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114-402: World record holder Javier Sotomayor remains the competition's most successful athlete, with a total of five wins achieved over seven years. Vyacheslav Voronin 's and Stefan Holm 's winning jumps in 2001 and 2004, respectively, were the greatest jumps in the world that season. Kajsa Bergqvist 's winning jump in 2003 was also a season's best, and remains among the highest jumps ever completed by

228-408: A national park . The Athens urban area spreads over 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Agios Stefanos in the north to Varkiza in the south. The city is located in the north temperate zone, 38 degrees north of the equator. Athens is built around a large number of hills. Lycabettus is one of the tallest hills of the city proper and provides a view of the entire Attica Basin. The meteorology of Athens

342-400: A Swedish interview. In a February 2004 interview for Cuban news, Sotomayor said that injury had forced his retirement, not the doping scandal. An Achilles tendon problem hampered his performance, he said, and reduced his run-up from nine steps to seven and then just five. Athens This is an accepted version of this page Athens ( / ˈ æ θ ɪ n z / ATH -inz ) is

456-552: A female athlete. Ariane Friedrich became the first German woman to win in Eberstadt in 2010 and Raúl Spank also made it the first German clean sweep that year. A total of two world records , four European records , one Asian record and seventeen national records have been set at the competition. Key:     Meeting record Javier Sotomayor Javier Sotomayor Sanabria ( Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβjeɾ sotomaˈʝoɾ] ; born 13 October 1967)

570-585: A huge first attempt clearance at 2.37 m ( 7 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 4  in); passed at 2.39 m (7 ft 10 in); then had the bar raised for a record attempt at 2.43 m ( 7 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in), clearing on his first try, just brushing the bar with the back of his thighs on the way down. Germany's Carlo Thränhardt , who had set the indoor record of 2.42 m ( 7 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) one year earlier (26 February 1988) in Berlin, finished fifth at Budapest with

684-454: A jump of 2.28 m ( 7 ft 5 + 3 ⁄ 4  in). Four days later he won a Golden League meet held in Monaco by clearing 2.30 m ( 7 ft 6 + 1 ⁄ 2  in). Interviewed on French television immediately after his victory, Sotomayor said: "I was not fantastic today. I was very tired because I have been practicing a lot, and I also have a new baby since July, which

798-534: A jump of 2.33 m ( 7 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 2  in). When he was finally able to compete in the Summer Olympics, in 1992 , he won the gold medal, and later the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics (after the reversal of a drug suspension for drug usage). Between the Olympic games he won the 1993 and 1997 World Championship s. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics , Sotomayor won the high jump on

912-443: A jump of 2.35 m ( 7 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in). He then thrilled the crowd by having the bar raised 10 cm to a new world record of 2.45 m ( 8 ft 1 ⁄ 4  in), but in each of his three attempts he jumped into the bar, striking it with his shoulders on the way up each time. Afterwards he said, "My physical condition is better, but psychologically I am not well prepared." The 1993 record set at

1026-562: A landmark new blue glass roof which was added to the main stadium. A second Olympic complex, next to the sea at the beach of Palaio Faliro, also features modern stadia, shops and an elevated esplanade. Work is underway to transform the grounds of the old Athens Airport – named Elliniko – in the southern suburbs, into one of the largest landscaped parks in Europe, to be named the Hellenikon Metropolitan Park . Many of

1140-703: A meet held in Havana . He was not able to go to Los Angeles for the 1984 Olympics due to the boycott by Cuba (and most communist nations). In 1985 he took silver in the World Indoor Championships in Paris , with a best jump of 2.30 m ( 7 ft 6 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) on 19 January, and then improved his personal best two months later outdoors in Havana, with a jump of 2.34 m (7 ft 8 in) on 20 March 1985. He continued to improve

1254-526: A population of 3,638,281 according to the 2021 census. Athens and Piraeus municipalities serve as the two metropolitan centres of the Athens Metropolitan Area. There are also some inter-municipal centres serving specific areas. For example, Kifissia and Glyfada serve as inter-municipal centres for northern and southern suburbs respectively. The Athens Metropolitan Area consists of 58 densely populated municipalities, sprawling around

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1368-438: A second positive test. This second test disqualified his fourth-place finish in his last World Championship. Once again, Sotomayor claimed he was innocent and that mistakes had been made during the handling of his doping test. These allegations never gained strong support in his home country Cuba, although former IAAF Vice President and Doping Commission Chairman Arne Ljungqvist asserted these were both "crystal clear cases" in

1482-546: A significant naval power with a large fleet, and helped the rebellion of the Ionian cities against Persian rule. In the ensuing Greco-Persian Wars Athens, together with Sparta, led the coalition of Greek states that would eventually repel the Persians, defeating them decisively at Marathon in 490 BC, and crucially at Salamis in 480 BC. However, this did not prevent Athens from being captured and sacked twice by

1596-404: 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 38.96 km (15.04 sq mi). 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

