[...] The Eridanos, a small Athenian stream, has had the good fortune, and now the ill fortune, to lie at the heart of the development of the city. Rising on Lykabettos hill, it flows both underground and above ground, crossing the historical center of the city -the "asty" of the 5th c. BC- and passing the political centers of modern and ancient Athens -the Greek Parliament and the Ancient Agora- before joining another lost river, the Ilisos. The Eridanos is an irreplaceable feature of the Attic landscape, interwoven with changes in the urban design of the city, and rich in memories and symbolism; it is a cultural monument in the fullest sense of the term, since it has for centuries marched hand in hand with the life of the city and has followed its cultural progress. [...] Evangelos Venizelos, Minister of Culture