Bolbe He Bolbe limne, Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

: Λίμνη Βόλβη, modern: Limni Volvi, was the name of a lake in Mygdonia

Mygdonia (Europe)

Mygdonia was an ancient territory, part of Ancient Thrace, later conquered by Macedon, which comprised the plains around Therma together with the valleys of Klisali and Besikia, including the area of the Axios river mouth and extending as far east as Lake Bolbe. To the north it was joined by...

, located at no great distance from the Aegean Sea

Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...

. It is about 12 miles (19.3 km) in length, and 6 or in breadth. The lake emptied itself into the Strymon Gulf

Strymonian Gulf

The Strymonian or Strymonic Gulf in [Greece]] is a branch of the Thracian Sea—itself part of the Aegean Sea—lying east of the Chalcidice peninsula and south of Serres...

 by means of a stream flowing through the pass once known as Aulon

Aulon

-In France:* Aulon, Creuse, a commune of the Creuse département* Aulon, Haute-Garonne, a commune of the Haute-Garonne département* Aulon, Hautes-Pyrénées, a commune of the Hautes-Pyrénées département-In Ancient Greece and Rome:...

 or Arethusa

Arethusa

- Mythology :* Arethusa , a nereid nymph who became a fountain* See Hesperides for Arethusa, a hesperid nymph- Places :* Arethusa , an ancient city in Mygdonia of ancient Macedonia* Arethusa , a titular see of Syria near Apameia...

. The name of the stream is not mentioned by Thucydides

Thucydides

Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...

 in his description, but it is evidently the same as the Erechios (Romanized as Rechius) in Procopius

Procopius

Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...

 (de Aedificiis, 4.4). Among the smaller streams flowing into the lake we find mention of the Ammites and the Olynthiakos. The perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

 (labrach) of the lake were particularly admired by the gastronomic

Gastronomy

Gastronomy is the art or science of food eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine...

 poet Archestratus

Archestratus

Archestratus was an Ancient Greek poet of Gela or Syracuse, in Sicily, who wrote some time in the mid 4th century BCE. His humorous didactic poem Hedypatheia , written in hexameters, advises a gastronomic reader on where to find the best food in the Mediterranean world...

.

There was also a town named Bolbos (Romanized as Bolbus) located near the lake. Today, there are two towns (villages) incorporating Vólvi

Volvi

Volvi may refer to:* The edible bulbs of the grape hyacinth* Lake Volvi in Greece* Volvi in Greece...

 in their name, situated along the lake. It is not known exactly if any of these modern towns correspond to the site of ancient Bolbos.

The lake is now known as Lake Vólvi, in the prefecture of Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki Prefecture

Thessaloniki is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Thessaloniki. It is the second most populous regional unit in Greece, behind Central Athens.-Geography:...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. It is located east of Lake Koronia

Lake Koronia

Lake Koroneia is a lake in the heart of the prefecture of Thessaloniki in the Mygdonian basin in the Langada province, Greece. The lake is also known as Agios Vasileios from an homynous village or Lake Langada. It is located a few kilometres east of downtown Thessaloniki and in the north side is...

 (Lake Lagkada). The new Via Egnatia

Via Egnatia

The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed the Roman provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey.Starting at Dyrrachium on the...

 highway runs along the northern shore of the lake and the old road runs to the south. West is the narrows of Rentina, also known as the Macedonian Tempe since it looked like the valley of Tempe

Vale of Tempe

The Vale of Tempe is a gorge in northern Thessaly, Greece, located between Olympus to the north and Ossa to the south. The valley is 10 kilometers long and as narrow as 25 meters in places, with cliffs nearly 500 meters high, and through it flows the Pineios River on its way to the Aegean Sea...

. Lake Volvi is the second largest lake in Greece. The area is 68 km² and the depth is 20 m. The municipalities

Communities and Municipalities of Greece

For the new municipalities of Greece see the Kallikratis ProgrammeThe municipalities and communities of Greece are one of several levels of government within the organizational structure of that country. Thirteen regions called peripheries form the largest unit of government beneath the State. ...

 with shores on the lake are Rentina

Rentina, Thessaloniki

Rentina is a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been a municipal unit within the municipality of Volvi. Its population was 6,364 in 2001. The seat of the municipality was in Stavros....

, Madytos

Madytos

Madytos is a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volvi, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 3,456 . The seat of the municipality was in Nea Madytos. The town takes its name from the ancient...

, Apollonia

Apollonia, Thessaloniki

Apollonia is an ancient town and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volvi, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located along the Via Egnatia in Macedonia, about midway between Thessaloniki and...

, Egnatia

Egnatia, Thessaloniki

Egnatia is a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volvi, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was in Profitis....

, and Sochos

Sochos

Sochos is a village and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lagkadas, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 5,773 .-Subdivisions:...

.

About a million years ago, Lake Volvi along with Lake Koronia and the entire Mygdonia was a huge lake.

External links

• Article on Lake Volvi, with photos.