Post by Daphne on Jan 2, 2008 14:53:50 GMT -5
The city of Athens
By virtue of its central location in the Greek world, its secure stronghold on the Acropolis and its access to the sea, Athen had a natural advantage over potential rivals such as Thebes and Sparta.
The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.
The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) indicate that the cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650-480 B.C.).
Piraeus
Piraeus has been inhabited since the 26th century BC. The name Piraeus roughly means the place over the passage. In very early antiquity Piraeus was a rocky island (the settlement of Munychia - the present Kastella) connected to the mainland by a low-lying stretch of land that was flooded with sea water most of the year and was used as a salt field whenever it dried up. Consequently it was called the "Halipedon" (salt field) and its muddy soil made it a tricky passage. The area was increasingly silted and flooding ceased, and by early classical times the land passage was made safe. It was then, in the late 6th century BC when the peninsula was first fortified by Hippias, that Piraeus assumed its importance as a deep water harbour, and the older, shallow Phaleron harbour fell into gradual disuse.
In Ancient Greece, Piraeus was a deme of Attica since the period of Cleisthenes, and a separate city from Athens, though closely related. Themistocles was the first to advise the Athenians to take advantage of Piraeus harbours' strategical potential, instead of using the sandy bay of Phaleron. Foreseeing a new attack by the Persians (after the Battle of Marathon), he built large fortification works and turned Piraeus into a military harbor in 493 BC. The shipyards that were created then, built the mighty Athenian fleet, which distinguished itself at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Since then, Piraeus has been used as a navy base for the developed and powerful fleet of Athens in the Aegean Sea. The fortifications were completed by Cimon in 460 BC and Pericles during the Athenian Golden Age, when Piraeus was connected with Athens by the Long Walls reaching its biggest splendor, and the Themistoclean Walls were completed. As a result Piraeus flourished and became a port of high security with a great commercial activity, and a city throbbing with life. The original town of Piraeus was planned by the architect Hippodamus of Miletus in the famous grid system that he devised, probably in the time of Pericles. The main agora was named after him, as an honor.
The Long Wall
The original walls of Athens had been destroyed by the Persians during the occupations of Attica in 480 and 479 BC, part of the Greco-Persian Wars. After the Battle of Plataea, the Persian forces that had invaded Greece in 480 BC were safely removed, and the Athenians were free to reoccupy their land and begin rebuilding their city. Early in the process of rebuilding, construction was started on new walls around the city proper. This project drew opposition from the Spartans and their Peloponnesian allies, who had been alarmed by the recent increase in the power of Athens. Spartan envoys urged the Athenians not to go through with the construction, arguing that a walled Athens would be a useful base for an invading army, and that the defenses of the isthmus of Corinth would provide a sufficient shield against invaders, however, despite these concerns the envoys did not strongly protest and did in fact give advice to the builders. The Athenians disregarded the arguments, fully aware that leaving their city unwalled would place them utterly at the mercy of the Peloponnesians; Thucydides, in his account of these events, describes a series of complex machinations by Themistocles by which he distracted and delayed the Spartans until the walls had been built up to such a height as to be defensible
In the late 450s BC, fighting began between Athens and various Peloponnesian allies of Sparta, particularly Corinth and Aegina. In the midst of this fighting, Athens began construction of two more walls, one running from the city to the old port at Phalerum, the other to the newer port at Piraeus. In 457 BC, a Spartan army defeated an Athenian army at Tanagra while attempting to prevent the construction, but work on the walls continued, and they were completed soon after the battle. These new walls, the Long Walls, ensured that Athens would never be cut off from supplies as long as she controlled the sea.
By virtue of its central location in the Greek world, its secure stronghold on the Acropolis and its access to the sea, Athen had a natural advantage over potential rivals such as Thebes and Sparta.
The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.
The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) indicate that the cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650-480 B.C.).
Piraeus
Piraeus has been inhabited since the 26th century BC. The name Piraeus roughly means the place over the passage. In very early antiquity Piraeus was a rocky island (the settlement of Munychia - the present Kastella) connected to the mainland by a low-lying stretch of land that was flooded with sea water most of the year and was used as a salt field whenever it dried up. Consequently it was called the "Halipedon" (salt field) and its muddy soil made it a tricky passage. The area was increasingly silted and flooding ceased, and by early classical times the land passage was made safe. It was then, in the late 6th century BC when the peninsula was first fortified by Hippias, that Piraeus assumed its importance as a deep water harbour, and the older, shallow Phaleron harbour fell into gradual disuse.
In Ancient Greece, Piraeus was a deme of Attica since the period of Cleisthenes, and a separate city from Athens, though closely related. Themistocles was the first to advise the Athenians to take advantage of Piraeus harbours' strategical potential, instead of using the sandy bay of Phaleron. Foreseeing a new attack by the Persians (after the Battle of Marathon), he built large fortification works and turned Piraeus into a military harbor in 493 BC. The shipyards that were created then, built the mighty Athenian fleet, which distinguished itself at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Since then, Piraeus has been used as a navy base for the developed and powerful fleet of Athens in the Aegean Sea. The fortifications were completed by Cimon in 460 BC and Pericles during the Athenian Golden Age, when Piraeus was connected with Athens by the Long Walls reaching its biggest splendor, and the Themistoclean Walls were completed. As a result Piraeus flourished and became a port of high security with a great commercial activity, and a city throbbing with life. The original town of Piraeus was planned by the architect Hippodamus of Miletus in the famous grid system that he devised, probably in the time of Pericles. The main agora was named after him, as an honor.
The Long Wall
The original walls of Athens had been destroyed by the Persians during the occupations of Attica in 480 and 479 BC, part of the Greco-Persian Wars. After the Battle of Plataea, the Persian forces that had invaded Greece in 480 BC were safely removed, and the Athenians were free to reoccupy their land and begin rebuilding their city. Early in the process of rebuilding, construction was started on new walls around the city proper. This project drew opposition from the Spartans and their Peloponnesian allies, who had been alarmed by the recent increase in the power of Athens. Spartan envoys urged the Athenians not to go through with the construction, arguing that a walled Athens would be a useful base for an invading army, and that the defenses of the isthmus of Corinth would provide a sufficient shield against invaders, however, despite these concerns the envoys did not strongly protest and did in fact give advice to the builders. The Athenians disregarded the arguments, fully aware that leaving their city unwalled would place them utterly at the mercy of the Peloponnesians; Thucydides, in his account of these events, describes a series of complex machinations by Themistocles by which he distracted and delayed the Spartans until the walls had been built up to such a height as to be defensible
In the late 450s BC, fighting began between Athens and various Peloponnesian allies of Sparta, particularly Corinth and Aegina. In the midst of this fighting, Athens began construction of two more walls, one running from the city to the old port at Phalerum, the other to the newer port at Piraeus. In 457 BC, a Spartan army defeated an Athenian army at Tanagra while attempting to prevent the construction, but work on the walls continued, and they were completed soon after the battle. These new walls, the Long Walls, ensured that Athens would never be cut off from supplies as long as she controlled the sea.