1710-593: A triangle defined by the Acropolis, the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos and the new palace of the Bavarian king (now housing the Greek Parliament ), so as to highlight the continuity between modern and ancient Athens. Neoclassicism, the international style of this epoch, was the architectural style through which Bavarian, French and Greek architects such as Hansen, Klenze, Boulanger or Kaftantzoglou designed

1824-426: Is a Cuban former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and is the current world record holder. The 1992 Olympic gold medalist, he was the dominant high jumper of the 1990s; his personal best of 2.45 m ( 8 ft 1 ⁄ 4  in) makes him the only person ever to have cleared eight feet (2.44 m). He cleared eight feet twice, the first time with 2.44 m in 1989. Sotomayor

1938-834: Is a two-time gold medalist at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics , and also won two silver medals at the competition. At the IAAF World Indoor Championships he won four gold medals between 1989 and 1999. In addition, he won three straight titles at the Pan American Games from 1987 to 1995. He is regarded as the best high jumper of all time. After Cuban boycotts of the Olympics in 1984 and 1988 and an injury in 1996 cost him chances at additional Olympic medals , he won

2052-491: Is another reason why I'm a little tired. But I should be able to clear 2.36 or 2.37 at the Olympics. I just hope nobody else does 2.40." Sotomayor cleared 2.32 m, good for the silver medal. In September 2001, Sotomayor announced that he would end his career, following another positive drug test during a training camp in June, this time for the anabolic steroid nandrolone . He avoided a lifetime ban that would normally follow

2166-479: Is bounded by four large mountains: Mount Aigaleo to the west, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Pentelicus to the northeast and Mount Hymettus to the east. Beyond Mount Aegaleo lies the Thriasian plain , which forms an extension of the central plain to the west. The Saronic Gulf lies to the southwest. Mount Parnitha is the tallest of the four mountains (1,413 m (4,636 ft)), and has been declared

2280-488: Is deemed to be one of the most complex in the world because its mountains cause a temperature inversion phenomenon which, along with the Greek government's difficulties controlling industrial pollution, was responsible for the air pollution problems the city has faced. This issue is not unique to Athens; for instance, Los Angeles and Mexico City also suffer from similar atmospheric inversion problems. The Cephissus river,

2394-542: 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 large 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

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2508-562: 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 2,928.717 km (1,131 sq mi). The heritage of

2622-505: Is the first city in Europe to appoint a chief heat officer to deal with severe heat waves . Temperatures of 47.5°C have been reported in several locations of the metropolitan area, including within the urban agglomeration. Metropolitan Athens was until 2021 the holder of the World Meteorological Organization record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe with 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) which

2736-531: Is the only person to have cleared 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) (which he did twice). Following his world record in September 1993, he had his greatest year in 1994, when he (again) was the only jumper to scale 2.40 metres or better, doing so ten times that year: two during the indoor season in February, and seven times outdoors, starting at Seville on 5 June 1994, where he cleared 2.40 metres before recording

2850-485: 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

2964-401: The 2021 Population and Housing Census , The four regional units that make up the former Athens prefecture have a combined population of 2,611,713 . They together with the regional unit of Piraeus (sometimes referred as Greater Piraeus) make up the dense Athens Urban Area or Greater Athens which reaches a total population of 3,059,764 inhabitants (in 2021). The municipality (Center) of Athens

3078-840: 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

3192-560: 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 ,

3306-659: The Ilisos and the Eridanos stream are the historical rivers of Athens. By the late 1970s, the pollution of Athens had become so destructive that according to the then Greek Minister of Culture , Constantine Trypanis, "...the carved details on the five the caryatids of the Erechtheum had seriously degenerated, while the face of the horseman on the Parthenon's west side was all but obliterated." A series of measures taken by

3420-465: The Kerameikos and other locations, are often richly provided for and demonstrate that from 900 BC onwards Athens was one of the leading centres of trade and prosperity in the region. By the sixth century BC, widespread social unrest led to the reforms of Solon . These would pave the way for the eventual introduction of democracy by Cleisthenes in 508 BC. Athens had by this time become

3534-837: The Latin Church brought to the Eastern Mediterranean during the Crusades. Along with rest of Byzantine Greece, Athens was part of the series of feudal fiefs , similar to the Crusader states established in Syria and on Cyprus after the First Crusade . This period is known as the Frankokratia . The first Ottoman attack on Athens, which involved a short-lived occupation of the town, came in 1397, under

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3648-908: The Municipality of Athens (the City Centre) in virtually all directions. For the Athenians, all the urban municipalities surrounding the City Centre are called suburbs. According to their geographic location in relation to the City of Athens , the suburbs are divided into four zones; the northern suburbs (including Agios Stefanos , Dionysos , Ekali , Nea Erythraia , Kifissia , Kryoneri , Maroussi , Pefki , Lykovrysi , Metamorfosi , Nea Ionia , Nea Filadelfeia , Irakleio , Vrilissia , Melissia , Penteli , Chalandri , Agia Paraskevi , Gerakas , Pallini , Galatsi , Psychiko and Filothei );

