"The Paris of the Mediterranean " a Athens Travel Page by amsterdam_vallon

Athens, despite its history as the "Cradle of Western Civilization", is something of an acquired taste. At first glance it is exceedingly ugly, sprawled over the arid hills of Attica, its traffic in Gordian knots, its air the foulest in Western Europe. Such first impressions do not last long. What Athens lacks in charm and beauty, it compensates for with character, attitude, humor, and a zest for life that makes the other capitals of Europe seem dull. The mild climate enables the city's exuberant art scene and nightlife to exist outdoors; the Greeks invented theater and built their magnificent outdoor amphitheaters in Athens.

Democracy--invented in Athens in the sixth century B.C.--along with victories over the invading Persians led to the city's golden age, when Athens' wealth and might attracted talent from around the Greek world. The plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes premiered in its theaters; Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle changed the history of philosophy in their academies; Praxiteles and Phidias revolutionized art and architecture. Their achievements were embodied in the majestic Parthenon, which today rises serenely over the bustle of the city below.

Under the Romans, Athens began to decline, and by the time the power in the Mediterranean had shifted to Constantinople, Athens was a mere backwater, occupied by Crusaders from Europe, and then by the Ottoman Turks. By the time Athens became the capital of independent Greece in 1834, it had dwindled to a picturesque village of 200 souls clinging to the slopes of the Acropolis.

Modern Athens, however, is a prosperous place, a metropolis that is home to four million--almost half of the country's population. It remains a collage of history. On the hill under the Acropolis you'll find the old village called the Plaka, now the tourist center of Athens, where shops and restaurants stand elbow-to-elbow with ancient ruins and Byzantine churches. To give it the dignity of a capital, the first kings of Greece laid out wide boulevards and squares and built stately neoclassical buildings that are still on view today.

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I've stay three day in the greek capital. Those three days was a very good experience. In athens, you can see the east meeting the west.

I great place to discover...for the Acropolis, the churches, the locals, the food!!!