Athens 雅典

Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. One of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history alone goes back 3, 000 years. In ancient times, Athens was a powerful Greek city-state, the birthplace of Socrates and the home of Plato and Aristotle's academies. It is often referred to as the "Cradle of Western Civilization" and the birthplace of democracy. To day, evidence of its past can still be seen in the many classical monuments and works of art, as well as in the ruins of the Parthenon and the Acropolis. Athens was the birthplace of the Olympic Games and host of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Athens today plays a major part in the culture and economy of Greece and is a center for archaeological studies and tourism

雅典是希腊的首都，也是该国最大的城市，其有记录的历史可以追溯到3，000年前。古代的雅典是希腊的一个城邦，是苏格拉底的出生地，也是柏拉图和亚里士多德的学园所在地。雅典常常被称为“西方文明的摇篮”和民主制度的诞生地。如今仍然可以在很多纪念碑和艺术品以及帕提侬神庙和卫城的废墟上看到雅典的辉煌历史。雅典是奥运会的发祥地，1896年的第一届现代奥运会也是在这里举行的。雅典是希腊的文化和经济中心，也是考古中心和旅游城市。

（本文选自人民教育出版社《中学英语文化背景知识手册》，2008年8月第1版）