Attica

This article is about Attica in Greece. For other Atticas, see Attica (disambiguation).

Statistics
Capital:Athens
Area:3,808 kmē Ranked 9th
Inhabitants: 3,841,408 Ranked 1st
Pop. density:1313 inh./kmē
Ranked 1st
Code for the municipalities21xx, Athens,
03xx, eastern Attica Peninsula
11xx, Eleusis,
40xx, Piraeus, Saronic, Troizina
Hydra, Spetses, Kythira
Number of prefectural sects4
Number of provinces2
ISO 3166-2:GR-A1 (old: GR-02)
Area codes:210, 229x0, 27340
Postal code:1xx xx except Kythera
801 00 in Kythera
Car designation:YO, YT, YX, YY, YZ, ZB-ZZ
Map

Attica (in Greek: Αττική, Attike;; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a periphery (subdivision) in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece. Attica is also the only Prefecture (Nomos) in the periphery of Attica.

Attica is located in what is today southern Greece, and covers about 3,800 square kilometers. In addition to Athens, it contains within its area the cities of Peiraeus, Eleusis, Megara, Laurium, and Marathon, as well as a small part of the Peloponnese peninsula and the islands of Salamis, Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Kythira, and Antikythira. About 5,000,000 people live in the nomos, of which more than 95% are habitants of the Athens metropolitan area.

Athens was originally the capital of Central Greece.

Geography

Attica is a Peninsula jutting into the Aegean Sea. Mountains divide the peninsula into the plains of Pedia, Mesogeia, and Thriasia. The mountains include Hymettus, the eastern portion of Geraneia, Parnitha, Aigaleo and the Penteli mountains. To the north it is bordered by the Boeotian plain and to the west it is bordered by Corinth. The Saronic Gulf lies to the south and the island of Euboea lies off the north coast. Athens' first and only large reservoir named Lake Marathon is about 42 km northeast and is called the Marathon Dam which first opened in the 1920s. Since that time, it is Attica's largest lake. Forests cover the area around Parnitha, around Hymettus and into the northeast and the north in the hills and the mountains except for the mountaintops but the mountains to the west and the south are grassy, barren or forested.

The Cephisus River is the longest river, and Parnetha or Parnitha is the tallest mountain in Attica. The prefecture also has parklands in the Hymettus, Penteli and the Parnitha mountains and the southern part of the peninsula.

According to Plato, Attica ancient boundaries were fixed by the Isthmus, and that in the direction of the continent they extended as far as the heights of Cithaeron and Parnes. The boundary line came down in the direction of the sea, having the district of Oropus on the right, and with the river Asopus as the limit on the left.

Climate

Its climate includes typical Mediterranean weather with hot summers and cool to mild winters in low lying areas and its plains and most of the Saronic; as well as Alpine in the Northern areas where Winter is very common in the mountains like Parintha or Penteli and areas that lie 1,000 m above sea level at its lowest.

In the winters of 1999 and February 2004, recent snowstorms plundered the area especially blocking and closing much of its roads as snow accumulated to 2 m.

History

The process of how Attica was united by Athens is not entirely clear, but it concluded at some point in the first half of the 7th century BC when Eleusis and the surrounding plains were joined to the Athenian state, and its inhabitants became citizens. Even then, the boundaries were not fixed, as Athens struggled with Megara for control of Salamis, and with Boeotia over border towns like Oropus for centuries. See History of Athens.

Attica later became part of (successively) the Roman and Byzantine Empires, the crusader Duchy of Athens, and the Ottoman Empire, until the Greek War of Independence.

The Penteli mountain was ravaged by a major forest fire in 1995. The Penteli fire consumed forests and some buildings from the south to the north and the west to the east. It was the worst fire in a couple of decades, and another major fire of this magnitude didn't happen until ten years later. Another fire broke out near Koropi in the late-1990s and Parnitha in 2003.

