Vale of Tempe in the context of "Pelasgiotis"

The Platamon Castle (Greek: Κάστρο του Πλαταμώνα), an important part of the history of Pieria, is a Crusader castle (built between 1204 and 1222) in Macedonia, Greece and is located southeast of Mount Olympus, in a strategic position which controls the exit of the Tempe valley, through which passes the main road connecting Macedonia with Thessaly and southern Greece. The tower (donjon), which overlooks the highway, is an imposing medieval fortress.

Important discoveries are the board of Hellenistic wall, that confirm the suggestion that on this position was the ancient Greek city Herakleion and the gate in the wall of the donjon. The core of the city Herakleion remains to be found, but it is posited that it is located on the northwest side of the castle's hill due to shells and coins found during recent excavations.

The Pineios (Greek: Πηνειός, romanized: Pineiós, Modern Greek: [pi.ni.ˈos], Ancient Greek: [pɛːnei̯ós], referred to in Latin sources as Peneus) is a river in Thessaly, Greece. The river is named after the god Peneus. During the later Middle Ages, it was also known as the Salamvrias or Salavrias (Σαλα[μ]βριάς).

It flows from the Pindus mountains through the Thessalian plain and empties into the Aegean Sea, northeast of the Vale of Tempe, near Stomio. It creates a large delta, well known for its beauty and for many animal species, protected by international environmental treaties. Its total length is 205 km. Its drainage basin is 9,500 km (3,700 sq mi). Its source is near the village Malakasi, on the eastern slope of the Pindus main range, east of Metsovo. The Meteora region and the city of Larissa lie along the Pineios. Trikala lies on its tributary, the Lithaios. In the 1960s, a freeway connecting Athens and Thessaloniki was constructed in much of the Vale of Tempe.

Mount Ossa (Greek: Όσσα), alternatively Kissavos (Κίσσαβος), is a mountain in the Larissa regional unit, in Thessaly, Greece. It is 1,978 metres (6,490 ft) high and is located between Pelion to the south and Olympus to the north, separated from the latter by the Vale of Tempe.

Daphne (/ˈdæfni/; DAFF-nee; Ancient Greek: Δάφνη, Dáphnē, lit. 'laurel'), a figure in Greek mythology, was in various retellings a mortal woman or a nymph, daughter of a river god. The god Apollo fell in love with Daphne and chased her against her wishes, but before he caught her, Daphne prayed for escape, and was transformed into a laurel tree. Thenceforth Apollo developed a special reverence for laurel.

At the Pythian Games, which were held every four years in Delphi in honour of Apollo, a wreath of laurel gathered from the Vale of Tempe in Thessaly was given as a prize. Hence it later became customary to award prizes in the form of laurel wreaths to victorious generals, athletes, poets and musicians, worn as a chaplet on the head. The Poet Laureate is a well-known modern example of such a prize-winner, dating from the early Renaissance in Italy. According to Pausanias the reason for this was "simply and solely because the prevailing tradition has it that Apollo fell in love with the daughter of Ladon (Daphne)". Most artistic depictions of the myth focus on the moment of Daphne's transformation.

39°53′42″N 22°37′43″E / 39.89498°N 22.62858°E / 39.89498; 22.62858

Homolium or Homolion (Ancient Greek: Ὁμόλιον) or Homole (Ὁμόλη) was a town and polis (city-state) of Magnesia in ancient Thessaly, situated at the foot of Mount Homole, and near the edge of the vale of Tempe. Mt. Homole was the part of the chain of Ossa lying between Tempe and the modern village of Karitsa. Mt. Homole is sometimes used as synonymous with Ossa. It was celebrated as a favourite haunt of Pan, and as the abode of the Centaurs and the Lapithae. Pausanias describes it as the most fertile mountain in Thessaly, and well supplied with fountains.

Elateia or Elatia (Ancient Greek: Ἐλάτεια) was a town in Pelasgiotis in ancient Thessaly, described by Livy, along with Gonnus, as situated in the pass leading to the Vale of Tempe. Elateia is called Iletia by Pliny the Elder, and Iletium or Iletion (Ἰλέτιον) by Ptolemy. It is mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium under its right name.