Archaic period: Dense habitation, public buildings and sanctuaries

 
Upon the rocky lands of the Hills two important demes (districts) develop in antiquity: Melite and Koile. In the deep hollow between the Pnyx and the Hill of the Muses (Philopappos) the “Koile road” takes shape, known to us by Herodotos; a significant commercial and strategic road connecting the city with its port, Piraeus. Upon the Hill of the Pnyx convened the Assembly of the people, whereas the shrine of the Nymphs on the homonymous Hill and the shrine of Zeus at the northeastern plateau of Agia Marina are also founded.
 
Selected bibliography:

Travlos 1971, 466–476 (Pnyx), 569–572 (sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos); Forsén and Stanton 1996; Dakoura-Vogiatzoglou 2013, 195–196.

Depiction of the ancient Koile road amidst its residential environment.

(Source: Lauter 1982, 46, fig. 3)