The Bay of Zea, since Ottoman times and until recently known as Paşalimanı (Πασαλιμάνι), is a broad

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...

located at the eastern coast of the

Piraeus 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 Saro ...

peninsula in

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 ...

. It hosted the

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

events at the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...

held in

. A

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

and

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

are in the bay. During ancient times this bay was the biggest

Athenian military The Athenian military was the old man force of Athens, one of the major city-states (''poleis'') of Ancient Greece. It was largely similar to other armies of the region – see Ancient Greek warfare. Army In the manner of neighboring city-st ...

harbour, where the fleet of triremes were built. Following its renovation in 2004 in relation to the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, the seaport now has a total of 670 berths for boats up to 150 meters in

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Inte ...

and up to 10 meters in draught. The marina is managed by D Marinas Hellas, a global marinas network, that manages requests and reservations for berthing at Zea as well as services offered at the marina such as fuel, bathrooms, showers, port police, etc. The marina is also a part of the Greek Marinas Association.

Gallery

File:Zea_Pireas_view.jpg, A panoramic view of the bay File:Μαρίνα Ζέας 8021.JPG, A picture of the marina within the bay

References

Maritime database profile of the Zea, Greece marina.
- accessed 4 July 2010.
Portbooker.com profile of the Zea, Greece marina.
- accessed 4 July 2010. *Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Swimming (Men): 100-Meter Freestyle". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 897–8.
Worldportsource.com profile of the Zea, Greece marina.
- accessed 4 July 2010. Venues of the 1896 Summer Olympics Olympic swimming venues Bays of Greece Areas of Athens Ancient Athens Piraeus Landforms of Piraeus (regional unit) Landforms of Attica Marinas in Greece {{Summer-Olympic-venue-stub