The Pastra ( el, Πάστρα) is a mountain in

West Attica West Attica ( el, Δυτική Αττική) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The regional unit covers the western part of the agglomeration of Athens, and the area to its west. Administration The region ...

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 with ...

, near the border with

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...

. It is the eastern extension of the

Cithaeron Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between Boeotia in the north and Attica in the south. It is mai ...

mountain range. Its highest peak, named Petrogeraki (Πετρογεράκι), is 1016 m high. The nearby peak Kourtiza (Κούρτιζα) is 1015 m high. Its morphology is defined by steep slopes and four deep gorges on the northeast side. Its

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

consists of brushwood,

holm oaks ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen t ...

pine tree A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

s, and

arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islan ...

. Its

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

includes

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

es, blackbirds, and

partridges A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perdic ...

Geography

Pastra is situated in the northern part of

and the southeastern part of

. It is south of the

Asopos Asopos ( el, Ασωπός; also Latinised as Asopus) is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the m ...

valley, west 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, and ...

mountains, and east of the

mountains. Places around the Patra mountains are, from the north and clockwise, Dafni,

Pyli Pyli ( el, Πύλη) is a municipality in the Trikala regional unit, Greece. Situated 18 km west of Trikala, right at the bottom of two mountains Itamos, and Koziakas, which mark the beginning of the Pindos mountainline, Pyli marks the entra ...

Oinoi Oinoi ( el, Οινόη) is a village and a former community in the northern part of West Attica, Greece. The village was named Mazi ( el, Μάζι) until 1919. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mandra-Eidyllia, ...

and

Erythres Erythres ( el, Ερυθρές, formerly known as Kriekouki, Greek: Κριεκούκι) is a village and a former municipality in the northernmost part of West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality M ...

. The

Greek National Road 3 Greek National Road 3 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 3, abbreviated as EO3) is a single carriageway road in Greece. It connects Elefsina near Athens with the border of North Macedonia at Niki. It passes through Larissa and Florina. At Niki, it conn ...

(

Eleusis Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest ...

- Thebes) passes west of the mountains.

History

A number of municipalities and settlements were located around Pastra in antiquity including Oenoe (Οινόη),

Eleutherae Eleutherae ( grc, Ἐλευθεραί) is a city in the northern part of Attica, bordering the territory of Boeotia. One of the best preserved fortresses of Ancient Greece stands now on the spot of an Ancient Eleutherae castle, dated between 37 ...

(Ἐλευθεραί),

Erythrae Erythrae or Erythrai ( el, Ἐρυθραί) later Litri, was one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor, situated 22 km north-east of the port of Cyssus (modern name: Çeşme), on a small peninsula stretching into the Bay of Erythrae ...

(Ἐρυθραί), and Hysiae (Ὑσιαί). A number of fortifications on the mountain's passages from 400 BC survive to this age. The ancient boundary between Attica,

Megaris :''This is also the ancient Greek name of a small island off Naples, site of the Castel dell'Ovo.'' Megaris ( grc, Μεγαρίς) was a small but populous state of ancient Greece, west of Attica and north of Corinthia, whose inhabitants were adv ...

and Boeotia lay on the top of the mountain. On December 20, 1997 a

Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...

airplane

C-130H The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

750, c.n. 4729, crashed into Pastra during the landing approach to

Tanagra Tanagra ( el, Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The Ta ...

air base.

Religious buildings

On Pastra one can find the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of Profitis Ilias (Προφήτης Ηλίας) and the chapels Αgios Dimitrios (Άγιος Δημήτριος), Αgios Athanasios, (Άγιος Αθανάσιος), Agia Marina (Αγία Μαρίνα), Agia Triada (Αγία Τριάδα), and Agios Georgios (Άγιος Γεώργιος).

References

{{reflist Landforms of West Attica Landforms of Boeotia Mountains of Greece Mountains of Central Greece Mountains of Attica el:Όρος Πάστρα