Dictionary:
Ath·ens (ăth'ənz)  |
The capital and largest city of Greece, in the eastern part of the country near the Saronic Gulf. It was at the height of its cultural achievements and imperial power in the fifth century B.C. during the time of Pericles. Athens became the capital of modern Greece in 1834, two years after the country achieved its independence from Turkey. Population: 745,000.
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| Computer Desktop Encyclopedia: Athens |
A prototype of the next-generation PC. Unveiled by Microsoft and HP in the spring of 2003, an Athens device integrates a telephone handset, video camera and buttons on the keyboard for common functions. An Athens PC is quieter, smaller and sleeker than a typical PC, somewhat reminiscent of Apple's G4 Cube. It uses a large, landscape-style flat panel display and connects to a company's PBX. Athens may be released with Microsoft's Vista (Longhorn) OS. See Windows Vista.
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| Holocaust: Athens |
The Allies invaded Italy in September 1943; five days later the German army occupied Athens. SS officer Dieter Wisliceny soon arrived and set up a Judenrat. The Jews were made to register and much Jewish property was confiscated. The first transport of Greek Jews to Auschwitz left Athens on April 2, 1944. Another transport arrived at the camp on June 6.
Many well-known Greeks objected to the Germans' treatment of the Jews, including Archbishop Damaskinos. As a result, the church protected hundreds of children, the police gave out false identity papers, and citizens hid Jews and helped them escape. In general, the Greek tendency was to aid its Jewish population.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Athens |
For more information on Athens, visit Britannica.com.
| Classical Literature Companion: Athens |
Athens (Athenai, Lat. Athenae), the chief city of Attica, in Greece. In classical times the city stood about 5 km. (3 miles) from the sea at its nearest point, in the central plain of Attica, surrounded by mountains on all sides except the south. The citadel of Athens, the Acropolis, sometimes called simply polis, from being the original ‘city’, is a squareish rock rising steeply out of the plain. Immediately west of it is a second hill, the Areopagus, and to the south-west a third, the Pnyx. The Acropolis was continuously inhabited from Neolithic times (c. 5000 BC). In the Mycenaean period a palace was built on it, and it was fortified by a wall in the second half of the thirteenth century BC. (This was during the imagined lifetime of Athens' national hero Theseus; for other myths relating to this early period see ERECHTHEUS, ERECHTHONIUS, and CECROPS.) Archaeological evidence suggests that the city was occupied continuously during the Dark Age, and after 900 BC it was perhaps the most prosperous community in Greece.
In early times Athens, like other Greek states, was ruled by kings. Traditionally the last king was Codrus, who was succeeded by elected archons, and Athens became an aristocracy. Although the archonship was an elected office, the aristocrats, being rich and powerful, monopolized it. The attempt by Cylon to overthrow them and become tyrant (c.632) failed. Despite the legislation of Draco (621) their position was not weakened until the reforms of Solon in 594 BC. These however could not prevent tyranny at Athens, and the popular leader Peisistratus seized power in the mid-sixth century. The period of the Peisistratid tyrants, lasting until 510 BC, saw a considerable increase in the city's material prosperity and cultural standing. After the expulsion of Hippias, the reforms of Cleisthenes established a true democracy.
At the beginning of the fifth century BC Athens was a powerful state. But her intervention in the Ionian Revolt was unsuccessful and exposed her to the menace of Persia (see PERSIAN WARS). The Persian King Xerxes sacked the city in 490, but Athens emerged from the struggle with her fleet intact, her prestige increased, and her position as leader of all the Ionian Greeks acknowledged (see DELIAN LEAGUE). Under Pericles—in effect ruler of the city from 461 to 430—Athens reached its cultural and political zenith. The Parthenon and other celebrated buildings were constructed, Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles were among the writers who flourished, and political offices were open to all—citizens were paid for undertaking their political duties, so that even the poorest could afford to exercise their rights. However, rivalry with Sparta led to the Peloponnesian War (431–404), from which Athens emerged a dependant of Sparta, impoverished, her population severely depleted, all her overseas possessions lost, and her fleet reduced to twelve ships. Sparta imposed an oligarchy on the city, and for eight months in 404–403 Athens was ruled by the Thirty Tyrants. However, she soon regained her democracy and her freedom, and in 376 won back her supremacy at sea by a decisive naval victory over Sparta near Naxos.
The most prominent Athenian statesman of this period was Callistratus, whose general policy was based on harmony with Sparta and a balance of power between that city and Thebes, which was now aspiring to the leadership of Greece. Athens, having supported the Thebans until their victory over the Spartans at Leuctra in 371, was more influenced by jealousy of neighbouring Thebes than by the old rivalry with Sparta. In the ensuing struggle between these two, Athens was in alliance with Sparta in 369, and an Athenian contingent fought on the Spartan side at Mantinea in 362. By this time Macedon was rising in importance and threatening the Athenian position in the north Aegean. Athens had to choose between two policies: to attempt to recover the leadership of Greece, or to come to terms with Philip II of Macedonia, with some loss of independence. The ‘peace’ party included the statesman Eubulus, the orator Aeschinēs, the general Phocion, and the statesman Philocratēs (see also ISOCRATES); the ‘war’ party was led by the orators Demosthenes, Lycurgus, and Hypereides. The eloquence of Demosthenes prevailed, and a final battle between Athens and Thebes on the one side and Philip on the other was fought at Chaeronea in 338. Athens was defeated, and was obliged to accept Philip's moderate terms (the loss of the Hellespont) and join the Hellenic confederacy which he organized.
The death of Philip's son Alexander the Great in 323 appeared to give the Greeks an opportunity to recover their freedom, but in the so-called Lamian War (323–322) Athens with the other Greek states was defeated at Crannon by Antipater. Demosthenes took poison to avoid capture. The democrats were reinstated at Athens under the brief rule of Polyperchon (the immediate successor of Antipater as regent of Macedonia), but Cassander, Antipater's son, restored in the main his father's constitution and appointed as his governor at Athens in 317 the distinguished Athenian citizen Demetrius of Phalerum, a friend of the philosopher Aristotle. His ten years' governorship was a period of peace and prosperity for the city. Yet when Demetrius Poliorcētēs, son of Antigonus, captured the city from Cassander in 307 he was looked upon by the Athenians as a liberator, and was granted divine honours.
The fourth century shows the last phase of the intellectual and cultural preeminence of Athens. The character of her intellectual activity had become less creative and more analytical and critical. It was the age of Plato and Aristotle, the great orators, and New Comedy. Art became more realistic, less infused with the old religious ideas, no longer centred on the interests of the city state.
The third century BC saw the end of the political importance of Athens and after the defeat of the Achaean League by the Roman consul Mummius in 146 BC Greece became a Roman protectorate (not a province until the time of Augustus). Athens and Sparta did not have to pay taxes to Rome, however, and there was a revival of material prosperity. This prosperous period came to an end with the Mithridatic War of 89–85, when Athens, which had sided with Mithridates, was sacked and in part destroyed by the Roman general Sulla. Greece suffered severely, both from Sulla and from the barbarian allies of Mithridates, who sacked Delphi. Even greater ruin followed from the Roman civil wars of the first century BC, and endured until the emperor Augustus made Greece a Roman province in 27 BC.
