Sofokleous Street (, ''Odos Sofokleous'') is a street in the downtown part of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
, the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
capital. It is named after the ancient Greek tragedian
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
. The street runs from
Pireos Street and ends short from
Stadiou Street at
Pesmazoglou Street and Aristeidou Street. Until 2007 the
Athens Stock Exchange was located in this street, near
Aiolou Street on the north side. Further north lies
Kotzia Square
Kotzia Square ( el, Πλατεία Κοτζιά) is a square in central Athens, Greece. The square retains several characteristics of 19th-century local neoclassical architecture, such as the City Hall of the Municipality of Athens and the Nation ...
. The street is approximately 600 m long.
The nearest metro stations are
Panepistimio and
Omonia.
History
The
Athens Stock Exchange first opened in 30 Sept.1876 on the street's north side,
and soon moved to the junction of Aiolou and Sofokleous streets. From 1885 until 1891 it was housed at a building owned by the brokerage firm "Hermes" at 11 Sofocleous Street. On December 19, 1934, the new building was inaugurated in a formal manner. During World War II the various "policing" measures were hindered by brokers in the "free" market engaged in buying pounds in the streets around the Sophocleous Street building. On September 21, 1999, the highest price was recorded when the index reached 6,484.38 units, operating as a landmark for smallholders, who in a few years lost more than one hundred billion euros.
Modernistic eight storey-buildings were constructed in most parts of the street while
neo-classical buildings still existed. Traffic lights and street lights were introduced. Traffic lights were also introduced at Pireos,
Sokratous, Athinas and Aiolou streets.
After the move of the Athens Exchange its former building was used as the venue for the 4th
Athens Biennale 2013 "AGORA".
Important buildings
* The old hotel ''Pindaros'' on Sofokleous 24.
* The central bank building of the
National Bank of Greece
The National Bank of Greece (NBG; el, Εθνική Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος) is a global banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece.
85% of the company's pretax preprovision profits are derived ...
at the corner of
Aeolos and Sofokleous.
* The building of the Economics Department of the
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
at Sofokleous 1.
* The
Stoa
A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...
of Athens (covered walkway) at Sofokleous 47 leading to the Theater Square.
* The
Pentecostal Free Apostolic Church at Sophocleous 52.
many retail stores and restaurants.
Intersections
*
Pireos Street
*Menandrou Street
*
Sokratous Street
*
Athinas Street
*Strait and Filoppoimenous Street
*
Aiolou Street
*Aristeidou and
Pesmetzoglou Street
Notes
{{coord, 37.9811, N, 23.7268, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Streets in Athens
Transport in Athens