Dionysos, Greece
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Dionysos Διόνυσος |
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Dionysos Skyline
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 Dionysos
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Location within the region
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| Coordinates: 38°6′N 23°52′E / 38.100°N 23.867°ECoordinates: 38°6′N 23°52′E / 38.100°N 23.867°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Attica |
| Regional unit | East Attica |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Giannis Kalafatelis (Ind.) |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 69.36 km2 (26.78 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 21.41 km2 (8.27 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 480 m (1,570 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Municipality | 40,193 |
| • Municipality density | 580/km2 (1,500/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 6,458 |
| • Municipal unit density | 300/km2 (780/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | 145 76 |
| Area code(s) | 210 |
| Vehicle registration | Z |
| Website | www.dimosdionysou.gr |
Dionysos (Greek: Διόνυσος) is a town and a municipality in northeastern Attica, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Agios Stefanos.
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 coast, and 18 km northeast of Athens 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.
Motorway 1 (Athens - Lamia - Thessaloniki) 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 by the 536 Dionysos-Kifisia bus service.
The municipality Dionysos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 7 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
The municipality has an area of 69.360 km2, the municipal unit 21.410 km2.
The town was known by the Arvanitika name Tzamali (Τζαμάλη) up until 1928 when it was renamed Dionysos. The modern name of this small town on the north-east slopes of Mount Pendeli dates back to time immemorial, because this was the first demos (town) in ancient Attica (the province of which Athens is the major city) to welcome the young god Dionysos, ancient Greek god of vegetation, wine, and theatre.
The local myth is told by several ancient writers: Athenaios, Hyginos, Apollodoros, and Nonnos. In this green valley thousands of years ago, the local leader Icarius of Athens and his lovely daughter Erigone welcomed a young stranger into their home, offering him fresh goat’s milk as well as food and shelter. Moved by their warm hospitality, the stranger revealed to them that he was actually a god, Dionysos, son of Zeus (king of the gods) and Semele (a princess of Thebes). In order to thank them, Dionysos gave Ikarios the first grape vine and taught him the art of wine making.
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Wikipedia