Profitis Elias

What I can see

The hill of Profitis Elias is 90m high and is the only hill of Piraeus that has not been built entirely. The view is very nice from the top. To the west, one can see Piraeus and Salamis, to the north Athens, to the east the entire beach front of Athens and to the south the Piraiki peninsula, the Saronic Gulf and Aegina Island.

What I can't see

The hill has many names. Many call it Kastella hill, meaning its eastern side. Others call it Profitis Elias, from the homonymous church, meaning its western side, while others call it Dexamenis hill, because of the water supply tank in the area. The official name, however, is based on the ancient Greek “Munichia”. Piraeus was inhabited by many communities of Greeks from different regions, such as Mani, Hydra, Karpathos, Santorini and many more. The first Cretan refugees of the Cretan Revolution, when Crete was still under Ottoman occupation, stayed around the top of the hill and created the settlement of Kritika. At the beginning of the Greek civil war, the hill and its artillery were controlled by ELAS rebels, but the army, with the assistance of British troops, occupied it and the British continued towards Athens with their active involvement in the Greek civil war. During the Greek Revolution, Greek warriors were fortified here to protect themselves from Ottoman troops. In ancient times, the thirty tyrants of Athens were completely defeated here and democracy was restored.

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