Athens is a city named after Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom and just war. Geographical location: Central Greece, Attica Peninsula. Modern Athens is the cultural and economic administrative center of Greece, home to more than 750,000 inhabitants (2003).

Even in ancient times, Athens was the largest city-state in Attica, whose legacy is of great importance in the modern world. Ancient Athens is the birthplace of democracy, various directions of philosophy and the art of theater. According to historians, the first records date back to 1600-1200. to. AD (Mycenaean era). Archaeological research in Athens began in the 30s of the 19th century and was inconsistent, and only in the 70-80s. excavations took a systematic approach. During the research, many historical values ​​were discovered.

Sights of Athens

Acropolis and Parthenon

The main attractions of Athens are the Acropolis and the Parthenon, which are located on a 156-meter rocky hill. In ancient times, these places were used for the construction of temples dedicated to the great Greek gods, and also confirmed the status of Athens as a beautiful city , center of culture and art. Today, the Acropolis and Parthenon are a must-see for millions of tourists who come to Athens.

Theater of Dionysus

The orchestra of the Theater of Dionysus gave premieres of works by Aristophanes, Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. Finding this ancient building is not at all difficult: the theater is located on the southeastern slope of the Acropolis hill.

Temple of Zeus

The Temple of Olympian Zeus (Olympion) is located in the very center of Athens. In Ancient Greece it was the largest temple. Due to its location, Olympion is clearly visible from the Acropolis.
Opening hours: Tue – Sun: 8:30 – 15:00. Mon: closed

National Archaeological Museum

The National Archaeological Museum, which has collected a huge collection of exhibits within its walls, is located in the center of Athens. The exhibition is so extensive that you will have to spend several hours exploring it. For the convenience of visitors, the halls in the museum are arranged in chronological order: from the Mycenaean period and the Cycladic culture, covering the ancient period, to the present day.
Opening hours:
Summer: Mon: 12.30 – 19.00; Tue – Fri: 8.00 – 19.00; Sat, Sun: 8.30 – 15.00
Winter: Mon: 10.30-17.00; Tue – Fri: 8.00 – 19.00; Sat, Sun: 8.30 – 15.00

One of the most fascinating places when visiting Athens is the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, which was a landmark for sailors in ancient times. Cape Sounion is known for its beautiful sunsets that paint the sky an amazing bright red. You can get to this place by renting a car or by taking the Athens-Sounio intercity bus. And don’t forget to make a wish at sunset at the foot of the temple, they say that it will definitely come true.

While vacationing in Greece, numerous tourists flock to Athens to enjoy a wide range of excursion programs. You can book an excursion directly from the tour operator or find a private guide. Some of the most attractive excursions are a visit to the Acropolis and the old city, a sightseeing tour of Athens, an excursion to Argolis from Athens, Athens at night. A huge number of excursions will not leave even the most fastidious tourist indifferent - everyone will find the most interesting and educational for themselves.

Athens Hotels

Like any other metropolis, Athens has a huge number of hotels in various price categories. You can find either a completely budget option for accommodation or choose a luxurious five-star hotel for your holiday in Athens, located right on the seashore. Moreover, according to research from the Hotels.com portal, they are recognized as the most affordable in Europe. The average cost of living is no more than 2,500 rubles per day per person.

“Athens is one of the greatest Greek cities. In people's minds it is associated with all of Ancient Greece. In part, this is deserved, because many of the achievements of Hellenic civilization appeared in Athens. The city gave Greece dozens of philosophers, poets, playwrights, orators, historians, and politicians. Athens powerfully attracted the best people of Greece. Even the Roman conquerors paid tribute to the city, sparing rebellious Athens for the sake of the glory of their ancestors.”

Mycenaean and Homeric Greece

The area of ​​Athens has been inhabited since the Neolithic era. By the 15th century BC. e. They attribute the appearance of an Achaean city on this site. There was a citadel and a palace on the Acropolis. But Bronze Age Athens was never a major political center like Mycenae, Tiryns or Pylos.

