Attica (Greek Greek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical ancient Greek literature and the New Testament of: Αττική, Attikí; /atiˈci/) is a historical region of Greece Greece (English: /ˈɡriːs/ ; Greek: Ελλάδα, Elláda, IPA: /eˈlaða/ ( listen); Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: /helːás/), also known as Hellas and officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: /eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia/), is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on, containing Athens The Greek capital has a population of 745,514 within its administrative limits and a land area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi). The urban area of Athens extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3,130,841 (in 2001) and a land area of 412 km2 (159 sq mi). According to Eurostat, the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is the 8th most, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea. There is a modern periphery The peripheries (more properly "regions", in English) are the official regional administrative divisions of Greece. There are 13 peripheries (nine on the mainland and four island groups), which are further subdivided into 54 prefectures (administrative region) of Greece, also named Attica, which is more extensive than the historical region, and includes several islands, and part of the Peloponnese The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula (technically an island since the 1893 construction of the Corinth Canal) and region in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. During the late Middle Ages and the Ottoman era, the peninsula was known as the Morea (Greek: Μωρέας, colloq. �.

The history of Attica is tightly linked with that of Athens, which from the Classical period onwards, was one of the most important cities in the ancient world.

Geography

Attica is a peninsula A peninsula is a piece of land that is surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus.[citation needed] In many Germanic languages, peninsulas are called "half-islands". A peninsula can also be a headland (head), cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit. Note that a point is generally considered a tapering piece of jutting into the Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος, Egeo Pelagos /eˈʝeo ˈpelaɣos/ ; Turkish: Ege Denizi) 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 respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea. It is naturally divided to the north from Boeotia by the 10 mi (16 km) long Kithairon Kithairon is a mountain range ("No corner of Kithairon echoless", Oedipus Rex 440) about 10 mi (16 km) long, in central Greece, standing between Boeotia in the north and Attica in the south. It is mainly composed of limestone and rises to 4,623 ft (1,409 m). Its northeast side is formed by the mountain Pastra mountain range. Mountains separate the peninsula into the plains of Pedia, Mesogeia, and Thriasia. The mountains include Hymettus, the eastern portion of Geraneia, Parnitha, Aigaleo and the Penteli Penteli, also Pendeli and Pedeli is a community currently divided into Palaia Penteli or Old Penteli, and Nea Penteli or New Pentéli communities. It is part of Athens metropolitan area and Athens' Megalo Daktylo. One of the city halls is located next to city square. In land area, it is the largest of the three non-municipal communes (koinótita, mountains. To the north it is bordered by the Boeotian Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , formerly Cadmeis, was a region of ancient Greece, north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It was bounded on the south by Megaris and the Kithairon mountain range that forms a natural barrier with Attica, on the north by Opuntian Locris and the Euripus Strait at the Gulf of Euboea, and on the plain and to the west it is bordered by Corinth Corinth, or Korinth (Greek Κόρινθος, Kórinthos ( [ˈkorinθos] ) is a city in Greece. In antiquity it was a city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. To the west of the isthmus lies the Gulf of Corinth, to the east lies the Saronic Gulf. Corinth is about 78. The Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus. Islands that are lined in the middle of the Gulf are Aegina, Salamis, and Poros along with smaller islands of Patroklou and Vleves. The lies to the south and the island of Euboea Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from the mainland of Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about 150 kilometres (93 mi) long, and varies in breadth from 50 kilometres (31 mi) to 6 kilometres (3.7 mi). Its general lies off the north coast. Athens' first and only large reservoir, Lake Marathon, is about 42 km (26 mi) northeast and is called the Marathon Dam, which first opened in the 1920s. Since that time, it has been Attica's largest lake. Forests cover the area around Parnitha, around Hymettus and into the northeast and the north in the hills and the mountains, except for the mountaintops, but the mountains to the west and the south are grassy, barren or forested.

The Cephisus River is the longest river and Parnetha or Parnitha is the highest mountain in Attica. The prefecture also has parklands in the Hymettus, Penteli and the Parnitha mountains and the southern part of the peninsula.

According to Plato Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Plato was originally a, Attica's ancient boundaries were fixed by the Isthmus The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. To the west of the Isthmus is the Gulf of Corinth, to the east the Saronic, and in the direction of the continent they extended as far as the heights A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them. The study of mountains is called Orography of Cithaeron Kithairon is a mountain range ("No corner of Kithairon echoless", Oedipus Rex 440) about 10 mi (16 km) long, in central Greece, standing between Boeotia in the north and Attica in the south. It is mainly composed of limestone and rises to 4,623 ft (1,409 m). Its northeast side is formed by the mountain Pastra and Parnes. The boundary line came down in the direction of the sea, having the district of Oropus Oropos or Oropus is a small (pop. 1252) Greek seaport town and community in Attica, on the southern Euboean Gulf, opposite Eretria. Oropos is located N of Avlona and Athens, E of Thebes and SE of Chalcis. Oropos is linked with the road linking Nea Palatia and Sikamino. Oropos is also linked with the service road which links with the GR-1/E75 at on the right, and with the river Asopus Asopus or Asôpos is the name of five different rivers in Greece and Turkey and also in Greek mythology the name of the gods of those rivers as the limit on the left.

