Irakleio is a suburb in the northern part 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...

, Greece

Greece

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

, and a municipality of the Attica region. Irakleio is divided into three parts, Palaio Irakleio, Neo Irakleio and Ano Irakleio. The name dates back to ancient times. The name during the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 until the Greek War of Independence

Greek War of Independence

The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

 was known as Arakli. Irakleio is linked by an ISAP

ISAP

I.S.A.P. is the acronym for the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways , the oldest urban rapid transit system of Athens metropolitan area in Greece. It is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world, after the Metropolitan Railway, of 1863, now a part of the London Underground...

 green line of the outdoor subway station. Irakleio is accessed north with two exits with the Attiki Odos

Attiki Odos

Attiki Odos is a privately owned toll motorway in Greece. The Proastiakos high-speed suburban rail is set almost entirely in the median of the motorway, along its main section. The motorway's numbers are 6 for the main section, 64 for the Hymettus Beltway and 65 for the Aigaleo Beltway...

 (number 6)/E94 which is also accessed with GR-1

Greek National Road 1

The Greek Motorway 1 is a motorway, partly under construction, and the 2nd longest in Greece. It is the principal north-south road connection in Greece, connecting the country's capital Athens with the regions of Thessaly and Macedonia, as well as the country's second largest city,...

/E75

European route E75

European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.The E 75 starts from Vardø, Norway in the Barents Sea and runs south through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Republic of Macedonia to Sitia, Greece on...

 (Athens - Lamia - Thessaloniki) and GR-8

Greek National Road 8

The National Road 8 in Greece is a single carriageway with at-grade intersections in the Attica and Peloponnese regions. It links the cities of Patras, Corinth and Athens. Until the 1960s when the National Road 8A, a toll road, replaced it as a major route, it was the only road linking Athens and...

/E94. It is located about SE of GR-1 and Kifissou Avenue, SW of Marathon

Marathon, Greece

Marathon is a town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. The tumulus or burial mound for the 192 Athenian dead that was erected near the battlefield remains a feature of the coastal plain...

, W of Kifissias Avenue, and about 14 km N 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...

 via GR-1 and about 3 km S and north of the Attiki Odos (number 6).

There are several main roads in town including one linking Pefki and Kifissia. The main street which accesses to the Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium

The Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the big centrepiece stadium of the Summer Olympic Games. Traditionally, the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field competitions are held in the Olympic Stadium. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words Olympic...

 is to the east and Veikou Avenue is also to its east. Business include Kafemporiki Catering SA.

History

Farmlands used to dominate much of the landscape, including groves. During the early to mid 20th century, urban development and industrial buildings replaced much of the farmland. The industrial area are around the northern and the northeastern part of Metafmorfosi. Today, most of the land is residential. 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...

 can be seen, as can the 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 to the northeast. The higher parts of the Aegaleo and Hymettus

Hymettus

Hymettus, also Hymettos is a mountain range in the Athens area, East Central Greece. It is also colloquially known as Trellos or Trellovouno , a name of uncertain origin...

 mountains can be seen.

Irakleio has schools, a few lyceums, gymnasia, banks, a train station, a sports centre, cinemas, post offices and 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...

). An old stone quarry mine is situated in the area of Ano Heraklio.

• Epikinonia FM, Neo Irakleio's radio station. It is owned by this municipality. - 94.0 FM - http://www.94fm.gr

There are two football teams that compete on local leagues, Hrakleio F.C. which participates in the A Division of the local league and Ermhs Eirhnh in the C Division respectively. Both teams use as their home ground the Prasinou Lofou stadium over Attiki odos.

The earthquake of September 7, 1999

September 1999

September 1999 was the ninth month of that year. It began on a Wednesday and ended after 30 days on a ThursdayThe following events also occurred during the month:...

affected the area but caused minor damages.

Historical population

Year	Population
1981	37,833
1991	42,905
2001	45,926