Attica, centered around Athens, was an important region in Greek history and culture. It was ruled by four tribes and became a powerful trading force. Archaeological sites, including the Parthenon, can be seen in the region, which was once forested and is still rich in resources.
Attica is a region of Greece that is centered around the city of Athens in the central-eastern region of mainland Greece. Attica comprises the Attic peninsula on which Athens sits, along with a sprinkling of islands. In classical history, Attica was a very important region of the world, home to Greek culture for centuries, and today the region attracts many visitors, from curious archaeologists to tourists wishing to explore Greece.
According to Greek mythology, Attica was ruled by four contending tribes who were united under King Theseus. Thanks to Attica’s many ports, including the modern city of Piraeus, the region became a formidable trading force. Attica served as the seat of the Athenian city-state, which was the most powerful city-state in Greece until the Peloponnesian War, which destabilized Greek society, paving the way for an assortment of conflicts and civil wars that eventually allowed the Greeks from falling prey to the nascent Roman Empire.
Archaeological evidence suggests that people have lived in Attica for thousands of years, long before the rise of Greek culture. They probably wanted to take advantage of the region’s mild Mediterranean climate, along with the two strong rivers that supplied water to the fertile lowlands of Attica, created by a series of mountain ranges that cut the area into small pieces.
This region of Greece has an incredible array of archaeological sites, including many Greek temples such as the Parthenon in Athens. Visitors to Attica can see sports fields, remains of settlements and other remnants of Greek culture, both in situ and in museums. Numerous artifacts have sadly been smuggled out of Greece for display in other regions of the world, although the Greek government is lobbying for the return of valuable cultural artefacts, suggesting they belong to their nation of origin.
At one point, much of Attica was forested. That has since changed, due to human settlement, although there are still enough trees in the region to pose a serious risk when the fires begin to spread, as residents of Greece learned to their disappointment in 2007, when the fires they ravaged southern Greece. The region is also rich in clays, used to make the famous vases of classical Greece, along with silver and lead.
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