Agnus or Agnous ( grc, Ἀγνοῦς), also Hagnus or Hagnous (Ἁγνοῦς) was a

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...

of ancient Attica. From the mythical story of the war of the Pallantidae against

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

, we learn that the demoi of Pallene, Gargettus, and Agnus were adjacent. When

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

was marching from

Sphettus Sphettus or Sphettos ( grc, Σφηττός) was one of the twelve cities of ancient Attica, and subsequently a deme. That it was situated either in the Mesogaea or the Paralia is certain from the legend, that Pallas, who had obtained these distri ...

in the

Mesogaea The Mesogeia or Mesogaia ( el, τα Μεσόγεια, η Μεσόγαια/Μεσογαία, "Midlands") is a geographical region of Attica in Greece. History The term designates since antiquity the inland portion of the Attic peninsula. The term a ...

against

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, he placed a body of his troops in ambush at Gargettus, under the command of his two sons, who were ordered, as soon as he was engaged with the army of Theseus, to march rapidly upon Athens and take the city by surprise, But the stratagem was revealed to Theseus by

Leos of Agnus In Greek mythology, Leos (; Ancient Greek: Λεώς) may refer to the following personages: * Leos, one of the ten or twelve Eponyms of the Attic phylae whose statues were at the Athenian agora near the Tholos. He was the son of Orpheus and fa ...

, the herald of Pallas; whereupon Theseus cut to pieces the troops at Gargettus. In consequence of this a lasting enmity followed between the inhabitants of Pallene and Agnus. The road from Sphettus to Athens passed through the opening between

Mount Pentelicus Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon (, or ) is a mountain in Attica, Greece, situated northeast of Athens and southwest of Marathon. Its highest point is the peak ''Pyrgari'', with an elevation of 1,109 m. The mountain is covered in large part wi ...

and

Mount Hymettus Hymettus (), also Hymettos (; el, Υμηττός, translit=Ymittós, pronounced ), is a mountain range in the Athens area of Attica, East Central Greece. It is also colloquially known as ''Trellós'' (crazy) or ''Trellóvouno'' (crazy mountain) ...

. A monastery there by the name of Ieraka (or Hieraka) is the site of Gargettus. The proximity of Pallene and Gargettus is indicated by another legend. Pallene was celebrated for its temple of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

; and we are told that

Eurystheus In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; grc-gre, Εὐρυσθεύς, , broad strength, ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos. Famil ...

was buried at Gargettus in front of the temple of Athena Pallenis. We know further that Pallene lay on one of the roads from the city to

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. Between the monastery of Ieraka and the small village of Charvati, a celebrated inscription respecting money due to temples was discovered , and which was probably placed in the temple of Athena Pallenis. In Ieraka there was also found the

boustrophedon Boustrophedon is a style of writing in which alternate lines of writing are reversed, with letters also written in reverse, mirror-style. This is in contrast to modern European languages, where lines always begin on the same side, usually the le ...

inscription of Aristocles, which probably also came from the same temple. In one of the churches nearby,

George Finlay George Finlay (21 December 1799 – 26 January 1875) was a Scottish historian. Biography Finlay was born in Faversham, Kent, where his Scottish father, Captain John Finlay FRS, an officer in the Royal Engineers, was inspector of government powde ...

found the following inscription fragment: ΞΕΟΦΑΝΗΣ ΠΑΛΛΗΝΕΥΣ - XEOPHANES PALLENEUS. This situation, where the roads of the Mesogaea necessarily unite in approaching Athens, is such a point as would be important, and often occupied in military operations; and accordingly, we find that on three occasions in the early history of Athens, Pallene was the scene of action; first, when

fought against the Athenians and

Heracleidae The Heracleidae (; grc, Ἡρακλεῖδαι) or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles (Hercules), especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also ...

; again, when

was opposed to the Pallantidae; and a third time when

Peisistratus Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular ...

defeated the

Alcmaeonidae The Alcmaeonidae or Alcmaeonids ( grc-gre, Ἀλκμαιωνίδαι ; Attic: ) were a wealthy and powerful noble family of ancient Athens, a branch of the Neleides who claimed descent from the mythological Alcmaeon, the great-grandson of Nesto ...

. The inscription, however, in such a case, is not decisive evidence of location, as material may be moved (see

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...

). Agnus is placed by

Ludwig Ross Ludwig Ross (22 July 1806, Bornhöved – 6 August 1859, Halle an der Saale) was a German classical archaeologist. He is chiefly remembered for the rediscovery and reconstruction of the Temple of Athena Nike in 1835–1836, and for his other e ...

in the hollow which lies between the extreme northern point of Hymettus and Ieraka.

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English military man, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British military, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

, on the other hand, fixes it at Markópulo, in the southern part of the Mesogaea, because Finlay found at this place an inscription, .... υλίδης Ἀγνούσιος - ... ylides Agnousious. Modern scholars favor the Markopulo location, and fix the site as southwest of Markopoulo Dardiste. Notable among the ancient articles related to Agnus is the

Fragment from the tomb of Nikarete The Fragment from the tomb of Nikarete from the third quarter of the fourth century BC, found near Athens is displayed today in the Antikensammlung of the Altes Museum in Berlin. The 117 cm high and 59 cm wide fragment of a grave relief made out of ...

; Nikarete was a daughter of Ktesikles of Agnus.

References

Populated places in ancient Attica Former populated places in Greece Demoi {{AncientAttica-geo-stub