1.
Naxos
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Naxos is a Greek island—at 429 km2 the largest of the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture, the island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern time was one of the best abrasives available. The largest town and capital of the island is Chora or Naxos City, the main villages are Filoti, Apiranthos, Vivlos, Agios Arsenios, Koronos and Glinado. Climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters and very warm summers. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Csa, according to Greek mythology, the young Zeus was raised in a cave on Mt. Zas. Homer mentions Dia, literally the sacred island of the Goddess, dionysus who was the protector of the island, met Ariadne and fell in love with her. But eventually Ariadne, unable to bear her separation from Theseus, either killed herself, the Naxos portion of the Ariadne myth is also told in the Richard Strauss opera Ariadne auf Naxos. Zas Cave, inhabited during the Neolithic era, contained objects of stone from Melos and copper objects including a dagger, the presence of gold and other objects within the cave indicated to researchers the status of the inhabitant. Emery was sourced during the time to other islands, during the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Naxos dominated commerce in the Cyclades. Naxos was the first Greek city-state to attempt to leave the Delian League circa 476 BC, Athens quickly squashed the notion, Athens then demanded all future payments from Naxos in the form of gold rather than military aid. Herodotus describes Naxos circa 500 BC as the most prosperous Greek island, under the Byzantine Empire, Naxos was part of the thema of the Aegean Sea, which was established in the mid-9th century. Of all the islands, only on Naxos was there any opposition to Sanudo, to steel his bands resolve, Sanudo burnt his galleys and bade his companions to conquer or die. The pirates surrendered the castle after a five weeks siege, Naxos became the seat of Sanudos realm, which he ruled with the title of Duke of Naxia, or Duke of the Archipelago. Twenty-one dukes in two dynasties ruled the Archipelago, until 1566, Venetian rule continued in scattered islands of the Aegean until 1714, under Venetian rule, the island was called by its Italian name, Nasso. The Ottoman administration remained essentially in the hands of the Venetians, very few Turks ever settled on Naxos, and Turkish influence on the island is slight. Under Ottoman rule the island was known as Turkish, Nakşa, Ottoman sovereignty lasted until 1821, when the islands revolted, Naxos finally became a member of the Greek state in 1832. Naxos is a popular tourist destination, with several ruins and it has a number of beaches, such as those at Agia Anna, Agios Prokopios, Alikos, Kastraki, Mikri Vigla, Plaka, and Agios Georgios, most of them near Chora. As other cycladic islands, Naxos is considered a place perfect for windsurfing
2.
Greek restaurant
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A Greek restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in Greek cuisine. Several types of Greek restaurants exist, going out to eat is part of the local culinary culture in modern Greece even in times of economic crisis. Greek restaurants in the United States tend to be moderately priced, Greek restaurants may also offer dishes from other various cuisines on their menus. The estiatório is a type of modest restaurant in Greece and they have been described as something of a vanishing breed. An estiatório may purvey dishes such as casseroles, meat and game stews, baked meat and fish, macaroni pie, giradiko restaurants purvey the popular Greek dish gyros. In Greece, gyros are typically prepared using spiced ground pork shoulder meat, meze restaurants are known as mezedopoleío or mezedopoleía, and serve appetizers known as meze or orektiko to complement beverages. Some meze restaurants simply serve whatever has been prepared that day, establishments known as ouzerí are a type of café that serves drinks such as ouzo or tsipouro, are similar to mezedopoleio and souvlatzidiko restaurants, and also provide similar foods and service. A tsipourádiko is a variant of an ouzerí. Souvlatzidiko restaurants purvey the well-known Greek dish souvlaki, souvlaki is prepared using cubed pork leg meat that is cooked as a kebab. Tavernas are typically medium-sized restaurants with affordable pricing that purvey a variety of Greek dishes, foods, after this, a waiter may be notified of guest choices. Table service is often relaxed and laid-back, and patrons may need to flag down wait staff to order, wine is commonly consumed during lunch and dinner. Ouzo is typically available in Greek restaurants, there are many Greek restaurants in the United States, with 3,100 categorizing themselves as such, and at least one exists in every U. S. state. Greek restaurateurs may provide authentic Greek cuisine and customs and they may also offer dishes from other cuisines. Many Greek restaurants in the U. S. were started by immigrants from Greece, per these restrictions during this time, some people opened Greek restaurants instead. Additionally during this period, many Greek confectionery and sweetshop businesses declined due to an increase in manufactured candies. Many of these companies transformed their businesses into lunch rooms, and later and it has been estimated that approximately 7,000 Greek restaurants existed in the U. S. by the beginning of the Great Depression. During the early 1900s, some Greek immigrant restaurateurs expanded their operations into chain restaurants, in the 1930s, many Greek restaurants in the U. S. went out of business, in part due to problems that occurred during the Great Depression. During this time, competition increased due to an increase of affordably-priced lunch counters opening in various types of stores, such as drug stores, additionally, more patrons could not afford to eat out in restaurants during this time
3.
