Academic literature on the topic 'Thessaly (Greece) - History'

The Vlochos Archaeological Project (2016–2018) was a Greek-Swedish archaeological investigation of the remains of the ancient urban site at Vlochos in western Thessaly, Greece. Employing a wide array of non-invasive methods, the project succeeded in completely mapping the visible remains, which had previously not been systematically investigated. The extensive remains of multi-period urban fortifications, a Classical-Hellenistic city, a Roman town, and a Late Antique fortress were identified, evidence of the long history of habitation on this site. Since comparatively little fieldwork has been conducted in the region, the results significantly increase our knowledge of the history and archaeology of Thessaly.

Summary:On usually refers to all the figures named „Phocus“ as one and the same Phocus, the alleged eponymous hero of the Phocians, and wonder why he has so many „Doppelgänger“: one or more Homeric heroes, a son of Aecus, a son of Ornytion, and so on. This paper assumes instead that there are many different heroes whose names are Phocus, and wonders to what extent and why were they linked. Indeed the contradictory stories about Phocus represent an interesting case of the permeability of the heroes' genealogies and of the traditional narratives about them in archaic and classical Greece. A survey of the sources shows that all the figures named „Phocus“ were more than once linked together to express specific needs. These needs reflect different aims and historical events which are ascribable mainly to the archaic and classical periods. Moreover, they are concerned with Phocis as well as with Corinth, Aegina, Locris, Thebes and Thessaly. By reconstructing wherever possible the chronological context of the different layers and overlaps and by linking them to the several traditions concerning heroes named Phocus, it is possible to construct a map which describes some of the relationships, some geopolitical landscapes and, to a certain extent, even some geopolitical lines working in Central Greece and beyond from the archaic to the Roman period.

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) primarily infects dogs, which are the main host reservoir, causing severe gastrointestinal disease associated with immunosuppression. The present study was conducted in Thessaly, Greece and aimed to identify risk and environmental factors associated with CPV-2 infection in diarrheic dogs. Fecal samples were collected from 116 dogs presenting diarrhea and were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of CPV-2 DNA. Supplementary data regarding clinical symptoms, individual features, management factors and medical history were also gathered for each animal during clinical evaluation. Sixty-eight diarrheic dogs were found to be positive for the virus DNA in their feces. Statistical analysis revealed that CPV-2 DNA was less likely to be detected in senior dogs, while working dogs, namely hounds and shepherds, had higher odds to be positive for the virus. Livestock density and land uses, specifically the categories of discontinuous urban fabric and of human population density, were identified as significant environmental parameters associated with CPV-2 infection by using Geographical Information System (GIS) together with the Ecological Niche Model (ENM). This is the first description of the environmental variables associated with the presence of CPV-2 DNA in dogs’ feces in Greece.

<p>Nikos Potamianos, The Radical Right and the Agrarian Question in the Early 20th Century. The Case of Christovassilis and the "Hellenism Asosociation"</p><p>The subject of this article is an aspect of the history of the radical right in Greece, namely its intellectual and political response to the agrarian question which emerged in Greece at the end of the 19th century after the incorporation of new provinces where large landownership was predominant. In particular, the arguments and theses of a cadre of the biggest nationalist league of Athens in 1907 are examined, in contrast to its earlier views on the agrarian question and in contrast to the discourse of the radical supporters of the sharecroppers as well as the landowners. Christovassilis adopts a pro-peasant stand, attacking capitalist landowners and indirectly proposing the purchase of the land by its cultivators with the assistance of the state. However, his main aim was to prove that parliamentary democracy was incapable of improving the sharecroppers' situation, a task which only an authoritarian state could accomplish. Crucial in Christovassilis' arguments was the use of nationalist discourse in order to legalize sharecroppers' demands: he linked the peasants' struggle for land in the past with the national conflict with the Ottoman conquerors, equating land with fatherland and, therefore, the ownership of land of Thessaly with the peasants' participation in the nation. Christovassilis' earlier views which put emphasis on the social aspects of the agrarian question gave way to the pre-ponderance of the nationalist argument, which was in turn related to other aspects of the ideology of the radical right. "Hellenism" followed a strategy of appealing to the mobilized subordinate classes — but without totally adopting their point of view. It was always clear that the viewpoint of the association was that of paternalism, not of emancipation. One of the points of its criticism against the democratic state was that the latter was not powerful enough torepress the impending peasant revolt. The restoration of law and orderwas for the radical right more important than the improvement of the living conditions of the lower strata. And the adoption of popular demands, in general, proved to be merely rhetoric: when the class struggle became more intense, especially in the case of the agrarian movementof 1910, "Hellenism" remained aloof.</p>

