The Thriasio Plain ( el, Θριάσιο Πεδίο, translit=Thriasio Pedio) is a plain in western

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 ...

, immediately to the west of

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

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It is bounded by Mount Egaleo to the east, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Pateras to the west, and the Bay of Elefsina to the south.

History

The Thriasio Plain owes its name to the ancient

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...

of Thria ( el, Θρία), one the demes of ancient Athens. The largest town in the plain was Eleusis (modern-day Elefsina), location of the famous

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are th ...

. In

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, when the goddess

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

won the contest for control of

over

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

, Poseidon flooded the plain in wrath, until called to order by

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

. In antiquity, as today, the area was connected to central

by two passes: the

Sacred Way The Sacred Way ( grc, Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, ''Hierá Hodós''), in ancient Greece, was the road from Athens to Eleusis. It was so called because it was the route taken by a procession celebrating the Eleusinian Mysteries. The procession to Eleus ...

( el, Ιερά Οδός) to the west, today used by the main Athens–Corinth highway, and another pass to the northwest nowadays used by the

Attiki Odos Attiki Odos ( el, Αττική Οδός) is a privately owned toll motorway system in Greece. The Attiki Odos motorways form the outer beltways of the Greater Athens metropolitan area. The total length of the motorways is . The Attiki Odos system ...

highway. During the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) the Thriasio Plain was ravaged by the

Spartan army The Spartan army stood at the center of the Spartan state, citizens trained in the disciplines and honor of a warrior society.Connolly (2006), p. 38 Subjected to military drills since early manhood, the Spartans became one of the most feared ...

of King

Archidamus II Archidamus II ( grc-gre, Ἀρχίδαμος ; died 427/6 BC) was a king of Sparta who reigned from approximately 469/8 BC to 427/6 BC. His father was Zeuxidamus (called Cyniscos by many Spartans). Zeuxidamus married and had a son, Archi ...

in his campaign against the Athenians.

Modern times

Today it is largely an industrial area, hosting some of Greece's major industrial facilities, such as its largest oil refineries and steel mills. There are four cities in the Thriasio Plain: Elefsina (anc. Eleusis),

Mandra Mandra ( el, Μάνδρα), is a town and former municipality in West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mandra-Eidyllia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an ...

Magoula Magoula ( el, Μαγούλα) is a district of modern Sparta city in Laconia, Greece. It is the former seat of the Mystras municipality. It is basically the evolution of a small village that has been attached to the growing Sparta city. It is an ...

, and Aspropyrgos. The plain hosts a major air force base outside of Elefsina, as well as a major station of the Athens Suburban Rail. As of 2010, there are plans to create a major center for the transshipment of commercial goods unloaded in the nearby port of Pireas (Athens port) to the rest of Greece and neighboring countries. The Thriasio Plain is particularly vulnerable to high temperatures due to its topography and has experienced the highest temperatures ever recorded in Greece and Europe with 48.0 °C in Elefsina and 47.5°C in Aspropyrgos in 1977 and 2007 respectively.

References

Landforms of Attica Geography of Athens Plains of Greece Landforms of West Attica Locations in Greek mythology Geography of ancient Attica {{AncientAttica-geo-stub