Araphen ( grc, Ἀραφήν, Araphén) was the name of 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 ...

ancient Athens Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural achieve ...

, situated on the eastern coast to the north of

Brauron Brauron (; grc, Βραυρών) was one of the twelve cities of ancient Attica, but never mentioned as a ''deme'', though it continued to exist down to the latest times. It was situated on or near the eastern coast of Attica, between Steiria and ...

and

Halae Araphenides Halae Araphenides or Halai Araphenides ( grc, Ἁλαὶ Ἀραφηνίδες, Halái Araphenídes) was a deme of ancient Attica, situated on its eastern coast between Brauron and Araphen, and was the harbour of Brauron, whence persons crossed ...

, on the west of the current village of

Rafina Rafina ( el, Ραφήνα) is a suburban port town located on the eastern coast of Attica in Greece. It has a population of 13,091 inhabitants (2011 census). Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rafina-Pikermi, of ...

, located near the mouth of the river of the same name. The area was already inhabited in the Archaic Period and was flourishing due to the port which gave access to the

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The nam ...

islands. Two settlements of that period were found on a hill two kilometers south of the port; now there remain a few archaeological finds, which were buried by modern constructions.

Sources

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References

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