Everything about Laurium totally explained
» Laurion redirects here. For the
moth genus, see
Laurion (moth).
Laurium,
Laurion, or
Laureion (Λαύριον or Λαύρειον,
Thoricum before early
1000s BC,
Ergastiri 'workshop' from medieval times to 19th century) is a town in southeastern part of
Attica,
Greece and is one of the southernmost and the seat of the municipality of
Lavreotiki, famous in
Classical antiquity for the
silver mines which were one of the chief sources of revenue of the
Athenian state, and were employed for coinage; and notorious for the treatment of the slaves who mined it. In modern times, the town is also known as
Lavrio or
Lavrion. It is a
sea port of much less importance than nearby
Piraeus.
It is located about 60 km SE of Athens, SE of
Keratea and N of
Cape Sounio.
Laurium is situated on a bay overlooking the island of
Makronisos (ancient times: Helena) in the east. The port is in the middle and gridded streets cover the residential area of Lavrio.
GR-91 runs through Lavrio and ends south in
Sounio.
Communities
Historical population
| Year |
Communal population |
Change |
Municipal population |
| 1907 |
10,007 |
- |
- |
| 1981 |
10,124 |
- |
- |
| 1991 |
8,846 |
-1,278/-12.623% |
10,293 |
| 2001 |
9,891 |
+1,045/+10% |
--> |
(
plateia).
History
After the
battle of Marathon,
Themistocles persuaded the Athenians to devote the revenue derived from the mines to shipbuilding, and thus laid the foundation of the Athenian naval power, and made possible the victory of
Salamis. The mines, which were the property of the state, were usually farmed out for a certain fixed sum and a percentage on the working;
slave labour was exclusively employed. Towards the end of the
5th century the output was diminished, partly owing to the
Spartan occupation of
Decelea. But the mines continued to be worked, though
Strabo records that in his time the tailings were being worked over, and
Pausanias speaks of the mines as a thing of the past. The ancient workings, consisting of shafts and galleries for excavating the ore, and pans and other arrangements for extracting the metal, may still be seen.
The mines were still worked in the early
20th century by
French and Greek companies, but mainly for
lead,
manganese and
cadmium.
The population of the modern town was 10,007 in
1907.
It is now connected by the new
Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport and
Attiki Odos. The nearest cities are
Sounion, and
Keratea.
It used to have a nearby train station but the line was abandoned in the mid-
20th century.
The mining town of
Laurium, Michigan was named after the famous Greek Laurium.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Laurium'.
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