The ancient city on the site of modern Athens arose in the 15th century BC. It appeared as a result of the unification of several communities that lived in Attica. This region connects the Balkan Peninsula with the Peloponnese Peninsula. It was the center of Greece.
Ancient Athens
The semi-legendary king Theseus, who lived around the 13th century BC, reformed the Athenian community. From that moment on, it was divided into several classes, including demiurges, geomors and eupatrides. The last of them were aristocrats with large plots of land. Because of this, over time, most of the free population of the city became dependent on these landowners. So slavery appeared in Athens.
In the city, in addition to free and slaves, there was a class of meteks. They were not slaves, but at the same time they did not have the rights that the aristocracy had. Athens was governed by a council of nine archons, chosen from among the we althiest and most powerful citizens.
Solon's reforms
Ancient Athens, whose geographical position was extremely advantageous, quickly grew rich compared to its neighbors. This led towidening the gap between rich and poor. The situation called for reforms. Their initiator at the beginning of the VI century BC was the archon Solon.
He belonged to a powerful family. Nevertheless, he managed to advance at the expense of his own talents. At first he was known as a poet. As an adult, he became a military leader and led several successful warriors against his neighbors, including Megara.
In 594 B. C. e. he became archon. Due to the state of emergency, Solon was given the widest powers. As a result, he introduced a number of reforms. The sale and purchase of people into slavery for their financial debts to borrowers was prohibited. Thanks to the resolution of wills, the sprouts of private property and a new middle free class appeared. In order for every citizen to pay a reasonable amount of taxes, the entire population of Athens was divided into four categories, depending on the level of income. All these changes served as the foundation for the city to soon become the main political center of all ancient Greece.
Golden Age of Pericles
Another person who did a lot for the greatness of Athens was Pericles. He began to rule in 461 BC. e. Under him, a system of democracy was established. The state of Athens was the first in the world to adopt this form of government. Since then, all free residents have been given the right to participate in politics and vote for the leaders they liked best.
Under Pericles, the development of Athens reached its maximum. The city was the center of ancient culture. Here lived the historian Herodotus, philosophers,sculptors and poets. The city has undergone a radical restructuring. The majestic acropolis and the Parthenon temple appeared - masterpieces of ancient architecture. Among the inhabitants there was a high percentage of literate and able to read. It is from this moment that the Greek language becomes dominant throughout the Mediterranean. Even after the fall of the ancient policies, it continued to be used in science, thanks to which a huge number of modern terms arose in various disciplines. Speakers and rhetoricians held public debates surrounded by the most diverse audience.
Athens, whose geographical position allowed the construction of ships, at that time became the center of maritime trade and colonization. From here, adventurers and adventurers set off on a long journey, settled on the shores of Italy, North Africa and the Black Sea.
Rivalry with Sparta
In 431 B. C. e. ancient Athens was drawn into a war with its southern neighbor - Sparta. Pericles was still alive, and it was he who directed the first successful stage of the conflict. However, suddenly a deadly epidemic began in the city, the famous king himself became a victim of it.
Later in historiography the war will be called Peloponnesian. Greek Athens stood at the head of the Delian League, which also included Samos, Chios and Lesbos. Sparta had tried to dispute with these cities for many years. It differed significantly from democratic Athens. Here, the military class was at the head of power, and all the inhabitants lived in barracks. Everyone knows the cruel practices of this policy, for example, the custom of throwing out the frailand unhe althy babies off the cliff. So it was a war not only between two political centers, but also between two social systems.
The first period of this armed conflict was characterized by numerous Spartan raids on Attica, while Athens tried to win with the help of the fleet and superiority at sea. In the second half of the war, everything turned upside down. Sparta enlisted the support of foreign Persians and was able to build a fleet. With his help, all the Athenian allies were first defeated. In 404 BC. e. and the great polis itself admitted defeat, as a result of which many years of tyranny were established there. Both Athens and Sparta were weakened. As a result, over time, Thebes moved forward in Greece. However, this period did not last long.
