Polydendri

Polydendri (Greek: Πολυδένδρι, English: "Many trees") is a town and community of the Greek prefecture of East Attica. It is located north of Athens. The town contains no more than 1,179 residents (2001 census) and it has many cultural unions, such as a youth union, a traditional dance union, an athletic club (the "Black Eagle of Polydendri" playing at the athletic center of Gourezi), a tracking club and a heavy metal society (called "the Obscure" and numbering 1.500 members from all around Greece). Furthermore, Polydendri is famous for its delicatessen kitchen as this is demonstrated by the several taverns located within the village. The community has a land area of 13.881 km² and also includes the villages of Taxiárches (pop. 101), Irakleideís (98), and Ágios Geórgios (60). Its total population was 1,438 at the 2001 census.

History

During ancient times, the entire north Attica area was called "Affidnes". During the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of the village were Scandinavian shepherds that reached the village at the end of the 9th century. There are many questions concerning the reasons that made those Vikings reach the north of Attica, but there are still remains of their civilization (a dozen buildings around the river, at the southeast of the village, have Viking architecture). During the years of the Ottoman Empire, a clan of Arvanites approached the north of Attica and after brief combat, they controlled the village, which had a very important strategic position for the defense of the city of Athens. Today's residents of Polydendri are mostly Greek-Arvanites.