Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. A major coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica region and is the southernmost capital on the European mainland. With its urban area's population numbering over three million, it is the eighth largest urban area in the European Union. The Municipality of Athens (also City of Athens), which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 (2021) within its official limits, and a land area of 15.04 sq mi.
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Athens is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years, and its earliest human presence beginning somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. According to Greek mythology the city was named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, but modern scholars generally agree that the goddess took her name after the city. Classical Athens was one of the most powerful city-states in ancient Greece. It was a center for democracy, the arts, education and philosophy, and was highly influential throughout the European continent, particularly in Ancient Rome. For this reason, it is often regarded as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy in its own right independently from the rest of Greece.
In modern times, Athens is a huge cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. It is a Beta-status global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is one of the biggest economic centers in Southeastern Europe. It also has a large financial sector, and its port Piraeus is both the 2nd busiest passenger port in Europe, and the 13th largest container port in the world. The Athens metropolitan area or Greater Athens extends beyond its administrative municipal city limits as well as its urban agglomeration, with a population of 3,638,281 (2021) over an area of 15.04 sq mi.
The heritage of the Classical Era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments, and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western culture. The city also retains Roman, Byzantine and a smaller number of Ottoman monuments, while its historical urban core features elements of continuity through its millennia of history. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery. Athens is also home to several museums and cultural institutions, such as the National Archeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, the Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Benaki Museum, and the Byzantine and Christian Museum. Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics, making it one of five cities to have hosted the Summer Olympics on multiple occasions.
In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι (Athênai, pronounced [atʰɛ̂ːnai̯] in Classical Attic), which is a plural word. In earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη (Athḗnē). It was possibly rendered in the plural later on, like those of Θῆβαι (Thêbai) and Μυκῆναι (Μukênai). The root of the word is probably not of Greek or Indo-European origin, and is possibly a remnant of the Pre-Greek substrate of Attica. In antiquity, it was debated whether Athens took its name from its patron goddess Athena (Attic Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnâ, Ionic Ἀθήνη, Athḗnē, and Doric Ἀθάνα, Athā́nā) or Athena took her name from the city. Modern scholars now generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city,[26] because the ending -ene is common in names of locations, but rare for personal names.
Middle Ages
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The city was threatened by Saracen raids in the 8th–9th centuries—in 896, Athens was raided and possibly occupied for a short period, an event which left some archaeological remains and elements of Arabic ornamentation in contemporary buildings—but there is also evidence of a mosque existing in the city at the time. In the great dispute over Byzantine Iconoclasm, Athens is commonly held to have supported the iconophile position, chiefly due to the role played by Empress Irene of Athens in the ending of the first period of Iconoclasm at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. A few years later, another Athenian, Theophano, became empress as the wife of Staurakios (r. 811–812).
Invasion of the empire by the Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and the ensuing civil wars, largely passed the region by and Athens continued its provincial existence unharmed. When the Byzantine Empire was rescued by the resolute leadership of the three Komnenos emperors Alexios, John and Manuel, Attica and the rest of Greece prospered. Archaeological evidence tells us that the medieval town experienced a period of rapid and sustained growth, starting in the 11th century and continuing until the end of the 12th century.
In 1822, a Greek insurgency captured the city, but it fell to the Ottomans again in 1826 (though Acropolis held till June 1827). Again the ancient monuments suffered badly. The Ottoman forces remained in possession until March 1833, when they withdrew.
Following the Greek War of Independence and the establishment of the Greek Kingdom, Athens was chosen to replace Nafplio as the second capital of the newly independent Greek state in 1834, largely because of historical and sentimental reasons. At the time, after the extensive destruction it had suffered during the war of independence, it was reduced to a town of about 4,000 people (less than half its earlier population) in a loose swarm of houses along the foot of the Acropolis. The first King of Greece, Otto of Bavaria, commissioned the architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert to design a modern city plan fit for the capital of a state.
