Athens a history of 8000 years. 2nd Edition.

[GrigorisSokratis]

ATHENS A HISTORY OF 8000 YEARS - EXTENDED VERSION

Second edition, July 26, 2008

Preface

It's been over a year since I've cleared the old version of this thread for reasons that now are out of the scope of this one.

It's been also five months since I've started working on this guide, geez that's a long time!

Five months of long research (both in books and internet), compilation, writing, translation, document formating and data pasting as well .

When I've started, the idea was to restore the old thread and complete it, as it covered the history of Athens until 1912. But later I thought it would be a better idea to improve it or in other words...upgrade it to a "guide" category; a guide that as time went by, became something more like a book, since the outcome of all this work is a document with a total of 280 written pages (not including the images).

Did I mention images? Well yes, as you may have heard, an image is worth one thousand words. So in order to complement all the text information, I've decided that adding photos, drawings and maps depicting how the city looked like in each period, would help you even more on getting an idea of what you are reading.

Of course I made lots of improvements, like adding lots of missing data, I’ve also included, as mentioned before, quite a number of interesting maps showing how Athens looked like in past centuries as well as old pictures, lithographies and much more.

So if you’ve already read the old version, this is a new version alltogether, much richer in information than its older counterpart.

By the way, coincidentally, since each post will be dedicated to a certain period of history, and since this is my post number 999; the beginning of this guide coincides with my post number 1000.

Finally I want to thank to all those sites and people who provided all this reach information; who by the way have a whole bibliography chapter dedicated to them at the end of the guide.

I'll divided this guide into chapters according to the time era.
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, please sit down, put your seats in upright position, fasten your seatbelts, tray tables up and please turn your cellphones off; because it's time to begin our long journey into the past of Athens.

[GrigorisSokratis]

INTRODUCTION

The view of modern Athens from above, from any point of any of the mountains that surround the Athenian basin, impresses the observer causing mixed feelings. The city fills all the extent of the basin, climbing the aforementioned surrounding mountains, while it finds an exit through the natural passes between them and disappears beyond its natural limits.

From this massive geography emerges as a sovereign the imposing physiognomy of the holy rock of the Athenian Citadel and the clump of neighbouring hills and in dynamic contraposition the towering Lykavitto and the even higher Hills of Vrilissiou (Toyrkovounia). An impressive picture of a metropolis with intense popular character.

However, this city while clearly showing that it suffers from gigantism, actually extends itself within the limits that had been shaped by the mesh of ancient Athenian municipalities. The picture is differentiated today because the city presents itself compact and not as a set of smaller scattered villages. The modern city lives in intense rythms. Of course, the current residents of Athens, lost in the routine of the daily grind, do not perceive that behind the dense cover of modern urban life, the historical past of the city can be easily seen; moreover, it even represents the base of the current urban structure of Athens.

However, the Athenian past has scattered its presence all around the extent of the basin, making it a still persistent entity nowadays; in Athens the past is part of the present and it’s still alive. The innumerable monuments of antiquity that dominate in the urban landscape, the astounishing big number of Medieval Byzantine churches and structures, the neoclassic buildings and the official palaces are linked harmoniously with the environment, constituting a connection of the past and the present. The emergence of the past is a permanent phenomenon in modern Athens and the evidences of historical continuity abound. Few people know the fact that the city’s urban network is founded on its ancient (still existent) one; many of the urban streets and main roads are the same ancient streets or they follow the directions of those (we are going to cover this with more detail later).

What impresses an observer more, are the similar uses of the urban space, no matter the moment of history studied. For all the above it is worthwhile to take a moment of our life to learn all those secrets, we think are hidden, when they are actually before us and are eagerly waiting to be discovered. Let’s begin this journey into the history of the oldest metropolis not only of Europe, but of the whole world.

[GrigorisSokratis]

PART I

PREHISTORIC ATHENS (6,000BC – 1,600 BC)

The city of Athens, this vast urban monster that is constantly expanding, has a long history, starting many millenia ago, thousands of years before the use of writing and the recording of History.

The first people arrived in our city during the Neolithic Era, Sometime around the 6,000BC. Their few remaining traces show that they were the first to choose the area of the rock of the Acropolis for their permanent place of living. Possibly, at first they did not wish to stay exactly on the top, but excavations have shown that they had certainly dispersed along the southern and northern sides of the rock, and that they occasionally used the two small caves over Dionysus’ (Διόνυσος) theatre. Water, the first and most fundamental element for the development of a new settlement, was provided from 21 shallow wells, 3-4 metres deep, that had been dug at the northwest of the rock, in the same place where, in later historic years, stood the famous ‘Water Clock’ (Κλεψύδρα) fountain.



The area of the acropolis and its immediate neighbourhood have been inhabited since the sixth millennium Β. C., making Athens possibly the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe. The remains of Neolithic houses and graves have been found on and around the Acropolis. Archaeological evidence supports the view that this area was continuously inhabited from that time through to the Bronze Age, which began circa 3,000 B.C., at which time there were also settlements in eastern Attica, at Marathon, Spata, Vraona, Τhοrikοs and elsewhere, suggesting a high degree of security and prosperity for the entire region.

From the scant finds it seems that the Neolithic inhabitants of Athens were in contact with the coasts of the Saronic Gulf, Aegina and Kea where important settlements have been found.

Few and far between, the houses on the side featured solid built bases while their walls and roofs were knitted from branches covered with mud. Inside their one single area there was a built stove, used for heating and cooking food. Food and other commodities, acquired via land cultivation and barter, were stored inside simple shallow dug outs on the ground. Animal hunting in the area was of vital importance, not only for the meat it provided, but also for the skins.

Apart from taking care of their various living necessities, these people also decorated their bodies with stone and bone jewelry and it is also possible that they painted their faces with ochre. Four obese female statuettes bear testament to the worship of the female deity of fertility, the same one that dominates the East throughout the Prehistoric Era.



Another group of people had probably settled in the neighbouring hill of the Olympeion (Ολυμπίειον), which was later flattened, so that the temple of Olympeion Zeus (Ολύμπειος Δίας) could be built upon it. Nothing remains from it (nor would it have been possible, since the soil was cut and removed), but the shape and position of the hill make the spot ideal for a Neolithic settlement: low ground angle, close to a river and flat area surroundings with fertile soil for cultivation.

From these sparse findings, and more particularly from the types of pottery, it can be figured that the people who resided on the sides of the Acropolis in the Neolithic times were oriented towards the sea and kept in close contact with the coasts of the Saronic (Σαρωνικός), Aegina (Αίγινα) and Kea (Κέα). Their relations with the Northeastern Peloponnese (Πελοπόννησος), Thessalia (Θεσσαλία) and Asia Minor (Μικρά Ασία) were a lot less tight.

The early Bronze Age (3200–2000 BC) settlement continued uninterruptedly around the Acropolis but new sites prove the spread of inhabitants over a wider area; this age finds the residents of then modern Athens a lot more influenced by the Neolithic way of living. Originally, they remain within the bounds of their own area, but soon afterwards, they start to communicate with the Peloponnese, Sterea (Στερεά), and the Cyclades (Κυκλάδες). No houses and permanent constructions have survived, but the sparse traces of pottery found show that they continue to reside in their old places; while others now definitely live on top of the rock close to the Erectheion (Ερεχθείο), where clear traces of them have been found. Inside the Ancient Marketplace (Αγορά) a pathway leading to Plato’s Academy (Ακαδημία Πλάτωνος) in the West begins to be formed; this pathway will later become a road.



In the East it is certain that the hill of the Olympeion is made use of, and one of its inhabitants was found buried in a small carved grave of the time. That and another grave in Cerameicos (Κεραμεικός) show from their shape and their burial gems (κτερίσματα) that the residents of the area both retained their close connections with the Cyclades or the Cycladic settlements of Attica, and followed a lot of customs of their own.