In spite of her political decline Athens retained much of her intellectual prestige and remained pre-eminent for the study of philosophy. She was patronized in the second century BC by the Attalids of Pergamum, who adorned the city with colonnades and sculptures. It became fashionable for Romans to go to the philosophical schools of Athens as to a university. Atticus lived there for many years; Cicero and his son and Horace were among those who studied in the city. Horace, and in a later age Lucian, appreciated the peaceful charm of Athens compared with the turmoil of Rome. Athens enjoyed some revival of her former glories in the second century AD under the emperor Hadrian and the Antonines, and in the fourth century Julian the Apostate was a lover of the city. The end of her period of intellectual eminence came in AD 529, when the Christian emperor Justinian ordered the closing of her schools of philosophy.
| Archaeology Dictionary: Athens, Greece |
The modern capital of Greece, situated at the upper corner of a small coastal plain on the western side of the peninsula of Attica. The site has an exceptionally long, more or less continuous, history extending back into prehistoric times. Numerous excavations and surveys have been carried out in the city, the biggest programme of work in the late 20th century being that connected with the construction of a metro.
Traces of occupation in late Neolithic and Mycenaean times have been found, but it is from the 7th century bc onwards that the town develops into a major city-state and enters a period of alternating phases of success and failure that lasts down to Roman times. Amongst the first buildings to be set out in the new Hellenistic city were the agora and the monumental temples on the acropolis. At the same time Athenian black-figure ware of high artistic quality was developed and came to be widely traded in the Mediterranean world. Red-figure ware succeeded it from about 500 bc. The sack of Athens by the Persians in 480 bc provided a major setback with most of the major buildings and structures flattened. Outstanding buildings constructed in the 5th-century rebirth of Athens include the Parthenon, Athens, Greece and Erechtheum on the acropolis. After the defeat of Athens by Sparta in the Peloponnesian Wars (432–404 bc) building nearly ceased again, but from the early 4th century new private finances were found and the city again entered a period of prosperity. This tradition continued down the centuries: the east side of the agora was filled with a stoa financed by Attalos, king of Pergamum, in the 2nd century, while, for example, Ptolemy VI, the Roman emperor Hadrian, and others built libraries.
[Sum.: J. M. Hurwit, 1999, The Athenian Acropolis: history, mythology and archaeology from the Neolithic era to the present. Cambridge: CUP]
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Athens |
The main landmark of Athens is the acropolis (412 ft/126 m high), which dominates the city and on which stand the remains of the Parthenon, the propylaea, and the Erechtheum. Occupying the southern part of Athens, the Acropolis is ringed by the other chief landmarks of the ancient city-the Pnyx, where the citizens' assemblies were held; the Areopagus; the Theseum of Hephaesteum, a well-preserved Doric temple of the 5th cent. B.C.; the old Agora and the Roman forum; the temple of Zeus or Olympieum (begun under Pisistratus in the 6th cent. B.C. and completed in the 2d cent. A.D. under Hadrian, whose arch stands nearby); the theatre of Dionysius (the oldest in Greece); and the Odeum of Herodes Atticus.
There are many Roman remains in the "new" quarter, built east of the original city walls by Emperor Hadrian (1st cent. A.D.); there the modern royal palace and gardens also stand. The stadium is E of the Ilissus River. Parts of the ancient city walls are still visible, particularly at the Dipylon, the sacred gate on the road to Eleusis; however, the Long Walls connecting Athens and Piraiévs have almost entirely disappeared. The most noteworthy Byzantine structures are the churches of St. Theodora and of the Holy Apostles, both built in the 12th cent. Athens is the see of an archbishop who presides over the Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church. The city is the seat of the National and Capodistrian Univ. (1837), a polytechnic institute, an academy of sciences, several schools of archaeology, and many museums and libraries. A nuclear research center is nearby, at Aghia Paraskevi.
History
The cultural legacy of ancient Athens to the world is incalculable; to a great extent the references to the Greek heritage that abound in the culture of Western Europe are to Athenian civilization. Athens, named after its patron goddess Athena, was inhabited in the Bronze Age. Its citizens later proudly claimed that their ancestors had lived in the city even before the settlements of Attica were molded into a single state (according to legend, by Theseus).
Early History
According to tradition, Athens was governed until c.1000 B.C. by Ionian kings, who had gained suzerainty over all Attica. After the Ionian kings Athens was rigidly governed by its aristocrats through the archontate (see archons), until Solon began to enact liberal reforms in 594 B.C. Solon abolished serfdom, modified the harsh laws attributed to Draco (who had governed Athens c.621 B.C.), and altered the economy and constitution to give power to all the propertied classes, thus establishing a limited democracy. His economic reforms were largely retained when Athens came under (560-511 B.C.) the rule of the tyrant Pisistratus and his sons Hippias and Hipparchus. During this period the city's economy boomed and its culture flourished. Building on the system of Solon, Cleisthenes then established (c.506 B.C.) a democracy for the freemen of Athens, and the city remained a democracy during most of the years of its greatness.
A Great City-State
The Persian Wars (500-449 B.C.) made Athens the strongest Greek city-state. Much smaller and less powerful than Sparta at the start of the wars, Athens was more active and more effective in the fighting against Persia. The Athenian heroes Miltiades, Themistocles, and Cimon were largely responsible for building the city's strength. In 490 B.C. the Greek army defeated Persia at Marathon. A great Athenian fleet won a major victory over the Persians off the island of Salamis (480 B.C.). The powerful fleet also enabled Athens to gain hegemony in the Delian League, which was created in 478-477 B.C. through the confederation of many city-states; in succeeding years the league was transformed into an empire headed by Athens. The city arranged peace with Persia in 449 B.C. and with its chief rival, Sparta, in 445 B.C., but warfare with smaller Greek cities continued.
During the time of Pericles (443-429 B.C.) Athens reached the height of its cultural and imperial achievement; Socrates and the dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were active. The incomparable Parthenon was built, and sculpture and painting flourished. Athens became a center of intellectual life. However, the rivalry with Sparta had not ended, and in 431 B.C. the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens began.
The war went badly for Athens from the start. The Long Walls built to protect the city and its port of Piraiévs saved the city itself as long as the fleet was paramount, but the allies of Athens fell away and the land empire Pericles had tried to build already had crumbled before his death in 429 B.C. The war dragged on under the leadership of Cleon and continued even after the collapse of the expedition against Sicily, urged (415 B.C.) by Alcibiades. The Peloponnesian War finally ended in 404 B.C. with Athens completely humbled, its population cut in half, and its fleet reduced to a dozen ships.
Under the dictates of Sparta, Athens was compelled to tear down the Long Walls and to accept the government of an oligarchy called the Thirty Tyrants. However, the city recovered rapidly. In 403 B.C. the Thirty Tyrants were overthrown by Thrasybulus, and by 376 B.C. Athens again had a fleet, had rebuilt the Long Walls, had re-created the Delian League, and had won a naval victory over Sparta. Sparta also lost power as a result of its defeat (371 B.C.) by Thebes at Leuctra; and, although Athens did not again achieve hegemony over Greece, it did have a short period of great prosperity and comfort.
