The city of Athens Athens (pronounced /ˈæθɨnz/; Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athina, IPA: [aˈθina], Katharevousa/Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athēnai , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years during the classical period Classical Greece was a culture that was highly advanced and which heavily influenced the cultures of Ancient Rome and still has an enduring effect on European civilization. Much of modern politics, artistic thought, scientific thought, literature, and philosophy derives from this ancient society. In the context of the art, architecture, and of Ancient Greece (508-322 BC)^[1] was a notable polis A polis , plural poleis (/ˈpɒleɪz/, πόλεις [póleːs]), is a city, a city-state and also citizenship and body of citizens. When used to describe Classical Athens and its contemporaries, polis is often translated as "city-state." (city-state Whereas nation-states rely on a common heritage, be it linguistic, historical, economic, etc., the city-state relies on the common interest in the function of the urban center. The urban center and its activity supplies the livelihoods of all urbanites inhabiting the city-state) of Attica Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea. There is a modern periphery (administrative region) of Greece, also named Attica, which is more extensive than the historical region, and includes several islands,, Greece Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian, leading the Delian League The so-called Delian League was an association of 173 5th-century BC Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Greco–Persian Wars. Founded in 478 BC, the League's modern name derives from its official meeting place, in the Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 B.C., was an ancient Greek war, fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases. In the first phase, the Archidamian War, Sparta launched repeated invasions of Attica, while Athens took advantage of its naval supremacy against Sparta Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military land- and the Peloponnesian League The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of states in the Peloponnese in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Athenian democracy Athenian democracy was developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 500 BC. Athens was one of the very first known democracies. Other Greek cities set up democracies, and even though most followed an Athenian model, none were as powerful, stable, or as well- was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes Cleisthenes was a noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family. He is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508/7 BC. For these accomplishments, historians refer to him as "the father of Athenian democracy." He was the maternal grandson of the tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon, as the following the tyranny The archon was the chief magistrate in many Greek cities, but in Athens there was a council of archons which comprised a form of executive government. From the late eighth century BC, there were three archons, the archon eponymous, the polemarch , and the archon basileus (the ceremonial remnant of the Athenian monarchy).[citation needed] These of Hippias Hippias of Athens was one of the sons of Peisistratus, and was tyrant of Athens in the 6th century BC. This system remained remarkably stable, and with a few brief interruptions remained in place for 180 years, until 322 BC (aftermath of Lamian War The “Lamian War”, also referred to as the “Hellenic War” and the “War against Antipater”, was fought by the Athenians and their Aetolian, Locrian, and Phocian allies against the Macedonians in Thessaly during the winter of . After some initial successes, the Athenians and her allies besieged the town of Lamia, located on the southern) . The peak of Athenian hegemony Hegemony is the political, economic, ideological or cultural power exerted by a dominant group over other groups, regardless of the explicit consent of the latter. While initially referring to the political dominance of certain ancient Greek city-states over their neighbors, the term has come to be used in a variety of other contexts, in was achieved in the 440s to 430s BC, known as the Age of Pericles The Golden Age is the term used to denote the historical period in Classical Greece lasting roughly from the end of the Persian Wars in 448 BCE to either the death of Pericles 429 BCE or the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE. Pericles - an Athenian general, politician, and orator - distinguished himself above the other shining personalities.

