12. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world as well, with recorded history going back over 3400 years. The nights are cool. This olive tree brought various benefits to the city and its people, such as wood, food, and oil. It Was Settled In Prehistoric Times This set a mod… Athens became the first in 1985. The Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is said to be the 8th most populated LUZ in the European Union. Here are 12 facts about the Acropolis of Athens. King Otto (see fact 7) changed it from the Port of Nafplio in 1834 for sentimental reasons related to the city's glorious past. Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? As of May 2019, the population of Athens is about 3 million people. The city center of Athens is only 15 sq miles or 39 sq kilometers. Key Facts & Information Basic Facts of Athens and Sparta. Nevertheless, it is wrong to say that Athens is a mixture of East and West: it is Greek and, more particularly, Athenian. 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. Six display archaeological treasures uncovered during the metro's construction. 2. Interesting Facts about Athens 1. Her temple was the Parthenon. 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. City Of Athens Facts 42. How well do you know the world’s capital cities? Greece welcomed 17,920,000 tourists into the country in 2013, many of whom visited Athens for its ancient history and... Whilst the Olympics are … Though it is blessed with an incredible history and a rich culture, there are many known and unknown facts about Athens. 7. In this quiz you’ll be presented with the names of 195 capital cities. Athens was at the centre of an area known as Attica. Notably, in 2004 the world came to the city for the Olympic Games, which spurred a dramatic makeover for Athens. Athens is the symbol of freedom, art, and democracy in the conscience of the civilized world. 10. She was Zeus’s favorite child. 6. 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. The first history of Athens was recorded around 3,400 years ago making it Europe's oldest capital and one of the... 2. One of the weird facts about Athens, is that it only became the capital city of Greece relatively recently. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership. Hence, it became a symbol of Athenian economic prosperity. It was known for the amount of learning that happened there. If it … Athens was the largest and most influential of the Greek city-states. Athens is the second capital city of Greece. Some three centuries after the death of Pericles (429 bce), Athenians entered upon a period of bondage that lasted almost 2,000 years. Hitler and Rommel were there on the eve of the Soviet Invasion. The city started to decline in 529, when the Emperor Justinian I closed its philosophical schools. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. 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. 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. The climate of Athens is benign: frost is rare (the minimum temperature is 32 °F, or 0 °C) and snow seldom lies, while the summers, though hot (maximum temperature is 99 °F, or 37 °C), are dry, and a fresh northeasterly wind often blows by day. It was also the first Greek city-state to adopt a fully democratic system of government. The ancient heroes, too, were vain about both themselves and honour, boasting as much about outwitting the enemy as about outfighting him. Greater Athens has an area of 165 square miles (427 square km). Other city states in Greece also applied democracy, but the records for the application were abundant in Athens. The Parthenon in Athens, Greece #2 She is one of the twelve Olympian Gods. Athens, with its tall buildings and contemporary shops, is the first European city when approached from the Middle East. The ancient Olympic games were never actually held there. The city of Athens, Greece, with its famous Acropolis, has come to symbolize the whole of the country in the popular imagination, and not without cause. Many of Classical civilization’s intellectual and artistic ideas originated there, and the city is generally considered to be the birthplace of Western civilization. The Acropolis and surrounding area, Athens. The most important cities in ancient Greek were Sparta and Athens. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Fact 26: Athena offered the first olive tree as a gift to Athens. It is generally believed that the city was named after the goddess of wisdom, Athena. 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. In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. The Athens metro currently has twenty-eight stations, all of which exhibit artwork by contemporary Greek artists. 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). Acropolis holds the world’s oldest weather station 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. To put its age into perspective: the first... 2. Both Athens and Sparta hold historic value for Greece and the world. You’ll need to match them to their countries. The Romans, the Byzantines, the Latin crusaders, the Ottomans, and finally the modern Greek state, all left their mark on the rocky hill. 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 … 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. The oldest hotel in Athens, The Grand Bretagne, was first the royal guesthouse. According to Homer’s account in the Iliad, Athena was a … The city center of Athens is only 15 sq miles or 39 sq kilometers. Athens is also the capital city and a centre of politics and tourism. It has been continuously habited for at least 3,000 years Find out how much you can save It is the oldest civilization where the first recorded human inhabitants were in 3000 BC. Athens was part of the Ottoman Empire (1458-1832) while the rest of Western Europe was experiencing the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution. Athens holds a special place in the history of Western Civilization. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world and has been continuously inhabited for around 7,000 years! 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). 1. The reason for this, is that Ancient Greece was not a country, but a collection of independent city states. 3.8 million. They may have shared the same cultural, religious and linguistic heritage, but they were ruled independently. It also had its own Constitution. The Kifisós River, only a trickle in summer, flows through the western half; the Ilisós River, often dry, traverses the eastern half. So, let’s take a look at 12 facts about the sacred hill of Athens. Here are some facts about Ancient Athens. 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. The Parthenon was made a Christian church. It is a center for economic, political, financial and culture life in Greece. Athens also created the world's first known democracy. 3. Athens is the third largest city in Europe and it is the home of ancient civilization. Athens was a great center for art, literature, philosophy, and education. The first settlers in Athens were from various ethnic groups that were organized in several kingdoms. When approached from the west, from elsewhere in Europe, what strikes the visitor is the influence of the East—in the food, music, and clamorous street life—perhaps vestiges of a time when Athens was divorced from European society under the yoke of Ottoman rule. Here are 10 fun facts about Athens, Greece that you might not already know: 1. The city was home to Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. Facts about Ancient Greece Government give the interesting ideas and philosophies of the government in ancient Greece. Updates? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The sporting event known as the "Marathon" was created for the first Modern Olympic games set in Athens in 1896. Athens is named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, and daughter of Zeus. 1. 1. Looking for amazing facts and informations about Athens? There were many important city-states in Ancient Greece, but Athens was perhaps the most important and the most powerful. The kings ruled both cities. Weird Fact: The first modern king of Greece was a Bavarian prince and only 17 years old. The long oral tradition, alive even under the invader, has reflected and stimulated a taste for rich talk. Athens is one of the great cities of the world. Athena was the Goddess of War, the female counterpart of Ares. It is really worth a visit, and to make … For treatment of the city in its regional setting, see Greece; historical and cultural aspects are treated further in the article ancient Greek civilization. It had many fine buildings and was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare. The government in Greece especially Athens was made based on the democracy. Facts about Athena. The core of that character is an implacable will to survive, buttressed by a profound sense of loyalty (especially to the family) and patriotism. Europe ’ s head, full-grown and clothed in armor it ’ s oldest weather station 1 Encyclopaedia... 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