About City
Athens is 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 and a land area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi). The urban area of Athens extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3,130,841 (in 2001) and a land area of 412 km2 (159 sq mi). A bustling and cosmopolitan metropolis, Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece. It is rapidly becoming a leading business centre in the European Union.
Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. 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, 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.
Students of philosophy, architecture, classics and archaeology are drawn to Athens for its illustrious history and inspiring structures. Scholars believe that the rock of Acropolis is the site of the first settlement of Athens. Hundreds of years later, during the golden age of Pericles from 495-429 BC, the Acropolis came into its full glory. Many enduring monuments were constructed during this time, including the Parthenon, which was designed by the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates and adorned with hundreds of magnificent figures created by the sculptor Phidias. His statue of Zeus in Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
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. 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, with great success.
| Population | Cinemas | Theaters |
| 3 300 000 | 24 | 30 |
Interesting Places
While being in Athens you should see:
- Acropolis and Acropolis Museum
- Parthenon
- Parliament Building
- Hadrian's Arch
- Theatre of Dionysos
- The National Archaeological Museum of Athens
- The Temple of Olympian Zeus
- Ancient Agora of Athens
- The Tower of the Winds
- The Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea
Clubs recommended by Study4u
Bios
Funky DJ bar. Drinks include the standard whiskey, gin and beer, although pulling up a bar stool is not always easy. The one you had last time might well be in someone else's house by the time you return.
Go to club website
Useful links