In the classical period Classical Greece was a culture that was highly advanced and which heavily influenced the cultures of Ancient Rome and still has an enduring effect on European civilization. Much of modern politics, artistic thought, scientific thought, literature, and philosophy derives from this ancient society. In the context of the art, architecture, and, Athens was a center for the arts, learning and philosophy Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing fundamental questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word "philosophy" comes from the, home of Plato Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science. Plato was originally a's Akademia The Academy was founded by Plato in ca. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for nineteen years before founding his own school at the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa in 83 BC. Although philosophers continued to teach Plato's and Aristotle Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato's teacher), Aristotle is one of the most's Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school,^[2][3] Athens was also the birthplace of Socrates Socrates was a Classical Greek philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. Many would claim that Plato's dialogues are the most, Pericles Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC, Greek: Περικλῆς, meaning "surrounded by glory") was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. He was descended, through his mother, from the powerful and historically, Sophocles Sophocles was the second of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus and earlier than those of Euripides. According to the Suda, a 10th century encyclopedia, Sophocles wrote 123 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax,, and its many other prominent philosophers, writers and politicians of the ancient world. It is widely referred to as the cradle The cradle of civilization is any of the possible locations for the emergence of civilization. It is usually applied to the Ancient Near Eastern Chalcolithic , especially in the Fertile Crescent (Levant and Mesopotamia), but also extended to sites in Armenia, Greece and the Persian Plateau, besides other Asian cultures situated along the large of Western Civilization Western culture refers to cultures of European origin, and the birthplace of democracy Democracy is a political form of government where governing power is derived from the people, either by direct referendum or by means of elected representatives of the people (representative democracy). The term comes from the Greek: δημοκρατία - (dēmokratía) "rule of the people", which was coined from δῆμος (dêmos) &,^[4] largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent.^[5]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Rise to power (510-448 BC) 1.2 Athenian hegemony (448-430 BC) 1.3 Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) 1.4 Corinthian War and the Second Athenian League (395-355 BC) 1.5 Athens under Macedon (355-322 BC) 2 Geography 2.1 Overview 2.2 The Long Walls 2.3 The Acropolis (Upper city) 2.4 Lower city 2.5 Gates 2.6 Districts 2.7 Hills 2.8 Streets 2.9 Public buildings 2.10 Suburbs 3 Culture 4 See also 5 References

History

Main article: History of Athens Athens Is one of the oldest named cities in Europe and in the world. It has been continuously inhabited for over 4000 years, becoming the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC; its cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of western civilization. During the Middle Ages, the city experienced decline

Rise to power (510-448 BC)

Main articles: Ionian Revolt The Ionian Revolt, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several regions of Asia Minor against Persian rule, lasting from 499 BC to 493 BC. At the heart of the rebellion was the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them, along with the, Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and city-states of the Hellenic world that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to, and First Peloponnesian War

Hippias Hippias of Athens was one of the sons of Peisistratus, and was tyrant of Athens in the 6th century BC was the one that established a dictatorship in 514B.C, which proved very unpopular and was overthrown, with the help of an army from Sparta Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military land-, in 510B.C. A radical politician of aristocratic background, Cleisthenes Cleisthenes was a noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family. He is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508/7 BC. For these accomplishments, historians refer to him as "the father of Athenian democracy." He was the maternal grandson of the tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon, as the, then took charge. He was the one who established democracy in Athens. The reforms of Cleisthenes replaced the traditional four "tribes" (phyle Phyle is an ancient Greek term for clan or tribe. They were usually ruled by a basileus. Some of them can be classified by their geographic location: the Geleontes, the Argadeis, the Hopletes, and the Agikoreis, in Ionia ; the Hylleans, the Pamphyles, the Dymanes, in the Dorian region) with ten new ones, named after legendary heroes and having no class basis: they were in fact electorates. Each tribe was in turn divided into three trittyes while each trittys Trittyes were population divisions in ancient Attica, established by the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508 BC. The name means "thirtieth," and there were in fact thirty trittyes in Attica. Each tribe, or phyle of Athens was composed of three trittyes, one from the coast, one from the city, and one from the inland area. Trittyes were composed had one or more demes In Ancient Greece, a deme was a subdivision of Attica, the region of Greece surrounding Athens. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508 BC. In those reforms, enrollment in the citizen-lists of (see deme In Ancient Greece, a deme was a subdivision of Attica, the region of Greece surrounding Athens. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508 BC. In those reforms, enrollment in the citizen-lists of) - depending on the population of the demes -, which became the basis of local government. The tribes each selected fifty members by lot to the Boule In the cities of ancient Greece, the boule (Greek: βουλή, plural βουλαί or boulai from the ancient Greek verb βούλομαι meaning to will (after deliberating); Latin: volo) was a council of citizens (called βουλευταί transliterated as bouleutai) appointed to run daily affairs of the city. Originally a council of nobles, a council which governed Athens on a day-to-day basis. The public opinion Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views. The principle approaches to the study of public opinion may be divided into 4 categories: of voters was remarkably influenced by the political satire Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly forbidden. Historically, the public opinion in the performed by the comic poets Ancient Greek comedy was one of three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece . Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods, Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy. Old Comedy survives today largely in the form of the eleven surviving plays of Aristophanes, while Middle Comedy is largely lost, i.e. preserved at the theaters.^[6] The Assembly was open to all citizens and was both a legislature and a supreme court, except in murder cases and religious matters, which became the only remaining functions of the Areopagus. Most offices were filled by lot, though the ten strategoi Strategos, plural strategoi is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor. In the modern Hellenic Army, it is the highest officer rank (generals) were, for obvious reasons, elected.

