Magnesia
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Capital: | Volos |
| Periphery: | Thessaly |
| Area: | ? km² |
| Inhabitants: | ? (1991) |
| Pop. density: | ? inh./km² |
| ISO 3166-2: | GR-? |
| Map | |
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Magnesia, deriving from the Macedonian tribe name Magnetes, is the name of the southeastern area of Thessaly in central Greece.
The modern Magnesian capital is the city of Volos, and the homonymous prefecture includes the Almyros plain, the Pagasetic Gulf, the Mt. Pelion peninsula and the Sporades islands.
Magnesia was also the name of two cities in ancient Lydia (modern Turkey) founded by Greek Magnesians.
One of them, Magnesia ad Sipylum is famous as the site of the Battle of Magnesia. Its ruins lie close to present day Manisa.
The other was Magnesia ad Maeandrum which lay within Ionia, but because it had been settled by Aeolians from Magnesia, was not accepted into the Ionian League. Gyges, king of Lydia captured it and afterward it suffered from the Cimmerian raids, and was often under the control of the Persians. Themistocles retired to Magnesia. There was a Temple of Artemis but little remains at the site today.
In geology, magnesia is a natural form of magnesium oxide, also called periclase. Stones from the Magnesia region contained both magnesium oxide and hydrated magnesium carbonate as well as iron oxides (such as magnetite). Thus these stones, called Stones from Magnesia in antiquity, with their unusual magnetic properties were the reason the term magnetism was coined.
In alchemy and early chemistry, magnesia alba was the name for an indefinite hydrated mixture of magnesium hydroxide and magnesium carbonate.
See also milk of magnesia.Communities
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