Kamatero ( ; officially Καματερόν) is a town and a suburb in the central-western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Agioi Anargyroi-Kamatero, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located about 8 kilometres north of the Athens city centre.
History
Antiquity
Although the oldest known archaeological finds in Kamatero date to the 4th century BC, the area west of Athens is known to have been inhabited since at least the Bronze Age. Specifically, a Mycenaean tholos tomb has been found in the neighbouring municipality of Acharnai. In classical times, the area of modern Kamatero was under the authority of the polis of Athens. According to Traill, the area of Kamatero was the location of the ancient deme of Eupyridae.
Possibly the oldest archaeological find in Kamatero is an ancient wall on the ridge of Mt. Aigaleos above the modern settlement. As described by McCredie, Thus, McCredie considers it likely that the Kamatero wall also dates to the 4th or 3rd century BC. However, it has been proposed that the name of the settlement derives from the prominent Byzantine Kamateros family. Proponents of this theory fail to identify a specific member of the family after whom the settlement would have been named; for instance, according to Sarris, the placename is derived "from a Byzantine family name by some Kamateros". He notes that similar place names exist in Rhodes (Kamateri) and Salamis (Kamatero), noting especially of the latter that it is a location known for its infertile ground.
From the Greek War of Independence and through the 19th century
The first known reference to the settlement, using the name Kamatero, is from the Memoirs of General Makrygiannis, written in the 19th century. The settlement is mentioned in connection to the Battle of Kamatero, which took place in 1827, at which time a village by that name was already extant in the area. The battle itself was part of the Greek War of Independence, and ended in a Turkish victory, largely due to a poor choice of terrain by one of the Greek commanders, Vasos Mavrovouniotis. It was also the only engagement in the war of Colonel Denis Bourbaki, who was beheaded by the Turks after the engagement. The outcome of the battle had considerable impact on the course of the siege of the Acropolis then ongoing by the Turks.
After Greek independence, and during the reign of King Otto, Kamatero is first mentioned in a royal decree of 1836, proclaiming it a part of the municipality of Chastia. In 1840, by a new royal decree, it was made part of the municipality of Fyli. as a settlement of 29 households and 123 people, producing grain and wine.
Kamatero exhibited a steady growth of population during this period. It is mentioned as being inhabited by 103 people in 1846. As already noted, it is described in 1853 as having a population of 123. This trend continued throughout the rest of the century: the population rose to 246 by 1889 and 264 by 1896. The above description makes it clear that Kamatero at that time was still a small agricultural settlement.
Major population influx only started in the 1950s, resulting in wide-scale urbanisation. By now, urban development has replaced most of the farmlands and forests, and about two-thirds of the settlement are residential areas. According to the Association for the Development of West Athens, in 1981 only an estimated 2.8% of the economically active population was employed in the primary sector of industry. More recent figures are unavailable, but probably lower.
More recently, Athens was struck by a major earthquake on September 7, 1999. Kamatero was very close to the epicentre, and several houses were heavily damaged. There were no casualties, but the homeless were in the hundreds range.
Geography
The municipal unit has an area of 5.950 km<sup>2</sup>. The western part of the municipal unit is dominated by Poikilo mountain. This forms part of the Aigaleo mountain range, which extends southwest to the Saronic Gulf. The remaining part of the municipality is characterised by a rolling, hilly landscape. Up to the mid-20th century, the area was made up of farmlands and some forests dominated its northern part.
After that point, urban development replaced much of the farmlands. Today, about two-thirds of the land are residential areas. Empty space today can be found mostly in the western part, on Poikilo mountain. This is a rocky mountain, consisting mostly of limestone, dotted with the occasional pine. There are also some last patches of forest to be found there, especially at the feet of the mountain.
The Antonis Tritsis Metropolitan Park lies to the southeast of the municipality. The park is considered to be "one of the last wildlife reserves in the Athens urban environment", and it covers "more than 100,000 m2". It consists of water courses, evergreen and coniferous trees, reed beds and farmland, and attracts "many species of birds and animal throughout the year."
Demographics
The area is mainly made up of urban areas, as residential areas account for about two-thirds of the municipality. Kamatero is not divided into administrative districts, however there are some traditional neighbourhoods: the Centre, Attalos, Aghios Trifonas and Gerovouno. Construction regulations vary throughout the municipality, but most houses are up to two floors.
The influx of population from the 1950s onwards mostly consisted of low-income individuals. || 28,361
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