Athína
/aˈθiː.na/noun
The Modern Greek name for Athens, the capital of Greece, and also a Greek feminine given name.
Did you know?The ancient Greek name Ἀθῆναι was grammatically plural, and although tradition linked the city to the goddess Athena, scholars consider the name’s deeper origin uncertain and possibly pre-Greek.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Greek antiquity
Pre-Greek
*Athēnai
“A probable pre-Greek place-name; its original meaning is unknown.”
5th Century BCE
Ancient Greek
Ἀθῆναι (Athênai)
“The ancient Greek name for Athens, grammatically a plural form.”
Hellenistic period
Greek
Ἀθῆναι
“The established name of the major Greek city and cultural center.”
Byzantine Greek
Greek
Ἀθῆναι / Athēnai
“The inherited Greek name for the city, increasingly treated as a fixed place-name.”
Modern Greek
Greek
Αθήνα (Athína)
“The modern Greek singular form and current name of Athens.”