A message about the other Greek city of Athens. "Ancient Athens" report

Ancient Athens message will briefly tell you about this city-state of Ancient Greece. You will learn about how the inhabitants of Ancient Athens lived and what was the basis of their state.

"Ancient Athens" report

The formation of the Athenian state in brief

Where was Ancient Athens located? The location of the ancient Greek city-state of Athens is Attica. According to archaeological finds, this region belongs to the southern and eastern parts of Central Greece. Athens was located on the hills of the Pnyx, Acropolis, Areopagus, Nymphaeion and Museion. Each hill had its own function. The meeting hall of the Supreme Judicial Council was located on Areopagus Hill. The rulers of the city lived in the Acropolis. On the rocky, low hill of Pnyx, public meetings were held, speakers were listened to, and important decisions were made. Celebrations and cultural events were held on the Museion and Nymphaeion hills. The streets and roads of the city diverged from the hills, which consisted of internal and external quarters, temples, and public buildings. In the vicinity of the Acropolis, the first settlement arose around 4500 BC.

The legend of the creation of the city of Athens

The city was named after the goddess Athena - the goddess of wisdom and war, patroness of the arts, knowledge, crafts and science. A long time ago, Athena argued with the god of the seas, Poseidon, which of them should be the patron of the new city. Poseidon took the trident and struck it against the rock. A clear source gushed out of it. The God of the Seas said that he would grant the inhabitants water and they would never suffer from drought. But the water in the springs was sea, salty. Athena planted the seed in the ground. An olive tree grew from it. The inhabitants of the city joyfully accepted her gift, as the olive tree gave them oil, food and wood. This is how the city got its name.

Power in Ancient Athens

Issues of foreign and domestic policy were resolved at the people's assembly. All citizens of the policy participated in it, regardless of position. During the year they convened at least 40 times. At the meetings, reports were heard, the construction of public buildings and the fleet, allocations for military needs, food supplies, and questions about relations with other states and allies were discussed. The ecclesias dealt with particular issues on the basis of existing laws. All bills were discussed very carefully and in the form of a trial. The People's Assembly made the final decision.

Also at popular assemblies, elections of persons to government and military positions took place. They were chosen by open voting. The remaining positions were chosen by lot.

Between national assemblies, administrative issues were dealt with by the Council of Five Hundred, which was annually replenished with new citizens who had reached 30 years of age. The council dealt with the current details and prepared a draft decision for the national assembly.

Another authority in Ancient Athens was the jury of helium. All citizens of the city took part in the trial. 5,000 judges and 1,000 substitutes were selected by lot. Lawyers did not take part in court hearings. Each accused defended himself. To compile the text of the speech, logographers were involved - people skilled in laws and rhetoric. Performances were limited by strict regulations, which were determined by the water clock. The court dealt with the litigation of citizens and immigrants, the cases of residents from allied states, and political issues. The decision was made by voting (secret). It was not subject to appeal and was final. Judges taking office took an oath to conduct cases according to the laws and fairly.

Strategists acted together with the Council of Five Hundred. Their competence included the command of the fleet and army, they monitored them in peacetime, and were in charge of the expenditure of military funds. The strategists conducted diplomatic negotiations and were in charge of foreign policy issues.

In the 5th century BC. introduced the position of archons. They did not play a big role, but still the archons were involved in preparing court cases, controlled sacred lands, took care of orphans’ property, appointed choregs, led competitions, religious processions, and sacrifices. They were elected for a year, after which they transferred to the Areopagus, where lifelong membership awaited them.

With the development of Athens, the administrative apparatus increased. Elected positions were also introduced in the divisions of the state - demes, phylas, and phratries. Every citizen was drawn into the social and political life of the city. This is how democracy gradually developed in Ancient Athens. It reached its highest point during the reign of Pericles. He organized the entire legislative supreme power into the ekklesia - the people's assembly. It met every 10 days. The remaining organs of the state were subordinate to the people's assembly.

Education in Ancient Athens

Life in Ancient Athens was subject to more than just politics. Citizens paid an important role to education, which was based on public education and democratic principles. Parents had to provide a comprehensive education for young men. If they did not do this, they were severely punished.

The educational system is aimed at accumulating great scientific information and the constant development of physical natural data. Young people should set high goals for themselves, both intellectual and physical. Schools in Ancient Athens taught 3 subjects - grammar, music and gymnastics. Why was special attention paid to the education of young men? The fact is that the state thus raised healthy offspring, brave and strong warriors.

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The age of Athens is two and a half thousand years. The glorious past of the city is still clearly visible: the ancient Acropolis, towering above the city, is literally visible from everywhere. Today Athens is a modern metropolis, home to about four million people. This great city has changed in the twenty-first century. This happened partly thanks to the 2004 Olympic Games. Now Athens is more than a repository of antiquities. The city has changed a lot and, contrary to the perception of it as a city with a polluted environment and unbearable traffic, it leaves an amazing impression.

The construction boom after the end of World War II and the increase in population from 700 thousand to 4 million people turned into an architectural disaster. However, now the appearance of the city is changing: new roads and metro are being built, and the expansion of the pedestrian zone in the city center has already saved Athens from painful traffic jams and even reduced the cloud of smog, which literally poisons the metropolitan atmosphere. The cleaner air is evident in the rediscovery of the views for which Athens was once famous, and despite the skyscrapers and fast-food outlets, the city manages to retain its unique character and charm.

Oriental bazaars compete with fashion boutiques and shops filled with goods from Armani and Benetton. Rapid modernization is balanced by a sense of homely atmosphere in the air: any Greek will tell you that Athens is the largest village in the country. No matter how often you come to Athens, your attention will be attracted by what has been preserved from the classical ancient city - first of all, the Parthenon and other monuments of the Acropolis, as well as the updated one, which presents the best collection of antiquities.

Most of the several million visitors who visit Athens every year limit themselves to visiting these monuments, adding perhaps only an evening in a romantic atmosphere in one of the Plaka taverns designed for tourists. But in doing so, they miss the chance to see the Athens that the Athenians themselves know and love. Even if you only visited the city for a short time, this does not justify the desire to see Athens only as a collection of preserved antiquities and museum exhibits. It would also be worth spending a little time getting to know the outskirts of the capital and visiting near Athens.

The most accessible place for tourists is probably Plaka, an area where Turkish, neoclassical and Greek island architecture is mixed. Further on there are interesting museums dedicated to traditional arts and crafts, from ceramics to music. A little to the north are the souks, almost the same as in the Middle East, and the additional reward is the cafes, bars, clubs in Psirri and the rapidly developing, as well as the National Park and the shady and elegant. Not so far from Plaka are the hills Lycabettus and Philopappou, from which the entire city is visible at a glance, and there is a tram (in the summer it will take you to the beach). All of the above attractions can be seen during.

