Afidnes ( el, Αφίδνες, or Ἀφίδναι, from the Middle Ages until 1919: Κιούρκα - ''Kiourka'') is a small town in

East Attica East Attica ( el, Ανατολική Αττική) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The regional unit covers the eastern part of the urban agglomeration of Athens, and also the rural area to its east. A ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oropos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 34.638 km². It is situated in the eastern foothills of the

Parnitha Mount Parnitha ( ell, Πάρνηθα, , Katharevousa and grc, Πάρνης ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, an ...

mountains, 3 km southwest of Polydendri, 5 km southeast of Malakasa and 27 km north of

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 a ...

city centre. Afidnes has a station on the railway from Athens to Thessaloniki. The Motorway 1 (Athens - Lamia - Thessaloniki) passes east of the town. It is part of Athens metropolitan area. Ancient Aphidna was one of the twelve ancient towns of Attica. In Greek mythology, Aphidna was the place where

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 describ ...

left

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

after he had abducted her. The archaeological site of Aphidnae is small. It was excavated in the 19th century. 13 Middle Helladic

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

have been found.

Settlements

The municipal unit Afidnes consists of the following settlements: *Afidnes (2011 census pop. 1,908) *Agía Triada (959) *Drosopigi (156) *Kokkinovrachos (195) *Kosmothea (131) *Stathmos Afidnon (293)

Historical population

Markopoulou has historically been an Arvanite settlement.

Places of interest

* Beletsi Lake, a small lake on the east slopes of

, near Afidnes. It is important place for migratory birds. * Monastery of Holy Angels, modern monastery near Afidnes

Persons

* Callistratus of Aphidnae, an ancient

Archon of Athens In ancient Greece the chief magistrate in various Greek city states was called eponymous archon (ἐπώνυμος ἄρχων, ''epōnymos archōn''). "Archon" (ἄρχων, pl. ἄρχοντες, ''archontes'') means "ruler" or "lord", frequentl ...

. *

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...

, the Athenian

Polemarch A polemarch (, from , ''polemarchos'') was a senior military title in various ancient Greek city states (''poleis''). The title is derived from the words ''polemos'' (war) and ''archon'' (ruler, leader) and translates as "warleader" or "warlord" ...

at the

Battle of Marathon The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination o ...

.Herodotus Book 6: Erato, 109
"the polemarch was Callimachos of the deme of Aphidnai"

References

External links