Greek cuisine
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Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. It has some characteristics with the traditional cuisines of the Balkans. Contemporary Greek cookery makes wide use of vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, wine, other important ingredients include olives, cheese, eggplant, zucchini, lemon juice, vegetables, herbs, bread and yoghurt. The most commonly used grain is wheat, barley is also used, common dessert ingredients include nuts, honey, fruits, and filo pastry. Greek cuisine has a tradition of some 4,000 years and is a part of the history. Its flavors change with the season and its geography, Greek cookery, historically a forerunner of Western cuisine, spread its culinary influence - via ancient Rome - throughout Europe and beyond. It has influences from the different peoples cuisine the Greeks have interacted with over the centuries, as evidenced by several types of sweets and it was Archestratos in 320 B. C. who wrote the first cookbook in history. Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality and was founded on the Mediterranean triad, wheat, olive oil and this trend in Greek diet continued in Roman and Ottoman times and changed only fairly recently when technological progress has made meat more available. Wine and olive oil have always been a part of it. Culinary advice was influenced by the theory of humors, first put forth by the ancient Greek doctor Claudius Aelius Galenus, Byzantine cuisine benefited from Constantinople’s position as a global hub of the spice trade. The most characteristic and ancient element of Greek cuisine is olive oil and it is produced from the olive trees prominent throughout the region, and adds to the distinctive taste of Greek food, however, they are also widely eaten. The basic grain in Greece is wheat, though barley is also grown, important vegetables include tomato, aubergine, potato, green beans, okra, green peppers, and onions. Honey in Greece is mainly honey from the nectar of fruit trees and citrus trees, lemon, orange, bigarade trees, thyme honey, mastic is grown on the Aegean island of Chios. Greek cuisine uses some flavorings more often than other Mediterranean cuisines do, namely, oregano, mint, garlic, onion, dill, other common herbs and spices include basil, thyme and fennel seed. Parsley is also used as a garnish on some dishes, many Greek recipes, especially in the northern parts of the country, use sweet spices in combination with meat, for example cinnamon, whole spice and cloves in stews. The climate and terrain has tended to favour the breeding of goats and sheep over cattle, fish dishes are common in coastal regions and on the islands. A great variety of types are used in Greek cuisine, including Feta, Kasseri, Kefalotyri, Graviera, Anthotyros, Manouri, Metsovone, Ladotyri, Kalathaki, Katiki-Tsalafouti. Too much refinement is generally considered to be against the hearty spirit of the Greek cuisine, dining out is common in Greece, and has been for quite some time
4.
Culture of Greece
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In ancient times, Greece was the birthplace of Western culture and democracy. Modern democracies owe a debt to Greek beliefs in government by the people, trial by jury, the ancient Greeks pioneered in many fields that rely on systematic thought, including biology, geometry, history, philosophy, and physics. They introduced such important literary forms as epic and lyric poetry, history, tragedy, in their pursuit of order and proportion, the Greeks created an ideal of beauty that strongly influenced Western art. Ancient Greek architecture is best known through its temples and theatres, Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine architecture emphasized a Greek cross layout, the Byzantine capitol style of column, during the Ottoman conquest, the Greek architecture was concentrated mainly on the Greek Orthodox churches of the Greek diaspora. These churches, such as other intellectual centres built by Greeks in Diaspora, was influenced by the western European architecture. After the independence of Greece and during the century, the Neoclassical architecture was heavily used for both public and private building. Regarding the churches, Greece also experienced the Neo-Byzantine revival, in 1933 the Athens Charter, a manifesto of the modernist movement, was signed, and was published later by Le Corbusier. Architects of this movement were among others, the Bauhaus-architect Ioannis Despotopoulos, Dimitris Pikionis, Patroklos Karantinos and Takis Zenetos. After World War II and the Greek civil war, the construction of condominiums in the major Greek city centres, was a major contributory factor for the Greek economy. The first skyscrapers were constructed during the 1960s and 1970s, such as the OTE Tower. During the 1960s and 1970s, Xenia was a hotel construction program initiated by the Hellenic Tourism Organisation to improve the countrys tourism infrastructure. It constitutes one of the largest infrastructure projects in modern Greek history, the first manager of the project was the architect Charalambos Sfaellos and from 1957 the buildings were designed by a team under Aris Konstantinidis. Cinema first appeared in Greece in 1896 but the first actual cine-theatre was opened in 1907, in 1914 the Asty Films Company was founded and the production of long films begun. Golfo, a well known traditional love story, is the first Greek long movie, in 1931, Orestis Laskos directed Daphnis and Chloe, contained the first nude scene in the history of European cinema, it was also the first Greek movie which was played abroad. In 1944 Katina Paxinou was honoured with the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for For Whom the Bell Tolls, the 1950s and early 1960s are considered by many as the Greek Golden age of Cinema. More than sixty films per year were made, with the majority having film noir elements, notable films were Η κάλπικη λίρα, Πικρό Ψωμί, O Drakos, Stella. Cacoyannis also directed Zorba the Greek with Anthony Quinn which received Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, finos Film also contributed to this period with movies such as Λατέρνα, Φτώχεια και Φιλότιμο, Η Θεία από το Σικάγο, Το ξύλο βγήκε από τον Παράδεισο and many more
5.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
6.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
7.
Ancient Agora of Athens
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Some of these included, The Middle stoa which was the most extensive monument built during the 100s B. C. E. A small Roman temple was added in front of the Middle stoa, an Altar of Zeus Agoraios was added just to the east of the Monument to the Eponymous Heroes. The Temple of Ares, dedicated to Ares, the god of war, was added in the north half agora, the Odeon of Agrippa and accompanying gymnasium were added in the centre of the agora. The substantial Stoa of Attalos was built along the edge of the agora. A collection of buildings were added to the south-east corner, the East stoa, the Library of Pantainos, the Nymphaeum, there is evidence of a Synagogue in the Agora of Athens in the 3rd century. A statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian was located near the metroon, the Temple of Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria dated to the 300s B. C. E. and is located near the Temple of Apollo Patroos. The south end of what is believed to be a Basilica has been uncovered near Hadrian Street and is dated to the mid 100s C. E, the Monopteros was located south of the Basilica and also dated to the mid 100s C. E. It had no walls, was a dome supported by columns and was about 8 meters in diameter, the Bema was a speakers platform and was located near the Stoa of Attalos. The ancient Athenian agora has been excavated by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens since 1931 under the direction of T and they continue to the present day, now under the direction of John McK Camp. The museum is housed in the Stoa of Attalos, and its exhibits are connected with the Athenian democracy. Ecclesia Roman Agora Church of the Holy Apostles Hellenic Ministry of Culture, The Ancient Agora of Athens – official site with a schedule of its hours, tickets. Agora Excavations – American School of Classical Studies Agora excavation project, map of the Agora of Athens in Socrates and Platos time Agora of Athens in 421 BC The Athenian Agora, A Short Guide in Color The Athenian Agora
8.
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
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The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is one of 17 foreign archaeological institutes in Athens, Greece. The center is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, the ASCSA offers graduate students enrolled in member universities an unparalleled immersion into the sites and monuments of Greek civilization. The program for Regular Members is a participatory program over nine months. Regular Members are expected to be in attendance for the full nine-month program, students receive comprehensive training through visits to the principal archaeological sites and museums of Greece as well as in seminars led by resident and visiting scholars. They also take part in the program at the Corinth excavations. The School accepts 15 to 20 students in this program, in these sessions, the School condenses its academic year program into an intensive introduction to the sites, museums, and monuments of Greece. The Summer programs are open to 20 participants each session, the School welcomes scholars to its libraries year-round for research. Throughout its existence, the ASCSA has been involved in a number of archaeological projects. It is responsible for two of the most important archaeological sites in Greece, the Athenian Agora and Ancient Corinth, the Corinth Excavations commenced in 1896 and have continued to present day with little interruption, and the Athenian Agora excavations first broke ground in 1932. At both sites, the ASCSA operates important museums and extensive facilities for the study of the archaeological record, excavation records and artifacts are made available to wider audiences via ASCSA. Lykaion, Nichoria and the Palace of Nestor at Pylos, Haghia Irini, as well as Azoria, Mochlos, Gournia, Kavousi and these books range in format from large hardbacks to slim paperback guides. William W. Goodwin, first director Lewis R. Packard Frank B, tarbell Henry S. Robonson Henry R. Immerwahr Stephen V. Tracy Jack L. Davis James C. Wright, current incumbent E. Korka et al, foreign Archaeological Schools in Greece,160 Years, Athens, Hellenic Ministry of Culture,2006, p. 18-29. L. Lord, A History of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, An Intercollegiate Experiment, L. Shoe Meritt, A History of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1939-1980
9.
Ancient Greek cuisine
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Ancient Greek cuisine was characterized by its frugality, reflecting agricultural hardship. It was founded on the Mediterranean triad, wheat, olive oil and our knowledge of ancient Greek cuisine and eating habits is derived from literary and artistic evidence. The Greeks had three to four meals a day, breakfast consisted of barley bread dipped in wine, sometimes complemented by figs or olives. They also ate pancakes called τηγανίτης, ταγηνίτης or ταγηνίας, all deriving from τάγηνον. The earliest attested references on tagenias are in the works of the 5th century BC poets Cratinus, tagenites were made with wheat flour, olive oil, honey and curdled milk, and were served for breakfast. Another kind of pancake was σταιτίτης, from σταίτινος, of flour or dough of spelt, derived from σταῖς, Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistae mentions staititas topped with honey, sesame and cheese. A quick lunch was taken around noon or early afternoon, dinner, the most important meal of the day, was generally taken at nightfall. An additional light meal was taken in the late afternoon. Ἀριστόδειπνον / aristodeipnon, literally lunch-dinner, was served in the afternoon instead of dinner. Men and women took their meals separately, when the house was too small, the men ate first, the women afterwards. Aristotle notes that the poor, having no slaves, would ask their wives or children to serve food, respect for the father who was the breadwinner was obvious. The ancient Greek custom of placing terra cotta miniatures of their furniture in childrens graves gives us an idea of its style. The Greeks normally ate while seated on chairs, benches were used for banquets, the tables, high for normal meals and low for banquets, were initially rectangular in shape. By the 4th century BC, the table was round. Loaves of flat bread could be used as plates, but terra cotta bowls were more common, dishes became more refined over time, and by the Roman period plates were sometimes made out of precious metals or glass. Cutlery was not often used at table, use of the fork was unknown, knives were used to cut the meat. Spoons were used for soups and broths, pieces of bread could be used to spoon the food or as napkins to wipe the fingers. The symposium, traditionally translated as banquet, but more literally gathering of drinkers, was one of the pastimes for the Greeks
10.
Oyster
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Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape, many, but not all, oysters are in the superfamily Ostreoidea. Some kinds of oysters are consumed by humans, cooked or raw. Some kinds of oysters are harvested for the pearl produced within the mantle. Windowpane oysters are harvested for their translucent shells, which are used to various kinds of decorative objects. True oysters are members of the family Ostreidae and this family includes the edible oysters, which mainly belong to the genera Ostrea, Crassostrea, Ostreola, and Saccostrea. Examples include the Belon oyster, eastern oyster, Olympia oyster, Pacific oyster, almost all shell-bearing mollusks can secrete pearls, yet most are not very valuable. Pearl oysters are not closely related to oysters, being members of a distinct family. Both cultured pearls and natural pearls can be extracted from pearl oysters, though other molluscs, such as the freshwater mussels, the largest pearl-bearing oyster is the marine Pinctada maxima, which is roughly the size of a dinner plate. Not all individual oysters produce pearls naturally, in fact, in a harvest of two and a half tons of oysters, only three to four oysters produce what commercial buyers consider to be absolute perfect pearls. In nature, pearl oysters produce pearls by covering a minute invasive object with nacre, over the years, the irritating object is covered with enough layers of nacre to become a pearl. The many different types, colours and shapes of pearls depend on the pigment of the nacre. Pearl farmers can culture a pearl by placing a nucleus, usually a piece of polished mussel shell, in three to seven years, the oyster can produce a perfect pearl. These pearls are not as valuable as natural pearls, but look exactly the same, in fact, since the beginning of the 20th century, when several researchers discovered how to produce artificial pearls, the cultured pearl market has far outgrown the natural pearl market. A number of molluscs also have common names that include the word oyster, usually because they either taste like or look somewhat like true oysters. Examples include, Thorny oysters in the genus Spondylus Pilgrim oyster, another term for a scallop, because of its good flavor, it commands high prices. Oysters are filter feeders, drawing water in over their gills through the beating of cilia. Suspended plankton and particles are trapped in the mucus of a gill, and from there are transported to the mouth, where they are eaten, digested, Oysters feed most actively at temperatures above 10 °C
11.
