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The sanctuary of Artemis continued in use
until the 3rd century BC when it was abandoned.
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After the sanctuary was abandoned no significant activity occurred at the site until the erection of the small
church of Saint George in the 14 century AD.
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In the region approximately one mile to the
southwest of the sanctuary on the way to Markopoulo there are ruins of an Early
Christian Basilica from the 5th century AD.
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After the period of antiquity, Attica came under the
Byzantine rule. The Goths invaded the
mainland of Greece and caused significant destruction. In 1204, the Crusaders instead of liberating
Jerusalem invaded and sacked Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine
Empire. The crusaders established the
short-lived Latin Empire (1204–1261) and other “Latin States” in the mainland
and islands of Greece. One of the Latin
States was the Duchy of Athens that occupied the Attic
peninsula as well as Boeotia and extended partially in Thessaly. The sites of
historical interest date to the 11th and 12th centuries, when Attica was under
the Frankish rule. One the remaining ruins is the Tower at
Markopoulo. Markopoulo was a small
community that was named for a Mark the son of a Frankish nobleman. Another less likely story is that it was
named after Marco Polo who allegedly visited the area during his legendary trip to China.
The tower was within range of
other similar towers used for signaling with smoke during the day and fire
during the night. Messages could be relayed very quickly to signal the
appearance of pirates to the residents of the region. Local lore suggests that
the Venetians built the tower, but archeological investigations suggest that
the Franks of the IV crusade built it. The Catalans followed the Frankish rule
and lasted until 1381 when the region came under the kingdom of Sicily. The Venetians controlled Attica briefly
(1395-1402) and then the Paleologos despots of Morea ruled it until 1456 when
the Ottomans conquered the Duchy.
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During the Ottoman rule, Sultan Mehmet II visited Athens two years
after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
As the Sultan rode into the city, he was greatly impressed by the beauty
of the monuments and saddened by the condition of the Temples in Acropolis and
the rest of Athens. We are told that he
granted special privileges and rights to the citizens of Athens and Attica in
the hope of reviving the dilapidated city. During the Ottoman rule the
monasteries of region played a crucial role in preserving the Greek heritage
and traditions of the people in the villages. This fact is proved by the
preservation of ancient toponyms such as Oropos, Dionysus, Eleusis, and
Marathon. During the Greek War of Independence, the peasants of Attica were the
first to revolt in April 1821; they occupied Athens and seized Acropolis in
June 1822. Attica has, since 1829,
belonged to the independent Greek state.
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Modern day buccaneers still sail the waters
of the Porto Rafti bay. They differ from
the pirates of yesteryear in that they purchase their sails from the U.S. instead
from a local tailor, they do not terrorize the locals but revel with them in
the local restaurants and bars.
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