Editing Larissa (section)

==History==

===Antiquity===
[[File:Larissa drachma.jpg|thumb|Silver drachma of Larissa (410-405 BC). Head of the nymph Larissa left, wearing pearl earring, her hair bound in sakkos / ΛΑΡΙΣΑ above, [IA] below (retrograde), bridled horse -symbol of the city- galloping right.]]

====Pre-history====
Traces of [[Paleolithic]] human settlement have been recovered from the area, but it was peripheral to areas of advanced culture.<ref>Curtis Runnels and Tjeerd H. van Andel. "The Lower and Middle Paleolithic of Thessaly, Greece" ''Journal of Field Archaeology'' '''20'''.3 (Autumn 1993:299–317) summarises the survey carried out in June 1991.</ref> The area around Larissa was extremely fruitful; it was agriculturally important and in [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]] was known for its horses.

====Archaic Era====

The name Larissa (Λάρισα ''Lárīsa'') is in origin a [[Pelasgian]] word for "fortress".{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}} There were many ancient Greek cities with this name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2361971 |title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon |publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu |access-date=2009-07-08}}</ref>
The name of Thessalian Larissa is first recorded in connection with the aristocratic [[Aleuadae|Aleuadai]] family.<ref>"The city and the plain around it were settled in prehistoric times, and its name must be early, but it is first mentioned in connection with the(Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister, eds., ''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites'' (Princeton University Press) 1976, 's.v.'' "Larissa, or Larisa, or Pelasgis, Thessaly").</ref> It was also a [[polis]] (city-state).<ref name=Poleis>{{cite book|author= Mogens Herman Hansen & Thomas Heine Nielsen |title= An inventory of archaic and classical poleis|url= https://archive.org/details/inventoryarchaic00hans |url-access= limited |year= 2004|publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]|location=New York|isbn= 0-19-814099-1|chapter= Thessaly and Adjacent Regions|pages= [https://archive.org/details/inventoryarchaic00hans/page/n730 714]–715}}</ref>

====Classical Era====
Larissa was a [[polis]] (city-state) during the Classical Era.<ref>{{cite book|author= Mogens Herman Hansen & Thomas Heine Nielsen |title= An inventory of archaic and classical poleis|url= https://archive.org/details/inventoryarchaic00hans |url-access= limited |year= 2004|publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]|location=New York|isbn= 0-19-814099-1|chapter= Thessaly and Adjacent Regions|pages= [https://archive.org/details/inventoryarchaic00hans/page/n711 695]–697}}</ref> Larissa is thought to be where the famous Greek physician [[Hippocrates]] and the famous philosopher [[Gorgias|Gorgias of Leontini]] died.

[[File:THESSALY, Larissa. Circa 370-360 BC.jpg|thumb|left|Coinage of Thessaly, possibly king Hellokrates, with portrait of [[Aleuas]]. ''Obv'': head of Aleuas facing slightly left, wearing conical helmet, ALEU to right; labrys behind. ''Rev'': Eagle standing right, head left, on thunderbolt; ELLA to left, LARISAYA to right. Thessaly, Larissa. {{circa|370–360}}{{nbsp}}BC.]]
When Larissa ceased minting the federal coins it shared with other Thessalian towns and adopted its own coinage in the late fifth century BC, it chose local types for its coins. The obverse depicted the nymph of the local spring,  Larissa, for whom the town was named; probably the choice was inspired by the famous coins of [[Cimon|Kimon]] depicting the Syracusan nymph [[Arethusa (mythology)|Arethusa]]. The reverse depicted a horse in various poses. The horse was an appropriate symbol of Thessaly, a land of plains, which was well known for its horses. Usually there is a male figure; he should perhaps be seen as the eponymous hero of the Thessalians, Thessalos, who is probably also to be identified on many of the earlier, federal coins of Thessaly.

[[File:Λάρισα, αρχαίο Θέατρο Α 1.jpg|thumb|The [[First Ancient Theatre, Larissa|first ancient theatre]] of the city. It was constructed inside the ancient city's centre during the reign of [[Antigonus II Gonatas]] towards the end of the third century BC. The theatre was in use for six centuries, until the end of the third century AD.]]
[[File:Το αρχαιο θέατρο της πόλης και ο πεζόδρομος δίπλα του.jpg|thumb|Pedestrian zone beside the First Ancient Greek theatre]]
[[File:Λάρισα, Αρχαίο Θέατρο Β 8.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the [[Second Ancient Theatre, Larissa|second ancient theatre]]]]

Larissa, sometimes written Larisa on ancient coins and inscriptions, is near the site of the Homeric Argissa. It appears in early times, when [[Thessaly]] was mainly governed by a few aristocratic families, as an important city under the rule of the [[Aleuadae]], whose authority extended over the whole district of [[Pelasgiotis]]. This powerful family possessed for many generations before 369 BC the privilege of furnishing the ''tagus'', the local term for the ''[[strategos]]'' of the combined Thessalian forces. The principal rivals of the Aleuadae were the [[Scopadae]] of [[Krannonas|Crannon]], the remains of which are about 14 miles south west.