From Local Community to Glocal Network: Place, Memory, and Identity Politics among the “Jews of Trikala” and Their Diaspora (Greece)In this paper I present some initial findings from my multilocal ethnographic and ethnohistorical research on the “Trikalan Jews”, i.e. Jews living in or originating from Trikala, a city in the Thessaly region of central Greece. In particular, my research focuses on two axes: the historical processes of community formation and its social transition after World War II as well as the recent sense of belonging of the potential members of that “community” and the ways they experience and negotiate their collective memory and identity.On a theoretical level, the first hypothesis grounded in the field is that the “community” tends to appropriate/be appropriated by subjects who currently live “elsewhere”. In this sense, it is reproduced as a glocal network in which Jewishness and locality are interconnected, experienced, and performed in multiple, fluid, and often fragmented ways. On a methodological level, my research is based on the fundamental techniques of ethnographic and ethnohistorical research which have been adapted to the conditions and restraints of a multilocal field.From the research we can assume that the Holocaust resulted in the extermination of an important part of the Trikalan Jewish community, while post-war emigration led to its gradual social disintegration, diffusion, and integration to broader ethnoreligious and national realities. Today this glocal “community” has imaginary, symbolic, and ceremonial rather than “practical” sociocultural dimensions. However, the recording, “rescue” and disclosure of communal history, memory and “cultural heritage” compose a fundamental field for the reconstitution of the bonds between the potential members of the “community” and thus for its reconstruction as a glocalized network of sociocultural interaction. Από την τοπική κοινότητα στο παγκοσμιο-τοπικό δίκτυο: Τόπος, μνήμη και πολιτικές της ταυτότητας στους Εβραίους των Τρικάλων και τη Διασπορά τουςΣτο παρόν άρθρο παρουσιάζω ορισμένα πρώτα ευρήματα από την πολυ-τοπική εθνογραφική και εθνοϊστορική μου έρευνα στους Εβραίους των Τρικάλων. Η έρευνα κινείται σε δύο άξονες. Ο πρώτος αφορά στις ιστορικές διαδικασίες συγκρότησης και κοινωνικού μετασχηματισμού της κοινότητας μετά τον 2ο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο. Ο δεύτερος διερευνά την αίσθηση του ανήκειν μεταξύ των εν δυνάμει μελών της «κοινότητας» και τους τρόπους που αυτά βιώνουν και διαπραγματεύονται σήμερα τη συλλογική τους μνήμη και ταυτότητα.Σε θεωρητικό επίπεδο, μια πρώτη υπόθεση, είναι ότι η «κοινότητα» έχει την τάση να οικειοποιείται (αλλά επίσης γίνεται αντικείμενο οικειοποίησης από) υποκείμενα που ζουν σήμερα «αλλού». Υπό αυτή την έννοια, αναπαράγεται ως ένα παγκοσμιο-τοπικό δίκτυο, εντός του οποίου η Εβραϊκότητα και η τοπικότητα διασυνδέονται, βιώνονται και επιτελούνται με πολλαπλούς, ρευστούς και συχνά αποσπασματικούς τρόπους. Σε μεθοδολογικό επίπεδο, η έρευνά μου βασίζεται στις βασικές τεχνικές της εθνογραφικής και εθνοϊστορικής έρευνας, προσαρμοσμένες στις ανάγκες και τους περιορισμούς ενός πολυ-τοπικού ερευνητικού πεδίου.Από την έρευνα προκύπτει ότι το Ολοκαύτωμα είχε ως αποτέλεσμα την εξόντωση και τον αφανισμό ενός σημαντικού τμήματος της τρικαλινής εβραϊκής κοινότητας, ενώ η μεταπολεμική μετανάστευση που ακολούθησε οδήγησε στη σταδιακή κοινωνική αποδιοργάνωση, τη διάχυση και την ενσωμάτωση της σε ευρύτερες εθνο-θρησκευτικές και εθνικές πραγματικότητες. Σήμερα, αυτή η «παγκοσμιο-τοπική κοινότητα» έχει περισσότερο φαντασιακές και συμβολικές, παρά «πρακτικές» κοινωνικο-πολιτισμικές διαστάσεις. Ωστόσο, η καταγραφή, «διάσωση» και δημοσιοποίηση της ιστορίας, της μνήμης και της πολιτισμικής της «κληρονομιάς» συγκροτούν ένα θεμελιώδες πεδίο για την αποκατάσταση των δεσμών μεταξύ των εν δυνάμει μελών της και την ανασυγκρότησή της ως ενός παγκοσμιο-τοπικοποιημένου δικτύου. Υπό αυτή την έννοια, η «Τρικαλινή Εβραϊκή Διασπορά» αποτελεί για τους ντόπιους Εβραίους τη θεμελιώδη πηγή προσδοκιών για τη μελλοντική επιβίωση της κοινότητάς τους. Od społeczności lokalnej do glokalnej sieci: miejsce, pamięć i polityka tożsamości wśród Żydów z Trikali oraz ich diasporyW artykule prezentuję wstępne rozpoznania z mojego multilokalnego etnograficznego i etnohistorycznego badania Żydów z Trikali, tzn. Żydów żyjących lub pochodzących z Trikali, miasta w Tesali w Grecji Środkowej. W szczególności, moje badania skupiają się na dwóch osiach: (1) historycznym procesie kształtowania się tożsamości i zmianach w społeczności po drugiej wojnie światowej oraz (2) na poczuciu przynależności potencjalnych członków tej społeczności i sposobach, w których dziś doświadczają i negocjują oni zbiorową pamięć i tożsamość.Na poziomie teoretycznym, pierwszą przyjętą hipotezą jest to, że „społeczność” ma tendencję do zawłaszczania podmiotów żyjących „gdzie indziej”, jak i do bycia przez nie zawłaszczaną. Zatem jest ona reprodukowana jako sieć glokalna, w której żydowskość i lokalność są łączone, doświadczane i odtwarzane na wielorakie, płynne i często fragmentaryczne sposoby. Na poziomie metodologicznym, moje badania opierają się na podstawowych technikach badań etnograficznych i etnohistorycznych, które zostały zaadaptowane do warunków i ograniczeń obszaru multilokalnego.Badania prowadzą do wniosku, że Zagłada przyniosła eksterminację ważnej części społeczności Żydów z Trikali, podczas gdy powojenne migracje prowadziły do jej stopniowej dezintegracji, rozproszenia i włączenia do szerszych realiów [systemów] etnoreligijnych i narodowych. Dziś owa „światowo-lokalna społeczność” ma raczej wyobrażony i symboliczny niż „praktyczny” społeczno-kulturowy wymiar. Jednakże spisanie, „ocalenie” i publikacja historii, pamięci i „kulturowego dziedzictwa” stanowią fundamentalny obszar dla rekonstrukcji więzi między potencjalnymi członkami społeczności, a zatem jej odbudowania jako zglokalizowanej sieci interakcji socjo-kulturowych.

