Dionysos ( el, Διόνυσος) is a north suburb of Athens and a municipality in northeastern

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 S ...

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 ...

. The seat of the municipality is the town Agios Stefanos.

Geography

Dionysos is situated on the northeastern slopes of the forested

Penteliko Mountain Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon (, or ) is a mountain in Attica, Greece, situated northeast of Athens and southwest of Marathon. Its highest point is the peak ''Pyrgari'', with an elevation of 1,109 m. The mountain is covered in large part wi ...

s. It is 5 km south of Agios Stefanos, 9 km west of

Nea Makri Nea Makri ( el, Νέα Μάκρη) is a town in East Attica, Greece. Since the local government reform of 2011, it has been a municipal unit within the municipality of Marathon. The municipal unit has an area of 36.662 km2. It is part of the ...

, on the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

coast, and 18 km northeast 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 centre. Its built-up area is continuous with those of the neighbouring suburbs

Drosia Drosia ( el, Δροσιά, meaning "dew", before 1947: Ρωσσοχώρι - ''Rossochori'') is a suburb in Athens, Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Dionysos, of which it is a municipal unit. D ...

and

Rodopoli Rodopoli ( el, Ροδόπολη, meaning "City of Roses", before 1981: Μπάλα - ''Bala'') is a suburban town in Athens, East Attica regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Dionysos, of which ...

to the northwest. Even though the town is located only 20 Kilometres away from central Athens, it has a completely different climate, with weather being significantly cooler, including frequent snowfall during the winter. Motorway 1 (Athens - Lamia - Thessaloniki) and the railway from Athens to Thessaloniki pass through the western part of the municipality, near Agios Stefanos. There is a railway station at Agios Stefanos. Dionysos is connected to

Kifisia Kifissia or Kifisia (also Kephisia or Cephissia; el, Κηφισιά, ) is one of the most expensive northern suburbs of Athens, Greece, mainly accessed via Kifissias Avenue, running all the way from central Athens up to Theseos Avenue in the subu ...

by the 536 Dionysos-Kifisia bus service.

Climate

Dionysos has a hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''Csa''). Thrakomakedones experiences hot, relatively dry summers and cool, wet winters.

History

The town was known by the

Arvanitika Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the u ...

name Tzamali (Τζαμάλη) up until 1928 when it was renamed Dionysos. The sanctuary 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 Roma ...

Icaria Icaria, also spelled Ikaria ( el, Ικαρία), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. According to tradition, it derives its name from Icarus, the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who was be ...

was rediscovered by archaeology in 1888.p. 44, Peter Green, From Ikaria to the stars, (Austin, 2004)

Culture

Dionysos hosts an annual open summer festival usually every July, featuring art exhibitions, theatrical performances, musical shows, sculpture painting and other arts. The public library of Dionysos is located in the town hall, includes over 3500 books available to registered residents to borrow for free. It is run by local volunteers.

Municipality

The municipality Dionysos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 7 former municipalities, that became municipal units: * Agios Stefanos * Anoixi *Dionysos *

* Kryoneri *

* Stamata The municipality has an area of 69.360 km², the municipal unit 21.410 km².

Notable people

* Thespis, (6th century BC) actor *

Kostas Martakis Kostas Martakis ( el, Κώστας Μαρτάκης; born 25 May 1984) ERT. Retrieved on February 19, 2008 is a Greek singer, model, television host and actor, who rose to fame after appearing on Greek talent show ''Dream Show'' aired by Alpha TV ...

, singer * Aristi Tsipras, mother of the former Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras

Gallery

File:church1111.jpg, The St. George Chiopolitis church in Dionysos File:nice1111.jpg, Penteli mountain as viewed from Dionysos File:Dionysos Greece.JPG , Typical street in Dionysos

References

External links

Municipality of Dionysos
*
Dionyssomarble group
(Dionyssos - Pentelikon marble quarries)

{{Dionysos div Populated places in East Attica Municipalities of Attica el:Δήμος Διονύσου