Send Gift Baskets to Piraeus, Greece

Piraeus was inhabited for over 3,000 years. Piraeus means “city of the gods.” The modern-day site is where a steep hill and Kastellitou street intersect. In modern times, there’s a land bridge that connects Piraeus to the mainland and is regularly above water. But in prehistoric times, it was an island connected to the mainland by a low-lying stretch of land and could only be reached by seawater at certain periods. The land bridge between Europe and Asia was used as a salt field for many centuries before it dried up and became impassable. This led to an issue in which the saline soil created a very tricky passage. At first, the vast desert of sand was exhilarating. However, after time it became littered with rocks and boulders and would become difficult for anyone to cross. This enabled those who visited the region to do so only during certain times of the day due to inclement weather or in case of a definitive low tide. Piraeus was so important to ancient Greece that it came to be the main Greek harbor for deep-water ships. Three different harbors made up Piraeus and gradually became more important than Phaleron Harbor.

In 511 BC, the hill of Munichia in the city of Piraeus was fortified. It led to widespread strategic improvements and increased political power around this area until it became a focus. Thucydides describes in his book that Themistocles, who lived in the region during the time of ancient Greece and advised Athenians to take advantage of their prime seaport harbor’s strategic potential instead of using the land’s natural sandy bay, is believed to be a Greek historian. A duty of 2% was levied on goods passing through the port in Athens. These funds went to the city and helped to bolster economic recovery efforts. In 399 AD, for example, the city collected 1,800 talents in harbor dues despite the widespread economic disaster following their defeat in Greek War.

In 483 BC, a new silver vein was discovered in the Laurion mines, and the profit from mining that silver was utilized to fund the construction of 200 triremes; these ships were then transferred to Piraeus, built in its shipyard, and launched. The Athenian fleet played a crucial role in the battle of Salamis in 480 BC, which would lead to the navy location changing permanently to Piraeus. After the second Persian invasion of Greece, Themistocles fortified the three harbors of Piraeus and created the neosoikoi (ship houses); these strengthened into blocks of jetties which were finally finished in 471 BC. He also completed the Themistoclean Walls, transforming Piraeus into a great military and commercial hub. These fortifications were originally built by Pericles in the 5th century BC to protect the city of Athens. They were later further improved by Cimon in the 4th century BC. Piraeus was rebuilt according to the famous grid plan of architect Hippodamus of Miletus, known as the Hippodamian plan. As a result, Piraeus flourished, becoming a highly secure port with booming commercial activity and a city bustling with life.