Short answers, pulled from the story.
Athens is called the birthplace of democracy because Cleisthenes introduced democratic government there in 508 BC, building on the earlier reforms of Solon. Classical Athens was a centre for Ancient Greek democracy, the arts, education and philosophy, which is why it is often regarded as the cradle of Western civilisation.
According to the ancient founding myth, the goddess Athena won patronage of the unnamed city by offering the first domesticated olive tree, judged superior to Poseidon's gift by King Cecrops. Modern scholars generally agree the goddess took her name from the city rather than the reverse, because the ending -ene is common in place names but rare in personal names.
Athens became the capital of the newly independent Greek state in 1834, replacing Nafplio. At the time war had reduced it to a town of about 4,000 people clustered at the foot of the Acropolis.
The Parthenon was severely damaged on the 26th of September 1687, when a Venetian shot during the Morean War ignited a powder magazine the Ottomans had stored inside it. The explosion gave the building largely the ruined appearance it has today, and both sides later looted it.
Athens has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in 1896 and 2004. This makes it one of five cities to have hosted the Summer Olympics on more than one occasion, and the 2004 games welcomed more than 10,000 athletes from 202 countries.
Athens has been referred to as the hottest city in mainland Europe, with temperatures of 47.5 degrees Celsius and over recorded across the metropolitan area. Nearby Elefsina held the European record of 48.0 degrees, set on the 10th of July 1977, and Athens became the first city in Europe to appoint a chief heat officer.