The Decline of Athens
The growth of Macedon's power under Philip II heralded the demise of Athens as a major power. Despite the pleas by Demosthenes to the citizens of Athens to stand up against Macedon, Athens was decisively defeated by Philip at Chaeronea in 338 B.C. The city did not dare dispute the mastery of Philip's son and successor, Alexander the Great. After his death Athens revolted (323-322 B.C.) against control by Macedon, but the revolt was quashed, and Athens lost its remaining dependencies and declined into a provincial city. Its last bid for greatness (266-262 B.C.) was firmly suppressed by Antigonus II, king of Macedon.
Through the troubled times of the Peloponnesian War and the wars against Philip, Athenian achievements in philosophy, drama, and art had continued. Aristophanes wrote comedies, Plato taught at the Academy, Aristotle compiled an incredible store of information, and Thucydides wrote a great history of the Peloponnesian War. As the city's glory waned in the 3d cent. B.C., its earlier contributions were spread over the world in Hellenistic culture.
Athens became a minor ally of growing Rome, and a period of stagnation was broken only when the city unwisely chose to support Mithradates VI of Pontus against Rome. As a result, Athens was sacked by the Roman general Sulla in 86 B.C. Nevertheless, Athens sent out many teachers to Rome and retained a certain faded glory as a moderately prosperous small city in the backwash of the empire. It remained so until the time when the Eastern Empire began to fall to the barbarians. Athens was captured in A.D. 395 by the Visigoths under Alaric I.
From Byzantine to Ottoman Rule
Athens became a provincial capital of the Byzantine Empire and a center of religious learning and devotion. Following the creation (1204) of the Latin Empire of Constantinople (see Constantinople, Latin Empire of), Athens passed (1205) to Othon de la Roche, a French nobleman from Franche-Comté, who was made megaskyr [great lord] of Athens and Thebes. His nephew and successor, Guy I, obtained the ducal title, and the duchy of Athens, under Guy I and his successors, enjoyed great prosperity while becoming thoroughly French in its institutions. In 1311 the duchy was captured by a band of Catalan soldier-adventurers who offered (1312) the ducal title to King Frederick II of Sicily, a member of the house of Aragón. Members of the house of Aragón carried the title, but Athens was in fact governed by the "Catalan Grand Company," which also acquired (1318) the neighboring duchy of Neopatras.
The French feudal culture disappeared, and Athens sank into insignificance and poverty, particularly after 1377, when the succession was contested in civil war. Peter IV of Aragón assumed sovereignty in 1381 but ruled from Barcelona. On his initiative, the devastated duchy was settled by Albanians. Athens again prospered briefly after its conquest in 1388 by Nerio I Acciajuoli, lord of Corinth, a Florentine noble. Under the Acciajuoli family's rule numerous Florentine merchants established themselves in Athens. However, the fall of the Acropolis to the Ottoman Turks in 1458 marked the beginning of nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule, and Athens once more declined. Venice, which had held Athens from 1394 to 1402, recovered it briefly from the Turks in 1466 and besieged it in 1687-88. During the siege the Parthenon, used by the Turks as a powder magazine, was largely blown up in a bombardment.
Modern Athens
Modern Athens was constructed only after 1834, when it became the capital of a newly independent Greece. Otto I, first king of the Hellenes (1832-62), rebuilt much of the city, and the first modern Olympic games were held there in 1896. The population grew rapidly in the 1920s, when Greek refugees arrived from Turkey. The city's inhabitants suffered extreme hardships during the German occupation (1941-44) in World War II, but the city escaped damage in the war and in the country's civil troubles of 1944-50.
The 1950s and 60s brought unbridled expansion. Land clearance for suburban building caused runoff and flooding, requiring the modernization of the sewer system. The Mornos River was dammed and a pipeline over 100 mi (160 km) long was built to Athens, supplementing the inadequate water supply. The development of a highway system facilitated the proliferation of automobiles, resulting in increased air pollution. This accelerated the deterioration of ancient buildings and monuments, requiring preservation and conservation programs as well as traffic bans in parts of the city. The Ellinikon airport was modernized and enlarged to accommodate increased tourism. A strong earthquake jolted the city in 1999, and in 2004 the summer Olympic games were held there again.
Bibliography
The Greek geographer Pausanias wrote an extensive description of ancient Greece. Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Polybius were great Greek historians. Modern general works on ancient Greece include those of J. B. Bury and Michael Rostovtzeff. See also A. H. M. Jones, Athenian Democracy (1957, repr. 1986); J. C. Hill, The Ancient City of Athens, Its Topography and Monuments (rev. ed. 1969); C. M. Bowra, Periclean Athens (1971); R. Meiggs, The Athenian Empire (1972); W. S. Ferguson, Hellenistic Athens (1986); D. Kagan, The Fall of the Athenian Empire (1987); M. H. Hansen, The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes (tr. 1999). See also bibliography under Greece.
| Geography: Athens |
Capital of Greece in east-central Greece on the plain of Attica, overlooking an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. Named after its patron goddess, Athena, Athens is Greece's largest city and its cultural, administrative, and economic center.
| Weather: Athens, Greece |
| Dialing Code: The telephone dialing code for: Athens, Greece |
The country code is: 30
The city code is: 1
| Local Time: Athens, Greece |
| History Dictionary: Athens |
A leading city of ancient Greece, famous for its learning, culture, and democratic institutions. The political power of Athens was sometimes quite limited, however, especially after its defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was a noted ruler of Athens. (See also under “World Geography.”)
| Wikipedia: Athens |
| Athens Αθήνα |
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 Acropolis of Athens with the Parthenon on top. |
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| Location | |
  Athens
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| Coordinates | 37°58′N 23°43′E / 37.967°N 23.717°ECoordinates: 37°58′N 23°43′E / 37.967°N 23.717°E |
| Government | |
| Country: | Greece |
| Periphery: | Attica |
| Prefecture: | Athens |
| Districts: | 7 |
| Mayor: | Nikitas Kaklamanis (ND) (since: 1 January 2007) |
| Population statistics (as of 2001[1]) | |
| City | |
| - Population: | 745,514 |
| - Area: | 38.964 km² (15 sq mi) |
| - Density: | 19,133 /km² (49,555 /sq mi) |
| Urban | |
| - Population: | 3,130,841 |
| - Area: | 411.717 km² (159 sq mi) |
| - Density: | 7,604 /km² (19,695 /sq mi) |
| Metropolitan | |
| - Population: | 3,686,371 |
| - Area: | 2,928.717 km² (1,131 sq mi) |
| - Density: | 1,259 /km² (3,260 /sq mi) |
| Other | |
| Time zone: | EET/EEST (UTC+2/3) |
| Elevation (min-max): | 70 - 338 m (230 - 1109 ft) |
| Postal: | 10x xx, 11x xx, 120 xx |
| Telephone: | 210 |
| Auto: | Yxx, Zxx, Ixx (excluding ZAx and INx) |
| Website | |
| www.cityofathens.gr | |
Athens (pronounced /ˈæθənz/; Greek: Αθήνα, Athina, IPA: [aˈθina]), the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years.
