外国人最想和你聊的文化话题：雅典，“最轻浮的城市”

　Realize The Most Flirtatious City　认识最轻浮的城市

     1　雅典面面观
     Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica periphery and it is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years.
     A cosmopolitan metropolis, modern Athens is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece and it is rated as an alpha- world city. In 2008, Athens was ranked the world's 32nd richest city by purchasing power and the 25th most expensive in a UBS study.
     Athens has been a popular destination for travelers since antiquity. Over the past decade, the city's infrastructure and social amenities have improved, in part due to its successful bid to stage the 2004 Olympic Games. The Greek Government, aided by the EU, has funded major infrastructure projects such as the state-of-the-art Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, the expansion of the Athens Metro system, and the new Attiki Odos Motorway.
     Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages, more than any other city in the world, including the famous ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus, home to the Athens Festival, which runs from May to October each year.In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens plays host to a variety of romantic, open air garden cinemas.
     1896 brought forth the revival of the modern Olympic Games, by Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin. Thanks to his efforts, Athens was awarded the first modern Olympic Games. In 1896, the city had an approximate population of 123, 000 and the event helped boost the city's international profile. Of the venues used for these Olympics, the Kallimarmaro Stadium, and Zappeion were most crucial. The Kallimarmaro is a replica of the ancient Athenian stadiums, and the only major stadium (in its capacity of 60,000) to be made entirely of white marble from Mount Penteli, the same material used for construction of the Parthenon.
     2　雅典旅游景点的表达方式
     Acropolis of Athens　雅典卫城
     The Acropolis of Athens or Citadel of Athens is the best known acropolis in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock that rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about 3 hectares.
     Temple of Olympian Zeus　奥林匹亚宙斯神殿
     The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a colossal ruined temple in the centre of the Greek capital Athens that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. During the Roman periods it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.
     Ancient Agora of Athens　古安哥拉遗址
     The Ancient Agora of Athens is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and is bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Colonus Agoraeus.
     Historical Museum of Crete　克里特历史博物馆
     The Historical Museum of Crete is a museum in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. The Museum presents a comprehensive view of Cretan history from early Christian times to the present day. It was founded in 1953 by the Society of Cretan Historical Studies, which had been established two years earlier. The founders' goal was to collect and preserve valuable archaeological, ethnographic and historical material deriving from the medieval and modern periods in Cretan history.
     雅典卫城是希腊最杰出的古建筑群，为宗教政治的中心地。现存的主要建筑有山门、帕特农神庙、伊瑞克提翁神庙、埃雷赫修神庙等。这些古建筑都是人类遗产和建筑精品，在建筑学史上具有重要地位。奥林匹亚宙斯神殿起建于公元前515年，但直到公元2世纪哈德良皇帝统治时期才兴建完成。据说原有104根壮观的列柱，目前仅存12根。古安哥拉遗址古时是雅典的商业和城市中心，当时是为了集政治，教育，哲学，戏剧和运动等于一身为目的而建造的大型建筑物。