Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece with a population of 745,514 (in 2001) within its administrative limits over a land area of 39 km2. A cosmopolitan metropolis, it is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece and it is rated as an alpha- world city.

Athens is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state, a centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy.

The classical inhetitance of Athens is well-represented by a number of Roman and Byzantine monuments, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, widely considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery and the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities. It was also the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics.