In the meantime, though, Athenians and their visitors can be proud of their stunning new piece of architecture, filled with indisputably great art.

ECONOMIST: A new tribute to the Parthenon

Some Athenians complain it is simply too big for the site.

ECONOMIST: A new tribute to the Parthenon

The contempt that Frank Miller spits out against Occupy Wall Street is very much in the vein of the contempt his Spartans shower at the Athenians.

FORBES: Occupy Wall Street, Frank Miller, And Why Athens Is Better Than Sparta

Socrates spent his life trying to wake people up, and his sleep deprived fellow Athenians eventually put him to death so they could go back to sleep.

FORBES: A Wake-Up Call For Leadership

Were the Athenians simply cowed by shows of force?

FORBES: Two Great Historians Talk Alexander The Great, Part 4

Were the Athenians out simply to make a profit?

BBC: A Point of View: The euro's strange stories

Walk past Athens' chichi boutique, bluntly called Rich Bitch--or watch middle-class Athenians enjoy a leisurely lunch of grilled octopus on Lykavitos Hill--and it's clear that new wealth is not just being made but enjoyed.

FORBES: Athens At The Crossroads

Some Greek islands have been overbuilt by Athenians taking advantage of corrupt planning laws, but all over the mainland there are villages in beautiful settings that are decaying for want of anybody ready to refit handsome stone houses and attract year-round visitors.

ECONOMIST: The Greek crisis

Some time about 440BC, the Athenians decided to make all these people get rid of their own currency, with their own national emblems, and use Athenian "owls" instead - in fact some of the public notices laying this down, still survive, inscribed on stone around what was the Athenian empire.

BBC: A Point of View: The euro's strange stories