After all these sparse and poor remains one can't fail to be impressed by the wealth and variety of the findings from the second Βronze Age, of the Middle Helladic period (2000-1600 BC). Houses, wells, stoves, storage dug outs, graves of various types and all kinds of pottery with plenty of material can be found scattered over a large area. On top of the rock, at the east of the Erectheion, there used to remain five small box-shaped (κιβωτιόσχημος) graves, and, at the north of the same temple, a layer of a levee. On the southern side, signs of the Middle Helladic Era can be found not only close to the Proto Helladic ones, but everywhere where an excavation took place. Two stoves, two storage dug outs, a burial inside a large jar, a burial tomb north of Eumenus’ Gallery (Στοά του Ευμένους), two rooms or houses, one well, two small simple graves, and, lower, towards the east of the Museum hill, one large well-constructed grave, another couple of earlier ones, and, of course, pottery everywhere.



A large amount of pottery was also found in the east, around the area of the Olympeion. In the north, inside the ancient Marketplace, wherever the rock had retained its older levee Middle Helladic use is hinted. Pottery, two storage dug outs at the base of the Areios Pagos (Άρειος Πάγος) and, especially, parts of a road in the centre and in the northwestern corner, above the pathway of the Proto Helladic period.

Clearly, the Middle Helladic findings cover a wide area, a lot greater than all known Middle Helladic settlements. Of course it would be pointless to regard this whole area as a uniform and continuous settlement. However, the findings are real and where they stand we should place houses, built in groups and more densely on the southern and the northern side; another group should be placed east of the Museum hill, and others on the Olympeion and the Marketplace. The residents of these settlements do not appear to remain confined in their places of residence. On the contrary, they maintain close relations and continuous contact with Sterea, the Peloponnese and the Cyclades. From the various traded goods we only know the pottery items. Burial customs are now clearly Helladic without any Cycladic influences.



The Kerameikos area began to be used for the burial of the dead and at the Agora there were early traces of a road leading westwards.
On a cultural level, there were contacts with the Cyclades which thrived during this period and with the important coastal settlements of Attica such as where modern day Agios Kosmas is.

At the end of third millennium B.C. around 2100 BC Greek-speaking people, sometimes called Achaeans, first entered the Peloponessus originating from the Eastern pindus range region; later about the 2000 BC their Ionian Greek brothers followed and settled in Attika coming from Western Macedonia and Western Thessaly. The Athenians always distinguished themselves from non-Greek-speaking people, whom they usually referred to as Pelasgians. It is not known whether they massacred them, drove them out, or subjugated them. Traces of their non-Hellenic tongue are still to be found in many of the topographical names of Attica. Even the name 'Athens' itself does not appear to be Indoeuropean. Topographical names with the forms '-ssos' and '-ttos', such as Kifissos, Ilissos, Ardettos, Lykabettos and Hymettos, are also believed to belong to the pre-Greek language once spoken in Attica. This extensive adoption of existing topographical names by the Greek-speaking incomers, together with later claims by the Athenians to represent the indigenous inhabitants of the area, suggests that in Attica the invaders did not drive out or massacre their predecessors, but cohabited with them, intermixed and they finally have been assimilated.

There’s another theory that suggests that the mingling of the newcomers with the natives led to the creation of ancient Greek civilization specially in Athens. Resulting in the Ionian character to be nothing more than a mixture of Prehellenic people with Hellenic speaking ones.

The name of Athens in Ancient Greek was Athinai (Αθηναι, pronounced, "at-heh-nye"). The actual etymology of the word is obscure and its origin prehellenic. An etiological myth on how Athens acquired this name was well known amongst ancient Athenians and even became the theme of Parthenon's West pediment sculpture. Both Athena and Poseidon requested to be patrons and give their name to the city, so they competed, offering the city one gift each. Poseidon produced a spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. Athena created the olive tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. The Athenians under Cecrops accepted the olive tree and named the city after Athena. Athιnai is a plural form: the city was called "The Athenses" since it was originally a group of ten cities which Theseus unified into one city. In his dialogs Cratylus, Plato gives the etymology of Athena's name based on the view of the ancient Athenians.

[GrigorisSokratis]

MYCENEAN ATHENS - THE ATHENS OF LEGEND (c.1,600 BC-1,100 BC)

Near the end of the Bronze Age, the Achaeans began to demonstrate increasing cultural sophistication under the influence of the civilization of Minoan Crete, named after the legendary King Minos. At the same time, they retained their own distinctive ways. The result of this synthesis is known as the Mycenaean civilization, since the most important city exhibiting this cultural fusion was Mycenae. Α syllabic script, Linear Β, was used to put the Greek language into writing, and this, together with the work of the archaeologists, gives us some insights into their society.

And so we reach the later Bronze Age, the Post-Helladic (Υστεροελλαδική), better known as 'Mycenaean' (Μυκηναϊκή). Its 500 years can be broken down into smaller periods, of 100 or 150 years each, each with its own characteristics. The first years of the Mycenaean civilisation (1600-1500), which appears and matures in Argolida (Αργολίδα), find the residents of Athens deeply influenced by the Middle Helladic (Μεσοελλαδικό) way of living.
The Era of the royal pits and of the gold Mycenae, with their luxurious vessels and novel styles, is, for most Athenians, unknown. The city's art and customs follow Middle Helladic models and retain their Middle Helladic character. The new style is accessible only to a few people - the ones residing upon the hill, on the southern side and on the Olympeion. Other types of findings, especially graves, show that some families did pass from the one Era to the other, and experienced the period of cultural change without modifying their traditional customs.



In any case, after the period that followed, the Post-Helladic II (1500-1400), Athenians acquire Mycenaean styles and proceed along the same lines in terms of art, perhaps even also of administration. The top of the hill and its sides are the place of residence of the king and of the ruling class. In these areas people utilize luxury items and keep in their houses items from Argolida and Crete (which has only just started exporting some of its products to Athens).

The chief Mycenaean settlements were usually built around a royal palace, maintained by an elaborate bureaucracy working under a king. Around the foot of the eminence on which the palace was built lived the freemen and slaves who worked the land.

It is likely that during this period the kings of Athens had such a palace on the Acropolis. Unfortunately, later building has destroyed most of the evidence dating from this period. It is most likely that this building consisted of a great hall, or megaron, and a forecourt, like the palaces at Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos. Α rich chamber tomb has been found on the northern slopes of the Acropolis containing fine Mycenaean pottery, gold and bronze ornaments and a carved ivory box, making it evident that the burial was that of a woman, probably of royal birth. It is referred to as 'the Ρrincess” Tomb. Another family chamber tomb found under the temple of Ares was in use between 1450 and 1200 B.C. Excavations in the area of the later Athenian agora have revealed a cemetery from this period. Mycenaean tholos tombs are found scattered about the countryside of Attica: in Τhοrikοs, Spata, Marathon and Menidi.










The size of the settlement in the lower city is not clearly defined during this period. However, findings show that apart from the older positions that have always been inhabited (east of the Museum and of the Olympeion), another area relatively further away begins to be used, with houses that form part of a new complex. Their inhabitants are buried in a different cemetery, next to a turn of Ilissos (Ιλισός) river, at the end of what today is Dimitrakopoulou street.

These people's burial places are built according to the new standards of the thalamoeid (θαλαμοειδής) grave, while older families still use Middle Helladic box-shaped graves.



