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 ...
,
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 wi ...
. The seat of the municipality is the town
Agios Stefanos.
Geography
Dionysos is situated on the northeastern slopes of the forested
Penteliko Mountains. 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 th ...
, 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 a ...
city centre. Its built-up area is continuous with those of the neighbouring suburbs
Drosia 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 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, nota ...
: ''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 Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
of
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
Anoixi ( el, Άνοιξη, meaning "spring") is a suburban town in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Dionysos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 4.582 ...
*Dionysos
* Drosia
* Kryoneri
*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 ...
* Stamata
The municipality has an area of 69.360 km2, the municipal unit 21.410 km2.
Notable people
* Thespis
Thespis (; grc-gre, Θέσπις; fl. 6th century BC) was an Ancient Greek poet. He was born in the ancient city of Icarius (present-day Dionysos, Greece). According to certain Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle, he was the first p ...
, (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
Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019.
Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...
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
See also
*List of municipalities of Attica
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
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