Athens, ATH ihnz or ATH uhnz (pop. 789,116; met. area pop. 3,187,734), is one of the world's most famous and historic cities. It became the capital of Greece in 1833, after the Greeks freed themselves from Ottoman rule. But Athens's greatest fame dates from the 400's B.C., when it was the world's most powerful and most highly civilized city. The city's name in Greek is Athinai.
Athens lies on a plain near the southern end of Attica, a peninsula that extends from southeastern Greece into the Aegean Sea. A crescent of mountains up to 4,600 feet (1,400 meters) high bounds Athens on the west, north, and east. Athens is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Piraeus, Greece's largest seaport.
When Greece gained independence in 1829, Athens had only a few thousand people. The modern city dates from the reign of Otto I, a Bavarian prince who became the first ruler of the new Greek kingdom. Otto was king of Greece from 1832 to 1862. Under his direction, German architects planned and built modern Athens.
Ancient Athens was the leading cultural center of the Greek world. Many of the most gifted writers of Greece lived there. They wrote works of drama, history, lyric poetry, and philosophy that have influenced literature for centuries. Athenian architects built masterpieces of classical beauty, and the ruins of many of these structures may still be seen. The government of ancient Athens provided an example of democracy that has inspired lawmakers ever since. The ancient Athenian statesman Pericles called Athens the "school of Greece." In many ways, the city was the birthplace of Western civilization.
