Port of Piraeus Zea and Munichia. In 493 BC, Themistocles initiated the fortifications of Piraeus and later advised the Athenians to take advantage of its natural harbours' strategic potential. In 483 BC, the Athenian fleet left the older harbour of Phaleron and it was transferred to Piraeus, distinguishing itself at the battle of Salamis between the Greek city-states and the Persians in 480 BC. In the following years Themistocles initiated the construction of the port and created the ship sheds ("neosoikoi"), while the Themistoclean Walls were completed in 471 BC, turning Piraeus into a great military and commercial harbour, which served as the
Port of Piraeus automobile terminal handled 430,000 automobiles, 100,000 for the local market and 330,000 transhipments. The Port of Piraeus is the largest passenger port in Europe and one of the largest passenger ports in the world. It has a total quay length of 2.8 km and draft of up to 11 m. Vehicle traffic reaches 2.5m while in 2017, passenger traffic reached 15.5m. A plethora of destinations in Greece can be reached by ferry from the harbour, including islands in the Saronic Gulf, the Cyclades, Crete, islands on the Northern Aegean Sea as well as Rhodes, amongst others. A full list can