Early Athenian Athens (pronounced /ˈæθɨnz/; Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athina, IPA: [aˈθina], Katharevousa/Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athēnai , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years coin, 5th century BCE. British Museum The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.[a].

Prior to the rise of Athens, the city-state of Sparta Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military land- considered itself the leader of the Greeks, or hegemon Hegemony is the political, economic, ideological or cultural power exerted by a dominant group over other groups, regardless of the explicit consent of the latter. While initially referring to the political dominance of certain ancient Greek city-states over their neighbors, the term has come to be used in a variety of other contexts, in. Sparta was a military city-state of war. In 499 BC Athens sent troops to aid the Ionian Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was eponymously named after the Ionian tribe who in the Archaic Period occupied mainly the shores Greeks of Asia Minor Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the western two-thirds of the Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, Georgia to the northeast, the Armenian Highland to the east, Mesopotamia to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea, who were rebelling against the Persian Empire (see Ionian Revolt). This provoked two Persian invasions of Greece, both of which were defeated under the leadership of the soldier-statesmen Miltiades and Themistocles (see Persian Wars). In 490 the Athenians, led by Miltiades, defeated the first invasion of the Persians, guided by the king Darius at the Battle of Marathon. In 480 the Persians returned under a new ruler, Xerxes. The Hellenic League led by Sparta King Leonidas led 7,000 men to hold the narrow passageway of Battle of Thermopylae against the 100,000-250,000 men of Xerxes. Simultaneously the Spartans led an indecisive naval battle off Artemisium. This delaying action was not enough to discourage the Persian advance which soon marched through Boeotia, setting up Thebes as their base of operations, and entered southern Greece. This forced the Athenians to evacuate Athens, which was taken by the Persians, and seek the protection of their fleet. Subsequently the Athenians and their allies, led by Themistocles, defeated the Persian navy at sea in the Battle of Salamis. It is interesting to note that Xerxes had built himself a throne on the coast in order to see the Greeks defeated. Instead, the Persians were routed. Sparta's hegemony was passing to Athens, and it was Athens that took the war to Asia Minor. These victories enabled it to bring most of the Aegean and many other parts of Greece together in the Delian League, an Athenian-dominated alliance.

Athenian hegemony (448-430 BC)

Main article: Age of Pericles

Pericles - an Athenian general, politician and orator - distinguished himself above the other shining personalities of the era, men who excelled in politics, philosophy, architecture, sculpture, history and literature. He fostered arts and literature and gave to Athens a splendor which would never return throughout its history. He executed a large number of public works projects and improved the life of the citizens. Hence, this important figure gave his name to the Athenian Golden Age. Silver mined in Laurium in southeastern Attica contributed greatly to the prosperity of this "Golden" Age of Athens.

During the time of the ascendancy of Ephialtes as leader of the democratic faction, Pericles was his deputy. When Ephialtes was assassinated by personal enemies, Pericles stepped in and was elected strategos in 445 BC, a post he held continuously until his death in 429 BC, always by election of the Athenian Assembly.

Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC)

Main article: Peloponnesian War Further information: Athenian coup of 411 BC The modern National Academy in Athens, with Apollo and Athena on their columns, and Socrates and Plato seated in front.

Resentment by other cities at the hegemony of Athens led to the Peloponnesian War in 431, which pitted Athens and her increasingly rebellious sea empire against a coalition of land-based states led by Sparta. The conflict marked the end of Athenian command of the sea. The war between Athens and the city-state Sparta ended with an Athenian defeat.

