STAMATA
(“Plotheia”) Attica, Greece.
To
the N of the main mass of Mt. Pendeli, and due W of Mt.
Aphorismos, approximately midway between Kephissia
and the modern Marathon, is. the once small village of
Stamata, its rural character now threatened by fast-developing housing schemes. While the village itself does
not seem to be built on an ancient site, antiquities have
been discovered nearby. Less than a km to the S, at Palaio-Stamata, in the ruined walls of a Byzantine church
were found many remains, including several pieces of
sculpture and three inscribed blocks, each one the dedication of a demesman of Plotheia (
IG II
2 4607, 4885,
4916). A similar distance to the N of Stamata, at Amygdalesa, architectural pieces were also found in another
Byzantine church. There is thus ample justification for
claiming the existence of an ancient settlement in the
vicinity of Stamata, to be identified in all probability
as that of Plotheia. If the finding-place of
IG II
2 1172,
a decree of the demesmen of Plotheia concerning the
finances of the community and certain sacred expenses,
had been recorded, one might have been able to locate
the deme's center with greater precision.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
E. Meyer, “Plotheia,”
RE (1951) XXI
467-70.
C.W.J. ELIOT
