New Athens

New Athens, also known as Heliopolis, is one of the major cities of the Consortium and is widely regarded as it's cultural capital. It is a cultural, educational, and industrial center and is also home to one of Earth's largest spaceports. 
== History ==
=== Foundation Period ===
During the economic turmoil of the Foundation Period, Greece was especially hit hard. Unable to keep a standing government longer than a few months, Greece saw an ancient repeat of history as cities began to function for themselves as independent nation-states. Athens saw a heavy amount of street fighting as various military factions vied for control of the important city.
With the foundation of the Consortium came Year Zero and the lightspeed mobilization of the global economy. Athens was almost completely rebuilt in a Greco-Roman revivalist style blending elements from Sebastian Myrcenae McRae's Deco-Futurism. In SY 24, the city had a commencement ceremony in honor of Zero Day; the city itself was said to represent the Consortium and the new beginning for humanity that it heralded. Thus, it was officially named New Athens.
New Athens quickly became a hub of commerce and society and played a vital role in the Second Renaissance. The United States established it's second Integrated Production Sphere Academy there. In the mid SY 90's the New School was founded in the city as an outgrowth of the Academy. The New School redubbed the city Heliopolis in honor of the Sun; the name was never accepted as an official replacement but rather exists side by side in the public imagination with it's official name. Later, the Ecumenical Council for Terran Humanism would break from the New School as an organization of it's own.
=== First Trilogy Era ===
During the Solar War, the Neoparthenon was defiled and burned by Jaymeson and Cera Nicks during the Battle of Earth.
=== Second Trilogy Era ===
Heliopolis became the city's official name with the rise of the Anthroperium sometime in the Twilight Age and served as it's diplomatic and administrative center.
== Points of Interest ==
The New School, together with the Ecumenical Council for Terran Humanism, constructed a series of altars throughout the city dedicated to the pantheon of the constructed Terran Humanist religion. Chief of these is a large statue of Anthropos Rex on Mount Olympus which can be seen from the city itself on a clear day. It has a duplicate in the Neoparthenon at the city's center with statues of the other deities. 
Category:First Trilogy
Category:Second Trilogy