3762-660: The Mycenaean civilization, and the Acropolis was the site of a major Mycenaean fortress, whose remains can be recognised from sections of the characteristic Cyclopean walls. Unlike other Mycenaean centers, such as Mycenae and Pylos , it is not known whether Athens suffered destruction in about 1200 BC, an event often attributed to a Dorian invasion, and the Athenians always maintained that they were pure Ionians with no Dorian element. However, Athens, like many other Bronze Age settlements , went into economic decline for around 150 years afterwards. Iron Age burials, in

3876-831: The National Archaeological Museum . Athens' largest zoo is the Attica Zoological Park , a 20-hectare (49-acre) private zoo located in the suburb of Spata. The zoo is home to around 2000 animals representing 400 species, and is open 365 days a year. Smaller zoos exist within public gardens or parks, such as the zoo within the National Garden of Athens. Athens has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ). The climate in Athens can be considered warmer than some cities that are similar or even less distant from

3990-460: The Pan American Games in Mar del Plata , Argentina. Only Bohdan Bondarenko and Mutaz Essa Barshim have jumped higher outdoors since, although four men equaled the mark. During his career, Sotomayor was ranked by Track & Field News in the "Top 10" in the men's high jump in ten different years, and was ranked #1 eight of those ten years: in 1988, 89, 1992, 93, 94, 95, 97 and 1998. By comparison,

4104-481: The regional unit of Piraeus . The Athens urban area spans over 412 km (159 sq mi), with a population of 3,059,764 people as of 2021. The Athens metropolitan area spans 2,928.717 km (1,131 sq mi) within the Attica region and includes a total of 58 municipalities, which are organized in seven regional units (those outlined above, along with East Attica and West Attica ), having reached

4218-507: The silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He retired in 2001. Sotomayor was born in Limonar, Matanzas Province on 13 October 1967. The son of a day-care worker and a sugar factory maintenance man, Sotomayor was first sent to a Cuban sports school as a prospective basketball player because of his height. At age 14, coaches made him a high jumper and by 19, he was ranked No. 5 in

4332-518: The temple of Athena Nike was dismantled by the Ottomans to fortify the Parthenon. A shot fired during the bombardment of the Acropolis caused a powder magazine in the Parthenon to explode (26 September), and the building was severely damaged, giving it largely the appearance it has today. The Venetian occupation of Athens lasted for six months, and both the Venetians and the Ottomans participated in

4446-421: The Athenians the first domesticated olive tree . Cecrops accepted this gift and declared Athena the patron goddess of Athens. Eight different etymologies, now commonly rejected, have been proposed since the 17th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος ( áthos ) or ἄνθος ( ánthos ) meaning "flower", to denote Athens as the "flowering city". Ludwig von Döderlein proposed

4560-524: The Athens basin compared to the precipitation amounts seen in a typical Mediterranean climate is due to the rain shadow effect caused by the Pindus mountain range and the Dirfys and Parnitha mountains, substantially drying the westerly and northerly winds respectively. Snowfall is not very common, though it occurs almost annually. It usually does not cause heavy disruption to daily life, in contrast to

4674-517: The Attica region experienced a number of brush fires , including a blaze that burned a significant portion of a large forested national park in Mount Parnitha , considered critical to maintaining a better air quality in Athens all year round. Damage to the park has led to worries over a stalling in the improvement of air quality in the city. The major waste management efforts undertaken in

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4788-463: The Capital ( Greek : Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Πρωτεύουσας , romanized :  Poleodomikó Synkrótima Protévousas ) or Greater Athens ( Greek : Ευρύτερη Αθήνα , romanized :  Evrýteri Athína ), today consists of 40 municipalities: 35 of them divided in four regional units ( Central Athens , North Athens , West Athens , South Athens ), and a further 5 municipalities which make up

4902-555: The EU to help enhance the project. The landmark Dionysiou Areopagitou Street has been pedestrianised, forming a scenic route. The route starts from the Temple of Olympian Zeus at Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, continues under the southern slopes of the Acropolis near Plaka , and finishes just beyond the Temple of Hephaestus in Thiseio . The route in its entirety provides visitors with views of

5016-576: The Greek capital falls directly within the Municipality of Athens ( Greek : Δήμος Αθηναίων , romanized :  Dímos Athinaíon ), which is the largest in population size in Greece and forms the core of the Athens urban area, followed by the Municipality of Piraeus , which forms a significant city centre on its own within the Athens urban area and it is the second largest in population size within it. The Athens Urban Area ( Greek : Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Αθηνών , romanized :  Poleodomikó Synkrótima Athinón ), also known as Urban Area of

5130-510: The Greek city-states including Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea. Later, under Rome, Athens was given the status of a free city because of its widely admired schools. In the second century AD, the Roman emperor Hadrian, himself an Athenian citizen, ordered the construction of a library, a gymnasium, an aqueduct which is still in use, several temples and sanctuaries, a bridge and financed

