Athens

Primary culture

Tuscan (Latin)

Capital province

Athens (146)

Government

Feudal Nobility

State religion

Catholic

Technology group

Western

Athenian ideas

Traditions:

+4 Tolerance of heretics

+10% Fort defense

Dominus Athenarum

+1 Yearly legitimacy

Athenian Openness

+1 Max promoted culture

Athenian Pragmatism

+1 Diplomatic reputation

Revive the Latin Greece

+1 Yearly prestige

Latin Contracts

−1 National unrest

Preserve Archbishop of Athens

+1% Missionary strength

Athenian Army Reform

+5% Infantry combat ability

+5% Artillery combat ability

Ambition:

+10% Morale of armies

Athens is a small country in the Morea region. It starts the campaign as a vassal of Byzantium and surrounded by the Ottomans. It consists of only one province of a Greek culture and Orthodox religion, while Athens itself is of the Tuscan culture and Catholic religion. Unlike many of its neighbors, Athens belongs to the Western technology group. In order to form Greece you will have to have a cultural shift to change missions.

Missions[edit | edit source]

Main article: Crusader missions

Decisions[edit | edit source]

Athens primary culture is Tuscan, which is part of the Latin culture group, therefore they may form Tuscany and Italy.

id

Form Tuscany

Not since the days of the Margraviate of Tuscany has a single power controlled as much of the the Tuscan lands as we do. Let us adopt a new title to better reflect our new standing among the states of Italy.

Potential requirements

The country:

was never an end-game nation.
is not Tuscany.
has not enacted this decision before.
is not a colonial nation.
has Tuscan as primary culture.

If the country is AI-controlled, it:

is not a custom nation.
is not a former colonial nation.
owns at least 3 cities.
Tuscany does not exist.

Playing with normal or historical nations.

Allow

Tuscany does not exist.
The country:

has an administrative technology of at least 10.
is not a subject nation other than a tributary state.
is not at war.
is not a nomad nation.
owns core provinces:
- Arezzo
- Firenze
- Pisa
- either Siena or Lucca.

Effects

The country:

becomes Tuscany.
gains 25 prestige.
gets the event ‘New Traditions & Ambitions’, unless it's a custom nation or has Tuscan ideas.
gets permanent claims on all unowned provinces with Tuscan culture.
(Hidden) gets the event “The Emperor Condemns Tuscany's Elevation” within 50 to 70 days.
gets “Increased Centralization” for 20 years, giving:
- −0.05 monthly autonomy change,
- +1 national unrest.

AI will always take this decision
AI gives "high priority" (400) to this decision

id

Form Italian Nation

As the heart of the Renaissance, our nation is blossoming culturally. We have just entered the beginning of what looks like a prolonged artistic rebellion, especially in the field of architecture and literature. The cultural evolution is not aiding our country in maintaining peace within our borders however. Our country is continuously stricken by foreign states seeking power and territorial gain.

Potential requirements

Italy does not exist.
The country:

was never an end-game nation.
has not enacted this decision before.
is not a colonial nation.
is in the Latin culture group

If the country is AI-controlled, it:

is not a custom nation.
is not a former colonial nation.
has at least 15 cities.

Playing with normal or historical nations.

Allow

The country:

has an administrative technology of at least 10.
is not a subject nation other than a tributary state.
is not at war.
owns core provinces:
- Genoa (101)
- Milano (104)
- Firenze (116)
- Roma (118)
owns at least 20 core provinces in the Italy region.

Effects

The country:

becomes Italy.
gains 25 prestige.
gets new missions.
gets the event ‘New Traditions & Ambitions’, unless it has custom ideas.
increases rank to kingdom, if it is a duchy
gets a permanent claim on Italy region.
moves its capital to Roma.
enacts "Italian Signoria" government reform if no reform has been selected

If Italy is a member of the Holy Roman Empire but not the emperor or an elector, then:

all its provinces are removed from the Empire.
the emperor of the HRE:
- gets the opinion modifier “Left the Holy Roman Empire” ( −150 Opinion / +1 Yearly decay) towards Italy.
- gets the event ‘Italy breaks out of the Empire’.

AI will always take this decision

Strategy[edit | edit source]

The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Athens. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.

Athens starts in an extremely dangerous position. A one-province minor with the wrong culture and religion, it is also a vassal under Byzantium, who have the most powerful nation in the game ready to attack them. If you want to survive as Athens, you need to break free, and quickly.

Depending on Byzantium's rivals, you may be able to gain the assistance of Venice or Genoa in supporting your independence. In addition, maxing out your relations with the Ottomans, building over your force limit, and hiring a diplomatic reputation advisor should be enough to gain their support as well, which can buy you desperately needed time to consolidate your realm and expand. Byzantium themselves usually only ally Serbia, Theodoro, or Wallachia, so the war itself will likely be over quickly assuming you have the backing of another nation. At this point, it's your choice of whether or not to take Constantinople in the peace deal. Doing so will greatly increase your wealth and strength, but this will greatly anger the Ottomans, even if you managed to ally them.

From this point forward, there are several areas open for expansion. You can attempt to move north into Serbia and Bosnia, seize the Aegean from Venice, or even attempt an exodus to the New World. But one thing is clear: sooner or later, the Ottomans will come knocking, and your only hope of escaping that is either to expand enough to stand up to them, or escape beyond their reach.

A good exodus strategy is to get administrative powers focus at the start, rush both Exploration and Expansion idea groups and, if you managed to get an alliance with The Ottomans and some land around you (Sicily being the best choice), you can colonize the Cape Verde before the Castilian and the Portuguese, and then colonize land in The Caribbean and move your capital to the New World.

Ideas[edit | edit source]

Athens starts as a Catholic Italian minor in a Greek Orthodox area, so humanist or religious ideas will be of great use in converting the region depending on your playstyle. Also, quality or defensive ideas can prove beneficial with the Ottomans on your doorstep.