Pangrati or Pagrati ( el, Παγκράτι) is a neighborhood in Central
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 ...
,
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 ...
, having an estimated population of 35,173 residents. Named after the ancient sanctuary of
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
Pancrates ("All Powerful"), its frontage runs from
Vasilissis Sofias Avenue along to
Vasileos Konstantinou Avenue and Vassileos Alexandrou Avenue, just a few minutes walk from the
National Gardens. One of the most important landmarks of Pangrati is the
Panathinaiko Stadium that hosted the first modern
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
in 1896. The
First Cemetery of Athens, the official cemetery for the City of Athens, lies within the neighborhood's limits.
Pangrati includes the
Ilissos river
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 ...
valley and extends to the south as far as the
Panathinaic Stadium and the
First Cemetery of Athens. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the
Hymettus Mountain slopes but with the extension of the city in interwar period the modern eastern boundary is Nikiforidi Str. and
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...
os Str., including Deliolani Square. To the north and northeast, the area fades into
Hilton and
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...
area, but it is considered that the area north of Vassileos Alexandrou Ave. as far north to
Hilton Athens hotel and northeast as Andreas Syngros Hospital is part of Pangrati. Pangrati is bordered by the
Kolonaki (Κολωνάκι) neighborhood to the west, the
Ilisia
''Ilisia'' is a genus of crane fly in the family Limoniidae.
Distribution
Palaearctic, North America & Oriental.
Species
*'' I. armillaris'' ( Osten Sacken, 1869)
*'' I. asymmetrica'' (Alexander, 1913)
*'' I. graphica'' ( Osten Sacken, 1860) ...
(Ιλίσια) neighborhood and the
Kaisariani
Kaisariani ( el, Καισαριανή) is a suburb and a municipality in the eastern part of the Athens agglomeration in Greece.
Geography
Kaisariani is located about southeast of Athens city centre, and of the Acropolis of Athens. The muni ...
(Καισαριανή) municipality to the north, the
Vyronas (Βύρωνας) and
Dafni-Ymittos (Δάφνη-Υμηττός) municipalities to the east, and the
Neos Kosmos (Νέος Κόσμος) neighborhood to the south. It is not to be confused as a separate suburb, as it is part of the
City 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 ...
proper. However, it is frequently mistaken as such, possibly because of it bordering the actual suburbs of Vyronas and Kaisariani.
In the second decade of the 21st century, Pangrati has experienced a renaissance as a destination for
hipsters, with concomitant
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...
,
house price
Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property (usually market value). Real estate transactions often require appraisals because they occur infrequently and every prop ...
increases, and a decrease in
housing affordability
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on aff ...
.
Squares
Pangrati has numerous squares: Plastira, Pangratiou ("of Pangrati"), Messolongiou, Proskopon, Profitis Ilias, Agios Spyridon, Deliolani and Varnava. Pangrati Square is home to the Pangrati Park, together with a major street named Spirou Merkouri, which runs into
Vassileos Konstantinou Ave and up towards
Evangelismos Metro Station
Evangelismos ( el, Ευαγγελισμός, ) is a metro station located on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue. It is in Evangelismos area, close to Evangelismos Hospital, the National Gallery of Athens, the Athens War Museum, the Byzantine & Christian Mu ...
. Agios Spyridon Square features the Saint Spyridon Church and Profitis Ilias Square features the Church of the Prophet
Elijah (Προφήτης Ηλίας), and the Imittou Avenue, which runs through the entire span of Pangrati starting from Kaisariani; around Varnava Square is the area behind the
Kallimarmaro
The Panathenaic Stadium ( el, Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, Panathinaïkó Stádio, ), as spelled by Philostratus. or ''Kallimarmaro'' (Καλλιμάρμαρο, , lit. "beautiful marble") is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. O ...
Stadium hosting classy restaurants and various tavernas, while Plastira Square serves as a stop for all three trolley networks and local bus routes. Proskopon Square, just behind the
Presidential Mansion
An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...
also hosts classy restaurants, bars and cafes.
