Athens

Athens (pop. 748,100), capital and largest city of Greece, in east central Greece. The center of ancient Greek civilization, Athens reached its political peak after the Persian wars (499–449 B.C.). Athens lost its supremacy to Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.) and later became a subject of Macedonia and then of Rome. Modern Athens, including the Aegean port of Piraeus, is the administrative, political, cultural, and economic center of Greece.