Larissa, Turkey

For other uses, see Larissa (disambiguation).

Larissa is an ancient city in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is in the immediate vicinity of Menemen, in the district of İzmir province. The ruins of the city are on a hill top next to today's Buruncuk village. The main road to Çanakkale from İzmir skirts the same hill, making a considerable curve to the northwest. It must also be emphasized that Larissa is very close to the Gediz River (called 'Hermus' in antiquity), which formed a fertile plain on its own delta, with the alluvial soil carried from the Anatolian inland.

The first nucleus of Larissa formed during the third millennium BC. The city survived all through the Persian and Hellenistic periods, though it was largely destroyed during the Peloponnesian War in 405 BC. Larissa was rebuilt after the War but was annihilated by the Galatians (Celts) in 279 BC.

The first excavations in Larissa were initiated in 1902 by Swedish and German archeologists. The findings were taken to Stockholm and to İstanbul archeological museums.