Attica

This article is about the historical region of Greece. For the modern administrative region, see Attica (administrative region).

For other uses, see Attica (disambiguation).

Attica
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File:Attica map.jpg

Attica (Greek: Αττική, Attikí; IPA: [atiˈkʲi]) is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, 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 (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 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 jutting into the Aegean Sea. It is naturally divided to the north from Boeotia by the 10 mi (16 km) long Kithairon 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 mountains. To the north it is bordered by the Boeotian plain and to the west it is bordered by Corinth. The Saronic Gulf lies to the south and the island of Euboea 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, Attica's ancient boundaries were fixed by the Isthmus, and in the direction of the continent they extended as far as the heights of Cithaeron and Parnes. The boundary line came down in the direction of the sea, having the district of Oropus on the right, and with the river Asopus as the limit on the left.

History

Main article: History of Athens

Ancient history

Further information: Classical Athens

During antiquity, the Athenians boasted of being 'autochthonic', 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, 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. 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, creating the twelve cities of Ionia.

During the Mycenaean period, the Atticans lived in autonomous agricultural societies. The main places where prehistoric remains were found are Marathon, Rafina, Nea Makri, Brauron, Thorikos, Agios Kosmas, Eleusis, Menidi, Markopoulo, Spata, Aphidnae and Athens. All of these settlements flourished mainly during the Mycenaean period. 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. 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.

Until the 6th century BC, aristocratic families lived an independent life in the suburbs. Only after Peisistratus's tyranny and the reforms implemented by Cleisthenes did the local communities lose their independence and succumb to the central government in Athens. 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 to Cape Sounion 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 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, Anavyssos, Piraeus and Eleusis, in order to protect the mines at Laurium.

Places of worship

Even though archaeological remains are found in nearly the whole area of Attica, the most important of them all are the remains found in Eleusis. The worship of the goddess Demeter and Cora, deriving from the Mycenaean period, continued until the late years of antiquity. Many other types of worship can be traced back to the Prehistoric years. For example, the worship of Pan 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.

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.

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 Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, the southernmost point of the Attica Periphery, was built c.440 B.C.

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.

Climate

The climate is typically Mediterranean, with extremely hot dry summers and generally low rainfall totals.Attica is probably the warmest area in Europe in terms of extreme summer temperatures as the official european temperature record according to the World Meteorological Organisation was 48.0°C and it was recorded in Eleusina and Tatoi in 1977.Attica is susceptible to extremely high temperatures during summer heatwaves and the temperatures in many areas have surpassed 46.0°C or 47.0°C making Attica the warmest place of Greece during summer.Attica enjoys more than 2800 hours of sunshine per year and the clear blue Attica skies have been worshiped by the Ancient Greeks.The Attica basin within Attica is protected from North,East and West by the mountain ranges of Imitos,Penteli and Parnitha thus making the Attica basin a dry and extremely hot place during summer.In fact areas inside Attica such as the Thriasion are susceptible to phoen winds during extreme heatwaves thus making Thriasion probably the warmest area in Attica.Athens lies in the center of the Attica basin and in the summer million of Athenians flee the city to nearby beaches to cope with the extreme heat that Athens records.Annual precipitation varies from 370 mm to over 1000 mm. Winters are cool and generally mild in the low-lying areas adjacent to the sea, but are harsher in the mountains. Forest fires and flash floods are common.

See also

• List of traditional Greek place names

External links

• Official Travel website of Attica