But what surprises visitors most of all in Athens is the bustling life of the city. The cafes are always crowded, during the day and after midnight, the streets are not empty until three or even four o’clock in the morning, bars and clubs attract night owls. There are also places to eat in a way that will be remembered for a long time: there are many traditional taverns, and chic restaurants await discerning gourmets. In the summer, cafe tables move onto the street pavements, club life moves to the beaches, and you can go to the cinema, attend concerts and open-air performances based on the works of classical ancient Greek drama. Shopping lovers' eyes run wild: lively colorful bazaars and huge shopping spaces in the suburbs, called "malls" in the American style, and, of course, boutiques filled with the creations of the most fashionable fashion designers.

And very good – and also priced – public transport, inexpensive taxis, so you won’t have any special difficulties getting around. Describing the outskirts of Athens - they and the region as a whole will be discussed in other articles - attention is paid here, first of all, to the monuments of antiquity. The most popular place to visit is the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion: that wonderful architectural monument is located on a cliff overlooking the cape. The sanctuaries of Ramne (Ramnus), Eleusis (Elephsina) and Vravrona, as well as the burial mound at Marathon, built in honor of the great victory, are not so well known and not so frequently visited.

Fans of hiking may want to climb - the mountains have encircled the city, and it is best to climb Mount Parnitha. If it is in the spring, then at the same time you will pick up an armful of a variety of wonderful forest and wildflowers. The beaches on the Attic coast are good enough to attract city-weary Athenians, but if you're visiting the islands, exploring the beaches here isn't necessary. Getting out of Athens is easy: dozens of ferries and hydrofoils leave daily from the Athens suburban port of Piraeus, and also, less frequently, from two other Attic ports with ferry piers - Rafina and Lavrion.

A Brief History of Athens (Greece)

Athens is a city where life began more than seven thousand years ago. The low rocky hill, which later became the Acropolis of Athens, has attracted people since ancient times as a convenient place of settlement. It rises in the middle of a valley watered by the rivers Cephisus and Ilissos and surrounded by the mountains Hymetta, Penterikon, Parnet and Aigalei. The slopes of the hill, whose height is 156 meters above sea level, are inaccessible, and therefore it is natural that all these advantages were appreciated by the ancient inhabitants of Attica. The Mycenaeans built a palace-fortress on the rock.

Unlike other Mycenaean villages, Athens was neither abandoned nor sacked during the Dorian invasion (circa 1200 BC), so the Athenians always prided themselves on being “pure” Ionians, without Dorian “admixture”. But the Mycenaean-type state did not survive in Athens. Gradually the village turned into a polis (ancient city-state) and a cultural center. The rulers of Athens were considered kings - the basilei, who then ceded power to the clan nobility - the eupatrides. Public meetings took place at the Propylaea of ​​the Acropolis. To the west rose the rocky hill of Apec, named after the god of war. Here, on the leveled peak, the Areopagus, the council of elders of the noble families of the city, the Areopagites, gathered. Athens at that time remained in the shadow of large and powerful policies, such as and.

Athens grew richer, and the increased prosperity contributed to the rapid growth of arts and crafts, especially pottery. But economic growth increased political tension: there was growing discontent among farmers and Athenians, who were excluded from public life, but paid taxes and taxes on land that went to the landed aristocracy. The discord could only be stopped by the reconstruction of society, which was aimed at by the laws of Draco (his “Dracontic” code was promulgated in 621 BC) and the election of Solon as ruler (594 BC), who was given powers to carry out radical political and economic reforms.

Solon's reforms provided civil rights to large sections of the population and laid the foundations of the system that over time grew into Athenian democracy. In the middle of the 6th century BC, Peisistratus seized power. Peisistratus is usually called a tyrant, but this only means that he took power by force: his populist policies earned him the loyalty and love of many of his fellow citizens, and he turned out to be a very successful ruler, under whom Athens became much more powerful, richer and more influential. His sons Hippias and Hipparchus were not so happy: Hipparchus was killed in 514 BC, after which Hippias tried to establish a dictatorship.

He was greatly disliked by the people and was overthrown with the help of an army called from Sparta in 510 BC. The new leader Cleisthenes carried out more radical changes: he introduced a government board of 10 strategists, created territorial phyles instead of tribal ones, and each of them sent fifty representatives to the State Council of Bule. Boulet made decisions on issues discussed in the Assembly. All citizens could participate in the Assembly and it performed the functions of both the legislative branch and the supreme court. The reforms proposed by Cleisthenes served as the basis for Athenian democracy, which existed, almost unchanged, until Roman rule.

Around 500 BC, Athens sent a detachment of warriors to Asia Minor to help the Ionian Greeks who rebelled against the Persian Empire, which provoked a retaliatory Persian invasion of Greece. In 490 BC, the Athenians and their allies defeated vastly superior Persian forces at the Battle of Marathon. In 480 BC, the Persians returned, captured and sacked Athens and left almost the entire city burned to the ground. In the same year, however, victory in the naval battle of Athens put an end to the Greek struggle with the Persians, simultaneously securing Athens' position as the leading city-state in the Greek world, and Athens was able to unite the cities of the islands of the Aegean Sea and central Greece into the Delian League, also called Athens Maritime Union.

This newfound power gave rise to the so-called classical period, during which Athens reaped the fruits of its successes and the triumph of democracy along with the flowering of the arts, architecture, literature and philosophy, and the influence of this era on world culture is felt to this day. In the second century BC, power passed to the Romans, who revered Athens as a spiritual source but made little effort to give the city more splendor.

Christians and Turks in Athens (Greece)

The emergence of Christianity is perhaps the most significant milestone in the process of the long decline of Athens, which lost the glory that the city had known in the classical era. At the end of Roman rule, during which the appearance of the city changed little, Athens lost its role as a connecting link in the Greco-Roman world, and the reason for this was the division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western and the formation of Byzantium (Constantinople) as the capital of the eastern Byzantine Empire. In this empire, the new Christian worldview very soon eclipsed the ethics developed by Athens, although Neoplatonism was still taught in the philosophical schools of the city.

In 529, these lyceums were closed, and Justinian I, who put an end to them, ordered at the same time to rededicate the city churches, and all of them, including the Parthenon, became Christian churches. Then Athens almost ceased to be mentioned in chronicles and annals; a hint of revival appeared only during the reign of foreign rulers and the Middle Ages: as a result of the Fourth Crusade, Athens with the Peloponnese and a considerable part of the central part ended up in the hands of the Franks. The ducal court was located on the Acropolis, and for a whole century Athens returned to the mainstream of European life. The Frankish power, however, had almost no one to rely on except the provincial aristocracy.

In 1311, Frankish troops fought with Catalan mercenaries entrenched in Thebes and were driven into a swamp. The Catalans, who organized their own principality, were replaced by the Florentines, and then very briefly by the Venetians, until in 1456 the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II appeared, the conqueror of Constantinople. Athens during the period of Turkish rule was a military settlement with a garrison stationed in it, every now and then (and to the considerable detriment of the buildings of the classical period) finding itself on the front line of battles with the Venetians and other Western powers.

Ties with the West were severed, and only occasionally did French and Italian ambassadors appear in the Sublime Porte. Sometimes rare travelers or curious painters visited Athens. During this period, the Greeks enjoyed some degree of self-government, and the Jesuit and Capuchin monasteries flourished. turned into the residence of the Ottoman ruler, and the Parthenon was converted into a mosque. The areas around the Acropolis returned to the distant past, switched to a partial peasant existence, and the port in Piraeus was forced to be content with servicing a dozen or two fishing boats.