The Greek capital has a population of 745,514 (in 2001) within its administrative limits[1] and a land area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi).[2] The urban area of Athens extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3,130,841 (in 2001)[1] and a land area of 412 km2 (159 sq mi).[2] According to Eurostat, the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is the 7th most populous LUZ in the European Union (the 5th most populous capital city of the EU) with a population of 4,013,368 (in 2004).[3] A bustling and cosmopolitan metropolis, Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece and it is rated as an alpha- world city.[4] It is rapidly becoming a leading business centre in the European Union. In 2008, Athens was ranked the world's 32nd richest city by purchasing power [5] and the 25th most expensive[6] in a UBS study.
Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum,[7][8] Athens was also the birthplace of Socrates, Pericles, Sophocles and its many other prominent philosophers, writers and politicians of the ancient world. It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy,[9][10] largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent.[11]
The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by a number of ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon on the Acropolis, widely considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. The city also retains a vast variety of Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of remaining Ottoman monuments projecting the city's long history across the centuries. Landmarks of the modern era are also present, dating back to 1830 (the establishment of the independent Greek state), and taking in the Hellenic Parliament (19th century) and the Athens Trilogy consisting of the National Library of Greece, the Athens University and the Academy of Athens. Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics.[12]
Contents |
In Ancient Greek, the name of Athens was ;Ἀθῆναι IPA: [atʰɛ̑ːnaɪ], related tο name of the goddess Athena (Attic Ἀθηνᾶ [atʰɛːnȃː] and Ionic Ἀθήνη [atʰɛ́ːnɛː]). The city's name was in the plural, like those of Θῆβαι (Thēbai), Μυκῆναι (Mukēnai), and Δελφοί (Delphoi).
In the 19th century, Ἀθῆναι (Athinai / [aˈθinɛ]) was formally re-adopted as the city's name. Since the official abandonment of Katharevousa Greek in the 1970s, Αθήνα (Athína / [aˈθina]) has become the city's official name.
Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 7,000 years.[13][14] Classical Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the 5th century BC, with its cultural achievements laying the foundations of Western civilization. By the end of Late Antiquity the city experienced decline followed by recovery in the second half of the Middle Byzantine Period (9th-10th centuries AD), and was relatively prosperous during the Crusades, benefiting from Italian trade; after a long period of decline under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Athens re-emerged in the 19th century as the capital of the independent Greek state, and in 1896 hosted the first modern Olympic Games. In the 1920s a number of Greek refugees, expelled from Asia Minor after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), swelled Athens' population; nevertheless it was most particularly following the World War II, and from the 1950s and 1960s, that the population of the city exploded, and Athens experienced a gradual expansion in all directions. In the 1980s it became evident that smog from factories and an ever increasing fleet of automobiles, as well as a lack of adequate free space due to overcongestion, had evolved into the city's most important challenges. A series of anti-pollution measures taken by the city's authorities in the 1990s, combined with a substantial improvement of the city's infrastructure (including the Attiki Odos motorway, the expansion of the Athens Metro, and the new Athens International Airport), considerably alleviated pollution and transformed Athens into a much more functional city.
Athens sprawls across the central plain of Attica that is often referred to as the Attica Basin. The basin is bound by four large mountains; Mount Aegaleo to the west, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Penteli to the northeast and Mount Hymettus to the east of the Athens Metropolitan Area. The Saronic Gulf lies in the southwest. Mount Parnitha is the tallest of the four mountains (1,413 m (4,636 ft)[15]) and it has been declared a national park.
Athens is built around a number of hills. Lycabettus is one of the tallest hills of the city proper and allows the entire Attica Basin to be seen. The geomorphology of Athens causes the so-called temperature inversion phenomenon which, along with the failure of the Greek Government to control industrial pollution, is responsible for the air pollution problems the city has recently faced.[14][16] (Los Angeles and Mexico City also suffer with similar geomorphology inversion problems).[14]
Athens enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate, with the greatest amounts of precipitation mainly occurring from mid-October to mid-April; any precipitation is sparse during summer and it generally takes the form of showers and/or thunderstorms. Due to its location in a strong rain shadow because of Mount Parnitha, however, the Athenian climate is much drier compared to most of the rest of Mediterranean Europe. The mountainous northern suburbs, for their part, experience a somewhat differentiated climatic pattern, with generally lower temperatures and more substantial snowfalls during winter. Fog is highly unusual in the city centre but it is more frequent to the east, behind the Hymettus mountain range.
Snowfalls occur almost on a yearly basis, though these do not normally lead to significant, if any, disruption. Nonetheless, the city has experienced several heavy snowfalls, not least in the past decade. During the blizzards of March 1987; February 1992; 4 January-6, 2002; 12 February-13, 2004 and 16 February-18, 2008, snow blanketed large parts of the metropolitan area, causing havoc across much of the city.
Spring and fall (autumn) are considered ideal seasons for sightseeing and all kinds of outdoor activities. Summers can be particularly hot and at times prone to smog and pollution related conditions (however, much less so than in the past). The average daytime maximum temperature for the month of July is 33.5 °C (92.3 °F)[citation needed] and heatwaves are relatively common, occurring generally during the months of July and/or August, when hot air masses sweep across Greece from the south or the southwest. On such days temperatures soar over 40 °C (104 °F).[citation needed]
Athens holds the all-time temperature record in Europe of 48.0 °C (118.4 °F)[17] which was recorded in Elefsina, a suburb of Athens. The respective low-temperature record is −5.8 °C (21.6 °F), recorded at Nea Filadelfia.[18]
| Weather data for Athens | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 21 (70) |
23 (73) |
28 (82) |
32 (90) |
36 (97) |
42 (108) |
42 (108) |
43 (109) |
38 (100) |
37 (99) |
28 (82) |
22 (72) |
43 (109) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 12.5 (55) |
13.5 (56) |
15.7 (60) |
20.2 (68) |
26.0 (79) |
31.1 (88) |
33.5 (92) |
33.2 (92) |
29.2 (85) |
23.3 (74) |
18.1 (65) |
14.1 (57) |
22.5 (73) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5.2 (41) |
5.4 (42) |
6.7 (44) |
9.6 (49) |
13.9 (57) |
18.2 (65) |
20.8 (69) |
20.7 (69) |
17.3 (63) |
13.4 (56) |
9.8 (50) |
6.8 (44) |
12.3 (54) |
| Record low °C (°F) | -4 (25) |
-6 (21) |
-1 (30) |
0 (32) |
6 (43) |
14 (57) |
16 (61) |
16 (61) |
12 (54) |
7 (45) |
-1 (30) |
-4 (25) |
-6 (21) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 56.9 (2.24) |
46.7 (1.84) |
40.7 (1.6) |
30.8 (1.21) |
22.7 (0.89) |
10.6 (0.42) |
05.8 (0.23) |
6 (0.24) |
13.9 (0.55) |
52.6 (2.07) |
58.3 (2.3) |
69.1 (2.72) |
414.1 (16.3) |
| Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN)[19] and BBC Weather Centre[20] 2009-09-14 | |||||||||||||
By the late 1970s, the pollution of Athens had become so destructive that according to the then Greek Minister of Culture, Constantine Trypanis, "...the carved details on the five the caryatids of the Erechtheum had seriously degenerated, while the face of the horseman on the Parthenon's west side was all but obliterated."[21] A series of strict measures that were taken by the authorities of the city throughout the 1990s finally resulted in a dramatic improvement of air quality; the appearance of smog (or nefos as the Athenians used to call it) has nowadays become an increasingly rare phenomenon.
Widespread measures taken by the Greek authorities throughout the 1990s have effectively improved the quality of air over the Attica Basin. Nevertheless, air pollution still remains an issue for Athens (although to a limited degree), particularly during the hottest summer days. In late June 2007,[22] the Attica region experienced a number of brush fires,[22] including one that burned a significant portion of a large forested national park in Mount Parnitha,[23] which is considered critical to maintaining a better air quality in Athens all year round.[22] Damage to the park has led to worries over a stalling in the improvement of air quality in the city.[22]
The major waste management efforts undertaken in the last decade (especially the plant built on the small island of Psytalia) have improved water quality in the Saronic Gulf, and the coastal waters of Athens are now accessible again to swimmers. In January 2007, Athens briefly faced a waste management problem when its landfill near Ano Liosia, an Athenian suburb, reached capacity.[24] The crisis eased by mid-January when authorities began taking the garbage to a temporary landfill.[24]
The city of Athens contains a variety of different architectural styles, ranging from Greco-Roman, Neo-Classical, to modern. They are usually all found together in the same areas as Athens lacks a certain uniformity of architectural style. Many of the most prominent buildings of the city are either Greco-Roman or neo-classical in style. Some of the neo-classical buildings to be found are public buildings erected during the mid-nineteenth century under the guidance of Theophil Freiherr von Hansen include the Athens Academy, Athens City Hall, Greek Parliament, Old Parliament (1875–1932) (Now the National Historical Museum),[25] University of Athens, and Zappeion Hall.
Beginning in the 1930s, the International style and other architectural movements such as Bauhaus and Art Deco influenced almost all of Greek architects and many private buildings like apartment buildings but also public buildings like schools were built in Athens according to these styles. Areas with a great number of such buildings are Kolonaki and generally the centre of the city and neighbourhoods developed during those decades like Kypseli.
In the 1950s and 1960s during the vast extension and development of Athens, modern architecture played a very important role. The centre of Athens was largely rebuilt and this demanded the demolition of several small and private neoclassical buildings. The architects of that era used new materials such as glass, marble and aluminium and they often blended modern and classical elements.
Great architects of the 1930s-1960s were Konstantinos Doxiadis, Dimitris Pikionis, Pericles A. Sakellarios, Aris Konstantidis and others.
The Municipality of Athens is divided into several districts: Omonoia, Syntagma, Exarcheia, Aghios Nikolaos, Neapolis, Lykavittos, Lofos Strefi, Lofos Finopoulou, Lofos Filopappou, Pedion Areos, Metaxourgeio, Aghios Kostantinos, Larissa Station, Kerameikos, Psiri, Monastiraki, Gazi, Thission, Kapnikarea, Aghia Irini, Aerides, Anafiotika, Plaka, Acropolis, Pnyka, Makrygianni, Lofos Ardittou, Zappeion, Aghios Spyridon, Pangration, Kolonaki, Dexameni, Evaggelismos, Gouva, Aghios Ioannis, Neos Kosmos, Koukaki, Kynosargous, Fix, Ano Petralona, Kato Petralona, Rouf, Votanikos, Profitis Daniil, Akadimia Platonos, Kolonos, Kolokynthou, Attikis Square, Lofos Skouze, Sepolia, Kypseli, Aghios Meletios, Nea Kypseli, Gyzi, Polygono, Ampelokipoi, Panormou-Gerokomeio, Pentagono, Ellinorosson, Kato Filothei, Ano Kypseli, Tourkovounia-Lofos Patatsou, Lofos Elikonos, Koliatsou, Thymarakia, Kato Patisia, Treis Gefyres, Aghios Eleftherios, Ano Patisia, Kypriadou, Prompona.
Omonoia Square (Greek: Πλατεία Ομονοίας) is the oldest square in Athens. It is surrounded by hotels and fast food outlets, and contains a train station used by the Athens Metro and the Ilektrikos, appropriately named Omonoia Station. The square often becomes the focus for celebration of sporting victories, as seen after the country's winning of the Euro 2004 and the Eurobasket 2005 tournaments.
The reviving Psiri (Greek: Ψυρρή) neighbourhood – aka Athens's "meat packing district" – is dotted with renovated former mansions, artists' spaces, and small gallery areas. A number of its renovated buildings also now host a wide variety of fashionable bars, making it a hotspot for the city in the last decade, while a number of live music restaurants known as "rebetadika", after Rebetiko, a unique form of music that blossomed in Syros and Athens from the 1920s until the 1960s, are also to be found. Rebetiko is admired by many, and as a result rebetadika are often crammed with people of all ages who will sing, dance and drink till dawn. The Gazi (Greek: Γκάζι) area, one of the latest in full redevelopment, is located around a historic gas factory, now converted into the Technopolis cultural multiplex, and also includes artists' areas, a number of small clubs, bars and restaurants, as well as Athens' nascent "Gay Village".[citation needed] The metro's system recent expansion to the western suburbs of the city has brought easier access to the area since spring 2007, as the blue line now stops at Gazi (Kerameikos station).
Syntagma Square, (Greek: Σύνταγμα/Constitution Square), is the capital's central and largest square, lying adjacent to the Greek Parliament (the former Royal Palace) and the city's most noted hotels. Ermou Street, an approximately 1 km-long pedestrian road connecting Syntagma Square to Monastiraki, has traditionally been a consumer paradise for both Athenians and tourists. Complete with fashion shops and shopping centres promoting most international brands, it now finds itself in the top 5 most expensive shopping streets in Europe, and the tenth most expensive retail street in the world.[26] Nearby, the renovated Army Fund building in Panepistimiou Street includes the "Attica" department store and several upmarket designer stores.
Plaka (Greek: Πλάκα), lying just beneath the Acropolis, is famous for its plentiful neoclassical architecture, making up one of the most scenic districts of the city. It remains a traditionally prime tourist destination with a number of picturesque tavernas, live performances and street salesmen. Nearby Monastiraki (Greek: Μοναστηράκι), for its part, is well-known for its string of small shops and markets, as well as its crowded flea market and tavernas specialising in souvlaki. Another district notably famous for its student-crammed, stylish cafés is Theseum or Thission (Greek: Θησείο), lying just west of Monastiraki. Thission is home to the ancient Temple of Hephaestus, standing atop a small hill. This area also has a pictursque 11th Century Byzantine church, as well as a 15th Century Ottoman mosque.
The Kolonaki (Greek: Κολωνάκι) area, at the base of Lycabettus hill, is full of boutiques catering to well-heeled customers by day, and bars and more fashionable restaurants by night, but at other points also a wide range of art galleries and museums. This is often regarded as one of the more prestigious areas of the capital.
