Editing Piraeus (section)

===Ottoman period===
{{Further|Ottoman Greece}}
When Piraeus was taken by the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1456, it became known as ''Aslan Liman'' ("Lion Harbour"), a translation of the existing Venetian name.

The Piraeus Lion itself was looted in 1687 by [[Francesco Morosini]] during his expedition against Athens (part of the [[Morean War]]) and was carried to the [[Venetian Arsenal]], where it still stands today. A copy of the lion statue is on display at the [[Archaeological Museum of Piraeus]].

Under Ottoman rule, especially before the beginning of the [[Greek War of Independence]], Piraeus was mostly deserted, except for the monastery of [[Saint Spyridon]] (1590) and a customs house, and it was only used occasionally as a commercial port. Although there were numerous land owners, Athenians did not live in the area.

[[File:Piraeus 1837.JPG|thumb|The customs office of the port of Piraeus in 1837. Watercolor by the Bavarian captain Ludwig Köllnberger.]]

There were at least two failed attempts to create a new town, the first in 1792 by bringing a population from [[Hydra, Saronic Islands|Hydra]] and the second during the Greek War of Independence in 1825 by the installation of people from [[Psara]], but it was not until 1829 that permanent habitation of the area was restarted. Piraeus at first developed into a small town with few dwellings, far from its glorious past as a prosperous city, with its population consisting largely of fishermen.