It is unclear whether the city suffered from the Dorians. The Athenians themselves were always proud of the fact that they were the autochthonous population of this land, and not migrants like other Hellenes. However, the beginning of Homeric Greece was a period of declining economic development in Athens. In the 11th century BC. e. The Ionian migration began, many Athenians went overseas and founded new cities on the coast of Asia Minor.

From about 900 BC, Athens became a major center of trade. During the “Dark Ages” and the Archaic era, Athens developed like other Greek states. According to tradition, the state was ruled by kings for a long time. Historical tradition dates the abolition of royal power to 752 BC. e., when the hereditary basileus was replaced by three officials - basileus, polemarch and archon. The first was responsible for the religious sphere, the second was the commander of the army, and the third was in charge of the internal affairs of the state.

Aristotle wrote that at first the positions of three archons were introduced, and later their number was increased to nine. Former archons filled the council of the Areopagus, which was influential in Archaic Athens. Membership in this council was for life. The monarchy in the polis was replaced by an aristocratic republic. In the 9th-8th centuries the population of Attica grew. The burials of that time became richer, and luxury items were found in them. But at the end of the 8th century something happened, and the polis began to decline. There have been theories about an epidemic or drought at this time. The same years include an increase in the number of finds in religious places. Natural disasters could have caused the increase in religiosity of the inhabitants of Attica. Trade declined and the Athenians began to focus more on agriculture.

Synoicism and the annexation of Eleusis

An important process that allowed Athens to become a powerful polis was synoicism. This word was used to describe the union of several communities into one. Athenians managed to create a single state, the territory of which was comparable to the territory of neighboring Boeotia, where there were several separate city-states. The ancients attributed synoicism to the legendary king Theseus. According to them, the hero united Attica, which consisted of twelve independent states. Sinoicism did not involve the relocation of the inhabitants of Attica to the city at the foot of the Acropolis. It consisted in the elimination of all local authorities, the place of which was now occupied by one general council in Athens.

In the west Attica the policy was located Eleusis. It has existed since Mycenaean times. In the VIII-VII centuries BC. e. Athens fought with Eleusis, and the fight ended with the inclusion of this polis into the Athenian state. Sources close to the events report very sparingly about the war. The legends of the Greeks told of a war where the Athenians were commanded by the legendary king Erechtheus, and the Eleusinians were commanded by king Eumolpus. According to another version, Eleusis was subjugated by Erechtheus’ grandson Ion. During excavations in Attica, the remains of an old border wall between the territories of two policies were found. It is likely that the conflict was not resolved in one battle, but dragged on for many years. In the 7th century BC. e. the city became part of the Athenian polis. After submission, Eleusis retained its governing bodies, which dealt with internal affairs. The nobility of the city, which was associated with the cult of the Mysteries, retained a high position in the Athenian state. The Temple of Eleusis was built in Athens, and the festival of the Mysteries henceforth began there. But the mysterial sacraments themselves remained under the control of the Eleusinian clans.

VII-VI centuries BC e.: legislators and tyrants

By the end of the 7th century BC. e. Athens was an aristocratic republic. The inhabitants were divided into four phyla: Heleonts, Egikorei, Argadians and Hopletians. Their eponyms were the sons of the legendary Ion. Each phylum consisted of three trittia. At the head of the philos were the philobasilei, who were elected from the noblest citizens. By class, the population was divided into three categories - noble eupatrids, geomor farmers and demiurge artisans.

During the Archaic era, in many Greek city-states, ambitious people seized power and became tyrants. In Athens, an aristocrat tried to become a tyrant Quilon. He was a young man from a noble family, the son-in-law of the tyrant Megar Theagenes. In 640 BC. e. Quilon won the Olympic Games. In that era, victory at Olympia gave its owner a status close to sacred. The Delphic oracle gave the young man a prophecy to capture the Acropolis on the day of the greatest holiday in honor of Zeus. Cylon believed that the Olympic Games were this holiday, and with a group of supporters he captured the Acropolis. The Athenians did not accept the tyrant and, under the leadership of the archons, besieged Cylon and his comrades. After a long siege, the would-be tyrant and his brother fled, and their comrades surrendered.

In 621 BC. e. The famous laws of Draco were adopted in Athens. Almost nothing is known about this man. He did not hold the office of archon when his laws were written down. From the Draco Codex, only the section on murder has survived. The legislator made a distinction between intentional and unintentional murder. The code of laws made it possible for the murderer and the relatives of the murdered to make peace.

About the rest of the laws Drakonta there are only references that speak of the extraordinary severity of the laws. Draco's laws on murder were in effect as early as the 4th century BC. e., but it is assumed that the rest of the vault was canceled. Draco's legislation was not a reform, but a recording of the customary law of the Athenians, which was in force before him.

Draco's legislation did not resolve the contradictions in the polis, and in the first decade of the 6th century BC. e. a new legislator appeared on the scene - Solon. This man came, like all the leaders of that time, from a noble family. In ancient times he had a reputation as a sage. Poems by Solon have been preserved, where he talks about his activities. Among his legislative measures was the division of the Athenians into four groups based on property qualifications. People from different property groups had unequal political rights. Representatives of the first two groups were elected to the position of archon. The poorest citizens, the fetas, generally only had the right to access to the people's assembly and courts. The legislator also took measures to free the Athenians who fell into debt bondage.

After Solon's reforms, the life of the polis went on as usual - politicians who came from noble families competed for power. One of them was destined to become the ruler of Athens.

Pisistratus born around 600 BC e. in a noble family that traced its origins to the king of Pylos, Nestor. In the 560s BC. e. the future tyrant became famous as a commander: during the war with the Megaras, he captured their fortification of Nisei. After his victory, Peisistratus became one of the three most powerful politicians in Athens. In 560 BC. e. he received a detachment of bodyguards from the people and with their help seized power. He was soon removed from power. Then Peisistratus, having concluded an alliance with Megacles from the Alcmaeonid family, returned. Soon he was again forced to leave Athens.

Ten years later, Pisistratus decided to return power by force. In 546 BC. e. he landed near Marathon with an army of mercenaries and volunteers from several cities of Greece - Thebes, Eretria, Argos, Naxos. The inhabitants of the part of Attica where he landed supported the tyrant and strengthened his army. After this, in one battle, Peisistratus easily defeated the Athenian militia. His soldiers suddenly attacked the Athenians and put them to flight. At the same time, supporters of Pisistratus tried not to shed the blood of their fellow citizens.

The tyrant occupied Athens. The Alcmaeonids were forced to leave the city. Peisistratus quietly ruled the polis for almost twenty years. Ancient writers spoke of him as a humane and fair ruler who cared about both the nobility and the common people.

Pisistratus expanded Athenian possessions in Thrace, conquered Sigea from Mytilene, and captured Delos. The Great Dionysia began to be widely celebrated in Athens. At the end of his life, the tyrant decided to erect a majestic temple in the city dedicated to the supreme god. On the outskirts of Athens, work began on the construction of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. But the creation of this temple was completed not under Pisistratus or his sons, but only seven centuries later, when Greece was already a Roman province. By order of the Athenian tyrant, a commission was created that recorded the texts of Homer's poems.

In 527 BC. e. the tyrant died of old age, and his sons received power in Athens. Hippias and Hipparchus ruled in Attica; another son, Hegesistratus, ruled Sigeum, a dependent of Athens, during his father’s lifetime. At first, the Pisistratids ruled in the spirit of their father. The exiled aristocrats were allowed to return to the polis. Cleisthenes from the Alcmaeonid family even held the position of archon. At the court of Pisistratus and his sons lived prominent Greek poets - Anacreon and Simonides of Keos, the Orphic poet Onomacritus. In 514 BC. e. Hipparchus died at the hands of the conspirators Harmodius and Aristogeiton. The murderers acted for personal reasons, but the ideology of democratic Athens made them fighters against tyranny. Later, bronze statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton stood in a place of honor in the city.

Supporters of the conspirators were executed, and Hippias began to rule more harshly. The aristocrats were again forced to leave Athens. Soon after this, the Alcmaeonids attempted to overthrow the tyranny. They occupied the fortress of Lipidria in Attica. But the troops of Hippias managed to drive out the Alcmaeonids and their supporters from there. Aristotle quotes the table poems of the Athenian aristocrats, which glorify the bravery of the Eupatrides who died defending the fortress.

