It’s Europe’s oldest capital city. The first settlers in Athens were from various ethnic groups that were organized in several kingdoms. Around the tenth century B.C., the settlers form… It is the oldest civilization where the first recorded human inhabitants were in 3000 BC. 3. Key Facts & Information Basic Facts of Athens and Sparta. Many of Classical civilization’s intellectual and artistic ideas originated there, and the city is generally considered to be the birthplace of Western civilization. They Say of the Acropolis Where the Parthenon Is… One of the main attractions in Athens is an ancient fortification on top of a hill in the middle of Athens. The city was freed in 1833, and in the following 170 years it was the scene of more than a dozen revolutions, another brutal foreign occupation, and a civil war of especial savagery. Athens was part of the Ottoman Empire (1458-1832) while the rest of Western Europe was experiencing the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership. It was known for the amount of learning that happened there. 2.The Greeks had some strange superstitions about food – some wouldn’t eat beans as they thought t… 9. Fact 26: Athena offered the first olive tree as a gift to Athens. Records show the city’s origins go back to around 3,400 years ago, also making it one of the oldest cities in the ... Athens has experienced almost every form of government. Discover interesting Athens facts. Athens was a powerful city in Classical times. City Of Athens Facts 42. 10 Facts About Athens To Know About. Some three centuries after the death of Pericles (429 bce), Athenians entered upon a period of bondage that lasted almost 2,000 years. Fun Fact: Every full moon in August, the Acropolis stays open until 2am with live music and theatrical performances; it is free to all. The city, after all, nurtured Western civilization thousands of years ago. In this quiz you’ll be presented with the names of 195 capital cities. Athens is one of the cities with the longest history in the world. 7. It is located in Central Greece in the southern part of the region of Attica. Facts about Ancient Athens will inform you about the largest city of Greece. 1. The Ottoman T… Athens is the capital of Greece and also its largest city. Athena is one of the 12 Olympian Gods who resided atop Mount Olympus.The Olympians are a race of deities who are a third or fourth generation of immortal beings and they were worshiped as the principal deities of the Greek pantheon.The Olympians managed to become the supreme deities after a 10 year long struggle … Athens, Modern Greek Athínai, Ancient Greek Athēnai, historic city and capital of Greece. Athens is also the capital city and a centre of politics and tourism. There were many important city-states in Ancient Greece, but Athens was perhaps the most important and the most powerful. Updates? That act saved it later from destruction of non Christian temples, in times of deep Theocracy. Here are 12 facts about the Acropolis of Athens. Athens is the capital of Greece. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world and has been continuously inhabited for around 7,000 years! By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Athens is a Beta global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is one of the biggest economic centers in southeastern Europe. During German occupation (1941-1944) it was used as Nazi HQ. Before hosting the 2004 Olympic Games, all of the street signs of Athens had to be changed to include a Latin spelling under the Greek. So, here is a compilation for you to check out. Raphael School of Athens Facts You Didn’t Know school_of_athens_painting_facts An architect and a relative to Raphael who took him to Pope Julius II, Bramante actually helped Raphael with the architectural elements in the painting , hence so having an awful resemblance to the St. Peter’s Basilica. The city started to decline in 529, when the Emperor Justinian I closed its philosophical schools. Of course, the poetic impulse to make a good story better leads to considerable exaggeration in daily conversation, suiting a vanity that goes with a sharp-edged sense of personal and family honour and the spoiling of children. Athens - Athens - The city plan: In 1833 there was almost no Athens at all. In addition to building a raft of new sports venues and facilities (including a stadium designed by Santiago Calatrava), Athens undertook massive transportation infrastructure improvements that included dramatic expansion of public transportation and the construction of a new international airport. Athens is named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, and daughter of Zeus. The Romans, the Byzantines, the Latin crusaders, the Ottomans, and finally the modern Greek state, all left their mark on the rocky hill. The city covers a total area of 412 square kilometers (159 square miles). 3. Here are some facts about Ancient Athens. Yet such considerations are superficial when compared with the fecundity of Athens’s bequests to the world, such as its philosophy, its architecture, its literature, and its political ideals. The Horologium and the Orthodox cathedrals, Ancient History Encyclopedia - Athens, Greece, Athens - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Athens - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The ancient heroes, too, were vain about both themselves and honour, boasting as much about outwitting the enemy as about outfighting him. Ancient Athens spanned several thousand years, from about 6,000 BC to about 322 BC. Athens is the capital and largest city in Greece, With a population of about 3,5 million people and long history, Athens stretches on a large peninsula that is protected by mountains from all sides of the horizon: Mt Egaleo to the west, Mt Parnes to the north, Mt … The Greek Orthodox Church, which is directed by a synod sitting in Athens, was a main force in keeping alive the Greek language, tradition, and literature when such things were forbidden, and most people still support it. Professor of Archaeology, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1949–71. In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. It was a recreation of the route used by the legendary runner, Pheidippides, in 490 BC to announce the Athenian victory against the Persians at the battle of Marathon 25 miles away. Hitler and Rommel were there on the eve of the Soviet Invasion. The oldest hotel in Athens, The Grand Bretagne, was first the royal guesthouse. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Other city states in Greece also applied democracy, but the records for the application were abundant in Athens. 1. Athens’ origins date back to 3,000 B.C. Hence, it became a symbol of Athenian economic prosperity. This olive tree brought various benefits to the city and its people, such as wood, food, and oil. Athens remains on the world stage to this day. It Was Settled In Prehistoric Times It was also the first Greek city-state to adopt a fully democratic system of government. The sporting event known as the "Marathon" was created for the first Modern Olympic games set in Athens in 1896. According to the Greek mythology, Cecrops, who was half man and half serpent, founded Athens and became the first king. If it … Back then it was a small town with only 10,000 citizens. 11. Athens is statistically one of the lowest ranking capital cities when it comes to violent crime. 1. 5. Athens took its name from the goddess Athena, the goddess of wisdom and knowledge.Sparta, a town near the river Evrotas, is located in the center of t… Athens, now the capital of Greece, is located on a peninsula that stretches southeastward into the Aegean Sea. Fact 27: Athena was the guardian of Athens. The Parthenon in Athens, Greece #2 She is one of the twelve Olympian Gods. It is a center for economic, political, financial and culture life in Greece. It also had its own Constitution. They may have shared the same cultural, religious and linguistic heritage, but they were ruled independently. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The reason for this, is that Ancient Greece was not a country, but a collection of independent city states. It’s believed the first Ancient Greek civilisations were formed nearly 4,000 years ago (approximately 1600 BC) by the mighty Mycenaeansof Crete (a Greek Island). It is generally believed that the city was named after the goddess of wisdom, Athena. Athens was a great center for art, literature, philosophy, and education. The origins of Athens date back to 3000BC, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Athens is the second capital city of Greece. The millennia of oppression, instead of driving the Athenians into obtuse moroseness, have honed their wit and rendered them tough but supple, while centuries of privation have only preserved their warmth and generosity. Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? The government in Greece especially Athens was made based on the democracy. The long oral tradition, alive even under the invader, has reflected and stimulated a taste for rich talk. During this time it grew from a small fishing village to the most important city in the ancient world. The Acropolis and surrounding area, Athens. She sprang from Zeus’s head, full-grown and clothed in armor. The Ancient Greek Empire spread from Greece through Europe and, in 800 BC, the Greeks started to split their land into city-states, each with its own laws, customs and rulers. She was Zeus’s favorite child. As of May 2019, the population of Athens is about 3 million people. During the fight for independence, it had been entirely evacuated in 1827, and six years later it held perhaps 4,000 people in the straggle of little houses on the north slope below the Acropolis. 12. The most important cities in ancient Greek were Sparta and Athens. The Athenians invented democracy, a new type of government where every citizen could vote on important issues, such as whether or not to declare war. Athens is one of the great cities of the world. Athens is the capital and the largest city of Greece. Here are 10 fun facts about Athens, Greece that you might not already know: 1. Acropolis holds the world’s oldest weather station The climate of the city permits outdoor activity the year round and has had an important effect on both the style of architecture and the life and political institutions of the city. Athens began as a small, Mycenaen community and grew to become a city that, at its height, epitomized the best of Greek virtues and enjoyed such prestige that the Spartans refused to sack the city or enslave the citizens, even after Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War. Greater Athens has an area of 165 square miles (427 square km). 1 % Athens cradle of Western civilisation. Many important people wandered its streets throughout time. According to Homer’s account in the Iliad, Athena was a … Both Athens and Sparta hold historic value for Greece and the world. She was the daughter of Zeus; no mother bore her. The Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is said to be the 8th most populated LUZ in the European Union. It became capital during the reign of King Otto in 1834. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Notably, in 2004 the world came to the city for the Olympic Games, which spurred a dramatic makeover for Athens. 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