1. Literary and epigraphic sources

Classical sources describe Panakton as a place disputed between Boeotians and Athenians. In legend, the Boeotians claimed to have driven the Pelasgians from Panakton, while the Athenians claim that Melanthus won the place after his duel with the Boeotian Xanthus. Thucydides reports that the region of Panakton had been left uninhabited according to an ancient agreement between Boeotians and Athenians, but that the Athenians had fortified Panakton by the time of the Peloponnesian War. Demosthenes reports that it was garrisoned by the Athenians after the Sacred War. Inscriptions from Eleusis attest the presence of an ephebic garrison at Panakton during the Lycurgan era, when it appears to have been a base for the general in charge of the defense of the countryside. In the struggles of the successors to Alexander, Panakton is said to have changed hands between the forces of Cassander and Demetrius Poliorcetes. Panakton falls out of historical records by the end of the fourth century, but inscriptions of the later third century attest that it was once again garrisoned by the Athenians. It is not mentioned in any source after the time of the war with Philip V of Macedon.

2. Archaeological identification

Clearly an important garrison fort for most of the classical era, the identification of the remains of Panakton among the fortresses along the Attic-Boeotian frontier was long in doubt. Many scholars were attracted by the suggestion that the fort of Gyphtokastro, ancient Eleutherai, was actually Panakton. In 1976, Eugene Vanderpool published a careful review of the ancient sources combined with a study of the ancient roads leading out of the plain of Eleusis, and demonstrated that Panakton was to be identified with the remains above the village of Prasino (formerly Kavasala) in the Dervenochoria region. Vanderpool’s identification was confirmed by the discovery in 1988 of a fragment of an Attic ephebic inscription at the site.

The ancient fortress of Panakton occupies and area of just over one hectare on a summit (elevation 713 masl) overlooking the Skourta plain, which extends north and east from the site. From this location Eleutherai and Mount Kithairon can be seen to the west, Mount Parnes to the east, and most of the plain of Eleusis can be seen to the southeast. Limited excavations were carried out on the site in 1991 and 1992, in a collaboration between archaeologists of the 9th Ephoreia of Classical and Prehistoric Antiquites, the 1st Ephoreia of Byzantine Antiquities, and the American School of Classical Studies. These excavations produced traces of a Final Neolithic settlement, followed by occupation strata belonging to the LH I-II, LH IIIC and Protogeometric, Classical (second half of 5th century) through Hellenistic eras (to the end of the 3rd century). Atop these ancient levels, the last phase of occupation belongs to the Frankish period (second half of the 14th to early 15th century).

3. Archaeological remains

Visible remains are few. The lower portion of a Late Byzantine tower stands at the summit, and the ruins of two churches the rubble ruins of Late Byzantine houses are to be found within the slight traces of the ancient circuit wall. From the classical era all that can be seen are the lower portions of towers flanking the main gate, and a few low remains of the circuit wall. These classical walls are built in a polygonal to pseudo-isodomic style which probably served as the socle for walls of mud brick. The 1991 and 1992 excavations produced two additional fragmentary ephebic inscriptions of the Lycurgan era, a fragment of an arsenal inventory dated to 343/2, and a fragment of a dedication by garrison troops probably from the era of Demetrius of Phaleron.