Athens Greece

While there are many historical and exciting cities in Greece, the capital city of Athens is probably the most fascinating of them all. Without doubt, Athens, Greece has had a glorious past but far too often, people visit only to be discouraged by the modern day smog and high-rise apartments. However, when in Athens, if you can look past the obvious, you will get a glimpse of something extraordinary, the past. In this city, it is common to see beautiful plants hanging from the balconies of just about every home and apartment. The squares and trees are dotted with fragrant orange trees, and colorful markets and street vendors are a part of everyday life.

Of all the cities in Europe, Athens has the longest history, having been inhabited for approximately 3,000 years. As the leading city of Ancient Greece during the first millennium, Athens had many cultural achievements during the 5th century, laying numerous foundations for western civilizations. While ruled by the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, Athens was under decline but during the 19th century, the city grew to become an independent state and the country’s capital.

The name Athens is actually a plural name of “The Athenses”, which started out as a small group of villages, eventually turning into an actual city. Although no one is 100% certain, Greeks believed the city was named for the goddess Athena, its protectress. The history of this city started as a Neolithic hill fort on top of Acropolis, which translates to “high city”, being a great natural defense since it looked down over the surrounding plains.

In the 5th and 4th centuries, Athens was at its peak. At that time, some 300,000 people lived in the city with many of these being foreign residents or slaves. Interestingly, for these people to live in the city, they were required to pay. In addition, just 10% to 20% of the people were adult males. However, when Alexander the Great conquered the land in the 4th century, a large number of the population migrated to the newly conquered Hellenistic empire located to the east.

However, by 1400 BC, the city of Athens had regained power, becoming an important center of the Mycenaean civilization. Unlike other centers, Athens was not abandoned during the Doric invasion of 1200 BC. Even though the people lost power and the city again dwindled in size, Athens refused to die. In the 8th century, the city had again emerged, hanging onto the Acropolis. Then with its quick and easy access to the sea, Athens had a huge advantage over many rivals to include the Sparta and Thebes.

Over time, other towns came under the rule of Athens, making this a very large and very wealthy state on the mainland. Even so, the 7th century brought with it social unrest that would not see reform until the 6th century. Over the course of its life, Athens went through many leadership changes, various empires, and several difficult wars. The years also included dramatists such as Euripides and Sophocles, philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, wonderful historians like Herodotus and Xenophon, the famous poet Simonides, and of course, Pheiidias, the sculptor.

Losing and gaining power over the years, today Athens continues to shine. Even when the Greek insurgents captured the city in 1822, it was again taken down by the Turks just four years later. In fact, the Turk maintained control until 1833 but after withdrawing, Athens was chosen as the capital city of the kingdom of Greece. Sadly, the city was virtually uninhabited at that time. All that stood was a small cluster of buildings at the base of the Acropolis. Then King Othon took the throne in 1832, carefully laying out a plan for a new city to be constructed, several of these being the University of Athens, the Greek National Academy, and the Greek National Library, all still there.

In the war with Turkey in 1921, the population of Athens exploded. In all, more than one million Greek refuges came from Asian Minor with suburbs overflowing. Then during World War II, the Germans occupied Athens, but when the war ended, the city again began to grow. Today, the city of Athens, Greece is sprawling and still holds many reminders of ancient times. To give you a few ideas of what you will find when visiting Athens, we have listed a few options for you.

The Acropolis of Athens

Also known as the “Sacred Rock”, this site is important to Athens. Over time, the rocky hill was used as a cult place, residential site, or both. In fact, inscriptions found on there to include vases, bronze and clay statuettes, and marble korai, show that the cult of the city’s patron goddess was first established during the Archaic period from 650 to 480 BC.

Museum of Greek Folk Art

This museum comes under the Ministry of Culture, being founded in 1918 although at that time, it was called the Museum of Greek Handicrafts. Then in 1923, the museum’s name was changed, this time to the National Museum of Decorative Arts. Not until 1959 did it receive its current name.

War Museum of Athens

Inaugurated in 1975, this museum was created to display war mementoes. For example, in Room One you will find many pieces from the Stone Age and early Bronze Age, in Room Two, themes pertaining to the prehistory of Greece, seen in photographs and drawings, Room Three contains things from the Byzantine Period, and so on. When in Athens, it would be worth taking a trip to see this particular museum.


Last Updated: 10/19/2006 3:14:00 PM

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