The democracy was briefly overthrown by a coup in 411 due to its poor handling of the war, but quickly restored. The war ended with the complete defeat of Athens in 404. Since the defeat was largely blamed on democratic politicians such as Cleon and Cleophon, there was a brief reaction against democracy, aided by the Spartan army (the rule of the Thirty Tyrants). In 403, democracy was restored by Thrasybulus and an amnesty declared.

Corinthian War and the Second Athenian League (395-355 BC)

Sparta's former allies soon turned against her due to her imperialist policy and Athens's former enemies Thebes and Corinth had become her allies. Argos, Thebes, Corinth, allied with Athens, fought against Sparta in the decisive Corinthian War (395 BC - 387 BC). Opposition to Sparta enabled Athens to establish a Second Athenian League. Finally Thebes defeated Sparta in 371 in the Battle of Leuctra. Then the Greek cities (including Athens) turned against Thebes whose dominance was stopped at the Battle of Mantinea (362 BC) with the death of its leader, the military genius Epaminondas.

Athens under Macedon (355-322 BC)

Further information: Alexander the Great, Antipatrid dynasty, and Antigonid dynasty

By mid century, however, the northern kingdom of Macedon was becoming dominant in Athenian affairs, despite the warnings of the last great statesman of independent Athens, Demosthenes. In 338 BC the armies of Philip II defeated Athens at the Battle of Chaeronea, effectively limiting Athenian independence. Athens and other states became part of the League of Corinth. Further, the conquests of his son, Alexander the Great, widened Greek horizons and made the traditional Greek city state obsolete. Antipater dissolved the Athenian government and established a plutocratic system in 322 BC (See Lamian War and Demetrius Phalereus) Athens remained a wealthy city with a brilliant cultural life, but ceased to be an independent power.

In the 2nd century BC, following the Battle of Corinth (146 BC), Greece was absorbed into the Roman Republic as part of the Achaea Province, concluding 200 years of Macedonian supremacy.

Geography

Overview

Map of ancient Athens showing the Acropolis in middle, the Agora to the northwest, and the city walls.

Athens was in Attica, about 30 stadia from the sea, on the southwest slope of Mount Lycabettus, between the small rivers Cephissus to the west, Ilissos to the south, and the Eridanos to the north, the latter of which flowed through the town. The walled city measured about 1.5 km (1 mile) in diameter, although at its peak the city had suburbs extending well beyond these walls. The Acropolis was just south of the centre of this walled area. The city was burnt by Xerxes in 480 BC, but was soon rebuilt under the administration of Themistocles, and was adorned with public buildings by Cimon and especially by Pericles, in whose time (461-429 BC) it reached its greatest splendour. Its beauty was chiefly due to its public buildings, for the private houses were mostly insignificant, and its streets badly laid out. Towards the end of the Peloponnesian war, it contained more than 10,000 houses,^[7] which at a rate of 12 inhabitants to a house would give a population of 120,000, though some writers make the inhabitants as many as 180,000.

Athens consisted of two distinct parts:

• The City, properly so called, divided into The Upper City or Acropolis, and The Lower City, surrounded with walls by Themistocles.
• The port city of Piraeus, also surrounded with walls by Themistocles and connected to the city with the Long Walls, built under Conon and Pericles.

The Long Walls

Map of the environs of Athens showing Piraeus, Phalerum, and the Long Walls

The Long Walls consisted of two walls leading to Piraeus, 40 stadia long (4.5 miles, 7 km), running parallel to each other, with a narrow passage between them. In addition, there was a wall to Phalerum on the east, 35 stadia long (4 miles, 6.5 km). There were therefore three long walls in all; but the name Long Walls seems to have been confined to the two leading to the Piraeus, while the one leading to Phalerum was called the Phalerian Wall. The entire circuit of the walls was 174.5 stadia (nearly 22 miles, 35 km), of which 43 stadia (5.5 miles, 9 km) belonged to the city, 75 stadia (9.5 miles, 15 km) to the long walls, and 56.5 stadia (7 miles, 11 km) to Piraeus, Munichia, and Phalerum.

