[159] Greece's most notable, and internationally famous, composers of Greek song, mainly of the entechno form, are Manos Hadjidakis and Mikis Theodorakis. National and regional bus links are provided by KTEL from two InterCity Bus Terminals, Kifissos Bus Terminal A and Liosion Bus Terminal B, both located in the north-western part of the city. The first modern city plan consisted of a triangle defined by the Acropolis, the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos and the new palace of the Bavarian king (now housing the Greek Parliament), so as to highlight the continuity between modern and ancient Athens. It connects Athens to the numerous Greek islands of the Aegean Sea, with ferries departing, while also serving the cruise ships that arrive. The 2004 Summer Olympics required the development of the Athens Olympic Stadium, which has since gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, and one of its most interesting modern monuments. [49][50][51] Dut to the large area covered by Athens Metropolitan Area, there are notable climatic differences between parts of the urban conglomeration. 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. Athens Municipality is the largest in population size in Greece. (el) (Petralona), football club founded in 1963, with earlier presence in Beta Ethniki, Attikos F.C. The hills of Athens also provide green space. The city has also been host to sports events of international importance. Thus, the Old Royal Palace was the first important public building to be built, between 1836 and 1843. 201–216. [citation needed] Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος (áthos) or ἄνθος (ánthos) meaning "flower", to denote Athens as the "flowering city". The Athens Metro is operated by STASY S.A (Greek: ΣΤΑΣΥ) (Statheres Sygkoinonies S.A) which is a subsidiary company of OASA (Athens urban transport organisation) and provides public transport throughout the Athens Urban Area. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Athens commuter rail service, referred to as the "Proastiakós", connects Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport to the city of Kiato, 106 km (66 mi)[131] west of Athens, via Larissa station, the city's central rail station and the port of Piraeus. [2] The four regional units that make up what is referred to as Greater Athens have a combined population of 2,640,701. 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 architects of this era employed materials such as glass, marble and aluminium, and many blended modern and classical elements. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Greek gods and goddesses could be many things, but they were never boring. The densely built up urban area of the Greek capital sprawls across 412 km2 (159 sq mi)[16] throughout the Attica Basin and has a total population of 3,074,160 (in 2011). [26] Athenians were called cicada-wearers (Ancient Greek: Τεττιγοφόροι) because they used to wear pins of golden cicadas. [10] In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The resulting tensions brought about the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), in which Athens was defeated by its rival Sparta. After the Fourth Crusade the Duchy of Athens was established. The span of the Attiki Odos in all its length is 65 km (40 mi),[145] making it the largest metropolitan motorway network in all of Greece. In 1896, the city had a population of 123,000[99] and the event helped boost the city's international profile. Also in the Iliad, Zeus, the chief god, specifically assigns the sphere of war to Ares, the god of war, and Athena. The only legal uber in Athens is taxi uber that uses regular taxis at regular taxi prices.Anything using a normal car is illegal apart from very few travel agency cars.Finding one is a challenge.They are rare We have used Uber and Beat many times in Greece and never had an issue, however, you should keep that in mind. The Maximos Mansion, official office of the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, in Herodou Attikou Street. [24][25] Cecrops accepted this gift[24] and declared Athena the patron goddess of Athens. Greek composers begin to write music using the tunes of the tango, waltz, swing, foxtrot, some times combined with melodies in the style of Athenian serenades' repertory. Discover the best entertainment in Athens, Greece including Greek National Opera, Megaron, Onassis Cultural Centre. Other universities that lie within Athens are the Athens University of Economics and Business, the Panteion University, the Agricultural University of Athens and the University of Piraeus. Kifissos provides connections towards Peloponnese, North Greece, West Greece and some Ionian Islands, whereas Liosion is used for most of Central Greece. A visitor will quickly notice the absence of tall buildings: Athens has very strict height restriction laws in order to ensure the Acropolis hill is visible throughout the city. Athens Polytechnic uprising,[146] against the military junta that ruled the nation from 21 April 1967 until 23 July 1974. The term Athens can refer either to the Municipality of Athens, to Greater Athens, or to the entire Athens Urban Area. Athens is one of the major economic centres in south-eastern Europe and is considered as a regional economic power in Europe generally. Furthermore, some coastal areas of Athens, known as the Athens Riviera have a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) according to the climate atlas published by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (H.N.M.S).[47]. These clubs also have basketball teams; Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are among the top powers in European basketball, having won the Euroleague six times and three respectively, whilst AEK Athens was the first Greek team to win a European trophy in any team sport. Athens hosts 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes which promote and facilitate research by scholars from their home countries. The Cephissus river, the Ilisos and the Eridanos stream are the historical rivers of Athens. Nevertheless, air pollution still remains an issue for Athens, particularly during the hottest summer days. Although the heavy cost was criticized, estimated at $1.5 billion, Athens was transformed into a more functional city that enjoys modern technology both in transportation and in modern urban development. The line 3 (Blue Line) runs from Nikaia station, through the central Monastiraki and Syntagma stations to Doukissis Plakentias avenue in the northeastern suburb of Halandri. The Parthenon, on the Acropolis, in Athens. The Athens Urban Area is considered to form the city of Athens as a whole, despite its administrative divisions, which is the largest in Greece and one of the most populated urban areas in Europe. Fencing before the king of Greece at the 1896 Summer Olympics. It is also a major national hub for Intercity (Ktel) and international buses as well as for domestic and international rail transport. However, Athens, like many other Bronze Age settlements, went into economic decline for around 150 years afterwards. By the mid-4th century BC, the northern Greek kingdom of Macedon was becoming dominant in Athenian affairs. Later in the mid and late 19th century, Theophil Freiherr von Hansen and Ernst Ziller took part in the construction of many neoclassical buildings such as the Athens Academy and the Zappeion Hall. Some people would argue that this freedom was only due to the need for extensive child birth, but freedom is freedom. Beginning in the 1920s, modern architecture including Bauhaus and Art Deco began to exert an influence on almost all Greek architects, and buildings both public and private were constructed in accordance with these styles. Greece attracted 26.5 million visitors in 2015, 30.1 million visitors in 2017 and over 33 million in 2018, making Greece one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world, and contributing 18% to the nation's Gross Domestic Product. All the activities of UNIWA are carried out in the modern infrastructure of the three University Campuses within the metropolitan region of Athens (Egaleo Park, Ancient Olive Groove and Athens), which offer modern teaching and research spaces, entertainment and support facilities for all students. Athens expanded its settlement in the second half of the Middle Byzantine Period, in the 9th to 10th centuries AD, and was relatively prosperous during the Crusades, benefiting from Italian trade. Ziller also designed many private mansions in the centre of Athens which gradually became public, usually through donations, such as Schliemann's Iliou Melathron. Another important Athenian sport club is the Athens Tennis Club founded in 1895 with important offer for the Greek tennis.[162]. 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. As an example, Ioannina receives around 1,300 mm (51 in) per year, and Agrinio around 800 mm (31 in) per year. Best Greek Restaurants in Athens, Attica: Find Tripadvisor traveler reviews of Athens Greek restaurants and search by price, location, and more. [41] The crisis eased by mid-January when authorities began taking the garbage to a temporary landfill. Outside Crete, Athens, and the Ottoman-era Cretan Greek Muslims also speak the dialect. This idea later lost support from the IOC and these games were discontinued. The northern suburbs tend to be wetter and cooler in winter, whereas the southern suburbs are some of the driest locations in Greece and record very high minimum temperatures in summer. There is so much to see and do in Athens, Greece! :: We Advertise you. The atmosphere of such a competition is described in full detail in the Iliad, the oldest literary work written in the Greek alphabetic script. Jump to phrases. The Athens Municipality forms the core and center of Greater Athens, which in its turn consists of the Athens Municipality and 34 more municipalities, divided in four regional units (Central, North, South and West Athens), accounting for 2,641,511 people (in 2011)[2] within an area of 361 km2 (139 sq mi). Retrieved 2 June 2014. The splendid sport report of book 23 containing the funeral games in honour of Patroclus spends 391 verses on the topic of chariot racing. Athens has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in 1896 and 2004. In the list with the strongest economic metropoles of the world Athens was ranked that year 102nd, while the GDP per capita for the same year was 32,000 US-dollars.[118]. Lycabettus, Philopappos hill and the area around it, including Pnyx and Ardettos hill, are planted with pines and other trees, with the character of a small forest rather than typical metropolitan parkland. She was essentially urban and civilized, the antithesis in many respects of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors. She was the daughter of Zeus, produced without a mother, so that she emerged full-grown from his forehead. During the first three years of preparations, the International Olympic Committee had expressed concern over the speed of construction progress for some of the new Olympic venues. 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. [atʰɛ̂ːnai̯]) is the capital and largest city of Greece. euro (€) Greek. [42] It also ranks as a very safe city (39th globally out of 162 cities overall) on the ranking of the safest and most dangerous countries. The large City Centre (Greek: Κέντρο της Αθήνας) of the Greek capital falls directly within the Municipality of Athens or Athens Municipality (Greek: Δήμος Αθηναίων)—also City of Athens. Multinational companies such as Ericsson, Sony, Siemens, Motorola, Samsung, Microsoft, Novartis, Mondelez, Coca-Cola, etc. Tondo of the Aison Cup, showing the victory of Theseus over the Minotaur in the presence of Athena. Over the past decade, the city's infrastructure and social amenities have improved, in part because of its successful bid to stage the 2004 Olympic Games. (1985). Being the favourite child of Zeus, she had great power. Today it is often simply called η πρωτεύουσα ī protévousa 'the capital'. In earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη (Athḗnē). She inspired three of Phidias’s sculptural masterpieces, including the massive chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Athena Parthenos once housed in the Parthenon; and in Aeschylus’s dramatic tragedy Eumenides she founded the Areopagus (Athens’s aristocratic council), and, by breaking a deadlock of the judges in favour of Orestes, the defendant, she set the precedent that a tied vote signified acquittal. In late June 2007,[39] the Attica region experienced a number of brush fires,[39] including a blaze that burned a significant portion of a large forested national park in Mount Parnitha,[40] considered critical to maintaining a better air quality in Athens all year round. It is also the busiest passenger port in Europe and one of the largest passenger ports in the world. It actually sprawls over the whole peninsula of Attica, which is the best part of the region of Attica, excluding the islands. The table below shows the historical population of Athens in recent times. of the 10th International Conference on Meteorology, Climatology and Atmospheric Physics, Patras, Greece, 25–28 May 2010, pp. Search. The rapid expansion of the modern city, which continues to this day, was initiated in the 1950s and 1960s, because of Greece's transition from an agricultural to an industrial nation. [123], OSY (Greek: ΟΣΥ) (Odikes Sygkoinonies S.A.) which is subsidiary company of OASA (Athens urban transport organisation), is the main operator of buses and trolleybusses in Athens. There are overall ten state-supported Institutions of Higher (or Tertiary) education located in the Athens Urban Area, these are by chronological order: Athens School of Fine Arts (1837), National Technical University of Athens (1837), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1837), Agricultural University of Athens (1920), Athens University of Economics and Business (1920), Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (1927), University of Piraeus (1938), Harokopio University of Athens (1990), School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (2002), University of West Attica (2018). [163], The 2004 Games were judged a success, as both security and organization worked well, 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 meeting the challenges of holding the Olympic Games. Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834, following Nafplion, which was the provisional capital from 1829. "Passive Cooling and Urban Layout". Considered one of the most praised poets of the second half of the 20th century, Elytis was born on Crete in 1911 and passed away in Athens in 1996. Public transport is serviced by a variety of transportation means, forming the largest mass transit system of Greece. After the establishment of the modern Greek state, and partly due to the conservatism of the written language, Ἀθῆναι [aˈθine] again became the official name of the city and remained so until the abandonment of Katharevousa in the 1970s, when Ἀθήνα, Athína, became the official name. In 500 BC the area probably contained 200,000 people. In the last round of voting, Athens defeated Rome with 66 votes to 41. Athens is the financial capital of Greece. [24][25] Eight different etymologies, now commonly rejected, were proposed during the 17th century. They are often to be found in the same areas, as Athens is not marked by a uniformity of architectural style. When Demetrius of Phalerum conducted a population census in 317 BC the population was 21,000 free citizens, plus 10,000 resident aliens and 400,000 slaves. [46] With an average of 455 millimetres (17.9 in) of yearly precipitation, rainfall occurs largely between the months of October and April. The "Golden Age" of Ancient Greece then inspired the literature that has been read by people for centuries. Athens (/ˈæθɪnz/ ATH-inz;[4] Greek: Αθήνα, romanized: Athína [aˈθina] (listen); Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, romanized: Athênai (pl.) Filters. Athens, historic city and capital of Greece. Santamouris M., Papanikolaou N., Livada I., Koronakis I., Georgakis A., Assimakopoulos D.N. The new stations will be Maniatika, Piraeus and Dimotiko Theatro. Corrections? Découvrez vos propres épingles sur Pinterest et enregistrez-les. 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. 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). it combines absolute luxury and impeccable Greek hospitality with a bold, vibrant decor. Extensions are under construction to the west southwest suburbs of Athens, as far as the port of Piraeus. 