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Mythology
Some of the most important pages of the greek mythology are dedicated to
Volos area. The mythological chieftain of Magnesia was Magnes, son of
Aeolus and Aenareti. He settled down in Pilio, which is also known as the
mountain that was inhabited by the Centaures. The Centaures were fabulous
creatures with human head and horse’s body that came about from Ixiona’s
and Nefeli’s mythological union. A well known Centaur had been Heiron, who
was Asclepius’ and Achilles’ teacher and who intervened for Thetis’s marriage
with Pileus. The wedding took place in Pilio and it was attended by many gods
and heroes. According to mythology, during this wedding and because of "the
apple of Eris" the Troian war was sparked off. The Argonautical Enterprise, a
well known mythological fact with historical implications, had also started from
the mycenean city of lolkos.
Prehistory and History
The first populations that settled down in the area date back to the early
prehistoric period (7.000 B.C.). Some of the most important Neolithic sites, not
only for Greece but for the major area of the Balkans, are located in this area.
Up until now, the archaelogical research has brought to light more than 40
Neolithic settlements (7.000 - 4.000 B.C.), some of which continued to exist
until the Bronze Age (3.000 - 1.000 B.C.). The most important settlements of
this period in the area, which one can also visit, are Sesklo and Dimini. The
citadel of Sesklo is located in a distance of about 15 kilometres away from
Volos, next to the village that brings the same name. The Neolithic settlement
was covering an area of about 200.000 m2 and at its peak period (5.000 B.C.)
comprised about 500 - 800 houses. Remarkable findings coming from this
settlement include painted pottery, stoned tools, as well as objects made out
of obsian, a material that was coming mainly from the island of Milos. The
settlement of Dimini is located on a low hill, in a distance of about 5 kilometres
way from Volos. It was inhabited at about the end of the 5th millenium B.C.,
covering an area of about 30.000 m2, whereas its population is estimated at
200 - 300 inhabitants. The space of Dimini settlement had been arranged in a
unique way. Three pairs of walls made out of stone, had been constructed all
around the settlement, in order to organize the productive activities, based on
the agriculture and the and the communication both internal and external of its
inhabitants. According to the results of the most recent research, in the east of
the hill of Dimini’s prehistoric settlement, the mycenean city of lolkos (1.400 -
1.200 B.C.) was located. lolkos had been an important economic and cultural
centre of the major area, during that period and its name is directly connected
with the myth of the Argonautical Enterprise. During the historical times sites
of importance had been the following : Pagasses (6th century B.C.), where
today’s place Bourboulithra at the town’s entrance is, which reached its peak
at the classical period, Amfanes (4th century B.C.), where today’s place Soros
is, and the ancient city on Goritsa hill, which was built on the first half of the
4th Century B.C., probably by Macedonia’s king Philippus B’ . The most
important establishment of the ancient and the early Byzantine period in the
area was Dimitriada. It was founded in about 293 B.C. by Macedonia’s king
Dimitrios Poliorkitis, bringing together the neighbouring towns. Dimitriada is
considered product of the political ideology of the times of Alexander the
Great and his descendants. It became a strong military base for the
Macedonians from where they supervised Thessaly and the southern Greece.
At the same time, it has been an important trade centre that flourished from
217 B.C. until 168 B.C.. The city was built according to the system of
Ippodamus and it was surrounded by a strong wall, whose remains are still
saved until today. Remains of the palace, the theatre, as well as the city’s
aqueduct, which has been perfected by the Romans, are still present.
Remarkable findings from the city’s peak period (3rd - 1st century B.C.) are
the painted burial stelai, which contain interesting information about that era’s
economy, society and art. From the 1st century A.D., Dimitriada is starting to
shrivel, but the area continued to be inhabited until the 6th century A.D..
Nevertheless, today’s town precedent was the settlement on the hill of Agii
Theodori, where today’s district of Palia is. By being continuously inhabited
since the early geometrical period, it sheltered the mycenean’s lolkos
population, after this latter had been destroyed, and who founded there the
city of lolkos of the historical times. Dimitriada’s inhabitants also found shelter
there in the 6th century A.D., when they started being threatened by the
Slavs. There is little information and an absence of archaeological findings for
the period that follows, from the 6th century A.D. until the envasion of the
castle of Palia by the Turks in 1423. There have still been referrences to the
place name of Dimitriada, but we do not know whether they are to do with the
city that Dimitrios Poliorkitis founded or with the castle of Palia. Nevertheless,
after Konstandinople had been taken over by the Europeans of the fourth
Crusade in 1204, and until 1318 when it was invaded by the Catalans,
Dimitriada was ruled by the famous Byzantinian family of Melissini. The
Byzantinians took over from the Catalans for a small period, in 1333. It is at
that period that the place name Volos appears for the first time. From 1423,
when the Turks occupy the area, until 1600 the greek population moves from
the seaside areas towards Pilio and particularly towards the area of Ano
Volos, where Dimitriada’s headquarters had been transferred. During the
period of the turkish occupation, Pilio became the area’s economic and
cultural centre for the greek population. During the 18th century and
particularly the end of it, Pilio flourished financially due to commercial and
shipping activities.
The beginnings of Volos as a town.
During the turkish occupation, the castle in today’s area of Palia was the only
inhabited area. It was inhabited by Turks and a few Jews and from about 1840
the castle became also the base of the turkish ruler (Kaimakami). In 1655, the
castle was invaded by Morozini’s soldiers, but the Venetian occupation did not
last for long. With the outbreak of the greek revolution in 1821, Pilio’s villages
took part in it, but without any success. The Turks sailed their fleet into Volos’s
harbour, so that they could control the area and get provisions for their forces.
The greek state was established in 1829, but it did not include the district of
Thessaly. During the turkish occupation, the harbour of Volos, known as
"skala", has been Thessaly’s sea exit connecting it with the rest of the world.
From the 18th century shipped merchandise from Egypt, Ismyr and Crete
heading towards Konstandinople, would end up there. During the 19th century
the lines Volos - Marseilles, Haumburg - Volos and Volos - Amversa which
stopped first at Havre, came into use. After 1840, the favourable conditions
that the establishment of the greek state had created allowed the greeks to
settle in the area of the Castle of Volos. The first settings were warehouses
and workshops that belonged to trades people from Pilio. As time passed,
more people settled where today’s area of lasonos street is, extending
towards today’s Metamorphosi area. Until the middle of the 19th century Volos
developed into a small multicultural community, with its economy based
mainly on the trading and manufacturing of goods. From 1850 onwards
foreign embassies made their appearance in Volos town and in 1853 the
greek embassy. There is evidence of the existence of Volos as a community
since 1856. In 1858 there were eighty houses in Volos, while the town was
taking shape with wide streets parallel to the sea and narrow streets running
perpendicular to it. There were schools and administrative services.
From the Annexation to the Greek state until World War II.
Volos’s annexation to the greek state in 1881 has determined its
development. The area’s tradition in trading and manufacturing, the natural
harbour, its neighbouring to Thessaly’s plain contributed to Volos becoming
an important position from the geograghical and economic points of view, as it
was the most northern harbour of the then greek state. After the annexation,
the construction of Thessaly’s railway network started, aiming at resolving the
problem of transport within Thessaly. Meanwhile, the area was being made
accessible to the rest of Greece through Volos’s harbour. By 1884, Volos was
connected with Larissa by railway and by 1886 with Kalambaka, which
promoted Volos to a commercial centre of Thessaly. Volos held this position
for the first decade of the 20th century, until Thessaly became connected to
the rest of Greece by railway through Larissa. At the same time, and since
1895, the Pilio railway network that was connecting Volos with Milies through
Lehonia had started working - a project that was complete in 1903. During this
period Volos was slowly transforming from a small community, as it used to be
at the time of the Turkish occupation, to a dynamic 20th century town. The
conditions were most favourable for the development of financial activities,
which attracted various businessmen’s interest, from other areas of Greece, to
the area. Ever since Volos’s annexation to the greek state its population
increased rapidly, and while in 1889 there were 11.029 inhabitants, in 1896
there were 16.788 and in 1907 its population was 23.563 inhabitants. The first
capitals were invested in commerce and the purchase of land. But very soon
the existence of capitals, of a domestic market, of easily accessible raw
materials, as well as of labour offer created the presuppositions for the first
industries to be founded. The first industrial achivities were mainly in the areas
of agricultural machinery, cloth manufacturing and food. Moreover, the big
substructure projects that were under construction during this period, like
Thessaly’s railway and port-related constructions, caused foreigners and
people that had been educated abroad to settle in Volos. These people
functioned as the bearers of the european know-how which they transferred to
the local industry. The cosmopolitan character that the town was acquiring
influenced its architecture and it contributed to the development of a
remarkable cultural movement. In 1894 the City Theatre was founded, in 1896
the Volos Gymnasium was founded, in 1908 the "Parthenagogio" and the
Volos Workers Union,the first in Greece, were founded. Many unions were
active like the "Fileleimon Athelfotis" (1897) which founded the Hospital, The
Volos Trade Union (1897), which also ran a Statistics Department and a
Business School , while in 1919 Volos Commercial and Industrial Union was
founded. Characteristic samples of the neoclassical style that dominated in
architecture were the houses of Sarafopoulos (1894) and Pervanas (1900),
who belonged to the upper class, while from the public buildings the Hotel of
France (1884), the City Theatre (1894), and the Thessaly Railway
Administration Building (1904) are worth mentioning. During the 1930s the
town’s economy reaches its highest point. In 1922 about 13.000 refugees
from Minor Asia settled down here, who actively contributed to the town’s
development.
The After-War Period
The Second World War interrupted temporarily the town’s development. In the
period 1941-1944 Volos was under the german occupation with
consequences that lasted well into the 1950s. The earthquakes in 1955 also
changed the aesthetic to which the town was built and they have been held
responsible for the town’s current appearance. The period from the
earthquakes until into the 1970s is a reconstruction period. The town is built
up again, the industrial zone is founded in 1962, the port activities extend and
the town goes through its second developmentperiod. From the 1980s and
with the Local Authorities’ contribution, the cultural issues take up a central
position in the town’s activities. In 1985 the Thessaly University was founded
in Volos. Today’s Volos town, with the substructure of a modern european
town, is particularly attractive to its visitors due to its natural beauty and its
strong interest in cultural issues.