Ελληνικό Δίκτυο ΦΙΛΟΙ της ΦΥΣΗΣ
57
Mounts Aigaleo
and Poikilon
Schiston cave, 10,000 –
15,000 BCE, with traces of
dwelling (near Schiston
cemetery).
Mount Aigaleo is the western edge
of Athens plateau. Poikilon is a hill
between Mount Aigaleo and Mount
Parness (they are separated by Athens
– Corinth National Road), and is the
natural boundary between the Athens
plateau and Thriasion Pedion. In the
past, Poikilon was planted mainly
with vineyards and olive trees. These
were gradually diminishing since the
1920s and only a few remain today,
as a consequence of the exponential
growth of suburbs on the plateau
slopes (Haidari, Peristeri, Petroupolis,
Kamatero), and the various other uses.
Leftover from its industrial past are the
lime kilns, while an impressive feature
are the fortified positions of the 1821
Greek revolution fighters.
The mountain numbers 800 species
of flora and 70 species of fauna. An
interesting feature is the paths - some
of them since antiquity – and its caves.
Among them, Pan’s Cave, a worship
site in Daphni, behind the namesake
monastery, Aphaia Cave (crevice),
one of the biggest in Attica, with rare
speleothems of exquisite beauty and
the nameless Cave of Schiston area
at Lakomata, on the southwestern
slopes of Koukos peak of Aigaleo, near
the Industrial Park. It is a cave of great
morphological and archaeological
value, where the ongoing excavations
prove its continuous use from
the Paleolithic to post-Byzantine
and contemporary times, first as a
habitation and later on as a worship
area.