Attica
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Attica is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea, the modern administrative region of Attica is more extensive than the historical region and includes the Saronic Islands, Cythera, and the municipality of Troizinia on the Peloponnesian mainland. The history of Attica is tightly linked with that of Athens, Attica is a triangular peninsula jutting into the Aegean Sea. It is naturally divided to the north from Boeotia by the 10 mi long Cithaeron mountain range, to the west, it is bordered by the sea and the canal of Corinth. The Saronic Gulf lies to the south, and the island of Euboea lies off the north, mountains separate the peninsula into the plains of Pedias, Mesogaia, and Thriasion. The mountains of Attica are the Hymettus, the portion of the Geraneia, the Parnitha, the Aigaleo. Four mountains—Aigaleo, Parnitha, Penteli and Hymettus —delineate the hilly plain on which the Athens-Piraeus metroplex now spreads, Athens water reservoir, Lake Marathon, is an artificial lake created by damming in 1920. Pine and fir forests cover the area around Parnitha, Hymettus, Penteli, Myrrhinous and Laurium are forested with pine trees, whereas the rest are covered by shrubbery. The Kifisos is the longest river of Attica, according to Plato, Atticas ancient boundaries were fixed by the Isthmus, and, toward the continent, they extended as far as the heights of Cithaeron and Parnes. The boundary line came down toward the sea, bounded by the district of Oropus on the right, during antiquity, the Athenians boasted about being autochthonic, which is to say that they were the original inhabitants of the area and had not moved to Attica from another place. The traditions current in the classical period recounted that, during the Greek Dark Ages, Attica had become the refuge of the Ionians, who belonged to a tribe from the northern Peloponnese. Supposedly, the Ionians had been forced out of their homeland by the Achaeans, supposedly, the Ionians integrated with the ancient Atticans, who, afterward, considered themselves part of the Ionian tribe and spoke the Ionian dialect. Many Ionians later left Attica to colonize the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, during the Mycenaean period, the Atticans lived in autonomous agricultural societies. The main places where prehistoric remains were found are Marathon, Rafina, Nea Makri, Brauron, Thorikos, Agios Kosmas, Eleusis, Menidi, Markopoulo, Spata, Aphidnae, all of these settlements flourished during the Mycenaean period. According to tradition, Attica comprised twelve small communities during the reign of Cecrops, strabo assigns these the names of Cecropia, Tetrapolis, Epacria, Decelea, Eleusis, Aphidna, Thoricus, Brauron, Cytherus, Sphettus, Cephisia, and possibly Phaleron. These were said to have been incorporated in an Athenian state during the reign of Theseus. Modern historians consider it likely that the communities were progressively incorporated into an Athenian state during the 8th. Until the 6th century BC, aristocratic families lived independent lives in the suburbs, only after Peisistratoss tyranny and the reforms implemented by Cleisthenes did the local communities lose their independence and succumb to the central government in Athens
12.
Chios
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Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea,7 kilometres off the Anatolian coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Çeşme Strait, Chios is notable for its exports of mastic gum and its nickname is the Mastic Island. Tourist attractions include its medieval villages and the 11th-century monastery of Nea Moni, administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Chios regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Chios town, locals refer to Chios town as Chora. Chios island is crescent or kidney shaped,50 kilometres long north to south,29 kilometres at its widest. The terrain is mountainous and arid, with a ridge of mountains running the length of the island, the two largest of these mountains, Pelineon and Epos, are situated in the north of the island. The center of the island is divided between east and west by a range of peaks, known as Provatas. Chios can be divided into five regions, Midway up the east coast lie the main centers, the main town of Chios. Chios Town, with a population of 32,400, is built around the main harbour. The town was damaged by an earthquake in 1881. North of Chios Town lies the suburb of Vrontados, which claims to be the birthplace of Homer. The suburb lies in the Omiroupoli municipality, and its connection to the poet is supported by a site known traditionally as Teachers Rock. The villages, built between the 14th and 16th centuries, have a carefully designed layout with fortified gates and narrow streets to protect against the frequent raids by marauding pirates. Between Chios Town and the Mastichochoria lie a number of historic villages including Armolia, Myrmighi. Along the east coast are the villages of Kataraktis and to the south Nenita. Directly in the centre of the island, between the villages of Avgonyma to the west and Karyes to the east, is the 11th century monastery of Nea Moni, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The monastery was built with funds given by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX, the monastery had substantial estates attached, with a thriving community until the massacre of 1822. It was further damaged during the 1881 earthquake, in 1952, due to the shortage of monks, Nea Moni was converted to a convent
