:''This is also the ancient Greek name of a small island off Naples, site of the

Castel dell'Ovo Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle") is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, who had a reputation in ...

.'' Megaris ( grc, Μεγαρίς) was a small but populous

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

, west 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 S ...

and north of

Corinthia Corinthia ( el, Κορινθία ''Korinthía'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part ...

, whose inhabitants were adventurous seafarers, credited with deceitful propensities. The capital, Megara, was famous for white marble and fine clay. Mount Geraneia dominates the center of the region. The island of Salamis was originally under the control of Megara, before it was lost to

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 ...

in the late 7th century BCE.

Province

The province of Megaris or Megarida ( el, Επαρχία Μεγαρίδας or ) was one of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the East Attica Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipalities Aspropyrgos, Eleusis,

Mandra-Eidyllia Mandra-Eidyllia ( el, Μάνδρα-Ειδύλλια) is a municipality in the West Attica regional unit, Attica, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Mandra. The municipality has an area of 426.197 km2. Municipality The municipa ...

and Megara. It was abolished in 2006.

References

Sources

* Ancient Greek geography Provinces of Greece Historical regions Historical regions in Greece {{AncientAttica-geo-stub