Lavrio Lavrion Laurium Λαύριο/Λαύριον | |
|---|---|
Settlement | |
 The port of Lavrio | |
  Lavrio Lavrion Laurium Location of theLavreotiki municipal unit  | |
| Coordinates:37°42′N24°3′E / 37.700°N 24.050°E /37.700; 24.050 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Attica |
| Regional unit | East Attica |
| Municipality | Lavreotiki |
| Municipal unit | Lavreotiki |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 7,525 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 195 xx |
Lavrio,Lavrion orLaurium (Greek:Λαύριο;Ancient Greek:Λαύρειον (laterΛαύριον);[2] from Middle Ages until 1908: ΕργαστήριαErgastiria)[3] is a town in southeastern part ofAttica,Greece. It is part of Athens metropolitan area and the seat of the municipality ofLavreotiki.[4][5][6] Laurium was famous inClassical antiquity for itssilver mines, which was one of the chief sources of revenue of theAthenian state. The metallicsilver was mainly used forcoinage. TheArchaeological Museum of Lavrion shows much of the story of these mines.
It is located about 60 km SE of Athens city center, SE ofKeratea and N ofCape Sounio. Laurium is situated on a bay overlooking the island ofMakronisos (ancient times: Helena) in the east. The port is in the middle and gridded streets cover the residential area of Lavrio.GR-89 runs through Lavrio and ends south inSounio.
The modern town of Lavrio is at the site of the ancient village ofThoricus; its name is taken from that of the entire region of theMines of Laurium.
The earliest evidence for mining dates to the beginning of the Bronze Age, ca. 3200 BC.[7]
Systematic exploitation of mineral resources seem to have begun in the 6th century BC underPeisistratus.[8] After thebattle of Marathon,Themistocles persuaded the Athenians to devote the anticipated revenue derived from a major silver vein strike in the mines of Laurion circa 483 BC to expanding the Athenian fleet to 200triremes, and thus laid the foundation of the Athenian naval power. The mines, which were the property of the state, were usually farmed out for a certain fixed sum and a percentage on the working;slave labour was exclusively employed. An unrecorded number were children. It was a miserable, dangerous, and brief life. As many as 20,000 slaves were employed at the height of the mining. A silver mint (Argyrocopeum) was at Laurion.
Towards the end of the 5th century, the output fell, partly owing to theSpartan occupation ofDecelea. But the mines continued to be worked, thoughStrabo records that in his time the tailings were being worked over, andPausanias speaks of the mines as a thing of the past. The ancient workings, consisting of shafts and galleries for excavating the ore, and washing tables for concentrating the ore, may still be seen at many locations. There were well engineered tanks and reservoirs to collect rainwater for washing the ore since abundant supplies from streams or rivers was impossible at the site.
The mines were reworked in the late 19th century byFrench and Greek companies, but mainly forlead,manganese andcadmium. In 1896a strike from the miners was violently confronted by the mining company's guards resulting in the death of two workers. The miners responded by destroying the company's offices and killing the guards. The government then sent police forces to support the company's interests against the strikers. Further clashes between workers and the police occurred to which the government replied by sending the military against the striking workers resulting in more workers' deaths. The strike ended violently with most of the strikers' demands not being fulfilled and with a military force being permanently established to patrol the miners.[9]
TheMineralogical Museum of Lavrion comprises samples of minerals from the region of Lavrion.
Lavrio, owing to its location in the southern tip of theAthens Riviera, has ahot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification:BSh), closely bordering ahot-summer mediterranean (Csa) climate. It has mild winters and hot summers, with particularly warm summer nights. The summer highs are 2 °C lower than inPiraeus and 4 °C lower than in downtownAthens. The driest months are July and August while the rainiest period is during December and January. Lavrio falls inhardiness zone 10b.[10] According to the station of theNational Observatory of Athens, Lavrio has never recorded an air frost.
| Climate data for Lavrio (2008–2024) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 22.9 (73.2) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.3 (73.9) | 27.7 (81.9) | 32.8 (91.0) | 39.3 (102.7) | 42.4 (108.3) | 38.2 (100.8) | 38.7 (101.7) | 33.1 (91.6) | 27.4 (81.3) | 23.7 (74.7) | 42.4 (108.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.1 (57.4) | 15.0 (59.0) | 16.6 (61.9) | 20.0 (68.0) | 24.3 (75.7) | 28.7 (83.7) | 31.2 (88.2) | 30.8 (87.4) | 27.7 (81.9) | 23.0 (73.4) | 19.4 (66.9) | 15.9 (60.6) | 22.2 (72.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 11.2 (52.2) | 12.1 (53.8) | 13.4 (56.1) | 16.5 (61.7) | 20.7 (69.3) | 25.2 (77.4) | 28.1 (82.6) | 28.0 (82.4) | 24.7 (76.5) | 20.2 (68.4) | 16.7 (62.1) | 13.1 (55.6) | 19.2 (66.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 8.4 (47.1) | 9.1 (48.4) | 10.3 (50.5) | 13.0 (55.4) | 17.1 (62.8) | 21.7 (71.1) | 25.0 (77.0) | 25.2 (77.4) | 21.7 (71.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 14.0 (57.2) | 10.3 (50.5) | 16.1 (61.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) | 0.6 (33.1) | 0.6 (33.1) | 5.8 (42.4) | 10.8 (51.4) | 14.8 (58.6) | 19.9 (67.8) | 19.6 (67.3) | 14.3 (57.7) | 8.8 (47.8) | 6.6 (43.9) | 2.4 (36.3) | 0.1 (32.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 70.8 (2.79) | 47.4 (1.87) | 39.4 (1.55) | 20.3 (0.80) | 6.2 (0.24) | 11.3 (0.44) | 2.9 (0.11) | 0.3 (0.01) | 22.5 (0.89) | 27.5 (1.08) | 52.6 (2.07) | 77.5 (3.05) | 378.7 (14.9) |
| Source 1:National Observatory of Athens Monthly Bulletins (Oct 2008 – Nov 2024)[11] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Lavrio N.O.A station[12] | |||||||||||||
TheEleftherios Venizelos International Airport is 35 km away from Lavrio or about 30 minutes drive. Lavrio is connected to Athens by car using the Lavrio/Sounio Leoforos (Highway) and thenAttiki Odos. This trip takes about an hour. A quite convenient solution to go to Athens is to "park and drive". Drive from Lavrio to Koropi Train Station and there take thesuburban railway ormetro that goes straight to Athens center. (30 minutes drive + 30 minutes train)
Lavrio was the terminal station of theAthens-Lavrion Railway, which was abandoned in 1957.
The mining town ofLaurium, Michigan was named after the famous Greek Laurium.
Laurium hosts the football clubOlympiacos Laurium, which played in theGamma Ethniki in the past, and the basketball clubLavrio B.C., which plays in theBasket League.
| Sport clubs based in Laurium | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Founded | Sports | Achievements |
| Olympiacos Laurium | 1926 | Football | Previous presence inGamma Ethniki |
| Lavrio B.C. | 1990 | Basketball | Current presence inBasket League |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Laurium (Greece)".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 287.
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