Athens

This article is about the capital city of Greece. For other uses, see Athens (disambiguation).

Athens Αθήνα
From upper left: the Acropolis, the Hellenic Parliament, the Zappeion, the Acropolis Museum,Monastiraki Square, Athens view towards the sea
Seal
Athens
Coordinates: 37°58′N 23°43′ECoordinates: 37°58′N 23°43′E
Country	Greece
Geographic region	Central Greece
Administrative region	Attica
Regional unit	Central Athens
Districts	7
Government
• Mayor	Giorgos Kaminis(Independent; since 29 December 2010)
Area
• Urban	412 km2 (159 sq mi)
• Metro	2,928.717 km2(1,130.784 sq mi)
• Municipality	38.964 km2 (15.044 sq mi)
Highest elevation	338 m (1,109 ft)
Lowest elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
• Urban	3,090,508
• Urban density	7,500/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
• Metro	4,173,542
• Metro density	1,400/km2 (3,700/sq mi)
• Municipality	664,046
• Municipality density	17,000/km2 (44,000/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	10x xx, 11x xx, 120 xx
Area code(s)	21
Vehicle registration	Yxx, Zxx, Ixx
Website	www.cityofathens.gr

Athens (/ˈæθᵻnz/;^[2] Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athína Greek pronunciation: [aˈθina], Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athénai) is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded historyspanning over 3,400 years, and its earliest human presence starting somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC.^[3]Classical Athens was a powerful city-state that emerged in conjunction with the seagoing development of the port of Piraeus, which had been a distinct city prior to its 5th century BC incorporation with Athens. A centre for the arts, learning andphilosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum,^[4][5] it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy,^[6][7] largely because of its cultural and political impact on the European continent, and in particularthe Romans.^[8] In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2015, Athens was ranked the world's 29th richest city by purchasing power^[9]and the 67th most expensive^[10] in a UBS study.

Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media,entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a large financial sector, and its port Piraeus is both the largest passenger port in Europe^{[11][12][13][14]} and the second largest in the world.^[15] The municipality (city) of Athens had a population of 664,046 (in 2011)^[1] within its administrative limits, and a land area of 38.96 km² (15.04 sq mi).^[16][17] The urban area of Athens (Greater Athens and Greater Piraeus) extends beyond its administrative municipal city limits, with a population of 3,090,508 (in 2011)^[18] over an area of 412 km²(159 sq mi).^[17] According to Eurostat^[19] in 2011, the Functional urban areas (FUA) of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union (the 6th most populous capital city of the EU), with a population of 3,828,000. Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland.

The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. The city also retains Roman and Byzantinemonuments, as well as a smaller number of Ottoman monuments.

Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery. Landmarks of the modern era, dating back to the establishment of Athens as the capital of the independent Greek state in 1834, include theHellenic 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. Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[20] Athens is also home to several large museums, such as the National Archeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, theByzantine and Christian Museum and the new Acropolis Museum.