Iolkos
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Prefecture: | Magnesia |
| Province: | Volos |
| Seat: | Anakassia Iolkou |
| Location: Latitude: Longitude: |
39.4186/39°9'97 N lat. 22.239/22°58'11' E long |
| Population: (2001) - Total - Density¹ - Rank |
-/km² |
| Elevation: -lowest: -centre: -highest: |
Pagasetic Gulf and the Pagasetic Gulf 156 m(centre) about 300 to 400 m |
| Postal code: | 385 00 |
| Area/distance code: | 11-30-24210 (030-24210)-7 |
| Municipal code: | 3711 |
| Car designation: | BO
|
| 3-letter abbreviation: | IOL Iolcos |
| Website: | www.magnesia.gr/dimoi/dimoi_iolkos.htm |
Iolcos (also known as Iolkos or Iolcus, Greek: Ιωλκός) was an ancient city in Thessaly, central-eastern Greece (near the modern city of Volos). Today Iolcos is a small village, which has a school and a small square (plateia). Iolcos is also used as a name to describe a municipality that belongs in the province of Volos.
The small town of Anakassia is the centre of the municipality of Iolkos. Anakassia has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasium, banks, a post office and a square (plateia).
According to ancient Greek mythology Aeson was the rightful king of Iolcos, but his brother Pelias usurped the throne. It was Pelias who sent Aeson's son Jason and his Argonauts to look for the Golden Fleece. The ship Argo set sail from Iolcos with a crew of fifty demigods and princes under Jason's leadership in the 13th century B.C. Their mission was to reach Colchis in Aea at the eastern seaboard of the Black Sea and reclaim and bring back the Golden Fleece, a symbol of the opening of new trade routes. Along with the Golden Fleece Jason brought a wife, the sorceress Medea, king Aeetes' daughter, granddaughter of the Sun, niece of Circe, princess of Aea, and later queen of Iolkos, Corinth and Aea, and also slayer of her brother Apsyrtos and her two sons from Jason, indeed a tragic figure of a woman whose trials and tribulations were so artfully dramatized in the much staged Euripides' "Medea".
Historical population
| Year | Communal population | Change (town) | Municipal population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | - | - | |
| 1991 | 287 | - | 2,415 |
Geographic position
| North: Makrinitsa | ||
| West: Nea Ionia | Iolkos | East: Portaria |
| South: Volos |
See also
A portion of content for this article is credited to Wikipedia. Content under GNU Free Documentation License(GFDL)
