Erchia

Erchia or Erkhia (Ancient Greek: Ἐρχία;[lower-alpha 1][1] also spelled Ἔρχεια[2] and Ἑρχιά[3]) was a deme of ancient Attica, of the phyle of Aegeis, sending six or seven delegates to the Athenian Boule, but eleven delegates after 307/6 BCE.[4] According to Stephanus of Byzantium, in Greek mythology, the name comes from an inhabitant of the deme who hosted Demeter.[5]

For the genus of moth, see Ctenucha.

History

Much of what is known about Erchia comes from a lex sacra (sacred law) of the deme.[6] In it are listed 59 annual sacrifices to 46 divinities (gods, nymphs and heroes), for a total cost of 547 drachmae; 21 of these sacrifices were made in the deme itself, the other 38 in the neighboring demoi or in Athens.

From its central location within Attica, and the wealth and positions held by many of its inhabitants (whose peak period, judging by the information available, seems to be between approximately 450 BCE and 200 BCE) and from the number of its delegates to the Athenian Boule, more than any other deme of the phyle Aegeis, it can be assumed that Erchia was one of the most important demoi.[7]

In Erchia there was a shrine of Hecate.[8]

Location

Its position, south of modern Spata, is known thanks to the discovery of the lex sacra.[9][10] To the south of Spata were identified the remains of a temple of 5th century BCE, which was to be near or inside the agora of Erchia.

People

References
  1. Romanization: Erkhía, Ancient: [erkʰía] Modern: [erˈçia]
  1. Phot., s.v., Suda, s.v.
  2. Heysch., Diod. apud Harp.
  3. Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. s.v.
  4. Lohmann, Hans. "Erchia". Brill's New Pauly. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  5. Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. s.v. Ἐρχία.
  6. SEG 21,541.
  7. Hoffman Young, Clarence (1891). E. & Y. B. Young (ed.). Erchia, a Deme of Attica. New York. pp. 7-47.
  8. Simon Hornblower; Antony Spawforth; Esther Eidinow, eds. (2012). "Hecate". The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 650. ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8.
  9. Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 59, and directory notes accompanying.
  10. Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  11. Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers 2.48


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