Sofokleous Street (, ''Odos Sofokleous'') is a street in the downtown part of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

capital. It is named after the ancient Greek tragedian

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

. The street runs from

Pireos Street Peiraios Street ( el, Οδός Πειραιώς, ''Odos Peiraios'', "Piraeus Street") is a main road in Athens, Greece linking the center of the city with the port of Piraeus. It is part of the system of national roads, as number 56 ( el, Εθν ...

and ends short from Stadiou Street at Pesmazoglou Street and Aristeidou Street. Until 2007 the

Athens Stock Exchange The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE or ATHEX; el, Χρηματιστήριο Αθηνών (Χ.Α.), ''Chrimatistírio Athinón'') is the stock exchange of Greece, based in the capital city of Athens. It was founded in 1876. There are currently five ...

was located in this street, near

Aiolou Street Aiolou Street (also Eolou Street; el, Οδός Αιóλου) is a street in downtown Athens, the Greek capital. It is named after Aeolus, the god of winds in Greek mythology. The street is one-way and originally ran entirely southbound but sin ...

on the north side. Further north lies

Kotzia Square Kotzia Square ( el, Πλατεία Κοτζιά) is a square in central Athens, Greece. The square retains several characteristics of 19th-century local neoclassical architecture, such as the City Hall of the Municipality of Athens and the Natio ...

. The street is approximately 600 m long. The nearest metro stations are Panepistimio and Omonia.

History

The

first opened in 30 Sept.1876 on the street's north side, and soon moved to the junction of Aiolou and Sofokleous streets. From 1885 until 1891 it was housed at a building owned by the brokerage firm "Hermes" at 11 Sofocleous Street. On December 19, 1934, the new building was inaugurated in a formal manner. During World War II the various "policing" measures were hindered by brokers in the "free" market engaged in buying pounds in the streets around the Sophocleous Street building. On September 21, 1999, the highest price was recorded when the index reached 6,484.38 units, operating as a landmark for smallholders, who in a few years lost more than one hundred billion euros. Modernistic eight storey-buildings were constructed in most parts of the street while neo-classical buildings still existed. Traffic lights and street lights were introduced. Traffic lights were also introduced at Pireos, Sokratous, Athinas and Aiolou streets. After the move of the Athens Exchange its former building was used as the venue for the 4th Athens Biennale 2013 "AGORA".

Important buildings

* The old hotel ''Pindaros'' on Sofokleous 24. * The central bank building of the

National Bank of Greece The National Bank of Greece (NBG; el, Εθνική Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος) is a global banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece. 85% of the company's pretax preprovision profits are derived ...

at the corner of Aeolos and Sofokleous. * The building of the Economics Department of the

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

at Sofokleous 1. * The

Stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usuall ...

of Athens (covered walkway) at Sofokleous 47 leading to the Theater Square. * The Pentecostal Free Apostolic Church at Sophocleous 52. many retail stores and restaurants.

Intersections

*Menandrou Street * Sokratous Street * Athinas Street *Strait and Filoppoimenous Street *

*Aristeidou and Pesmetzoglou Street

Notes

{{coord, 37.9811, N, 23.7268, E, source:wikidata, display=title Streets in Athens Transport in Athens