Exarcheia (Greek: Εξάρχεια), located north of Kolonaki, has a mixed reputation as the recent or current location of the city's anarchist scene and as a culturally active student quarter with many cafés, bars and bookshops. Exarcheia is home to the Athens Polytechnic and the National Archaeological Museum; it also contains numerous important buildings of several 20th-century styles: Neoclassicism, Art Deco and Early Modernism (including Bauhaus influences).[citation needed]
The Athens Metropolitan Area consists of 73[citation needed] densely populated municipalities, sprawling around the city in virtually all directions. According to their geographic location in relation to the city of Athens, the suburbs are divided into four zones; the northern suburbs (including Ekali, Nea Erythrea, Agios Stefanos, Drosia, Dionysos, Kryoneri, Kifissia, Maroussi, Pefki, Lykovrisi, Heraklio, Glyka Nera, Vrilissia, Melissia, Pendeli, Halandri, Psychiko and Filothei); the southern suburbs, (including Palaio Faliro, Elliniko, Glyfada, Alimos, Voula and the southernmost suburb of Vouliagmeni); the eastern suburbs, (including Acharnes, Zografou, Vyronas, Kaisariani, Cholargos, Papagou and Aghia Paraskevi; and the western suburbs (including Peristeri, Ilion, Egaleo, Petroupoli and Nikaia).
The Athens city coastline, extending from the major commercial port of Piraeus to the southernmost suburb of Varkiza for some 25 km (20 mi),[27] is also connected to the city centre by a tram.
In the northern suburb of Maroussi, the upgraded main Olympic Complex (known by its Greek acronym OAKA) dominates the skyline. The whole area has been redeveloped according to a design by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, with steel arches, landscaped gardens, fountains, futuristic glass, and a landmark new blue glass roof which was added to the main stadium. A second Olympic complex, next to the sea at the beach of Kallithea (Faliron), also features modern stadia, shops and an elevated esplanade. Work is underway to transform the grounds of the old Athens Airport – named Hellinikon – in the southern suburbs, into one of the largest landscaped parks in Europe, to be named the Hellenikon Metropolitan Park.[28]
Many of the southern suburbs (such as Alimos, Palaio Faliro, Elliniko, Voula, Vouliagmeni and Varkiza) host a number of sandy beaches, most of which are operated by the Greek National Tourism Organisation and require an entrance fee, which is not excessive in most cases. Casinos operate on both Mount Parnitha, some 25 km (16 mi)[29] from downtown Athens, (accessible by car or cable car) and the nearby town of Loutraki (accessible by car via the Athens – Corinth National Highway, or the suburban railroad).
Parnitha National Park has well-marked paths, gorges, springs, torrents and caves dot the protected area. Hiking and mountain-biking in all four mountains remain popular outdoor activities for many residents of the city. The National Garden of Athens was completed in 1840 and is a green refuge of 15.5 hectares in the center of the Greek capital. It's located between the Parliament and Zappeion buildings.
Parts of the city centre have been redeveloped under a masterplan called the Unification of Archeological Sites of Athens, which has also gathered funding from the EU to help enhance the project.[30][31] The landmark Dionysiou Aeropagitou street has been pedestrianised, forming a scenic route. The route starts from the Temple of Olympian Zeus at Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, continues under the southern slopes of the Acropolis near Plaka, and finishes just beyond the Temple of Hephaestus in Thiseio. The route in its entirety provides visitors with views of the Parthenon and the Agora (the meeting point of ancient Athenians), away from the busy city centre.
The city's classical museums include the National Archaeological Museum of Athens at Patission Street, the Benaki Museum in Pireos Street (including its new Islamic Art branch), the Byzantine Museum and the Museum of Cycladic Art (Stathatos Mansion) in the central Kolonaki district, recommended for its collection of elegant white meta-modern figures dating back 3000 years. Most museums were renovated ahead of the 2004 Summer Olympics. A New Acropolis Museum opened on 20 June 2009.[32]
The city is one of the world's main centres of archaeological research. Apart from national institutions, such as Athens University, the Archaeological Society, several archaeological Museums (including the National Archaeological Museum, the Cycladic Museum, the Epigraphic Museum, the Byzantine Museum, as well as museums at the ancient Agora, Acropolis, and Kerameikos), the city is also home to the Demokritos laboratory for Archaeometry as well as several regional and national archaeological authorities that form part of the Greek Department of Culture. Additionally, Athens hosts 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes which promote and facilitate research by scholars from their respective home countries. As a result, Athens has more than a dozen archaeological libraries and three specialized archaeological laboratories, and is the venue of several hundred specialized lectures, conferences and seminars, as well as dozens of archaeological exhibitions, per year. At any given time, Athens is the (temporary) home to hundreds of international scholars and researchers in all disciplines of archaeology.
Athens has been a popular destination for travellers since antiquity. Over the past decade, the city's infrastructure and social amenities have improved, in part due to its successful bid to stage the 2004 Olympic Games. The Greek Government, aided by the EU, has funded major infrastructure projects such as the state-of-the-art Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport,[33] the expansion of the Athens Metro system,[30] and the new Attiki Odos Motorway.[30]
Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages, more than any other city in the world, including the famous ancient Herodes Atticus Theatre, home to the Athens Festival, which runs from May to October each year.[34][35] In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens plays host to a variety of romantic, open air garden cinemas. The city also supports a vast number of music venues, including the Athens Concert Hall, known as the "Megaron Moussikis", which attracts world-famous artists all year round.[36] The Athens Planetarium,[37] located in Andrea Syngrou Avenue is one of the best equipped digital planetariums in the world.[38]
Athens has a long tradition in sports and sporting events, being home of the most important clubs in Greek sports and having a large number of sports facilities. The city has also served as a host of several sports events of international notability.
Athens has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in 1896 and 2004. The 2004 Summer Olympics inspired the development of the Athens Olympic Stadium, which has gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful stadia in the world and one of the most interesting modern monuments.[39] The biggest stadium in Greece has hosted two finals of the UEFA Champions League, in 1994 and 2007. The other major stadium of Athens, located in Piraeus area, is the Karaiskakis Stadium, a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex, host of the 1971 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final. Athens has hosted the Euroleague final three times, the first in 1985 and second in 1993, both at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, most known as SEF, one of the largest and most attractive indoor arenas in Europe,[40] and the third in 2007 at the Olympic Indoor Hall. A large number of events in other sports such as athletics, volleyball, water polo etc, has also been hosted in the capital's venues.
Athens is home to three prestigious European multi-sport clubs: Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens. In football, Olympiacos have dominated the domestic competitions, Panathinaikos made it to the 1971 European Cup Final, while AEK Athens is the other member of the big three. These clubs have also prominent basketball departments; Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are among the top powers in European basketball having won the Euroleague five times and once respectively, with AEK Athens being the first Greek team to win a European trophy in any team sports. Other clubs with great tradition in sports within Athens are Panionios, Panellinios, Ethnikos Piraeus and Maroussi. Athenian clubs have made significant domestic and international success so far in other sports as well.
The Athens area encompasses a variety of terrain, notably hills and mountains rising around the city, and the capital is the only major city in Europe to be bisected by a mountain range. Four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries and thousands of miles of trails crisscross the city and neighbouring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access on foot and bike. Beyond Athens and across the county a great variety of outdoor activities are available and popular, including skiing, rock climbing, hang gliding and windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Athens Chapter of the Sierra Club, which leads over 4,000 outings annually in the area.
