Psyttaleia
| Native name: Ψυττάλεια | |
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Aerial view
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 Psyttaleia
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| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 37°56′24″N 23°35′17″E / 37.94°N 23.588°ECoordinates: 37°56′24″N 23°35′17″E / 37.94°N 23.588°E |
| Archipelago | Saronic Islands |
| Area | 0.375 km2 (0.145 sq mi) |
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Greece
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| Region | Attica |
| Regional unit | Piraeus |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 (2001) |
Psyttaleia (Greek: Ψυττάλεια) is an uninhabited island in the Saronic Gulf between the harbor of Piraeus and the Kynosoura peninsula on Salamis Island, Greece. It covers an area of 0.375 square kilometers. The island currently houses the largest sewage treatment plant in Europe, with a projected daily maximum drying capacity of 750 tons of sewage. Administratively it is part of the Municipality of Piraeus.
In 480 BC, before the naval battle of Salamis, the Persians installed in the island a garrison of soldiers and noblemen. After the Greek victory, the Persian fleet retreated towards Phaliron and the guard was abandoned. Aristides, the Athenian strategos (general), landed on the island and executed all the Persians. From the Middle Ages until recently the island was called Lipsokoutali (Λειψοκουτάλι - lit. half-spoon) because it resembled a half-spoon when seen from the Aegaleo mountain. Ancient Psyttaleia has long been identified with modern Lipsokoutali, though some scholars proposed Agios Georgios instead; the consensus remains with Lipsokoutali.
In modern history, the island was briefly transformed into a naval prison, in accordance with the French model of the time, as well as place of exile for political dissidents.
Since the 1990s, the Saronic Gulf was starting to become polluted by industrial and residential sewage from Athens and Piraeus. In order to protect the ecosystem and due to considerations for negative implications on tourism, a sewage treatment plant was installed on the island which started operation on November 1994. This included the primary treatment, which prevents the waste from entering the sea, but did not provide a permanent solution for the resulting sludge. Temporary solutions of exporting the sludge and of neutralizing it through oxidization proved insufficient over the years.
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Wikipedia