Which city of India is known as 'The Athens of the East'?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

SSC CGL Previous Paper 69 (Held On: 4 March 2020 Shift 2)

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Answer 1

The correct answer is Madurai.

Key Points

The city of Madurai is located in Tamil Nadu on the banks of River Vaigai.
It has found mentions in the texts of Kautilya and Megasthenes dating back to the 3rd century BC.
The ancient city has served as the capital of the Kingdom of Pandyas.
The city was initially developed in the shape of Lotus.
The magnificent Hindu temples are the major attractions of Madurai like Meenakshi Amman Temple, Koodal Azhagar Temple, and many more.

Additional Information

The resemblance to Athens: Madurai is known as the Athens of East due to two features mentioned as follows:
- In Athens, there is the Greek Pantheon an elevated top that is visible from anywhere in the city. Similarly, the Gopurams of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple are visible from anywhere.
- Another feature is the walkways that favor pedestrians inside the city. The two-way lanes for vehicular traffic are mostly located on the outskirts of the city.
- But with time, the visibility of gopurams has been affected by the high-rising buildings and the pedestrian walkways by increased traffic.