Phylace (Thessaly)

Phylace or Phylake (Ancient Greek: Φυλάκη, [ˌfyˈlaˌkɛː]), was a town and polis (city-state) of Phthiotis in ancient Thessaly.^[1] According to Greek mythology, this city was founded by Phylacus. In Ancient Greece, Phylace was a kingdom. Homer writes that this was one of the places subject to Protesilaus, who was the first Greek hero killed in the Trojan War, and the place is frequently mentioned in the Homeric poems.^[2][3][4][5] It contained a temple of Protesilaus.^[6] Pliny erroneously calls it a town of Magnesia.^[7] Strabo describes it as standing between Pharsalus and Phthiotic Thebes, at the distance of about 100 stadia from the latter.^[8]

Phylace

Φυλάκη
The archaeological site of ancient Phylake.
Shown within Greece
Alternative name	Kitiki
Location	Filaki, Almyros
Region	Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece
Coordinates	39°14′28″N 22°36′04″E
Type	Ancient city, hillfort
Part of	Ancient Phthiotis
History
Founded	Neolithic period
Abandoned	Hellenistic period
Cultures	Ancient Greece

The site of ancient Phylace has traditionally been identified with a low hill at Kitiki (renamed Filaki), in the municipal unit of Filaki.^{[9][10][11][12]} As no inscriptions have been found at this location confirming the identification, it must be regarded as tentative. An other candidate is the hill of Dervisi close to Aerino (formerly Persoufli).^[12]

References

1. Mogens Herman Hansen & Thomas Heine Nielsen (2004). "Thessaly and Adjacent Regions". An inventory of archaic and classical poleis. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 716. ISBN 0-19-814099-1.
2. Homer. Iliad. Vol. 2.695, 13.696, 15.335.
3. Homer. Odyssey. Vol. 11.290.
4. Apollonius of Rhodes. Argonautica. Vol. 1.45.
5. Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v.
6. Pind. Isthm. 1.84.
7. Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 4.9.16.
8. Strabo. Geographica. Vol. ix. pp. 433, 435. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
9. Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 55, and directory notes accompanying. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9.
10. Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
11. Stählin, Friedrich (1924). Das hellenische Thessalien: Landeskundliche und geschichtliche Beschreibung Thessaliens in der Hellenistischen und römischen Zeit. Stuttgart.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
12. Efstathiou, Despoina (2014). "Αρχαίες οχυρωμένες θέσεις στην οροσειρά της Όθρυος: ευρύτερη περιοχή Αλμυρού". Δελτίο της Φιλαρχαίου Εταιρείας Αλμυρού «Όθρυς». 18: 14–50.