Looking at Athens today, it is hard to imagine that this city, the capital of Greece, was once the cultural
centre of the
world, nearly 2,500 years ago. Although the city is still dotted with ancient and beautiful buildings, monuments and statues, modern Athens, with its noisy and polluting traffic, busy port of Piraeus, bustling streets with shops and offices, and a population of just over 4 million, is like any other major city of the Western world. Athens is situated in the southern part of the mainland of Greece in a region called Attica. About 9.5 kilometres (6 miles) southwest of the city is the Saronic Gulf, an inlet of the Aegean Sea. Athens is
built on a plain. To the north and east are mountains. In places the plain is broken by limestone ridges and crags. The Acropolis, which still dominates the city today, is one of these ridges and stands 156 metres (512 feet) high. Athens probably began as a fortress built on the Acropolis ridge. By the middle of the 6th century BC it had become the greatest city on the mainland of Greece. It was a strong outpost against the invading Persians, who were finally driven out of Europe in 479 BC. After that, Athens became the head of a new league of states to prevent another invasion from Asia. Gradually this league became the great Athenian
Empire. When safety was assured, the money given by other states to help defend the empire was used to transform Athens into the hub of Western Civilization. Pericles, who became leader of Athens in the middle of 5th century BC, was the man responsible for this transformation. Under his guidance the magnificent temples, statues, and monuments that still stand on the Acropolis today, were built. At the top of the path was an all-marble gateway, through which could be seen a colossal bronze statue of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, after whom the city was named. High on the right stood the Parthenon, great temple of Athena. Here was another statue of the goddess, made of gold and ivory and surrounded by all-marble columns. Athena shared with a mystical king of Greece another temple near the Parthenon, whose Porch of the Maidens was supported by six women expertly carved in stone. To the south was the graceful little temple of victory. On the southern slope of the Acropolis was the open-air theatre. The seats were cut out of the rock and ran two-thirds of the way round the circular space in the middle. This space was called the orchestra, meaning “a place for dancing”, where the chorus performed. The stage was just beyond the orchestra, in full view of the 30,000 spectators. Competitions were held to choose the best dramatic chorus – a very important part of Greek plays – and the leader of the winning chorus was given a tripod which he placed on a shrine in the Street of Tripods near by. All this is what would have been seen by anyone who visited Athens in the days of its glory. As well as plays, Athens became noted for its literature, philosophy, education and science. However, over the following centuries the power of Athens crumbled, first against Sparta, next Macedonia, and then in 2nd century BC Athens fell under Roman rule – though it continued to play an important cultural role. When the Roman Empire collapsed in the wake of Byzantine Empire, based in Constantinople, Athens was relegated to a provincial town. The bronze statue of Athena was carried off to Constantinople and destroyed by a mob in 1203. The Ottoman Turks eventually took over this empire and, in 1458, conquered Athens, and the Parthenon became a Muslim mosque. The Turks ruled Athens, and Greece, for four centuries. During this time, most of the city’s ancient monuments were destroyed by fires and bombardments. Greece won independence in 1830, and Athens has been growing rapidly ever since. Many of the ancient buildings that had fallen into ruin under the Turks have been restored, and many new buildings have of course been built. The modern city has spread north and east, and southwest towards the port, Piraeus, about 8 kilometres (5 miles) away. The centre of the city lies to the northeast of the Acropolis, between Constitution Square and Concord Square. Venizelos Avenue and Stadium Street, the main avenues, run parallel to each other and connect these squares. In this area are the main shops, hotels, restaurants, the National Library, the Academy of Athens, and the University of Athens. Near the centre of the city is the Old Palace, which now houses the Greek Parliament. The Royal Palace, once home to the now-exiled royal family, is to the southeast. Not far away is the 70,000 seat stadium, which was reconstructed to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896. Away from these large squares and broad avenues, however, you can still walk down old, narrow streets with their markets for local produce. Together with its port, Piraeus, Athens is the industrial and maritime centre of Greece. Millions of tourists sail to the hundreds of Greek islands from Piraeus. Apart from tourism, the main industries centred round Athens include publishing and the production of textiles, pottery and alcoholic drinks.