Dionysos () is a northern suburb of the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

agglomeration and a municipality in northeastern

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. 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, on the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

coast, and 18 km northeast of

city centre. Its built-up area is continuous with those of the neighbouring suburbs Drosia and Rodopoli 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. The A1 motorway (Athens–Thessaloniki–Evzonoi) 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 Kifisia or Kifissia (also Kephisia or Cephissia; , ) is a municipality and one of the most affluent northern suburbs in the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Attica, Greece, mainly accessed via Kifissias Avenue, running all the way f ...

by the 536 Dionysos-Kifisia bus service.

Climate

Dionysos has a hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''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 was brought to Southern Greece during the late Middle Ages by Alb ...

name Tzamali (Τζαμάλη) up until 1928 when it was renamed Dionysos. The sanctuary of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

Icaria Ikaria, also spelled Icaria (; ), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. Administratively, Ikaria forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria regional unit, which is part of the North Ae ...

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 *Dionysos * Drosia * Kryoneri * Rodopoli *

Stamata Stamata () is a community in Athens, East Attica regional unit, 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 18.950 km2. Stamat ...

The municipality has an area of 69.360 km², the municipal unit 21.410 km².

Notable people

Thespis Thespis (; ; fl. 6th century BC) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet. He was born in the ancient city of Icarius (present-day Dionysos, Greece). According to certain Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle, he was t ...

, (6th century BC) actor * Kostas Martakis, singer * Aristi Tsipras, mother of the former Greek prime minister

Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras (, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. A left-wing figure, Tsipras was leader of the List of political parties in Greece, Greek political party Syriza from 200 ...

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

References

External links

Municipality of Dionysos
*
Dionyssomarble group
(Dionyssos – Pentelikon marble quarries)

{{Dionysos div Populated places in East Attica Municipalities of Attica