thens, the city of intellect, is a part of the Attica basin. Athens is approached by air, by land or by sea with all the possible ways and as the country's center has connections with each area of the country. The city of Athens is the capital of Greece and has a population of five million about. It is the country's heart and the economic and industrial center, as well as the political and cultural center. Looking for Attica on the map of Greece you will find its triangular geophysical relief spreading out into the western Aegean Sea.

Attica is situated in the geographical center of Greece and is washed by the Euboean, Saronic and Corinthian Gulfs. The peninsula ends to the south at Cape Sounion. The position of Attica in the Eastern Mediterranean basin has made it necessary to built a large harbor there, like the Athenians did at Piraeus since antiquity. Piraeus is still the largest harbor in the country and facilitates communications in the area.

he position of Athens in the basin is defined by Mt. Parnitha and Mt. Penteli whose great masses command the north. Mt. Hymettus dominates the east, while to the west are the numerous low hills of Egaleo and Korydallos. Penteli has been renowned since antiquity for its superb marble, the raw material used by sculptors and the basic construction material for the monuments of Attica, while Hymettus is known for its pure honey.

		here are also hills in the middle of the basin. These include Tourkovounia; Lycabettus, with the white chapel of St. George at its summit and its theater bearing the same name; Ardittus which lies above the Stadium and is where the judges of the Hellaia took their oath during antiquity; Philopappou hill; the hill of the Nymphs where the planetarium is located above the magnificent Thesseio temple; the Pnyx hill and other smaller ones.
mong all of these hills, is the one that glorified not only Athens, but the whole Greek world and became the symbol of the western civilization: the rock of Acropolis! Athens has developed and spread out in the Attica basin to the point that it has become one with the port of Piraeus, while the suburbs have spilled outside the basin itself.

he morphology of the land is characterized by a constant alteration between low mountains and small plains. The picturesque peculiarities of the Attic coast makes it look like a long piece of lace. Bays and small rocky or sandy coves dot the area and during the summer are filled with Athenians and foreigners enjoying their beauty.
Of the plains, it is worth mentioning those of Eleusis and Athens, as well as the Mesogeia which are fertile and systematically cultivated. The topographic conditions we have mentioned keep the climate of Athens from being a marine one, as would be expected from the marked presence of the sea all around, but temperate and very healthy.

		ttica has always been generous to its inhabitants. Its land produces agricultural and garden products. Olives from the tree that the goddess Athena gave to the town of Athens, grapes and the famed wine from the vineyards in the area. There are also the thyme honeyn and the natural resin of the pine trees.
These are but a few of the gifts, which Attica gives us not to mention pentelic marble and the silver that was formerly extracted from the mines at Lavrio.

he sunshine of Attica and its pleasant climate give to the visitors the opportunity to enjoy a trip to Athens during all seasons. Besides a planned program of visits to specific places, one always has the opportunity to get away to the countryside, to the mountains or the sea. The distances are not so far and the changes in the weather, even in winter, hold pleasant surprises in store: a heavy rain is often followed by brilliant sunshine!

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Photos and informations taken from "Athens - Attica" (Toubis Editions) (C)Copyright for the Web: Greekislands.com