did athens have a wall around it

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Did Athens have a city wall?

The Athenian city wall was built in the early 5th century b.c. and was re- peatedly reconstructed and repaired until the end of antiquity, possibly in the mid-6th century a.d.1 The historical implications of this structure for the political welfare and the defensive capacity of Athens have made the physical remains of ...

What happened to the walls of Athens?

The walls were still standing at the beginning of the 1st century BC. However, during the First Mithridatic War, the Siege of Athens and Piraeus (87–86 BC) was won by the Roman general Sulla and he destroyed the Long Walls.

Who built the wall around Athens?

The Athenian "Long Walls" were built after Xerxes' invasion of Greece (480-479); their construction was proposed by Themistocles, but the actual building started in 461, when Athens was at war with Sparta (the First Peloponnesian War). The proposal to execute the old plan was made by Cimon.

What was ancient Athens surrounded by?

Athens is located on a peninsula that stretches southeastward into the Aegean Sea. The city is surrounded by the Plain of Attica, which in turn is surrounded on three sides by mountains.

What caused Athens to fall?

Three major causes of the rise and fall of Athens were its democracy, its leadership, and its arrogance. The democracy produced many great leaders, but unfortunately, also many bad leaders. Their arrogance was a result of great leadership in the Persian Wars, and it led to the end of Athenian power in Greece.

Why did the Spartans not destroy Athens?

As Thebes grew richer, Sparta grew more wary of accidentally creating a new powerful rival. Given Athens' generations-old enmity towards Thebes, it would be safer for Sparta to preserve Athens as a buffer, absorbing Theban aggression and allowing for shrewd alliance politics if the need arose.

Why does Sparta have no walls?

Sparta did NOT have walls until late 4th - early 3rd century BC. This was because their walls were their army. They could fight anyone and they were more flexible without walls to defend their land from different terrains back or forth.

Who really founded Athens?

CecropsAccording to the Greek mythology, Cecrops, who was half man and half serpent, founded Athens and became the first king. Around the tenth century B.C., the settlers formed twelve cities, of which Athens was always dominant.

How did Sparta defeat Athens?

Sparta decided to retaliate. Learning from its past experiences with the Athenian navy, they established a fleet of warships. It would be another decade of warfare before the Spartan general Lysander defeated the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami. This defeat led to Athenian surrender.

What are 3 facts about Athens?

Here are 10 fun facts about Athens, Greece that you might not already know:It's Europe's oldest capital city. ... The ancient Olympic games were never actually held there. ... It was the birthplace of democracy. ... The marathon was named after a long run to Athens in 490 B.C. ... It was the first European Capital of Culture.More items...•

Why was Athens built on a hill?

From both a religious and a military point of view, a hilltop site was highly desirable: militarily, because an acropolis had to be a citadel; religiously, because a hill was imbued with natural mysteries—caves, springs, copses, and glens—that denoted the presence of the gods.

What was Greece surrounded by on 3 sides?

Greece is surrounded by seas on three sides: the Aegean to the east, the Mediterranean to the south, and the Ionian to the west. Carved out of the land where it meets the sea are many deep inlets and protected bays. It is understandable why shipbuilding, fishing, and seafaring were important in ancient Greece.

Why did the Spartans not have walls?

Sparta's dominion and military strength were so indisputable that the city itself had no surrounding defensive walls for years. Legend has it that the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus once boasted that Sparta did not need walls of stone because it had “walls of men.” Sparta was ruled by kings and by a council of elders.

Has any Greek wall painting survived?

Unfortunately, due to the perishable nature of the materials used and the major upheavals at the end of antiquity, not one of the famous works of Greek panel painting has survived, nor even any of the copies that doubtlessly existed, and which give us most of our knowledge of Greek sculpture.

Why did Sparta not build walls?

Sparta did NOT have walls until late 4th - early 3rd century BC. This was because their walls were their army. They could fight anyone and they were more flexible without walls to defend their land from different terrains back or forth.

