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History of Doliche

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Bibliography: Evangelos Tsaknakis, Overview of the History of Doliche. Doliche 2019.

CHRONOLOGY OF DOLICHEDownolad

Etymology

In Homer’s Iliad (Book N, line 162), the adjective dolichon appears, and in the lexicon of Apollonius Sophistes (1st century AD) — the earliest known dictionary — the same word is recorded, meaning long.

In the Suda lexicon (10th century AD), the ancient adjective dolichos, -a, -on is defined as “long, extended, much.”

It is therefore possible that the name Doliche is connected to one of these characteristics — perhaps the settlement once covered a large area for its time, had an elongated shape, or possessed something in abundance, such as population.

During the Ottoman period, Doliche was known as Tuchlista, Duchlista, or Ntuchlista, likely a phonetic variation of its ancient name.According to one hypothesis, the name Douchlista may derive from the Vlach words ntouku (to go) / ntouka (passage) and loku (place), referring to its location between two hills — a kind of passageway.Another possibility, in the case of Ntouglishta, links the name to the Vlach words ntouku (to go) / ntouka (passage) and le (ah), perhaps indicating that the settlement was relocated from a mountainous, less accessible area, possibly on Mount Olympus.

However, it is more likely that the name has Slavic origins.During the first half of the 20th century, Douchlista was officially renamed Doliche, restoring its ancient form.

Today, one of the streets in the city of Larissa, in the district of Agios Thomas, bears its name.

Geography

Doliche lies five kilometers west of Mount Olympus, at an altitude of 586 meters.

It is surrounded to the north by Mount Xylo, to the south by the hill of Prophet Elias, to the east by the area of Pythio, and to the west by the region of Livadi. The settlement covers an area of approximately 400 stremmata (40 hectares).

The village’s original land distribution plan — defining residential plots and public or municipal areas — was implemented in 1927, with its revision approved in 1989, which remains valid to this day.The wider rural area of Doliche extends over about 18,000 stremmata (1,800 hectares), of which 6,000 stremmata are cultivated.

A land redistribution project was carried out in 1993 and officially ratified in 2008.The region borders Central Macedonia, accessible via the Elassona–Katerini national road (to the north), as well as through Kokkinopilos–Petra.Access to Western Macedonia is possible via the Elassona–Kozani national road.Doliche is characterized by a rich aquifer, sufficient to irrigate its cultivated lands.Its territory includes dozens of local place names (see Appendix A), and a significant portion has been designated as a wildlife refuge.

In 2006, a comparative floristic study was conducted in Doliche, revealing that the condition of the hedgerows was degraded due to continuous human intervention and the limited awareness among farmers regarding their ecological role — as windbreaks and as habitats for beneficial insects and birds.

A subsequent study in 2008 focused again on the area, selected for its rich biodiversity, in order to examine how different land uses affect the diversity and abundance of avifauna, and to propose sustainable land management practices for local farmers.

History

From the Archaic to the Classical Period

Doliche, together with Azoros and Pythio, formed the Perrhaebian Tripolis in the northernmost part of ancient Perrhaebia, which bordered Elimiotis in Macedonia to the northwest (modern Kozani), Pieria in Macedonia to the northeast, Estiaiotis in Thessaly (modern Trikala) to the southwest, and Pelasgiotis in Thessaly (modern Larissa) to the southeast. Other cities in Perrhaebia included Gonnos, Ereikinion, Malloia, Mondaia, Mylai, Olooson, Phalanna, and Chyretiai.

Four settlements — Kondylos, Gonnokondylos, Askyrion, and Leimoni-Hiloni — are less clearly documented, and it is uncertain whether they functioned as independent cities. The first two belonged to Gonnos, while the latter two lack sufficient evidence. The Tripolis was part of Perrhaebia and its cities were members of the Perrhaebian League, governed by the same tagos (military commander).

The Perrhaebians, a neighboring people of the Thessalians, were likely under Thessalian control as early as the 6th century BC. Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC) mentions them in the context of the Second Persian War (480 BC), when Xerxes faced no resistance in Perrhaebia and Thessaly on his march to Thermopylae against Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. As Xerxes’ forces cleared forests along the route, heralds sent to Greece returned either empty-handed or bringing the symbolic earth and water, as with the Thessalians and Perrhaebians.

Thucydides (c. 460–399 BC) also references the Perrhaebians during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), when the Spartan Brasidas campaigned in Macedonia to support his ally, King Perdiccas II.

Beyond historical records, Perrhaebia appears in literary and mythological sources. The Homeric Hymn to Apollo (lines 214–219) describes the god’s journey through Perrhaebian lands. In the Orphic texts (lines 928–956), Perrhaebia is associated with the seer Mopsus, who traveled from Titaron to join the Argonautic expedition, and participated, along with other heroes including Pirithous the Lapith, in the Calydonian Boar hunt.

