Ekali ( el, Εκάλη) is an affluent suburb 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 ...

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 ...

. Located to the north of the city centre, it is a green and lush area home to many of the country's most powerful business and shipping families.ekathimerini.com , Where do the richest and poorest Greeks live?
/ref> Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Kifisia, as a municipal unit.

Etymology

Ekali was an ancient municipality of

and belonged to the Leontida tribe. Its inhabitants were named Ekalios. According to tradition, the name is associated with the name of a woman named Ekali. As

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

says, as

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

went to

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

to catch the famous bull that had caused great damage to the area, the weather conditions were unfavorable. The Athenian king sought refuge in the hut of an old woman, called Ekali. The old woman promised Theseus that she would make a sacrifice to Zeus for the success of his mission. When Theseus caught the bull, he returned to the hut, but found the old woman dead. Grateful for her sacrifice, he later created the sanctuary of Ekaliou Dios and named the region Ekali, where he created the homonymous municipality.

Geography

Ekali is situated at the western end of the forested

Penteli Penteli ( el, Πεντέλη) is a village and a municipality in the North Athens regional unit, Attica, Greece. It belongs to the Athens rural area. It takes its name from Mount Pentelicus. Municipality The municipality Penteli was formed at t ...

mountain range. The municipal unit has an area of 4.332 km². The small river Kifisos forms the western border of the municipal unit. Ekali is situated northeast of Kifisia, southwest of Agios Stefanos and northeast of Athens city centre. The main thoroughfare is Thiseos Avenue (

Greek National Road 83 Greek National Road 83 is a national highway of Greece. It connects Athens with Rafina Rafina ( el, Ραφήνα) is a suburban port town located on the eastern coast of Attica in Greece. It has a population of 13,091 inhabitants (2011 census ...

), which connects Ekali with Kifisia and central Athens. Motorway 1 (Athens - Thessaloniki) passes west of Ekali near Thrakomakedones. Ekali is a purely residential area, which means that retail, commercial shops and professional businesses are not permitted within the community.

Notable people

* Giannis Spyropoulos (one of the most popular Abstract Greek painters) lived in Ekali. In 1990 after the painter's death the Spyropoulos Foundation was established there. *Former Socialist Prime Minister

Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, ...

lived in Ekali in his final years and the Greek media often used "Ekali" in the same way the British media use "Downing Street" or the American media use "the White House". *Shipping, oil and banking heir and billionaire Spiros Latsis. *

Vardis Vardinogiannis Vardis Vardinogiannis ( el, Βαρδής Βαρδινογιάννης) is a Greek billionaire oil and shipping businessman. He is the chairman and controlling shareholder of Motor Oil Hellas, Vegas Oil and Gas and involved in numerous other sh ...

, prominent billionaire businessman. *

Andreas Vgenopoulos (businessman) Andreas Vgenopoulos (10 December 1953 − 5 November 2016) was the chairman of Marfin Investment Group and was a major shareholder of Panathinaikos FC. Vgenopoulos resigned from Panathinaikos in June 2010 citing differences with Giannis Vardino ...

, financier, largest shareholder of

Marfin Investment Group Marfin Investment Group (also known as MIG) is a Greek investment company created in 1998 as ''Marfin Α.Ε.Π.Ε.Υ.''. It has acquired several companies and has changed name several times since. In 2001 it acquired ''Piraeus Prime Bank'' and ...

. *

Anna Vissi Anna Vissi ( el, Άννα Βίσση, , ; born 20 December 1957), is a Greek Cypriot singer and songwriter. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed ...

, famous Greek singer and artist. * Adonis Georgiadis, Greek politician, Minister for Development and Investment ( Cabinet of Kyriakos Mitsotakis 2019-) *Latsis family, billionaire business family *Dimitris Giannakopoulos, owner of Vianex S.A. and Panathinaikos B.C. * Menios Fourthiotis, Greek tv presenter *Panagiotis Bitros, millionaire businessman and owner of Bitros Steel * Kostas Crommydas, well known actor *Fostiropoulos family, well known shipowner *Michalis Chrysafidis, businessman who was murdered along with his family in Ekali * George Tragkas, famous journalist *

Liana Kanelli A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a t ...

, member of the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curre ...

and journalist *Tzirakian family, owner of Europa Profil S.A. *

Nikos Hadjinikolaou Nikos Chatzinikolaou ( el, Νίκος Χατζηνικολάου) also spelled as Hatzinikolaou, Hatzinicolaou or Chatzinikolaou (born 1962 in Alexandroupoli) is a Greek journalist and media entrepreneur. Biography Hadjinikolaou studied at P ...

, famous editor and journalist *

Giannis Poulopoulos Giannis Poulopoulos (Greek: Γιάννης Πουλόπουλος, a.k.a. John Poulopoulos; 29 June 1941 – 23 August 2020) was a Greek singer-songwriter, who had several hits in Greece during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In terms of total al ...

, famous singer *

Stefanos Manos Stefanos Manos ( el, Στέφανος Μάνος; born 1939) is a Greek politician, former member of the Hellenic Parliament, and a former government minister. Career His political career started in the New Democracy party, for which he became ...

, politician

Sites of interest

* Giannis Spyropoulos Museum *Agia Marina Church

References

External links