In the third Mycenaean period, the Post-Helladic ΙΙΙ, and especially during its first years (1410-1380), Athens undergoes its greatest development. Its population spreads out to the southern part and everything speaks of a general prosperity both in terms of quality and means of living. Some graves in Athenian cemeteries contain burial gems (κτερίσματα) comparable to those of Argolida. By contrast, the northern side appears to remain temporarily uninhabited. Still, there must have been a settlement somewhere in that area, because in the Marketplace, especially around the Gallery of Attalus (Στοά του Αττάλου) a cemetery is formed, too large to have been only for the families residing on top of the rock (pic. 6). The really rich Athenian graves were found in Areios Pagos (Άρειος Πάγος), carved into the rock, and at least these must have hosted lords.



Finally, another cemetery, the third of the settlement, seems to develop at the west of the Acropolis, at the root of the hill of the Nymphs.
All this area that is defined at its edges by two and three cemeteries is larger than any previous one and cannot possibly be accepted that it was a uniform and continuous settlement. To get closer to reality, we must assume that Athenians were concentrated in groups, or “κατά κώμας” (kata komas) as Thucydides would say, with their central core on top of the rock and on the southern side. Some houses must have formed another group at the west of the Acropolis, others at the east of the Museum, or along the western bank of Ilissos and others at the Olympeion. It should be clarified, though, that this structure didn’t have anything to do with any particular economic or social differentiation of the population, because the burial gems of the two great cemeteries are totally comparable in terms of quality. Higher quality ones could only be found inside the graves of Areios Pagos, but, as we noted, these were royal ones.

This "kata komas" (groups) population structure shown by excavation findings in the area leads to a certain speculation. The word ‘Αθήναι’ (Athinai), as shown by its suffix ‘–ήναι’ (inai), precedes historic times and is always put in the plural. It could be that the plural number refers exactly to this division and referred to the total of the smaller settlements that together formed a co-settlement, as it happens in the cases of cities like Mycenae and Thebes.

This interpretation is simply a speculation, with no further evidence to prove it, while tradition attributes the name to later years, subsequently to the co-settlement of Theseus (Θησέας), and ancient authors mention older names for the city such as Cecropis (Κεκροπίς) and Erecthees (Ερεχθηίς).

From the variety of findings in Athens we conclude that relations with Argolida, Boeotia (Βοιωτία) and the rest of Attica are close. However, the quality of the imports is not excellent and this seems to imply that Athenians were not particularly keen at spotting high art. Local workshops try to imitate those of Argolida, but rather unsuccessfully, while certain ones remain attached to, or simply remember and reproduce forms and styles of the Middle Helladic Era. Some local uniqueness is encountered in certain vessels with crumbled surface and some water vessels constructed in exactly the same manner as the Middle Helladic ones, with the same clay, dyeing and decoration. We should mention also, Athens’ relations with Crete. According to myth the youths of Athens, Theseus and Aegeas (Αιγέας), are connected with Crete and the Minotaur in a tragic manner. However, our available evidence does not prove any essential Minoan influence that would justify such a myth.





In the second half of the 14th Century (Post-Helladic ΙΙΙ Α2) life continues along conservative lines. Residents remain in their places without moving out into new areas, while they do not develop any special activity either. This is quite puzzling, as it is exactly during this period that the first serious expansion of the Mycenaean civilisation out into the Aegean Sea takes place, with new settlements appearing everywhere – even in Attica.

Only Athens does not take part in the ongoing "cosmogony" and our own findings cannot seem to provide an explanation for this. Still, we may be allowed to surmise that the most vital parts of the population moved towards the sea and settled down in coastline settlements (which, as we know, prosper during this time), such as Alyki in Voula, Varkiza, Faliro and others. The most conservative part of the population remained in the older houses and continued to work at their own pace.

This relative isolation and conservatism lasts for about half a century. By the start of the next century, the 13th, Athens enters the most important phase of its development. The size of the small town remains the same, but from the findings it can be deduced that the northern part, with its easier access to the Acropolis, is now used more. A few houses are built upon the northern side and it is almost certain that the residents of the area use the pathway around the rock that will later develop into the well known Peripatos (Περίπατος).

The area upon the rock is reformed. Where later will be erected the Erectheion and the first hundrent-staired temple of Athena (Αθηνά), a flat area with a levee is formed, upon which the Mycenaean palace is built. Very little remains from this building, but from what is left (two flights of stairs to the second level, one pillar of wide diameter) we can conclude that the palace had the same shape and basic characteristics as the known Argolidean ones. Within the generation that follows, it gets fortified with a powerful cyclopean wall surrounding the rock's higher surface. Its foundation, construction technique, materials, planning and route, all parts of the wall adhere to Argolidean models.



The main entrance is equipped with a strong tower that allows only a narrow passage, so as to entrap possible invaders within a small space. The second access gateway to the north, where there had always been the path leading to the top of the rock, is now blocked by the wall. Finally, the underground descend to the northern fountain is constructed, that is meant to supply the besieged with water. The fountain lies at 40 metres from the top and the staircase, made of stone and wood, was ingeniously grounded within a vertical fissure so as to be invisible from the outside.

Nothing is known of the Mycenaean kings of Athens except a few names and legends, and what may be inferred from excavations. The traditional date assigned to the founder of the royal line, Kekrops was 1581 B.C. He was said to have selected the goddess Athena as patron of the city and named it after her. It is equally possible that the goddess is named after, and personifies, the city. Other royal names include Kodros, Εrichthοniοs, Erechtheos, Pandion, Aegeus and Theseus.

However, the construction of the Acropolis presupposes a king powerful enough to impose his will upon a large population. Findings from the lower city and ‘tas komas’ (groups) are not many, but they are enough to show that the old positions are not abandoned, and that people, especially the older families, do not leave their homes.

The continuous development and prosperity of the Mycenaean world is set back at the beginning of the 12th Century. The reasons for this are to be found outside the Helladic domain and it is a fact that the turmoil in the East affects the trading of goods and seriously damages the trade of the Achaean palaces. The consequences will also be felt by the Athenian king, who, suddenly, loses control and warding of local commerce.

The demographic change was swift and apparent. The craftsmen, producers and merchants that gathered around the palace are released from their administrative and financial dependence, spread out to the islands and other opportune areas and take care of the distribution of their products themselves. The population of Athens thins down, the houses gathered in the Northeastern ascend are abandoned and the residents disperse even within the small town. The northern fountain remains in use for a few more years, but all remains and findings attest to the general drop in quality. Very few burials take place in the Marketplace and in the western cemeteries, while another burial is spotted in Kerameikos. In that spot will be formed the first core of what will, in historic times, become the main cemetery of the city of Athens.

However, the lord remains on the Acropolis and completes his settlement with a few more houses south of the Parthenon. These last Achaeans (Αχαιοί), with their poorly means and limited capabilities, save the city from complete depopulation, and after the short time of the Sub Mycenaean (Υπομυκηναϊκά) years, Athens enters the Historic Age, which elevated the city into the cradle of civilization.





For many centuries, the Athenian legends and traditions constituted the spiritual heritage of the population and in them Athenians identified their first History. Traditions refer to specific persons, kings and heroes, whose various life events are connected with facts or spots of the area. Newer research repeatedly tried to locate the historical essence in them and separate it from mythic or other additional elements. The identification of topographic elements of the myth with particular places in the area is not always easy. However, now that we have painted the picture of Athens via the findings, let us examine the possible relationship of the mythical traditions of Athens with the facts and topography.

During the historic times, various chthonian worships had concentrated upon the rock, and especially around the Erectheion, as well as the graves of the two founders of the city, Cecrops (Κέκρωψ) and Erectheus (Ερεχθεύς), that are very tightly associated with the Athenians’ faith in their indigenous origins. In particular, Cecrops’ grave was below the Protases of the Daughters (Κόρες) and further to the West the temple of Cecrops. Erechthonios (Εριχθόνιος), an infant deity born from the Earth and raised by Athena, was usually identified with Erectheus, a sacred figure and mythical king, who had been buried inside his later built temple.