The municipality of Athens has an official population of 745,514[1] with a metropolitan population of 3.2 million (population including the suburbs).[1] The actual population, however, is believed to be higher, because during census-taking (carried out once every 10 years) some Athenian residents travel back to their birthplaces, and register as local citizens there.[41]
Reflecting this uncertainty about population figures, various sources refer to a population of around 5 million people for Athens.[42][43] Also unaccounted for is an undefined number of unregistered immigrants originating mainly from Albania, other Eastern European countries and Pakistan.[44][45]
The ancient site of the city is centred on the rocky hill of the acropolis. In ancient times the port of Piraeus was a separate city, but it has now been absorbed into greater Athens. The rapid expansion of the city initiated in the 1950s and 1960s continues today, because of the transition from an agricultural to an industrial nation.[46] The expansion is now particularly toward the East and North East (a tendency greatly related to the new Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport and the Attiki Odos, the freeway that cuts across Attica). By this process Athens has engulfed many former suburbs and villages in Attica, and continues to do so. Throughout its long history, Athens has experienced many different population levels. The table below shows the historical population of Athens in recent times.
The Athens urban area consists of 55 municipalities, 48 of the Athens Prefecture and the 7 of the mainland Piraeus Prefecture. The second largest municipality of the urban area, after Athens city proper, is that of Piraeus, with Peristeri and Kallithea following. It spans 412 km2 (159 sq mi)[2] and has a population of 3,130,841 (in 2001),[1] which makes it one of the largest urban areas of the European Union.
| Year | City population | Urban population | Metro population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1833 | 4,000[47] | - | - |
| 1870 | 44,500[47] | - | - |
| 1896 | 123,000[47] | - | - |
| 1921 (Pre-Population exchange) | 473,000[14] | - | - |
| 1921 (Post-Population exchange) | 718,000[47] | - | - |
| 1971 | 867,023[48] | - | - |
| 1981 | 885,737 | - | - |
| 1991 | 772,072 | - | 3,444,358[49] |
| 2001 | 745,514[50] | 3,130,841[50] | 3,761,810[50] |
Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834, following Nafplion which was the provisional capital from 1829. In addition, the municipality of Athens is the capital of the Attica Periphery and the Athens Prefecture. Athens can refer either to the municipality of Athens or to the entire urban area. It sometimes refers only to the Athens Prefecture, which is part of the urban area.
Athens is located within the Attica Periphery, which encompasses the most populated region of Greece, with around 3.7 million people.[1] The Attica Periphery itself is split into four prefectures; they include the Athens Prefecture, Piraeus Prefecture, West Attica Prefecture, and the East Attica Prefecture. It is, however, one of the smaller peripheries in Greece, with an area of 3,808 km2 (1,470 sq mi).[2]
The Athens Prefecture is the most populous of the Prefectures of Greece, accounting 2,664,776 people (in 2001),[1] with an area of 361 km2 (139 sq mi).[2] It is made up by 48 municipalities, each one of which has an elected district council and a directly elected mayor. Along with the Piraeus Prefecture, it forms the Athens-Piraeus super-prefecture.
The municipality of Athens is the most populous in Greece, with a population of 745,514 people (in 2001)[1] and an area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi).[2] The current mayor of Athens is the New Democracy politician, Nikitas Kaklamanis. It is divided into seven municipal districts, called dimotika diamerismata. The 7-district division is mainly used for administrative purposes. For Athenians the most popular way of dividing the city proper is through its neighbourhoods, each with its own distinct history and characteristics, such as Pagkrati, Ambelokipi, Exarcheia, Patissia, Ilissia, Petralona, Koukaki and Kypseli. For a traveller unfamiliar with Athens, familiarity with the contours of these neighbourhoods can often be particularly useful in both exploring and understanding the city.
Located on Panepistimiou Street, the old campus of the University of Athens, the National Library, and the Athens Academy form the "Athens Trilogy" built in the mid-19th century. Most of the university's workings have been moved to a much larger, modern campus located in the eastern suburb of Zográfou. The second higher education institution in the city is the Athens Polytechnic School (Ethniko Metsovio Politechnio), found in Patission Street. This was the location where on 17 November 1973, more than 13 students were killed and hundreds injured inside the university during the Athens Polytechnic uprising,[51] against the military junta that ruled the nation from 21 April 1967 until 23 July 1974.
The Athens Mass Transit System consists of a large bus fleet, a trolleybus fleet that mainly serves the downtown area, the city's Metro, a tram line connecting the southern suburbs to the city centre,[52] and the Athens Suburban Railway service.[53]
The Athens Metro is more commonly known in Greece as the Attiko Metro (Greek: Αττικό Mετρό). While its main purpose is transport, it also houses Greek artifacts found during construction of the system.[54] The Athens Metro supports an operating staff of 387 and runs two of the three metro lines;[55] its two lines (red and blue) were constructed largely during the 1990s, and the initial sections opened in January 2000, and the lines run entirely underground. The metro network operates a fleet of 42 trains consisting of 252 cars,[55] with a daily occupancy of 550,000 passengers.[55] The Blue Line runs from the western suburbs, namely the Egaleo station, through the central Monastiraki and Syntagma stations to Doukissis Plakentias avenue in the northeastern suburb of Halandri, covering a distance of 16 km (10 mi),[55] then ascending to ground level and reaching Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, using the Suburban Railway infrastructure and extending its distance to 39 km (24 mi).[55] The Red Line, in counterpart, runs from Aghios Antonios to Aghios Dimitrios and covers a distance of 11.6 km (7 mi).[55] Extensions to both these lines are under construction, most notably westwards to Piraeus, southwards to the Old Hellinikon Airport East Terminal (the future Metropolitan Park), and eastward toward the easternmost suburb of Aghia Paraskevi. The eastern part is actually no extension per se, but rather an opening of new stations between the Ethniki Amyna and Doukissis Plakentias stations. The spring 2007 extension from Monastiraki westwards, to Egaleo, connected some of the main night life hubs of the city, namely the ones of Gazi (Kerameikos station) with Psirri (Monastiraki station) and the city centre (Syntagma station).
The third line, not run by the Athens Metro, is the ISAP (Greek: ΗΣΑΠ), the Electric Railway Company. This is the Green line of the Athens Metro as shown on the adjacent map, and unlike the red and blue routes running entirely underground, ISAP runs either above-ground or below-ground at different sections of its journey. This same operation runs the original metro line from Piraeus to Kifisia; it serves 22 stations,[56] with a network length of 25.6 km (15.9 mi),[56] an operating staff of 730 and a fleet of 44 trains and 243 cars,[56] and a daily occupancy rate of 600,000 passengers.[56] The historic Green Line, a 25.6 km (16 mi)-long and 24-station line which forms the oldest and for the most part runs at ground level,[57] connects the port of Piraeus to the northern suburb of Kifissia, and is set to be extended to Agios Stefanos, a suburb located 23 km (14 mi)[citation needed] to the north of the city centre, reaching to 36 km (22 mi).[citation needed]
The Proastiakós connects Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport to the city of Corinth, 80 km (50 mi)[58] west of Athens, via the central Larissa train station and the port of Piraeus, and is sometimes considered the fourth line of the Athens Metro. The Suburban Rail network currently extends to a length of 120 km (75 mi),[58] and is expected to stretch to 281 km (175 mi) by 2010.[58] The Proastiakos will be extended to Xylokastro west of Athens and Chalkida.[58] The urban and suburban railway system is managed by three different companies; namely ISAP,[59] Attiko Metro (lines 2 & 3) and Proastiakós (line 4).
