The history o Attica is tichtly linkit wi that o Athens, which frae theClassical period onwards, wis ane o the maist important ceeties in the auncient warld.
Locatit in the sooth o the kintra, Attica covers aboot 3,808 square kilometres. In addition tae Athens, it contains athin its aurie the ceeties oPiraeus,Eleusis,Megara,Laurium, anMarathon, as well as a sma pairt o thePeloponnese peninsulae an the islands oSalamis,Aegina,Poros,Hydra,Spetses,Kythira, anAntikythera. Aboot 3,750,000 fowk live in the region, o which mair nor 95% are inhabitants o the Athens metropolitan aurie.
Durin antiquity, the Athenians boastit o being 'autochthonic', which is tae say that they wur the oreeginal inhabitants o the aurie, an haed no muivit tae Attica frae anither place. The traditions current in the classical period recoontit that, durin theGreek Daurk ages, Attica haed become the refuge o theIonians, a tribe frae the Northren Peloponnese. Supposedly, the Ionians haed been forcit oot o their hameland bi theAchaeans, who haed in turn been forced oot o their hameland bi theDorian invasion.[1] Supposedly, the Ionians amalgamatit wi the auncient Atticans, who wur efterwards considered thairsels pairt o the Ionian tribe, an spoke the Ionian dialect. Mony Ionians later depairtit frae Attica tae colonise the Aegean coast oAsie Minor, creatin the twal ceeties oIonia.
Durin theMycenaean period, the Atticans livit in autonomous agricultural societies. The main places whaurprehistoric remains wur foond areMarathon,Rafina,Nea Makri,Brauron,Thorikos,Agios Kosmas,Eleusis,Menidi,Markopoulo,Sparta,Aphidnae anAthens. Aw o these settlements flourished mainly durin the Mycenaean period.[2] Accordin tae tradition, Attica wis composed o twal sma communities durin the reign o the legendary Ionian king o Attica,Cecrops, an these wur later incorporatit intae a single Athenian state durin the reign o the meethical king o Athens,Theseus. Modren historians consider it mair likely that the communities wur progressively incorporatit intae a single Athenian state probably durin the 8t an 7t century BC.[3][unreliable soorce?]
Till the 6t century BC,airistocratic families livit an independent life in the suburbs. Anerlie efterPeisistratus'styranny an the reforms implementit biCleisthenes did the local communities lose their unthirldom an succumb tae the central govrenment inAthens. As a result o these reforms, Attica wis dividit intae approximately a hunder municipalities "dēmoi" (δήμοι) an intae three big lairge sectors: the ceety (άστυ), which comprised the auries o central Athens,Ymittos,Aegaleo an the fuit o MuntParnes, the coast (παράλια), that includit the auries fraeEleusis tae CapeSounion an the aurie aroond the ceety (εσωτερικό-μεσογαία), inhabitit bi fowk livin on the north o MuntParnitha,Pentelicum an the aurie surroondin the muntain oHymettus. The "dēmoi" wur in their turn dividit intae "trittyes" (τριττύες). A “trittya” frae each o the abuin mentioned sectors constitutit a tribe. Consequently, Attica consistit o ten tribes.
Efter the period o antiquity, Attica came unnerRoman,Byzantine,Venetian anOttoman rule. Durin theByzantine period, Athens wis invadit bi theGoths unner the commands oAlaric in 396 AD. Attica's population diminished in comparison tae the neighborin aurie oBoeotia.
The steids o historical interest date back tae the 11t an 12t century, when Attica wis unner the rule o theFranks. The great monastery o Dafni that wis built unnerJustinian's rule is an isolatit case that does no signify a widespread development o Attica durin the Byzantine period. On the ither haund, the biggins built durin the 11t an 12t century show a greater flourishment, that continued durin the rule o the Franks, who did no impose a strict rule.Durin the Ottoman rule, Athens enjoyed some richts. Housomeivver, that wis no the case for the veelages o Attica. Great auries wur possessed bi theTurks, who terrorized the population wi the help ospachides (σπαχήδες, cavalry). The monasteries o Attica played a crucial role in preservin the Greek element o the veelages.
