Erchia or Erkhia ( grc, Ἐρχία; also spelled Ἔρχεια and Ἑρχιά) 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, of the ''

phyle ''Phyle'' ( gr, φυλή, phulē, "tribe, clan"; pl. ''phylai'', φυλαί; derived from ancient Greek φύεσθαι "to descend, to originate") is an ancient Greek term for tribe or clan. Members of the same ''phyle'' were known as ''symphylet ...

'' of

Aegeis Aigeis was a tribe (phyle) of Ancient Athens which contained twenty demes. The phyle comprised twenty demes named Lower and Upper Ankyle, Araphen, Bate, Diomeia, Erchia, Erikeia, Gargettos, Halai, Hestiaia, Ikarion, Ionidai, Kollytos, Kolo ...

, sending six or seven delegates to the Athenian Boule, but eleven delegates after 307/6 BCE. According to

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

, in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, the name comes from an inhabitant of the deme who hosted

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

History

Much of what is known about Erchia comes from a ''lex sacra'' (sacred law) of the deme. In it are listed 59 annual sacrifices to 46 divinities (gods, nymphs and heroes), for a total cost of 547

drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...

e; 21 of these sacrifices were made in the deme itself, the other 38 in the neighboring demoi or in

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 ...

. From its central location within Attica, and the wealth and positions held by many of its inhabitants (whose peak period, judging by the information available, seems to be between approximately 450 BCE and 200 BCE) and from the number of its delegates to the Athenian Boule, more than any other deme of the phyle Aegeis, it can be assumed that Erchia was one of the most important demoi. In Erchia there was a shrine of

Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...

Location

Its position is known thanks to the discovery of the ''lex sacra'', and the construction of the modern Athenian airport, which was built over the deme.

Notable people

Isocrates Isocrates (; grc, Ἰσοκράτης ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education throu ...

, rhetorician, and orator *

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

, philosopher, historian, soldier, mercenary, and student of

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...

, ''

Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sourc ...

'' 2.48

References

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