Sphettos
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.
BIBLIOGRAPHYW. Wrede, “Sphettos,” RE III (2d ser.) (1929) 1700-1701; A. G. Kalogeropoulou, “Base en l'honneur de Démétrius de Phalère,” BCH 93 (1969) 56-71PI.
C.W.J. ELIOT- Paus. 2.30.9