Geography

​Next he lists those under Eumelus, the continuous coastline, which already belongs to Magnesia and the Pelasgiotis land. Now Pherae is the limit of the Pelasgian plains towards Magnesia, which extend as far as Mount Pelion for a distance of one hundred and sixty stadia. The seaport of Pherae is Pagasae, which is ninety stadia distant from them, and twenty from Iolcus. And Iolcus has been razed from of old, but it was from there that Pelias dispatched Jason and the Argo; and they mythologically relate that the place was called Pagasae from the building of the Argo, though others think it more plausible that this name was given to the place from the springs which flow in great number and abundance; and near it is also Aphetae, as being a sort of starting-place of the Argonauts. And Iolcus lies above Demetrias, seven stadia from the sea. Demetrius Poliorcetes founded Demetrias, named after himself, on the sea between Neleia and Pagasae, having settled into it the neighboring small towns, namely, Neleia, Pagasae, Ormenium, and also Rhizus, Sepias, Olizon, Boebe, and Iolcus, which are now indeed villages of Demetrias. And indeed this was for a long time a naval station and a royal residence for the kings of the Macedonians, and it held sway over both Tempe and both of the mountains, Pelion and Ossa, as has been said; and though it has now shrunk, it nevertheless excels all the other cities in Magnesia. The lake Boebeis near Pherae also adjoins the extreme boundaries of Pelion and of Magnesia; and Boebe is a place situated on the lake. And just as the factions and tyrannies destroyed Iolcus after it had increased still further, so also they reduced Pherae , which had once been elevated but was ruined together with its tyrants. The Anaurus flows near Demetrias. And the continuous shore is also called Iolcus; and it was here that they used to hold the Pylaic festival. Artemidorus, however, places the Pagasitic Gulf further away from Demetrias, in the regions under Philoctetes; and he says that in the gulf is the island Cicyne-thus and a small town of the same name.

​Next are listed the cities under Philoctetes. Now Methone is different from the Thracian Methone which Philip razed; and we have already mentioned before the alteration of these names and of those in the Peloponnese. And the others have been enumerated; and Thaumacia and [Olizon] and Meliboea belong to the next coastline. And off the coast of the Magnetes lie many islands, but those of note are Sciathus, Peparethus, Icus, Halonnesus, and Scyros, which have cities of the same name. But Scyros is especially famous on account of the intimacy of Lycomedes with Achilles, and the birth and rearing of Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, there. Later, when Philip grew in power, seeing that the Athenians dominated the sea and ruled over these islands and the others, he made those nearest to himself especially famous. For, waging war for the hegemony, he always attacked those nearby first, and just as he made most parts of Magnesia itself Macedonian, as well as of Thrace and the rest of the surrounding land, so he also took away the islands in front of Magnesia, making those previously known to no one highly contested and famous. At all events, Scyros is established chiefly by ancient lore, but it is also made a subject of common talk by things of this kind, such as the excellent quality of the Scyrian goats, and the quarries of the Scyrian variegated stone, just like the Carystian stone, and the Docimaean or Synnadic, and the Hierapolitan. For one can see monolithic columns and large slabs of this variegated stone in Rome, with which the city is adorned both publicly and privately, and this has made works of white marble of little value.