Attica is also the most highly industrialized part of Greece and accounts for the bulk of the country's industry. The rivers Ilissos and Kifissos flow across this beautiful part of Greece. They are not very big but they are historically associated with Attica's distant past.

The Attica coastline has been famous for its beauty from ancient times. Geographically the region forms a triangular peninsula terminating south at the temple-crowned Cape Sounion.

3. Athens

Greece begins in and revolves around this city, one o {, the most ancient capitals of the Western world. Cupped in a bowl on the west coast of Attica, with the mountains Aigaleo, Parnitha (Parnes), Pendeli and Hymettus on three sides and the Saronic Gulf on the other, it forms one continuous city with its seaport Piraeus and the suburbs. Together they have a population of about three million. New and ever expanding, the modern part of Athens has largely*been built In the past forty years or so. The urban sprawl of high rise buildings reaches green suburbs as far as the surrounding mountains and the western coast of Attica. In almost every direction there is something to see: sparkling sea, lofty and delicately shaped mountains, the indelible imprints of an ancient past, and all the sophistications of twentieth-century living.

Athens was first inhabited some 6,000 years ago by Pelasgians and later by lonians who found the great rock of the Acropolis, or Upper City as the name implies in Greek, a nature stronghold. As the city grew, it was dedicated and named after the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena.

It enjoyed its first flourishing period in the Mycenaean era (1600–1100 B.C.). At the end of the 6th century B.C. tyranny (rule by a king) was overthrown and the democratic form of government which followed led to unprecedented achievements in the history of mankind. In the (5th century B.C. – the «golden age» of Athens –, under the enlightened leadership of Pericles, Athens had its full development in the fields of culture, commerce and military strength.

During the Hellenistic and the (Byzantine periods Athens was с secondary city. After the Greek liberation from the Turks in 183‑it was proclaimed capital of Greece.

4. Piraeus

This principal port of Greece, and one of the largest m the Mediterranean, is a city in its own right. It has a population of nearly one million and is only 10 km from Athens. Its strategic importance was established during the Classical era, about 450 B.C., when Themistocles built the famous Long Walls which linked both cities. Large sections of these walls can be seen today, as well as ruins of other ancient buildings, including two ancient theatres. The ancient harbours of Zea and Munichia are today called Passalimani and Mikrolimano, or Tourkolimano. Zea is one of the largest marinas in the Mediterranean, while Mikrolimano is well-known for its fish restaurants along the waterfront, next to colourful boats and small yachts anchored in the small harbour. It can be reached along the beautiful corniche road which skirts the coast from Zea to Kastella and New Phaleron.

Apart from being one of the busiest ports in the Eastern Mediterranean, Piraeus and its surrounding districts also constitute the centre around which most of the country's industries are concentrated. All kinds of industrial plants, factories, metal foundries, warehouses and dockyards are spaced out in all directions. But the city's centre is something of a surprise. It is well laid out and spotlessly clean with several small parks and broad tree-lined avenues. Sea-going passengers, especially those sailing to the Greek islands are well catered for by a number of efficient services available at the various embarkation stages.

Both the Archaeological and Naval Museums are worth a visit, and one should not miss seeing at least one performance at the «Veakeio», the open-air theatre on the top of Prophitis Elias hill. From here the panoramic view of the Saronic Gulf and the Apollo coast is truly breath-taking at night.

The nearby towns to Piraeus (Drapetsona, Keratsini, Perama, Nikaia, Korydallos, Kaminia and others) have their own atmosphere with factories, little harbours and popular quarters.

5. The Peloponnese

This large peninsula technically forms an island in southern Greece and resembles a huge mulberry leaf. For this reason it was called in the Middle Ages Moreas (from the Greek word for mulberry). Its ancient name was Peloponnese or Peloponnissos (the island of Pelops, the mythical King of Phrygeia, who later ruled over Ilia and Arcadia).

From antiquity, there have been efforts to cut the Isthmus that connected Attica to the Peloponnese. The cutting was eventually effected in the 19th century A.D. when the canal was completed.

This broad peninsula covers an area of 21,439 kilometers and has a population of about 1,000,000. Its greater part is a region of valleys separated by towering mountain ranges rising to 2,407 meters at Taygetos. Hills are intersected by fast flowing rivers with historic associations: Alphios, Pinios and Evrotas. The plains of Ilia, Messinia and Argolis are among the most fertile in Greece. The region's 7 provinces are: Achaia, Argolis, Arkadia, Ilia, Corinthia, Lakonia and Messinia.

There is evidence of human activity in the Peloponnese going back to 100,000 B.C. Archaeological remains from the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age have been discovered at Ilia, Nemea, Lerna and elsewhere. The Peloponnese reached its most flourishing period during the Mycenaean Age (1600–1100 B.C.), with the growth of such cities as Mycenae, Tiryns, Pilos and Sparta all of which enjoyed a high level of civilization.

From prehistoric times, the Olympic Games were held in Olympia for peaceful competition between athletes from cities from all over Greece and her colonies.

During the Classical period, the rivalry between Athens and Sparta led to the Peloponnesian War and the start of Ancient Greece's decline.

