After our series of articles on the secret and unknown attractions of Athens and its suburbs, we wanted to expand our search to Piraeus. Piraeus, the port of ancient Athens, possesses a distinctive identity, remarkable history, and numerous familiar and hidden attractions awaiting discovery. Yet, many ancient monuments suffered damage or neglect, while neoclassical buildings disappeared and landmarks vanished during reckless modernisation and development. In this article we present 7 important Piraeus sights in chronological order, each revealing a story behind places most residents have encountered.
SIRAGGIO
Siraggio is a natural cave on the southern coast of Kastella, beside Votsalakia Beach, formerly called “Paraskevas Beach” after a nearby tavern owner. The cave therefore became known as the “Cave of Paraskevas”, although older references also call it the “Cave of Lalaounis”. Ancient sources associate its name with the hero Siraggos, who supposedly established a sanctuary here in antiquity. Some theories suggest that prehistoric Minyes from Orchomenos in Boeotia were the cave’s earliest users, although evidence remains limited and uncertain. The oldest discovery inside the cave is a porinus altar dedicated to Apollo, highlighting its early religious importance. During the fourth century BC, the site underwent transformation and became a public bath serving the local community.
The underground structure extends about 12 metres into the rock, containing two large chambers and tunnels designed for bathing activities. Benches, alcoves, a tank, and a drainage channel were carefully carved into the rock to serve the bath’s needs. Archaeological research following the cave’s discovery in 1897 uncovered two significant mosaics decorating separate sections of the original floor. The first depicts either the hero Siraggos or Glafkos riding a chariot drawn by four horses, while the second depicts Scylla. During the Roman period, the cave underwent further alterations before becoming a tavern during the 1920s, serving local visitors. In the 1960s, until 1968, it became the popular Spilia restaurant, attracting many famous singers who performed there. Today, unfortunately, the cave remains closed to visitors, while visible signs of abandonment surround the neglected site (Votsalakia beach, Kastella)
ZEA SHIPSHEDS
The shipsheds (neosoikoi) were seaside buildings built to lift, store, and protect Ancient Athens’ ships when inactive between voyages. These large enclosed sheds featured gabled roofs and wooden floors, which crews greased to facilitate launching ships into the sea. The ships could slide smoothly along these timbers, allowing crews to move them efficiently between land and water whenever necessary. Each building normally accommodated two ships, positioned with their bows facing towards the sea for convenient launching and retrieval operations. According to ancient sources, Zea contained 196 shipsheds, making it the largest and most important naval station for Athens.
Ancient Zea became walled and developed into a major naval base during the early fifth century BC for Athens. Besides shipsheds, the naval station contained numerous auxiliary buildings, including barracks, warehouses, workshops, and facilities supporting crews’ daily needs. These additional facilities provided essential spaces for storing equipment, maintaining vessels, housing sailors, and supplying the crews stationed there.
Today, visitors can see ancient shipsheds preserved beneath a post-war apartment building on Akti Moutsopoulou, where Siraggeiou Street meets it. The archaeological remains continue beneath the courtyard of the nearby school, revealing part of Ancient Athens’ important naval infrastructure. Each shipshed had a roof and featured a sloping corridor approximately 44 metres long, extending directly towards the ancient shoreline. These carefully designed structures allowed crews to move ships between their protected storage spaces and the sea efficiently. Unfortunately, visitors cannot enter the archaeological remains, although the structures remain clearly visible through the apartment building’s street-facing windows. (Akti Moutsopoulou, Pasalimani)
CITY GATES OF PIRAEUS
The construction of Athens’ fortifications began with Piraeus’ harbour walls and continued with the Long Walls connecting Piraeus and Athens. This monumental project represented one of the most significant defensive and construction achievements of Ancient Athens during antiquity. Following defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC, the Athenians had to demolish the fortifications under Spartan orders. Konon restored much of the defensive system in 394 BC, rebuilding sections of the walls around Piraeus and strengthening the city’s protection. Several surviving sections visible today in Piraeus date from this period and formed part of the Kononian Walls. Various gates punctuated the harbour fortifications, although the western City Gate, or Pyli tou Asteos, became particularly important. The main carriage road connecting Athens and Piraeus passed through this gate, making it an important entrance between the two cities.
Today, the City Gate site lies between Pylis, Euripidou, Distomou, and 34th Syntagmatos Pezikou streets. The Median Gate (Dia Mesou Pyli) stood about one hundred metres from the City Gate. Together, they formed the City Gates of Piraeus (Astikes Pyles of Piraeus). Parts of the gates remained visible until the early twentieth century. During Aristidis Skylitsis’s mayorship, workers bulldozed much of the archaeological site. They cleared the area to build warehouses, high-rise buildings, and roads. Only a few sections of the ancient walls and gates survived. These include the stepped fortifications and circular towers. Archaeologists began excavations in 1996 to uncover the ancient gates and create an archaeological park. However, authorities have not yet completed the park. (34th Syntagmatos Pezikou & Pylis, Piraeus)
ARSENAL OF PHILON
The current image of Philon’s Arsenal (Skevothiki tou Philonos) does not do justice to the grandeur of this important structure. The Arsenal ranked among the most magnificent buildings in ancient Piraeus, constructed between 346 and 328 BC for naval purposes. The Epigraphic Museum of Athens preserves an inscribed stele describing construction conditions and naming architects Philon of Eleusis and Euthydomos. The inscription precisely records essential architectural elements, enabling modern scholars to reconstruct the Arsenal’s design with considerable accuracy and confidence. The Arsenal functioned as a warehouse storing materials and equipment required for the preparation and maintenance of Athenian warships. It reportedly stored enough military equipment for 150 ships, while its overall capacity served the logistical needs of 400 ships.
