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

"I was in Athens, I was working as a waiter, and I quit my job to start singing in the streets," he tells the BBC.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

Thucydides was the great ancient historian of the Peloponnesian War, and he argued that a rising Athens frightened Sparta and led to war.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Greece's health ministry said a Greek male evacuee would spend 45 days in mandatory hospital quarantine in Athens, while 14 Spanish citizens will also isolate at a military hospital in Madrid.

From Barron's • May 11, 2026

Branch, who led the Southeastern Conference and set a Georgia record with 81 receptions in 2025, was in Athens for Georgia’s spring game on Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026

Granted, it was an odd beginning, as there were no men of Athens in the room.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood