Synoikismos

Synoikismos (Greek: συνοικισμός) roughly means "dwelling together" in Greek and was created to oppose hegemony.

In the history of ancient Greece, this term refers to the political process by which a group of villages and settlements are synchronized to form a "polis". In the "poleis," the "synoikistes" was the person who, according to local tradition, performed the "synoikismos," either through his personal influence or by conquest, and subsequently was worshipped as a demi-god. The most notable "synoikistes" was the mythic or legendary Theseus, who liberated Attica from Cretan hegemony and gave independency back to Greece under leadership of Athens.

Archaeology

Synoikismos is the name of an ancient Cretan archaeological site on the western fringes of Troullos. Artifacts found at the site include a terracotta bull figurine, a bronze statuette and Late Minoan I pottery.

References

* Sakellarakis, J. and E. 1983 "Crete Archanes" ISBN 960-213-234-5