Category:Athens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the city in the U.S. state of Georgia, see Category:Athens, Georgia.
Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína; Ancient Greek: Αθήναι, Athinai) is the capital of Greece, and also the capital of the Attica periphery. In addition to being a modern European city, Athens is also famous for being a powerful city-state and a very important center of learning in ancient times. It is named after its patron goddess, Athena.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Athens.
While the city proper has around 750,000 inhabitants, its metropolitan area covers almost the entire plain of Attica, with a population over 3 million. Drawing on its distinguished history, Athens is a prominent tourist destination. It is also well known for its association with the Olympic Games, hosting both the first modern Olympics in 1896 and more recently the 2004 Summer Olympics.