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This
site is a complete guide to Athens and its
hotels, illustrated by many pictures and also
panoramic animation of 360°. Just follow
the links...
Mythology
According to mythology, Athens was founded
by Cecrops, a Phoenician, who established
the city in a huge rock overlooking the sea.
The Gods of Olympus organized a competition
between the goddess of wisdom, Athena, and
the god of the sea, Poseidon to see which
one of them will make the best gift to the
new city; after that, the city will take the
name of the winner. Poseidon struck a rock
with his trident and a horse sprang forth;
this symbolised qualities of strengh and fortitude.
Athena, in symbole of prosperity and peace,
produced an olive tree. She was the winner
because the Gods declared that her gift was
the most valuable legacy for citizens of Athens
and will better serve them than the arts of
war offered by Poseidon.
History
After its birth, Athens past from a peaceful
agricultural existence to a war-oriented city,
in which the Acropolis was an ideal defensive
position. 1400 BC was the age of the mythical
Theseus who made of the Acropolis a powerful
Mycenaean city, with territory covering most
of Attica. Then, after the Dark Ages (1200
BC-800 BC), Athens lost control of Attica
which split in different small kongdoms. It
is only by the end of the 7th century that
Athens regained control of Attica and became
the cultural centre of Greece. After that,
in a quick summary, aristocrats and tyrants
ruled the city until the beginning of the
5th century; this was followed by the Persian
war during which Athenians defeated Persians
twice: one at the Battle of Marathon and the
other at Salamina. The Classical age was the
famous age of Pericles, who leaded Athens
into a golden age of unprecedented cultural,
artistic and scientific achievements: it was
the age of all the famous tragedians, comedians,
sculptors, historians and philosophers that
we study today. The Peloponnesian wars followed
(431-421 BC and 413-404 BC) and then the Spartan
rule, the Roman and Byzantine rule, followed
again by Christianity and the Byzantine Empire,
the Ottoman rule during 400 years which end
with Greece's independence in 1821. A New
Greek Nation was born, first run by the president
Kapodistria, then by the Bavarian king Otho.
The German occupation came, followed by a
civilian war between monarchists and communists
and the terrible reign of a military group
of colonels, the junta (1967-1974). After
that and since nowdays, the country is controled
by the political party of the left.
As we saw, Greece has a tumultuous and terrible
history full of wars, blood, dictatures, terror,
hunger and pain. That's why all the Greeks
are really proud of their history and roots
and can be quite nationalists sometimes.
Greece is right next to the Balkan Peninsula,
environed by Albanian, Yugoslav Republic,
Bulgaria and Turkey. It is the only EU country
(member since 1989) without a land frontier
with another member. This gives to the country
a proper and original caracter, mixted between
west and east, between orient and occident.
This country is particularly mountainous and
surrounded by sea and ocean.
More...
General Info for Greece
and Athens
All around the city of Athens are hills: Mt
Aigali to the west, Mt Parnitha to the north,
Mt Pendeli to the north-east and Mt Hymettos
to the east. The most famous hill in Athens
is the Acropolis and the highest is Lycavittos
(277m) situated north of the Acropolis.
Greece is very prospice to earthquakes;
a strong one in 1981, then in 1998 and a
lot of minors ones every then and then,
remainds us that Greece (and all the Eastern
Mediterranean) lies at the meeting point
of the Eurasian, African and Arabian continental
plates, which grind away at each other constantly,
producing countless earthquakes.
Climate in Athens is typically Mediterranean
with hot, dry summers and mild winters.
The best period to visit is during April
and May because they are warm (not too hot)
and sunny and less crowded with tourists
than summertime.
Greece is, since 1975, a democratic and
parliamentary republic with a president.
PASOK (left party) is in head of the state
and the actual president is Simitis.
The country is divided into regions (Peloponnese,
Epiros, Thessaly, Macedonia and Thrace)
and island groupes (Cyclades, Dodecanese,
North-Eastern Aegean, Sporades and Saronic
gulf and the Ionian) which are divided into
prefectures called "nomoi"; Athens
is part of nomos Attikis (Attica).
Greece is an agricultural country but tourism
is the biggest economical industry, followed
by shipping.
Population in Athens is composed of descendands
of families forced to live Smyrna (in south-western
Turkey) in 1821, migrants from Albania,
Romania and Russia and, lately, from Bangladeshi,
Iran and Iraq.
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