See also Athens, Illinois and Athens for more places called "Athens". New Athens is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. Based upon common usage, the 'A' is always sounded with a long vowel, rather than a short vowel, by its residents, unlike the most commonly used English pronunciation of the city in Greece. The population was 2,054 at the 2010 census. New Athens sits on the Kaskaskia River and was originally called Athens.