Athens

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map of Greece with Athens in red
Map of Greece with Athens in red
The Parthenon in Athens
The Parthenon in Athens

Athens is the capital city of Greece and one of the most famous in the world. It is named after Athena, who is the goddess of war in Greek mythology. It is the home of over three million people and is growing. It is in the prefecture, or division of the country, of Attica.

[edit] Ancient Athens

Athens was a powerful city in ancient times. It was known for the amount of learning that happened there, and was home to Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. It also had its own Constitution.

The Ottoman Turks took control of Athens in 1458. The Turks made the Parthenon into a Muslim mosque. The Parthenon was later damaged in 1687 when gunpowder exploded inside it.

Athens was freed from the Turks during the Greek war of independence (1821-33). It was then made into the capital of Greece.

[edit] Events

[edit] Sister cities

Athens has these sister cities:

Washington, DC, USA

Los Angeles, California, USA (1984) [1]

Chicago, Illinois, USA (1997) [2]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Boston, USA

Athens, Georgia USA

Montreal, Canada

Paris, France

Rome, Italy

Genova, Italy

Madrid, Spain

Barcelona, Spain

Prague, Czech Republic

Moscow, Russia

Beijing, China (2005)[3]

Xi'an, People's Republic of China

Istanbul, Turkey

Belgrade, Serbia

Nicosia, Cyprus

Beirut, Lebanon

Santiago, Chile

Rabat, Morocco

Cusco, Peru

Yerevan, Armenia

Sofia, Bulgaria

Bucharest, Romania

Warsaw, Poland

Kiev, Ukraine

Tirana, Albania

Tbilisi, Georgia

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Havana, Cuba

Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories


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