Attica, a small, triangular peninsula on the Aegean coast of
south-central Greece. It is historically famous as the district
making up the ancient city-state of Athens; "Attic" is used to
mean ancient Athenian. Attica at that time was bounded on the
northwest by Boeotia and on the west by Megaris. Modern Attica,
including Megaris, is a prefecture of Greece, with Athens as its
capital and Piraeus as its chief port. Important historic sites
in Attica include Mount Pentelicus, famous for its white marble,
and Mount Hymettus, for its blue. Eleusis was the scene of the
Eleusian Mysteries (religious rites), and a road known as the
Sacred Way connected Eleusis with Athens. Cape Sunium (Colonna),
at the southern tip of the peninsula, was the point from which,
according to legend, King Aegeus watched for his son Theseus to
return from battling the Minotaur in Crete. The silver mines of
Mount Laurium, near Cape Sunium, financed the building projects
of Athens' Golden Age. Marathon, the plain where the Persians
were rep