Attica

Attica, region of ancient Greece, a peninsula jutting southeastward into the Aegean Sea and separated from Boeotia on the north by a lofty range of hills known as Parnes in the east and Cithaeron in the west; its name probably comes from the Greek word for “peninsula.”

In Greek legend Attica was originally divided into 12 Pelasgian states, which were later unified by Theseus, king of Athens. In fact, the region, inhabited by Ionian Greeks, had come under Athenian leadership by 700 bc, and, because of that city's long dominance in Greek political and cultural affairs, the Attic dialect became the standard literary language of ancient Greece. Today, Attica is divided among the modern departments (nomes) of Attikí and Boeotia and of Greater Athens, the Greek capital.