Lavrion

Lavrion, also spelled Lavrio, sits on a sheltered bay on the southeastern coast of Attica, about 60 kilometres from Athens and just a few kilometres north of Cape Sounion. The 2021 census counted 7,525 residents, and the town serves as the seat of the wider Lavreotiki municipality. Its natural harbour and position overlooking the islet of Makronisos have made it a working port for most of its recorded history.

That history is inseparable from silver. Mining activity in the surrounding hills goes back to around 3200 BC, but exploitation became systematic from the 6th century BC under the Athenian ruler Peisistratus. When a major new vein was struck around 483 BC, the statesman Themistocles persuaded Athens to put the proceeds into expanding its navy to 200 triremes rather than distributing the windfall to citizens — a fleet that went on to help defeat the Persians at Salamis. Laurion silver later helped fund building projects in Athens, including work on the Acropolis; the town's Mineralogical Museum today documents this long mining record.

Modern Lavrion has turned its old industrial waterfront into a working leisure port, with the Olympic Marine facility and regular ferry services to nearby Cycladic islands such as Kea and Kythnos. Its position just south of Athens and its marina infrastructure explain why many gulet cruises from Athens call in here en route to the islands.