PYRASUS
PYRASUS (
Πύρασος, Strab.
Steph. B. sub voce Πύρρασος, Hom: Eth.
Πυρασαῖος), a town of Phthiotis in Thessaly, mentioned by Homer along with Phylace and Iton, and described by him as
Πύρρασον ἀνθεμόεντα, Δήμητρος τέμενος. (
Il. 2.695.) Pyrasus was situated on the Pagasaean gulf, at the distance of 20 stadia from Thebes, and possessed a good harbour (
εὐλίμενος, Strab. ix. p.435).
It had disappeared in the time of Strabo. Its name was
[p. 2.687]superseded by that of DEMETRIUM, derived from the temple of Demeter, spoken of by Homer, and which Strabo describes as distant two stadia from Pyrasus. Demetrium is mentioned as a town of Phthiotis by Scylax (p. 24, Hudson), Livy (
28.6), Stephanus B. (s. v.
Δημήτριον), and Mela (2.3). Leake places Pyrasus at
Kókkina, where there are vestiges of an ancient town, consisting of wrought quadrangular blocks, together with many smaller fragments, and an oblong height with a flat summit, partly if not wholly artificial.
He also states that at
Kókkina there is a circular basin full of water near the shore, which was once probably a small harbour, since there are traces of a mole not far from it.
The exact site of the temple was probably at a spot, 5 minutes short of
Kókkina, where exist many stones and some hewn blocks. (Leake,
Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 366.)
