Aiolou Street

It is named after Aeolus, the god of winds in Greek mythology.

By order of the father of the underage King Otto, Ludwig I of Bavaria, Cleanthis and Schaubert designed the city following the design of other major European capitals, with the primary goal to attract new residents and commerce to Athens which at the time didn't have more than 4,000 inhabitants.

Neoclassical buildings were built then as well and are still present today in the southern and the central part of the street.

After World War II and the Greek Civil War, modern eight to ten storey buildings were built in the northern part and traffic lights were installed on Adrianou, Ermou, Evrypidou, Sofokleous, Stadiou and Panepistimiou/28 Oktovriou (Patission) intersections.

The blocks around the intersection with Stadiou Street are traditionally called the Hafteia, so named after a popular 19th-century kafeneíon owned by a certain Mr. Haftis; the Hafteia were the very heart of downtown Athens market for the 19th and the better part of the 20th century.