Gargettus or Gargettos ( grc, Γαργηττός) 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 ...

Pallenis, in front of which was the tomb of

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 ...

. Between the monastery of Ieraka and the small village of Charvati (part of modern

Pallini Pallini ( el, Παλλήνη) is a suburban town in Greater Athens Area and a municipality in East Attica, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Gerakas. It is the seat of administration of the East Attica regional unit. Geography ...

), 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. The hellenistic philosopher

Epicurus Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...

resided in Gargettus in the 3rd century BCE.

Historical monuments

* The church of St. George the «Chostos» hermitage of St. Timothy. A wall painting monument (1727) of George Markou the Argus, the great and prolific post-Byzantine ecclesiastic iconographer of the 18th century. (''"....Nel 1727, Marcou si trova di nuovo ad Atene, dove assume l’agiografia dei Templi di San Giorgio di Chostu (eremitaggio)...."'' Evangelos Andreou http://ketlib.lib.unipi.gr/xmlui/handle/ket/849

References

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