What destroyed the Athenian empire?

The Achaemenid destruction of Athens was accomplished by the Achaemenid Army of Xerxes I during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and occurred in two phases over a period of two years, in 480–479 BCE.

What were the parts of the Acropolis built after the Persian crisis?

After the Persian crisis had subsided, the Athenians incorporated many architectural parts of the unfinished temple (unfluted column drums, triglyphs, metopes, etc.) into the newly built northern curtain wall of the Acropolis, where they served as a prominent "war memorial" and can still be seen today.

Where is the Acropolis of Athens?

The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον ( akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις ( polis, ...

What was the Parthenon used for?

During the Byzantine period, the Parthenon was used as a church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. During the Latin Duchy of Athens, the Acropolis functioned as the city's administrative center, with the Parthenon as its cathedral, and the Propylaea as part of the Ducal Palace.

What was the Acropolis restoration project?

The project included collection and identification of all stone fragments, even small ones, from the Acropolis and its slopes and the attempt was made to restore as much as possible using reassembled original material ( anastylosis ), with new marble from Mount Pentelicus used sparingly. All restoration was made using titanium dowels and is designed to be completely reversible, in case future experts decide to change things. A combination of cutting-edge modern technology and extensive research and reinvention of ancient techniques were used.

How many times was the Acropolis besieged?

The Acropolis was besieged thrice during the Greek War of Independence (two sieges from the Greeks in 1821–1822 and one from the Ottomans in 1826–1827. A new bulwark named after Odysseas Androutsos was built by the Greeks between 1822 and 1825 to protect the recently rediscovered Klepsydra spring which became the sole fresh water supply of the fortress.

Why is the Acropolis unstable?

The limestone that the Acropolis is built upon is unstable because of the erosion and tectonic shifts that the region is prone to. This instability can cause rock slides that cause damage to the historic site. Various measures have been implemented to protect the site including retaining walls, drainage systems and rock bolts. These measures work to counter the natural processes that threaten the historic site.

Why were the Acropolis buildings damaged?

During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, many of the existing buildings in the area of the Acropolis were repaired, due to damage from age, and occasionally, war. Monuments to foreign kings were erected, notably those of the Attalid kings of Pergamon Attalos II (in front of the NW corner of the Parthenon), and Eumenes II, in front of the Propylaia. These were rededicated during the early Roman Empire to Augustus or Claudius (uncertain), and Agrippa, respectively. Eumenes was also responsible for constructing a stoa on the South slope, not unlike that of Attalos in the Agora below.

What were the walls of Athens made of?

The upper walls were made from sun-dried bricks. There were towers at regular intervals. The Long Walls enabled Athens to survive any siege. As long as it was connected to its ports and controlled the sea, no enemy could capture the city.

When were the long walls of Athens built?

The Athenian "Long Walls" were built after Xerxes ' invasion of Greece (480-479); their construction was proposed by Themistocles, but the actual building started in 461, when Athens was at war with Sparta (the First Peloponnesian War). The proposal to execute the old plan was made by Cimon.

What was the name of the war that the Athenians fought during?

During the Peloponnesian War (431-404), the Athenians simply evacuated the countryside, left it to the Spartans, and lived in Athens itself, which could receive supplies from across the sea. According to Aristophanes, note. [Aristophanes, Knights 817-818.]

How did Cleon strengthen the walls of Athens?

the statesman Cleon strengthened the walls by building a diateichisma, "cross-wall", but it is unclear what this can have been. However, when the Athenian fleet was defeated at the Aigospotamoi (405), the food supply was imperiled, and Athens had to surrender. One of the main demands of the Spartans was the destruction of the hated Long Walls.

What did Xenophon say about the enemies of Athens?

According to Xenophon, the enemies of Athens "tore them down among scenes of great joy and to the music of flute girls". note. [Xenophon, Hellenica 2.2.24] Inscription documenting repairs to the Long Walls.

