Athens, the most important metropolis of Southeast Europe

19 February 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Architecture, European Union, European Capital of Culture, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Academy of Athens © Olavfin

Academy of Athens © Olavfin

Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica periphery and it is one of the world’s oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top