5244-536: The Ottoman generals Yaqub Pasha and Timurtash. Finally, in 1458, Athens was captured by the Ottomans under the personal leadership of Sultan Mehmed II . As the Ottoman Sultan rode into the city, he was greatly struck by the beauty of its ancient monuments and issued a firman (imperial edict) forbidding their looting or destruction, on pain of death. The Parthenon was converted into the main mosque of

5358-553: The Parthenon and the Agora (the meeting point of ancient Athenians), away from the busy City Centre. The hills of Athens also provide green space. Lycabettus , Philopappos hill and the area around it, including Pnyx and Ardettos hill , are planted with pines and other trees, with the character of a small forest rather than typical metropolitan parkland. Also to be found is the Pedion tou Areos ( Field of Mars ) of 27.7 hectares, near

5472-605: The Persians within one year, after a heroic but ultimately failed resistance at Thermopylae by Spartans and other Greeks led by King Leonidas , after both Boeotia and Attica fell to the Persians. The decades that followed became known as the Golden Age of Athenian democracy , during which time Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece , with its cultural achievements laying the foundations for Western civilization . The playwrights Aeschylus , Sophocles and Euripides flourished in Athens during this time, as did

5586-597: The Salamanca Invitational track meet was remarkable in that Sotomayor required only four jumps: he took his first jump at 2.32 m ( 7 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in), passed at 2.35 m ( 7 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in), cleared 2.38 m ( 7 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) on his first attempt, then had the bar raised to a record height of 2.45 m ( 8 ft 1 ⁄ 4  in), which he missed on his first attempt and then succeeded on his second attempt, lightly brushing

5700-457: The age of 32. The finals of the men's high jump were held on Sunday September 24, in rainy, windy conditions which worsened as the event progressed. The wet surface greatly impacted the results. Seven men cleared 2.32 m ( 7 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) before the light rain began to worsen, and Russian Sergey Klyugin was the only jumper able to clear the next height, 2.35 m ( 7 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in), doing so before

5814-556: 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

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5928-492: The authorities of the city throughout the 1990s resulted in the improvement of air quality; the appearance of smog (or nefos as the Athenians used to call it) has become less common. Measures taken by the Greek authorities throughout the 1990s have improved the quality of air over the Attica Basin. Nevertheless, air pollution still remains an issue for Athens, particularly during the hottest summer days. In late June 2007,

6042-508: The bar. Videos of his record-setting leap show his unique, galloping approach with two elongated strides in the middle of his 14-step run, and a powerful left leg take-off as he pumps both of his arms: he begins his approach with three short steps, builds up speed, then takes exaggerated strides on steps 8 and 9, and then re-accelerates over his last five strides. After setting the record in Salamanca, Sotomayor told reporters, "I wanted to set

6156-518: The basis of his ability to jump "clean" (no misses) at the highest height. Five men cleared the winning height of 2.34 m (7 ft 8 in), but Sotomayor was the only one to clear the bar on his first attempt. All five competitors then failed at the next height, 2.37 m ( 7 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 4  in). Jumping last in the round, Sotomayor failed on his first two attempts at 2.37 m ( 7 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 4  in). When everyone else missed on their third attempts, Sotomayor

6270-400: The better gift would become their patron and appointed Cecrops , the king of Athens, as the judge. According to the account given by Pseudo-Apollodorus , Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a salt water spring welled up. In an alternative version of the myth from Vergil 's poem Georgics , Poseidon instead gave the Athenians the first horse. In both versions, Athena offered

6384-518: The bronze medal. Less than one month after setting the world record of 2.45 m ( 8 ft 1 ⁄ 4  in) at Salamanca (on 27 July), Sotomayor won the 1993 World Championships held at Stuttgart, Germany on 22 August. He outjumped the competition, establishing a new World Championships record of 2.40 m ( 7 ft 10 + 1 ⁄ 4  in): the second-place jumper, Artur Partyka (Poland) jumped 2.37. The last time he would clear 2.40 m ( 7 ft 10 + 1 ⁄ 4  in)

6498-593: 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 and a quarter million, it is the eighth largest urban area in the European Union . The Municipality of Athens (also City of Athens), which constitutes

6612-505: The city is much debated, but is generally taken to mark the end of the ancient history of Athens. Athens was sacked by the Slavs in 582, but remained in imperial hands thereafter, as highlighted by the visit of the emperor Constans II ( r.  641–668 ) in 662/3 and its inclusion in the Theme of Hellas . The city was threatened by Saracen raids in the 8th–9th centuries—in 896, Athens

6726-538: 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 centre for democracy, the arts, education and philosophy, and was highly influential throughout the European continent, particularly in Ancient Rome . For this reason, it

6840-585: The city was sometimes referred to as the City of the Violet Crown , first documented in Pindar's ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι ( iostéphanoi Athânai ), or as τὸ κλεινὸν ἄστυ ( tò kleinòn ásty , "the glorious city"). During the medieval period, the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα . Variant names included Setines, Satine, and Astines, all derivations involving false splitting of prepositional phrases. King Alphonse X of Castile gives