How long was the Western Wall of Athens?

The western wall connected the southwest of Athens to its port Piraeus and was about six kilometer long; the eastern wall continued from the south of the city to another port, Phaleron, which was about 5½ kilometer away. Between the two walls, a large triangle of land could be used for agriculture. The walls were finished in 457, ...

What is a long wall?

Q1163616. Long walls: name of Greek fortifications that connected a city with another site, for example a citadel or a port. The best known example is the Athenian wall to Piraeus. History.

What was the construction of the wall around Athens?

Around its top was built a massive wall of cyclopean masonry (a type of construction using huge blocks without mortar). The construction of this wall probably marks the union of the 12 towns of Attica (the department in which Athens lies) under the leadership of Athens, an event traditionally ascribed to Theseus.

Why were the walls important to Athens?

These walls played a vital part in the history of Athens during the Classical period, for they allowed it to carry the supplies brought in by its powerful fleet in safety to the city , even when enemy forces roamed the Attic countryside.

How long did it take to rebuild the Acropolis?

In a period of 40 years the Acropolis was entirely rebuilt in gleaming white marble quarried from Mount Pentelicus, 10 miles north of the city. The first great work was the Parthenon, begun in 447 bce and finished, except for some details, in 438 bce. The architects were Ictinus and Callicrates, and Phidias was in charge of the whole artistic program. The building was considerably larger than was usual, having eight columns across the ends and 17 on the long sides, against six by 13 for the average temple. It was richly decorated with sculpture, having a running frieze all around the top of the cella (the walled-in chamber within the colonnade) wall outside, and sculptured metopes and sculptured pediments. Inside the cella stood the cult statue, the great gold and ivory figure of Athena, the work of Phidias. No sooner was the main work on the Parthenon completed than the Propylaea was begun. This was the monumental gateway, with five doors at the head of the approach, designed by the architect Mnesicles. Its large outer vestibule was covered by a marble ceiling, supported by marble beams with a free span of 18 feet, about which Pausanias wrote, “The Propylaea has a ceiling of white marble which in the beauty and size of the stones remains supreme even to my time.” Work on the Propylaea was nearly finished when it was stopped by the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 432 bce, but, as things began to go well for Athens, the little temple of Athena Nike was erected on the bastion in front of the Propylaea, perhaps in 425 bce. Around the time of the Peace of Nicias (421 bce ), the Erechtheum was begun. This was a small Ionic temple, of highly irregular plan, which housed various early cults and sacred tokens. When the building was about half-finished, work was suddenly interrupted, probably because of the disastrous Athenian expedition to Sicily (415–413 bce ), but it was resumed in 409, and the building was completed in 406. The final defeat of Athens two years later put an end to all building, but the Acropolis had been completed, and in later centuries only secondary buildings and monuments were added.

What was the Acropolis's history?

560–510 bce ). On the Acropolis the old primitive shrines began to be replaced with large stone temples. About 580 bce a temple to Athena known as the Hecatompedon (Hundred-Footer) was erected on the site later to be occupied by the Parthenon. The pediments (triangular spaces forming the gable) of this temple were decorated with large-scale sculpture in gaily coloured porous limestone, representing groups of lions bringing down bulls and depicting snaky-tailed monsters in the angles. These sculptures are now displayed in the New Acropolis Museum. In 566 bce Peisistratus reorganized the Panathenaic Games in honour of Athena on a four-yearly basis. About 530 bce a large peripteral temple (one having a row of columns on all sides) to Athena Polias (Guardian of the City) was erected near the centre of the Acropolis, on the site of the old Bronze Age palace. It had marble pedimental sculpture representing the battle of the gods and giants. Besides these two major temples there were five smaller buildings, treasuries and the like, and a wealth of votive offerings in marble, bronze, and terra-cotta. The Acropolis thus became a full-fledged sanctuary.

What was the change of attitude toward the Acropolis?

