Tetrapolis (
Greek: ) comprised one of the twelve districts into which
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 Se ...
was divided before the time of
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 ...
. The district was on a plain in the northeastern part of Attica and contained four cities:
Marathon (),
Probalinthus Probalinthus or Probalinthos ( grc, Προβάλινθος) was a deme of ancient Attica, one of the Attic Tetrapolis (along with Marathon, Tricorythus, and Oenoe) located in the plain of Marathon. Probalinthus to the ''phyle
''Phyle'' ( gr, � ...
(),
Tricorythus Tricorythus or Trikorythos ( grc, Τρικόρυθος) or Tricorynthus or Trikorynthos (Τρικόρυνθος) or Tricorinthus or Trikorinthos (Τρικόρινθος) was a deme of ancient Athens, in the plain of Marathon in northeast Attica. It ...
(), and
Oenoe ().
Stephanus of Byzantium claimed ''Huttēnia'' (Ὑττηνία) was its name among the
Pelasgoi. The name persisted as a reference to the cities, which shared a religious calendar. Following 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 508, the cities (
demes
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 Marathon, Oenoe, and Tricorythus were organised into a single
trittys
The ''trittyes'' (; grc, τριττύες ''trittúes''), singular ''trittys'' (; τριττύς ''trittús'') were part of the organizational structure the divided the population in ancient Attica, and is commonly thought to have been establish ...
along with the city of
Rhamnous
Rhamnous ( grc, Ῥαμνοῦς, Rhamnoûs; el, Ραμνούς, Ramnoús, label= Modern Greek), also Ramnous or Rhamnus, was an ancient Greek city in Attica situated on the coast, overlooking the Euboean Strait. Its impressive ruins lie north ...
, whilst Probalinthus belonged to another trittyes; nonetheless, the former was often still referred to as the Tetrapolis despite not including Probalinthus.
Notes
Sources
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Ancient Greek geography
Geography of ancient Attica
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