Evidence of human activity in the vicinity of Larisa (later known as Larissa) has been traced back to the Stone Age. In time the city grew to become the foremost of all Thessalian cities. This success was due in part to the fertile soils of the region which prompted Larisa to prosper as an important agricultural center, not to mention an area famed for its horses. Larisa was ruled over by the Aleuadae family whose dominion contained the entire Pelasgiotis region. A rivalry existed between Larisa and the nearby city of Crannon, a rivalry owed to the political struggles of the Alueadae and the Scopadac, the rulers of Crannon. Thucydides placed Larisa first among the cities of Thessalia to side with Athens during the Peloponnesian War.

[ Larisa Coins]

According to Xenophon, the Alueadae family supported Persia’s Cyrus the Younger and joined the Hellenic mercenaries which would become known as the Ten Thousand. The most prominent of the Alueadae among the Ten Thousand was the Larisa-born Meno, alternatively Menon of Pharsalus, one of the expedition’s leaders and among those who were executed by the satrap Tissaphernes following the disastrous Battle of Cunaxa in 201 BC. The writings of Plato include a dialogue between Socrates and Meno, in which Socrates explains "the way to Larisa".