But is the city just resting on its laurels or is there more to Athens? Athens, Georgia. ft. Get home facts, home value, real estate property … D.L. Despite the doubt, a plaque stands in Athens near the area where he supposedly fell from the Acropolis to honor his choice of death rather than assisting Nazis in any way. However, it is also one of the smallest regions in the country, being less … In the 1970s, the air pollution in and around Athens was so bad that it was doing great damage to the ancient ruins of the Parthenon on the Acropolis. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. An ancient city dating to between 7,000 and 5,000 B.C.E., Athens is considered the birthplace of Western civilization. You would think that after the Persians, the Macedonians, the Romans, and the barbarian invaders, Athens had finally taken all it could of being raided or occupied by outside forces looking for plunder. You would think that after the Persians, the Macedonians, the Romans, and the barbarian invaders, Athens had finally taken all it could of being raided or occupied by outside forces looking for plunder. To put its age into perspective: the first permanent settlement in the United States (St. Augustine, Florida) wasn’t founded until 1565! Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history. Depending on the different versions of the legend, Poseidon either gave the gift of water or the horse. This was because Sultan Mehmed II rode into Athens and was so amazed at the ancient architecture in the city that he forbade his forces from looting on the pain of death. 2. Facts about Athena. Amazingly, the Temple of Zeus was finally completed, but not until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. We’re thinking it’s about time they got a movie or two. After the Second World War, you’d think that the Greeks would have had enough of bloodshed and misery. The triumphant Spartans removed the democratic system in place at Athens and installed an oligarchy of 30 men known to history as the Thirty Tyrants. Here are 42 astounding facts about Athens, the city that the poet John Milton called “the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence.” Check-in. We’re always looking for your input! 41. What would life have been like if you had lived in ancient Sparta or in ancient Athens? One of the main attractions in Athens is an ancient fortification on top of a hill in the middle of Athens. To show what a great guy he was, Cimon also donated the wealth from his conquests towards Athens’ infrastructure. Here are ten fun facts I learned about Acropolis and the Parthenon I'm pumped to share with you. With Cimon out of the way, Athens and Sparta were a few steps closer to the huge Peloponnesian War. To the surprise of nobody, the Athenians ostracized Cimon shortly after that embarrassment. The city hosted the final game of the Euroleague three times during the 1980s and 1990s. Sadly, Indiana Jones has been unable to attend any of them. To show what a great guy he was, Cimon also donated the wealth from his conquests towards Athens’ infrastructure. 0-17. In ancient Greece, the unibrow was a sign of intelligence and great beauty in women. Many famous figures have been born in Athens, though the ones that most people tend to remember were born and died before the Middle Ages even happened. Patra, Giannina and Chania. Over one million were forcibly removed and sent in either direction. It was actually decried by people like Aristotle for being an example of how despots divert the attention the people they oppress with huge, overly gaudy building projects so that they’re too distracted or tired to rebel. Financed by, among others, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Marshall Plan, and the Greek government, the work went on until 1960. Athens contains the largest of the many international airports found in Greece. Athens’ population was 3,052,000 in 2015…. The Peloponnesian War resulted in the defeat of Athens by Sparta and its allies—helped in part by Persian finance. But is the city just resting on its laurels or is there more to Athens? In addition to the Olympic Games, Athens also hosted the 2011 Special Olympics Summer Games. The theory was that with the British involvement, the USSR benefitted from doing nothing. Construction began in 520 BC on the orders of the tyrant Peisistratus and his son, Hippias. 1. The Athens Center officially closed in 1993 and the remaining patients transferred to another facility. Prior to the 1900s Athens population was more than 95% Greek. Sadly, Rome didn’t take a lesson from Athens and was famously sacked by Alaric and his army shortly afterward, which some historians mark as the death knell of Rome. Unlike many, they decided to do something about it. The city is home to a total of 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes. Even though the states in ancient Greek had different law and money, they had the similar religions and languages. Moreover, the Athenians reportedly put people off by their high-minded assumption that they deserved the right to host the Olympic Games before anyone else simply due to the history of the Olympics. Facts about Ancient Athens 1: the states. Thanks :) Let us know in the comments below which city you want to see next ! Idiocracy. At least 24 people died during the fighting, including a five-year-old boy caught in the crossfire. Ten years later, the Athenians rebelled and exiled the tyrants and ceased all work on the project, leaving it unfinished for over 300 years. The 2004 Summer Games in Athens were no exception. Each bestowed a gift to the city and were judged on which was the better gift. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. The municipality of Athens has an … Here are 42 astounding facts about Athens, the city that the poet John Milton called “the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence.”. Aged 18+ Children. The property stood vacant for several years before restoration began. As a result of these shady practices during the construction of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, an official death toll of 14 workers was released to the public. These two 19-year-olds, as one would expect of any decent human being, were sickened at the sight of the Nazi flag flying over the Acropolis. We want our readers to trust us. The city is home to a total of 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes. We wish we could have been flies on the wall for that rejection notice. In other parts of Greece, an appalling 90% of Jews were killed by the Nazis. And more people live in metropolitan areas of Greece than rural areas. Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Looking for amazing facts and informations about Athens? However, its origin story has somehow been swept under the rug, despite it being the most interesting aspect of the temple. On the 30th of May 1941, just over a month after it was raised, Glezos and Santas snuck up to the Acropolis at night and tore the Nazi flag down, leaving the pole empty the next day. They Say of the Acropolis Where the Parthenon Is…. Many important people wandered its streets throughout time. The first history of Athens was recorded around 3,400 years ago making it Europe's oldest capital and one of the oldest cities of the world. Sorry, tourists. AU MENU : Mythologie et histoire autour d’Athènes; Un peu de culture; Transports à Athènes; L’occupation ottomane et la guerre d’indépendance; A retenir et à partager ; A toi, quelle est ton anecdote insolite préférée sur Athènes ? Allegedly, Koukidis was ordered by the Germans to take the Greek flag down, hand it over, and raise the Nazi flag in its place. One of the biggest—and most celebrated—demonstrations in modern Greek history occurred at the Athens Polytechnic University in November 1973. In ancient times the Greeks lived in city states. The sacred buildings on top of the Acropolis include the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Propylaia, all of which date back to the 5th century BC. Athens is statistically one of the lowest ranking capital cities when it comes to violent crime. 5. Admittedly, the evidence of his existence has yet to be confirmed, as it could have simply been a story invented to encourage Greek resistance to the occupying force. However, the Battle of Thermopylae did nothing to stop the Persians from ravaging a large portion of the Greek mainland when they did pass through. 3. Plato, whose mentor, Socrates, had been sentenced to death for his corruption of the youth with his new philosophies, argued that the majority of people were not educated enough to know what was best for them, and could not be trusted to always vote for what was best. Athens is the location of the first university chartered and supported by state funds, The University of Georgia. This was a disastrous PR move for the British, who were already showing their anti-communist colors by advising the government and right-wing militias against EAM-ELAS. It had many fine buildings and was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare. Ordered to withdraw from the situation, the officers disobeyed and confronted the youths. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. In fact, the nation has one of the highest numbers of international airports of any country in Europe. One of the main attractions in Athens is an ancient fortification on top of a hill in the middle of Athens. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, With roles ranging from Miss Congeniality to Gravity, The Heat, and Minions, Sandra Bullock has…, "You might belong in Gryffindor / Where dwell the brave at heart / Their daring,…, Star-studded premieres, massive advertising campaigns, and big budget blockbusters: The movies are big money. Athens History. The most interesting facts about Athens If you are planning a Tour in Athens, it is very important to know some tips about this fabulous city. …that’s a little more than 1/4 of the size of London. We’ll let you look at the history of democracy and let you decide for yourself how good that argument stands. Surprisingly, despite Athens being the main urban center of Greece, a relatively high percentage of their Jewish population—about half—was saved from the Holocaust. Kyle Climans has been a published writer since 2011. If the Nazi occupation of Greece was ever to be made into a film, one of the many Oscar moments would undoubtedly go to the actions of Apostolos Santas and Manolis Glezos. Athens hosted the first modern Olympic games in 1896 and then hosted them again in 2004. In both versions, however, Athena prevails with her gift of the olive tree. From oddities to firsts and everything in between, Athens offers a rich history of trivia and facts. Amazingly, the Temple of Zeus was finally completed, but not