Kineta
Encyclopedia
Kineta is a suburban town located 55 km W of Athens
, 14 km W of Megara
and 25 km E of Corinth. Kineta is the westernmost town in Attica
and is part of the municipality of Megara
. Kineta is located on an old highway (GR-8
) linking Athens and Corinth as well as the rest of the Peloponnese
while the superhighway GR-8
/E94 is to the north serving an interchange is located north of the centre of the community. The old interchange which was closed in the early-2000s was located to the northeast and was unsuitable for trucks. The prefecture of Corinthia
is bounded to the west and the Saronic Gulf
is situated to the south. Kakia Skala is located to the east and is a steep area filled with bushes, a few forests and mainly of rock type. The Geraneia
mountains cover the north and northwest.
In the mid to late-20th century, hotels began construction and began pop up making tourism the main industry in Kineta, agriculture was the main industry before the arrival of hotels. In 1992, the construction of an additional 4 lanes to the superhighway began until 1995 to near the old Kineta Interchange. Since 2004 after three years of construction, the 6-lane superhighway is entirely connected.
The lagoon does not exist anymore but Kineta still has (2010) more than its share of gnats. The Albanian word “kënetë” means “marsh” and seems to be the origin of town's name.
or Megara
.
Instead Kineta has a police station and 12 churches (1 church per 164 persons).
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...
, 14 km W of Megara
Megara
Megara is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King...
and 25 km E of Corinth. Kineta is the westernmost town in Attica
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
and is part of the municipality of Megara
Megara
Megara is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King...
. Kineta is located on an old highway (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...
) linking Athens and Corinth as well as the rest of the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
while the superhighway 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 is to the north serving an interchange is located north of the centre of the community. The old interchange which was closed in the early-2000s was located to the northeast and was unsuitable for trucks. The prefecture of Corinthia
Corinthia
Corinthia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.-Geography:...
is bounded to the west and the Saronic Gulf
Saronic Gulf
The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus.-Geography:The gulf includes the islands of; Aegina, Salamis, and Poros along with...
is situated to the south. Kakia Skala is located to the east and is a steep area filled with bushes, a few forests and mainly of rock type. The Geraneia
Geraneia
Mount Geraneia or Gerania , rarely Yerania is a mountain range that spans about 5 km from north to south and from east to west from 15 to 20 km. Mount Geraneia or Gerania , rarely Yerania is a mountain range that spans about 5 km from north to south (about 5 km N of Agioi Theodoroi to the Gulf of...
mountains cover the north and northwest.
Geography and Information
The urban area of Kineta is around the centre, along the Saronic and west of Kakia Skala which are large to the north. Farmlands are in the central part along with a few forests. Pine and other types of forests lie to the east, the north and the west with an embankment that is colored white. The rocks of Kakia Skala is to the east and to the north-east. The sparkling beaches that is Kineta's fame align with the coastline of Kineta and hotels including one that has about a few stories and is the tallest building in the community and restaurants are within the coastline. Hotel names include Kineta Beach.In the mid to late-20th century, hotels began construction and began pop up making tourism the main industry in Kineta, agriculture was the main industry before the arrival of hotels. In 1992, the construction of an additional 4 lanes to the superhighway began until 1995 to near the old Kineta Interchange. Since 2004 after three years of construction, the 6-lane superhighway is entirely connected.
Historical References
In 1833 it is referred as a small “Albanian village”. The name “Kineta” is said to be taken from a small lagoon or marsh on the beach, which produces such swarms of gnats in the autumn as to amount almost to a plague.The lagoon does not exist anymore but Kineta still has (2010) more than its share of gnats. The Albanian word “kënetë” means “marsh” and seems to be the origin of town's name.
“To the east of Crommyon, at the western extremity of the Scironian rocks, was a temple of Apollo Latous, which marked the boundaries of the Corinthia and Megaris in the time of Pausanias. This temple must have been near the modern village of Kineta, a little above which the road leads over the Scironian rocks to Megara.”
“His (PausaniasPausanias (geographer)Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
) Corinthiacs, therefore, open at the western extremity of the Scironides, near a temple of Apollo Latous. Here began a succession of narrow valleys at the foot of the mountains Oneia, extending twelve miles along the shore of the Saronic gulf, as far as the port Schoenous, or eastern extremity of the Isthmus properly so called. All this track appears to have been called Crommyonia. The only place mentioned in it by Pausanias is Crommyon; but we know from other authors, that there was likewise a town or fortress, named Sidus, between Crommyon and the Isthmus. It sufficiently appears, from Thucydides, Strabo, and Pausanias, that Crommyon itself was not far from the Scironides, which, as we have already seen, were the boundary of the Megaris. Near Kineta, a village not far from the western termination of the rocks, which is built like Megara with flat roofs, and is situated in a valley planted with olives, there are some vestiges which indicate that Crommyon occupied nearly the same site. Sidus appears to have been at Kassidhi, midway between Kineta and port Kalamaki, the ancient Schoenus”.
Other
Kineta does not have a high school so the children living there have to attend schools in Agioi TheodoroiAgioi Theodoroi
Agioi Theodoroi is a town and a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Loutraki-Agioi Theodoroi, of which it is a municipal unit. It is a suburb of Athens, located around 12 km east of Corinth and about 63 km W...
or Megara
Megara
Megara is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King...
.
Instead Kineta has a police station and 12 churches (1 church per 164 persons).
Historical population
| Year | Population | Change | Foreigners | Households | Families |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 187 | ||||
| 1971 | 163 | -24 | |||
| 1981 | 425 | 262 | |||
| 1991 | 1,878 | 1.453 | |||
| 2001 | 1,972 | 94 | 140 | 556 | 416 |