Athens (; ,
Athína [], , is the capital and largest city of
Greece. Athens dominates the
Attica region and is one of the
world's oldest cities, with its
recorded history spanning around 3,400 years, and the earliest human presence around the 11th–7th centuries BC.
Classical Athens 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's
Academy and
Aristotle's Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the
cradle of
Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely because of its cultural and political impact on the
European continent and in particular
the Romans. In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan
metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2015, Athens was ranked the world's
29th richest city by purchasing power and the 67th most expensive in a
UBS study.