The Acropolis (Upper city)

The Acropolis, also called Cecropia from its reputed founder, Cecrops, was a steep rock in the middle of the city, about 50 meters high, 350 meters long, and 150 meters wide; its sides were naturally scarped on all sides except the west end. It was originally surrounded by an ancient Cyclopean wall said to have been built by the Pelasgians. At the time of the Peloponnesian war only the north part of this wall remained, and this portion was still called the Pelasgic Wall; while the south part which had been rebuilt by Cimon, was called the Cimonian Wall. On the west end of the Acropolis, where access is alone practicable, were the magnificent Propylaea, "the Entrances," built by Pericles, before the right wing of which was the small Temple of Athena Nike. The summit of the Acropolis was covered with temples, statues of bronze and marble, and various other works of art. Of the temples, the grandest was the Parthenon, sacred to the "Virgin" goddess Athena; and north of the Parthenon was the magnificent Erechtheion, containing three separate temples, one to Athena Polias, or the "Protectress of the State," the Erechtheion proper, or sanctuary of Erechtheus, and the Pandroseion, or sanctuary of Pandrosos, the daughter of Cecrops. Between the Parthenon and Erechtheion was the colossal Statue of Athena Promachos, or the "Fighter in the Front," whose helmet and spear was the first object on the Acropolis visible from the sea.

The Acropolis imagined in an 1846 painting by Leo von Klenze

Lower city

The lower city was built in the plain round the Acropolis, but this plain also contained several hills, especially in the southwest part. On the west side the walls embraced the Hill of the Nymphs and the Pnyx, and to the southeast they ran along beside the Ilissos.

Gates

There were many gates, among the more important there were:

• On the West side: Dipylon, the most frequented gate of the city, leading from the inner Kerameikos to the outer Kerameikos, and to the Academy. The Sacred Gate, where the sacred road to Eleusis began. The Knight's Gate, probably between the Hill of the Nymphs and the Pnyx. The Piraean Gate, between the Pnyx and the Mouseion, leading to the carriage road between the Long Walls to the Piraeus. The Melitian Gate, so called because it led to the deme Melite, within the city.
• On the South side: The Gate of the Dead in the neighbourhood of the Mouseion. The Itonian Gate, near the Ilissos, where the road to Phalerum began.
• On the East side: The Gate of Diochares, leading to the Lyceum. The Diomean Gate, leading to Cynosarges and the deme Diomea.
• On the North side: The Acharnian Gate, leading to the deme Acharnai.

Districts

• The Inner Kerameikos, or "Potter's Quarter," in the west of the city, extending north as far as the Dipylon gate, by which it was separated from the outer Kerameikos; the Kerameikos contained the Agora, or "market-place," the only one in the city, lying northwest of the Acropolis, and north of the Areopagus.
• The deme Melite, in the west of the city, south of the inner Kerameikos.
• The deme Skambonidai, in the northern part of the city, east of the inner Kerameikos.
• The Kollytos, in the southern part of the city, south and southwest of the Acropolis.
• Koele, a district in the southwest of the city.
• Limnai, a district east of Milete and Kollytos, between the Acropolis and the Ilissos.
• Diomea, a district in the east of the city, near the gate of the same name and the Cynosarges.
• Agrai, a district south of Diomea.

Hills

• The Areopagus, the "Hill of Ares," west of the Acropolis, which gave its name to the celebrated council that held its sittings there, was accessible on the south side by a flight of steps cut out of the rock.
• The Hill of the Nymphs, northwest of the Areopagus.
• The Pnyx, a semicircular hill, southwest of the Areopagus, where the ekklesia (assemblies) of the people were held in earlier times, for afterwards the people usually met in the Theatre of Dionysus.
• The Mouseion, "the Hill of the Muses," south of the Pnyx and the Areopagus.

Streets

Among the more important streets, there were:

• The Piraean Street, which led from the Piraean gate to the Agora.
• The Panathenaic Way, which led from the Dipylon gate to the Acropolis via the Agora, along which a solemn procession was made during the Panathenaic Festival.
• The Street of the Tripods, on the east side of the Acropolis.

