Cephisia or Kephisia ( grc, Κηφισιά) 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

Erechtheis Erechtheis ( grc, Ἐρεχθηΐς) was a phyle (tribe) of ancient Athens with fourteen demes. The phyle was created in the reforms of Kleisthenes. Although there is little specific reference to the tribe, an inscription dated to either 460 or ...

, sending six or eight delegates to the Athenian Boule. Strabo states that Cephisia was one of the twelve original cities of Attica founded by the mythical king of Athens

Cecrops II In Greek mythology, Cecrops II (; Ancient Greek: Κέκροψ, ''Kékrops''; ''gen''.: Κέκροπος) was the legendary or semi-legendary seventh king of Athens and in whose reign the deeds of Dionysus and Perseus occurred. Family Cecrops was ...

and one of cities

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 describ ...

would later unite in the city-state of Athens. Cephisia had become a famous retreat of philosophers during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian, when the wealthy Herodes Atticus of Marathon built the Villa Cephisia. In his ''Attic Nights'', Aulus Gellius describes the unique ambiance of intellectual ferment and aristocratic leisure in an idyllic setting which he created there. It was also the practice of Herodes to provide free instruction in philosophy for selected youths from

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 ...

Location

It was located to the northeast of

, west of

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 ...

(which separates it from the plain of Marathon). It lay almost opposite to the deme of

Acharnae Acharnae or Acharnai (; grc, Ἀχαρναί) was a ''deme'' of ancient Athens. It was part of the phyle Oineis. Acharnae, according to Thucydides, was the largest deme in Attica. In the fourth century BCE, 22 of the 500 members of the bou ...

. Its site is located near modern Kephisia.

People

* Epigenes, son of Antiphon, confidant 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 ...

and with him when he died * Menander (circa 342-291 BCE), dramatist.Rossiter, Stuart, ''Greece,'' Ernest Benn Ltd., London (1977) p185

References

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