The ancient city of Plataea stood near the foot Mount Kithaeron, which put it in between the plains of Boeotia, to its north, and Attica, on the other side of the mountains to the south. The city was only 12 km south-southwest of Thebes, and like its more famous fellow Boeotian city, it dates back to the Mycenaean period.
However, Plataea is probably best known for the role it played in the resistance against the Persian invasions at the start of the Classical period. In the first key battle, it was the Plataeans who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Athenians as together they defeated the Persians who landed at Marathon in 490 BCE. And when the Persians came back a little over a decade later, after they were dealt a crushing naval defeat at Salamis, the final battle which sent them packing was fought at Plataea, an event known today as the Battle of Plataea.
Standing in the ruins of ancient Plataea and gazing to the northeast, you can see the site of the ancient battle, which is now covered in farmers’ fields. A few kilometers away is a small stream which was once the Asopos River, on the other side of which the Persians had their camp.
In the centuries that followed, Plataea often found itself caught in the crossfire between more powerful warring city-states like Athens, Thebes, Sparta, and later the Macedonians.
The biggest rockpiles can be found in what was the fortress, in the northwestern corner of the ancient city. This was the highest part of the city, but the ruins there today are late Roman or possibly Byzantine.
Smaller rockpiles can be found in the fields immediately to the southeast of the fortress. These are what is left of various structures that were part of the ancient city.
About 150 meters from the eastern edge of the modern town are traces of the southwestern wall of ancient Plataea.
Half a kilometer down the road to the east, there are fainter traces of another section of the ancient wall — this one having formed the eastern boundary of the ancient city.
Tips for the Visitor
The ruined structures of ancient Plataea can be found in the fields to the northeast of the the modern village of Plataea (or Plataies, as it is sometimes transliterated). There are no fenced-in areas, so no opening hours or admission fee applies here.
The easiest way to get there from Athens is to take one of several local buses to Eleusina, and from there you can take bus 861B over the hills to the village Erythres, the most remote destination you can reach using the Athens municipal transport network. The country road leading west from near the bus terminal in Erythres to Plataea is a little over 4 km long, and you can get a taxi to take you there, or even walk if you’re up for a hike.
Location Map