The municipality of Piraeus and four other suburban municipalities form the regional unit of Piraeus , sometimes called the Greater Piraeus area, with a total population of , At the census, Piraeus had a population of , people, making it the fifth largest municipality in Greece and the second largest after the municipality of Athens within the Athens urban area.
Piraeus has a long recorded history , dating back to ancient Greece. The city was founded in the early 5th century BC, when plans to make it the new port of Athens were implemented: A prototype harbour was constructed, which resulted in concentrating in one location all the import and transit trade of Athens, along with the navy 's base.
During the classical period, the naval base in Piraeus had trireme shipsheds. However, it began growing once again in the 19th century, after Athens was made the capital of Greece. Today, Piraeus is a large city, bustling with activity, and an integral part of Athens. It is a huge marine and commercial-industrial centre, and home to Greece's largest harbour.
The port of Piraeus is the chief port in Greece, the 5th largest passenger port in Europe [ 6 ] and the 24th largest passenger port in the world serving about 4. With a throughput of 5. The University of Piraeus is one of the largest universities in Greece, and includes the country's second-oldest business school, as well as the oldest academic department dedicated to the study of finance. Piraeus has been inhabited since at least the 26th century BC. Although long connected to the mainland by a land bridge that is consistently above water, Piraeus in prehistoric times was an island connected to the mainland only by a low-lying stretch of land that was flooded by sea water most of the year.
Whenever the land bridge dried up, it was used as a salt field its ancient name, the Halipedon, means the 'salt field' , and its muddy soil made for a tricky passage. Over time, however, the area became increasingly silted, high, and dryโand flooding ceasedโso that, by early classical times , the land passage could be safely crossed at all times. Thus in ancient Greece , Piraeus assumed increased importance because of its three deep-water harbours: the main port of Cantharus and the two smaller ports, Zea and Munichia.
