Evening star., 1927-04-04
P|RAEUS IS BUSY
ATHENS SEAPORT
Electric Car Takes Visitors to
Capital From Ancient
But Active City.

''In an effort to develop the com.
rnerce OF Greece, the government has
decided TO declare a free zone in the
port Of Piraeus." says bulletin from
National Geographic Society telling OF
Piraeus.
"Piraeus," it says, occupies a pen,
Ursula that extends miles out into
the Gulf Of Aegina II is the chief port
and chief distributing center OF
Greece, but it lis perhaps better known
as the seaport of Athens Pnaeus
proximity to the capital causes the
seaport to lose it's individual prestige,
although IL is a separate and impor-
tant municipality, rivaling Athens IN
size if not in history.
while Athens has been the strong
hold of the aristOcratic and conSerNa-
tive element in Greece, the citizens OF
Piraeus have been devoted TO industry
and trade Many of the nearly 100000
inhabitants are employed in the num-
erous flour cotton and weaving mills,
engineering and shiprepairing works
and tanning and needle factories. But
the principal business Of the city Is
shipping
Three Natural Barbo-s.
"Piraeus really has three natural
harbors. the largest one on the north
west side Of the peninsula being The
important anchorage OF vessels of
deep draft while the other two on the
southeast are less valuable basins for
small craft.
THE larger harbor is the finest in
Greece It is protected from the sea
bv long breakwaters built SO close to-
gether that hardly more than one yes
sci can enter the harbor at time,
once inside, one sees a broad eXpanse
of water as smooth as lake, sur
rounded by wide quay that is almost
invisible from approaching steamers,
due to the presence of hundreds OF
small craft that are docked there
"Piraeus ranks close to Marseille'
Naples and Genoa in commercial lf1-
portance in the Mediterranean. Ihe
large ocean. going vessels plying be-
tween Eastern and Western Europe
make it a port OF call While Piraeus
is an important stop for smaller coast
wise craft that are able to use the mar
row Corinth Canal connecting the Gun
of Corinth with the Gulf of Aeglna,
The 4-mile waterway that was opened
the latter part of the last century com
pletelv sewers Greece. making
thorough waterway from the Aegean
to the Ionian Sea and Mediterranean
The eastern mouth of the canal IS
less than so miles from piraeus.
Fell Before Invaders.
athens, the destination of nearly all
passengers who land at piraeus who
are not trade bent is about
miles northeast of the peninsula. Tour
lists usually stop to enjoy the hustle OF
the commercial activity of the city and
Ir1
and numerous parks in such an
ancient city. But, unfortunately they
find little evidence of the plan OF Hip
podamus of Miletus who originally
planned Piraeus and who later laid out
Rhodes. Several times in its early
history Piraeus fell before invaders,
some of whom left it in ruins.
''It takes only 90 minutes to make
the run to the Acropolis by electric
tram. but tourists often prefer to make
the journey in an hours delightful
orive, the carriage road following one
of the old walls built by Pericles that
connected the ancient naval base with
the famed center of Attic culture.
.'Piraeus owes its beginning to The
TnistocIes, big navy advocate of the
Athenians, nearly 500 years before the
Christian era. He urged the Athenians
to remove the naval base from the UNI
protected shores of the Bay Of Pha-
leron, where it was open to the attack
of the Persians and hostile Inhabitants
Of the Aegina Island, TO the peninsula.
He was unsuccessful until 10 years
later a rich vein of silver was un-
earthed at Laurium (now Ergasteria)
that placed a large sum of money at
the disposal of the state.
SuIla DESTROYED City.
'eThemistocles induced the state to
spend the new riches to increase the
navy and, with 200 boats, he routed the
Persians at Salamis. His victory Justi-
fed his policies and Piraeus was made
the new base Of Athenian sea power.
Later Themistocles went so far, as TO
attempt to persuade the state TO desert
Athens for the seaport.
'Piraeus was completely destroyed
by Sulla. the Roman general, in 81
BE, and began to decay. For CEN
turies it's name even disappeared from
the map and in its place appeared
Porto Leoni,' fishers village, which
derived frs name from q figure of a
lion that stood there until the Nene-
tians took it away in the seventeenth
century. 1t was not until Greece
threw off the yoke Of the Turks and
Athens was again made the capital OF
New Greece in 1884 that Piraeus lifted
its head and challenged European sea
port cities.
Twice in recent years Piraeus has
been in the spotlight, In 1916 the al
lies towed the battleships Of Greece's
modern navy out Of the port Of Pi-
raeus to prepare them for action and
five years ago, the port city was the
haven of thousands Of Christians ana
AToslems from Asia Minor. who made
up history's greatest trek.