Do you know where the Western civilization was born? The same city is also known as the birthplace of democracy. Athens, the capital of Greece, has contributed much more to humanity than any other city in the world. Art and literature in the world today owe much to the Athenian civilization and its cultural legacy.
Athens of old was a city with beautiful public buildings, shops and public baths. Some say it has been inhabited for over 7,000 years. The city is named after its patron goddess Athena. The years between 480 BC and 404 BC are known as the golden period of Athenian democracy. Athens became the leading city of the Ancient world during this period. Great writers and thinkers of the classical age such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Thucydides, Hippocrates and the philosopher Socrates lived around this time. The Athenians lived below the Acropolis, a rocky hill. The marble Parthenon, a temple, was built on the highest part of the Acropolis.
In recent times, the attention of the world returned to Athens for the Olympic Games (2004). The city underwent a massive makeover during this time. One of the chief sources of income for the city is tourism. The city is a world centre of archaeological research. Athens is a blend of many architectural styles such as the Greco-Roman, the Neo-classical and the modern. The octagonal,12.8 metre high marble Horologium of Andronicus of Cyrrhus, usually called the Tower of the Winds because each side bears a weather-beaten figure of the wind from that particular compass point, is an important monument in the city.
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