Afidnes: Encyclopedia - Afidnes

Afidnes

Afidnes (Greek, Modern: Αφίδνες, Ancient/Katharevoussa: Αφίδναι), older forms: Afidnai, Afidne, Latin: Aphidnae, sometimes incorrectly as Aphidna or Afidna is a suburb in Attica, Greece just about 28 km north of Athens. From the Medieval Times to the late 20th century, the village was known as Kiourka. The name dates back to ancient times as Aphidnae Afidnes is located west of the superhighway and lies next to the northern part of the Parnitha mountains which are mainly of grasslands and rocks to the west and is surrounded with other mountains to the north and east. Afidnes is accessed with an interchanges with GR-1/E75 (Athens - Lamia - Thessaloniki) at the 28th km with the road also linking to Varybombi. The Cephissus River lies to the south. Afidnes is located SE of Thiva, S of Euboea and Oropos, about 20 km W of Marathon, about 15 km NE of Kifissia and about 15 km NE of the Attiki Odos (number 6).

The archaeological city of Aphidnae was a small ancient municipality. The area in the 19th century was later excavated. The area features about 13 Middle Helladic tumulus.

Until the 1990s, farmlands cover the area around Afidnes but housing developments didn't reach Afidna until the 1990s but the population didn't boom in the 1990s and housing developments of Athens reached near Afidnes. Forests covers part of the community. The population is urban and rural. Businesses and factories are within the superhighway including the tire company Vega SPA.

The Afidnes Toll Booth/Toll Station is located southeast of the town and was first opened in the 1950s/1960s as the toll gate outside the Athens area. The three-lane superhighway began construction in the early 1990s within the toll area and later expanded from about 15 to 30 lanes in total. The superhighway extended after 1995 outside Afidnes and interchanges were partially renovated. Several protests occurred within the tolls. Several Supermoto events occurred in Afidna including the 1st, 3rd and the 6th Supermoto Super Cups in 2001. The 2004 Blizzard of Greece or the Greek blizzard plundered all of the area and outside Afidna and stranded tens of cars in the toll booth and had to wait in the cold for a few days. Roads were closed except for local roads. A few days later, snow plows cleaned the toll area to help reopen the road and the superhighway was reopened. The blizzard amounted to about nearly 1.5 to 2 m.

Afidnes - Settlements

• Drosopigi (pop: 58 (1991))

Afidnes - Other

Afidnes has a school, a lyceum, a gymnasium, banks, churches, a post office, a train station (Athens - Lamia - Larissa - Thessaloniki) and a few squares (plateies).

Afidnes - Historical population

Afidnes - Persons

• Callistratus of Aphidnae, an ancient Archon of Athens

See also:

• List of municipalities of Attica
• Aphidna species, including the Callicore and the Catagramma.

Categories: Cities and towns in Greece | Ancient Greek cities | Athens

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Afidnes", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki