20090426 Kifissos river view from a bridge Athens

Cephissus ( grc, Κήφισσος; el, Κηφισός, ''Kifisos'') is a river in the vicinity 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 ...

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 ...

. Together with the neighbouring river

Ilisos The Ilisos or Ilisus ( el, Ιλισός, ) is a river in Athens, Greece. Originally a tributary of the Kifisos, it has been rechanneled to the sea. It is now largely channeled underground, though as of June 2019 there are plans to unearth the ...

, it drains a catchment area of . The '' Bibliotheca'' (3.15.1) states that the legendary

Erechtheus Erechtheus (; grc, Ἐρεχθεύς) in Greek mythology was the name of an archaic king of Athens, the founder of the ''polis'' and, in his role as god, attached to Poseidon, as "Poseidon Erechtheus". The mythic Erechtheus and the historical Ere ...

' wife

Praxithea In Greek mythology, Praxithea (; Ancient Greek: Πραξιθέα) was a name attributed to five women. * Praxithea, a Naiad nymph. She married Erichthonius of Athens and by him had a son named Pandion I. Praxithea's sister Zeuxippe married her nep ...

was daughter of

Phrasimus In Greek mythology, Phrasimus (Ancient Greek: Φρασίμου) was the Athens, Athenian husband of Diogenia, daughter of the river-god Cephissus (Athenian plain), Cephisus. The couple had a daughter named Praxithea who married Erechtheus of Athen ...

(otherwise unknown to us) by

Diogenia In Greek mythology, Diogenia (Ancient Greek: Διογενείας) was the Athenian naiad-daughter of the river-god Cephisus and wife of Phrasimus. The couple had a daughter named Praxithea who married Erechtheus of Athens Athens ( ; el, ...

(otherwise unknown to us) daughter of Cephissus. The source of the river is in the saddle depression between the Parnitha and

Penteli Penteli ( el, Πεντέλη) is a village and a municipality in the North Athens regional unit, Attica, Greece. It belongs to the Athens rural area. It takes its name from Mount Pentelicus. Municipality The municipality Penteli was formed at th ...

mountains. From there it flows generally southwest until it reaches the

Phaleron Bay Phalerum or Phaleron ( ''()'', ; ''()'', ) was a port of Ancient Athens, 5 km southwest of the Acropolis of Athens, on a bay of the Saronic Gulf. The bay is also referred to as "Bay of Phalerum" ( el, Όρμος Φαλήρου '').'' The ...

between

Neo Faliro Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

and

Moschato Moschato ( el, Μοσχάτο) is a suburb in the southwestern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Moschato-Tavros, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Geograph ...

. Presently the river flows near or under the Motorway 1 linking Athens and Thessaloniki for much of its length. This section of Motorway 1 is named ''Avenue Kifissou'', near which is the Kifissos Bus Terminal.

References

Rivers of Greece Rivers of Attica Landforms of East Attica Landforms of North Athens (regional unit) Landforms of South Athens (regional unit) Drainage basins of the Aegean Sea Potamoi {{Greece-river-stub