Scholars usually believe that the two graves (of Cecrops and of Erectheus) are located in the particular spot because of their antiquity and the existence there of the Mycenaean palace. As we saw, however, during the Proto Helladic and the Middle Helladic periods, exactly on the spot where the Erectheion was built, and because, for purely pedologic reasons, access was easier, a small settlement had developed.

Besides, we should note that tradition could not have pinpointed the two graves of the city’s founders in that spot, at the time when the Mycenaean palace -a structure both well known and in use- was still there. The creation of the myth must have started from older elements that not even they could specify chronologically. It is therefore logical to assume that around the Erectheion should have been not only the five Middle Helladic graves we know of, but a few more, that were brought to light in the Mycenaean Era, quite possibly during the construction of the palace’s levees. Their forms and shapes showed that they were older, the place was the seat of the king, so it was natural that the impression was created that within lay buried the ancient kings and founders of the city.

Aegeas’s residence is placed in the Olympeion. He is the only Athenian king who did not use the Acropolis as his seat, but, according to Plutarch (Πλούταρχος) that was west of the ‘Αιγέως πυλών’ at what was known as Perifracto (Περίφρακτο) of the Delfinios (Δελφίνιος), (according to tradition, Delfinios’ temple had been built by Aegeas himself in the same year when Theseus arrived in Athens). Some attributed the connection between Aegeas and the Olympeion to the fact that Aegeas was not an Erectheidis (Ερεχθείδης), meaning an indigenous Athenian. Others thought that an old palace used to be in that spot. Both views, however, had serious disadvantages. Firstly, it is not possible to have a king so close to the palace of another king, and secondly, the area of the Olympeion from the YE III B-III Γ period (1300-1100 BC), that is the time when the palace must have been built and inhabited, gave findings of relatively lower quality, which bear no resemblance to known palace artifacts.

Following the topographic examination of Athens, we are in position to express some tentative assumptions, without having conclusive proofs. In the Olympeion settlement that we discussed, there may have been a family of royal origins, such as the one that was buried at the end of the southern cemetery, and that must have stayed there for centuries, as shown by some graves. Thus, folk tradition connected this exceptional family with a mythical figure, a king, who, however, came from a different place. Theseus is the mythical Athenian figure par excellence. An Ionian hero and a king of Athens, his activities spread out to a number of places and counties. Born in Troizina (Τροιζήνα) he comes to Athens when still young, and his feats are connected with the mainland Greece, and the islands in the Aegean, particularly Crete. From the vast literature, it can be surmised that Theseus does not stand for one person only, but rather for the national hero of Athens, to whom are attributed acts and deeds spanning many different periods quite far apart from each other.

As we discussed, the trip to Crete cannot be interpreted in the light of the known relations between Athens and Crete.

Another achievement of Theseus’ is the realization of the so-called ‘co-settlement’. By this is not meant the general concentration, but the direct subordination of the population to a single authority. The memory of the rise and the preponderance of the Athenian king as the lord of the various settlements scattered all around Attica must have been preserved up until the historic times, distorted and adapted to the administrative system of the Greek city. The notion of ‘co-settlement’ may conceal in it the variform dependence of Attica’s settlements on the king of Athens. This, according to archaeological evidence, must have taken place within the Post-Helladic III B period (1300-1230 BC), at the time when the palace and its fortification were built and the city expanded to the North. Such a move could not have been possible neither before nor afterwards, because before there are no tokens of political radiance, whereas afterwards, the Achaean world is dissolved.

[GrigorisSokratis]

DARK AGE ATHENS - THE CENTURIES OF OBSCURITY (1,100 BC-800 BC)

Α. DARK AGES (1.150 BC/1.100 BC – 900 BC)

At the beginning of the twelfth century the Mycenaean palace-cities were first more strongly fortified, with water supplies secured within the walls, and then later abandoned. This is generally attributed to the invasion of Peloponnesse and southern Aegean by another Greek-speaking people coming from Epirus and Macedonia distinguished by their dialect and customs as Dοrians. These invaders swept down through central Greece into the Peloponnese, and burned Mycenae Tiryns and Pylos.

As in the rest of mainland Greece, in Attica the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization marked the beginning of a long period of social upheaval and of various transformations.

The recomposition of the picture of the settlement and social organization in Athens during the sub-Mycenaean phase (13th cent BC.) is not an easy task, since our knowledge about this period is restricted to a few evidences which come almost exclusively from material remains of limited number and range (ruins of tombs and wells, bronze objects, iron weapons and tools and, mainly, pottery). In parallel, we have the first indications for systematic habitation north of the Acropolis, at an area later occupied by the Agora, which continued to be in use also for burials. In the sub-Mycenaean (1.100 BC - 1.025 BC) and proto-Geometric periods (1.025 BC – 900 BC) this organized cemetery was extended until the Dipylon and in the Geometric period (900 BC – 700 BC) covered almost the whole of the area of the Agora and of the Dipylon. In addition, sub-mycenaean and geometric graves were found in other spots of Athens, in their grand majority on both sides or near streets, a discovery which contributed to the tracing of the street-plan of ancient Athens.

The Athenians always maintained proudly that they were autochthonous, or 'sprung from the earth'; that is, that they were not incomers but 'the people of the land', already settled on their land before the Dοrian invasion. The evidence of excavations on and near the Acropolis suggests that this claim to continuity is correct. The tombs in the cemetery in the Keramikos have yielded an uninterrupted sequence of pottery spanning some five hundred critical years. One particular group, dating over some fifty years, shows a range of Mycenaean pottery lying together with the characteristic long bronze shoulder pins and safety pins which were introduced into Greece by the Dοrians. Moreover, the important pottery remains show a gradual transformation from one style to another, without any sharp breaks.

In the 1930s the Swedish-American archaeologist Oscar Broneer discovered evidence that the walls and defences of Athens, like those of other Mycenaean cities, had been strengthened around 1300B.C. A section of this wall is visible today near the entrance to the Acropolis. There is evidence that at the same time, housing beyond the north-east wall was abandoned.

On the same wavelength, the historical sources, which have been the object of propaganda of the Roman imperial period, do not mention the period under examination but only within the framework of a mythical narration, as happens for instance in the case of the – both of settling and of political character – synoikesmos (settlement) of the Attic komai (small towns) by Theseus or in relation to the nurture of the idea that the Athenians were autochthonous (indigenous) and did not experience the so-called ‘Dorian invasion’. In particular, as far as the first fact is concerned, according to the latest excavation results the synoikesmos dates back to the beginning of the 9th century BC, following the completion of the settlement of a part of the Athenian population in Ionia after the middle of the 10th century BC.

There are few traces of buildings dating from the centuries which followed, and the tomb gifts are poor, showing a deterioration in the economic condition of the Athenians, and possibly a reduction in population. But it is clear that the Dοrian invasions passed Athens by without the destruction of the city or its inhabitants. On the far side of Mount Hymettos, on the sheltered Midland Plain and the north-east coast of Attica, Mycenaean burial pottery continued to be manufactured and deposited in graves for some time, suggesting the survival there of a style, and perhaps a culture, which had been destroyed elsewhere in Greece. The result everywhere, however, was a 'dark age' in which writing disappeared entirely and both the population and the standard of living fell. As a result of the destruction beyond the borders of Attica, Athens, although a minor Mycenaean town, may have become by default the most important city in Greece, and something of a refuge for the Mycenaeans. An ancient tradition states that refugees from Pylos fled to Athens after the destruction of that city. The father of Κing Kodros, Neleus, was supposed to have come from Pylos, and the name 'Neleus' appears in the genealogy of King Nestor of Pylos. Neleus was supposed to have saved the Athenians from the Dοrian invaders at the cost of his life, by agreeing to be sacrificed in accordance with the promise of an oracle. From him some famous Athenians, such as Solon, Peisistratos and PIato, later claimed descent. The precise significance of this legend is by no means clear, but it may be based upon a genuine historical memory of a king who lost his life successfully repelling the invaders from the borders of Attica.

