Athens
Athens is the capital city of Greece. It is one of the most famous cities in the world. Scholars disagree on whether the city is named for the goddess Athena, or the goddess for the city. Athens has a population of about 4 million people and is growing. It is in the prefecture, or division of the country, of Attica. It has a borderline cold semi-arid climate (BSk in the Köppen climate classification) and a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Köppen climate classification). The average rainfall is relatively low, due to the rain shadow from the Parnitha mountains. Frost is infrequent and snow does not occur every winter.
| Athens Αθήνα Athīna | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
  | |
| 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 |
| Time zone: | EET/EEST (UTC+2/3) |
| Elevation (min-max): | 70 - 338 m (230 - 1109 ft) |
| Government | |
| Country: | Greece |
| Periphery: | Attica |
| Districts: | 7 |
| Mayor: | Kostas Bakoyannis (New Democracy) (since: 1 September 2019) |
| Population statistics (as of 2011[1]) | |
| Metropolitan | |
| - Population: | 3,737,550 |
| - Area: | 2,928.717 km² (1,131 sq mi) |
| - Density: | 1,276 /km² (3,305 /sq mi) |
| Municipality | |
| - Population: | 655,780 |
| - Area: | 38.964 km² (15 sq mi) |
| - Density: | 16,830 /km² (43,591 /sq mi) |
| Codes | |
| Postal: | 10x xx, 11x xx, 120 xx |
| Telephone: | 21 |
| Auto: | Yxx, Zxx, Ixx (excluding ZAx and INx) |
| Website | |
| www.cityofathens.gr | |
| |
History of AthensEdit
Athens was a powerful city in Classical times. It was known for the amount of learning that happened there. The city was home to Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. It also had its own Constitution. Athens also created the world's first known democracy.
The city started to decline in 529, when the Emperor Justinian I closed its philosophical schools. The Parthenon was made a Christian church. That act saved it later from destruction of non Christian temples, in times of deep Theocracy.
The Ottoman Turks took control of Athens in 1458. The Turks made the Parthenon into a Muslim mosque. The Parthenon was later damaged in 1687 when gunpowder exploded inside it.
Athens was freed from the Turks during the Greek War of Independence (1821-1833). It was an unimportant little town then, but the Greeks made it their capital.
EventsEdit
- 1896 - The Olympic Games took place in Athens.
- 2004 - The Olympic Games took place in Athens.
Sister citiesEdit
Athens has these sister cities:
United States Washington, DC, USA- United States Los Angeles, California, USA [2]
- United States Chicago, Illinois, USA[3]
- United States Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- United States Boston, USA
- United States Athens, Georgia USA
Montreal, Canada
Paris, France
Rome, Italy- Genova, Italy
Madrid, Spain- Barcelona, Spain
Prague, Czech Republic
Moscow, Russia
Beijing, China[4]- Xi'an, People's Republic of China
Istanbul, Turkey
Belgrade, Serbia
Nicosia, Cyprus
Beirut, Lebanon
Santiago, Chile
Rabat, Morocco
Cusco, Peru
Yerevan, Armenia
Sofia, Bulgaria
Bucharest, Romania
Warsaw, Poland
Kiev, Ukraine
Tirana, Albania
Tbilisi, Georgia
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Havana, Cuba
Bethlehem, Palestine
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ "(875 KB) 2001 Census" (PDF). National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ) (in Greek). www.statistics.gr. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
- ↑ http://www.lacity.org/sistercities/
- ↑ "Home". Chicago Sister Cities.
- ↑ http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/ying/default.htm
Other websitesEdit
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Athens. |
| Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: Athens |
- City of Athens official website
- Athens Safety Review
- Photos of Athens
- An Online History of Athens
- Athens travel guide
- Athens Citizendium
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