Description of the attraction
In the central part of the Magnesia nome, north of the Pagasitik Bay, at the foot of Mount Pelion, near the modern Greek city of Volos, several millennia ago, there was the ancient city of Iolk, founded by the eldest son of the ancestor of the Greek people, Ellin Aeolus. Iolcus is mentioned in the famous Homeric Iliad, as well as in the writings of such famous ancient authors as Hesiod, Euripides, Simonides and Pindar.
Ancient Iolk is widely known as the birthplace of one of the most famous heroes of ancient Greek myths, the son of King Eson Jason, a participant in the Calydonian hunt and the leader of the Argonauts. An ancient legend says that after Aeson was overthrown from the throne by his stepbrother Pelius, he, fearing for the life of his son, sent him to be raised by Chiron. Returning to his hometown and meeting with his father, Jason desired to return the power over Iolcus that was due to him by birthright, in return Pelius demanded that Jason go to Colchis and get the golden fleece. He believed that his nephew would certainly die in such a dangerous campaign, but Jason returned safely, and not only with the golden fleece, but also with the Colchis princess - the beautiful Medea.
For a long time, historians could not come to a consensus about the location of the ancient city. During archaeological excavations near Volos on the territory of one of the largest archaeological sites of the Neolithic era Dimini, at the end of the 19th century, prehistoric burials from the time of the Mycenaean civilization were discovered. The results of the research suggested that it was quite possible here that Ancient Iolk was located, but no convincing evidence was found at that time. Nevertheless, careful studies of the settlement of the Mycenaean era, subsequently excavated in Dimini, and the revealed remains of the palace complex after the earthquake in 1956, allowed historians to confidently assert that this is the legendary ancient Iolk.
Today, near the city of Volos, there is a small village of Iolk, a traditional Greek settlement, named after the ancient Iolk.
