The capital of modern Greece, historically an ancient Greek city‐state. It was formed as a result of the unification of a number of small villages of the surrounding region of Attica. It was first under the rule of hereditary kings, and monarchy was followed by a long‐lived aristocracy, first successfully challenged by Solon in 594 bc. Tyranny was established by Pisistratus, temporarily in 561 and more permanently in 546, until his son Hippias was driven out in 510. Within a few years Cleisthenes had put the Athenian democracy on to a firm footing.

In 490 bc and 480–479 the city‐state enjoyed success in the Greek‐Persian Wars. Subsequently its rulers transformed the Delian League into the Athenian empire. The city supported brilliant artistic activity, attracting artists from throughout the Mediterranean. However, it was defeated by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, losing by 404 the empire, almost all its fleet, and the city walls. It recovered remarkably in the 4th century bc and led the resistance to Philip II of Macedonia. The city was a centre of philosophy, science, and the arts, centred on the Academy.

Athens was prey to the successors of Alexander the Great, losing its independence in 262 bc, though regaining it in 228. After supporting Mithridates VI, King of Pontus, (120–63 bc) against Rome, it was successfully besieged by his antagonist, Sulla, and sacked (87–86). From then on its importance was as a university town which attracted many young men, particularly Romans. This apart, the city underwent a prolonged period of historical obscurity and economic decline. It was captured by the Turks in 1456, and suffered during the Venetian siege of 1687.