Magnesia was among the first areas in Greece to be inhabited. Archaeologists have brought to light mesolithic finds from the Sarakinos cave, neolithic settlements such as Dimini and Sesklo, as well as for- gotten Mycenaean cities that played an important role during the Bronze Age. All these discoveries prove that distinguished cities were found in the district around pre- sent day Volos and that they reached their peak during the Mycenaean era.

Among them there was the legendary Iolkos, capital of Mycenaean Thessaly and site of today's Volos. It was from here that the Argo set off with Jason and the Argonauts for the distant shores of the Black Sea in quest of the Golden Fleece. One result of this campaign was to strengthen the maritime empire of that region's bold inhabitands, the Minyans; the other was to broaden the naval horizons of the period.

Homer also mentions the participation of Iolkos in the Trojan War, along with the other Magnesian cities, among which is listed Phthia, the birthplace of Achilles. After the Mycenean era, the cities of Magnesia began to decline and by the 4th century BC, the province was just an insignificant province of Macedonia. During the course of Greek history, however, certain cities linked by a common characteristic -their proximity to the Pagasitic gulf- restored a measure of its gold glory to the region. For example, one can cite Pagases, which flourished particularly during the 5th century BC; Dimitrias, founded in the 3rd century BC; Phthiotic Thebes, an important city during the early Christian era; and Almiros, a powerful commercial centre of the 12th century.

The Turkish occupation of Magnesia was unusual in that it did not extend into the eastern, inaccessible portion of Pelion; as a result, the coastal towns were abandoned in favour of the remote mountain villages there, which acquired a special cultural and economic lustre, becoming at the same time a bastion for "the teachers and fighters of the Greek nation". In the revolution of 1821 for which those people helped prepare, the flag of rebellion waved over Milies. In 1881 according to the Treaty of Berlin, Magnesia, along with Thessaly, was incorporated into the free Greek state to become one of the most vital areas in the country, combining natural beauty, economic, and cultural development.

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