6954-756: The city's infrastructure (including the Attiki Odos motorway, the expansion of the Athens Metro , and the new Athens International Airport ), considerably alleviated pollution and transformed Athens into a much more functional city. In 2004, Athens hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics . Athens sprawls across the central plain of Attica that is often referred to as the Athens Basin or the Attica Basin ( Greek : Λεκανοπέδιο Αθηνών/Αττικής , romanized :  Lekanopédio Athinón/Attikís ). The basin

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7068-433: The city, in response of complaints of maladministration by the local governors. After her death, Athens came under the purview of the Kizlar Agha. The Turks began a practice of storing gunpowder and explosives in the Parthenon and Propylaea . In 1640, a lightning bolt struck the Propylaea, causing its destruction. In 1687, during the Morean War , the Acropolis was besieged by the Venetians under Francesco Morosini , and

7182-444: The city. Under Ottoman rule, Athens was denuded of any importance and its population severely declined, leaving it as a "small country town" ( Franz Babinger ). From the early 17th century, Athens came under the jurisdiction of the Kizlar Agha , the chief black eunuch of the Sultan's harem . The city had originally been granted by Sultan Ahmed I ( r.  1603–1617 ) to Basilica, one of his favourite concubines, who hailed from

7296-409: The city. Modern scholars now generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city, because the ending - ene is common in names of locations, but rare for personal names. According to the ancient Athenian founding myth , Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, competed against Poseidon , the God of the Seas, for patronage of the yet-unnamed city; they agreed that whoever gave the Athenians

7410-431: The city. The National Garden of Athens was completed in 1840 and is a green refuge of 15.5 hectares in the centre of the Greek capital. It is to be found between the Parliament and Zappeion buildings, the latter of which maintains its own garden of seven hectares. Parts of the City Centre have been redeveloped under a masterplan called the Unification of Archeological Sites of Athens , which has also gathered funding from

7524-444: The colder half of the year with the remaining rainfall falling sparsely, mainly during thunderstorms. Fog is rare in the city center, but somewhat more frequent in areas to the east, close to mount Hymettus . The southern section of the Athens metropolitan area (i.e., Elliniko , Athens Riviera ) lies in the transitional zone between Mediterranean ( Csa ) and hot semi-arid climate ( BSh ), with its port-city of Piraeus being

7638-451: The completion of the Temple of Olympian Zeus . In the early 4th century AD, the Eastern Roman Empire began to be governed from Constantinople , and with the construction and expansion of the imperial city, many of Athens's works of art were taken by the emperors to adorn it. The Empire became Christianized, and the use of Latin declined in favour of exclusive use of Greek ; in the Roman imperial period , both languages had been used. In

7752-450: The early 5th century. The sack of the city by the Herules in 267 and by the Visigoths under their king Alaric I ( r.  395–410 ) in 396, however, dealt a heavy blow to the city's fabric and fortunes, and Athens was henceforth confined to a small fortified area that embraced a fraction of the ancient city. The emperor Justinian I ( r.  527–565 ) banned the teaching of philosophy by pagans in 529, an event whose impact on

7866-417: The empire became increasingly anti-pagan, Athens became a provincial town and experienced fluctuating fortunes. The city remained an important center of learning, especially of Neoplatonism —with notable pupils including Gregory of Nazianzus , Basil of Caesarea and emperor Julian ( r.  355–363 )—and consequently a center of paganism. Christian items do not appear in the archaeological record until

7980-413: 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

8094-538: The equator such as Seoul, Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Cape Town and Norfolk (Virgina, US). According to the meteorological station near the city center which is operated by the National Observatory of Athens , the downtown area has simple mean annual temperature of 19.2 °C (66.6 °F) while parts of the urban agglomeration may reach up to 19.8 °C (67.6 °F), being affected by the urban heat island effect. Athens receives about 433.1 millimetres (17.05 in) of precipitation per year, largely concentrated during

8208-545: The fight against the Persians, the league soon turned into a vehicle for Athens's own imperial ambitions. The resulting tensions brought about the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), in which Athens was defeated by its rival Sparta. By the mid-4th century BC, the northern Greek kingdom of Macedon was becoming dominant in Athenian affairs. In 338 BC the armies of Philip II defeated an alliance of some of

8322-538: The finals with a jump of 2.28 m ( 7 ft 5 + 3 ⁄ 4  in) on Friday, but in the finals on Sunday July 28, he could manage only his opening jump of 2.25 m ( 7 ft 4 + 1 ⁄ 2  in), clearing on his first attempt. He then "passed" at the next height 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in), and then failed in all three of his attempts at 2.32 m ( 7 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in). His 2.25 m ( 7 ft 4 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) clearance left him in equal 11th position. This

8436-466: The first important public buildings of the new capital. In 1896, Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games . During the 1920s a number of Greek refugees , expelled from Asia Minor after the Greco-Turkish War and Population exchange between Greece and Turkey , swelled Athens's population; nevertheless it was most particularly following World War II , and from the 1950s and 1960s, that