The service operated under Ethel (Greek: ΕΘΕΛ) Thermal Bus Company is the main operator of buses in Athens. It consists of a network of 300 bus lines which span the entire Attica Basin,[60] with an operating staff of 5,327, and a fleet of 1,839 buses.[61] Of those 1,839 buses 416 run on natural gas,[61] making up the largest fleet of natural gas-run buses in Europe.[62]
Besides being served by a fleet of natural-gas and normal buses, the Athens metropolitan area is also serviced by electric buses, or ILPAP, as the service is known in Athens (Greek: ΗΛΠΑΠ). The Electric Buses of the Athens and Pireaus Region (ILPAP) consists of 22 lines and an operating staff of 1,137,[63] and the network operates a fleet of 366 trolley buses able to run on diesel in case of power failure.[63]
Athens Tram SA operates a fleet of 35 vehicles,[64] which serve 48 stations,[64] employ 345 people with an average daily occupancy of 65,000 passengers.[64] The tram network spans a total length of 27 km (17 mi) and covers ten Athenian suburbs.[64] This network runs from Syntagma Square to the southwestern suburb of Palaio Faliro, where the line splits in two branches; the first runs along the Athens coastline toward the southern suburb of Voula, while the other heads toward the Piraeus district of Neo Faliro. The network covers the majority of the Saronic coastline.[65] Further extensions are planned towards the major commercial port of Piraeus.[64] The expansion to Piraeus will include 12 new stations, increase the overall length of the tram by 5.4 km (3 mi), and increase the overall transportation network.[66]
Athens is served by the state-of-the-art Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (AIA) located near the town of Spata, in the eastern Messoghia plain, some 35 km (22 mi) east of Athens.[67] The airport was awarded the "European Airport of the Year 2004" Award.[68] Intended as an expandable hub for air travel in southeastern Europe, it was constructed in a record 51 months costing 2.2 billion euros, and employing a staff of 14,000.[68] An express bus service is provided, connecting the airport to the metro system, and 2 express bus services connect the airport to the port at Piraeus and the city centre respectively. Eleftherios Venizelos accommodates 65 landings and take-offs per hour,[67] with its 24 passenger boarding bridges,[67] 144 check-in counters and broader 150,000 m2 (1,614,587 sq ft) main terminal,[67] and a commercial area of 7,000 m2 (75,347 sq ft) which includes cafes, duty-free shops,[68] and a small museum. In 2007, the airport handled 16,538,390 passengers, an increase of 9.7% over the previous year of 2006.[69] Of those 16,538,390 passengers, 5,955,387 passed through the airport for domestic flights,[69] and 10,583,003 passengers travelled through for international flights.[69] Beyond the dimensions of its passenger capacity, AIA handled 205,294 total flights in 2007, or approximately 562 flights per day.[70]
Athens is the hub of the country's national railway system (OSE), connecting the capital with major cities across Greece and abroad (Istanbul, Sofia, and Bucharest). Ferries departing from the major port of Piraeus connect the city to the numerous Greek islands of the Aegean Sea. There are two main highways; one heading towards the western city of Patras in Peloponessus (GR-8A, E94) and the other heading to the north, towards Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki (GR-1, E75). From 2001 to 2004, a ring road toll-motorway (Attiki Odos) was gradually completed, extending from the western industrial suburb of Elefsina all the way to the Athens International Airport. The Ymittos Periphery Highway is a separate section of Attiki Odos connecting the eastern suburb of Kaisariani to the northeastern town of Glyka Nera; this is where it meets the main part of the ring road. The span of the Attiki Odos in all is 65 km (40 mi).[71]
1896 brought forth the revival of the modern Olympic Games, by Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin. Thanks to his efforts, Athens was awarded the first modern Olympic Games. In 1896, the city had an approximate population of 123,000[47] and the event helped boost the city's international profile. Of the venues used for these Olympics, the Kallimarmaro Stadium, and Zappeion were most crucial. The Kallimarmaro is a replica of the ancient Athenian stadiums, and the only major stadium (in its capacity of 60,000) to be made entirely of white marble from Mount Penteli, the same material used for construction of the Parthenon.
The 1906 Summer Olympics, or the 1906 Intercalated games, were held very successfully in Athens. The intercalated competitions were intermediate games to the internationally organized olympics, and were meant to be organized in Greece. This idea later lost support from the IOC and these games were not made permanent.
Athens was awarded the 2004 Summer Olympics on 5 September 1997 in Lausanne, Switzerland, after having lost a previous bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics, to Atlanta, United States.[12] It was to be the second time Athens would have the honour of hosting the games, following the inaugural event of 1896. After 1990's unsuccessful bid, the 1997 bid was radically improved also including an appeal to Greece's Olympic history. In the last round of voting, Athens defeated Rome with 66 votes to 41.[12] Prior to this round, the cities of Buenos Aires, Stockholm and Cape Town had already been eliminated from competition, having received fewer votes.[12]
During the first three years of preparations, the International Olympic Committee had repeatedly expressed some concern over the speed of construction progress for some of the new Olympic venues. In 2000 the Organising Committee's president was replaced by Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, who was the president of the original Bidding Committee in 1997. From that point on, preparations continued at a highly accelerated, almost frenzied pace.
Although the heavy cost was criticized, estimated at $1.5 billion, as is usually the case with most Olympic cities, Athens was literally transformed into a more functional city that enjoys state-of-the-art technology both in transportation and in modern urban development.[72] Some of the finest sporting venues in the world were created in the city, all of which were fully ready for the games. The games welcomed over 10,000 athletes from all 202 countries.[72] The 2004 Games were judged a huge success, as both security and organization were exceptionally good, and only a few visitors reported minor problems mainly concerning accommodation issues. The 2004 Olympic Games were described as Unforgettable, dream Games, by IOC President Jacques Rogge for their return to the birthplace of the Olympics, and for superbly meeting the challenges of holding the Olympic Games.[72] The only observable problem was a somewhat sparse attendance of some early events. Eventually, however, a total of more than 3.5 million tickets were sold, which was higher than any other Olympics with the exception of Sydney (more than 5 million tickets were sold there in 2000).[73]
In 2008 it was reported that almost all of the Olympic venues have fallen into varying states of disrepair: according to those reports, 21 of the 22 facilities built for the games have either been left abandoned or are in a state of dereliction, with several squatter camps having sprung up around certain facilities, and a number of venues afflicted by vandalism, graffiti or strewn with rubbish.[74][75][76] These claims, however, are disputable and most likely inaccurate, as most of the facilities used for the Athens Olympics are either in use or in the process of being converted for post-Olympics use. The Greek Government has created a corporation, Olympic Properties SA, which is overseeing the post-Olympics management, development and conversion of these facilities, some of which will be sold off (or have already been sold off) to the private sector,[77][78] while other facilities are still in use just as they were during the Olympics, or have been converted for commercial use or modified for other sports.[79]
Athens has the following sister/twin cities:
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Peristeri | Galatsi and Filothei | Neo Psychiko and Papagou | |
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Zografou and Vyronas | ||
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| Dafni and Nea Smyrni | Kalithea |
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