This thesis presents a first archaeological introduction to the study of Byzantine ports, harbours and other coastal installations in the region of Thessaly. Thessaly not only constitutes an ideal region to gain equal information for the Early- to the Late Byzantine periods, but also to compare independent regional and imperial central building activities. However, in particular Thessaly’s maritime connectivity has never been studied in detail before. As such, a first step into a terra incognita, the thesis is divided into two main sections: In order to conceptualize the study of harbour sites, the thesis first sets up a framework for the definition, understanding and interpretation of the physical features of harbours and their function and purpose. Taking into account influencing environmental conditions, such as natural, economic, social and political components, this helps to determine an accurate hierarchical model and to illustrate the interrelationship between different types and forms of harbour sites. Subsequently, comprehensive archaeological investigations around the island of Skiathos and other harbour sites in Thessaly, executed in 2012 and 2013, are set against this theoretical groundwork. In contrast to the common approach of regional studies, where a first general overview is followed by individual detailed case-studies, the opposite methodology is undertaken in order to achieve a systematic study of the Thessalian harbours and the complexity of their network system. Consequently, the collection of data starts from the analysis of a distinct area of a region and continues with the broader regional picture of primary ports, secondary harbours and staple markets. Functioning as an important junction of the Aegean shipping lanes and being involved in regional as well as supra-regional trade and port networks, focus is therefore primarily dedicated to the island of Skiathos. A joint survey project in cooperation with the Greek Ephorate for Underwater Antiquities (EEA), the 13th Greek Ephorate for Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the 7th Greek Ephorate for Byzantine Antiquities was initiated by the author in 2012. A number of sites, including harbour installations and other coastal infrastructures, have been detected, documented and subsequently verified by geophysical prospections, using a Sub-bottom profiler and Side-Scan Sonar, in 2013. These have allowed to draw a clear historical picture of architectural developments, port networks and changes in the socio-economic connectivity of the area. Followed by a close investigation of further harbour sites throughout the entire region of Thessaly during two field seasons between 2012 and 2013, the detailed picture gained from the Skiathos survey project is brought to a wider context. This comparison finally allows an overall picture of the history and architectural developments of harbour structures and associated coastal sites, as well as general conclusions concerning the hierarchy and port network in the region during the Early to Late Byzantine periods. This has allowed a comprehensive understanding of the growth, use and decline of various ports, harbours and staple markets within Thessaly and has important repercussions for our understanding of wider social and economic changes that were occurring during these periods, such as the rise of the church as a powerful economic institution or the increasing activities of private entrepreneurs. In this way the submerged maritime heritage of Thessaly has provided a rich new resource with which to understand the cultural dynamics of the region as it emerged from its peripheral location to comprising major ports within the Roman maritime network and to stand out of the heart of the commercial route ways to and from Constantinople, as well as being part of the emergent networks of the western maritime states at the end of the period, such as Venice.