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Athens map
Athina map. Athens map (Greece) to print. Athens map (Greece) to download. Exciting and exasperating, worldly and oh so hot, a city that attacks the senses and stirs the spirit as only the cradle of Western civilization can (see Athens map). Athens is homeland to gods, goddesses, and some of history greatest philosophers and athletes, Athens boasts glorious ancient temples such as the Acropolis and its iconic Parthenon, and beautiful beaches.
Athens (ancient Greek: αἱ Ἀθῆναι (plural), evolving into the modern αι Αθήναι in Greek until recently, and η Αθήνα now (IPA [i aˈθina]: singular see below: Athens map) is both the largest and the capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery. Athens is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world with a recorded history of at least 3,000 years.
Ancient Athens, in contrast with the modern city with the same name, was a powerful city-state (see Athens map). The Athens ancient city itself was a center for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato Academy and Aristotle Lyceum. Athens was also the birthplace of Socrates, Pericles, Sophocles, and many other prominent philosophers, politicians and writers of the ancient world.
In ancient Greek, the name of Athens was αἱ Ἀθῆναι IPA [haɪ atʰɛ̑ːnaɪ], related tο ἡ Ἀθηνᾶ IPA [hɛː atʰɛːnȃː] and its dialectal variant ἡ Ἀθήνη IPA [hɛː atʰɛ́ːnɛː], the Attic and Ionic names respectively of the goddess Athena. Athens name may have been in the plural, like those of αἱ Θῆβαι (Thêbai) and αἱ Μυκῆναι (Mukênai), because it consisted of several parts (see Athens map). In the 19th century, αι Αθήναι was formally re-adopted as the city name.
Athens is one of the great tourist centers of the world (see Athens map), thanks to the beauty of the ancient monuments (Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylæa, etc.) of the Acropolis and the wealth of its museums. The agglomeration concentrates nearly a third of the country population. Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and the Summer Games in 2004.