Attica

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is about Attica in Greece. For other Atticas, see Attica (disambiguation).

{{Infobox Peri GR |name = Attica |name_local = Περιφέρεια Αττικής |image_map = GreeceAtticaNB.png |prefec = Athens
East Attica
Piraeus
West Attica |capital = Athens |population = 3,841,408 |population_as_of = 2005 |pop_dens = 1,009 |area = 3,808 |website = }} Attica (in Greek: Αττική, Attike; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a periphery (subdivision) in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece. Attica is subdivided into the prefectures of Athens, Piraeus, East Attica and West Attica.

Attica is located in what is today southern Greece, and covers about 3,800 square kilometers. In addition to Athens, it contains within its area the cities of Peiraeus, Eleusis, Megara, Laurium, and Marathon, as well as a small part of the Peloponnese peninsula and the islands of Salamis, Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Kythira, and Antikythira. About 3.750.000 people live in the periphery, of which more than 95% are inhabitants of the Athens metropolitan area.

Athens was originally the capital of Central Greece.

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Geography

Attica is a peninsula jutting into the Aegean Sea. Mountains divide the peninsula into the plains of Pedia, Mesogeia, and Thriasia. The mountains include Hymettus, the eastern portion of Geraneia, Parnitha, Aigaleo and the Penteli mountains. To the north it is bordered by the Boeotian plain and to the west it is bordered by Corinth. The Saronic Gulf lies to the south and the island of Euboea lies off the north coast. Athens' first and only large reservoir, Lake Marathon, is about 42 km northeast and is called the Marathon Dam, which first opened in the 1920s. Since that time, it has been Attica's largest lake. Forests cover the area around Parnitha, around Hymettus and into the northeast and the north in the hills and the mountains, except for the mountaintops, but the mountains to the west and the south are grassy, barren or forested.

The Cephisus River is the longest river, and Parnetha or Parnitha is the tallest mountain in Attica. The prefecture also has parklands in the Hymettus, Penteli and the Parnitha mountains and the southern part of the peninsula.

According to Plato, Attica's ancient boundaries were fixed by the Isthmus, and that in the direction of the continent they extended as far as the heights of Cithaeron and Parnes. The boundary line came down in the direction of the sea, having the district of Oropus on the right, and with the river Asopus as the limit on the left.

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Climate

The climate is typically Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and minimal rainfall, and cool to mild winters. Mountains receive some snowfall every winter, but this rarely extends to the low-lying areas. Frost conditions are also very rare. Forest fires and flash floods are common.

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History

The process of the unification of Attica by Athens is not entirely clear, but it concluded at some point in the first half of the 7th century BC when Eleusis and the surrounding plains were joined to the Athenian state, and its inhabitants became citizens. Even then, the boundaries were not fixed, as Athens struggled with Megara for control of Salamis, and with Boeotia over border towns like Oropus for centuries. See History of Athens.

Attica later became part of (successively) the Roman and Byzantine Empires, the crusader Duchy of Athens, and the Ottoman Empire, until the Greek War of Independence.

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Transportation

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Roads and Highways

The area is connected by roads and highways:

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Ferry lines

Numerous ferry lines, both normal ferries and the "flying dolphins" (fast sea vessels), connect the port of Piraeus with the islands of the periphery.

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Other

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Communications

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Television

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Radio

In March, 2001, the Greek government shut down approximately 60 of the 90+ FM radio stations in the Athens area, citing interference to frequencies to be used by the new Athens International Airport, though it is largely believed (and much evidence supporting this exists) that the government shut down these stations as a political favor to powerful publishing and media groups, whose stations, for the most part, remained on the air. In 2002, 8 of these stations reopened, and in 2004, a few more stations reopened.

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Sporting teams

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Basketball teams

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Football/soccer teams

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Premier and second divisions A & B' Ethnikis (2005/06)

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Third division

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Junior division/unassorted

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All sports

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Persons

For people that live in Athens, see Athens#Persons

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Hospitals

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Municipalities and communities

See:

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Provinces

The former provinces in italics no longer exist.

Template:Peripheries of Greecebg:Атика de:Attika (Verwaltungsregion) el:Αττική es:Ática fr:Attique gl:Ática he:אטיקה id:Attika it:Attica la:Attica nl:Attica ja:アッティカ pl:Attyka (kraina historyczna) pt:Ática ru:Аттика simple:Attica fi:Attika sr:Периферија Атика sv:Attika uk:Аттіка zh:阿提卡

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