Piraeus, << py REE uhs >> (pop. 168,151), is a city in Greece. Piraeus is located near the southern end of Attica, a peninsula that extends from southeastern Greece into the Aegean Sea. The city lies just 5 miles (8 kilometers) southwest of Athens, the Greek capital.
Piraeus has harbors on the Saronic Gulf and is a leading Greek port. Much of the country’s imports, exports, and passenger traffic pass through the harbors. Products of Piraeus include alcoholic beverages, cement, chemicals, cloth, food products, and metal goods.
Piraeus was an important Greek port in ancient times. In the 400’s B.C., the Athenians built walls at its harbors and between Piraeus and Athens to protect Athens from invasions. About 450 B.C., the Greek architect Hippodamus created a city plan for Piraeus based on the regular arrangement of rectangular city blocks. The plan was one of the great achievements of the Age of Pericles. In 86 B.C., the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla destroyed the city’s harbors. Piraeus then became a small, unimportant village. In A.D. 1834, the Greek government restored the harbors, and Piraeus again grew in size and importance.