Public buildings

The Temple of Hephaestus in modern-day Athens

• Temples. Of these the most important was the Olympieion, or Temple of Olympian Zeus, southeast of the Acropolis, near the Ilissos and the fountain Callirrhoë, which was long unfinished, and was first completed by Hadrian. The Temple of Hephaestus, located to the west of the Agora. The Temple of Ares, to the north of the Agora. Metroon, or temple of the mother of the gods, on the west side of the Agora. Besides these, there was a vast number of other temples in all parts of the city.
• The Bouleuterion (Senate House), at the west side of the Agora.
• The Tholos, a round building close to the Bouleuterion, built c. 470 BC by Cimon, which served as the Prytaneion, in which the Prytaneis took their meals and offered their sacrifices.
• Stoae, or Colonnades, supported by pillars, and used as places of resort in the heat of the day, of which there were several in Athens. In the Agora there were: the Stoa Basileios, the court of the King-Archon, on the west side of the Agora; the Stoa Eleutherios, or Colonnade of Zeus Eleutherios, on the west side of the Agora; the Stoa Poikile, so called because it was adorned with fresco painting of the Battle of Marathon by Polygnotus, on the north side of the Agora.

Artist's impression of the Theatre of Dionysus

• Theatres. The Theatre of Dionysus, on the southeast slope of the Acropolis, was the great theatre of the state. Besides this there were Odeons, for contests in vocal and instrumental music, an ancient one near the fountain Callirrhoë, and a second built by Pericles, close to the theatre of Dionysius, on the southeast slope of the Acropolis. The large odeon surviving today, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built in Roman times.
• Panathenaic Stadium, south of the Ilissos, in the district Agrai, where the athletic portion of the Panathenaic Games were held.

Suburbs

• The Outer Kerameikos, northwest of the city, was the finest suburb of Athens; here were buried the Athenians who had fallen in war, and at the further end of it was the Academy, 6 stadia from the city.
• Cynosarges, east of the city, across the Ilissos, reached from the Diomea gate, a gymnasium sacred to Heracles, where the Cynic Antisthenes taught.
• Lyceum, east of the city, a gymnasium sacred to Apollo Lyceus, where Aristotle taught.

Culture

Main articles: Age of Pericles, Greek philosophy, Athenian festivals, and Greek theatre The Karyatides statues of the Erechtheion on its Acropolis.

The period from the end of the Persian Wars to the Macedonian conquest marked the zenith of Athens as a center of literature, philosophy (see Greek philosophy) and the arts (see Greek theatre). Some of the most important figures of Western cultural and intellectual history lived in Athens during this period: the dramatists Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides and Sophocles, the philosophers Aristotle, Plato and Socrates, the historians Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon, the poet Simonides and the sculptor Phidias. The leading statesman of this period was Pericles, who used the tribute paid by the members of the Delian League to build the Parthenon and other great monuments of classical Athens. The city became, in Pericles's words, "the school of Hellas [Greece]."^[8]

See also

• Archon of Athens
• Delian league
• Attica
• Attic Greek
• Acropolis of Athens
• Ancient Agora of Athens
• Academy of Plato
• Ecclesia (ancient Athens)
• Athenian democracy
• Classical Greece

References

1. ^ Democracy and knowledge: innovation and learning in classical Athens By Josiah Ober Page 40 ISBN 0691133476 (2008)
2. ^ "Plato's Academy". Hellenic Ministry of Culture. www.culture.gr. http://www.culture.gr/2/21/211/21103a/e211ca03.html. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
3. ^ CNN & Assiciated Press (1997-01-16). "Greece uncovers 'holy grail' of Greek archeology". CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9701/16/greece.lyceum/index.html. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
4. ^ BBC History on Greek Democracy - Accessed on 26 January 2007
5. ^ Encarta: Ancient Greece - Retrieved on 26 January 2007. Archived 2009-10-31.
6. ^ Henderson, J. (1993) Comic Hero versus Political Elite pp.307-19 in Sommerstein, A.H.; S. Halliwell, J. Henderson, B. Zimmerman, ed (1993). Tragedy, Comedy and the Polis. Bari: Levante Editori.
7. ^ Xenophon, Mem. iii. 6.14
8. ^ Thucydides, 2.41.1

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