Athens (Athina) is named after Athena – the goddess of wisdom – who, according to legend, won the city after defeating Poseidon in a duel. The goddess’ victory was celebrated by the construction of a temple on the Acropolis, the site of the city’s earliest settlement in Attica.
As a city state, the coastal capital of Athens reached its heyday in the fifth century BC. The office of the statesman, Pericles – between 461BC and his death in 429BC – saw an unprecedented spate of construction resulting in many of the great classical buildings – the Parthenon, Erechtheion, Hephaisteion and the temple at Sounion – now regarded as icons of ancient Greece. Physical evidence of the city’s success was matched by achievements in the intellectual arts. Democracy was born, drama flourished and Socrates conceived the foundations of Western philosophy. Remarkably, although the cultural legacy of this period has influenced Western civilisation ever since, the classical age in Athens only lasted for five decades. Under the Macedonians and Romans, the city retained a privileged cultural and political position but became a prestigious backwater of the Empire rather than a major player. The birth of Christianity heralded a long period of occupation and decline, culminating in 1456 and four centuries of Turkish domination, which has left an indelible cultural mark on the city. By the end of the 18th century, Athens was also suffering the indignity of having the artistic achievements of its classical past removed by looting collectors.
Modern Athens was born in 1834, when the city was restored as the capital of a newly independent Greece. Greek refugees flooded the city at the end of the Greek–Turkish war, swelling the population. After World War II, American money funded a massive expansion and industrialisation programme. The rapid growth of the post-war years and the high temperatures of its Mediterranean climate, have created a city that can often be polluted and could be described as an urban sprawl. Excessive traffic creates a gridlock on the streets of Athens and noxious fumes (néfos) in the air, although great efforts are being made to reduce this. Visitors with visions of gleaming marble and philosophers in white robes are understandably perturbed that the architectural achievements of Athens’ classical past are surrounded by the unforgiving concrete of indiscriminate 20th-century urbanisation. Over three million visitors come to the city each year but the majority see the sights as quickly as possible – as if fulfilling some cultural duty – before heading off for the easy hedonism of the Greek islands.
However, Athens repays a closer acquaintance. In addition to the celebrated classical sites, the city boasts Byzantine, medieval and 19th-century monuments, as well as one of the best museums in the world and areas of surprising natural beauty. Despite the traffic, an appealing village-like quality becomes evident in the cafés, tavernas, markets and the maze of streets around the Pláka. Moreover, Athens has the finest restaurants and the most varied nightlife in the country and remains a major European centre of culture, celebrated each year at the Athens Festival. The metropolitan area, including the port at Piraeus, is the indisputable industrial and economic powerhouse of the country and the return of the Olympic Games in 2004 is prompting a flurry of new development. Major projects include the new, now fully functioning, Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, the extension of the Athens metro system, the building of new sports venues and the upgrading of hotel accommodation. In addition, ancient sites within the city centre are being linked by a traffic-free ‘archaeological promenade’ intended to enhance the urban environment for locals and visitors alike.
