Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 16, 2026

Olizon

Olizon was an ancient Greek town and polis (city-state) of Magnesia located in the region of Thessaly. Olizon is mentioned by Homer, who gives it the epithet of "rugged"; and in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad, Olizon formed part of the territories of Philoctetes.

Last revised
Jul 16, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
282 w
Citations
10
Source

39°08′07″N 23°13′02″E / 39.13534°N 23.21711°E / 39.13534; 23.21711

Map showing ancient Thessaly. Olizon is shown to the lower right opposite Euboea (shown in pink). source ↗

Olizon (Ancient Greek: Ὀλιζών) was an ancient Greek town and polis (city-state) of Magnesia located in the region of Thessaly.1234 Olizon is mentioned by Homer, who gives it the epithet of "rugged"; and in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad, Olizon formed part of the territories of Philoctetes.5

It is also mentioned in the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax as a city in Magnesia, together with Iolcus, Spalauthra, Methone and Coracae.6 In Strabo's time, it formed part of the dependent territories of Demetrias on a section of the coast where Thaumacia and Meliboea also stood.7 Plutarch wrote that it was located opposite Artemisium in Euboea.8

Olizon is located at the Palaiokastro (old fort) at Agios Andreas.910

References

References

  1. Hansen & Nielsen 2004, "Thessaly and Adjacent Regions", p. 721.
  2. Strabo. Geographica. Vol. ix. p.436. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
  3. Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Book 4.9.16.
  4. Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v.
  5. Homer. Iliad. Vol. 2.717.
  6. Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, 65.
  7. Strabo. Geographica. Vol. 9.5.15-16. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
  8. Plut. Them. 8.
  9. Talbert, Richard, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9, with accompanying Map-by-Map Directory.
  10. Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
Sources

Sources