ATH'ENS (Gk. 'ABiivat, Athenoi, usually de rived from the name of the goddess Athene). The capital of the kingdom of Greece and of the nome of Attica ; situated in latitude 37° 59' N., and longitude 23° 41' E.. on the southwest coast of Attica, less than :3 miles from the Saronic Gulf at the nearest point, and about miles from the harbor of Pirams, in the plain bounded on the northwest and north by Mount Parties, on the northwest by Mount i'entelieon, on the ea st by Mount llymettus, on the south by the sea, and on the west by Mount 2Egaleos (Slap: Greece, E 4). It is 350 feet above sea-level and has a moderate climate, the mean temperature ranging from 46° E. in Janu ary to 81° in July. The cluster of houses at the foot of the Acropolis on the site of ancient Athens forms the inner city, with narrow, crooked streets; and outside of this the Ne apolis, or new city. extends in a semicir cular arc, which is regularly laid out and di vided into six districts. It is connected with the older portion by Hernies and ...Eolus streets, the main business thoroughfares, which intersect at Constitution Square, the site of the royal palace and gardens. In the modern section the Square of Harmony (Place de la Concorde) forms a centre from which wide boulevards radiate in various directions, the most important of which are Piraeus Street, Athens Street, Stadion Street, and University Street, the last two ending in Constitution Square. On the two last mentioned stand the Government offices and the buildings of the arclucological colleges, of the Academy of Sciences, of the National Library, and of the National University. Other important modern structures are the Royal Palace, erected from 1834 to 1838, situated amid mag,nifieeut gardens; the House of Parliament, Palace of Justice, the Polytechnic Institute, National Arch eological Museum with its priceless collections, the Metropolitan, Roman, and Anglican churehes, and extensive cavalry barracks. For illustra
tions of the architectural features of Athens, see article ARCHITECTURE.
The government of the city is administered by a mayor, or demarrhos, chosen by popular vote every four years, together with a of eighteen members, which has jurisdiction over the suburbs of the parish. There is a municipal fire department. but the police is under the con trol of the central Government. The city owns its gas and electric plants as well as the water works, which include the ancient aqueduct of Hadrian, but the water supply is so scanty that the inhabitants are obliged to supplement it by purchase from water-carriers. Street cars trav erse the city in every direction, and railroads from all parts of Greece converge here. A subur ban line runs to the bathing resort of Phaleron, close to the port of Piraeus. Athens is the sent of several foreign consulates. including one of the United States. It is the financial centre of Greece, although it does little manufacturing, and trades only in imports for its own consump tion. It is the seat of a Greek Aletropolitan. The population has been steadily increasing in the last quarter of a century. It numbered 66, 834 in 1879, 107.251 in 1889, and 111,486 in 1896, exclusive of the suburbs.