![\"Church](\"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/plugins\/rss-poster\/cache\/9b329_10401366416_455312a709.jpg\")
Image by Nikos Niotis<\/a><\/i>
\nAthens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world\u2019s oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning around 3,400 years. Classical Athens, as a landlocked location 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\u2019s Academy and Aristotle\u2019s Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC in later centuries on the rest of the then known European continent. Today a cosmopolitan metropolis, modern Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2012, Athens was ranked the world\u2019s 39th richest city by purchasing power and the 77th most expensive in a UBS study.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 1834, include the Hellenic Parliament 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. Athens is home to the National Archaeological Museum, featuring the world\u2019s largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, as well as the new Acropolis Museum.<\/p>\n
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<\/p>\n
More Pretoria Images<\/a><\/p>\n This Church Square<\/em> image was automatically curated and published with WP Robot<\/a> plugin \u2013 CLICK HERE<\/a> to learn more about WP Robot for WordPress<\/a> \u2013 a massive time and money saver.<\/small><\/p>\n