Araphen
ARAPHEN [ATTICA]
Because the small ancient community was topographically associated with Halai Araphenides, now securely placed in the environs of Loutsa, it is thus certain that Araphen was on, or near, the E coast of Attika, and therefore reasonable to assume that the modern port of Raphina has inherited not only the name of the site, but also its general location. A prehistoric settlement has been excavated 2 km to the S at Asketario, a promontory particularly rich in material from the Early Bronze Age, which emphasizes the close connection at that time between B Attica and the Cyclades. The place of the Classical deme, however, can no longer be studied, since modern development has resulted in the loss of all traces of the historic remains reported by explorers in the 19th c. These vestiges were centered for the most part a little more than 1 km from the shore within the valley of the Megalo Revma on its N side, but a few were also noticed at the mouth of the river itselt Among these traces of the Classical settlement were the foundations of a structure sufficiently large that it was reported to be either a temple or a public building.
BIBLIOGRAPHYA. Milchöfer, Karten von Attika. Erläuternder Text 3-6 (1889) 39; id., “Araphen,” RE (1896) II 379; D. Theochares, Ἀνασκαφαὶ ἐν Ἀραφῆνι, Praktika (1951) 77.
C.W.J. ELIOT