8550-610: The following year with a best jump of 2.36 m ( 7 ft 8 + 3 ⁄ 4  in) at a meet in Santiago de Cuba on 23 February 1986. He won his first international title in 1987, at the Pan American Games , and established a new personal best of 2.37 m ( 7 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) at a meet in Athens , Greece on 20 June 1987. On 8 September 1988, at a meet held in Salamanca , Spain – just four days before

8664-597: The gold medal on 6 August, defeating Partyka with a 1997 world-leading jump of 2.37 m ( 7 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) (on his second attempt), to the Partyka's 2.35 m ( 7 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) (his best of the season to that date.) Sotomayor had a good start to 1996 during the indoor season, but was plagued by injury during the outdoor season. At the 1996 Summer Olympics he attempted to defend his Olympic title in Atlanta . He qualified for

8778-698: The growth of the town in general. However, this medieval prosperity was not to last. In 1204, the Fourth Crusade conquered Athens and the city was not recovered from the Latins before it was taken by the Ottoman Turks . It did not become Greek in government again until the 19th century. From 1204 until 1458, Athens was ruled by Latins in three separate periods, following the Crusades . The "Latins", or " Franks ", were western Europeans and followers of

8892-491: The historians Herodotus and Thucydides , the physician Hippocrates , and the philosopher Socrates . Guided by Pericles , who promoted the arts and fostered democracy, Athens embarked on an ambitious building program that saw the construction of the Acropolis of Athens (including the Parthenon ), as well as empire-building via the Delian League . Originally intended as an association of Greek city-states to continue

9006-433: The jumper with second-most #1 rankings over a career is Russian Valeriy Brumel in five consecutive years (1961–65). For his career Sotomayor accumulated 123 ranking points, while the jumper with the second-most career points, American Dwight Stones has 90 points and four consecutive #1 rankings (1973–76.) Sotomayor tested positive for cocaine at the 1999 Pan American Games , which Cuban president Fidel Castro claimed

9120-493: The last decade (particularly the plant built on the small island of Psytalia) have greatly improved water quality in the Saronic Gulf, and the coastal waters of Athens are now accessible again to swimmers. Parnitha National Park is punctuated by well-marked paths, gorges, springs, torrents and caves dotting the protected area. Hiking and mountain-biking in all four mountains are popular outdoor activities for residents of

9234-547: The later Roman period, Athens was ruled by the emperors continuing until the 13th century, its citizens identifying themselves as citizens of the Roman Empire (" Rhomaioi "). The conversion of the empire from paganism to Christianity greatly affected Athens, resulting in reduced reverence for the city. Ancient monuments such as the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Hephaisteion (Theseion) were converted into churches. As

9348-498: The looting of the Parthenon. One of its western pediments was removed, causing even more damage to the structure. During the Venetian occupation, the two mosques of the city were converted into Catholic and Protestant churches, but on 9 April 1688 the Venetians abandoned Athens again to the Ottomans. In 1822, a Greek insurgency captured the city, but it fell to the Ottomans again in 1826 (though Acropolis held till June 1827). Again

9462-580: The major commercial port of Piraeus to the southernmost suburb of Varkiza for some 25 km (20 mi), is also connected to the City Centre by tram. In the northern suburb of Maroussi, the upgraded main Olympic Complex (known by its Greek acronym OAKA) dominates the skyline. The area has been redeveloped according to a design by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava , with steel arches, landscaped gardens, fountains, futuristic glass, and

9576-463: The most extreme example, receiving just 331.9 millimetres (13.07 in) per year. The areas to the south generally see less extreme temperature variations as their climate is moderated by the Saronic gulf . The northern part of the city (i.e., Kifissia ), owing to its higher elevation, features moderately lower temperatures and slightly increased precipitation year-round. The generally dry climate of

9690-578: The nearby town of Loutraki (accessible by car via the Athens – Corinth National Highway, or the Athens Suburban Railway ). The concept of a partner city is used under different names in different countries, but they mean the same thing, that two cities in different countries assist each other as partners. Athens has quite a number of partners, whether as a "twin", a "sister", or a "partner." The Municipality of Athens has an official population of 643,452 people (in 2021). According to

9804-440: The northern parts of the city, where blizzards occur on a somewhat more regular basis. The most recent examples include the snowstorms of 16 February 2021 and 24 January 2022, when the entire urban area was blanketed in snow. Athens may get particularly hot in the summer, owing partly to the strong urban heat island effect characterizing the city. In fact, Athens is considered to be the hottest city in mainland Europe , and

9918-494: The opening ceremonies of the 1988 Summer Olympics – he set a world record of 2.43 m ( 7 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in). However, Sotomayor was again denied the chance to compete in the Olympics in Seoul due to another Cuban boycott of the Olympics. Sotomayor's leap of 2.43 m ( 7 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) broke, by one centimeter, the record of 2.42 m ( 7 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) set

