# Decelea

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{{Short description|Ancient Athenian administrative unit}}
{{for multi|the region in Cyprus|Akrotiri and Dhekelia|the moth genus|Decelia (moth)}}

'''Decelea''' ({{langx|grc|Δεκέλεια}}, ''Dekéleia''), was a [deme](/source/deme) and ancient village in northern [Attica](/source/ancient_Attica) serving as a trade route connecting [Euboea](/source/ancient_Euboea) with [Athens](/source/ancient_Athens), [Greece](/source/Greece). It was situated near the entrance of the eastern pass across [Mount Parnes](/source/Mount_Parnes), which leads from the northeastern part of the Athenian plain to [Oropus](/source/Oropus), and from thence both to [Tanagra](/source/Tanagra) on the one hand, and to [Delium](/source/Delium) and [Chalcis](/source/Chalcis) on the other. It was situated about 120 [stadia](/source/stadion_(unit)) from Athens, and the same distance from the frontiers of [Boeotia](/source/ancient_Boeotia). It was visible from Athens and from its heights the ships entering the harbour of [Piraeus](/source/Piraeus) were visible as well.<ref>{{Cite Thucydides|7.19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Hellenica|1.1.25}}</ref>

==History==
It was originally one of the twelve cities of Attica. The historian [Herodotus](/source/Herodotus)<ref>[Herodotus](/source/Herodotus), 9.73</ref> reports that Decelea's citizens enjoyed a special relationship with [Sparta](/source/Sparta). The Spartans took control of Decelea around 413 BC.  With advice from [Alcibiades](/source/Alcibiades) in 415 BC, the former Athenian general who was wanted on Athenian charges of religious crimes, the [Sparta](/source/Sparta)ns and their allies, under king [Agis II](/source/Agis_II), fortified Decelea as a major military post in the later stage of the [Peloponnesian War](/source/Peloponnesian_War), giving them control of rural [Attica](/source/Attica) and cutting off the primary land route for food imports. This was a serious blow to Athens, which was concurrently being beaten in the [Sicilian Expedition](/source/Sicilian_Expedition) it had undertaken in the west.  

The Spartan military presence in Attica, in a deviation from previous policy where Spartans returned home for the winter months, was maintained year-round.  Spartan patrols through the Attic countryside strained the Athenian cavalry and curtailed the ability of Athens to continue exploiting the [Laurium](/source/Laurium) silver mines in southeastern Attica that were an important source of income.  [Thucydides](/source/Thucydides) estimated <ref>[Thucydides](/source/Thucydides), 7.27</ref>  that 20,000 slaves, many of them skilled workers, escaped to Decelea, from 413 until the close of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. [Xenophon](/source/Xenophon) reports briefly on these events.<ref>[Xenophon](/source/Xenophon),[Ways And Means](/source/Ways_and_Means_(Xenophon)), 4.25</ref>

Scholars have identified the site of the Spartan fort as the site of Palaiokastro, now marked by the tombs of the Greek royal family, in the Tatoi national forest east of Mt. Parnitha.<ref>McCredie 1966</ref> A substantial rubble circuit wall (about 2&nbsp;m wide) has been traced, with Classical rooftiles and other evidence of occupation. This location fits the description of [Thucydides](/source/Thucydides)<ref>Thucydides, 7.19</ref> as midway between Athens and [Boeotia](/source/Boeotia), visible from Athens and commanding the plain of Attica. The site controls what was once a major ancient road, usable by carts, connecting Athens to the [grain port](/source/grain_trade) of [Oropus](/source/Oropus).

== See also ==
* [List of ancient Greek cities](/source/List_of_ancient_Greek_cities)
* [Tatoi Palace](/source/Tatoi_Palace)

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DGRG|title=Attica}}

== Sources ==
*  Fine, John V. A. ''The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History''.  [Harvard University Press](/source/Harvard_University_Press), 1983.
*  McGregor, Malcolm F. ''The Athenians and their Empire''. Vancouver: [University of British Columbia Press](/source/University_of_British_Columbia_Press), 1987.
*  McCredie, James R. ''Fortified military camps in Attica''. Hesperia Supplement XI, 1966.

== External links ==
* [https://www.livius.org/de-dh/decelea/decelea.html Decelea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909072448/http://www.livius.org/de-dh/decelea/decelea.html |date=2013-09-09 }} by Jona Lendering

{{coord|38.1100|N|23.7786|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

Category:Cities in ancient Attica
Category:Demoi
Category:Former populated places in Greece
Category:Populated places in ancient Attica

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