The Mesogeia or Mesogaia ( el, τα Μεσόγεια, η Μεσόγαια/Μεσογαία, "Midlands") is a geographical region of
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...
in
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 ...
.
History
The term designates since antiquity the inland portion of the Attic peninsula.
The term acquired a technical meaning with the reforms of
Cleisthenes
Cleisthenes ( ; grc-gre, Κλεισθένης), or Clisthenes (c. 570c. 508 BC), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishm ...
in , when each of the ten
Attic tribes was in territory composed of three zones (''
trittyes''), urban (''
asty'', the main city of Athens), interior (''mesogeia'') and coastal (''
paralia'').
In the
Classical period, the ''mesogeia'' comprised about 47 settlements (''
demoi
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 ea ...
'').
In modern usage, the term refers to the central portion of
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 ...
, separated from the Athens basin by
Mount Hymettus, and delineated to the north by
Mount Penteli
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 w ...
and to the south by the mountains of south Attica (Merenta, ,
Laureotic Olympus). To the east the Mesogeia reaches the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
at the
Petalioi Gulf
The Petalioi Gulf ( el, Κόλπος Πεταλιών - ''Kolpos Petalion'') is a gulf of the Aegean Sea, Greece. It stretches between the east coast of Attica and the south tip of the island Euboea. It takes its name from the Petalioi islands, th ...
, but is separated from the actual coastline by a line of low hills. In the late
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the area was the site of
Albanian (
Arvanite) settlement, as can be seen from toponyms such as
Spata or
Liopesi.
Before the 2011
Kallikratis reform, the area comprised the municipalities of
Gerakas,
Glyka Nera,
Anthousa,
Pallini,
Paiania,
Pikermi, Spata,
Artemida, Rafina,
Markopoulo Mesogaias,
Keratea,
Koropi,
Kalyvia Thorikou
Kalyvia Thorikou ( el, Καλύβια Θορικού) is a town and a former municipality in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Saronikos, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The m ...
,
Vari,
Kouvaras
Kouvaras ( el, Κουβαράς) is a village and a former community in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Saronikos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 24. ...
, and
Voula. Its main settlement is Spata, and its main harbour is Rafina. The
Athens International Airport
Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' ( el, Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών «Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος», ''Diethnís Aeroliménas Athinón "Elefthérios Venizélos"''), commonly initialised as ...
is also located near Spata.
Maps
File:CarteAttiqueApresClisthene.jpg, The division of Attica into urban (pink), inland (green), and coastal (blue) zones by Cleisthenes
File:Mesogia Morphological Marking b.jpg, The modern extent of the Mesogeia area
See also
*
Mesogeia Painter
*
Mesogeion Avenue
References
Sources
*
Ancient Athens
Geography of ancient Attica
Geography of East Attica
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