Athens, city, Greece: History

The cultural legacy of ancient Athens to the world is incalculable; to a great extent the references to the Greek heritage that abound in the culture of Western Europe are to Athenian civilization. Athens, named after its patron goddess Athena, was inhabited in the Bronze Age. Its citizens later proudly claimed that their ancestors had lived in the city even before the settlements of Attica were molded into a single state (according to legend, by Theseus).

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Modern Athens
• From Byzantine to Ottoman Rule
• The Decline of Athens
• A Great City-State
• Early History
• History
• Bibliography

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