10032-670: The outdoor season, but Cuban sports officials announced on 30 May 1997 that although Sotomayor was "in good form", he was withdrawing from the season's first big meet in Toronto and would instead make his season debut the following week at a track meet in France. Sotomayor won the gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games, held in Winnipeg. Just a few days after his victory, Games officials announced that his urine test tested positive for an illegal drug, cocaine (a stimulant), and on 4 August he

10146-493: 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

10260-425: The population of the city exploded, and Athens experienced a gradual expansion. In the 1980s, it became evident that smog from factories and an ever-increasing fleet of automobiles, as well as a lack of adequate free space due to congestion, had evolved into the city's most important challenge. A series of anti-pollution measures taken by the city's authorities in the 1990s, combined with a substantial improvement of

10374-640: The previous summer (30 June 1987) by Sweden's Patrik Sjöberg in Stockholm . Sotomayor twice increased the world record, to 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) on 29 July 1989, in the Central American and Caribbean Championships , held in San Juan, Puerto Rico and to the current record of 2.45 m ( 8 ft 1 ⁄ 4  in) in Salamanca , Spain on 27 July 1993. The July 1989 record of 2.44 m, which he cleared on his second attempt,

10488-480: The pseudo-etymology 'the one without death/ignorance'. In Ottoman Turkish, it was called آتينا ‎ Ātīnā , and in modern Turkish, it is Atina . The oldest known human presence in Athens is the Cave of Schist, which has been dated to between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 5,000 years (3000 BC). By 1400 BC, the settlement had become an important centre of

10602-415: The rain and wind peaked. Sotomayor was awarded silver on the count-back, having taken only two jumps with no misses (at 2.25 m ( 7 ft 4 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) and 2.32 m ( 7 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 4  in)): all other competitors had at least one failed attempt. The favorite to win the competition, Vyacheslav Voronin (Russia) managed to clear only 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in) in

10716-630: The rain, after having cleared 2.40 m ( 7 ft 10 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) one month before. Another medal favorite, Stefan Holm (Sweden), finished fourth and complained that the IAAF should not have reduced Sotomayor's two-year suspension. Sotomayor has a rare dominance in the history of this event. At the time he retired, he had 17 of the top 20 jumps of all time. Only 13 men in history have jumped 2.40 metres or higher, and only 5 have done it more than once. Sotomayor did it 24 times (in 21 different competitions between September 1988 – March 1995). He

10830-667: The record here because it is a small city in which I feel like I am in Cuba. The people recognize me in the street and ask how I'm doing, the children surround me and I find myself in a good mental state." Sotomayor set the current world indoor record of 2.43 m ( 7 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) in Budapest on 4 March 1989. He broke the record during the 1989 IAAF World Indoor Championships , clearing 2.43 m ( 7 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) on his first attempt (and fifth jump overall). At this competition, Sotomayor

10944-499: The shocking news by saying the 31-year-old Sotomayor had "passed more than 60 drug tests" in his career and suggested that Sotomayor was the victim of sabotage. Sotomayor was allowed to participate in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney despite his two-year drug suspension from 1999. His suspension was upheld in June 2000, but in August the IAAF cut the penalty in half – effectively to time served – and allowed him to compete at Sydney at

11058-689: The southern suburbs (including Alimos , Nea Smyrni , Moschato , Tavros , Agios Ioannis Renti , Kallithea , Piraeus , Agios Dimitrios , Palaio Faliro , Elliniko , Glyfada , Lagonisi , Saronida , Argyroupoli , Ilioupoli , Varkiza , Voula , Vari and Vouliagmeni ); the eastern suburbs (including Zografou , Dafni , Vyronas , Kaisariani , Cholargos and Papagou ); and the western suburbs (including Peristeri , Ilion , Egaleo , Koridallos , Agia Varvara , Keratsini , Perama , Nikaia , Drapetsona , Chaidari , Petroupoli , Agioi Anargyroi , Ano Liosia , Aspropyrgos , Eleusina , Acharnes and Kamatero ). The Athens city coastline, extending from

11172-564: The southern suburbs (such as Alimos , Palaio Faliro , Elliniko , Glyfada , Voula , Vouliagmeni and Varkiza ) known as the Athens Riviera , host a number of sandy beaches, most of which are operated by the Greek National Tourism Organisation and require an entrance fee. Casinos operate on both Mount Parnitha, some 25 km (16 mi) from downtown Athens (accessible by car or cable car), and

11286-440: The stem of the verb θάω , stem θη- ( tháō , thē- , "to suck") to denote Athens as having fertile soil. Athenians were called cicada -wearers (Ancient Greek: Τεττιγοφόροι ) because they used to wear pins of golden cicadas. A symbol of being autochthonous (earth-born), because the legendary founder of Athens, Erechtheus was an autochthon or of being musicians, because the cicada is a "musician" insect. In classical literature,

11400-502: The suspension to one year – which had elapsed on July 30 – thereby allowing him to compete in the 2000 Summer Olympics . IAAF's motivation for this action was that Sotomayor had done a great deal for the sport, had passed hundreds of drug tests during his long career, and acted exemplarily throughout. Two weeks after his suspension was lifted, Sotomayor returned to competition at a small track meet in Montauban, France, which he won with