Four hundred years of Ottoman rule ended in 1821, when the Athenian Greeks, along with the inhabitants of dozens of cities in the country, rebelled. The rebels occupied the Turkish areas of the lower city - this is the current one - and besieged the Acropolis. The Turks retreated, but five years later they returned to reoccupy the Athenian fortifications; the Greek rebels had to go deeper into the mainland. When the Ottoman garrison left forever in 1834 and a new, German monarchy arose, 5 thousand people lived in Athens.

Modern Athens (Greece)

Despite its ancient past and the natural advantages of its location, Athens did not immediately become the capital of modern Greece. This honor initially went to Nafplio in the Peloponnese - the city in which Ioannis Kapodistrias developed plans for the War of Independence, and from where he later led it, and where the first meeting of the country's first parliament, the National Assembly, took place in 1828. And if I. Kapodistrias had not been killed in 1831, it is quite possible that the capital would have remained the same, or maybe it would have been moved from Nafplio to Corinth or better equipped and quite large cities.

However, after the death of Kapodistrias, the intervention of the Western European “Great Powers” ​​followed, imposing their monarch on the country - he became Otto, the son of Ludwig I of Bavaria, and in 1834 the capital and royal court moved to Athens. The justification for the move came down to symbolic and sentimental reasons, because the new capital was an insignificant settlement and was located on the very edge of the territory of the new state - it had yet to include northern Macedonia and all the islands except those already existing.

In the 19th century, the development of Athens was a gradual and completely manageable process. While archaeologists were ridding the Acropolis of all the architectural layers with which the Turks and Franks had decorated it, the city was gradually being built: the streets intersected at right angles, and neoclassical buildings in the Bavarian style appeared. Piraeus managed to once again turn into a full-fledged port, because until the beginning of the 19th century it was greatly hampered by competitors - the largest ports of Greece on the islands and. In 1923, at the end of the tragic Greco-Turkish war in Asia Minor, a peace treaty was signed, according to which an “exchange of population” took place: the Turks moved to Greece, the Greeks to Greece, and nationality was determined solely by religion.

One and a half million Greek Christians from centuries-old villages in Asia Minor and the Turkic-speaking but Orthodox population of Anatolia arrived in Greece as refugees. And more than half of this flow settled in Athens, Piraeus and nearby villages, changing the appearance of the capital in one fell swoop. The integration of the new settlers and their efforts to survive constituted one of the greatest pages in the history of the city, and this phenomenon itself left deep traces that are noticeable to this day. The names of the areas located on both sides of the metro line connecting Athens with Piraeus testify to the longing experienced by the new settlers for their forever lost homeland: Nea Zmirni (New Smyrna), Nea Yonia, Nea Philadelphia - such names are common for city blocks and streets.

At first, these neighborhoods were villages in which people from the same Anatolian town settled, who built houses from whatever they could find, and it happened that one well or water tap supplied drinking water to a dozen or two families. The merger of these suburbs with Athens and Piraeus continued until World War II. But the war brought such new worries that all the old ones were temporarily put aside. Athens suffered greatly from the German occupation: in the winter of 1941-1942, according to rough estimates, two thousand people died of starvation every day in the city. And at the end of 1944, when the German occupation ended, the civil war began.

British soldiers were ordered to fight their recent allies in the Greek Resistance Army EL AS because the army was led by communists. From 1946 to 1949, Athens was an island in the stormy sea of ​​war: the roads both to the north and to the north could only be called passable with a very big stretch. But in the 1950s, after the Civil War, the city began to expand rapidly. A program of powerful capital investments in industry was implemented - the money was invested mainly by Americans who wanted to persuade Greece to enter the US sphere of influence, while at the same time the capital experienced an influx of immigrants from impoverished villages devastated by the war.

The vacant lots between the neighborhoods began to be quickly developed, and by the end of the 1960s, Athens had become a major city. Often new developments look dull. Old buildings were demolished; the elements of destruction raged with particular force in 1967-1974, during the junta. Homeowners replaced demolished buildings with multi-apartment residential buildings up to six stories high. The central streets are like canyons - narrow streets seem to be cut between concrete high-rise buildings. Booming industry took over the outskirts, and the combined efforts of city planners and industrialists quickly turned Athens into a polluted megalopolis, suffocating from the toxic fog that descends on it, which is called nefos.

Since the 1990s, in preparation for the Olympics, measures have finally been taken to improve the situation in the city. Although Athens still has a long way to go in terms of green spaces and open spaces, the results of the efforts are already visible. Everything that has survived from the city’s architectural heritage is being restored, public transport is clean, the construction of houses is controlled, new buildings of interesting ultra-modern architecture have appeared (for example, some buildings erected for the Olympics and the unfinished new Acropolis Museum), and the air is not so polluted, like before. I would like to hope that changes in this direction will continue.

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The city of Ancient Greece with the famous Acropolis, Athens, became a symbol of ancient civilization and occupied a central place in the life of the Greeks. The construction of Athens began in the Mycenaean era with the construction of the Peloponnesian palaces. The city grew and over time began to personify all the Greek virtues and enjoy undoubted authority, so that even after the defeat in the Pelononnesian War, the Spartans refused to destroy the city and enslave the citizens.

History of the emergence of the Athenian Empire

Evidence of a historical settlement on the Acropolis has been found near the site of Agora. There is an assumption that it was inhabited as early as 5000, and possibly as early as 7000 BC. According to legend, the Athenian king Kekrops named the city in his honor, but from Olympus it was clear that this city was so beautiful that it deserved an immortal name.

Poseidon struck the rock with his trident, from which water gushed out, and he assured the people that now they would never suffer from drought.

Athena was the last, she sowed a seed into the ground, from which an olive tree quickly grew. The ancient Greeks believed that the olive tree was more valuable than water since it was salty from the kingdom of Poseidon. And Athena was chosen as the patroness of the city, and it was named after her.

The main means of subsistence for the city of Ancient Greece were agriculture and trade, mainly by sea. During the Mycenaean era (circa 1550-1100 BC), massive construction of massive fortresses began throughout Greece, and Athens was no exception. The ruins of the Mycenaean court can still be seen today at the Acropolis.

Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey portrays the Mycenaeans as great warriors and seafarers who traded in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. In 1200 B.C. The Sea Peoples invaded the Greek Aegean archipelago from the south, while the Dorians simultaneously arrived from the north of mainland Greece. When the Mycenaeans invaded Attica (the area surrounding Athens), the Dorians withdrew from the city leaving the ancient Greek city untouched. Although, as in other parts of ancient civilization, after the invasions there was an economic and cultural decline. The Athenians then began to claim a special status in the Ionian Sea.

The Rise of Democracy in Ancient Greece

Wealthy aristocrats established control over the lands; over time, poorer landowners were enslaved by wealthy citizens. The reason for this was the different understanding of the laws of the city of Ancient Greece. One piece of legislation, represented by the writings of the statesman Draco, was considered too difficult to enforce, since most violations carried the death penalty.

