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19-457: Vouliagmeni sits on the southwestern foot of the Hymettus mountain range. It is bisected by a palm tree lined boulevard, Athinas Avenue, which arrives from Athens city centre as Vouliagmenis Avenue , then runs parallel to the seashore and continues southwards. The area east of the main road is the rocky slope of a foothill of Mount Hymettus , and the bulk of the town is built there, along with

38-409: A marina , a waterskiing school, junior and Olympic competition sailing boats and facilities, an open-air, heated swimming pool, two rocky beaches, members' indoor and outdoor lounges, a gym, and a restaurant. The pool hosts swimming , finswimming , synchronized swimming and water polo teams and the respective training schools for children. The women's and men's water polo teams are considered

57-551: A traditional force in European water polo and have won many Greek and several European Championships and Cups. The club often hosts LEN Euroleague and LEN Cup tournaments, its star players consistently being capped for the Greece men's national water polo team and Greece women's national water polo team . The club crest depicts a blue anchor set inside a white lifebuoy with eight crimson stripes; blue, white and crimson being

76-725: A year-round spa . Greek businessperson Chrysanthos Panas was raised in Vouliagmeni. Songwriter Bob Dylan stayed in Vouliagmeni in the summer of 1964 composing many of the ballads later recorded for Another Side of Bob Dylan . World champion tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas was raised in Vouliagmeni Hymettus Hymettus ( / h aɪ ˈ m ɛ t ə s / ), also Hymettos ( / h aɪ ˈ m ɛ t ɒ s / ; Greek : Υμηττός , romanized :  Ymittós pronounced [imiˈtos] ; Ancient Greek : Ὑμηττός [hymɛːt.tós] ),

95-561: Is a mountain range in the Athens area of Attica , East Central Greece. It is also colloquially known as Trellós (crazy) or Trellóvouno (crazy mountain); the latter originates from the French "très long" (very long) in awe of its winding length of 16 km, as used by French travelers during the occupation of Greece by the Ottomans . Hymettus was assigned the status of a protected area in

114-452: The 2004 Summer Olympics took place in this area. The small, rocky islet of Fleves lies off shore. Ruins of the Temple of Apollo Zoster have been excavated and can be viewed inside the public Astir Hotel beach. According to legend, when Leto was about to give birth to Apollo and Artemis , she fled writhing in pain to Delos . During her flight she discarded her girdle, which fell on

133-599: The EU 's Natura 2000 ecological network . The highest point of the mountain range is Evzonas (Εύζωνας) with an elevation of 1,026 m (3,366 ft). The 16 km (9.9 mi) length of Hymettus stretches from Athens to the Saronic Gulf . It is 6 to 7 km from east to west. In ancient times, the highest point was known as Megas Hymettos and the southern peaks as Elasson (Ἐλάσσων "lesser, smaller") and Anydros Hymettos (Ἄνυδρος Ὑμηττός, "waterless Hymettos"). Today

152-616: The Saltfields of Aixōnē (modern day Glyfada ). The deme's citizens were called Ἁλαεῖς, Halaeīs . The Nautical Club of Vouliagmeni , or "NOV" ( Greek : Ναυτικός Όμιλος Βουλιαγμένης, "NOB") was founded by local sportsmen in 1937 and is located on the eastern edge of the Mikro Kavouri, adjacent to the Astir Palace Hotel and overlooking the bay, town and lake. The club admits members and their guests and operates

171-617: The 8th-7th centuries BC; they are on the site of a military base and not currently accessible. There is also an ancient quarryman's hut on the western slopes of the mountain, one of two buildings in ancient Attica which preserves its roof. There are several notable Byzantine monasteries on the mountain, including: Major campuses of the University of Athens and the National Technical University of Athens (collectively called "University Town") are located on

190-501: The Mikro Kavouri peninsula. When her son, the god Apollo , was born, he picked up the discarded girdle and girdled himself in honour of his mother, and was hence named "Zoster" (Girt). Other remnants of early human habitation found in Vouliagmeni include Neolithic and Bronze Age building foundations, and a 5th-century BC outpost. In classical times the area was the Athenian deme of Aixōnídes Halaí ( Greek : Αἰξωνίδες Ἁλαί ), i.e.

209-402: The club colors. Immediately to the south of town and very close to the sea, a rare geological formation is to be found that gave the suburb its modern name: Lake Vouliagmeni ("Sunken Lake"), a small brackish-water lake fed by underground currents seeping through the mass of Mount Hymettus . Because of its comfortable water temperature, ranging from 22 to 29 °Celsius, the lake functions as

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228-441: The east flank of the mountain, near Paiania. The smaller Liontari cave has its mouth at the north end of the mountain, west of Glyka Nera and is named after the lion of Hymettos which is said to have lived on the mountain in the past and to have terrified the inhabitants of the surrounding area. In antiquity there was a sanctuary to Zeus Ombrios ("Zeus rain bringer") on the summit with numerous offerings dating especially to

247-409: The local elementary school, post office, banks and town hall. The western half, located between Athinas Avenue and the sea, is covered with pine trees and consists of two peninsulas, Megalo and Mikro Kavouri ("Big Crab" and "Little Crab") that feature sandy and pebble beaches in between rocky shores, luxury hotels (including the Astir Palace Hotel occupying most of Mikro Kavouri), the local high school,

266-563: The other side. The Megalo Kavouri is land largely owned by the Church of Greece , which maintains an enclosed, protected pine forest and an orphanage. An air force camp is also located there. Dotted with lavish villas, the two Kavouri areas are among the most expensive pieces of housing real estate in Greece. The Vouliagmeni beaches are consistently awarded the coveted EU blue flags for environmental excellence. The triathlon competition for

285-474: The picturesque chapel of " St. George of the crab ", two marinas, an aquatic sports club (the "Nautical Club of Vouliagmeni" , see below), a sports club (soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis) and upscale restaurants, taverns and cafeterias on the waterfront. The Mikro Kavouri is connected to the mainland with a narrow, sandy isthmus commonly referred to as "Laimos" (λαιμός, i.e. the "Neck"), flanked by one public beach on one side and Astir Palace beach on

304-416: The southern peaks are called Mavrovouni (Μαυροβούνι, "black mountain") and Kontra (Κόντρα). It was noted for its thyme honey . Marble has been quarried since antiquity. The neighboring communities that surround the mountain are Athens (proper), Zografou , Kaisariani , Vyronas , Ilissia (a region of Zografou), Ymittos , Ilioupoli , Argyroupoli , Elliniko , Glyfada , Voula and Vouliagmeni in

323-401: The towers. Almost all of Attica, Athens' eastern suburbs and the new airport can be seen from the mountain top along with the mountains of Parnitha to its northwest, Penteli to its north and Aigaleo to its west. The valley areas that create the lowest passes are to the south and one further south. The mountain range features about six to seven landfills in the western part and another in

342-406: The west, Varkiza , Vari , Markopoulo and Paiania to its east, and Papagou , Cholargos , Agia Paraskevi , Gerakas and Glyka Nera . Most of the forest is in the north, and much of the mountain is rocky, deforested, grassy and made out of limestone . The flanks of Hymettos are dotted with caves. The largest and most notable is Koutouki cave  [ el ] , which has its entrance on

361-495: The west-facing slope, between the A62 motorway , a ring road connected with the A6 , and the urban sprawl of Athens. A transmitter park for several major TV and radio stations, along with military radar is located at the top of the mountain. Built up urban areas almost surround the entire mountain range. Access to the top of the mountain is restricted to authorized vehicles for maintenance of

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