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| Ilisos | |
|---|---|
 The only uncanalised part in central Athens proper of the Ilisos river bed | |
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| Native name | Ιλισός (Greek) |
| Location | |
| Country | Greece |
| Region | Attica |
| City | Athens |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | MountHymettus |
| Mouth | |
• location | Phaleron Bay |
• coordinates | 37°56′23″N23°40′51″E / 37.9397°N 23.6808°E /37.9397; 23.6808 |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
TheIlisos orIlisus (Greek:Ιλισός,[iliˈsos]) is a river inAthens,Greece. Originally a tributary of theKifisos, it has been rechanneled to the sea. It is now largely channeled underground, though as of June 2019 there were plans to unearth the river.[1] Together with the neighbouring river Kifisos, it drains a catchment area of 420 km2 (160 sq mi).[2]
Its name is in all probabilityPre-Greek: it features the ending-sós/-ssós/-ttós, which it shares with many other toponyms in Attica and other rivers in Greece, all of which are considered linguisticsubstratum survivals.
During antiquity, the river flowed outside thecity walls of Athens:[3]Plato wrote inCritias that the river was one of the borders of the ancient walls. Its banks—in the busy intersection that presently features theHilton Hotel and theNational Gallery—were grassy and shaded byplane trees, and were considered idyllic in antiquity; they were the favored haunts ofSocrates for his walks and teaching.[4] The temple ofPankrátēs, a local hero, was located there, giving its name to the modern suburb ofPagkrati. Ilisos was also considered a demi-god, the son ofPoseidon andDemetra, and was worshipped in a sanctuary on theArdittos hill, next to the currentPanathinaiko Stadium. This area was namedCynosarges in antiquity and the spring ofKallirrhóē was located there.
The stream drains the western slopes of MountHymettus, and originates from multiple converging seasonal creeks. As urban Athens expanded during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the river became a source of pollution and was converted gradually into a rainwater runoff conduit, covered with streets that track its original, twisting route along the lay of the land. Its bed proper flows underMesogeion Avenue at the Old Gendarmerie Academy, flows under Michalakopoulou (the modern-dayIlisia suburb) and Vasileos Konstantinou Avenues, and passes in front of thePanathinaiko Stadium, where it was bridged during the 19th century. It then flows to the southeastern flank of the ruinedColumns of Olympian Zeus, where it is still visible amidstreed beds, next to the Byzantine chapel ofSaint Photeine "of the Ilisos". In older times the river at this point expanded into shallow marshland, termedΒατραχονήσι (Vatrachonísi;lit. "Frog Island") in the vicinity of the ancient spring ofKallirrhóē, now submerged under Avenue Kallirois. As is the case for many Christian churches in Greece, the church of Aghia Foteini, established in 1872, is built on the ruins of an ancient temple, dedicated to Hecate. Archaeological finds of 2014 identified the ruins of yet another temple, of the 4th Century B.C., dedicated to Zeus, "Μειλίχιον Δία", in the vicinity of that of the 5th C. B.C. Ionic temple of Artemis Agrotera, slightly higher up on the same slope of the hill, which is thought to have been called "Agrai". It was here that the goddess was celebrated every year on the anniversary of theBattle of Marathon. Thearchon in charge would offer goats for sacrifice and the tithe of the sale of war prisoners, while the Athenian youth passed in procession. The importance of this hill was due to the Lesser Mysteries, celebrated every year during the month ofAnthesterion (February–March) as a form of initiation of theGreat Eleusinian Mysteries. The Hill of Agrai extends as far as the Stadion and is known by the name of Ardettos or Helicon.
Here there is also the Shrine of the God Pan. This rocky outcrop with a small natural cave and two perpendicular faces was found to have a relief of the god Pan. This deity of wild nature was worshiped regularly in caves and rocky terrain. Pan is depicted striding to the right with the "pipes of Pan" in his right hand and a stick for hunting hares on the left. Others believe that this is the Shrine of the Nymphs and the river-godAchelous, with a spring of cold water, a plane tree and a willow, where, as Plato writes, Socrates andPhaedros sat during their philosophical chats. It then flows under Theseos Avenue, in the suburb ofKallithea, its original course turning sharply northwest to join the Kifissos River, of which it was once a tributary. The Ilisos is now routed straight to sea,[3] coming to surface and flowing into theSaronic Gulf in the middle ofPhaleron Bay.
Media related toIlissos river at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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