The great legislator Solon called for them to be reviewed and changed. Solon, although he himself belonged to aristocratic circles, issued a series of laws that granted the right to vote in political matters to citizens. In doing so, he laid the foundation for democracy in Athens in 594 BC.

After Solon withdrew from government affairs, various factional leaders began to share power. Ultimately, Peisistratus won, recognizing the value of Solon’s laws and calling for them to be carried out unchanged. His son, Hypipios, continued his political path until his younger brother, Hipparkos, was killed in 514 BC. by order of Sparta. After the coup d'etat in Ancient Greece and the settlement of issues with the Spartans, Cleisthenes was appointed to reform the government and legal framework. In 507 BC. he introduced a new form of government, which is today recognized as a democratic regime.

According to historian Waterfield:

“The pride that the citizens of Athens could now participate in public life gave a huge impetus to their development of the city.”.

The new form of government provided the stability necessary for Athens to flourish as the cultural and intellectual center of the ancient world."

The Age of Pericles in Athens

Under Pericles, Athens entered a golden age, which was marked by a cultural upsurge that accompanied the emergence of great thinkers, writers and artists.

After the Athenians defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, and were freed from a second Persian invasion at Salamis in 480 BC, Athens came to be considered the center of naval power in ancient Greece. . The Delian League was formed to create a cohesive defense of the city-states of the ancient civilization to prevent attacks from the Persians. Under the leadership of Pericles, Athens earned such authority that it could make its own laws, introduce customs and trade with its neighbors in Attica and the islands of the Aegean Sea.

The period of Pericles' reign went down in the history of ancient Greece as the golden age of philosophy, artistic and literary arts, and the heyday of Athens. Herodotus, "father of history", wrote his immortal works in Athens. Socrates, "father of philosophy", taught in Athens. Hippocrates, the "father of medicine", practiced in the capital of the ancient civilization. Sculptor Phidias created his best works for the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus and Olympia. Democritus conducted research and found out that the universe consists of atoms. Aeschylus Eurypylus, Aristophanes and Sophocles wrote their famous plays. Plato created an academy of sciences near Athens in 385 BC, then Aristotle founded the Lyceum in the city center.

Combat battles of Athens

The power of the Athenian Empire posed a threat to neighboring states. After Athens sent troops to help the Spartan forces to suppress the Helot rebellion, Sparta invited the ancient Greeks to leave the battlefield and return home. The incident sparked a war that had been brewing for a long time.

Later, when the Ancient Greek city sent its fleet to protect Sosug's ally (Confu) against a Corinthian invasion during the Battle of Sybota in 433 BC, this was interpreted by Sparta as aggression rather than assistance, since Corinth was an ally of Sparta .

The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) between Athens and Sparta, in which all the cities of Ancient Greece were involved in one way or another, ended in defeat for Athens.

All cultural monuments were destroyed. In the city, which has a reputation as an educational center and the culture of the entire civilization, such a phenomenon as the enslavement of the population arose. Athens struggled to maintain its position as an independent state until it was finally defeated in 338 BC. Macedonian troops under the leadership of Philip II in Chaeronea.

After the defeat at the Battle of Sinosephalos in 197 BC. The Roman Empire began its gradual conquest of Ancient Greece. Legend has it that the Roman general Sulla, who was dismissed from a high position in Athens in 87 BC, was the organizer of the massacre of the city's citizens and the burning of the port of Ripaeus.

In the modern world, Athens preserves the heritage of classical art, poetic and artistic achievements. While the Parthenon at the Acropolis continues to symbolize the golden age and heyday of Ancient Greece.

Video of Athens Acropolis of ancient Greece

Athens

Athens

capital of Greece. The city already existed in the Mycenaean era, 1600-1200 gg. BC e. The name is presumably associated with the language of the Pelasgians, pre-Greek. inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula, where it meant "hill, eminence". The name was reinterpreted by the Greeks and is associated with the cult of the goddess Athena. Modern Greek Athenai, Russian traditional Athens.

Geographical names of the world: Toponymic dictionary. - M: AST. Pospelov E.M. 2001.

Athens

(Athínai), capital Greece, on the Attica Peninsula, near the shore of the Aegean Sea; on a hilly plain through which the Kifisos and Ilisos rivers flow. 745 thousand inhabitants (2001), in the Greater Agglomeration 3500 thousand people. The city already existed in the Mycenaean era (XVI-XII centuries BC). In Ancient Greece, a city-state in Attica. From 146 BC e. under the rule of Rome, from the 4th century. - as part of the Byzantine Empire; from 1204 - the capital of the Duchy of Athens; in 1458 it was conquered by the Turks. In 1821–29 – adm. and cultural-political. center, and since 1834 - the capital of Greece. Now the chief economist. and cult. center of the country. Concentrates approx. 2/3 prom. production: metallurgy, machinery, oil refinery, chemicals, cellulose paper, textiles, leather footwear, sewing, food. industry Important transport node; port, fused with its outport city. Piraeus . Intl. Elinikon airport. Metropolitan. University (1837). AN, national library. Museums: national archaeol., decorative arts, Byzantine, Acropolis, national. painting gallery. A major tourism center. A combination of monuments of antiquity, the Byzantine Middle Ages and modern ones. The development gives A. a unique appearance. The city is dominated by the peaks of the Acropolis (approx. 125 m) and Lycabettus (approx. 275 m) hills. Acropolis (with temples: Parthenon, Nike, Erechtheion) and square. Agora (prototype of the Roman Forum) – cult, center (5th century BC); the Areopagus and Pnyx hills are the centers of societies. and watered. life of the Ancients. Among the ancient Greek buildings: the temple of Olympian Zeus, the Hephaestion, the theaters of Dionysus and Odeon, etc. The following churches have been preserved from the Byzantine era: Agios Eleftherios, Ayi Apostoli on the Agora. Regular modern layout. A. was founded in 1832. Buildings of the 19th century. (neoclassicism): royal palace (now parliament), National. library, university, Academy of Sciences. In 1896, the Games of the First Olympiad took place in Azerbaijan.

Dictionary of modern geographical names. - Ekaterinburg: U-Factoria. Under the general editorship of academician. V. M. Kotlyakova. 2006 .

Athens

the capital of modern Greece, the center of the nome (administrative district) of Attica and the famous city of Ancient Greece. The ancient city was located 5 km from Phaleron Bay (modern Faliron) of the Aegean Sea, the modern metropolis moved close to the sea and stretched along its shore (Saronikos Gulf) for 30 km.
Geographical location and climate. The plain on which Athens is located opens southwest to the Saronic Gulf, where the port of Piraeus, the sea gate of Athens, is located 8 km from the city center. On other sides, Athens is bordered by mountains ranging in height from 460 to 1400 m. Mount Pentelikon in the north still provides the city with white marble, from which the Acropolis was built 2500 years ago, and Mount Hymettus (modern Imitos), glorified by the ancients, in the east, with its unusual color Athens has the epithet “violet-crowned” (Pindar), and is still famous for its honey and spices.
From mid-May to mid-September, and often later, there is almost no rain in Athens. Temperatures can rise to 30°C or more in the middle of the day; summer evenings are usually cool and pleasant. When the rains come in autumn, the heat-weary landscape awakens as the leaves turn green and the evenings become cooler. Although there is almost no frost or snow in Athens (minimum temperatures rarely fall below 0°C), Athens winters are generally cold.
Population Athens itself, according to the 1991 census, numbered 772.1 thousand people, but in Greater Athens, which includes the port city of Piraeus and a significant part of the Attica region, there were over 3.1 million people - almost 1/3 of the total population of Greece.
The city's attractions. The central part of Athens is divided into a number of clearly distinct areas. Behind the Acropolis, which forms the core of the ancient city, lies Plaka, the oldest residential area of ​​Athens. Here you can see monuments from the ancient, Byzantine or Turkish periods, such as the octagonal Tower of the Winds, built in the 1st century. BC, tiny Byzantine church from the 12th century. Agios Eleftherios (or the Lesser Metropolis), hidden in the shadow of the huge cathedral built in modern times (the Greater Metropolis), or the elegant stone door of the Turkish religious school - madrasah, the building of which has not survived.
Most of Plaka's old houses have now been converted into tourist shops, cafes, night bars and restaurants. Descending from the Acropolis in a northwest direction, you come out to the Monastiraki area, where artisan shops have been located since medieval times. This distinctive shopping area stretches north to Omonia (Concord) Square.
From here along University Street (Panepistimiou) in a south-easterly direction, you can walk to the center of the modern city, passing the richly decorated buildings of the National Library (1832), the University (1837, both by the Danish architect H.C. Hansen) and the Academy (1859, Danish architect T.E. Hansen), built in the neoclassical style after the liberation of Greece from the Turkish yoke, and get to Syntagma (Constitution) Square - the administrative and tourist center of Athens. On it stands the beautiful building of the Old Royal Palace (1834–1838, German architects F. Gärtner and L. Klenze, now the seat of the country's parliament), there are hotels, outdoor cafes, many banks and institutions. Further east towards the slopes of Lykabettus Hill are Kolonaki Square, a new cultural center including the Byzantine Museum (founded 1914), the Benaki Museum (founded 1931), the National Art Gallery (founded 1900), the Conservatory and the Concert Hall. To the south are the New Royal Palace, built at the end of the 19th century. (now the official residence of the country's president), the National Park and the Great Panathenaic Stadium, reconstructed to host the revived Olympic Games in 1896.
City and suburbs. The village of Kifissia, located among pine-covered hills 20 km north of Athens, has long been a favorite vacation spot for townspeople. During Turkish rule, wealthy Turkish families made up half of the population of Kifissia, and after the liberation of Greece, wealthy Greek shipowners from Piraeus built luxurious villas there and laid a railway to the port. This line, half underground and crossing the central part of Athens, is still the only urban rail road. In 1993, the city began construction of the metro, which was scheduled to be put into operation in 1998, but a number of archaeological finds made during the work delayed its launch until 2000.
Between the two world wars, Glyfada, located on the seashore about 15 km south of the city center, became a popular resort for Athenians.
The area between Kifissia and Glyfada is already almost completely built up, mainly with 6-9-storey buildings. Once outside the city, you can still escape the heat on the wooded slopes of the three large mountains that frame Athens. Mount Ymitos in the east, long known for its honey and herbs, is decorated with an elegant ancient monastery. Currently, a nature protection zone has been established here. Mount Pentelikon in the northeast is pitted with quarries (their marble was also used to build the Parthenon). There is a monastery and rural taverns on it. The highest mountain, Parnitos, north of Athens, is lined with numerous hotels.
Education and culture. The buildings of the University of Athens are a prominent architectural landmark in the city center, and its students take an active part in the life of Athens. Students make up a large part of the population in the part of the city that lies between the huge building of the National Archaeological Museum on Patission Street (October 28) and the ornate university buildings on Akademias and Panepistimiou streets. Athens has its fair share of international students, many of them studying at archaeological institutes established in Greece by other countries (such as the American School of Classical Studies and the British School of Archaeology).
In addition to numerous archaeological museums and institutes, Athens has the National Art Gallery, the Opera House and a number of other theatres, a new concert hall, many cinemas and small art galleries. In addition, during the summer months, the Athens Festival organizes evening performances in the ancient amphitheater at the foot of the Acropolis. Here you can enjoy ballets and other performances by famous world troupes, performances by symphony orchestras, as well as productions of dramas by ancient Greek authors.
City government. The small population in Greece and the desire to unite the people after long Turkish rule contributed to a strong centralization of government. Accordingly, although the position of the mayor of Athens is elected, his powers are very limited, and almost all decisions on the city's problems are considered by the country's parliament.
Economy. Athens has long served as the industrial and commercial center of Greece. In Athens, together with its suburbs, approximately 1/4 of all industrial companies in Greece and almost 1/2 of all those employed in Greek industry are concentrated. The following main industrial sectors are represented here (part of the enterprises are located in Piraeus): shipbuilding, flour milling, brewing, wine and vodka, soap making, carpet weaving. In addition, the textile, cement, chemical, food, tobacco and metallurgical industries are developing rapidly. Exports from Athens and Piraeus are mainly olive oil, tobacco, textiles, wine, leather goods, carpets, fruits and some minerals. The most important imports are machinery and transport equipment, including ships and cars, petroleum products, metals and hardware, fish and livestock products, chemicals and paper.
Story. In the 2nd century. AD, during the time of the Roman Empire, Athens was still a majestic city, the magnificent public buildings, temples and monuments of which Pausanias described in detail. However, the Roman Empire was already in decline, and a century later Athens began to be subject to frequent raids by the barbarian tribes of the Goths and Heruli, who in 267 almost completely destroyed the city and turned most of its buildings into heaps of ruins. This was the first of four catastrophic destructions that Athens was to endure.
The first revival was marked by the construction of a new wall that surrounded a small area of ​​the city - less than 1/10 of its original area. However, the prestige of Athens in the eyes of the Romans was still high enough for local philosophical schools to be revived, and already in the 4th century. Among the students was the future Emperor Julian. However, the influence of Christianity in the Roman world gradually increased, and in 529 Emperor Justinian anathematized all the hotbeds of “pagan” wisdom and closed classical philosophical schools in Athens. At the same time, all the main Greek temples were converted into Christian churches, and Athens became the center of a small provincial episcopate, completely drowned in the shadow of the new capital of Constantinople.
The next 500 years in the history of Athens were peaceful and calm. 40 Byzantine churches were built in the city (eight of them survive to this day), including one (St. Apostles, restored in 1956) between the Acropolis and the ancient Athenian agora (market square). When at the beginning of the 12th century. This peaceful period ended, Athens found itself at the center of clashes between Arabs and Christian crusaders, who challenged each other for dominance over the eastern Mediterranean. After predatory raids that lasted about a hundred years, in 1180 the Arabs turned most of Athens into ruins. In 1185, the Athenian Archbishop Acominatus vividly depicted the picture of destruction: the city was defeated and plundered, the inhabitants were hungry and in rags. Then, in 1204, the devastation of Athens was completed by the invading crusaders.
Over the next 250 years, the Athenians lived as slaves under the yoke of successive rulers - Western European knights ("Franks"), Catalans, Florentines and Venetians. Under them, the Acropolis was turned into a medieval fortress, a palace was built above the Propylaea, and a high observation tower was erected on the bastion of the Temple of Athena Nike (which stood out in the panorama of Athens throughout much of the 19th century).
After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, Greece and with it Athens found themselves under the rule of new masters. The devastated surrounding lands gradually began to be cultivated again by Christian Albanians, who were transported here by the Turks. For two centuries, the Athenians lived poorly but relatively quietly in the Plaka quarter, while their Turkish overlords settled on the Acropolis and in the agora area. The Parthenon turned into the main city mosque, the Christian observation tower into a minaret, and built in the 1st century. The Tower of the Winds is in the tekke where the dervishes danced.
The peaceful period ended in the 17th century, when Athens was again devastated, this time by the Venetians, who drove out the Turks in 1687, but then were forced to leave the city after a plague epidemic. However, life in Athens resumed its normal course under Turkish rule, and it was not until the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s that the city came under siege. In 1826 it was destroyed for the fourth and last time when the Turks tried to expel the rebel Greeks from it. This time the Turkish victory was short-lived, and four years later Greek independence was confirmed by international agreement.
Almost immediately after liberation, ambitious plans arose to transform Athens into a majestic metropolitan city. These plans seemed unrealistic at the time: almost the entire city was in ruins, and its population had sharply declined. In fact, when the new Greek king Otto of Bavaria arrived here in 1834, Athens was little different from a village and did not have a palace suitable for a royal residence. However, several main streets and a number of monumental public buildings were soon rebuilt, including the royal palace in Syntagma Square and the complex of houses of the University of Athens. In the following decades, new structures were added: the National Park, the Zappion Exhibition Hall, the New Royal Palace, the Olympic Swimming Pool and the restored Panathenaic Stadium. At the same time, several richly decorated mansions appeared in Athens, which differed sharply from the typical one- and two-story buildings.
At the same time, archaeological excavations and restoration work were actively carried out; the layers of the Turkish and medieval periods were gradually removed from the Acropolis, and its ancient structures were carefully restored.
The next major change in the appearance of Athens, which had become a city of half a million people, came in the early 1920s, when a stream of Greek refugees expelled by the Turks from Asia Minor poured in, and the city's population almost doubled. To solve this critical problem, the suburbs were developed in a short time with international assistance, and the main directions for the future planning of Athens were outlined.
As a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, secured by the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), Greece almost doubled its territory and population, and soon Athens took a prominent place among the capitals of the Balkan countries. Piraeus, the port of Athens, has become important on the Mediterranean Sea and has become one of the busiest ports in the world.
During World War II, Athens was occupied by German troops, followed by a civil war (1944–1949). At the end of this difficult decade, Athens entered another period of accelerated development. The city's population grew significantly, new suburbs emerged, the sea coast was landscaped, villas and hotels appeared everywhere, ready to accommodate the expanding flow of tourists. Athens was almost completely reconstructed between 1950 and 1970. Traditional one- and two-story houses have given way to six-story residential complexes, and quiet, shady streets have given way to busy highways. As a result of these innovations, the traditional atmosphere of serenity for Athens disappeared, and many green spaces disappeared. The city continued to grow between 1970 and 1990, but authorities now have to pay much more attention to the problems of traffic control and pollution that Athens shares with many other modern capitals.
LITERATURE
Kolobova K.M. The ancient city of Athens and its monuments. L., 1961
Shakhnazaryan N.A. The emergence of the Athenian state. Yerevan, 1962
Brashinsky I.B. Athens and the Northern Black Sea region in the 6th–2nd centuries. BC. M., 1963
Zelin K.K. The struggle of political groups in Attica in the 6th century. BC. M., 1964
Frolov E.D. Social and political struggle in Athens at the end of the 5th century. BC. (Materials and documents). L., 1964
Ritsos D.N. . Technical problems caused by the rapid growth of Athens. Budapest, 1972
Brunov N.I. Monuments of the Athens Acropolis. Parthenon and Erechtheion. M., 1973
Gluskina L.M. . Problems of the socio-economic history of Athens in the 4th century. BC. L., 1975
Korzun M.S. Social and political struggle in Athens in 444–425 BC. Minsk, 1975
Dovatur A.I. Slavery in Attica in the 6th–5th centuries. BC. L., 1980
Mikhalkovsky K., Dzevanovsky A. Acropolis. Warsaw, 1983
Sidorova N.A. Athens. M., 1984
History of Ancient Greece. M., 1986
Strogetsky V.M. Greek historical thought of the classical and Hellenistic periods on the stages of development of Athenian democracy. Gorky, 1987
State, politics and ideology in the ancient world. L., 1990
Kumanetsky K. Cultural history of ancient Greece and Rome. M., 1990
Latyshev V.V. Essay on Greek Antiquities. St. Petersburg, 1997

Encyclopedia Around the World. 2008 .

ATHENS

GREECE
Attica, or the Attic Plain, is surrounded on all sides by mountains: from the west it is Aegaleos (465 m), from the north Parnet (1413 m), from the northeast Pentelikon (1109 m) and from the east Hymette (1026 m). To the southwest and south, a low range of hills slopes gently towards the Aegean Sea. Here, on the Attic plain, there is a city that has no equal in the world. This is Athens - the center of the centers of the whole world.
The name of the city comes from the name of the goddess Athena - the patroness of wisdom and knowledge. The first settlements on the site of modern Athens are known from the 16th-13th centuries. BC e. In Ancient Greece, Athens was a large city-state. After the enormous destruction brought by the Persian invasion, the city underwent reconstruction in the 5th century BC. e. This era is called the Golden Age of Greece. Rich silver deposits helped finance a widespread construction campaign, initiated by the famous politician of Ancient Athens - Pericles. At this time, the Parthenon, the most significant monument of the city, was built. Athens was the birthplace of many great thinkers: Plato and Aristotle, Sophocles and Euripides. The era of prosperity was followed by centuries of decline and dependence. In 146 BC. e. - 395 AD e. Athens was under the rule of Rome, and in the years 395-1204 - Byzantium. In 1204-1458, Athens became the capital of the Duchy of Athens, in 1458 it was captured by Turkey, and in 1834 it became the capital of independent Greece. Modern Athens is characterized by tall residential buildings, wide highways and sparse green spaces.
The capital of Greece and the region of Attica has about 900 thousand inhabitants. Together with the port of Piraeus and its suburbs, Athens forms Greater Athens with a population of about 4 million people.
When approaching the port of Piraeus past the island of Salamis or approaching the capital along the new highway, you can still recognize from afar the main monument of Athens - the Acropolis. And today, as in ancient times, it is the emblem of Athens and Greece. The Acropolis of Athens is a high hill, white ruins of once beautiful buildings. For three millennia, the walls of the Acropolis, rising 152 meters above sea level, protected the largest Greek settlement. Often tourists stop in the Greek capital only to visit the Acropolis with the majestic Parthenon - the temple of the city's patron goddess Athena (VI century BC). Propylaea, look at the caryatids supporting the portico of the Erechtheion temple, stroll through the ancient quarter of Plaka, and then go to the islands. At the height of summer, heat and traffic jams cause inconvenience to tourists. In addition, Athens, surrounded on three sides by mountains, is known for its smog. And yet it is worth staying in this full of contrasts, exciting, sunny city to feel the charm of its countless taverns and coffee shops, enjoy the exquisite cuisine in the restaurants, and spend the night in an extravagant disco where oriental music is played. In Athens you can find absolutely everything: art galleries, cozy retro-style squares, museums with unique collections of ancient art, fashion boutiques and bustling markets with goods from all over the world and much more. The saying “Greece has everything” primarily applies to Athens.
The building of an ancient palace (1842), built in the city center, houses the country's highest legislative body - the parliament. Behind the palace lies the National Park, famous for its palm trees, tropical plants and abundance of cats. In front of the parliament building, a monument to the Unknown Soldier was erected in memory of the soldiers who died during the liberation of Greece from fascist troops. Tourists watch with interest the changing of the guard of Greek infantrymen dressed in traditional short pleated skirts and clogs with pom-poms.
Syntagma Square is located in the center of Athens. The most expensive hotels in the city are concentrated here. A contrast to the fashionable neighborhoods is Omonia Square with its adjacent neighborhoods. In the narrow streets, literally at every step you can come across shops selling cheap goods, street vendors scurry about everywhere, and numerous cafes, bars and inexpensive restaurants offer a variety of sandwiches, croissants, souvlaki and, of course, grape wine and aromatic Greek coffee.
In the eastern part of the city, north of the Acropolis, is the Plaka quarter. This corner of Athens seems to take us back to past centuries. The narrow, crooked streets here seem to climb up the slopes of the Acropolis, connecting to each other with stone stairs. In small houses with tiled roofs or flat terraced roofs, there are numerous workshops where artisans make souvenirs, often based on ancient Greek designs, and sell them right there in small shops. In Plaka there are buildings of the first university of Athens, several original churches, including the 11th century, and a very popular Shadow Theater in the city.
Fans of ancient history and culture will find several extremely interesting collections in the capital's museums. The National Archaeological Museum, founded in 1881, houses the treasures found by Schliemann and his followers in the tombs of the Mycenaean kings, exhibits a collection of sculptures from the earliest works to masterpieces of Hellenistic art, a collection of vases and terracotta, ancient Greek ceramics and paintings. The Byzantine Museum houses a unique collection of early Christian sculptures and mosaics, as well as Byzantine icons. In the Goulandris Museum you can see a collection of idols from the Cyclades islands, examples of ancient and Cycladic art.
In addition, Athens is home to several medieval churches from the Byzantine era. National Gallery of Paintings and Ceramics. Agora Museum and theaters, including the National Lyric Theater. National Greek folk.
Attica is unique in its beauty. Once here, you get a unique opportunity to visit Delphi, Argos, explore the Corinth Canal, visit the Lion Gate, the Palace of Agamemnon and the tombs.
Industrially, Athens plays a huge role in the Greek economy. Greater Athens produces over 2/3 of all-Greek industrial output. The textile, clothing, leather and footwear, food, chemical, oil refining, metallurgical, engineering (including shipbuilding), and automotive industries are developed. This large trading city is an important transport hub, industrial, cultural and scientific center of the entire country. Elinikon International Airport is located in Athens. It has its own metro. Athens is a center of international tourism of world importance.
A university was opened in Athens in 1837, and two conservatories were opened in 1871 and 1926. The Academy of Sciences and the National Library operate. Athens is the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The world's first Olympics were held here in 1896.

Encyclopedia: cities and countries. 2008 .

Athens

Athens - capital of Greece (cm. Greece) and the region of Attica, has 757,400 inhabitants (2003), and together with the port of Piraeus and its suburbs - about 4 million. Tourists often stop in the Greek capital only to visit the famous Acropolis. There is a subway. The Acropolis is a rocky hill 156 m high, a symbol of Greek civilization. It has been the center of the city since the 2nd millennium BC. e. Its classical buildings were made after the Greco-Persian Wars during the reign of the great Pericles, who wanted to emphasize the leading role of Athens in the liberation of Greece. At the top of the hill, the central place is occupied by the majestic temple of the virgin goddess Athena - the Parthenon, which is considered the most perfect structure of Greek antiquity. The temple was built in 448–438 BC. e. by the architect Callicrates, apparently based on the artistic image of the great Phidias. An elongated rectangular building with a gable roof forming triangular fields (pediments), surrounded by Doric columns with exquisite Ionic capitals, the famous sculptor Phidias and his students decorated it with friezes and bas-reliefs. The Propylaea, the entrance to the Acropolis in the form of a marble colonnade and adjacent rooms, was built in 437–432 BC.
Other ancient buildings are also impressive - the Erechtheion Temple, the Theater of Dionysus. In Greece, the beginning of theatrical performances was associated with a ritual in honor of the god Dionysus (in ancient Greek mythology, this is the god of the productive forces of nature, the life-giving sap of trees, mainly grapevines). The Acropolis underwent major changes, but still retained its appearance for a long time. The greatest damage was caused to it by the Crusaders, as well as the Turks, who set up a gunpowder warehouse in the Parthenon, which, naturally, exploded. The original sculptures of Phidias were sold by the Turkish administration to the British ambassador and now most of these treasures are in the British Museum. In the 20th century, environmental pollution took first place among the threats. Therefore, the remaining figures are already in museums, and exact copies are exhibited in the open air.
To the northwest of the Acropolis is the ancient Agora Square. To the southeast are visible the majestic columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus (175-132 BC). Monuments of Roman rule have also been preserved - the arch and library of Hadrian (120-130 AD), the Roman Agora, etc.; Byzantine period - churches of the Lesser Metropolia, Kapnikarea (both 12th century). On the northern slope of the Acropolis is the ancient district of Plaka with narrow, crooked streets connected by stone stairs. Along the streets there are small houses with tiled roofs or flat terraced roofs. This exotic quarter has many artisan workshops, shops, taverns and coffee shops that attract tourists. In Plaka there is the building of the first university of Athens, several original churches, including the 11th century, and the very popular Shadow Theater in the city.
Tourists usually limit themselves to visiting the antiquities and walking around the Plaka quarter, and then go to the islands. At the height of summer, the heat and traffic jams cause inconvenience. In addition, Athens, surrounded on three sides by mountains, is known for its smog. And yet it is worth staying in this full of contrasts, exciting, sunny city to feel the charm of its countless taverns and coffee shops, enjoy the exquisite cuisine in the restaurants, and spend the night in an extravagant disco where oriental music is played. In Athens you can find absolutely everything: art galleries, cozy retro-style squares, museums with rare collections of ancient art, fashion boutiques and bustling markets with goods from all over the world and much more.
The building of an ancient palace (1842), built in the city center, houses the country's highest legislative body - the parliament. Behind it lies the National Park, famous for its palm trees and tropical plants. In front of the parliament building, a monument to the Unknown Soldier was erected in memory of the soldiers who died during the liberation of Greece from fascist troops. Tourists watch with interest the changing of the guard of Greek infantrymen dressed in traditional short pleated skirts and clogs with pom-poms.
Syntagma Square is located in the center of Athens. The most expensive hotels are concentrated here, such as the Grand Bretagne. A contrast to the fashionable neighborhoods is Omonia Square with its adjacent neighborhoods. In the narrow streets, literally at every step you can come across shops selling cheap goods, street vendors scurry about, numerous cafes, bars and inexpensive restaurants offer a variety of sandwiches, croissants, souvlaki and, of course, grape wine and aromatic Greek coffee. There are many inexpensive but quite decent hotels here.
Fans of ancient history and culture will find several extremely interesting collections in the capital's museums. The National Archaeological Museum, founded in 1881, houses the treasures found by Schliemann and his followers in the tombs of the Mycenaean kings, exhibits a collection of sculptures from the earliest works to masterpieces of Hellenistic art, a collection of vases and terracotta, ancient Greek ceramics and paintings. The Byzantine Museum houses a unique collection of early Christian sculptures and mosaics, as well as Byzantine icons. In the Goulandris Museum you can see a collection of sculptures from the Cyclades Islands, examples of ancient and Cycladic art.
In 2004, the 28th Olympic Games were held in Athens.

