Xyniae

About

Xyniae or Xyniai (Greek: Ξυνίαι) or Xynia (Greek: Ξυνία) was an ancient city in Achaea Phthiotis, Ancient Thessaly, in Greece. In the Middle Ages, it was known as Ezeros (Ἐζερός). The city was located on the western slopes of Mount Othrys, some 4 km southwest of the modern village of Xyniada (in the Phthiotis Prefecture).

The city was strategically located as it controlled the passages along the nearby Lake Xynias (the lake took its name from the city), from Lamia to Thaumaci (modern Domokos). During the second half of the 3rd century BC the city was Aetolian, but passed to Macedonia after that, only to be plundered and its population massacred by the Aetolians in 198 BC. In 186/5 BC it passed under Thessalian control, and then under Roman rule.

The city was still known under its ancient name in the 6th century AD, being mentioned by Stephanus Byzantius; but following the subsequent Slavic invasions and settlement it disappears, only to reappear in the 9th century as "Ezeros", after the Slavic word for "lake". The name survived until recently for the nearby village of Agios Stefanos. The medieval town is mostly known as a bishopric (attested since 879), being featured in the Notitiae...