According to Strabo (64 BC–24 AD), the Perrhaebians initially lived along the Peneus River, from Gyrton to the sea, until they were displaced inland by Ixion the Lapith and his son Pirithous. The Perrhaebians still held some plains near Mount Olympus.

In Homer’s Iliad (Book B, 738–755), Polypoetes, leader of warriors from Argissa, Gyrton, and Perrhaebian Orthe and Olooson, participates in the Trojan War with forty black ships. Perrhaebians and Ainians fought under a common commander, Guneus of Kyphos, leading twenty-two ships. They inhabited regions near Dodona, irrigating their fields with the clear waters of the Titarisios, which floated atop the muddy Peneus like oil. In another passage (Book P, 233–238), Achilles prays to Zeus, the Pelasgic god residing in wintery Dodona, surrounded by his prophets, the Selloi.

No direct historical sources from the Archaic and Classical periods mention Doliche itself. However, since the city appears in later written sources, it is considered part of Perrhaebia, with a foundation date unknown, following Perrhaebian history. Along with Azoros and Pythio, it formed the Perrhaebian Tripolis, a type of federal union. The name Tripolis, used by Titus Livius (59 BC–19 AD), likely derives from these three cities, confirming Doliche’s status as a city. This view is supported by an inscription discovered later, which explicitly refers to Doliche as a city.

From the Hellenistic to the Roman Period

An inscription dating to the reign of Trajan (53–117 AD) mentions a territorial dispute between Doliche and Elimiotis, referring to a similar conflict during the reign of Amyntas II (390–371 BC). A dedicatory inscription from the first half of the 4th century BC, found in Elassona, lists Perrhaebian cities but omits the Tripolis cities, suggesting that Doliche, Azoros, and Pythio were under Macedonian control, due to the strategic importance of routes connecting Macedonia with Thessaly.

By the mid-4th century BC, all Perrhaebian cities were under the control of Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC).

A unique coin from the Perrhaebian Tripolis depicts laureate Apollo on one side and a tripod cauldron inscribed with Tripolitan on the other, dating to the late 4th century BC, now exhibited at the Diachronic Museum of Larissa.

Doliche in the Hellenistic period is tentatively placed at the archaeological site southeast of Sarantaporo, where a defensive wall, 3 meters wide, was reinforced with semicircular towers every 29 meters. Evidence indicates worship of Poseidon, the Charites, and Aphrodite, with construction phases in the 3rd century BC and during the Imperial era.

By the 3rd century BC, local speech in northern Perrhaebia and Doliche was influenced by Macedonian pronunciation, though some scholars argue this reflected only the presence of Macedonian settlers. Names and months typical of Macedonia appear alongside Perrhaebian ones. Strategically located, Doliche, like Pythio, Azoros, and Gonnos, was more fully integrated into Macedonian control.

The toponym Doliche is not unique to Perrhaebia; a city of the same name existed in Commagene (modern Doluk, on the Syria–Turkey border). Any relationship between the two cities is uncertain. In Commagene, Dolichenus, a thunder god associated with fertility, was worshiped and later considered a protector of military success in Roman times.

During the Aetolian and Allied Wars (239–229 BC and 220–217 BC), the Aetolians included Perrhaebian territories in their political framework. Tripolis cities are mentioned again in the 2nd century BC by Titus Livius and Polybius. During the Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC), Livius reports the attack of 3,000 Aetolians with 200 horsemen on Malloia, opposing the Chyretai, along with the plundering of the Tripolis cities. In 196 BC, Perrhaebia became an autonomous league after the battle of Cynoscephalae and the Roman recognition of Greek cities’ independence.

Archaeological findings by A. Arvanitopoulos (1929) revealed dozens of names from Doliche, with inscriptions from Doliche and Azoros (published 1914) mostly being manumission records and some funerary. Slaves bought their freedom for 22.5 denarii.

The ancient site of Kastrí, about 5 km west of modern Doliche, is identified as ancient Doliche. Excavations in 2006 uncovered a Roman-period manumission inscription mentioning Doliche, embedded in the south wall of Basilica C, with two inscriptions of different dates. The first reads:

[Η] ΠΟΛΙΣ Η ΔΟΛΙΧΑΙ[ΩΝ] / ΟΛΙΝ ΦΟΞΙΝΟΥ ΤΗΝ Ε[ΑΥΤΗΣ ΕΥ]/[Ε]ΡΓΕΤΙΝ

confirming the ancient city’s name and location beneath the Early Christian acropolis. These epigraphic records demonstrate Macedonia’s domination of Perrhaebia from the mid-4th century until 197 BC.

