Ancient Athens

Ancient Athens was a Greek city-State which, together with Sparta, played an important geopolitical and cultural role in the history of Ancient Greece. Although the Attica had been populated since 3000 BC by native Mediterranean people, classical Athens was founded by the Ionians, one of the four Hellenic tribes, who had migrated into the region from the north around 1800 BC. The Ionians would develop this city-State around the Acropolis; a rocky hill which rises up from the central plain of Attica about 6 km from the Saronic Gulf, which is an inlet of the Aegean Sea.

At the end of the collapse of the Mycenaean Civilization in the 12th century BC, Athens was one of the few cities that had survived the fall of such civilization of the Greek Bronze Age. At the beginning, it was ruled by a monarchy. However, about 1100 BC, they replaced their king by the archons, who were elected government officials. By 700 BC, Athens was governed by nine archons, who were elected each year. Around 600 BC, Athens was struck by a severe economic crisis as the farmers had fallen into debt and crops had decreased. Solon, a political leader, dealt with this financial crisis and solved it in 594 BC by cancelling debts and supporting and promoting trade and the pottery industry.

Around 550 BC, Pisistratus became a tyrant. Under his government, Athens saw economic prosperity. He carried out the constructions of the large stone temples on the Acropolis, which included the Parthenon and the temple to Olympian Zeus. In 510, the tyranny was put to an end when Cleisthenes implemented a series of political reforms, which led to democracy. He created the Assembly (Ekklesia = people), which was composed of 500 citizens that held the legislative power. It was a direct democracy as the Greek citizens gathered in the agora (main public square) to debate about important problems as they passed resolutions.

During the Greco-Persian Wars, Athens and Sparta became the most powerful Greek city-States. Athens created a powerful fleet, while Sparta had disciplined and powerful army. In 490 BC, Darius I, king of the Persian Empire, invaded Greece and tried to seize Athens. Nevertheless, the Athenians quickly organized an army, which defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathons. During the second Persian invasion of Greece, the Athenian fleet defeated the Persian counterpart at the Battle of Salamis in 480, while, a year later, a mixed army composed of Spartans and Athenians would defeat the Persians at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC.

Over the years, a rivalry between Athens and Sparta would emerge as a civil war would break out in their dispute for the political and cultural hegemony of Greece. Nevertheless, Athens and the rest of the Greek city-States would be defeated and conquered by Philip II of Macedonia in 338 BC.

Below, artistic drawing of the buildings of the Acropolis, which includes the Parthenon.