Athens: A Cultural and Literary History

Modern Athens is a bustling, overgrown city, continually coming to terms with its illustrious past.Dominated by the Parthenon, the world-famous symbol of classical antiquity, it has been touched by every aspect of Greece’s turbulent history, suffering invasions and occupations, sieges, division and dictatorship; it has grown dramatically into a metropolis of millions.Mixing old and new, the Greek capital is a treasure house of eastern Orthodox and western culture, rich in the visual arts, architecture and poetry. Michael Llewellyn-Smith describes the history and culture of Athens, home to monuments enduring, purged and restored.Exploring its streets and squares, he reveals layers of Ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history; elegant Bavarian neoclassical buildings; and a modern city of concrete and glass, traffic and pollution.