Athens

American  

[ath-inz] / ˈæθ ɪnz /

noun

1. Greek Athenai.  a city in and the capital of Greece, in the southeastern part.

2. Greater Athens, a metropolitan area comprising the city of Athens, Piraeus, and several residential suburbs.

3. a city in northern Georgia.

4. a city in southern Ohio.

5. a town in northern Alabama.

6. a town in southern Tennessee.

7. a town in eastern Texas.

8. any city that is compared to Athens, especially as a cultural center.

   the Athens of the Midwest.

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Athens British  

/ ˈæθɪnz /

noun

1. Greek name: Athinai.   Athina.  the capital of Greece, in the southeast near the Saronic Gulf: became capital after independence in 1834; ancient city-state, most powerful in the 5th century _bc ; contains the hill citadel of the Acropolis. Pop: 3 238 000 (2005 est)

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Athens ¹ Cultural  

1. Capital of Greece in east-central Greece on the plain of Attica, overlooking an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. Named after its patron goddess, Athena, Athens is Greece's largest city and its cultural, administrative, and economic center.

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Athens ² Cultural  

1. A leading city of ancient Greece, famous for its learning, culture, and democratic institutions. The political power of Athens was sometimes quite limited, however, especially after its defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was a noted ruler of Athens. (See also under “World Geography.”)

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Discover More

As the cultural center of Greece, ancient Athens was home to influential writers and thinkers such as Aristophanes, Euripides, Socrates, and Plato.

Its principal landmark is the Acropolis, on which stands the remains of the Parthenon and other buildings.

In the fifth century b.c., Athens was one of the world's most powerful and highly civilized cities (see also under “World History to 1550”).

Example Sentences

If Burnham does replace Starmer, he must understand the correlation between bond yields in the U.K. and U.S., said Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister and economic theory professor at the University of Athens.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026

The largest tour of his career starts in Zagreb in Septmeber and ends in Birmingham in November via the likes of Athens, Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

Mayweather is scheduled to face kickboxer Mike Zambidis in a full-contact exhibition June 27 in Athens, Greece, and a rematch with Pacquiao is set for September in Las Vegas.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

Sitting with McFadden that evening in Athens, he said he was certain that Scotland would beat Denmark the following week and go through.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

Along with half the town, my family met the late train from Athens.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns