Άθήνα (Athéna)

Άθήνα ('Athéna),¹ is a city of 3.091 million² within a metropolitan area of 3.919 million.³ The city itself is in a plain between two minor rivers on the Attikí⁴ Peninsula in the Decentralized Administration of the same name, in Ελλάς (Ellás).⁵ Its port is on the Saronikós Gulf, an arm of the Aegean, which separates the Attikí Peninsula from the Pelopónnisou.⁶ In classical times, and then again from the foundation of the modern state until the spelling reforms of the 1970s, it was called Άθῆναι ('Athênai). Under classical Roman administration and under some medieval regimes it was Athenae. Under brief Venetian rule it was called Atene and the Ottomans called it Atina. It was very important as the head of the Delian League,⁷ and then again when it became capital of the modern state.

The tallest building as of the spring of 2018 is Άθήνα ('Athéna) Tower 1 (338 feet, 1971). Prior to that the Hilton Άθήνα ('Athéna) was (1963, 213 feet). Other modern buildings include: the National Bank of Greece Head Offices (2002), which is built above an ancient road, part of which is preserved in the basement; and the Hellenic Parliament Building (1843), built at a cost of 5.45 million gold drachmas.

The 156 meter tall hill called the Acropolis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that honors the remains of the ancient classical buildings. These include the Propylaia (started 438 BCE), a temple whose base design was by Mnesicles; the Erectheion (completed 404 BCE); Άθῆναι ('Athênai) Nike Temple (completed 423 BCE), designed by Kalikrates; and the Parthenon (completed 438 BCE), a tourist attraction.⁸.

Another ancient building, completed in 132 CE, centuries after it was started, was the Temple of Olympian Zeus.⁹

In the suburb of Χαϊδάρι (Chaïdári, population 46 thousand²) is the Monastery of Daphni, which is one third of a UNESCO World Heritage Site honoring similar monasteries. Each 'are built on a cross-in-square plan with a large dome supported by squinches defining an octagonal space. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries they were decorated with superb marble works as well as mosaics on a gold background'.¹⁰

Άθήνα (Athéna) International Airport is located near the city and is the nation's busiest.¹¹

Historical maps

External references

Overview of Athéna, Attikí, Ellás

Footnotes

1. Also transliterated as 'Athína; Athens in English.
2. 2011 figure from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Greece, accessed March 21, 2018.
3. 2012 metropolitan figure from world-gazetteer.com, accessed February 6, 2013. db-worldua, downloaded February 14, 2018 from http://www.demographia.com/, had 3.475 million. It is the largest city in what is now Ελλάς (Ellás).
4. Attica in English.
5. Also called Ελλάδα (Elláda); Greece in English.
6. Peloponnesus in English.
7. The Delian League did not have formal name as it was nominally (and began as) an association of allies. Today it is sometimes called the Athenican Empire when referencing the period when it effectively was an extension of Άθῆναι ('Athênai).
8. http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-greece/, accessed March 27, 2018.
9. Information about buildings comes from emporis.com, accessed May 1 and 5, 2018. The Άθήνα ('Athéna) ERA-1 Mediumwave Radio [wired] Mast and the Parnitha Communications Tower are taller at 722 and 354 feet respectively.
10. UNESCO, World Heritage Sites (Firefly Books, 2010). The city was also the site of a notorious German concentration camp.
11. 2017 table from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_busiest_airports_in_Greece, accessed March 27, 2018.
12. Tertius Chandler, Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth, 2nd ed. (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1987), "Tables of the World's Largest Cities." In 430 BCE it was the third largest city in the world, and it was the largest in what is now Ελλάς (Ellás) in 430 BCE, 200 BCE, 100 CE, 361 and 1900. In 361 CE it was smaller than Rayy, which was smaller than Suzhou, which was smaller than Kavery, which was smaller than Avgvsta Treverorvm (today's Trier), which had 60,000 residents; it was larger than Nisibus, which was larger than Καισάρεια (Kaisáreia), which was larger than Chengdu, which was larger than Wuchang (now part of Wuhan), which was larger than Nishapur, Tonguoo, ירושלים (Yerushalayim) and Leptis, all of which had a population of 50,000.
13. Chandler, op. cit.: 'Cities of Europe' tables.