Stamata
Encyclopedia
Stamata is a community of the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 prefecture of East Attica
East Attica
East Attica is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The capital of the regional unit is the town of Pallini. The regional unit covers the eastern part of the agglomeration of Athens, and also the rural area to its east....

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Dionysos
Dionysos, Greece
Dionysos is a residential suburb and a municipality in northeastern Attica, Greece — just about 23 km northeast of Athens. The seat of the municipality is the town Agios Stefanos. Dionysos is almost purely residential, but there are a few shops....

, of which it is a municipal unit.

Stamata is a rather exclusive suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

, situated in the mountainous northeastern part of the Athenian plain, between the Parnitha
Parnitha
Mount Parnitha is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m and a summit known as Karavola...

 and Penteli
Penteli
Pentéli or Pendeli, , and Vrilissos or Vrilittos , Mendeli in medieval times) is a tall mountain and mountain range situated northeast of Athens and southwest of Marathon. Its elevation is 1,109 m...

 mountains, about 23 km northeast of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

. Till the last decades, only the main village was inhabited, while the rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 area was cultivated by the inhabitants of the village. Nowadays, there are also residences in the settlement of Amygdaleza (Αμυγδαλέζα) and the residential associations of Euxeinos Pontos (Εύξεινος Πόντος) and Prokonisos (Προκόνησος). Stamata could be designated rather as a rural than a suburban area, but luxury houses and villas are continuously being developed in the last years, mainly in the aforementioned residential associations, turning Stamata into an upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...

 suburb.

Land use

A beautiful pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 covers the largest part of Stamata, where any kind of development
Real estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...

 is strictly prohibited by law, although it is an open secret
Open secret
An open secret is a concept or idea that is "officially" secret or restricted in knowledge, but is actually widely known; or refers to something which is widely known to be true, but which none of the people most intimately concerned are willing to categorically acknowledge in public.Examples of...

 that there are various cases of trespass
Trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...

ing and environmental devastation. The residential areas cover only a small part, while in the remaining rural areas, there are sheepcotes, farmlands and vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s.

Legend

Stamata is believed to lie along the route run by Pheidippides
Pheidippides
Pheidippides , hero of Ancient Greece, is the central figure in a story which was the inspiration for a modern sporting event, the marathon.-The story:...

 on his mythical journey to declare victory in the Battle of Marathon
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate...

, which gave its name to the marathon sporting event. According to the legend, Pheidippides was urged to stop while passing through the community, hence giving it its name.

Cuisine

Stamata is now famed for its taverna
Taverna
Taverna refers to a small restaurant serving Greek cuisine, not to be confused with "tavern". The Greek word is ταβέρνα and is originally derived from the Latin word taberna...

s serving grilled meat, popular among weekending Athenians, and the viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

.

Other

Stamata has a primary school, a few small churches and a few squares (plateies
Plateia
Plateia or platia is the Greek word for town square. Most Greek and Cypriot cities have several town squares which are a point of reference in travelling and guiding...

).
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