12/01/2021: 49.888 internships and jobs in 122 countries | Personalised work abroad recommendations for students and graduates | Graduate Jobs in Athens, Greece | Sign-up free. In 2018, the airport handled 24,135,736 passengers, a huge increase over the last 4 years. area and average elevation)", http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=urb_lpop1&lang=en, "Sentiment a factor as Athens gets 2004 Olympics", "As forest fires burn, suffocated Athens is outraged", "Rot sets in as Athens's trash problem mounts", "SAFE CITIES INDEX 2017: Security in a rapidly urbanizing world", "Is Athens Safe? During the 1920s a number of Greek refugees, expelled from Asia Minor after the Greco-Turkish War, swelled Athens's population; nevertheless it was most particularly following World War II, and from the 1950s and 1960s, that the population of the city exploded, and Athens experienced a gradual expansion. Beyond Athens and across the prefecture of Attica, outdoor activities include skiing, rock climbing, hang gliding and windsurfing. [152][153] In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens plays host to open air garden cinemas. During the classical period the city's population is estimated from 150,000 to 350,000 and up to 610,000 according to Thucydides. [24] According to the account given by Pseudo-Apollodorus, Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a salt water spring welled up. Hiking and mountain-biking in all four mountains are popular outdoor activities for residents of the city. "On the impact of urban climate on the energy consumption of buildings". In the 1950s and 1960s during the extension and development of Athens, other modern movements such as the International style played an important role. The banking sector is represented by National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank, while the Bank of Greece is also situated in the City Centre. Voir plus d'idées sur le thème circuit grece, grece, athènes. The municipality of Piraeus, the historic Athenian port, with 4 other municipalities make up the regional unit of Piraeus. A collection of useful phrases in Greek, a Hellenic language spoken spoken mainly in Greece and Cyprus. [27] In classical literature, the city was sometimes referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindar's ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι (iostéphanoi Athânai), or as τὸ κλεινὸν ἄστυ (tò kleinòn ásty, "the glorious city"). In 2014, the airport handled 15,196,369 passengers, an increase of 21.2% over the previous year of 2013. ACHILLES Ἀχιλλεύς m Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized) From the Greek Ἀχιλλεύς (Achilleus), which is of unknown meaning, perhaps derived from Greek ἄχος (achos) meaning "pain" or else from the name of the Achelous River. Landmarks of the modern era, dating back to the establishment of Athens as the capital of the independent Greek state in 1834, include the Hellenic Parliament and the so-called "architectural trilogy of Athens", consisting of the National Library of Greece, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Academy of Athens. Sparta was by far the better of the two City-States in Ancient Greece to be woman. There are also transfer connections with the Blue Line 3 at Syntagma station and with the tram at Syntagma, Syngrou Fix and Neos Kosmos stations. It employs a staff of 14,000.[136]. The Red Line has transfer connections with the Green Line 1 at Attiki and Omonia stations. Of the venues used for these Olympics, the Kallimarmaro Stadium, and Zappeion were most crucial. "On the impact of Urban Climate to the Energy Consumption of Buildings". While its main purpose is transport, it also houses Greek artifacts found during construction of the system. Areas to Avoid and Other Warnings", "Worldwide Quality of Living ranking 2019", "Founda D. (2011). Orea Hellas. The intercalated competitions were intermediate games to the internationally organized Olympics, and were meant to be organized in Greece every four years, between the main Olympics. Smaller zoos exist within public gardens or parks, such as the zoo within the National Garden of Athens. As a war goddess Athena could not be dominated by other goddesses, such as Aphrodite, and as a palace goddess she could not be violated. [160] The biggest stadium in the country, it hosted two finals of the UEFA Champions League, in 1994 and 2007. Athena’s association with the acropolises of various Greek cities probably stemmed from the location of the kings’ palaces there. [132] The expansion to Piraeus will include 12 new stations, increase the overall length of tram route by 5.4 km (3 mi), and increase the overall transportation network. The ancient site of the main city is centred on the rocky hill of the acropolis. Athens is a Beta global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network,[11] and is one of the biggest economic centers in southeastern Europe. [74][75] The landmark Dionysiou Areopagitou Street has been pedestrianised, forming a scenic route. 209–218. Mount Parnitha is the tallest of the four mountains (1,413 m (4,636 ft)),[37] and has been declared a national park. The Presidential Mansion, formerly the Crown Prince Palace, in Herodou Attikou Street. The Maniot dialect belongs to the local area of Mani. The National Technical University of Athens is located on Patision Street. The Roman Agora and the Gate of Athena in Plaka district. The city has the largest airport in Greece and the largest port in Greece, which is also the largest port in Mediterranean in containers transport and the largest passenger port in Europe. For the greatest part of the 19th century Neoclassicism dominated Athens, as well as some deviations from it such as Eclecticism, especially in the early 20th century. Sparta’s view toward their women was more liberal than that of Athens. Helen Iatrou. Its network consists of about 300 bus lines and 22 trolleybus lines which span the Athens Metropolitan Area,[124] with a fleet of 1,839 buses and 366 trolleybuses. 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 congestion, had evolved into the city's most important challenge. [128] The Athens Metro runs three metro lines, namely the line 1 (Green Line), line 2 (Red Line) and line 3 (Blue Line) lines, of which the first was constructed Greco-Roman and Neoclassical to modern times she is associated primarily with Athens, Greece.! 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