Culture
Pangrati has attracted artists from all over Greece, who arrive in the city of Athens to educate themselves and to seek inspiration from its vast pool of artistic resources and galleries. Poets, novelists, writers, painters, composers, musicians made Pangrati one of the most important artistic hubs of Athens. One of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century and a Nobel laureate,
Giorgos Seferis lived in Pangrati.
Manos Hatzidakis who received an
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...
for his song
Never on Sunday from the film of the same name, also lived in Pangrati. Other artists who lived in Pangrati include
Nikiforos Vrettakos
Nikiforos Vrettakos ( el, Νικηφόρος Βρεττάκος; Krokees, 1 January 1912 – Athens, 4 August 1991) was a Greek writer and poet.
Biography
Nikephoros Vrettakos was born in the village of Krokees (Κροκεές), near Sparta, Laco ...
,
Yiannis Moralis
Yiannis Moralis ( el, Γιάννης Μόραλης; also transliterated Yannis Moralis or Giannis Moralis; 23 April 1916 – 20 December 2009) was an important Greek visual artist and part of the so-called "Generation of the '30s".
Life
B ...
,
Kostas Varnalis
Kostas Varnalis ( el, Κώστας Βάρναλης; 14 February 1884 – 16 December 1974) was a Greek poet.
Life
Varnalis was born in Burgas, Eastern Rumelia (now in Bulgaria), in 1884. As his name suggests, his family originated from Varna; ...
,
Dimitris Psathas and many others.
The
National Gallery of Athens
The National Gallery ( el, Εθνική Πινακοθήκη, ''Ethniki Pinakothiki'') is an art museum located on Vasilissis Sofias avenue in the Pangrati district, Athens, Greece. It is devoted to Greek and European art from the 14th century ...
, a museum primarily devoted to post-Byzantine Greek Art, renovated recently in a $71,60 million expansion project, and the
National Hellenic Research Foundation
The National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF; Greek: Εθνικό Ίδρυμα Ερευνών (Ε.Ι.Ε.)) is a non-profit, private-law legal entity established in 1958 with the aim of conducting interdisciplinary research in the fields of scien ...
are located in Pangrati.
Maria Callas
Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...
, the famous soprano, has also studied in the
Athens Conservatoire
The Athens Conservatoire () is the oldest educational institution for the performing arts in modern Greece. It was founded in 1871 by the non-profit organization Music and Drama Association.
History
Initially, the musical instruments that were ta ...
, which lies within Pangrati, just next to the Cult of
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
Pankrates, directly beneath the
Harry S. Truman statue in
Vassileos Konstantinou Avenue. At Agios Spyridon Church in Pangrati, a new museum has changed the cultural map of Athens as the
Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art
The Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art is a modern art museum in Eratosthenous Street, Pangrati, Athens, Greece, opened in October 2019. It displays many of the works amassed by shipowner Basil Goulandris and his wife Elise Karadontis, who di ...
opened its gates in October 2019. The Goulandris Museum hosts a world class collection of works by
Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Chagall
Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...
,
Van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...
,
Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fro ...
,
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El ...
,
Degas, Klee, Kandinsky,
Rodin
François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...
,
Cézanne,
Monet,
Miró, Giacometti,
Pollock,
Bacon
Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...
and others as well as by prominent Greek artists including George Bouzianis,
Yannis Tsarouchis
Yannis Tsarouchis ( el, Γιάννης Τσαρούχης; 13 January 1910 – 20 July 1989) was a Greek modernist painter and set designer who achieved international fame, and was "known in particular for his homoerotic subjects," including sold ...
,
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika,
Yannis Moralis
Yiannis Moralis ( el, Γιάννης Μόραλης; also transliterated Yannis Moralis or Giannis Moralis; 23 April 1916 – 20 December 2009) was an important Greek visual artist and part of the so-called "Generation of the '30s".
Life
B ...
and Michalis Tombos.
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
has recently inaugurated the ''Athens Center for Research and Hellenic Studies'' in Pangrati. The Center is housed in the
Stanley J. Seeger ’52 House, a 1930s-era townhouse. It is the one and only research and scholarship center of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
anywhere outside of the United States.
Transportation
Pangrati is served by
Evangelismos metro station
Evangelismos ( el, Ευαγγελισμός, ) is a metro station located on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue. It is in Evangelismos area, close to Evangelismos Hospital, the National Gallery of Athens, the Athens War Museum, the Byzantine & Christian Mu ...
, by buses #054, 203, 204, 209, 732 and trolleys #2, 4 and 11. Recent information released by the
Attiko Metro
Attiko Metro ( el, Αττικό Μετρό) is a Greek public company who is responsible for the development and construction of the Athens Metro and the Thessaloniki Metro, as well as the extensions to the Athens Tram.
Headquartered in the El ...
(the constructor of the
Athens Metro) has suggested that there will be a future metro station on the border of Pangrati and Kaisariani on Imittou Street, to be named Pangrati/Kaisariani, on the proposed Orange Line (Line #4).
Notable people
*
Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens
Christodoulos (17 January 1939 – 28 January 2008) ( el, Χριστόδουλος, born Christos Paraskevaidis, ''Χρήστος Παρασκευαΐδης'') was Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and as such the primate of the Autocephalous ...
*
Dimitris Kataleifos, actor
*
Dora Bakoyianni, politician
*
Elli Kokkinou
Elli Kokkinou (; el, Έλλη Κοκκίνου) (born 24 July 1970) is a Greek singer. Sony BMG Greece. Retrieved on February 20, 2008 She is among the most popular singers in Greece today and has performed together with many notable Greek nam ...
, singer
*
Alketas Panagoulias
Alketas 'Alkis' Panagoulias ( el, Αλκέτας 'Άλκης' Παναγούλιας; 30 May 1934 – 18 June 2012) was a Greek association football player and manager. He managed the national teams of both Greece and the United States. He also ...
, football trainer
*
Yorgos Lanthimos
Georgios "Yorgos" Lanthimos ( el, Γιώργος Λάνθιμος, Giórgos Lánthimos, ; born 23 September 1973) is a Greek film director, film producer, screenwriter, photographer, theatre director and former professional basketball player. Sin ...
, film director
*
Giorgos Seferis, diplomat and
Nobel prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate poet
*
Karolos Papoulias, politician, former
President of Greece
The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...
*
Kostas Karamanlis
Konstantinos A. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής; born 14 September 1956), commonly known as Kostas Karamanlis ( el, Κώστας Καραμανλής, ), is a Greek politician who served as the ...
, politician, former
Prime Minister of Greece
The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...
*
Manos Hatzidakis,
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winning composer
*
Milena Apostolaki
Milena Apostolaki ( el, Μιλένα Αποστολάκη, born 21 February 1965) is a Greek politician of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK).
Life
Apostolaki was born in 1965 in Athens, Greece. She finished her high school studies in ...
, politician
*
Nikitas Kaklamanis
Nikitas M. Kaklamanis ( el, Νικήτας Κακλαμάνης; born 1 April 1946 in Andros) is a Greek New Democracy (ND) politician and former mayor of Athens. He is also a former Minister for Health and Social Solidarity. In the Greek loca ...
, politician, former
Mayor of Athens
*
Nikos Sergianopoulos, actor
*
Nico Minardos, actor
*
Thanos Mikroutsikos, composer
*
Theodoros Pangalos
Lieutenant General Theodoros Pangalos (; 11 January 1878 – 26 February 1952) was a Greek general, politician and dictator. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos played a leading role in the Septemb ...
, politician,
Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, former Minister of Foreign Affairs
* Vaios Ekonomou, composer
[ ]
References
{{Athens
Neighbourhoods in Athens