Eleusis

Eleusis (Greek: Ελευσίνα Elefsina, Ancient Greek: Ἐλευσίς Eleusis) is a town and municipality in West Attica, Greece. It is situated about 18 kilometres (11 miles) northwest from the centre of Athens. It is located in the Thriasian Plain, at the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf. North of Eleusis are Mandra and Magoula, while Aspropyrgos is to the northeast.

Eleusis is the seat of administration of West Attica regional unit. It is the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the birthplace of Aeschylus. Today, Eleusis is a major industrial centre, with the largest oil refinery in Greece as well as the home of the Aeschylia Festival, the longest-lived arts event in Attica Region.

On 11 November 2016 Eleusis was named the European Capital of Culture for 2021.

Municipality

The municipality Elefsina was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following two former municipalities, that became municipal units:

• Elefsina
• Magoula

The municipality has an area of 36.589 km², the municipal unit 18.455 km².

History

Ancient Eleusis

Eleusis was the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, or the Mysteries of Demeter and Kore, which became popular in the Greek speaking world as early as 600 BC, attracted initiates during Roman Empire before declining mid-late 4th century AD. These Mysteries revolved around a belief that there was a hope for life after death for those who were initiated. Such a belief was cultivated from the introduction ceremony in which the hopeful initiates were shown a number of things including the seed of life in a stalk of grain. The central myth of the Mysteries was Demeter's quest for her lost daughter (Kore the Maiden, or Persephone) who had been abducted by Hades. It was here that Demeter, disguised as an old lady who was abducted by pirates in Crete, came to an old well where the four daughters of the local king Keleos and his queen Metaneira (Kallidike, Kleisidike, Demo and Kallithoe) found her and took her to their palace to nurse the son of Keleos and Metaneira, Demophoon. Demeter raised Demophoon, anointing him with nectar and ambrosia, until Metaneira found out and insulted her. Demeter arose insulted, and casting off her disguise, and, in all her glory, instructed Meteneira to build a temple to her. Keleos, informed the next morning by Metaneira, ordered the citizens to build a rich shrine to Demeter, where she sat in her temple until the lot of the world prayed to Zeus to make the world provide food again.

Modern Elefsina

Today, the city has become a suburb of Athens, to which it is linked by the Motorway 6 and Greek National Road 8. Eleusis is nowadays a major industrial area, and the place where the majority of crude oil in Greece is imported and refined. The largest refinery is located on the west side of town.

There is a military airport a few kilometers east of Eleusis. Eleusis Airfield played a crucial role in the final British evacuation during the 1941 Battle of Greece, as recounted by Roald Dahl in his autobiography Going Solo.

Eleusis is home to the football club Panelefsiniakos F.C., and the basketball club Panelefsiniakos B.C.

Climate

The Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS) weather station of Eleusis has an average maximum July temperature of 33.0°C (1958-2001 HNMS) The Eleusis phenomenon is not yet completely understood; however, factors of geomorphology, warm water masses in the summer and warm winds might be responsible for its summer climate. According to Kassomenos and Katsoulis (2006), based on 12 years of data (1990–2001), the industrialization of west Attica, where at least 40% of the industrial activity of the country is concentrated, could be the cause of the warm climate of the zone. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Eleusis has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

European temperature record

Eleusis is one of the two Athenian suburbs (the other one is Tatoi) with the highest ever officially recorded temperature in Europe according to the World Meteorological Organization of 48.0°C (118.4°F), on 10 July 1977, by the use of minimum-maximum thermometers.

Historical population

Sports

Eleusis hosts the multi-sport club Panelefsiniakos with successful sections in football and basketball. Other historical club of Eleusis is Iraklis Eleusis, founded in 1928.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusis