Dimini (Greek: Διμήνι; Older forms: Diminio and Diminion) was a village nearby the city of Volos, in Thessaly (central Greece), in the prefecture of Magnesia. It is also the seat of the municipality of Aisonia, Esonia or Essonia (Greek: Αισωνία, Latin: Aesonia). The name Aisonia dates back to ancient times and it is the westernmost place in the Volos area. The Dimini area contains both a Mycenean settlement and a Neolithic settlement. The Neolithic settlement in Dimini was discovered near the end of 19th century and was first excavated by Greek archaeologists Christos Tsountas and Valerios Stais.
| Aisonia - Statistics | bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Prefecture: | Magnesia | bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Province: | Volos | bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top" | Location: | bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Population: (2001) - Total - Density¹ - Rank | 5,592 | bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | Elevation: -lowest: -centre: -highest: | about 10 m 62 m(centre) bgcolor="#FFFFFF" Postal code: | 385 00
| bgcolor="#FFFFFF" Area/distance code: | 11-30-24210 (030-24210)-8
| bgcolor="#FFFFFF" Municipal code: | 3703
| bgcolor="#FFFFFF" Car designation: | | BO
bgcolor="#FFFFFF" 3-letter abbreviation: | ESS Essonia
| bgcolor="#FFFFFF" Name of inhabitants: | Aesonian sing. | -s pl. bgcolor="#FFFFFF" Website: | www.magnesia.gr/dimoi/dimoi_aisonia.htm
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The "invasion theory" states that the people of the Neolithic Dimini culture were responsible for the violent conquest of the Sesklo culture at around 5000 BC. Moreover, the theory considers the "Diminians" and the "Seskloans" as two separate cultural entities. However, I. Lyritzis provides a different story pertaining to the relations between the Dimini and the Sesklo cultures. He, along with R. Galloway, compared ceramic materials from both Sesklo and Dimini utilizing thermoluminescence dating methods. He discovered that the inhabitants of the settlement in Dimini appeared around 4800 BC, four centuries after the fall of the Sesklo civilization (ca. 4400 BC). Lyritzis concluded that the "Seskloans" and "Diminians" coexisted for a period of time.
| Year | Communal population | Change (town) | Municipal population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1,608 | - | - |
| 1991 | 1,956 | 348/21.64% | 2,897 |
| North: Nea Ionia/Iolkos | ||
| West: Feres | Aisonia | East: Pagasetic Gulf |
| South: Nea Agchialos |
Cities and towns in Greece | Magnesia | Thessaly | Neolithic settlements