11514-679: The town became an important centre for the production of soaps and dyes. The growth of the town attracted the Venetians , and various other traders who frequented the ports of the Aegean, to Athens. This interest in trade appears to have further increased the economic prosperity of the town. The 11th and 12th centuries were the Golden Age of Byzantine art in Athens. Almost all of the most important Middle Byzantine churches in and around Athens were built during these two centuries, and this reflects

11628-400: 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 , King Otto of Bavaria, commissioned the architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert to design a modern city plan fit for the capital of a state. The first modern city plan consisted of

11742-457: The world. Sotomayor is engaged to Amaya González, sharing private and professional life. He has four sons. One of his sons, Javier Sotomayor García, has also competed in the high jump. Sotomayor was only 14 when he first cleared 2 metres and by the end of 1983 he had a best of 2.15 m ( 7 ft 1 ⁄ 2  in). He then set the junior world record on 19 May 1984 by clearing 2.33 m ( 7 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) at

11856-718: The year's best jump of 2.42 m ( 7 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 4  in). Besides dominating the event on the Grand Prix circuit, Sotomayor recorded wins at the Goodwill Games in St Petersburg on 29 July, and at the World Cup in London on 11 September, where his best jump of 2.40 m was a record 12 centimeters above the next-best performance. The last time he would clear 2.40 meters was on March 25, 1995, at

11970-531: Was a full 10 cm (4 inches) short of what was required to medal at Atlanta : American Charles Austin won the gold medal, breaking the Olympic record with a leap of 2.39 m (7 ft 10 in). Sotomayor underwent treatment for knee and heel injuries after his poor showing in the Atlanta Olympics and skipped the 1997 indoor season. He began training in Puerto Rico in spring 1997 for

12084-614: Was a historic jump for Imperial-measure fans, as that was the first jump over 8 feet. After setting the record at 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in) in July 1989, Sotomayor became inconsistent the following year. He missed much of the 1990 outdoor season after surgery to remove scar tissue in his knee and heel. Competing before an adoring Cuban public at the Pan American Games in Havana on Saturday 10 August 1991, Sotomayor defeated his principal rival, American Hollis Conway , with

12198-471: Was a set-up by the Cuban-American Mafia. Sotomayor claimed his innocence. After months of hearings, an IAAF arbitration panel upheld the two-year ban on June 27, 2000. The Cuban federation continued to appeal his case, citing a clause in the IAAF rulebook that allows drug bans to be modified under "exceptional circumstances". In a controversial decision announced on August 2, the IAAF shortened

12312-409: Was assured of the gold medal and therefore passed up his third attempt, opting for one try at a record height of 2.39 m (7 ft 10 in), which he missed. Sotomayor was declared the victor on the basis of the tie-breaker: Patrik Sjöberg (Sweden) won the silver medal having cleared 2.34 on his second attempt, while Artur Partyka (Poland), Tim Forsyth (Australia) and Hollis Conway (USA) tied for

12426-574: Was on 25 March 1995 at the Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina. A healthy Sotomayor attempted to defend his title at the 1995 World Championships, held in Gothenburg, Sweden. He cleared the winning height of 2.37 m ( 7 ft 9 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) on 8 August, but finished second to Troy Kemp (Bahamas) on the basis of missed jumps. Partyka finished third, at 2.35. At the 1997 World Championships in Athens, Greece, Sotomayor again won

12540-611: Was one of four men to clear 2.35 m ( 7 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in), at which point he stood in third place, trailing Dietmar Mögenburg (Germany) and Dalton Grant (Great Britain) who each succeeded on their first attempts, while Sotomayor and Patrik Sjöberg (Sweden) each needed two tries. In Budapest, he took his first jump of the competition at 2.31 m ( 7 ft 6 + 3 ⁄ 4  in), passed at 2.33 m ( 7 ft 7 + 1 ⁄ 2  in), missed his initial try at 2.35 m ( 7 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) then cleared on his second attempt; made

12654-420: 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

12768-511: Was recorded in the areas of Elefsina and Tatoi on 10 July 1977. Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834, following Nafplion , which was the provisional capital from 1829. The municipality (city) of Athens is also the capital of the Attica region. The term Athens can refer either to the municipality of Athens, to Greater Athens or urban area, or to the entire Athens Metropolitan Area. The large city centre ( Greek : Κέντρο της Αθήνας , romanized :  Kéntro tis Athínas ) of

12882-432: 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. The Agora (marketplace) had been deserted since late antiquity, began to be built over, and soon

12996-451: Was stripped of his medal and was sent home to Cuba in disgrace. At the time, this was widely regarded as the biggest drug scandal in the sport of track and field in over a decade (since Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics). In 1999 Sotomayor was a national celebrity, a well-known anti-drug crusader and the pride of Cuba's sports system. Mario Granda, Cuba's chief of sports medicine, reacted to

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