Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. It lies on the Saronic Gulf opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King Pandion II, of whom Nisos was the ruler of Megara.

In historical times, Megara was early a dependency of Corinth, in which capacity colonists from Megara founded Megara Hyblaea, a small polis north of Syracuse in Sicily. Megara then fought a war of independence with Corinth, and afterwards founded (c. 667 BC) Byzantium, as well as Chalcedon.

In the Peloponnesian War (c. 431 BC-404 BC), Megara was an ally of Sparta.

The most famous citizen of Megara in antiquity was Vyzas. The 6th-century poet Theognis also came from Megara. The Megarans were proverbial for their generosity in building and endowing temples. Jerome, in 409 AD (letter cxxiii.15 ^*) reports "There is a common saying about the Megarians... 'They build as if they are to live forever; they live as if they are to die tomorrow.'"

Today, Megara is a suburb of Athens. 30,000 people live within the municipality. It is located 42 km WNW of Athens, and is linked by a highway connecting the Peloponnese, Western Greece, and Athens. It is now linked by a high-speed rail line suburban railway. Megara lies in the Megaris plain. Agriculture used to dominate before housing began to expand in Megara in the 1960s and the 1970s.

3 km south of Megara is a small community called Pachi, which is famous for its fish tavernas and is visited by people from all over Greece. Nea Peramos is the neighboring city to the east of Megara and Kakia Skala to the west of Megara. There is a military airport to the south. South of Megara is the Gulf of Megara.

Nearest places

• Kineta (west)
• Neos Peramos (east}

Communes

• Kineta
• Sparta

Historical population

External links

• GTP - Ancient Megara
• GTP - Megara
• GTP - Municipality of Megara
• Indexmundi - Megara
• Maps and Aerial Photos:
  • Geographical coordinates:
  • Mapquest - Megara

Sporting teams

• Vyzas - third division

See also:

• Communities of Attica

Ancient Greek cities | Athens | Greek mythology | Cities and towns in Greece

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