Athens (City)

Athens is the co-capital and largest city of the Athens Federation. With an estimated population of more than 2.5 million people, it is known for its iconic Skyscraper Row.

History
In 1453, a large ship known as the RMS Atlantic Breeze carrying a crew of approximately 100 people crashed on a small island. The ship was captained by Arthur-Jacques Blanc (the namesake of the town of Arthurburg) and his wife Joaninha (the namesake of the town of Joaninha). Arthur-Jacques Blanc established a settlement on the island known as Athens (modern-day Arthurburg), and his crew helped build the original Athens Church. Initially, the early Athens community was highly religious. Blanc then proclaimed himself the first "mayor" of the Athens City-State in 1498. The surrounding land was initially uninhabited, and Blanc soon claimed land as far south as modern-day Tortuga, and as far east as modern-day Nowhere.

A strong tropical cyclone affected Joaninha Island in 1503, which killed approximately 25% of the island's population and destroyed the Athens Church. However, Arthur-Jacques and Joaninha Blanc survived. To replace the original church which was a rather simple building, the Notre Dame Cathedral was constructed. The city hall of Athens was actually built farther east - in the mainland - and most Athens residents moved to the mainland since it was less likely to be impacted by tropical cyclones in the future. Arthur Jacques-Blanc died in 1522, and his son, Laurent Blanc, replaced him as mayor. Laurent Blanc decided to support additional development east of the Athens Bay in the mainland, and this eventually became known as the city of Athens. In 1526, Laurent Blanc decided to rename the original Athens community Arthurburg in honor of his father, and the island as Joaninha Island in honor of his mother, who died in 1525.

Construction of the iconic Skyscraper Row did not begin until the late 1800s.

The current mayor of Athens is Alexis Zurgenstine of the New Democratic Movement party.