This basic change of attitude toward the Acropolis must mean that the whole lower town was surrounded by a fortification wall and the Acropolis was no longer needed for defense. The ancient historians Herodotus and Thucydides tell of such a wall, but no trace of it has been found, and its course and date are uncertain.

What was the Acropolis made of?

Besides these two major temples there were five smaller buildings, treasuries and the like, and a wealth of votive offerings in marble, bronze, and terra-cotta. The Acropolis thus became a full-fledged sanctuary.

When was the Acropolis destroyed?

In 480 bce this flourishing city was captured and destroyed by the Persians. The Acropolis buildings were burned and the houses in the lower town mostly destroyed, except for a few that had been spared to house the Persian leaders.

Why did Athens and other city-states form the Delian League?

After the Greeks destroyed their Persian invaders in the Greco-Persian Wars, Athens and other city-states formed the Delian League as an alliance to defend against future attacks. Most of the city-states didn’t have military resources to contribute, so instead they paid tribute to Athens and became protectorates.

Did the Persians collect tribute money?

The Persians stopped being a significant threat after the war, but Athens kept collecting tribute anyway. The Athenians used the tribute money to build their walls, and the Parthenon, and other stuff that had nothing to with the Delian League. Any city-states that tried to secede were attacked and had their land and ships confiscated.

Why did Sparta not have walls?

Spartans of the Archaic and Classical period took pride in not having walls of stone because it underlined their supreme confidence in their ability to defend their borders (and city) effectively with their active army.

Why did cities build walls?

In the period in question, 8th century in particular, piracy seems to have been one of the major reasons why many cities chose to protect themselves by building walls. However, out of a couple of dozen fortified cities, one or perhaps two minor settlements are not located on places whose geography already acts as fortification on its own, for example hilltops, and very few are not coastal cities, but are located a couple of km inland (Argos is a prime example).

What does Thucydides say about Sparta?

Thucydides complains that Sparta “is not regularly planned” – but then nor is London. And he says it is “simply a collection of villages, in the ancient Hellenic way.”

What if Spartan homes were indeed devoid of elaborate interior paintings because, unlike their Athenian counterparts?

What if Spartan homes were indeed devoid of elaborate interior paintings because, unlike their Athenian counterparts, they were not crammed into an over-crowded city and surrounded by high-walls that blocked out almost all daylight? Spartan houses could be built on a generous plan because the city had no plan. They could incorporate interior courtyards planted with fruit trees and herbs, they could surround themselves with gardens and orchards, they could sparkle not with gold and silver but the glinting of sunlight on water in internal fountains. Spartan homes could have windows that let in the light and they might have decorated their homes, as they did themselves, with things of nature: cut flowers, bowls of fruits, running water. Such things are transient; they rarely leave an archeological record.

What was Sparta's city?

Sparta, far from being a “stinking village” full of pigsties and mud-huts as modern novelists portray it, was a city – as Pausanias describes -- full of marble monuments, pure Doric temples, sun-soaked theaters and imposing stoas. It was a city with large villas set in blooming gardens. And it was a city where the barracks and civic buildings were interspersed between sunny open spaces set aside for running, ball-games and horse-racing. It was a city decorated with fountains and flowering trees. In short, it was a city much as we would plan one today.

When did Sparta try to fortify its villages?

Sparta would try to fortify its villages only in Hellenistic times, in the last quarter of the 4th century, although only with a palisade.

Did Thucydides say that Sparta had temples?

Likewise, when Thucydides writes Sparta “contains no temples or monuments of great magnificence” he is not denying the existence of temples and monuments, only ones “of great magnificence” – such as Pericles built with stolen funds from Athens satellite states without their consent. In short, Thucydides never claimed that Sparta was not a major, metropolitan city, nor did he deny it had notable monuments, he was only making the astute statement that, judged by its buildings alone, future generations would over-estimate the power of Athens and under-estimate that of Sparta.

Overview

History

Archaeological remains

The Acropolis Restoration Project

Cultural significance

Geology

See also

External links