{{Short description|Deme of the phyle Aegeis of ancient Attica}} '''Colonus''' or '''Kolonos''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|l|oʊ|n|ə|s}}; {{langx|grc|Κολωνός}}, [[Romanization of Greek|<small>translit.</small>]] ''Kolōnós'') was a [[deme]] of the phyle [[Aegeis]], of [[ancient Attica]], celebrated as the deme of [[Sophocles]], and the scene of one of the poet's tragedies, was situated ten [[stadion (unit)|stadia]] from the gate of the city, called Dipylum, near [[Plato's Academy]] and the river [[Cephissus (Athenian plain)|Cephissus]].<ref name=Thucydides>{{Cite Thucydides|8.67}}</ref><ref>[[Cicero]], ''de Fin.'' 5.1.</ref> It derived its name from two small but conspicuous heights, which rise from the plain a little to the north of the academy. Hence it is called by Sophocles "the white Colonus".<ref>τὸν ἀργῆτα Κολωνόν, [[Sophocles]], ''Oed. Col.'' 670.</ref> It was under the especial care of [[Poseidon]], and is called by Thucydides the ἱερόν of this god.<ref name=Thucydides/> It is frequently called '''Colonus Hippius''' or '''Kolonos Hippeios''' (Κολωνός Ἵππειος) or '''Hippius Colonus''' or '''Hippeios Kolonos''' (Ἵππειος Κολωνός), both meaning "Colonus of the Horses", to distinguish it from the "Colonus Agoraeus" in [[ancient Athens|Athens]]. Besides the temple of Poseidon, it possessed a [[sacred grove]] of the [[Erinyes|Eumenides]], altars of [[Athena|Athena Hippia]], [[Demeter]], [[Zeus]], and [[Prometheus]], together with sanctuaries of [[Peirithous]], [[Theseus]], [[Oedipus]], and [[Adrastus]].<ref>{{Cite Pausanias|1|30|4}}</ref> According to [[Greek mythology]], [[Oedipus]] was buried there, as described by [[Sophocles]], who was born there, in his ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]''. The natural beauties of the spot are described by Sophocles in the magnificent chorus: "Here the nightingale, a constant guest, trills her clear note under the trees of green glades, dwelling amid the wine-dark ivy and the god's inviolate foliage, rich in berries and fruit, unvisited by sun, unvexed by the wind of any storm. Here the reveller Dionysus ever walks the ground, companion of the nymphs that nursed him."<ref>Sophocles, ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'', lines 671-680, trans Sir Richard Jebb (1889). From [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0189%3Acard%3D668 Perseus database].</ref>
In the Athenian oligarchic revolution of 411 BCE, the oligarchs convened at the sanctuary of Poseidon Hippios at Colonus to frame their new constitution.<ref>{{cite web |website=[[University of Chicago]] |url=http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekFeb2011&getid=1&query=Thuc.%208.67 |title=Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 8.67|url-status=dead |archive-date=2 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002020317/http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekFeb2011&getid=1&query=Thuc.%208.67 }}</ref>
The site of Colonus is at Agia Eleousa in the modern neighborhood of [[Kolonos]], which is named after the site.<ref>{{Barrington Atlas|page=59}}</ref><ref>{{Cite DARE|31148}}</ref>
==In literature== * At the beginning of ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'' by the playwright [[Sophocles]], a character named Xenos describes the area to the blind outcast [[Oedipus]]. He claims that the area is sacred to the sea-god [[Poseidon]] and to [[Prometheus]], the Titan who brought fire to mankind. It is also sacred to a former ruler and charioteer named Colonus, for whom the region was named and who is now venerated as a hero-god. Later, Oedipus prays to the [[Erinyes|Eumenides]] to allow him to take refuge there. At the end of the play, Oedipus' death and burial are described, but his gravesite is to be kept secret to avoid desecration. * ''[[The Gospel at Colonus]]'' by [[Lee Breuer]] is a modern adaptation of Sophocles' play employing gospel music.
==References== {{reflist}} {{DGRG|wstitle=A'ttica}}
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[[Category:Populated places in ancient Attica]] [[Category:Former populated places in Greece]] [[Category:Cities in ancient Attica]] [[Category:Demoi]]
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