In the sixth generation after the Trojan war, some of these refugees from Mycenaean Greece allegedly went to Asia Minor, where they settled. Certainly, at a level dated about 1000 BC in Old Smyrna, to the north west of the modern city, locally produced pottery has been found decorated in a style which seems to be very closely imitative of Athenian protogeometric style. It is certain also that there was a general migration from the mainland across the Aegean to the Western Anatolian Aegean coast (modem Turkey) at about that time. Most cities along the that Aegean coast were subsequently Greek speaking (must be pointed out, that these cities started being founded from the 15th century BC on by Achaeans, being now mainly the turn of the Ionians). Their dialects showed that those in the central region were Ionians, akin to the Athenians; and the Athenians were later to claim, correctly or not, that Athens was the metropolis of all the Ionians of the Aegean islands and the Ionian Aegean shore.

The evidence provided by pottery assumes great importance during the Greek 'Dark Age', for when all else rots or rusts, pottery survives. Also, the Athenians began to develop the art of ceramics as a major form of artistic expression, so that it can tell us much. Finally, their practice was to bury pots with the dead, and the burial ground at the Keramikos was used continuously for several centuries, providing archaeologists with evidence over a long period of time. Moreover, since each society developed its own style, similarity of pottery in different places reveals the existence of commercial contacts or cultural influence.

The development of the distinctive style of protogeometric pottery in Athens in the eleventh century is held to show that some degree of peace and prosperity gradually returned to Attica; while the appearance of the geometric in the ninth suggests increased prosperity. Stylistic influences from the east in the later eighth century provide evidence of renewed commercial contact with the Aegean world. Some historians infer from the superior character of Athenian pottery during much of this period that Athens was then the most highly-developed state in Greece.

Although most of what we know about this period has to be inferred from later traditions, it is clear that during this 'Dark Age' that some of the most distinctive characteristics of the city states of the later Archaic and Classical periods evolved.

At some point, the kings of Athens lost their power to the landowning aristocracy, which met in council on the Areopagos Ηίll. The aristocrats were divided into four tribes and rival clans, the members of each of which claimed a common descent. The members of a clan, together with their retainers and supporters, were enrolled in 'brotherhoods'. Enrolment into a brotherhood signified that a person was officially a citizen of Athens.

The chief duties of government came to be shared among three archons, or officials, chosen from among the aristocracy: the king archon, who performed the religious duties of the former king; the polemarch, who led the citizens in battle; and the eponymous archon, who presided over the civil administration and gave his name to the year. Later these were assisted by a board of six 'lesser' archons, known as thesmothetai, who were responsible for the interpretation of customary law. With the transfer of power, the institutions of government were symbolically located in the lower town; while the Acropolis became a 'sacred rock' reserved for religious sanctuaries and monuments, as well as remaining a place of refuge in times of danger.

The eupatridai, or 'well-born', owners of large estates on the fertile plains, enjoyed control of the Areopagos Council and these offices of state. The ekklesia, an assembly of freemen, probably had no rights other than that of giving, or withholding assent to decisions made by the aristocrats. Even though there were conflicts between great families and prominent personalities, these 'Few' were united by their common interests against the 'Many'.

During the early 'Dark Age' Attica was a land of independent towns and villages which sometimes went to war with each other, so that we hear, for example, of a war between Athens and Eleusis; but the various communities became united in a single polity. This extended the authority of the city over a wide area including the plain of Thria, and the Midland Plain. Unification was probably achieved over a long period as the result of a gradual process, one not quite completed in the late sixth century, when the island of Salamis was taken from Megara. However, in accordance with the widespread ancient practice of attributing important political developments to a single occasion, and the work of a single prestigious ancestor, the union was attributed by the Athenians to the semi- mythical King Theseus, who had lived in the distant Mycenaean Age. However achieved, this union created a single state larger than any other in Greece except those of Sparta, Epirus, Thessaly and Macedonia.

The upward trends in the amount of graves and wells from the 10th to the 8th cent. are probably indicative of the constant increase of the population of Athens in this period, while the contents of the graves are suggestive of a social stratification similar to that of the Archaic period, when the aristocratic class held the reins of government. It seems that already from this phase fundamental political and constitutional changes were under way, which radically influenced the course of Athens in the forthcoming centuries.

During the eighth century there was a power vacuum ίn the eastern Mediterranean. Many Greek city states were able to take advantage of this by sending out settlers to found new colonies. Corinth and Megara and the cities of Euboea were very active, but Athens was not. Despite its unusual size, Athens was surprisingly underdeveloped commercially before the sixth century. The most active cities were comparatively close to Athens, which may have been overshadowed by more powerful neighbours. The Aeginetans adopted the use of coinage at least fifty years before the Athenians, and seem to have then played a more active role in Aegean politics. They, in particular, may have stifled Athenian commerce and hampered its progress, for Herodotus hinted of 'an ancient hatred' between the two states.

Β. GEOMETRIC PERIOD (900 BC – 800/750 BC)

The 8th century BC was marked by the emergence and establishment of a new socio-political formation, the city-state, while the contacts of the Greek world with the East were intensified at the same time. Writing was restored in Greece after a silence of three centuries, and the outset of Greek literature (Homer, Hesiod) is dated in the same period. The sanctuary of Zeus Ombrios on Mt. Hymettus and a geometric oinochoe (jug) from a tomb of Kerameikos offer us some of the earliest examples of writing in mainland Greece. In the 8th century BC a small temple dedicated to Athena was built on the Acropolis, at the place of the older Mycenaean palace, which had been entirely ruined. The Athenians showed and preserved devoutly some primeval ‘sacred symbols’ of the gods’ presence in the vicinity of the temple, such as the olive-tree planted by Athena, the signs of Poseidon’s trident on the rock, the Kekropion (burial monument of Kekrops), the Erechthiis thalassa and others.

In the 8th century we have the first indications of worship in many of the sanctuaries of Attica (sancturary of Demeter and Kore in Eleusis, sanctuary of Artemis in Brauron, sanctuary of Athena on Sounion), which in the following periods were enriched through the erection of new temples and of other edifices and were adorned by numerous sculptures and other offerings. Traces of habitation have been discovered at the fringes of the later Agora, while burials have continued north of the hill of Areopagus.

The end of the 8th century BC is characterized by the sudden and rapid interruption of the intense activity of the previous years in Athens. The archaeological record of the 7th cent. is quite scanty compared to that of the 8th cent. The number of burial monuments in Athens and, generally, in Attica is distinctly smaller than before. A similar picture we get with regard to the wells, most of which fell into disuse in the area of the later Agora, while at the same time signs of intense use of space are observed at the sanctuaries of Ombrios Zeus on Hymettus and of Artemis in Brauron. The evidence converge on the hypothesis that around the end of the 8th century BC Athens suffered a heavy blow, perhaps on account of a drought followed by famine and epidemic diseases. It is beyond doubt that the city went through a phase of upheaval and great decline in the years around and just after 700. It was then that the amounts of imported pottery in Attica outnumbered by far those of exported local pottery, a unique phenomenon in the age-old history of Athens.

