Description of the attraction
Demetriada is an ancient city in the Pagasian Gulf (prefecture of Magnesia) near present-day Volos. This area has been inhabited since the Neolithic era and is famous for its rich cultural and historical heritage.
At the beginning of the 3rd century BC. The Macedonian king Demetrius Poliorketus united the classic city of Pagasu and the small settlements around it, thus creating the new city of Demetriada (named after its founder). The city developed rapidly and turned into a major international port. Along with Corinth and Chalcis, Demetriada became an important economic and political center. For a long time there was also the residence of the Macedonian kings. The peak of the city's prosperity fell on 217-168 BC.
In the 1st century BC. Demetriada lost its former political influence and gradually diminished in size, but, nevertheless, the city was still the capital of the Magnesian Union. In the late III - early IV century, the Roman emperor Diocletian united Thessaly and Magnesia into a single province with the capital in Larissa. Demetriada was finally abandoned around the end of the 6th century A. D.
Archaeological research in this region began at the end of the 19th century. During the work, it was possible to excavate the city walls, the ruins of the royal palace, various public buildings, temples (including two churches of the early Christian period with mosaic floors), an agora, an ancient theater, the remains of a Roman aqueduct, an ancient cemetery and much more. Ancient artifacts found during excavations are now kept in the Archaeological Museum of Volos. The most valuable exhibits are the painted burial steles from the Hellenistic period.
Today Demetriada is an important historical and archaeological site.
