Athens (local /ˈeɪθənz/AY-thinz) is a small unincorporated village in the rural services area of Lexington-Fayette Urban County to the east of Interstate 75 in Kentucky in the United States. First settled in 1786 as the community of Cross Plains, the town was chartered as Athens in 1826 and had its own post office from that time until 1906. The current commercial center was reduced to its present size by a series of fires in the mid-19th century.