Athens

Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, pronounced "Athina") is the capital of Greece. The name of this historic city is derived from Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war and the patron deity of the city.

The site was inhabited around 3000 BC, and Athens was the capital of unified Attica before 700 BC. The Persians conquered it in 480 BC, and Athens became the first city of Greece in terms of power and culture during the time of Pericles. After the death of Alexander the Great, the city weakened, but it flourished as an intellectual center until 529 AD, when Justinian closed the philosophical schools. In 1458 AD, the Ottoman Turks captured and plundered it and held it until 1833; Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834. During World War II, from April 1941 to October 1944, it was occupied by the Germans, and until January 1945 it was the scene of fierce street fighting between royalists and communist partisans. Growing public concern over the effects of high pollution levels on historical monuments and public health led to a three-month ban on car traffic in the city starting in April 1995. In September 1999, an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook Greece, leaving at least 127 dead and 70,000 homeless. Its epicenter, the strongest earthquake since 1981, was reported 12 miles north of Athens.

In 480 BC (during the reign of Xerxes), the Achaemenid army invaded Greece and marched through the city of Athens, but the Achaemenid navy was defeated at the Battle of Salamis, and ultimately Persia's incursions ended that year.