With the coming of the Macedonians, the Peloponnese lost its independence and Alexander the Great was recognized as the leader of a «united» Greece. But the region's decline continued despite a short interval of prosperity under the Achaian Confederation and the efforts towards further improvement by the kings of Sparta, Agis and Kleomenis. The final blow came in 146 В.С., when the armies of the Achaian Confederation were defeated by the Roman general Mummius. The Peloponnese together with the rest of Greece became a Roman province. From then onwards the r Petoponnese suffered a series of invasions by barbarians. During those years of desolation and barbarism the whole of the peninsula lived in obscurity. The Byzantines, following the Romans, made the Peloponnese one of their provinces.

The Prankish rule that followed in 1204 under Godfrey de Villehardouin saw the division of the Peloponnese int 12 fiefdoms governed by Baron from France, Flanders and Burgundy, which accounts for the region's several Medieval Prankish fortresses. The three largest castles were at Monemvassia, Maina and Mistras. This last one became later a Byzantine town and saw many years of glory and splendour. From Mistras the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire Constantine Palaeologo went to Constantinople in 1453 and he died fighting against the Turks of Mohammed the Second, who then occupied Byzantium and Greece.

For almost five centuries, the Peloponnese and other parts of Greece were under the Turkish occupation. In 1.821 the Greek War of Independence actually begun in the Peloponnese. Following the Greek liberation», Napoleon was for a few years until 1834 the capital of Greece.

6. Central Greece

This part of mainland Greece is one of the largest in the country, extending from the Aegean Sea in the east to the Ionian Sea in the west. In the south it embraces the Saronic and the Corinth Gulfs and reaches northwards as far as Thessaly. (For Attica see pages 17–35). Central Greece is mostly a mountainous region dominated by the massive ranges of Giona, Agrafa, Tymphristos, Vardoussia, Parnassus and Iti. Several small and fertile plains and valleys lie between these mountains, their formation determined by the rivers Sperchios, Acheloos, Kifissos, Asopos, and Mornos. The largest lakes are Trihonis and Amvrakia in western Greece am Iliki in eastern Greebe. The climate is not the same everywhere, for whereas the seaboard climate is Mediterranean, the inland and mountain regions experience bitter winters and pleasantly cool summers. The main products in Central Greece are olive oil, wine, cotton, cereals, rice and tobacco. In the mountain regions stock-raising is also well developed. Ore is mined too in many-places: lead and zinc at Lavrion, bauxite in the mountains of Parnassus an Giona, and marble from Penteli Central Greece was the birthplace of Hellenism in very ancient times. In fact, recorded hi-story begins in what later developed as the most important cities in the ancient world-Athens, Thebes, Delphi.

The region also flourished during the» Byzantine period, when cities like Thebes were densely populated, enjoying a thriving industry and trade.

During the Turkish occupation, Central Greece together with the Peloponnese played an important role in the fight for freedom, since the countless Greek insurgents could easily harry the enemy from hideouts on the untrodden mountains of the region.

7. Delphi

The grandeur of Delphi has to be seen to be believed. Nature and ancient ruins blend in an extraordinary way enhancing the beauty of one another against a setting of mountains, terraces and trees. Situated at a height of 700 meters and at a distance of 164 kms from Athens, Delphi is impressive in all seasons. It has none of the garish quality and noisiness that are so much a part of popular tourist centers. It is still a village with some very good hotels and restaurants and the usual souvenir shops.

The history of Delphi began when the first mysterious fumes, rising from the earth below the Phaedriades rocks, gave a sacred character to the site. Originally, the place was sacred to Gaea or Themis, the earth goddess. Later, seafarers from Crete introduced the cult of Apollo Delphinius. In time, the mysterious prophecies of its oracle exercised great influence in the amcient world.

The sanctuary of Apollo was surrounded by a wall and within it the sacred site was filled with monument's, statues, and some twenty treasuries – replicas of temples–which housed valuable trophies from wars, archives and treasures. Also in the sanctuary were a small theatre, with a seating capacity of 5,000 and the Temple of Apollo (510 B.C.). In its «Adyton», the «Holy of Holies», Pythia (the High Priestess) sat on a tripod and delivered oracles in a state of intoxication from the fumes emanating from the chasm below. Delphi was consulted on all matters concerning religion, politics, and even individual morality.

Delphi was also the centre of meetings of the Amphictyonic League (the nearest equivalent to the United Nations Organization for the isolated ancient Greek city-states).

Just below the main road and opposite the sanctuary there is a group of ancient ruins called Marmaria, or the Marbles, which consists of the remains of two temples of Athens, and a Tholos, a round Doric temple. There are also traces of the Gymnasium where athletes taking part in the famous Pythian Games trained.

Delphi was plundered and its treasures carried away to adorn the capitals of its invaders, but the final blow came in 385 A.D., when the emperor of Byzantium Theodosius ordered its abolition.

The Museum of Delphi contains excellent pieces from the Archaic and Classical periods. Among them the Charioteer, the pediments from the temple of Apollo, the metopes from the treasury of the Sicyonians the «navel of the earth», the exquisite archaic statues («Kouroi») of Kleovis and Viton, the Winged Sphinx of the Naxians and the metopes from the treasury of the Athenians, among others They are all priceless finds that fill the visitor with wonderment and admiration for the art and the civilization that flourished at Delphi.

8. Crete