[GrigorisSokratis]

ARCHAIC ATHENS I - THE AGE OF THE TYRANTS (800 BC/750 BC -528 BC)

The written testimonies preserved for Geometric Athens are very few and the same is valid for the next period; however, along with the oral traditions bequeathed to the next generations, they reveal important institutional changes in the government of the city. During the Late Geometric period (8th cent.) but mainly in the beginning of the 7th century BC the inhabitants of Athens did not participate actively in the colonization which had been inaugurated by several other Greek cities. Nevertheless, it would not be incongruous to allege that an internal ‘colonization’ took place in Athens, since the significant incoming quantities of raw materials and the progress of local craftsmanship led to the gradual formation of the first organized quarters of the city. The death of the last patriarchic king of Athens Kodros in 684/3 BC signaled the final abolition of kingship (monarchy). From the following year the exercise of political power passed on to the hands of elective officials of aristocratic origin, amongst which the Nine Archons were the main administrative body while the Boule of Areopagus were in control of the judicial authority.

The population of Athens in this period was divided in three social and vocational classes or ethne, the eupatrides (aristocrats), the geomoroi (farmers) and the dimiourgoi (artisans). The latter of these classes has been the cradle of a wealthy category of merchants and craftsmen who, being indignant against the demands of the aristocrats, desired to vindicate political rights – it is not fortuitous that from this period on the written sources refer to the Athenians as to a united political body. Kylon, an Olympic victor and son-in-law of the tyrant of Megara, attempted to take advantage of the emerging conflict and strived to set up a tyrannical regime in the year when Megakles the Alkmaeonid was the Eponymous Archon of the city (636 BC). Yet, his supporters were slaughtered while they were moving away from the altar of Athena Polias. This incident went down in history as the Kyloneion agos and stigmatized Megakles and his Alkmaeonid descendants, one of which was Perikles.

In the late seventh century the darkness begins to dissipate, although our knowledge of the earliest period is limited to isolated incidents and developments.

When we first learn of events in Athens it is clear that the city was already rent by internal divisions of two types, rivalries between prominent aristocrats and between the social classes: 'the Few and the Many'. The divisions within the aristocracy were based upon loyalties to important families which wielded influence in particular parts of Attica, which were no doubt evident in the form of confrontations between their rival heads and their supporters as they jockeyed for influence and power in city politics. It may have been an outcome of such a conflict that from the chief officers of the state, the archons, were limited to holding office for ten years.

When one clan became too powerful, its head might try to seize power by force, and become a tyrant. In such an attempt in 632 B.C., Κylοn, seized the Acropolis with the help of his father-in-law and friends. Athenians flocked in from the countryside and besieged them. In the end, Kylon escaped, but his supporters were slaughtered in the sanctuary. Following this sacrilegίοus murder, those considered most immediately responsible, Megakles and the family of the Alkmaeonids, were banished. This incident led to a war between Athens and Megara.

The first known Athenian law code was issued by Drakon circa 621 BC, possibly as a consequence of these events. Ιt was later described as extremely harsh, and as 'written in blood'; giving us the word 'draconian'. It authorised generous application of the death penalty.

By the beginning of the sixth century, the social strains in Athens were becoming severe. Wealth had come to be concentrated in the hands of a clique of important landowners. In 620 B.C. two Athenian colonies were founded at the approaches to the Black Sea, suggesting that the Athenians had an interest in the important grain trade from that region. The widespread scattering of Athenian olive jars of this date found across the Mediterranean indicates that olives and olive oil were the main product of Athenian agriculture at this time, and that the city may have needed to import grain to feed its citizens. Olive production, which requires substantial investment which will not yield fruit for many years, can only be satisfactorily accomplished on a large scale by wealthy landowners, not by subsistence farmers who have to live off their land from year to year.

Many Athenian freemen had got themselves into debt with these great landowners by offering their persons as security. When they were unable to pay off their debts, some had been enslaved, while others had chosen exile. At the same time, changes in the techniques of warfare had led to the development of hoplite armies. Warriors equipped with a round shield and long spear would advance upon the enemy in ranks. The men who could afford to equip themselves with the necessary arms and armour for this style of fighting, and who could not afford the horse and groom necessary to fight in the cavalry, were mostly small farmers. Each man's shield covered his own left hand and partially guarded his neighbour. This method of fighting required that the men developed a sense of loyalty to their comrades so as not to beak the 'shield wall'. It was therefore to be expected that the hoplites would develop a sense of a corporate identity and pride as those upon whom the safety of the city now depended, and would begin to look out for their common interests. The small farmers became increasingly unwilling to put up with economic insecurity; and in any case, whenever a man lost his land, and was no longer able to provide himself with a shield and spear, the city lost a valuable warrior.

Fearing civil strife, the extraordinary step was taken of appointing the well-travelled and widely-respected Solon as mediator and extraordinary legislator in 594, with a commission to solve the problem within one year. An aristocrat, who believed firmly in the privileges of the few: he claimed that he made just those reforms as were strictly necessary to avoid open civil strife -but no more.

The first step he took was to dissolve all existing debts. Solon seems to have believed that wealth, rather than ancestry, should determine who should actively participate in the government of the state, and that that government should be in accordance with just laws. He implemented the apo timimaton politeia, an economic system of taxation based on the sole criterion of the possession of wealth. He divided the Athenians into four classes, based upon wealth (and ability to perform military service). the pentakosiomedimnoi, the triakosiomedimnoi or hippeis, the diakosiomedimnoi or zeugitai and the thitai (Thetes). The poorest class, the Thetes, who were the majority of the population, received some political rights for the first time, being able to vote in the assembly of citizens (ekklesia), but political office remained restricted to the upper class. The area of the agora, a space dedicated to the conduct of public affairs in the lower town, was probably cleared and set aside for this purpose at this date.

Solon also issued a detailed law code. Ιt was written on four-sided wooden tablets set in frames; each tablet rotating on an axon, or axle. The laws were referred to in the following manner: 'the fifth law from the fourth axon.' Witnesses report that these tablets were to be seen on the Acropolis for many centuries. Perhaps wisely, Solon went into self-imposed exile for ten years afterwards.

In parallel, until the beginning of the 6th cent. the demos of Eleusis, one of the biggest and most powerful districts of Attica, and its environs devolved completely to the Athenian state, while the control of the Eleusinian sanctuary, a place of panhellenic impact, constituted a determining factor towards the establishment of the Athenian power onwards.

One part of these efforts was the building project put into practice by Solon through the transposition of the Agora, a task continued by Peisistratos. The new Agora, known in antiquity as Agora or Kerameikos (from the name of the homonymous demos, on the area of which it was founded), started its route as the epicentre of political life of Athens around the dawn of the 6th century BC (according to the accumulated material found in the graves and wells of the area). It was situated at the level ground east of the Agoraios Kolonos, between Areopagus and Eridanos River, near the old agora of Theseus, where the ancient cemetery of the city lay. It is possible that the same place was in use even from prehistoric times as a place for the congregation of the citizens and for the settling of common issues amongst them. The area was crossed by the main arterial road of the city, which joined Athens with the surrounding demoi and the rest of Greece; at the same place, close to the Eleusinion, in the southeast side of Athens, was the most important spring of the city, the renowned fountainhouse Kallirhoe.