Larissa was the birthplace of [[Menon III of Pharsalus|Meno]], who thus became, along with [[Xenophon]] and a few others, one of the generals leading several thousands Greeks from various places, in the ill-fated expedition of 401 (retold in Xenophon's ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]'') meant to help [[Cyrus the Younger]], son of [[Darius II]], king of [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]], overthrow his elder brother [[Artaxerxes II of Persia|Artaxerxes II]] and take over the throne of Persia (Meno is featured in [[Plato]]'s dialogue bearing his name, in which [[Socrates]] uses the example of ''"the way to Larissa"'' to help explain to Meno the difference between true [[opinion]] and [[science]] (Meno, 97a–c); this "way to Larissa" might well be on the part of Socrates an attempt to call to Meno's mind a "way home", understood as the way toward one's true and "eternal" home reached only at death, that each man is supposed to seek in his life).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/loc/larissa.htm|title=Larissa|first=Bernard F.|last=Suzanne|work=plato-dialogues.org}}</ref>

The constitution of the town was [[democratic constitution|democratic]], which explains why it sided with [[Classical Athens|Athens]] in the [[Peloponnesian War]]. In the neighbourhood of Larissa was celebrated a festival which recalled the Roman [[Saturnalia]], and at which the slaves were waited on by their masters. As the chief city of ancient Thessaly, Larissa was taken by the [[Thebes, Greece|Thebans]] and later directly annexed by [[Philip II of Macedon]] in 344. It remained under Macedonian control afterwards, except for a brief period when [[Demetrius I of Macedon|Demetrius Poliorcetes]] captured it in 302 BC.

====Hellenistic Era====

====Roman Era====
It was in Larissa that [[Philip V of Macedon]] signed in 197 BC a treaty with the Romans after his defeat at the [[Battle of Cynoscephalae]], and it was there also that [[Antiochus III the Great]], won a great victory in 192 BC. In 196 BC Larissa became an ally of Rome and was the headquarters of the [[Thessalian League]].

Larissa is frequently mentioned in connection with the [[Roman civil wars]] which preceded the establishment of the [[Roman Empire]] and [[Pompey]] sought refuge there after the defeat of [[Battle of Pharsalus|Pharsalus]].

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Λάρισα, Αρχαιολογικός χώρος φρουρίου, Παλαιοχριστιανική βασιλική Αγίου Αχιλλείου 2.jpg|thumb|Remains of the [[Basilica of St. Achillios]], destroyed during the Ottoman era]]
[[File:Dodwell Larissa.jpg|thumb|left|Gravure of Larissa, c. 1820]]
[[File:Frourio Larissas.JPG|thumb|200px|The archaeological excavations on [[Frourio Hill]], with the [[Bezesten of Larissa]] in the background]]
[[File:Frourio - road.JPG|thumb|200px|A street in the Frourio quarter]]

Larissa was sacked by the [[Ostrogoths]] in the late [[5th century]], and rebuilt under the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Justinian I]].<ref name="ODB">{{ODB | last = Kazhdan | first = Alexander | author-link = Alexander Kazhdan | title = Larissa | page = 1180}}</ref>

In the eighth century, the city became the [[metropolitan see|metropolis]] of the [[theme (Byzantine district)|theme]] of [[Hellas (theme)|Hellas]].<ref name="ODB"/> The city was captured in 986 by Tsar [[Samuel of Bulgaria]], who carried off the relics of its patron saint, [[Achillius of Larissa|Saint Achilleios]], to [[Prespa (medieval town)|Prespa]].<ref name="ODB"/> It was again [[Battle of Larissa|unsuccessfully besieged]] by the [[Italo-Norman]]s under [[Bohemond I of Antioch|Bohemond I]] in 1082/3.<ref name="ODB"/>

After the [[Fourth Crusade]], the [[Kingdom of Thessalonica|King of Thessalonica]], [[Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat|Boniface of Montferrat]], gave the city to [[Lombardy|Lombard]] [[baron]]s, but they launched a rebellion in 1209 that had to be subdued by the [[Latin Emperor]] [[Henry of Flanders]] himself.<ref name="ODB"/> The city was recovered by [[Despotate of Epirus|Epirus]] soon after.<ref name="ODB"/>

