royal palace of Demetrias on the hilltop.
The huge palace complex spreads over terraces on the irregular surface of the hill. It is dated to the end of the third century BC and succeeded an earlier building of the early third century of which architectural elements were used in the later construction. Its various rooms, the foundations of which can be seen, are arranged around a peristyle courtyard.
