Alimos () is a town on the

Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf ( Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of C ...

coast, a suburb of the Athens agglomeration, and a municipality in South Athens regional unit,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It was formed in 1968 comprising two settlements, the suburban seaside town of Kalamaki (), and the inland community of Trachones (). Alimos had 43,174 inhabitants in the 2021 census.

History

The first settlements uncovered by archeologists in Alimos date back to the

Neolithic period The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...

, and the excavation site can be found in the region of Euonymeia (Ano Kalamaki), immediately by the

Vouliagmenis Avenue Vouliagmenis Avenue () is one of the longest avenues in the Greater Athens area, stretching from central Athens to the seaside resort of Vouliagmeni. The total length is 21 km. The avenue begins at Athanasios Diakos Street and Michalako ...

. In classical antiquity, Halimous (; also Alimous, Ἀλιμοῦς) was a fishing town on the outskirts of the

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and constituted one of the

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or (, plural: ''demoi'', δήμοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, bu ...

s of

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

. The area of Ano Kalamaki, known as Euonymeia, constituted a distinct settlement, which in classical antiquity became the urban (''

asty Asty (; ) was the physical space of a city or town in Ancient Greece, especially as opposed to the political concept of a ''polis'', which encompassed the entire territory and citizen body of a city-state. In Classical Athens, the ''asty'' was ...

'') Deme of Euonymos. Testament to its development during this period are the ruins of the

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

of Euonymos, quite unusual in the ancient world in its rectangular design. The site can be found on Archaiou Theatrou Street in Ano Kalamaki (just a few blocks away from the Neolithic site). Thucydides pushkin01

The most significant historical affiliation of Alimos is that with

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

. Thucydides was born in Halimous, and is often referred to as "Thucydides the Halimousian" (Greek: Θουκυδίδης ο Αλιμούσιος). The bust of Thucydides is the emblem of Alimos, which is commonly used between schools in the area. Furthermore, the First High School of Alimos is called Thoukydideio (Greek: Θουκυδίδειο), after him. Kalamaki was part of the community of Brachami until 1927, when it became a separate community. The community Kalamaki was abolished in 1968, when the municipality Alimos was founded.

Culture

Education

Alimos has public and private schools of grades, apart from higher education, in several places throughout the city. The city has 12 public

kindergartens Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, 8 public

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, 6 public

Junior High Schools Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

(including a Music School ) and 5

High Schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

(including one Technical High School). Furthermore, there are several private schools, where tuition fees are needed.

Geography

Alimos is situated on the

coast, 8 km south of Athens city centre along the Athens coast. The municipality has an area of 5.909 km². The

Hellinikon Olympic Complex The Hellinikon Olympic Complex is a closed, partially demolished sports complex, situated at Elliniko, a suburban town in the southern part of the Athens urban agglomeration, approximately 16 kilometres from the Olympic Village. It was built on ...

, built on the grounds of the former

Ellinikon International Airport Ellinikon International Airport , sometimes spelled ''Hellinikon'', was an international airport that served Athens, Greece, for 63 years. Following its closure on 28 March 2001, it was replaced by the new Athens International Airport, Athens In ...

for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, lies south of Alimos. The built-up area of Alimos is continuous with those of the neighbouring suburbs Palaio Faliro,

Agios Dimitrios Agios Dimitrios (Greek: Άγιος Δημήτριος meaning Saint Dimitrios, before 1928: Μπραχάμι - ''Brahami'') is a town in Attica, Greece, and a suburb in the southern part of the Athens agglomeration. Geography Agios Dimitrios is ...

Ilioupoli Ilioupoli (, " Sun City") is a suburban municipality and a town in Central Athens regional unit and located in the central-southern part of the Athens agglomeration. Its name is the modern form of the ancient name of Heliopolis in Egypt ...

, Argyroupoli and Elliniko. Alimos has a large marina and several beaches. The main roads of Alimos are Poseidonos Avenue along the coast, Kalamakiou Avenue and Alimou Avenue. The nearest subway station is at Alimos metro station, in the eastern part of the municipality. The western, coastal part of the municipality is connected with downtown Athens by the

Tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

Climate

Alimos has a hot

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''BSh''), bordering on a hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

: ''Csa''). Alimos experiences hot, dry summers and mild, wetter winters.

Current Weather (2021-)

Weather records for 2021- in Alimos (as of 1 May 2025) are given below:

Sports

Alimos has two clubs with presence in panhellenic championships, the water polo club N.O. Kalamaki with presence in A1 Ethniki and the football club Trachones F.C. with presence in

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki (, C National Division) is the Greek football league system, third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional. Although no ...

. In Alimos is located the Byzantine Sport Center that is used by the two sport clubs come from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, A.O. Tataula and A.S. Pera. These clubs settled in Alimos in 1973 and have many honours in Greek Table Tennis Championship.

Commercial activity

The commercial activity in Kalamaki or Alimos is concentrated in the major avenues that cross the city regional (Amfitheas-Poseidonos-Alimou) and the streets that are inside the city links (Thukididou-Kalamakiou-Theomitoros-Ionias-Dodekanisou).

Historical population

Many people here are the descendants of refugees from Kalkan Turkey, arriving in the

Greek genocide The Greek genocide (), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christian Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia, which was carried out mainly during World War I and its aftermath (1914–1922) – including the T ...

International relations

Alimos is twinned with: *

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

References

External links

Ειδήσεις, εξελίξεις και νέα του Αλίμου , Άλιμος Live

City of Alimos official website

The Music School of Alimos
{{Authority control Municipalities of Attica Populated places in South Athens (regional unit)