Thessaly (Greek: Θεσσαλία, romanized: Thessalía, [θesaˈli.

a]; ancient
Thessalian: Πετθαλία, Petthalía) is a traditional geographic and modern
administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region
of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known
as Aeolia (Ancient Greek: Αἰολία, Aiolía), and appears thus in Homer's
Odyssey.

Thessaly became part of the modern Greek state in 1881, after four and
a half centuries of Ottoman rule. Since 1987 it has formed one of the
country's 13 regions[3] and is further (since the Kallikratis reform of
2011) sub-divided into five regional units and 25 municipalities. The
capital of the region is Larissa. Thessaly lies in northern Greece and
borders the regions of Macedonia on the north, Epirus on the west,
Central Greece on the south, and the Aegean Sea on the east. The
Thessaly region also includes the Sporades islands.

Name and etymology[edit]

Thessaly is named after the Thessaloi, an ancient Greek tribe. The

meaning of the name of this tribe is unknown, and many theories have
been made about its etymology. According to the Dutch linguist Robert
S. P. Beekes, the name predates Greek presence in the region and
could come from Proto-Indo-European *Kʷʰeťťal-.[4] The Greek linguist
Georgios Babiniotis also assigns the origin of the name of the
Thessalians to pre-Greek times, although he does not try to explain its
etymology.[5] In Aromanian it is referred to as Tesalia.[6]

Mythology[edit]

In Homer's epic, the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus visited the kingdom
of Aeolus, which was the old name for Thessaly.[7]

The Plain of Thessaly, which lies between Mount Oeta/Othrys and

Mount Olympus, was the site of the battle between the Titans and the
Olympians.[8]

According to legend, Jason and the Argonauts launched their search

for the Golden Fleece from the Magnesia Peninsula.