The Modern City
Athens, with its suburbs, occupies much of the plain of Attica, which lies at the southern tip of Greece. Distant, low mountains, including the Aigaleas, Imittos, Pendeli, and Parnis ranges, flank the city on three sides. Several isolated hills, including the Acropolis, interrupt the plain within Athens. The Acropolis, rising 512 feet (156 m) above sea level, is the site of the Parthenon and other ancient ruins and is Athens' best-known landmark. The terrain is open and low-lying southward from Athens to the Aegean Sea and Piraeus, the chief port of Greece.
When Athens was made the capital of Greece in 1834, its few citizens lived in a cluster of houses at the base of the Acropolis. The building of a modern city began during the reign of Otto I, Greece's first king (1833-62). Much of Athens as it is known today dates from the late 19th and the 20th centuries.
Omonia (Concord) Square, upon which several main thoroughfares converge, is a major center of the city's commercial activity. Venizelou and Stadiou avenues, lined with fashionable hotels and fine shops and stores, lead southeastward from Omonia to busy Sintagma (Constitution) Square. Facing the square is the former Royal Palace (built 1836-42), where parliament now meets. Nearby are the opera, the National Library, a university, the Academy of Athens, and the spacious National Garden. Adjoining the garden is the Panathenean Stadium, or Stadio, completed in the 1890's on the site of the city's ancient stadium. It was the scene in 1896 of the first modern Olympic Games.
Kolonaki, northeast of Sintagma Square, is a fashionable residential area. Between the square and the Acropolis lies the Plaka, heart of the old quarter, which dates, for the most part, from the early 19th century. Its narrow cobblestone streets are lined with low, light-colored stucco buildings. Many of the city's nightclubs and restaurants are here. Here, too, is the Metropolis, the cathedral of Athens (built 1840-55) and the seat of the archbishop who presides over the Greek Orthodox Church. Nearby is the former cathedral, built in the 12th century in the Byzantine style of architecture.
Remains of the Agora, the principal marketplace of ancient Athens, border the Plaka. Overlooking the Agora is the Temple of Hephaistos, also called the Theseion, the best-preserved ancient monument in Athens. Excavations have been made in the Agora, and the finds housed in the Agora Museum. South of the Plaka is the Acropolis, crowned by the Parthenon. The partly restored Odeum of Herodes Atticus, a theater built into the side of the Acropolis, is the scene of the annual Athens Festival. Concerts, opera, ballet, and classical drama are performed here.
Institutions of higher learning include the National Capodistrian University of Athens, the National Metsovian Technical University, and various specialized colleges and institutes.
Athens has a number of noted museums. The Benaki Museum features Greek and Byzantine art. In the National Archeological Museum is one of the world's largest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities. The Byzantine Museum is noted for collections of icons and sculptures. Housed in the National Library are more than 2,000,000 volumes. In June 2009, the Acropolis Museum opened. It holds many of Athens' treasured artifacts.
Athens and its port, Piraeus, on the southwest, form the economic heart of Greece. The Athens area produces most of the nation's industrial output, with most of the heavy industry concentrated in Piraeus. Factories and mills manufacture textiles, clothing, chemicals, metal goods, building materials, and machinery. Food processing, oil refining, shipbuilding, and printing and publishing are carried on. The tourist industry contributes heavily to the city's economy. In Athens, the nation's financial hub, are many banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms.
Athens is the crossroads of the Greek central transportation system. It is served by a number of highways and railways. Athens International Airport, northeast of downtown Athens, handles domestic and international flights.