In spite o its conquerors, Attica managed tae maintain its traditions. This fact is pruiven bi the preservation o the auncient toponyms such asOropos,Dionysus,Eleusis anMarathon.
Durin theGreek War o Unthirldom, the peasants o Attica wur the first tae revolt (Aprile 1821) an they occupeedAthens an seized theAcropolis, that wis haundit ower tae the Greeks in Juin 1822.[2]
Attica haes, syne 1829, belangit tae the independent Greek state. Frae 1834,Athens wis refoondit an made the new Greek caipital (muivit fraeNauplia inArgolis), anGreek-speakin fowk gradually began tae repopulate Attica. The maist dramatic surge came wi Greek refugees fraeAnatolie follaein the population exchynges atween Greece anTurkey unner theTreaty o Lausanne. The day, hintle o Attica is occupeed bi the Athensurban aurie.[4] The modren Greek region o Attica includes classic Attica as well as theSaronic Islands, a sma pairt o thePeloponnese aroondTroezen, an theIonian Island oCythera.
Aerial view oRafina.Panoramic view o the wastren pairt o the ceety an the port oPiraeus (region o Attica) inGreece.
Attica is a triangularpeninsulae juttin intae theAegean Sea. It is naturally dividit tae the north frae Boeotia bi the 10 mi (16 km) langKithairon muntain range. Tae the wast it is bordered bi the sea an canal oCorinth. TheSaronic Gulf lees tae the sooth an the island oEuboea lees aff the north an eastren coasts. Mountains separate the peninsulae intae the plains o Pedias, Mesogaia, an Thriasion. The muntains includeHymettus, the eastren portion o theGeraneia,Parnitha,Aigaleo an thePenteli muntains. Fower muntains, Aigaleo, Parnitha, Penteli an Hymettus (clockwise frae the soothwast) delineate the hilly plain on which the Athens-Piraeus metroplex nou spreads. The plain o Mesogaía, nouadays cried Mesógeia, lees tae the east o Munt Hymettus an is bund tae the north bi the fuithills o Munt Penteli, tae the east bi the Euboean Gulf an Munt Myrrhinous (modern Merenta), an tae the sooth bi the muntains oLaurium (modren Lavrio). Athens' watter reservoir,Lake Marathon, is an airtificial lake creatit bi dammin in 1920. Pine an fir forests cover the aurie aroond Parnitha. Hymettus, Penteli, Myrrhinous an Laurium are forestit wi pine trees, whereas the rest are covered bi bushery.
TheCephisus River is the langest river an Parnetha or Parnitha is the heichest muntain in Attica. The prefectur an aw haes pairklands in the Hymettus, Penteli an the Parnitha muntains an the soothren pairt o the peninsulae.
Accordin taePlato, Attica's auncient bundaries wur fixed bi theIsthmus, an in the direction o the continent they extendit as far as theheights oCithaeron anParnes. The bundary line came doun in the direction o the sea, haein the destrict oOropus on the richt, an wi the riverAsopus as the limit on the left.
Attica enjoys for the maist pairt a Mediterranean/subtropical climate. It haes a distinct lang dry period in the simmer an a short wet period in the winter. The heichest amunts o percipitation is observit durin the winter months.The soothren pairt o the peninsulae haes a hotsemi-arid climate.[citation needit]
Climate data for Athens Hellinikon, 10 m asl (1955-1997)
The offeecial European temperatur record accordin tae the Warld Meteorological Organisation wis 48.0 °C and it was recorded in Eleusina and Tatoi in 1977, by the use of minimum-maximum thermometers.[10]
Wi the 2010Kallikratis plan, the region's pouers an authority wur redefined an extendit. Syne 1 Januar 2011, the region is subdividit intae 8regional units:[11]
↑Ancient History until 30 BC (Ιστορία των αρχαίων χρόνων ως το 30 πΧ), L.Tsaktsiras, M. Tiverios, schoolbook for A' Gymnasiou, 13th edition, Athens, 1994, p. 115