HotelsArgentina.com - Hotel discount service for Buenos Aires and other cities in Argentina
HotelsAustria.com - Hotel discount service for Vienna and other cities in Austria
HotelsAustralia.com - Hotel discount service for Sydney and other cities in Australia
HotelsBelgium.net - Hotel discount service for Brussels and other cities in Belgium
HotelsBulgaria.com - Hotel discount service for Sofia and other cities in Bulgaria
HotelsBrazil.com - Hotel discount service for Rio de Janeiro and other cities in Brazil
HotelsBahamas.com - Hotel discount service for Nassau and other cities in Bahamas
HotelsBelarus.net - Hotel discount service for Minsk and other cities in Belarus
Hotels-Canada.net - Hotel discount service for Toronto and other cities in Canada
HotelsSwitzerland.com - Hotel discount service for Zurich and other cities in Switzerland
HotelsChile.net - Hotel discount service for Santiago de Chile and other cities in Chile
HotelsChina.net - Hotel discount service for Beijing and other cities in China
HotelsCyprus.com - Hotel discount service for Nicosia and other cities in Cyprus
HotelsCzech.com - Hotel discount service for Prague and other cities in Czech Republic
HotelsGermany.net - Hotel discount service for Berlin and other cities in Germany
HotelsDenmark.com - Hotel discount service for Copenhagen and other cities in Denmark
HotelsEcuador.com - Hotel discount service for Quito and other cities in Ecuador
HotelsEstonia.com - Hotel discount service for Tallinn and other cities in Estonia
HotelsEgypt.com - Hotel discount service for Cairo and other cities in Egypt
HotelsSpain.com - Hotel discount service for Madrid and other cities in Spain
HotelsFinland.com - Hotel discount service for Helsinki and other cities in Finland
HotelsFrance.net - Hotel discount service for Paris and other cities in France
HotelsGreece.com - Hotel discount service for Athens and other cities in Greece
HotelsHongkong.com - Hotel discount service for Hong Kong and other cities in Hong Kong
HotelsCroatia.com - Hotel discount service for Zagreb and other cities in Croatia
HotelsHungary.com - Hotel discount service for Budapest and other cities in Hungary
HotelsIreland.net - Hotel discount service for Dublin and other cities in Ireland
HotelsIndia.net - Hotel discount service for New Delhi and other cities in India
HotelsIceland.com - Hotel discount service for Reykjavik and other cities in Iceland
HotelsItaly.com - Hotel discount service for Rome and other cities in Italy
HotelsJordan.com - Hotel discount service for Amman and other cities in Jordan
HotelsJapan.com - Hotel discount service for Tokyo and other cities in Japan
HotelsKorea.com - Hotel discount service for Seoul and other cities in Korea
HotelsLithuania.com - Hotel discount service for Vilnius and other cities in Lithuania
HotelsLuxembourg.com - Hotel discount service for Luxembourg and other cities in Luxembourg
HotelsLatvia.com - Hotel discount service for Riga and other cities in Latvia
HotelsMoldova.net - Hotel discount service for Chisinau and other cities in Moldova
HotelsMalta.net - Hotel discount service for Valletta and other cities in Malta
Hotels-Mexico.net - Hotel discount service for Mexico City and other cities in Mexico
HotelsHolland.net - Hotel discount service for Amsterdam and other cities in Holland
HotelsNorway.com - Hotel discount service for Oslo and other cities in Norway
HotelsPanama.com - Hotel discount service for Panama City and other cities in Panama
HotelsPeru.com - Hotel discount service for Lima and other cities in Peru
HotelsPhilippines.com - Hotel discount service for Manila and other cities in Philippines
HotelsPoland.com - Hotel discount service for Warsaw and other cities in Poland
HotelsPortugal.com - Hotel discount service for Lisbon and other cities in Portugal
HotelsRomania.com - Hotel discount service for Bucharest and other cities in Romania
HotelsRussia.com - Hotel discount service for Moscow and other cities in Russia
HotelsSweden.com - Hotel discount service for Stockholm and other cities in Sweden
HotelsSlovenia.com - Hotel discount service for Ljubljana and other cities in Slovenia
HotelsSlovakia.com - Hotel discount service for Bratislava and other cities in Slovakia
HotelsThailand.net - Hotel discount service for Bangkok and other cities in Thailand
HotelsTurkey.com - Hotel discount service for Istanbul and other cities in Turkey
HotelsUkraine.com - Hotel discount service for Kiev and other cities in Ukraine
HotelsEngland.com - Hotel discount service for London and other cities in England
HotelsUruguay.com - Hotel discount service for Montevideo and other cities in Uruguay
HotelsVenezuela.com - Hotel discount service for Caracas and other cities in Venezuela
HotelsVietnam.net - Hotel discount service for Hanoi and other cities in Vietnam
HotelsSouthAfrica.com - Hotel discount service for Johannesburg and other cities in South Africa
