The capital city of Greece, hailed as the 'birthplace of democracy, has a written history that goes back 3,000 years. It has been continuously inhabated during all that time
It was not until the current century that Athens had a female mayor. Dora bakoyanni served from 2003 - 2006
In ancient times the port of Piraeus was a separate city, but it has now been absorbed into greater Athens
Athens has more than a dozen archaeological libraries and three specialized archaeological laboratories
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone theatre structure located on the south slope of the Acropolis of Athens. It was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla. It was originally a steep-sloped amphitheater wide with a three-storey stone front wall and a wooden roof, and was used as a venue for music concerts and had a capacity of 5,000.
The audience stands and the 'orchestra' (stage) were restored using marble in the 1950s. Since then it has been hosting the theatrical, musical, and dance ecomponents of the Athens Festival, which runs from June through September each year.
Plaka, lying just beneath the Acropolis, is famous for its plentiful neoclassical architecture, making up one of the most scenic districts of the city. It remains a traditionally prime tourist destination
Omonia Square is the oldest square in Athens. It is surrounded by hotels and fast food outlets, and contains a train station used by the Athens Metro. The square often becomes the focus for celebration of sporting victories
Thission is home to the remarkable ancient Temple of Hephaestus, standing atop a small hill.
The Kolonaki area, at the base of Lycabettus hill, is full of boutiques catering to well-heeled customers by day, and bars and more fashionable restaurants by night, but at other points also a wide range of art galleries and museums. This is often regarded as one of the more prestigious areas of the capital.
Exarcheia, located north of Kolonaki, has a mixed reputation as the recent or current location of the city's anarchist and drug scenes and as a culturally active student quarter with many cafés, bars and bookshops. It also contains numerous important buildings of several 20th-century styles: Neoclassicism, Art Deco and Early Modernism (including Bauhaus influences).
Epiphany: January 6th. The seas around Piraeus are blessed. A Cross is thrown into the sea and young men dive to retrieve it.
Ash Monday: 41 days before Easter. Lent begins. On Ash Monday, Greeks fly kites, eat lenten food and celebrate the koulouma.
Independence Day and the Feast of the Annunciation: March 25th.
Easter: Good Friday-Easter Monday. The Epitaphios processions, followed by people holding lit candles and chanting hymns, fill the streets of every city, town and village in the country.
Anastasi (Resurrection): celebrated with fire-works and lit candles at midnight, on the eve of Easter Day.
Pascha (Easter): on that Day Greeks traditionally eat lamb, spit-roasted on charcoal. The festivities include singing and dancing through the day.
Labour Day: May 1st . Many Flower Festivals take place all over Greece.
Whit Monday: 50 days after Easter.
Dormition (Assumption) of The Virgin: August 15th .
October 28th: rejection of the Italian ultimatum in 1940. Military parade.
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Odds n' Ends about Athens
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