It is also suggested that some inscriptions found in villages and sites like Kastrí were relocated from ancient Doliche at Sarantaporo, gradually abandoned during the Roman period, while Doliche remained the most significant city of the Perrhaebian Tripolis.

Worship of Heracles Kynagidas (protector of hunters) is attested at Kastrí and in Caesarea of Kozani, where a Dolichean is recorded as priest. A marble rectangular statue base from the 1st century BC bears the inscription:

“…[name] Dolichean / from Thessaly and Poriôn Iolaus served as priest of Heracles Kynagidas…”

indicating the religious activity of Dolicheans in surrounding regions.

Early Christian and Byzantine Periods

Doliche, like all Perrhaebian cities, persisted at least until the 3rd century AD, according to epigraphic evidence. During the reign of Diocletian (284–305 AD), Perrhaebia became part of the territory of Larissa, which was designated the capital of the province of Thessaly.

During the early Christian era, Procopius mentions only Oloosson, which he does not even count among Thessalian cities, and it remains uncertain whether the ancient names of Perrhaebian towns continued in use during this period.

Archaeological investigations, however, uncovered a small wall in Elassona, built or restored during the reign of Justinian. At the Kastrí site, surface surveys began in 2001, followed by formal excavations in 2002, revealing three Early Christian basilicas and the acropolis.

Basilica A is a three-aisled church with a mosaic floor in the central nave depicting, among other things, the cross—a rare instance, as the faithful were traditionally prohibited from stepping on this sacred symbol. A 2004 study estimated its foundation around 5 September 553 AD (±24 years), coinciding with the feast of the prophet Zechariah.Basilica B, excavated from 2003, likely dates to the second half of the 6th century AD.

Excavations also revealed the acropolis wall, the city’s final defensive line in the Early Christian era, alongside dwellings, storage areas, and Basilica C.

Findings indicate that inhabitants relied primarily on agriculture and livestock farming, while men hunted and women engaged in handicrafts, which may have been a regular occupation. Many artifacts from Kastrí are now exhibited at the Diachronic Museum of Larissa.

Byzantine and Medieval Periods

During the Middle Byzantine period (9th–12th centuries AD), western and northwestern Thessaly, including Perrhaebia, belonged to Great Vlachia, bounded by Mount Olympus, the modern village of Katakali (Deskata), and the Pindus mountains, separating it from the Despotate of Epirus.

The Byzantine Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior, preserved in the village square, reflects occupation during this period. It is a single-aisled basilica, later modified with a domed narthex and exo-narthex. Built with common stonework and rich mortar, it is covered with Byzantine-style tiles. An interior inscription records a renovation in 1516, suggesting that the original church may have been three-aisled (Middle Byzantine) or single-aisled with side aisles, evidenced by openings on the north and south sides leading to semi-independent chambers. The monument is officially protected by the Ministry of Culture.

Ottoman Period

Information about the Elassona region during the early Ottoman era is scarce. However, Ottoman censuses from 1506 onward provide demographic and economic data for Doliche, recorded as Ntouchlista. The settlement does not appear in earlier censuses of 1454/1445 and 1485, suggesting its foundation between 1485–1506.By 1506, Ntouchlista (Doliche) was a substantial village under the pasha of Elassona, comprising 3 Ottoman families, 279 Greek families, 22 widows, and 11 unmarried adults—roughly 1,400 inhabitants. Residents focused on agriculture and livestock, cultivating grains, lentils, flax, hemp, vineyards, raising silkworms and bees, and maintaining about 3,000 sheep.By 1521, the population grew to approximately 1,890 (365 Greek families and 1 Muslim family), ranking fourth in the district after Domeniko, Tsaritsani, and Elassona among 56 settlements. By 1570, the population had halved, possibly due to migration, Vlach movements, or repeated plague outbreaks (recorded in 1466, 1620, 1649, 1667, 1792).

Records from monasteries, such as Meteora (1592/1593) and Olymbiotissa, list residents of Ntouchlista as donors, indicating active religious participation. In the 17th–18th centuries, monastic property in Doliche included fields, gardens, and a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, some ruins of which survive in the present-day Metochi settlement.In 1873, the Monastery of Agios Antonios of Kokkinogi leased 189 acres of cultivable land in Doliche to a local resident. Agricultural activity included wheat, barley, and other crops.

Ecclesiastically, Doliche belonged to the Bishopric of Petra, documented in 1633 as “Bishopric of Petra and Sagodania”. The bishopric fell under the Metropolis of Thessaloniki until its abolition in 1896, when Doliche was integrated into the Metropolis of Elassona, aligning with its political and administrative ties.