According to the most likely version, the Arsenal was 405 metres long, 55 metres wide, and 30 metres high. Lighting was provided by 36 windows on each side, and there were 2 large bronze doors at either end of the building. The Arsenal was completely destroyed in 86 BC by the Roman general Sulla. The ancient parts that we see today on the ground floor of the apartment building on Ypsilantou Street at number 170 (they are also visible from Kountouriotou Street) were uncovered during the excavation for the construction of the building (1988–89) and formed its northern entrance, with the double door and the beginnings of the colonnades of the central corridor.
Unfortunately, the space, although it has been arranged and marked by the Ministry of Culture, is not open to the public and you can only see it through the ironwork or the glass at the entrance of the apartment building. (Ypsilantou 170, Pasalimani)
PATSIADIS MANSION (ZILLER DISTRICT)
The great architect Ernest Ziller, apart from Athens, in the early 1870s was also active in the area of Piraeus, specifically in the area of Zea. He bought a plot of land on the site of today’s Alexandras Square, on which he built not only his own residence (on the site of the current church of Agia Aikaterini), but also a series of country houses which he rented to wealthy citizens of Athens and Piraeus, and which he later sold. As a result, the area became known as Ziller District or Mansion District.This is the neighbourhood described by Penelope Delta in Trelandoni‘s book. According to her description, “in the first, the big house, sat the King, in the second a Russian woman, the Queen’s lady of honour; in the third, Antonis with his brothers… and in the others below various others…”.
Unfortunately, the only house that has survived from this unique district is the Patsiadis Mansion, which is located on the corner of Akti Kountouriotou and Alexandras Square. Of course, we must point out that it was not one of Ziller’s original residences, but was built by the architect two decades later. The building was the home of the flour manufacturer, Panagiotis Patsiadis, and consisted of two independent sections. The upper floor of the building hosted the Italian Consulate of Piraeus for several years, while the ground floor housed the famous Karandasis coffee shop. Today, the building has been classified as preserved but is not used and cannot be visited. (Akti Koundouriotou, Pasalimani)
CHAPEL OF AGIOS VIKENTIOS
The church of Agia Aikaterini in Alexandras Square in Pasalimani is one of the most popular churches in Piraeus, especially for weddings and baptisms. This popular church hides a strange history as well as a chapel that not all of its visitors know about. The church was built from 1936 to 1938 on the plot of the former Ziller house by the Italian Vicenzo (Vikentios) Caivano, who lived in Constantinople, in honour of his wife from Piraeus, Aikaterini Lebesi (who had died in 1934). It took a lot of persistence from Caivano as he first tried to get permission to build the church on the square and then (after failing) to buy the Ziller plot from the industrialist Spyrakis.
In the basement of the church, he built the Chapel of Agios Vikentios, in which there was a crypt where he placed a tin and lead coffin with the embalmed body of his wife. In the years that followed, every time Caivano returned to Piraeus, he locked himself in the crypt for hours in order to mourn his wife.
However, on the eve of the Greek-Italian war, the history of the chapel took an unexpected turn. British counterintelligence detected strange encrypted signals emanating from the area around the church. Based on this evidence, the Greek authorities raided the church and discovered in the crypt and specifically in the coffin, a technologically advanced radio transmitter. So, when Caivano returned from Constantinople, he was arrested and tried on the charge of espionage. Knowing this story, it is certain that the next time you are in the church you will look for both the icon (located to the left of the sanctuary) and the chapel of Agios Vikentios. (Akti Kountouriotou & Volanaki, Pasalimani)
HELLAS LIBERTY
Although there are many visitors to the port of Piraeus, few have noticed the impressive ship Hellas Liberty, which is moored at Akti Vassiliadi. Even fewer are aware of the historical significance of this ship. The symbolic name “Liberty” was given to a class of cargo ships of around 10,000 tons, designed in the United Kingdom and mass-built in the United States during the Second World War to meet the ever-increasing needs of the Allied forces for the transport of goods and war supplies. More than 2,720 ships of this type were built in the USA over a period of four years, an extremely large number of ships that even today is difficult to achieve despite advanced technology. After the end of the war and for 25 years, these ships played a dominant role in the consolidation and development of Greek shipping as they were frequently used by Greek shipowners.
The Hellas Liberty is one of 3 remaining Liberty ships, which the US government donated to Greece in 2007. The ship was towed to Piraeus in January 2009, and restoration work was completed in July 2010. Today, the ship is a museum open to the public in which the visitor can learn information about an important part of the history of Greek shipping as well as watch a video on the history of the ship. (Akti Vassiliadi-Gate E2, Piraeus Port)
Discover 7 unique sights
As we mentioned at the beginning, Piraeus has an important history inextricably linked with the history of Athens and certainly, its monuments deserve a better fate. Even so, it is worth looking for and discovering these unique 7 sights of the city.
Piraeus is also an excellent destination for a short city break. In this case, a perfect accommodation solution is the Savoy Hotel Piraeus. The Savoy Hotel is in an excellent location in the centre of Piraeus and within walking distance of both the main port, Pasalimani and Freattyda. It has modern rooms and an excellent restaurant.
