Athens and
The Athenians
M ention the name Athens and almost everyone will have some preconceived ideas about the city. Socrates painted a picture with words in the fourth century b.c., Pausanais during the Roman era. In the 20th century, Hollywood added its own slant to the legends, and every school child learns about the gods of the ancient Greek world — of Zeus, Athena, and Apollo.
The most important city in the world during its heyday in the fifth and fourth centuries b.c., the people of Athens were highly sophisticated in their thoughts and actions, their tastes and fashions. This small city set on and around a dramatic hill of rock — the Acropolis — became the cradle of western civilization. From the public meetings held here the concepts of citizenship, democracy, and debate developed. Through their regard for learning, history and science were first codified and organized. The Athenian love of leisure allowed the development of numerous pursuits such as theater — imagine a world without tragedy or comedy (without the ancient Athenians, the much-loved TV soap opera might never have been possible). They also admired sporting prowess, inaugurating the Olympic Games where the best in the world would compete together simply for the glory of winning. 
Athenians left an enduring legacy of concepts and ideas for humankind but they also bequeathed a remarkable number of buildings and artifacts that tell us about their lives. The remains of the temples of the Acropolis are recognized worldwide and hundreds of statues, along with ordinary household pottery, jewelry, and tools hold a fascination for anyone who enjoys exploring the past.
However, the city of Athens is more than a sum of these ancient parts. Though it disappeared from the record books following the decline of the Roman Empire in the fifth century — its lineage and magnificent monuments unappreciated — it has risen like a phoenix from the ashes since 1834, the year that it became capital of the modern country of Greece. 
Grand buildings were erected to mark its re-birth. Though Neo-Classical design was fashionable everywhere in Europe in the mid-19th century, in Athens it echoed that of the original monuments of the ancient city — it was, in a sense, returning home. The elegant simplicity of the Parliament building, graceful façade of the University, and almost ‘Rococo-esque’ decoration on the Academy all hark back to ancient antecedents. Each was built with marble hewn from the Pentelic Hills just as those erected in Athens at the time of Socrates. 
But there was a downside to this sudden re-emergence to center stage. People were drawn to the new capital like bees to a honey-pot, and throughout the 19th century the dispossessed of the economically floundering Aegean islands flocked here to find work. In the 1920s in the aftermath of WWII and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey agreed on a mass population swap, and millions of Greeks whose families had lived in Asia Minor (on the western Turkish coast) for generations, found themselves homeless in their spiritual homeland. Athens strained to accommodate many of them and a rash of building work saw the erection of the first faceless utilitarian suburbs that now surround the downtown area. Since buildings were kept low-rise in an attempt to make them earthquake proof, Athens began to spread outwards across the olive groves of nearby valleys. Not one of the world’s prettiest cities, its preponderance for concrete can give it a drab and shabby look even on the brightest of days.
In the latter years of the 20th century very little was done to improve matters. The population grew but the infrastructure was not developed, resulting in gridlock of the urban traffic system, smog, and noise pollution. Today, at first glance nothing seems to have changed. A brown layer of pollution hangs over the city in both hot and cold weather; the seemingly endless hooting of horns down the wide boulevards and the drone of vehicles making painfully slow progress through the narrow streets raises noise levels; and in a city with so many apartments and so little parking it’s no surprise that sidewalks become places to leave your vehicle, and pedestrians must risk life and limb by walking on the roads. 
Perhaps this picture seems a little bleak, but there is one positive factor that eases the concern about visiting Athens. It’s so easy to escape the city completely that one needn’t feel trapped by the urban environment. Within an hour of being at Syntagma Square outside the National Parliament building (the symbolic heart of the city), you could easily be sitting at the quayside of some small Greek island having a cooling drink, or enjoying the pine forest of the countryside of Attica — the region that surrounds the capital. 
Athenians understand this. They are not daunted or downhearted by their surroundings, they enjoy their city, revelling in the opportunities it gives them. Every district has its own small squares with cafés, where people gather for a drink or meal — and Athenians love to eat out. You’ll be surprised at the wealth of good restaurants offering international cuisine, and how much post-modernist décor influences interior design in the smarter districts. Of course the Greek taverna hasn’t become extinct. Locals as much as visitors enjoy the fresh and delicious cuisine that’s been served in Greece for centuries. Greek theater is thriving at new auditoria such as the Megaron complex, or at the open-air theaters on Lycabettus Hill. The annual Athens Festival has a full program of music, dance, and poetry with a rich historical legacy. Sports are still avidly followed, though today it’s more likely to be football, not a discus throw, that excites the emotions. Powerboat racing out on the waters of the Saronic Gulf also raises the adrenalin of the wealthy.
Tradition still plays an important part in daily life here. The family forms the backbone of Greek society and filial ties are strong. Children play safely in the streets with grandma keeping a watchful eye. New babies are proudly shown to the world in the evening volta or stroll, when neighbors come to “bill and coo.” Families gather for a weekend meal, taking over a corner of a taverna to spend a couple of hours in noisy debate (some may say argument) while perhaps having a little food. Eating always takes second place to conversation at a Greek meal. Greek hospitality is warm and genuine — even small examples such as always being welcomed with a smile and shown to your seats at a taverna. Shopkeepers are skilled salesmen, but never pushy or overbearing. 
The Orthodox Church — for so long the one thing that united the Hellenic Diaspora — still has a strong influence on the population. Everyone from suited businessmen to young soldiers on national service make a regular visit to Athens Cathedral or a small local church to light a candle. People stop in on the way home from work or in their lunch breaks; it’s such a normal part of everyday life here. The Greek language also unifies the congregation with the clergy and Greeks around the world, though its use gives the capital a decidedly exotic air as visitors struggle to make sense of these “foreign” letters. There’s also a sense of patriotism and national pride here even among the young — perhaps brought about by political upheavals in the late 20th century. Since Greek democracy was restored in 1975, after the military dictatorship, it is as though the population relish their country all the more.
However, since joining the European Union (then the Common Market) in 1981, Greece has definitely moved closer to her western cousins, being one of the first wave of countries to join the Euro currency zone. The government in Athens has done well out of her union, receiving billions of dollars in aid, which has been used to upgrade vital road links throughout the country. Though the economy is still troubled, you are just as likely to see mobile phones as worry beads in a man’s hand, and the young wear the latest European fashions just as the Italians and French do. 
Tourism also continues to flourish at the dawn of the 21st century. It is Greece’s major foreign currency earner with 11 million people visiting every year. Athens is an international melting pot with people of many nationalities treading the marble steps of the Acropolis to gaze at the birthplace of Western civilization. In 2004 the Olympic Games, first held in Greece during ancient times, will return to the capital giving Athens the chance to stand in the limelight again. The city offers some of the most fascinating and alluring archaeological remains in the world, yet those who visit in the 21st century find that the modern city works hard to live up to the past.