until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. Unlike other main Greek cities of old, like Thebes or Sparta, Athens was ideally placed to be a center of trade and travel. Despite winning the first victories of WWII against the Axis Powers, the Greeks were eventually overrun by the combined Italian and German forces. On top of all that, two police officers in Athens found themselves facing off against a group of youths. At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Most are aware of the heroic last stand of King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 Spartans at Thermopylae—though they forget the thousands of Greeks who fought alongside them and the hundreds of said allies who were there for the last stand as well. In a great act of defiance, Barzilai tore up and burned the community records and warned his congregations to run away or hide. Giant Gorges According to the BBC, the workers hired to construct the buildings in Athens for the games were mostly from eastern Europe and southern Asia. Here are some Athens-facts in order to know about what kind of place Athens is. However, Alaric spared Athens from this fate, because the city opened its gates to the king and didn’t put up a fight. Athens was the largest and most influential of the Greek city-states. Athena, also referred to as Athene, is a very important goddess of many things. The democratic Athenians still kept slaves, just like the rest of the Greek city-states. Not only were they working without adequate supervision, they also lacked the kind of protective equipment that any self-respecting union would insist on having before they even looked at a building contract. As a result of these shady practices during the construction of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, an official death toll of 14 workers was released to the public. Athens, like the rest of Greece, suffered terribly under the occupation of the Axis powers. 42 Seriously Weird Facts About Ancient Greek Philosophers. Once the Nazis were removed from power, fighting broke out in Athens between the powerful left-wing resistance group known as the EAM-ELAS and the Greek government, not to mention various groups of right-wing resistance fighters who were backed by the British army. 2. The city hosted the final game of the Euroleague three times during the 1980s and 1990s. Construction on the massive Temple finally resumed, but things were stalled again when Antiochus died. At one point in history, the city of Athens was the proud owner of the Temple of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. He himself was taken in by the EAM-ELAS, which saved hundreds of Jewish lives, on top of the thousands which Barzilai’s initial actions likely saved. Madame de Pompadour didn't just share King Louis XV's bed, she also shared his power. Amid everything else going on, the shooting death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos pushed everyone over the edge. One of the main attractions in Athens is an ancient fortification on top of a hill in the middle of Athens. City Of Athens Facts 42. The anarchists’ reaction was explosive, to say the least, and the police ended up cracking down even harder on the anarchist movement. Amid everything else going on, the shooting death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos pushed everyone over the edge. Ironically, their ruthless measures to stomp out resistance only confirmed to the city of Athens that they needed to be overthrown. These two 19-year-olds, as one would expect of any decent human being, were sickened at the sight of the Nazi flag flying over the Acropolis. Admittedly, the evidence of his existence has yet to be confirmed, as it could have simply been a story invented to encourage Greek resistance to the occupying force. One reason for the lower ratio of deaths in Athens was because the Jewish population had integrated so well amongst the Orthodox Christians that outsiders found it very difficult to locate them. Each state had its own laws, government and money but they shared the same language and religion. We would be very remiss to not mention the heroism of Elias Barzilai, the Grand Rabbi of Athens in 1943. During this occupation by the Ottomans, the city of Athens lost a lot of prestige as a city. Sorry, tourists. Sadly, Indiana Jones has been unable to attend any of them. facts about ancient egypt for kids Facts about Egypt today ... information on ancient egypt for children . Husbands hiding things from wives, mothers from children, and generation from generation. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 23 Facts About Ancient Archaeological Discoveries, These Jerks Had No Idea Who They Were Messing With, These Nightmare Weddings Made Us Say “I DON’T!”, Lawyers Reveal Their Most Jaw-Dropping Court Cases, Wild Facts About Howard Hughes, The Most Eccentric Man In Hollywood, Scandalous Facts About Catherine De Medici, The Deadly Queen Mother Of France, Truth Hurts: Binge-Worthy Stories About The Biggest Liars Of All Time, These People Got Revenge In The Most Ingenious Ways, I’m Done: These People Quit Their Bad Jobs And Toxic Relationships In Epic Ways, Bloody Facts About Ivan the Terrible, The Mad Tsar Of Russia, These Bad Dates Are Straight Out Of Our Nightmares. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. Medusa is known because her hair, which was made out of snakes. 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