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:: Athens
History: A description of the history
of Athens
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The myth behind the city |
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According
to the myth, the first city was founded by
Cecrops, the city's first king. Cecrops was
half man and half snake. He taught the inhabitants
how to read and write, to get married and
to bury the dead.
Athens was born under his reign when the gods
of Olympus decided that the city should be
named after the deity that would give the
most useful gift to the mortals. The deity
would become the patron deity of the city.
Poseidon (God of the sea) and Athena (Goddess
of wisdom) contended for the lordship of the
city.
The lordship of the city was won by Athena
by offering an olive tree which is the symbol
of peace and prosperity while Poseidon struck
a rock and a horse sprang forth symbolising
the strength. |
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The Acropolis, the huge rock that stands in
the middle of the city and where the Parthenon
temple was built, shows the first inhabitants
dates to the Neolithic period.
The first use of the Acropolis was as a military
fortress as its position offers a panoramic
view toward the land and the sea.
By 1400 B.C., the Acropolis became a Mycenaean
city and for the first time became a religious
centre for the worship of patron deity of
the city, Athena.
Greece, from the 12th century B.C till the
8th, felt into a dark age and not much is
known about the city of Athens. Athens emerged
from this Dark Age in the 8th century B.C
and Attica, the region that surrounds the
city of Athens was divided is several minor
kingdoms.
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According
to the history, Athens was economically
reinforced and regained the rule of
Attica.
The city became slowly the artistic
centre of Greece.
During that period, the city was ruled
by aristocrats and generals and the
social position of the citizen in the
hierarchy depended to its wealth.
But Solon, the law giver and poet, took
Athens in the road of Democracy and
declared all free Athenians equal by
law. He abolished inherited privileges
and give equal civil rights to all Athenians.
During this period, the Acropolis was
declared province of the gods by a Delphic
oracle.
In the 5th century B.C, a war took place
between Athens and the Persians. Athens
won the war and got in a period of economical,
cultural and political prosperity.
The Democracy was thought and established
under the rule of Pericles. The Acropolis
was destroyed by the Persians during
the famous battle of Salamina and Pericles
decided to rebuild the Acropolis into
a city of temples. It is considered
as the ultimate classical Greek achievement
in term of architecture and sculptures.
This period was also the period when
all the theatrical masterpieces were
written.
But, during the Peloponnesian War (431-404
B.C), Athens was defeated by the Spartans
and it marked the end of the Golden
Age. The political power of Greece felt
under the hands of Phillip the Macedon
and his son, the famous Alexander the
Great. But Athens still remained the
cultural centre of Greece.
But, a new threat came from the west
by the end of the 2nd Century. The Roman
Empire had already invaded the western
Mediterranean and was slowly moving
to the east.
They finally invaded Greece which was
still under the rule of the Macedonians.
Athens escaped from the Romans for the
reason that they had a great respect
for Athens' scholarship, literature,
philosophy and art. The Pax Romana (the
Roman Peace) was established between
Rome and Athens. |
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Byzantine and modern era |
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3rd Century was characterised by the break
of the Pax Romana
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