=== Ottoman period ===
Larissa was conquered by the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1386/87 and again in the 1390s, but only came under permanent Ottoman control in 1423, by [[Turahan Bey]].<ref name="EI2">{{EI2 | title=Yeñi Shehir | last=Savvides | first=A. | volume = 11 | page=333}}</ref> Under Ottoman rule, the city was known as ''Yeni-şehir i-Fenari'', "new citadel". As the chief town and military base of [[Sanjak of Tirhala|Ottoman Thessaly]], Larissa was a predominantly Muslim city.<ref name="EI2" /> In 1521 ([[Hijri year|Hijri]] 927) the town had 693 Muslim and 75 Christian households;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Minkov |first=Anton |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/191947039 |title=Conversion to Islam in the Balkans : Kisve bahası petitions and Ottoman social life, 1670-1730 |date=2004 |isbn=1-4237-1251-X |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill |page=49 |oclc=191947039}}</ref> according to Gökbilgin (1956), it also included [[Albanians|Albanian]] and [[Sephardic Jews|Jewish]] communities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=GÖKBİLGİN |first=M. TAYYİB |date=1956 |title=KANUNÎ SULTAN SÜLEYMAN DEVRİ BAŞLARINDA RUMELİ EYALETİ, LİVALARI, ŞEHİR VE KASABALARI |url=https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin-pdf/1214/tur |journal=Belleten |volume=20 |issue=78 |page=278 |issn=0041-4255 |eissn=2791-6472 }}</ref> During Ottoman rule the administration of the [[Metropolis of Larissa and Tyrnavos|Metropolis of Larissa]] was transferred to nearby [[Trikala]] where it remained until 1734, when Metropolitan Iakovos II returned the see from Trikala to Larissa and established the present-day metropolis of Larissa and Tyrnavos.

The town was noted for its trade fair in the 17th and 18th centuries, while the seat of the pasha of Thessaly was also transferred there in 1770.<ref name="EI2"/> Larissa was the headquarters of [[Hurshid Pasha|Hursid Pasha]] during the [[Greek War of Independence]]. It was also renowned for its [[mosque]]s (four of which were still in use in the late 19th century) and its [[muslim]] cemeteries.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}

The city remained a part of the Ottoman Empire until [[Thessaly]] [[Convention of Constantinople (1881)|became part]] of the independent [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Kingdom of Greece]] in 1881, except for a period where Ottoman forces re-occupied it during the [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)|Greco-Turkish War of 1897]].<ref name="EI2"/> In the late 19th century, there was still a small village in the outskirts of the town inhabited by Africans from [[Sudan]], a curious remnant of the forces collected by [[Ali Pasha of Ioannina|Ali Pasha]].

In the 19th century, the town produced [[leather]], [[cotton]], [[silk]] and [[tobacco]]. Fevers and agues were prevalent owing to bad drainage and the overflowing of the river; and the death rate was higher than the birth rate.{{Dubious|date=February 2010}}

===Modern Greek era===
[[File:Larissa1910.jpg|thumb|left|Old postcard of the city, Alexandras Street, 1910]]

In 1881, the city, along with the rest of [[Thessaly]], was incorporated into the [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Kingdom of Greece]] during the prime ministry of [[Alexandros Koumoundouros]]. On 31 August 1881 a unit of the Greek Army headed by General [[Skarlatos Soutsos]] entered the city. A considerable portion of the Turkish population emigrated into the Ottoman Empire at that point. In this new era the city starts gradually to expand and to be rebuilt by the Greek authorities.

[[File:Royal Air Force- Operations Over Albania and in Greece, 1940-1941. CM873.jpg|thumb|200px|A German Messerschmitt which was crash-landed on the military airfield at Larissa, shot down by [[RAF]] pilots during WWII]]

During the [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)|Greco-Turkish War of 1897]], the city was the headquarters of Greek Crown Prince [[Constantine I of Greece|Constantine]]. The flight of the Greek army from here to [[Farsala]] took place on April 23, 1897. Turkish troops entered the city two days later. After a treaty for peace was signed, they withdrew and Larissa remained permanently in Greece. This was followed by a further exodus of Turks in 1898. The Hassan Bey mosque (which was built in the early 16th century) was demolished in 1908.

During the [[Axis Occupation of Greece|Axis Occupation of the country]], the Jewish community of the city (dated back to second BC, see [[Romaniote Jews|Romaniotes]]{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}) suffered heavy losses. Today in the city there is a Holocaust memorial and a synagogue.

=== After WWII ===
[[File:Λάρισα κεντρικη πλατεία συντριβανι 1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The "floating river" fountain in Central Square of Larissa (Sapka, former Themidos)]]

After WWII the city was expanded rapidly. Today Larissa is the fourth largest Greek city with many squares, taverns and cafes. It has three public hospitals with one being a military hospital. It hosts the [[Hellenic Air Force]] Headquarters and [[NATO]] Headquarters in Greece. It has a School of Medicine and a School of Biochemistry – Biotechnology and the third largest in the country Institute of Technology. It occupies the first place among Greek cities into green coverage rate per square-metre urban space and the first place with the highest percentance of bars-taverns-restaurants per capita in Greece. It also has two public libraries and five museums.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.larissa.gov.gr/el/|title=Δήμος Λαρισαίων - ΔΗΜΟΣ ΛΑΡΙΣΑΣ|website=www.larissa.gov.gr}}</ref>