Athens

Athens Αθήνα Athīna
Settlement
Seal
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Attica
Regional unit	Central Athens
Districts	7
Government
• Mayor	Kostas Bakoyannis (New Democracy; since 1 September 2019)
Area
• Urban	412 km2 (159 sq mi)
• Metro	2,928.717 km2 (1,130.784 sq mi)
Highest elevation	338 m (1,109 ft)
Lowest elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Urban	3,074,160
• Urban density	7,500/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
• Metro	3,737,550
• Metro density	1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	10x xx, 11x xx, 120 xx
Area code(s)	21
Vehicle registration	Yxx, Zxx, Ixx (excluding ZAx and INx)
Website	www.cityofathens.gr

Athens is one of the most famous cities in the world. It is the capital city of Greece and the most important financial, industrial, maritime, political, and cultural center of the country.

It is also one of the world's oldest cities. Scholars disagree on whether the city is named for the goddess Athena, or the goddess for the city. Athens has a population of about 4 million people and is growing. It is in the prefecture, or division of the country, of Attica. Its port, Piraeus, is the largest passenger port in Europe, and the second-largest port in the world.

Athens has a borderline cold semi-arid climate (BSk in the Köppen climate classification) and a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Köppen climate classification). The average rainfall is relatively low, due to the rain shadow from the Parnitha mountains. Frost is infrequent and snow does not occur every winter.

1. ↑ "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.