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

See Examples For:

Athens

Analyses showed this silver was acquired from the Lavrion mines east of modern Athens.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026

Phil Foden's magnificent man-of-the-match display in the Champions League against AEK Athens served as a reminder of the prodigious talent that the player still possesses.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Manchester City face the prospect of being without star striker Erling Haaland for Tuesday's Champions League game against AEK Athens.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

But Athens and Rome have taken painful steps to cut deficit spending, while France's deficit remains above five percent of GDP, far above the eurozone average of 2.9 percent.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The veterans learned she had been raised in the small town of Athens, Ohio, where her parents, both Chinese immigrants, were on the faculty at Ohio University.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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