Auld Greekie: Edinburgh as The Athens of the NorthIn the years between about 1810 and 1840, Edinburgh long and affectionately known as 'Auld Reekie' came to think of itself and be widely regarded as something else: the city became 'Modern Athens', an epithet later turned to 'the Athens of the North'. The phrase is very well known. It is also much used by those who have little understanding of the often confused and contradictory messages hidden within the apparent convenience of a trite or hackneyed