Farsala

Farsala Φάρσαλα
Location
Farsala
Coordinates	39°18′N 22°23′E
Location within the region
Government
Country:	Greece
Region:	Thessaly
Regional unit:	Larissa
Population statistics (as of 2011)
Municipality
- Population:	18,545
- Area:	736.0 km2 (284 sq mi)
- Density:	25 /km2 (65 /sq mi)
Municipal unit
- Population:	9,982
Community
- Population:	9,337
Other
Time zone:	EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Elevation (center):	160 m (525 ft)
Postal code:	403 00
Telephone:	24910
Auto:	ΡΙ
Website
www.farsala.gov.gr

Farsala (Greek: Φάρσαλα), known in Antiquity as Pharsalos (Ancient Greek: Φάρσαλος, Latin: Pharsalus), is a city in southern Thessaly, in Greece. Farsala is located in the southern part of Larissa regional unit, and is one of its largest towns. Farsala is an economic and agricultural centre of the region. Cotton and livestock are the main agricultural products, and many inhabitants are employed in the production of textile. Farsala is famous for its distinctive halva.

Geography

Farsala lies at the southern edge of the Thessalian Plain, 4 km south of the river Enipeas. The Greek National Road 3 (Larissa - Lamia) and the Greek National Road 30 (Karditsa - Volos) pass through the town. The nearest train station is in Palaiofarsalos, 12 km to the west, on the line from Athens to Thessaloniki. Farsala is located 38 km south of Larissa, 41 km east of Karditsa, 44 km north of Lamia and 49 km west of Volos.

History

Ancient Pharsalos

The Homeric Phthia of the Mycenaean period, capital of the Kingdom of the Myrmidons and of Peleus, father of Achilles, has sometimes been identified with the later city of Pharsalos (Greek: Φάρσαλος), now Farsala. A Cyclopean Wall which protected a city still exists today near modern Farsala, as does a vaulted tomb from that period.

The Pharsalos of the historic era was built over a hillside of the Narthacius mountains at an elevation of some 160 m, where modern Farsala stands. It was one of the main cities in Thessaly and was the capital of the Phthian tetrarch. In the Persian Wars it sided with the Athenians. A distinctive tribe of the city was that of Echecratidon. In the early 4th century BC, the city was a part of the Thessalian Commons. Later, it joined the Macedonian Kingdom under Philip II. The area became a theatre of war where the Aetolians and the Thessalians clashed with the Macedonians, especially during the Second and the Third Macedonian Wars. After the defeat of the Macedonian Kingdom, Pharsalos and the whole area became a part of the Roman Republic. The whole area suffered great destruction during the Roman Civil War. The Battle of Pharsalus took place in 48 BC in the fields of the Pharsalian Plain, where Julius Caesar defeated Pompey.

The Battle of Farsala by Georgios Roilos (1867–1928).

The geographer Strabo speaks of two towns, Old Pharsalos (Palaepharsalos) and Pharsalos, existing in historical times. His statement (9.5.6) that the Thetideion, the temple to Thetis south of Skotoussa, was “near both the Pharsaloi, the Old and the New”, seems to imply that Palaepharsalos was not itself close by Pharsalos. Although the battle of 48 BC is called after Pharsalos, four ancient writers - the author of the Bellum Alexandrinum (48.1), Frontinus (Strategemata 2.3.22), Eutropius (20), and Orosius (6.15.27) - place it specifically at Palaepharsalos. In 198 B.C. Philip V had sacked Palaepharsalos (Livy 32.13.9). If that town had been close to Pharsalos he would have sacked both, and Livy would have written “Pharsalus” instead of “Palaepharsalus”. The British scholar F. L. Lucas demonstrated (Annual of the British School at Athens, No. XXIV, 1919–21) that the battle of 48 BC must have been fought north of the Enipeus, near modern-day Krini; and John D. Morgan in “Palae-pharsalus – the Battle and the Town” (The American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 87, No. 1, Jan. 1983), suggests that Krini is built on the site of Palaepharsalos, where the old road south from Larissa emerged from the hills on to the Pharsalian Plain.

Modern Farsala

Farsala was known as "Çatalca" during Ottoman rule. Farsala was liberated from the Ottoman Empire in 1881 and together with the rest of Thessaly became part of the Hellenic Kingdom. During the first Greco-Turkish War (1897), a major battle took place in the vicinity of Farsala.

Municipality

The municipality Farsala was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:

• Enippeas
• Farsala
• Narthaki
• Polydamantas

Province

The province of Farsala (Greek: Επαρχία Φαρσάλων) was one of the provinces of the Larissa Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present municipality. It was abolished in 2006.

Historical population

Year	Town	Municipal unit	Municipality
1981	7,211	-	-
1991	8,457	9,464	-
2001	9,801	10,812	-
2011	9,337	9,982	18,545

See also

• List of settlements in the Larissa regional unit

External links

•  "Pharsalus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
• The official site of Farsala. (Greek)
• Livius.org: Pharsalus (in antiquity)