The city of Athens, the capital of Greece, is an amazing and very interesting place, soaked through with history. Some of its corners still remember ancient times, and the number of architectural attractions here is simply off the scale. This is an insanely beautiful place, and it is not surprising that millions of tourists come here every year.
25 Interesting Facts about Athens :
* In Greek, the name of the capital coincides with the name of the goddess Athena, who was considered the patroness of the city named after him.
* Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world, but at the same time, despite its age, it is the youngest European capital. They became the capital of modern Greece only in 1834, and the first capital of the modern Greek state was a less interesting city — Nafplion.
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* Democracy, as a form of government, appeared precisely here. This happened about three millennia ago when the art of public speaking began to develop and the institution of elections appeared.
* More than 4.5 million people live here, and the population density reaches 7,500 people per 1 km2.
* It is one of the few cities where the Olympic Games were held more than once – in 1896 and 2004.
* Before Athens was proclaimed the capital of Greece, the local population barely reached 5,000 people. Over the past almost two centuries, it has increased hundreds of times.
* At night, special workers scatter stones near the Parthenon so that tourists can take “pieces” of the ancient structure with them. If not for such measures, the Parthenon would have been dismantled for souvenirs long ago. The authorities of Rome do the same in the case of the Colosseum.
* The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, in 1896. Athletes from 14 countries of the world took part in them.
* One of the most famous local attractions is the Acropolis of Athens. It was built more than 2000 years ago.
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* Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a history of more than 3,400 years. And for the first time, ancient people appeared here somewhere between 7 and 11 millennia BC.
* The Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of each Olympic Games traditionally begins with the delegation of Greece, as the ancestor country of the Olympic Games, and ends with the delegation of the state where the Games are held. In 2004, when the Olympics were held in Athens, the conflict was resolved in this way: the parade was opened by one Greek flag bearer, and the rest of the Greek team was at the end.
* In 1821, the struggle of the Greeks for independence from the Ottoman Empire began. In one of the battles, the Greeks besieged the Acropolis of Athens. When the Turks began to run out of ammunition, they began to open the columns of the Parthenon, remove lead fasteners from there, and cut them into bullets. Having learned about this, the Greeks themselves sent a batch of lead to the enemy, just to prevent the destruction of the monument.
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* Now Athens is one of the world’s main centers of archaeological research.
* When laying tunnels for the construction of the Athens metro, about 50 thousand ancient artifacts were found. Some of them were sent to museums, and some were used to decorate the stations of the Athens metro.
* There are 148 theaters in Athens. This is more than in any other city in the world.
* and the residents of Athens have experienced their centuries-old history on their skin almost all known forms of government: monarchy, democratic state, socialism, capitalism, and even communism.
* In ancient Greece, Athens was famous for its sandals. They are still popular here today, and not only as a souvenir. The most expensive and authentic models are sewn exclusively by hand.
* Once a temperature of +48 degrees Celsius was recorded here. This is more than in any other city in Europe.
* Most historians agree that the first theaters in the world appeared in Athens.
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Conclusion:
* In 1985, Athens was awarded the title of the cultural capital of Europe, which is a transitional one. It was the Greek capital that became the first city to receive this status. A new city is chosen every year.
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