Larissa

Larissa (Greek: Λάρισα; pronounced:/ˈlarisa|/) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens. Larissa, within its municipality, has 162,591 inhabitants, while the regional unit of Larissa reached a population of 284,325 (in 2011). The urban area of the city, although mostly contained within the Larissa municipality, also includes the communities of Giannouli, Platykampos, Nikaia, Terpsithea and several other suburban settlements, bringing the wider urban area population of the city to about 220,000 inhabitants. Today, Larissa is a major commercial and industrial centre in Greece. Legend has it that Achilles was born there, and that Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, died there.
==Mythology==
According to Greek mythology it is said that the city was founded by Acrisius, who was killed accidentally by his grandson, Perseus.Stephanus Byzantius, s.v. There lived Peleus, the hero beloved by the gods, and his son Achilles.
In mythology, the nymph Larissa was a daughter of the primordial man Pelasgus.Pausanias, 2.24.1
The city of Larissa is mentioned in Book II of the Iliad by Homer:
Hippothous led the tribes of Pelasgian spearsmen, who dwelt in fertile Larissa- Hippothous,and Pylaeus of the race of Mars,
two sons of the Pelasgian Lethus, son of Teutamus.Hippothous led the tribes of Pelasgian spearsmen, who dwelt in fertile Larissa- Hippothous, and Pylaeus of the race of Mars, two sons of the Pelasgian Lethus, son of Teutamus. 
In this paragraph, Homer shows that the Pelasgians, Trojan allies, used to live in the city of Larissa. It is contradictory because Larissa was also the birthplace of Achilles, the sworn enemy of Trojans.
==References==
Category:Greece