Capture by the Macedonians
In the IV century BC. e. the Macedonian kingdom, which was located north of Greece, rose. Its ruler, Philip II, decided to conquer the southern neighbors, who had been occupied with internecine wars for many years. The inhabitants of Athens united with the citizens of Thebes and met the enemy at Chaeronea in 338 BC. e. The Greeks were defeated.
After that, both Athens and Sparta became part of the Macedonian state. The son of Philip - the great commander Alexander - soon led a huge number of Greeks to the east in order to conquer distant countries. He finally defeated the Persians, who had been a threat to the policies for a long time. The new state, which also covered Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Egypt and bordered on India, did not last long. However, over several decades, all thesethe provinces adopted the Hellenistic culture, the centers of which were the policies of Athens and Sparta. The Greek language has become international.
In Athens itself at that time there was another flourishing of cultural life. Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum were opened.
Roman province
In 146 B. C. e. Athens was annexed to the Roman Republic, which later became an empire. Since then, the city has become provincial. Nevertheless, the Romans adopted a lot from Greek culture. This was their peculiarity - they never destroyed local traditions, language, etc. Instead, the Romans took the best from the conquered peoples, involving them in their orbit of influence in a peaceful way.
The real decline of Athens happened in the III century AD. e., when the Balkan provinces became a target for barbarian raids. Many monuments of ancient culture fell into disrepair and eventually collapsed. The Olympic Games, which were an important and regular event in the life of local Greeks, were canceled.
Part of Byzantium
With the collapse of the empire into two parts, Athens, whose geographical position corresponded to its eastern half, became part of Byzantium. It was at this time that the local population began to accept Christianity, especially after the edict of Constantine the Great. This led to the disappearance of ancient ancient gods from the mass consciousness. The Byzantine emperors did not like the features of Athens, and they methodically got rid of the symbols of the past era. So in the VI century, Justinian banned the activities of philosophical schools, which he considered a hotbed of paganism andblasphemy.
Athens became a provincial city, while Greek became the official language of the empire, whose capital was Constantinople. Proximity to the political center allowed the city to survive several centuries calmly. In the 13th century, Byzantium briefly ceased to exist after Constantinople was captured by the Crusaders. Catholics founded several states in Greece. Athens became the center of a small duchy dominated by the French and Italians.
Turkish City
In 1458, the city was captured by Muslim Turks. It became part of the Ottoman Empire for a long time. Several times Athens became the target for attacks by the Venetian Republic, which fought with Turkey for dominance in the Mediterranean. In the XVII century, during one of the sieges, the ancient Parthenon was destroyed.
The modern capital of Greece
Despite the power of the Turks, the Greek nation survived, although, of course, it had little in common with the ancient Greeks. This people had their own orthodox church - the Christian religion has remained here since the time of Byzantium. In the 19th century, against the backdrop of a crisis in the empire, a Greek national upsurge began. A revolution broke out, which was supported by many European Christian countries. In 1833, an independent Greek kingdom arose, with Athens as its capital.
After the liberation from Turkish rule, colossal archaeological work unfolded here. A huge number of European experts and historians began to study the remains of the ancient city. At the same time, the restoration of the city began. Famous architects flocked here (for example, Theophil von Hansen and Leo von Klenze), who rebuilt the neglected streets. In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens.
At the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to the Greek-Turkish population exchange agreements, compatriots from the most distant lands returned to the city. Millions of Greeks were able to visit Athens for the first time. The geographical position of the capital made it possible to accommodate many of the settlers.
During World War II, Athens was briefly under German occupation. Today it is a modern European city with numerous monuments of antiquity and developed infrastructure.
A bit of geography
The city is located on the central plain of Attica (south of the Balkan Peninsula), washed by the Saronic Gulf. Today it occupies almost the entire territory of the plain, so soon the city will have nowhere to grow due to natural boundaries in the form of mountains and water. But while the suburbs on the outskirts are expanding. The rivers Kifissos, Eridanus and Pirodafni flow through Athens.
