SPHETTOS
(Korope) Attica, Greece.
To the
E of Mt. Hymettos lies the rich plain of the Mesogaia, today farmed from four large rural centers, Spata, Liopesi,
Markopoulo, and Koropi. The situation in antiquity was
little different, and it was early recognized from the
numbers of inscriptions, pieces of sculpture, and architectural blocks built into the houses and churches at
Koropi and its vicinity that an ancient deme had once
existed near the location of its modern successor. The
identification of this deme as Sphettos, one of the original twelve townships that formed the union of Attica
under Theseus (Philochoros 328 F 94), was, until recently, more a matter of conjecture than of fact, being
largely based on the account in Philochoros (328 F
108) and Plutarch (
Thes. 13) of the attack of the Pallantidai on Theseus, a march that originated at Sphettos.
In 1965, however, virtually all doubt was removed by the
discovery at the chapel on the Kastro tou Christou, a
prominent hill crowned with a monastery a little more
than 3 km W of Koropi, of an inscribed base for a statue
of Demetrios of Phaleron dedicated by the demesmen
of Sphettos (cf. Diog. Laert. 5.75-77). Not only did this
inscription make the identification certain, but it also
demonstrated that the center of the deme of Sphettos was
in all probability nearby. Also close to the chapel are a
number of cuttings, suitable for votive reliefs, and traces
of terracing which may possibly be construed as the
remains of a small rural sanctuary. In the plain immediately to the NE of the hill are several chapels and
the ruins of a village, from which much ancient material
has been recovered. To the W, overlooking the Mesogaia
on the nearest heights of Hymettos at the Chapel of
Prophet Elias, are two small Classical temples (q.v.
Hymettos). From their dramatic position in full view
of all who lived in the predecessor of Koropi, one assumes that this sanctuary belonged to Sphettos.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
W. Wrede, “Sphettos,”
RE III (2d ser.)
(1929) 1700-1701; A. G. Kalogeropoulou, “Base en
l'honneur de Démétrius de Phalère,”
BCH 93 (1969) 56-71
PI.
C.W.J. ELIOT