History

Ancient history

During antiquity, the Athenians boasted of being 'autochthonic Indigenous peoples are people, communities, and nations who claim a historical continuity and cultural affinity with societies endemic to their original territories that developed prior to exposure to the larger connected civilization associated with Western culture. These societies therefore consider themselves distinct from societies of the', which is to say that they were the original inhabitants of the area, and had not moved to Attica from another place. The traditions current in the classical period recounted that, during the Greek Dark ages, Attica had become the refuge of the Ionians The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided (along with the Dorians, Aeolians and Achaeans). The Ionian dialect was one of the three major linguistic divisions of the Hellenic world, together with the Dorian and Aeolian, a tribe from the Northern Peloponnese. Supposedly, the Ionians had been forced out of their homeland by the Achaeans, who had in turn been forced out of their homeland by the Dorian invasion The Dorian invasion is a concept devised by historians of Ancient Greece to explain the replacement of pre-classical dialects and traditions in southern Greece by the ones that prevailed in Classical Greece. The latter were named Dorian by the ancient Greek writers after the historical population that owned them, the Dorians.^[1] Supposedly, the Ionians amalgamated with the ancient Atticans, who were afterwards considered themselves part of the Ionian tribe, and spoke the Ionian dialect. Many Ionians later departed from Attica to colonise the Aegean coast of Asia Minor Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia to the east, Mesopotamia to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west. Anatolia, creating the twelve cities of Ionia Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was eponymously named after the Ionian tribe who in the Archaic Period occupied mainly the shores.

During the Mycenaean period Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of Ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites. The last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, it is the historical setting of much ancient Greek, the Atticans lived in autonomous agricultural societies. The main places where prehistoric Prehistory is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. Paul Tournal originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had made in the caves of southern France.[citation needed] It came into use in France in the 1830s to describe the time before writing, and the word "prehistoric" was introduced into remains were found are Marathon The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race. The event was instituted in commemoration of the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon (the namesake of the race) to Athens. The historical accuracy of this legend is in, Rafina, Nea Makri, Brauron, Thorikos, Agios Kosmas, Eleusis Eleusina is an Athenian suburb and municipality about 18 km NW from the centre of Athens. It is located near the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf and is the seat of administration of West Attica Prefecture. It is best known for having been the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most famous religious center of ancient Greece. It was also the, Menidi, Markopoulo, Spata Spata , is a town 20 km to the east of Athens, Greece, built on a saddle-shaped hill in the heart of the Mesogaian plain. The view of mount Hymettus is to the west, Mount Penteli to the north, and smaller mountains and hills to the east and south. Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport covers the eastern portion of Spata, sometimes referred, Aphidnae and Athens The Greek capital has a population of 745,514 within its administrative limits and a land area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi). The urban area of Athens extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3,130,841 (in 2001) and a land area of 412 km2 (159 sq mi). According to Eurostat, the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is the 8th most. All of these settlements flourished mainly during the Mycenaean period^[2]. According to tradition, Attica was composed of twelve small communities during the reign of the legendary Ionian king of Attica, Cecrops, and these were later incorporated into a single Athenian state during the reign of the mythical king of Athens, Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra lay with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order. As Heracles was the Dorian hero, Theseus. Modern historians consider it more likely that the communities were progressively incorporated into a single Athenian state probably during the 8th and 7th century BC.^{[3][unreliable source?]}

Until the 6th century BC, aristocratic Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few of the most prominent citizens rule. The term was derived from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". See Aristocracy (class) for the historical roots of the term. The concept evolved in Ancient Greece, whereby a council of prominent citizens was commonly used and families lived an independent life in the suburbs. Only after Peisistratus's tyranny In classical politics, a tyrant is one who has taken power by his or her own means as opposed to hereditary or constitutional power. This mode of rule is referred to as tyranny (τυραννίς turannis) and the reforms implemented by Cleisthenes did the local communities lose their independence and succumb to the central government in Athens The Greek capital has a population of 745,514 within its administrative limits and a land area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi). The urban area of Athens extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3,130,841 (in 2001) and a land area of 412 km2 (159 sq mi). According to Eurostat, the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is the 8th most. As a result of these reforms, Attica was divided into approximately a hundred municipalities "dēmoi" (δήμοι) and into three big large sectors: the city (άστυ), which comprised the areas of central Athens, Ymittos, Aegaleo and the foot of Mount Parnes, the coast (παράλια), that included the areas from Eleusis Eleusina is an Athenian suburb and municipality about 18 km NW from the centre of Athens. It is located near the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf and is the seat of administration of West Attica Prefecture. It is best known for having been the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most famous religious center of ancient Greece. It was also the to Cape Sounion Cape Sounion is a promontory located 69 km (43 mi, by road) SSE of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece and the area around the city (εσωτερικό-μεσογαία), inhabited by people living on the north of Mount Parnitha, Pentelicum and the area surrounding the mountain of Ymittos. The "dēmoi" were in their turn divided into "trittyes" (τριττύες). A “trittya” from each of the above mentioned sectors constituted a tribe. Consequently, Attica consisted of ten tribes.