Another major Forest fire ravaged the eastern part of Attica or the metropolitan area on July 28, 2005. The fire started at about 11:00 am (EET) (8:00 am, GMT) and consumed nearly 70 kmē (about 4% of the peninsula) of forests and properties including farmlands. Fires devastated homes in the area near Agia Kyriaki Rafinas and Agia Triada Rafinas and two others near Neas Vourtzas and west of Loutsa (Artemida) consuming most of the forests in the hills almost surrounding the Mesogeian Plain and southeast of the Penteli ranges including parts of Pikermi. Smoke plummeted over the northern part within a couple of hours. At about 3:00 pm (EET), fires reached the residential area and some buildings and began to burn houses which are mainly within the pine forest. The fire burned 30 houses and displaced thousands people. But as the winds got calmer, the smoke moved to the northeast and slowly disintegrated at about 8 pm and increased the chances to spray out the fire with hundreds of planes, about 65 helicopters and fire trucks from the surrounding area as well as most of Greece. Before the fire disintegrated, flames almost reached the residential area south of Marathonos Avenue but it didn't reach the avenue. Marathonos Avenue was shut down during that time. The fire almost stopped but continued until the morning. Homes near the forests including most of the hillside at Kallitechnoupoli were burnt in flames. One of the fires sporadically outside Rafina was a minor and was later contained. The fire also burnt hydro poles as well as one with the top part remains standing and also caused blackouts in Rafina before and during the nighttime hours. Hydro were later restured to uneffected areas and later in affected areas. The soil became ash. Tree-planting programs will be in plan in the future, but no date has been set.

Transportation

Roads and Highways

The area is connected by roads and highways:
  • Greece Interstate 1 (superhighway)
  • Greece Interstate 3 (old highway of Athens-Thessaloniki)
  • Greece Interstate 8 (old highway linking Patras, the Peloponnese and Athens)
  • Greece Interstate 8A (superhighway)
  • Greece Interstate 54, Marathonos Avenue
  • Greece Interstate 79
  • Greece Interstate 81
  • Greece Interstate 83
  • Greece Interstate 85 (rare)
  • Greece Interstate 89
  • Greece Interstate 91
  • Attiki Odos, number 6 (private owned superhighways), first opened in 2001 in the eastern part
    • Hymettus Ring (number 64), opened in 2004
    • Aigaleo Ring (number 65), opened in 2004
    • Ano Liosia Ring (opening soon)

Other

Communications

Television

  • 902 TV
  • High TV - Athens
  • Magic Peiraia - Piraeus

Radio

  • 87.7 En Lefko - Athens: 87.7 FM
  • 88.3 Village FM - Agios Ioannis Rentis (Athens) - 88.3 FM
  • 90.2 Aristera sta FM - Athens: 90.1 FM
  • Antenna Radio - Athens: 97.2 FM
  • Athena 9,84 FM - Athens: 98.3 FM - Municipal Radio of the City of Athens
  • Atlantis FM - Athens: 105.2 FM
  • Athens Radio Deejay - Athens: 95.2 FM - Broadcasts nationally
  • Best Radio - Athens: 92.6 FM
  • Diesi 101.3 - Athens: 101.3 FM
  • Diva FM - Athens: 106.2 FM
  • Epikinonia FM - Athens: 94.0 FM - Municipal Radio of Neo Iraklio
  • ERT Radio - public - Athens:
  • Filia 107 FM - public - Athens: 107.0 FM/665 am -
  • Flash 96 - Athens: 96.0 FM - Broadcasts nationally
  • Galaxy 92 - Athens: 92.0 FM
  • Jeronimo Groovy FM - Athens: 88.9 FM
  • Kosmos 93.6 - Athens: public - 93.6 FM
  • Melodia FM - Athens: 99.2 FM
  • NET 105.8 - Athens: 105.8/91.6 FM/729 MW - - Broadcasts Nationally
  • Nitro Radio - Athens: 102.5 FM
  • Oasis FM - Athens: 88.0 FM
  • Orange 93.2 FM - Athens: 93.2 FM
  • Planet FM - Athens: 99.5 FM
  • Polis 88.6 FM - Athens: 88.6 FM
  • Profit FM - Athens: 96.6 FM
  • Radio 98 FM - Athens: 98.0 FM - Free pirate radio of Athens
  • Radio Gold - Athens: 103.3 FM
  • Radio Greece - Athens: via satellite -
  • Radio Sfera - Athens: 102.2 FM - Broadcasts nationally
  • Red FM - Athens: 96.3 FM
  • Rhythmos FM - Athens: 94.9 FM
  • Rock FM 96.9 - Athens: 96.9 FM
  • Skai Radio - Athens: 100.3/100.6 FM - Broadcasts Nationally
  • Soho Radio - Athens: 89.8 FM
  • Sportime FM - Athens: 89.2 FM
  • Supersport FM - Athens: 94.6 FM - Broadcasts nationally
  • Superstar FM - Athens: 98.6 FM
  • Xenios FM - Athens: 94.3 and 97.4 FM - Municipal Radio of Ano Liosia

In March, 2001, the Greek government shut down approximately 60 of the 90+ FM radio stations in the Athens area, citing interference to frequencies to be used by the new Athens International Airport, though it is largely believed (and much evidence supporting this exists) that the government shut down these stations as a political favor to powerful publishing and media groups, whose stations, for the most part, remained on the air. In 2002, 8 of these stations reopened, and in 2004, a few more stations reopened.

Sporting teams

Basketball teams

  • AEK
  • Olympiakos
  • Panathinaikos
  • Peristeri

Football/soccer teams

Premier and second divisions A & B' Ethnikis (2005/06)

Third division

  • Acharnaikos - Acharne
  • Agios Demetrios - Athens
  • Apollon - Athens
  • Ethnikos - Piraeus Athens
  • Vyzas - Megara

Junior division/unassorted

  • Aris Petroupoli - Petroupoli
  • Aspropyrgos
  • Gkyziakos - Gkyzi
  • Ilioupoli
  • Koropi
  • Olympiakos Papagou - Papagou
  • Panelefsiniakos - Eleusis

All sports

  • Ampelokipoi AC - Athens (in the area of Ampelokipoi), fourth division
  • Ethnikos GS - Athens, fourth division
  • Fokianos Athinon - Athens, fourth division

Persons

For people that live in Athens, see Athens

Hospitals

  • Agios Panteleimonas Hospital - Nikaia
  • Eleusis Hospital - Eleusis
  • Hospital near Zografou

Municipalities and communities

See:

Provinces

  • Province of Attica - Athens
  • Province of Kythera
  • Province of Megara (Megaris) - Megara
  • Province of Salamis - Salamis, now part of Piraeus

The former provinces in italics are no longer exists

Prefectural sects of Attica

The periphery of Attica is subdivided into the following four prefectural sects:
  • Athens
  • East Attica
  • Piraeus (including the islands Kythira, Salamis etc.)
  • West Attica

Peripheries of Greece
Attica | Central Greece | Central Macedonia | Crete | East Macedonia and Thrace | Epirus | Ionian Islands | North Aegean | Peloponnese | South Aegean | Thessaly | West Greece | West Macedonia

Prefectures of Greece
Achaea | Aitolia-Acarnania | Argolis | Arcadia | Arta | Attica | Boeotia | Chalkidiki | Corfu | Corinthia | Chania | Chios | Cyclades | Dodecanese | Drama | Elis | Euboea | Evrytania | Evros | Florina | Phokida | Phthiotis | Grevena | Heraklion | Imathia | Ioannina | Karditsa | Kastoria | Kavala | Kefalonia | Kilkis | Kozani | Laconia | Larissa | Lasithi | Lefkada | Lesbos | Magnesia | Messenia | Pella | Pieria | Preveza | Rethymno | Rhodope | Samos | Serres | Thesprotia | Thessaloniki | Trikala | Xanthi | Zante/Zakynthos

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This page is based on the Wikipedia article ''Attica''. It is licensed under the GNU free documentation license.

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