Encyclopedia of tourism Cyril and Methodius. 2008 .

general information

Athens is not a resort destination, unlike many other Greek cities that attract tourists with their sunny beaches. The cultural capital of Greece is rich in history and has many famous attractions. Therefore, neither the smog that reigns in the air over the city, nor the modest architecture of the homes of local residents repel guests of Athens who want to join the rich cultural heritage of the cradle of European civilization.

Many visitors to Athens are surprised at how the streets of the capital transform at nightfall. A sultry day scorched by the sun turns into an incendiary noisy night, many people walk the streets, changing bars and cafes, enjoying communication and live music. Local establishments are open all night in Athens, local delicious food and drinks are served in cafes until 3-4 am. During the warm season, all events - exhibitions, bazaars, performances and concerts - take place in the fresh air. Bars and cafes, discos and clubs also invite guests to relax in open areas. Athens has a well-developed transport network, which makes it easy to get around the city.

Athens experienced its dawn many centuries ago. As for its origins, they are lost in the mists of time. Today it is the capital of Greece, and in size it is the largest city in the country that gave the world Homer, ancient heroes, and Olympic competitions. This is a city where ancient traditions and modern life form a single whole. It is impossible to find a similar city in Europe, because the cradle of the greatest civilization remains unique for centuries.

City `s history

The ancient city of Athens is one of the most famous historical monuments in Greece. The exact date of the founding of this city is unknown, but a reliable fact is that the heyday of Athens occurred in the 5th century BC. The ancient city, playing a leading role in Ancient Greece along with Sparta, became one of the cradles of ancient Greek culture.

This old city has lived through many historical eras, one after another. Athens witnessed the heyday of the Golden Age of Greece, the age of heroes and great achievements. The best experts in crafts lived here, numerous trade routes ran here, and warriors were famous for their courage and strength. Athens was one of the most important cities in Greece until the rise of the Roman Empire.

This is interesting
Tradition says that when the city of Athens was still a small village, King Kekrop, who ruled in those places, who had the appearance of a half-man, half-snake, decided to choose a patron for the city and the people living in that area. He announced that only the god who would present the city with the best and most useful gift would become a patron. Immediately the mighty Poseidon, the ruler of the seas, appeared before the astonished people and shook the earth with his trident. At the site of the powerful blow, a fountain soared into the sky, but the people’s joy was short-lived, because the water in it turned out to be salty. Then the beautiful and wise Pallas Athena appeared, presenting people with a wonderful olive tree. They liked the gift and, jubilantly, the residents of the city proclaimed the one who later protected Odysseus during his wanderings as the patroness of the city.

This is interesting
“Draconian methods” or “Draconian laws” is a fairly famous expression among people. But few people know that draconian laws really existed. The origins of this expression are found in ancient Athens, in 621 BC. This year, the very first set of rights for ordinary residents and rules of conduct were compiled in Athens. The creator of this code was Draco, an Athenian statesman. The norms and rules prescribed in this decree were incredibly cruel. Based on the provisions of the created law, people could be executed, for example, for stealing vegetables, berries and fruits. According to data that has come down to our time, these laws were written in real human blood - this made the code seem much more terrible.
Later, other laws existed in other states, but no other set of laws and rules knew such terrible, cruel absurdity. Subsequent laws were never written in human blood. Now, when any person uses excessive methods of punishment or his terrible temper, we talk about him as a person who uses draconian methods in his behavior.

The cultural upsurge of Athens began in the 19th century. In 1833, the city was proclaimed the capital of the Kingdom of Greece, which was headed in 1834 by the Greek king Otto of Bavaria, who, intending to return the city to its former greatness, invited Leo von Klenze and Theophilus von Hansen to Athens, who built several main streets in the neoclassical style, in including Syntagma Square, the University of Athens, the National Park, the Zappeion Exhibition Hall, and in 1896 the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens at the newly built Panathinaikos Stadium.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, archaeological and restoration work began in the city, and in the 20s a Greek-Turkish agreement on population exchange was signed. The Athenians and their descendants expelled from Asia Minor by the Ottomans returned to their homeland, and the population of the city increased to two million. Also, as a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, under the Treaties of London and Bucharest, Greece almost doubled its territory and population, and Athens very soon took its rightful place among European capitals.

During World War II, the city of Athens was occupied by German troops. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, Athens, as in Greece as a whole, began an accelerated period of development, which lasted until 1980, when the problem of overpopulation in the capital and the problem of transport first made themselves felt. In 1981, Greece joined the European Union, which brought Athens not only large investments, but also a number of urban-ecological problems that are still being solved to this day. A real breakthrough in the fight against smog in the 1990s was the introduction of modern measures, and now smog today does not appear even at air temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Also, several transport highways and a new metro line for the 2004 Olympics were built in the city, which made it possible to get closer to solving the transport issue.

At the moment, Athens is a large metropolis with ancient monuments, world famous for its nightlife and top-level shopping centers.

Attractions

Athens is rich in history and cultural heritage. A tourist who is interested in painting and architecture will find a lot of unique exhibits of fine art, archaic sculptures and samples of ancient stucco. In Athens there is a world-famous bronze image of Zeus; the creation date of this historical masterpiece is considered to be the 5th century BC.

Athens Acropolis

Coordinates: 37.971543, 23.725725

Each Greek polis had its own Acropolis, but not one of them can be compared with the splendor and monumentality of the Athenian one.

National Archaeological Museum in Athens

Coordinates: 37.988956, 23.732695

The largest museum in Greece and one of the largest museums in the world, with an area of ​​more than 8 thousand meters.

Byzantine Museum

Coordinates: 37.975381, 23.744542

In 1914, the Byzantine Museum was founded in Athens, dedicated to Byzantine and Christian art.