Megara
Megara (
Greek: Μέγαρα; see also
List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in
Attica,
Greece. It lies on the
Saronic Gulf opposite the island of
Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King
Pandion II, of whom
Nisos was the ruler of Megara.
In historical times, Megara was early a dependency of Corinth, in which capacity colonists from Megara founded
Megara Hyblaea, a small
polis north of
Syracuse in Sicily. Megara then fought a war of independence with Corinth, and afterwards founded (c.
667 BC)
Byzantium, as well as
Chalcedon.
In the
Peloponnesian War (c.
431 BC-
404 BC), Megara was an ally of
Sparta.
The most famous citizen of Megara in antiquity was
Vyzas. The 6th-century poet
Theognis also came from Megara. The Megarans were proverbial for their generosity in building and endowing temples.
Jerome, in 409 AD (letter cxxiii.15 [
1]) reports "There is a common saying about the Megarians... 'They build as if they are to live forever; they live as if they are to die tomorrow.'"
Today, Megara is a suburb of
Athens. 30,000 people live within the
municipality. It is located 42 km WNW of Athens, and is linked by a
highway connecting the Peloponnese, Western Greece, and Athens. It is now linked by a high-speed rail line
suburban railway. Megara lies in the
Megaris plain. Agriculture used to dominate before housing began to expand in Megara in the 1960s and the 1970s.
3 km south of Megara is a small community called
Pachi, which is famous for its fish tavernas and is visited by people from all over Greece.
Nea Peramos is the neighboring city to the east of Megara and
Kakia Skala to the west of Megara. There is a military airport to the south. South of Megara is the
Gulf of Megara.
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Kineta (west)
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Neos Peramos (east}
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Kineta*
Sparta| Year | Communal population | Change | Municipal population |
|---|
| 1981 | 20,814 | - | |
| 1991 | 20,403 | -411/-1.97% | 25,061 |
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GTP - Ancient Megara*
GTP - Megara*
GTP - Municipality of Megara*
Indexmundi - Megara*
Maps and Aerial Photos:**Geographical coordinates:
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Mapquest - Megara*
Vyzas - third division
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Communities of Attica
