Megara Attica Prefectures Greece

Towards the end of the 11th c. BC Doric tribes from Argolis settled in Megaris and built the first villages. Much later, five villages merged to found Megara. The oldest finds go back to the 8th c. BC, and the first border clashes with neighbouring Corinth started at around the end of the century. The first colony was founded in Sicily (Megara Hyblaea, 728 BC) at about the same time, and this was followed by other colonies in the next century in Propontis, the most important being Byzantium (660 BC). Ca. 600 BC Megara came under the rule of the tyrant Theagenes. The expansion of Athens in the 6th c. BC created serious problems for the city, which resulted in the loss of Salamis and Nisaea. In the 2nd half of the same century Megara's prosperity, which arose from its flourishing industry, stockfarming and trade generally, was also reflected in its architecture with the construction of many public buildings. The important figures in this period were the engineer Eupalinos and the poet Theognis, at this time when severe social upheavals were occurring.

• City of Megara - Historical, demographic, and cultural information on this village megara near Athens.

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