I.

Introduction

Athens, city in south-east Greece, capital and largest city of the country. Situated on the Attic plain on the Greek mainland, it is surrounded by mountains on three sides, the most important of which are Párnis, Pendéli, and Hymettus (Imittós). Two minor streams, the Kifisós River in the west and the Illisós River in the east, flow through the city. With its port, Pireás, or Piraeus, which is located about 8 km (5 mi) to the south-west on the Saronic Gulf (an inlet of the Aegean Sea), it forms a unified metropolitan region. Athens dominates the economic, cultural, and political life of Greece, and in ancient times produced some of the world’s greatest philosophers and dramatists, such as Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles, and Euripides. Population 3,215,000 (2003 estimate).