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The Aviation of Tomorrow. Today
Athens is the capital and largest city of
Greece. Athens is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history
spanning around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state that
emerged in conjunction with the seagoing development of the port of Piraeus. A
centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and
Aristotle's Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western
civilization and the birthplace of democracy. Athens is a large cosmopolitan
metropolis and central to economic, maritime, political and cultural life in
Greece.
The heritage of the classical era is still
evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments and works of art, the
most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early
Western civilization. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as
well as a smaller number of Ottoman monuments.
Athens is home to two UNESCO World
Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery.
Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108
years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. Athens is home to
the National Archeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of
ancient Greek antiquities, as well as the new Acropolis Museum.
Visit the City website: www.thisisathens.org/