Agios Georgios Athens

This is the white church you can see from afar at the top of Lykavittos hill. You can reach it either on foot or by the funicular. It dates from 1780 and is a single-naved church with a pendentive dome. It is said that in ancient time the temple of the Akraios Zeus used to be here. It has breath taking views of Athens and the Acropolis

History

During the Frankish occupation, its place was taken by a small chapel of Prophetis Elias which, in turn, gave its place to Agios Georgios the Rider. The exact date of its construction is not known. The bell was a gift from Queen Olga, who had found the church in ruins and taken it under her patronage.

Athens Greece

Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athína, Katharevousa: Athine, Ancient Greek: Athēnai

• Location: Athens is located in Greece
• Coordinates: 37°58′N 23°43′E
• Country: Greece
• Region: Attica
• Regional unit: Central Athens
• Districts: 7
• Mayor: Giorgos Kaminis (PASOK) (since: 29 December 2010)
• Population statistics (as of 2011)
• Urban
Population: 3,074,160
Area: 412 km2 (159 sq mi)
Density: 7,462 /km2 (19,325 /sq mi)
• Metropolitan
Population: 3,737,550
Area: 2,928.717 km2 (1,131 sq mi)
Density: 1,276 /km2 (3,305 /sq mi)
• Municipality
Population: 655,780
Area: 38.964 km2 (15 sq mi)
Density: 16,830 /km2 (43,591 /sq mi)
• Time zone: EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
• Elevation (min-max): 70 - 338 m ­(230 - 1109 ft)
• Postal: 10x xx, 11x xx, 120 xx
• Telephone: 21
• Auto: Yxx, Zxx, Ixx (excluding ZAx and INx)
• Website: www.cityofathens.gr

Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica periphery and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum,^[2][3] it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy,^[4][5] largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent.^[6] Today a cosmopolitan metropolis, modern Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece and it is rated as an Alpha world city.^[7] In 2008, Athens was ranked the world's 32nd richest city by purchasing power^[8] and the 25th most expensive^[9] in a UBS study.

History

The Greek capital has a population of 655,780^[10] (796,442 back in 2004)^[11] within its administrative limits and a land area of 39 km2 (15 sq mi).^[12] The urban area of Athens (Greater Athens and Greater Piraeus) extends beyond the administrative municipal city limits, with a population of 3,074,160 (in 2011),^[13] over an area of 412 km2 (159 sq mi).^[12] According to Eurostat, the Athens Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) is the 7th most populous LUZ in the European Union (the 4th most populous capital city of the EU) with a population of 4,013,368 (in 2004).

The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by a number of ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, widely considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. The city also retains a vast variety of Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of remaining Ottoman monuments projecting the city's long history across the centuries. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery. Landmarks of the modern era, dating back to the establishment of Athens as the capital of the independent Greek state in 1833, include the Hellenic Parliament (19th century) and the Athens Trilogy consisting of the National Library of Greece, the Athens University and the Academy of Athens. 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.^[14] 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.

References:

1. Wells, John C. (1990). Longman pronunciation dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 48. ISBN 0582053838. entry "Athens"
2. "Contents and Principles of the Programme of Unification of the Archaeological Sites of Athens". Hellenic Ministry of Culture. www.yppo.gr
3. CNN & Associated Press (16 January 1997). "Greece uncovers 'holy grail' of Greek archeology". CNN.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2007.
4. "Ancient Greek Athenai, historic city and capital of Greece. Many of classical civilization's intellectual and artistic ideas originated there, and the city is generally considered to be the birthplace of Western civilization"
5. BBC History on Greek Democracy – Accessed on 26 January 2007
6. Encarta: Ancient Greece[dead link] – Retrieved on 26 January 2007. Archived 2009-10-31.
7. "The World According to GaWC 2008". Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) based at the geography department of Loughborough University. 2008.
   
8. "City Mayors: World's richest cities by purchasing power". City Mayors. 2008.
   http://www.citymayors.com/economics/usb-purchasing-power.html. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
9. "City Mayors: Cost of living – The world's most expensive cities". City Mayors. 2008.
   
10. Hellenic Statistical Authority " PRESS RELEASE:Publication of provisional results of the 2011 Population Census", Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT.), July 22, 2011, accessed August 14, 2011.
11. Athens Facts (2011). "Athens Facts & Figures". aviewoncities.com.
    
12. "Characteristics". Hellenic Interior Ministry. www.ypes.gr. Archived from the original on 4 January 2007.
13. "ΕΛΣΤΑΤ Απογραφη 2011". www.statistics.gr.
    
14. CNN & Sports Illustrated (5 September 1997). "Sentiment a factor as Athens gets 2004 Olympics". sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Web References:
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Athens_(modern)
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Athena_Varvakeion_-_MANA_-_Fidias.jpg