Paradoxically, the archaeological evidence for the first three decades of the 6th cent. are limited. The only architectural remains which can be safely attributed to Solon’s time belong to tombs, wells and houses, while a remarkable lack of remains from temples, buildings of secular character or of other monumental constructions is noticed. One of the earliest buildings of the period, mentioned in written sources of later times, was the Prytaneion, which descriptions place somewhere on the north foot of the Acropolis, below the later Tholos at the north side of the Agora; most probably it sheltered copies of Solon’s laws. The oldest examples of secular buildings in the Agora must have been the so-called Buildings C and D (early 6th and shortly after the middle of the 6th century respectively), whose positions were occupied by certainly public buildings in the future. At that time, as some researchers believe, the foundation of the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia on the Acropolis should be sought for as well. The possibility of the erection of a new surrounding wall for the protection of the city cannot be ruled out, although there is no hint for its existence, nor are we able to know its exact placement. In broad outline, the city must have expanded considerably around the Acropolis and principally to its north side, to which consents the expansion of the Agora towards the same direction.

At the neighbouring sanctuary of Eleusis one of the oldest buildings of religious character in Attica was built in the beginning of the 6th century BC. This was the central chamber dedicated to the cult of Demeter, which was already flourishing there for at least a century, later incorporated in the Telesterion of the Classic period. Finally, the earliest samples of monumental sculpture in Athens and in Attica at large are observed at the sanctuary of Poseidon on Cape Sounion, at a time much earlier than the construction of the first temples in the area.

Solon’s mediocre and counter-balancing reforms didn’t manage to silence in total the ongoing climate of restlessness which had been consolidated in Attica already from the previous century. In the next years the social categorization of the inhabitants of Attica took on a more organized character. In particular, the pedieis, namely those residing in the fields, the paralioi, those living at the SE coasts of Attica, and the diakrioi, those dwelling in mountainous pieces of land, belonged to three corresponding parties under the leadership of Lykourgos, of Megakles, son of Alkmeon and Agariste, and of Peisistratos respectively.

Although Solon's reforms may have prevented immediate breakdown, they did nothing to solve the issue of rivalries between powerful families. In 580-79 ΒC. a certain Damaisias tried to retain his power as archon beyond the allotted period of one year. He lasted for two years and two months before being expelled by the aristocrats. On other occasions, no archons were elected, perhaps because ousted rivals would not concede defeat.

In 561 BC. Peisistratos, a leading citizen from Brauron on the north-eastern coast of Attica, who originated from the family of the Philaids, made three attempts (561/0, 559, 545) to establish a tyrannical ragime in Athens. He seized control of the acropolis with an armed bodyguard, but was soon ejected. He later returned in an alliance with Megakles, leader of a family which enjoyed influence in the area of Phaleron. They dressed up a tall woman from Paeania, on the other side of Mount Hymmettos, as the goddess Athena, and with her in tow, re-entered and took over the city. They soon quarrelled, and Peisistratos was forced into exile once more. After acquiring a state in Thrace, he returned with an army, defeated his enemies at Pallene, swiftly entered the city during the afternoon siesta, and captured it for a third time.

Peisistratos ruled Athens for 18 years, from that point until his death in 527 BC. Although he had seized, and held, power by force, he took good care to disguise the basis of his regime by outward conformity to law and custom. The laws of Solon continued to be observed, and the archons held office as usual, but it is likely that the tyrant took care to ensure that those people, elected to office could be relied upon to do his bidding. Thus when accused of murder, he duly attended the court, but significantly, his accuser dare not put in an appearance. He also took up residence on the Acropolis, which at that time had come to be reserved for religious sanctuaries. Despite the fact that his regime was founded upon force, over time he earned the reputation of being a consistent and just ruler who worked successfully to build up the wealth and power of the city.

In order to glorify the city, and thereby his own rule, and to bind the inhabitants of Attica together, he carefully fostered religion in all its forms.

He deliberately built up the state cult of Athena. In 566 B.C., he reformed the Panathenaic festival held annually in her honour, making it famous throughout Greece The festival was held every year as before; but every four years there was to be a 'Greater Panathenaia', with dancing contests for boys and youths, a torch race, a chariot race and athletic contests, in which the prizes were amphoras filled with olive oil. The highlight of the festivities was a magnificent procession from the Dipylon Gate to the Acropolis, in which many of the citizens took part, having as its focal point a new richly embroidered robe carried on a boat on wheels, to offer to the ancient xoanon or olive-wood statue of Athena Polias. The celebration ended with sacrifices, feasting and dancing. Peisistratos probably also built a new temple dedicated to Athena on the acropolis.

Similarly, he instituted the festival of the Greater Dionysia. The followers of Dionysos in the foothills of Mount Pendeli, in the area today known as Dionysos, celebrated the god by singing his praises in goatskins. In 534 BC Thespis, an Athenian, initiated the practice by which an actor conducted a dialogue with this chorus. Peisistratos permitted this new dramatic form of the festival to be performed from a cart in various places, usually at the village threshing floors, which provided level space. Thus was the Western drama born. Soon, plays were being performed in Athens itself at the City Dionysia in an open space below the northern walls of the Acropolis, the audience sitting on the slopes above what was later to become the Theatre of Dionysos.

He extensively rebuilt the ancient Mycenaean sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis, erecting the first teleuterion or hall of mysteries. The public rites celebrated in connection with initiation into the mystery cult were probably first integrated into the Athenian calendar of observances at this time.

Peisistratos planned, but failed to carry to completion, the building of an ambitiously large temple of Zeus, known as the Olympeion. Aristotle thought that the enterprise was deliberately planned to absorb all the energies of the Athenians, so that they would be less likely to rise up and expel him. The foundation of several other shrines nearby are also attributed to his patronage, including the temples of Artemis in the fields, Apollo Delphinios, and the shrine of the Nymphs.

Peisistratos built temples across Attica on the site of ancient shrines, at Rhamnous, Sounion, and his native Brauron. He carried out a ceremonial purification of the island of Delos, the island lying in the centre of the Cyclades, sacred to Apollo and revered by all the lonian Greeks. All bodies buried within sight of the god's temple were disinterred and reburied elsewhere. In doing this he was probably deliberately laying the basis for an Athenian claim to primacy over all lonian Greeks and over Apollo's island shrine.

Peisistratos was a patron of the arts in other ways as well, but usually with a clear political motive. He supervised the standardisation of the oral tradition attributed to Homer, transmitted by the recitations of the rhapsodes, or bards, by having an 'authorised' text written down. It seems likely that it was in his time that many of the legends of the hero Theseus were developed as state propaganda in deliberate imitation the much more ancient legends of Herakles, in order to provide a sense of patriotic pride for the citizens, and for the glorification of the city. An indication of his success was that poets such as Anakreon and Simonides were attracted to Athens. Athenian black figure pottery, depicting scenes from legend and ordinary life, ousted the work of Corinthian rivals, and came to be exported across the Mediterranean world.

Peisistratos was no less attentive to the infrastructure of the city. He built roads, while aqueducts brought water from Hymettos to the fountain house of Enneakrounos in the agora. He erected law courts and other public buildings in the agora, quarrying high-quality marble on Mount Pendeli. He levied a property tax to subsidise poor farmers, and sent circuit judges into the far reaches of Attica to settle disputes, consolidating the incorporation of the people of those areas into the full life of the Athenian state. He imported miners from northern Greece to work the silver mines of Laourion, in the southeast of Attica, and struck coins showing the head of Athena and her sacred owl.

He established ties of friendship with many states on the mainland, and with the tyrants of Naxos and Samos. He acquired the Greek Thracian Chersonese cities of the Hellespont, and laying the first foundations of the later Athenian empire, and further safeguarding the all-important grain route from the Black Sea.

[gm2263]

I recommend that this thread is stickied so that it will permanently remain to the attention of any newcomer as well as regular visitor here. It is a pity and shame that sometimes I don't have words to describe such an effort other that a big ΤΗΑΝΚ YOU for this excellent and much needed contribution.

Athens can be a city that ROCKS and believe you me, in 2015 it will probably have everything that's needed to accomplish this goal, if its inhabitants honor its existence with their actions, decisions and behavior.

Congratulations synonomate, this is a heck of a job!!!!

[christos-greece]

Really nice work

[brisavoine]

Did you do it yourself? This is incredibly long and well documented. A riveting tale of the unfortunate decadence of Athens after Antiquity.

I just noticed one thing that needs to be corrected:

Originally Posted by GrigorisSokratis

since Paris in the 1850’s had a population of 900,000 and Athens during the 1830’s between 10,000 and 20,000

In fact in the 1850s Paris had already 1.5 million inhabitants. Paris reached 900,000 in the early 1830s. The one million mark was passed in 1835. Paris reached 2 million in 1863, 3 million around 1885.

As for Athens, if you're curious to know, according to the excellent book from where I took the above urban area figures, the urban area of Athens had 181,000 inhabitants in 1900, and 1,339,000 inhabitants in 1950. The urban area of Athens reached 2 million in the early 1960s, and 3 million around 1980.

[GrigorisSokratis]

Originally Posted by brisavoine

I just noticed one thing that needs to be corrected:

In fact in the 1850s Paris had already 1.5 million inhabitants. Paris reached 900,000 in the early 1830s. The one million mark was passed in 1835. Paris reached 2 million in 1863, 3 million around 1885.

As for Athens, if you're curious to know, according to the excellent book from where I took the above urban area figures, the urban area of Athens had 181,000 inhabitants in 1900, and 1,339,000 inhabitants in 1950. The urban area of Athens reached 2 million in the early 1960s, and 3 million around 1980.

Hi Brisavoine, thank you for marking that, actually it is a semantic mistake I made, since I was comparing the 1850's Haussmannian beautification of Paris with the 1830's of Athens. By error, when comparing Athens' 1830's and Paris' 1830's (1835 to be more precise) population the 1850's number slipped out of my mind (looks like it stuck in my mind from the former sentence I had written); actually what I've meant is what you marked, as actually by 1835 Paris was about to break the 900,000 inhabitants line (899,313 in 1836).

Thank you brisavoine, I've already fixed it. It is just funny how sometimes we can get confused when writing in such a big sea words and information.

Did you do it yourself? This is incredibly long and well documented. A riveting tale of the unfortunate decadence of Athens after Antiquity.

As for the decadence following antiquity I have to disagree with you in that one. If you read especially the parts of the Roman and Medieval periods, you may see that "the decadence of Athens" is more an urban legend than a reality. Athens fate was more or less similar to that of other cities of Europe during this general decadence lived in the whole continent, if compared with ancient times; not to mention the barbarian raids and the countless epidemics.

But actually, the population of Athens was more or less similar to that of Athens during the first millenium AD. We must also remember that despite the damage caused by the Heroulians in 267, it recovered fast and kept being the cultural center of the Roman empire east of the Adriatic until the 6th century. From that moment and until the 11th century the population of Athens dwindled from a 200,000 level in Roman times to similar population levels of other European towns of the era; (that loss of population was in favour to the other new cultural centers of eastern Europe, Constantinople and Thessaloniki). Until the 12th century the size of both Paris and Athens was similar, and due to the higher political, economical and cultural status of the empire of the Greeks, or Graecaorum, compared to that of the former Frankish empire (which had its political center in Aachen or Aix-la-Chapelle) the standard of living of both cities was similar, and I even would dare to say that in Athens was higher. However the Capetians changed all that; and since the 13th century things changed, the empire was not the same after the 1204-1261 period (that's the real beginning of modern Greek history and its internal civil and political...disagreements). By the way by the 13th century the Franks were the masters in Athens; so that shows the power developed by the Capetians from the 10th and on. And fortunately the center of that power, the hub of all this progress was in Paris.

That's when we must use actually the word decadence for Athens, after 1204.

Now if we compare it with its ancient opulence, all the European cities were actually in decadence (until 12th century) compared with ancient Athens and Rome.

Thank you again brisavoine for your interest and correction.

[GrigorisSokratis]

Guys, what can I say, THANK YOU for your kind words , actually those words and my love towards my country and my city (which I believe is the same love we all have towards our country) are the real engine that made me do such a long thread, thank YOU, thank YOU.

Btw, Grigori in one part (the reconstruction period), when I described the architectural development of Athens during that period; after mentioning the first skyscrapers built in a few paragraphs (and my view about that issue, I couldn't resist doing so ); I've added a link to your incredible Skyscrapers guide; for those interested on learning more about the subject, and mentioned your authorship of course.

Thank you again guys.

[1821]

Awsome thread. One should be done for Thessaloniki.

[Geokioy]

incredible job...Bravo...Φοβερή δουλειά

[Spartan_X]

AMAZING work! Excellent! It must surely get sticked, so any newcomer can read the history of this city... Again many thanks for this great work

[gm2263]

I cannot resist not to give a spoiler here about a new update on Athens skyscrapers with new photos etc, coming next week.

In any case, with or without the scrapers this is an excellent reading which needs to be preserved. I hope Southern European will stick this thing to the top of the Athens threads because, if we are talking about the controversy behind the introduction of skyscrapers in a historic city for sure we need to mention history itself. This thread more than helps this purpose and its author deserves the highest accolades for his efforts.

Και πάλι μπράβο σου!!!

[AAL]

I've always felt in awe of the fact that this city has been inhabited non-stop for so many thousands of years. Athens' history is so multi-layered and complex...and this history still affects the city today...think about the orientation of the Acropolis, for instance: it has created a "polarity" in the uses of land that stil persists today, or at least persisted until a few decades ago.
Absolutely wonderful thread, congratulations!

[SonOfSparta]

Great research, a wealth of information! I really enjoyed the Neolithic period info, archaeologists are still discovering and learning more about this period of Greek history.

[imaginas]

Το 1/8 αυτών που έγραψες να είχε στις σελίδες του ο Δήμος Αθηναίων,θα προσσέλκυε 30% περισσότερους επισκέπτες.Αλλά το μόνο που τους νοιάζει εκεί,είναι πότε θα πάρουν τα λεφτά τους και πώς θα πάρουν και την επόμενη τετραετία τη Δημαρχία.
Μπράβο και πάλι για την υπέροχη εργασία σου.

[emailspyro]

Wow... what great work!!! Bravo GrigorisSokratis... simply amazing.

Somewere in the long text you mention:

"For instance about third of the buildings on Aiolou Street today are still the buildings of the 19th century, hidden often beneath metallic additions and store windows. The same happens in Mitropoleos and Ermou streets, along with dozens of other streets in the historic center, and not there alone. On streets considered to have been totally transformed, such as Patision, Acharnon or Tritis Septemvriou streets, and in districts such as Vathi Square and Agios Pavlos, there are lots of 19th century buildings still standing there."

I never thought about this!!! Is it possible that we can uncover these old buildings? Maybe we can take some pictures of the buildins that hide history underneath.

[AAL]

Yes, 19th century and also early 20th century... A splendid example of 1920's Art Deco is that big multi-storey store in Mitropoleos, I forget its name now...it's pending restoration since many years now, as it's surrounded by scaffolding...I was a little child in the 1970's, but even at that age I remember the awkward feeling inside me when I saw that they had covered this lovely structure with...metal sheets! That was the owners' response to its delapidating fascade: completely covering it behind cheap metal. Makes you sick. I've said it before, it's as if a tribe of barbarians landed on this city in the 1960's and started destroying everything. Anyway, a few years ago the panels were removed, revealing the real fascade again. The scaffolding was erected...and we're still waiting!!! When ALL such buildings are restored, Athens' central areas will become so much more beautiful: I mean compare the grey 1970s-1980s to today, central thens is so much better now with all the restorations that have already taken place...we can expect much more when all these buildings are restored.