ARNISSA
Greece.
The first town of the Macedonian kingdom reached after going S through the Kirli
Derven pass into Lynkos. In 524 B.C. the Spartan leader
Brasidas, abandoned by his Macedonian ally, reached
Arnissa after a long day that ended with the storming
of the pass (
Thuc. 4.128.3). An important Classical site
can probably be identified with Arnissa just E of the S
end of the pass, N of the village of Petres and near its
lake. Rectangular foundations, possibly of a defense wall,
are visible; several inscriptions and numerous small objects have been found. There have been no excavations.
Arnissa was still of some importance in Late Roman
times, and appears, misnamed as Larissa, in the
Synekdemos of Hierokles (638.11). The village of Ostrovo, at
the head of Lake Ostrovo, has been officially renamed
Arnissa, but this cannot be correct, since it is based on
misidentification of the pass into Lynkos. No ancient
name can convincingly be associated with the remains
at Ostrovo.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
W. M. Leake,
Travels in Northern
Greece III (1835) 315; C. Edson, “The location of Cellae
and the route of the via Egnatia in western Macedonia,”
CP 46 (1951) 1-16; N.G.L. Hammond,
A History of
Macedonia 1 (1972) 104-8.
P. A. MACKAY