Travelers of the 19th and 20th Century

Several travelers and scholars of the 19th and early 20th century documented Doliche (then called Ntouchlista):

William Martin Leake (1777–1860), while traveling from Livadi to Elassona, reached the small village of Ntouchlista, where he observed a ruined church containing two fragments of Doric columns (diameter: 2 feet 8 inches) and, on uneven το ground, a funerary stele along with several square stone blocks. He concluded that these remains, combined with the village name, indicate the location of ancient Doliche, the third city of Tripolis.

  • William Smith (1813–1893), in his Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), identifies Doliche as a Perrhaebian city in Thessaly, at the foot of Mount Olympus, forming Tripolis together with Azoros and Pythio.
  • Léon Heuzey (1831–1922), examining artifacts from Doliche, suggested that despite the city being mentioned only once in historical sources, its ruins indicate it survived at least until the end of the Roman Empire, serving as a regional stronghold. In 1860, Heuzey mistakenly identified the site of ancient Azoros at Doliche, describing Ntouchlista as a poor settlement of about 12 houses scattered among ruins and fields, noting fragments of inscriptions, a Hellenistic column, and a funerary stele of a physician from Nicaea in Bithynia. On Ai-Lias Hill, he observed traces of walls indicating a former fortress.
  • N. Georgiadis (1830–1915) placed the ancient Tripolis toponyms in the region of Tripoliana, south of Pythio and east of Doliche, and located ancient Doliche at the Kastrí site, contrary to Heuzey. He recorded about 20 families living in the village around 1880 and cataloged several ancient relics, including inscribed steles marking manumission acts and Perrhaebian months.
  • Friedrich Stählin (1874–1936) concluded that Doliche must be north of Tripolis, bordering Elimiotis, with its name preserved in the Ottoman-era Ntouchlista. The Kastrí hill west of Ntouchlista corresponds to the ancient city, while Ai-Lias Hill contains walls of uncertain period, possibly Hellenistic.
  • Apostolos Arvanitopoulos (1874–1942) collected and safeguarded ancient monuments from Doliche and the surrounding Perrhaebian region in 1913, now housed in the Archaeological Collection of Elassona.

🏘 From the 20th Century to Today

  • Administrative changes: After the Balkan Wars (1912), Ntouchlista was integrated into Greece. In 1919, the settlement became part of the community of Selos (Pythio), along with Doliche, Demirades (Kokkinogi), and the Monastery of Saint Anthony. In 1928, it was renamed Doliche. It gained recognition as an independent community in 1966 and remained so until 1998. From 1999, it joined the Municipality of Livadi, and since 2011, it is part of the Municipality of Elassona.
  • The 1940s: World War II and the Greek Civil War heavily affected Doliche. One resident fell at the Albanian front, while many others participated in the Resistance or in the Democratic Army, with some exiled or displaced.
  • Education: In the early 20th century, Doliche had a one-class primary school, stone-built, which burned down in 1943 by German-Italian forces. Classes resumed sporadically until a new school was inaugurated on 21 November 1950, funded by Queen Frederica. It functioned as a one-class school with 107 students; later, a second classroom was added, and the school operated until 2010, closing due to low student numbers. Adult education was also offered in 1975.
  • Political representation: Doliche was the birthplace of Dimitrios (Takis) Tsiogkas (1956–2010), president of the Labor Center of Larissa (1999–2010) and member of the Greek Parliament for the KKE (2001–2008). The local cultural center hall and a street in Larissa bear his name.
  • Voluntary organizations:
    • The Cultural Association of Doliche «Tripolitis» (est. 1979) organizes events, including the annual traditional festival (5–6 August) and the archaeological-historical festival «Perrhaebian Tripolis,» as well as a Folklore Museum.
    • The Athletic Club «O Dolichiakos» (est. 1977) participated in local football championships until 2018–2019.
    • The Women’s Association (est. 2009) revives local customs and celebrates the ancient Dolichean heritage.

🔚 Conclusion

  • The name Doliche likely derives from the ancient adjective dolichos, while Ottoman-era forms—Tuchlista, Douchlista, Ntouchlista—preserve the ancient toponym.
  • Continuous habitation is evidenced from antiquity, with the city featuring in Perrhaebian history from Herodotus and Thucydides to the Macedonian Wars.
  • Archaeological finds, including coins and inscriptions, confirm the existence of Hellenistic and Roman Doliche. The Kastrí excavations revealed three Early Christian basilicas, with artifacts displayed at the Diachronic Museum of Larissa.
  • The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior may date back to the Middle Byzantine period (9th–11th century), indicating ongoing settlement. Monastic records from the 16th–19th centuries attest to a thriving agrarian community.
  • Population peaked in the 20th century but has declined since the 1980s due to urban migration and aging. Despite historical challenges, local cultural and athletic associations actively preserve and promote Doliche’s heritage.