<<< Back to UrbanRail.Net - Athens Metro

ATHENS METRO - Where do the station names come from?

by Panayiotis Constantinides

Line 1

KAT: It is an acronym, and means "Injury Rehabilitation Centre". It is a big hospital situated near the station.

Neratziotissa (under construction): An old church situated to the north of the station

Irini: It means "Peace". Difficult to say where the name came from; "Olympic Stadium" would be a more suitable name.

Agios Eleftherios: Named after the nearby church dedicated to St. Eleftherios

Agios Nikolaos: Named after the nearby church dedicated to St. Nicholas

Attiki: From Platia Attikis, i.e. Attiki Square. Attica is the official name for the greater Athens area.

Victoria: Victoria Square above is named after the Queen Victoria of England. Just like the London station of the same name.

Omonia: Named after Omonia Square. Omonia means concorde.

Thissio: Named after an ancient temple, dedicated to Thisseas

Line 2

Aghios Antonios (under construction): Named after the nearby church dedicated to St. Anthony Attiki,

Omonia: See Line 1

Larissa Station: It is the Main Line station for trains to Salonica. When the name was given to the station, Salonica was still under Turkish rule, and trains only went as far as Larissa, thence the station name.

Metaxourghio: It means "Silk Workshop". The actual workshop disappeared long ago, but the area is still named after it.

Panepistimio: Greek for "University"

Syntagma: In Greek, "syntagma" means "constitution". Its name comes from a protest which took place on 3-9-1843, when a group led by General Ioannis Makriyiannis sat in the Royal Palace, now the Parliament, and demanded from King Othonas to compose a constitution for Greece. They were successful, and the square in front of the Palace was named "Constitution Square".

Akropoli: Acropolis.

Sygrou-Fix: Sygrou Avenue is an avenue from Syntagma to Phaleron, dedicated to businessman Andreas Sygros. Fix is the name of an old brewing company, which has been closed for years. The brewery now stands in a derelict state in Sygrou Avenue. Part of it was demolished during construction of the Metro, but the remaining part is to be re-developed into an interchange station containing bus and metro stations, a multi-storey car park and shops.

Aghios Ioannis: Named after the nearby church dedicated to St. John

Line 3:

Evangelismos: Named after a hospital of the same name.

Megaro Moussikis: Greek for Music Hall. I cannot understand were the double s came from; music is not spelled with a double s in any language.

Panormou: Named after Panormou Avenue, which runs between Ambelokipi and Panormou stations.

Katehaki: Again named after an avenue, which runs from just west of Katehaki station to Vyronas, a suburb in south-east Athens.

Ethniki Amyna: Greek for National Defence. The Ministry of Defence, known as the Pentagon, is outside the station.

 

All other stations are named after the areas they serve.

 

<<< Back to UrbanRail.Net - Athens Metro