Larissa
nymphA Pelasgian nymph or princess who gave her name to the city of Larissa in Thessaly, one of Greece's oldest continuously inhabited cities.
The Myth
Larissa was a daughter of Pelasgus, the ancestor of the Pelasgians — the pre-Greek inhabitants who lived in the Aegean before the Hellenes arrived. Her name attached itself to cities across the ancient world: Larissa in Thessaly, Larissa in the Argolid, Larissa in the Troad near Troy, and several others. Wherever the Pelasgians had settled, a Larissa seemed to follow.
The Thessalian Larissa is the one that endured. Situated on the banks of the Peneus river, it grew into one of the most important cities in Greece. According to local tradition, Larissa drowned in the Peneus while playing ball near its banks — a strangely domestic death for a figure of such geographical importance. The city honoured her with a cult, and coins from Larissa bore the image of a nymph playing with a ball, preserving her story in silver.
Modern Larissa remains the capital of Thessaly and one of Greece's largest cities. The nymph who drowned playing ball has outlasted empires, her name still on maps after three thousand years.
Parents
Pelasgus
Children
Achaeus, Phthius, and Pelasgus (in some accounts)
Symbols
Fun Fact
Larissa is still the name of Thessaly's capital — making this nymph one of the few mythological figures whose name has been in continuous civic use for over three thousand years.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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