Fortresses

During the Classical Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world. It is the period in which Greek and Roman literature (such as Aeschylus, Ovid, Homer and others) flourished period, Athens was fortified to the north by the fortress of Eleutherae, which is preserved in an almost perfect condition. Other fortresses are those of Oenoe, Decelea and Aphidnae. On the coast, Athens was fortified by the walls at Rhamnus, Thoricus, Sounion Cape Sounion is a promontory located 69 km (43 mi, by road) SSE of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece, Anavyssos, Piraeus Piraeus is a municipality in the periphery of Attica, Greece and within Athens urban area, located 12 km southwest of its center and Eleusis Eleusina is an Athenian suburb and municipality about 18 km NW from the centre of Athens. It is located near the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf and is the seat of administration of West Attica Prefecture. It is best known for having been the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most famous religious center of ancient Greece. It was also the, in order to protect the mines at Laurium Laurium or Lavrio is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Lavreotiki. Laurium was famous in Classical antiquity for the silver mines which were one of the chief sources of revenue of the Athenian state, and were employed for coinage; and notorious for the treatment of the slaves who mined it. It is a^[2].

Places of worship

Even though archaeological Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of past human societies, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data which they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes. Due to the fact that archaeology employs a wide range of different procedures, it can be remains are found in nearly the whole area of Attica, the most important of them all are the remains found in Eleusis Eleusina is an Athenian suburb and municipality about 18 km NW from the centre of Athens. It is located near the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf and is the seat of administration of West Attica Prefecture. It is best known for having been the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, the most famous religious center of ancient Greece. It was also the. The worship of the goddess Demeter In Greek mythology, Demeter was the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, the seasons (personified by the Hours), and the harvest. One of her surnames is Sito (σίτος: wheat) as the giver of food or corn. Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the and Cora In Greek mythology, Persephone was the Queen of the Underworld, the korē (or young maiden), and a daughter of Demeter and Zeus. In the Olympian version, she also becomes the consort of Hades when he becomes the deity that governs the underworld, deriving from the Mycenaean Helladic is a modern archaeological term meant to identify a sequence of periods characterizing the culture of mainland ancient Greece during the Bronze Age. The term is commonly used in archaeology and art history. It was intended to complement two parallel terms, Cycladic, identifying approximately the same sequence with reference to the Aegean period, continued until the late years of antiquity. Many other types of worship can be traced back to the Prehistoric Prehistory is a term used to describe the period before recorded history. Paul Tournal originally coined the term Pré-historique in describing the finds he had made in the caves of southern France.[citation needed] It came into use in France in the 1830s to describe the time before writing, and the word "prehistoric" was introduced into years. For example, the worship of Pan Pan , in Greek religion and mythology, is the god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, as well as the companion of the nymphs. His name originates within the Greek language, from the word paein (Πάειν), meaning "to pasture". He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a and the Nymphs was common in many areas of Attica such as Marathon, Parnes and Ymittos. The god of wine, Dionysus, was worshipped mainly in the area of Icaria, nowadays the suburb of Dionysus. Iphigeneia and Artemis were worshipped in Brauron, Artemis in Rafina, Athena on Sounion, Aphrodite on Iera Odos and Apollo in Daphne.^[2]

Medieval period

After the period of antiquity, Attica came under Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman rule. During the Byzantine period, Athens was invaded by the Goths under the commands of Alaric in 396 AD. Attica's population diminished in comparison to the neighboring area of Boeotia.

The sites of historical interest date back to the 11th and 12th century, when Attica was under the rule of the Franks. The great monastery of Dafni that was built under Justinian's rule is an isolated case that does not signify a widespread development of Attica during the Byzantine period. On the other hand, the buildings built during the 11th and 12th century show a greater flourishment, that continues during the rule of the Franks, that did not impose a strict rule. During the Ottoman rule, Athens enjoys some rights. On the contrary, that is not the case for the villages of Attica. Great areas were possessed by the Turks, who terrorized the population with the help of spachides (σπαχήδες, cavalry). The monasteries of Attica play a crucial role in preserving the Greek element of the villages.

In spite of its conquerors, Attica managed to maintain its traditions. This fact is proven by the preservation of the ancient toponyms such as Oropos, Dionysus, Eleusis and Marathon. During the Greek War of Independence, the peasants of Attica were the first to revolt (April 1821) and they occupied Athens and seized the Acropolis, that is handed over to the Greeks in June, 1822.^[2]

Attica after 1829

Attica has, since 1829, belonged to the independent Greek state. Its inhabitants were, among others, mostly Arvanites, an Albanian-speaking people.

From 1834, Athens was refounded and made the new Greek capital (moved from Nauplia in Argolis), and Greek-speaking people gradually began to repopulate Attica. The most dramatic surge came with Greek refugees from Anatolia following the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey under the Treaty of Lausanne. Today, much of Attica is occupied by the Athens metropolitan area.

The modern Greek periphery of Attica includes classic Attica as well as the Saronic Islands, a small part of the Peloponnese around Troezen, and the Ionian Island of Cythera.

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