Athens, Greece Overview

Athens is well-known throughout the world for its historical monuments which were saved, even in part, during the passage of centuries. The sea port of the historical town is the port of Piraeus.

Ιn ancient Greece, Athens bore its name in the plural (“athinai”) and in the 19^th century this name was restored once more as the official name of the city. During the ‘70s - when the use of ‘purist Greek’ was abandoned -the name “athina” was established as an official one.

The complex of town planning covers an area of 412.000 acres throughout the Attica Basin which entails an enclosure by the mountains Aigaleo, Parnitha, Penteli and Immitos. The total population amounts approximately to the one third of the total population of Greece and numbers ,according to the 2001 census, 3.361.806 residents. The height at the centre of the city is estimated at around 20 meters above the sea level, while the morphology of the Attica basin is relatively varied, with hills and bulky mountainous areas.

We are dealing with a quite urbanized city, pretty expensive and with the lowest percentage in greenery for every dweller in contrast to that in the rest of Europe. During the last years many actions have taken place regarding the subversion of the problems the city faces while the metropolitan philosophy of development seems to follow the developmental procedure of the other famous great cities on a global scale.

Your family's much anticipated cheap holidays to Greece would truly be incomplete without a visit to the beautiful capital city of Athens in the sprawling hilly basin of Attica in Greece. Long considered as one of the world's oldest cities with records of its written history accurately dated to be around 3,400 years, Athens is highly regarded as the birthplace of democracy and the cradle of civilization in the Western world. The city has been admired and frequently visited by tourists who fall in love with its charm and vibrant, friendly local populace.

Etymological and hermeneutical references of Athens

It is well-known from the mythology that Athens was named after the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, following a battle of hers with the God of the Sea, Poseidon, so as for each of them to present the best present they had to offer for the city.

In specific, the first King of Greece, Kexropas, who was half- man and half-snake had to decide who would serve as the protector of the city. It was agreed that the two Gods Poseidon και Athena would each provide Kexropa with a present and the one with the best one would become the protector of the city. So, both Athena και Poseidon made their appearance before Kexropas and Poseidon started first by hitting his trident on the ground and immediately a rivulet appeared with crystal clear water. Right after Posseidon, Athena hit her spear on the ground and a small olive tree appeared. Kexropas was puzzled but impressed also by Athena’s present and made up his mind for her to become the protector of the city. So, this is how Athens got its name .

Nevertheless, Poseidon was so infuriated because Kexropas did not choose his present - the rivulet- and cursed Athens never to have enough water. Thus even from back then sprang the problem of water-shortage which sometimes even in our days is a mishap for Athens.