Metropolitan Area
The Athens Metropolitan Area, with an area of 1,131 sq mi and inhabited by 3,744,059 people in 2021, consists of the Athens Urban Area with the addition of the towns and villages of East and West Attica, which surround the dense urban area of the Greek capital. It actually sprawls over the whole peninsula of Attica, which is the best part of the region of Attica, excluding the islands.
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- MAKES
- 3 dozen
- CHILL TIME
- 1 Hr
You know your guests already love spinach dip, so how about serving it up to them in a whole new way with this easy, no-cook appetizer recipe? Our Spinach Dip Rollups are so creamy, and the bacon bits really pump up their flavor. Just wait till ya see how fast they'll make 'em disappear!
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
- 2 (2-ounce) jars diced roasted red bell peppers, drained well
- 1 (3-ounce) package bacon bits
- 5 (10-inch) flour tortillas
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, mayo, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and lemon juice; mix well. Stir in spinach, roasted bell peppers, and bacon bits.
- Spread mixture on tortillas, distributing evenly. Roll up jellyroll fashion; wrap each in plastic wrap.
- Chill 1 to 2 hours, or until ready to serve. Cut into 1/2-inch thick slices and serve.
National Fried Clam Day is observed annually on July 3rd. Fried clams are an iconic food in the New England states. Seaside clam shacks or roadside restaurants serve these delectable nuggets and tend to be the primary source for anyone seeking them. The clams are dipped in milk and coated with a combination of regular, corn, and/or pastry flour. Then the coated clams are fried in oil. They can be “clam strips” (sliced parts of hard-shell clams) or whole soft-shell clams. Whole soft-shell clams impart a fuller flavor. However, some restaurants remove the clam’s neck.
July 3, 1916
In 1914, Lawrence Henry “Chubby” Woodman and his wife Bessie opened a small concession stand on Main Street in Essex, Massachusetts. On weekends they sold small grocery items, homemade potato chips, and fresh clams that Chubby dug himself. At first, the business was slow. But on July 3, 1916, things began to change.
On that day, Chubby complained to a local fisherman named Tarr who was visiting the stand, “Business is slower than a couple of snails headed uphill.”
Tarr, while nibbling on the tasty homemade potato chips, noticed a bucket of clams nearby and jokingly said, “Why don’t you fry up some of your clams? If they’re as tasty as those potato chips of yours, you’ll never have to worry about having enough customers.” Fried clams were unheard of, and two other customers rewarded Tarr’s comment with cold stares. “That’s ridiculous!” said one. The other one remarked, “Clams have shells.” The poor fisherman muttered, “I wasn’t serious. It was a joke. I know you can’t fry clams like chips!”
However, when the three men left, Chubby and Bessie started to think about it. What if they did fry up some of the clams and sold them? If they tasted good, they would have created a way to increase the demand for their own shucked clams. “Let’s try it,” Bessie said as she tossed a slab of lard into the fry pot usually used to make potato chips. They shucked some clams and experimented with different batters, having some locals try them out. When the overall verdict was “delicious!” they knew they were on to something big.
July 4, 1916
The next day, during the 4th of July parade, Chubby and Bessie presented the first fried clams to the citizens of Essex. The Yankee appetite has never been the same since. A year later a Boston fish market advertised “now equipped to serve the new tasty treat – fried clams.” And Howard Johnson, owner of a chain of restaurants on the East Coast, came himself to learn how to make fried clams from Chubby.
On the backside of their wedding certificate, Lawrence and Bessie wrote what they considered to be important family events. The first two lines were the birth dates of their two oldest sons, Wilbur and Henry. The third line was the other important birth date in the family. It read: “We fried the first fried clam—in the town of Essex, July 3, 1916.”
Now, over 100 years and six generations later clams are still frying at Woodman’s, where it all began.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Go out for dinner with friends and have fried clams. Try your hand at making your own fried clams and share them with family and friends.
NATIONAL FRIED CLAM DAY HISTORY
Woodman’s of Essex submitted National Fried Clam Day in May 2015. The Registrar at National Day Calendar declared National Fried Clam Day to be observed annually on July 3rd.
