Athapaskan lands. In the late 1800s
many more people arrived in search of
gold. The newcomers brought change,
but traditional ways survived. In the late
20th century more than 40,000 Athapaskan
lived in Alaska and northern
Canada, where they are called Dene.
#More to explore
Apache Chipewyan Native
Americans Navajo Plains Indians
Athena
In ancient Greek mythology Athena was
the goddess of war, wisdom, and handicrafts.
She was one of the 12 gods
believed to live on Mount Olympus. She
is associated with the Roman goddess
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Athena 217
Minerva because they shared many of
the same characteristics. Athenas symbols
were the olive tree, which represents
peace, and the owl, which represents
wisdom.
According to legend, Athena was the
favorite daughter of Zeus, the chief god.
She was said to have sprung from his
head fully grown and clothed in a suit of
armor. Like Zeus, Athena wore the aegis,
which was a magical breastplate fringed
with snakes. It produced thunderbolts
when shaken.
Athena was very different from the war
god Ares, who was a powerful fighter.
Athena used her great wisdom to advise
soldiers during wartime. She believed
that war should be used only to protect
people and to provide justice. In addition,
she was known for inventing the
plow, taming wild horses, and teaching
farmers to yoke oxen. It was also
believed that she invented the flute and
the trumpet.
The city of Athens was associated with
Athena. According to legend, Zeus
decided to give the Greek city to the god
who offered the most useful gift to the
people. Poseidon, the god of the sea,
gave the city a water spring. Athena
struck the ground with her spear and
caused an olive tree to grow. The people
were delighted with this gift. Zeus
awarded the city to Athena. He named it
Athens in her honor.
#More to explore
Ares Athens Greece, Ancient
Mythology Zeus
Athens
Population
(2001 census),
city, 745,514;
metropolitan
area,
3,187,734
Athens is the capital of Greece, a country
of southern Europe. The city is
located on the Greek mainland. Mountains
surround Athens on three sides.
Athens was the most important of the
city-states of ancient Greece.
Places of Interest
Parts of many ancient buildings still
stand in Athens. On top of a high hill is
an ancient fortress known as the
Acropolis. It once held temples to Athena,
the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.
The city of Athens was named for
Athena.
Ruins of ancient monuments stand near
modern neighborhoods in the city of Athens,
Greece.
218 Athens BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Economy
Athens is the main center in Greece for
business, trade, and transportation. The
city has a busy port on a bay of the
Aegean Sea. Most of Greeces manufactured
goods are made in Athens. Some
of the main factories process food and
beverages. Other factories make cloth,
soap, chemicals, pottery, ships, and cars.
Tourism and publishing also are major
industries.
History
People have lived in the Athens area for
at least 5,000 years. The earliest surviving
buildings date from about 1200 BC.
Ancient Greece was made up of many
independent city-states. Athens reached
its peak as one of the most powerful
city-states in the 400s BC. The leader of
Athens during that period was Pericles.
He helped develop the form of government
known as democracy. Athens also
thrived in the 400s BC as a center of
culture and learning. The city was home
to great playwrights, historians, and
scholars.
After Athens lost a war in 404 BC, its
power began to decline. Later the Macedonians
and then the Romans controlled
the city.
The Turkish Ottoman Empire took control
of Athens in AD 1456. The Turks
ruled the city until 1833. In that year
Greece became an independent country,
with Athens as its capital. In the second
half of the 1900s the city grew rapidly.
In 2004 Athens hosted the Summer
Olympics.
..More to explore
Acropolis Athena City-State Greece
Greece, Ancient
Athletics
..see Track and Field.
Atlanta
Population
(2000 census),
city, 416,474;
(2007 estimate)
519,145
Atlanta is the capital and largest city of
the U.S. state of Georgia. It is located
in the foothills of the Blue Ridge
Mountains.
The Fountain of Rings is part of Atlantas
Centennial Olympic Park. The park was
built for use during the 1996 Summer
Olympic Games.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Atlanta 219
Atlanta is the main trade and transportation
center for the southeastern United
States. The city is also an important
financial center. The U.S. government
has several offices in Atlanta.
The city had its beginnings in 1837.
That year the site was selected as the end
stop on a new rail line. A settlement
soon grew up around the site. In 1845 it
was named Atlanta.
During the American CivilWar Atlanta
became a rail center for the Confederate
states. In 1864 Union troops captured
Atlanta and burned most of its buildings.
After the war ended, Atlanta recovered
quickly. The city became the capital
of Georgia in 1868.
In the 1900s Atlanta was the home of
the civil rights leader Martin Luther
King, Jr. It was also the first major
Southern city to elect an African American
man (in 1973) and African American
woman (in 2001) as mayor. The
1996 Summer Olympics were held in
Atlanta.
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest
ocean on Earth, after the Pacific Ocean.
However, the Atlantic drains more of
the worlds land area than any other
ocean. This means that much of the
worlds river water flows into the Atlantic.
The ancient Greeks named the ocean
after Atlas, a character in Greek mythology.
Atlas stood on pillars in the ocean
to hold up the heavens.
Physical Features
The Atlantic Ocean reaches the continents
of Europe and Africa to the east. It
extends to North America and South
America to the west. It also extends from
the Arctic Ocean in the north to Antarctica
in the south. The equator divides
the Atlantic Ocean into parts called the
North Atlantic and the South Atlantic.
The surface area of the Atlantic is about
31,830,000 square miles (82,440,000
square kilometers). This is roughly half
the size of the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantics
deepest point, at 27,493 feet (8,380
meters), is the bottom of the Puerto
Rico Trench, north of the island of
Puerto Rico.
Beneath the middle of the Atlantic is a
long, undersea mountain range called
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Along the ridge,
hot, liquid rock, called magma, rises
from beneath Earths crust. The magma
The Jimmy
Carter Library
and Museum
opened in
Atlanta, Georgia,
in 1986.
It houses the
official documents
as well
as letters and
photographs
of the 39th
president of the
United States.
220 Atlantic Ocean BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
cools and hardens as it spreads out on
both sides of the ridge. Volcanoes and
earthquakes are common near the ridge.
Undersea volcanoes have formed some