Avlonas ( el, Αυλώνας,Prefecture of East Attica /ref> before 1927: Σάλεσι - ''Salesi'') is a town and a former
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Oropos
Oropos ( el, Ωρωπός) is a small town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece.
The village of Skala Oropou, within the bounds of the municipality, was the site an important ancient Greek city, Oropus, and the famous nearby sanctuary of ...
, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 106.092 km2.
Geography
Avlonas is situated in the northwestern part of
East Attica
East Attica ( el, Ανατολική Αττική) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The regional unit covers the eastern part of the urban agglomeration of Athens, and also the rural area to its east.
Adm ...
, at the northern edge of the
Parnitha
Mount Parnitha ( ell, Πάρνηθα, , Katharevousa and grc, Πάρνης ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, and ...
mountain range and 10 km south of the
South Euboean Gulf
The South Euboean Gulf ( el, Νότιος Ευβοϊκός Κόλπος, ''Notios Evvoïkos Kolpos'') is a gulf in Central Greece, between the island of Euboea and the Greek mainland (Boeotia and Attica). With a total length of approximately 50&n ...
coast. It is 30 km north of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
city center. Motorway 1 (Athens - Thessaloniki) passes north of the town. Avlonas has a station on the railway from Athens to Thessaloniki. The municipal unit Avlonas also includes the village Asprochori (pop. 151). Avlonas has three pre-school facilities, one elementary school, one lyceum/middle school and one gymnasio/high school.
Name
Avlonas (Greek: Αυλώνας) is often called Avlona (Αυλώνα), however the masculine ''Avlonas'' should be used rather than the feminine ''Avlona''. The ancient Greek ''Avlon'' (Αυλών) is also masculine. It appears that the name Αvlon is connected with the worship of
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
according to an ancient slab that was found in the area, dedicated to Διονύσῳ Αὐλωνεῖ (Dionysos of Avlon).
Historical population
Avlonas has historically been an
Arvanite
Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settler ...