During the years of exile, the Alcmaeonids lived in Delphi. Using their own funds, they rebuilt the temple of Apollo. The priesthood of this city convinced the Spartans to help the exiles. Finally, the army of Lacedaemon under the command of King Cleomenes entered Attica and defeated the supporters of Hippias. The tyrant surrendered, having the opportunity to leave Athens safely.

After the fall of tyranny in the city, aristocratic politicians Isagoras and Cleisthenes fought for power. The latter managed to win over the people of Athens by promising reforms. Having won the political struggle, Cleisthenes carried out a series of reforms.

The purpose of Cleisthenes' reforms was to combat the old clan orders. He created ten phylas instead of the previous four. Fifty representatives of each phylum formed a council of five hundred. The reformer divided the hundred demomes of Attica into trittii. Each trittiya included a deme of the city, coastal and central parts. Three trittia were included in the phylum. The main territorial unit was the dem. Cleisthenes created a college of ten strategists, in whose hands was the military leadership of the polis. In the V-IV centuries BC. e. the position of strategist became the most important in Athens.

5th century BC e.: rise and fall

In 507 BC. e. The Athenian embassy visited Persia. U Greeks There had been contacts with the rulers of the Asia Minor monarchies before, so there was nothing unusual about him. But, not knowing Persian customs, the Athenians provided the Persians with “land and water,” which meant formal submission to the empire. During the Ionian Revolt 500-494 BC. e. The Athenians sent a small detachment of ships to help their relatives. The Athenian ships did not take part in the battles and soon returned back. But both of these events gave the Persians a reason for war.

In 490 BC. e. The Persian army landed in Attica. The Athenians managed to win thanks to the military genius of their commander Miltiades. Immediately after the victory at Marathon, the commander proposed to punish the Greek islanders who supported the Persians. Miltiades led an expedition against Paros, but was defeated. In the 480s BC. e. The leading role in Athens belonged to a man named Themistocles. He came from the aristocratic family of the Lykomids, which was inferior in nobility and wealth to the families whose representatives set the tone in the politics of that time - the Alcmaeonids, Philaides, Kerikas.

For the first time Themistocles was archon in 493 BC. e.. In this position, he began work on the creation of the harbor of Athens in the deme of Piraeus. Back in town Miltiades pushed Themistocles into the background, but in the 480s BC. e. he regained his former influence. At the suggestion of Themistocles, silver was discovered in 487 BC. e. the veins were used not for distribution to the people, as usual, but for the construction of a fleet. The Athenians managed to equip two hundred combat triremes, and this was the largest fleet in Greece. During the Persian invasion of 480-478 BC. e. Themistocles stood at the head of the Athenian contingent as part of the pan-Greek fleet. He was the second man in the fleet. But it was thanks to the decisions of Themistocles that the Battle of Salamis was won.

During the war, the Athenians evacuated the population of their city. They sent some of the civilians to Troezen in the Peloponnese, and some to the island of Salamis. Empty Athens was occupied by the Persian army and destroyed. After returning to the city, on the initiative of Themistocles, the Athenians built Long Walls around the city and Piraeus, which made Athens impregnable.

After victories at Salamis and Plataea, the Athenians continued to fight against Persia. The war was fought outside of Greece: in Thrace, Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Egypt. The final peace between Athens and the Achaemenid Empire was concluded in 449 BC. uh..

During the Greco-Persian Wars, Athens founded the Delian Symmachy. Later it was transformed into Athens Maritime Union. It united more than 200 Greek city states of the Balkans, islands, and Asia Minor. The allies had to pay Athens a tax called foros.

Led Athens after the expulsion of Themistocles around 476 BC. e. there were several prominent politicians. Aristides, a rival of Themistocles, played a major role in organizing the union. Naval campaigns against the Persians until his death in 450 BC. e. led by Cimon son of Miltiades.

Two decades after 449 BC. e. were the times when Athens was led by a politician Pericles. Under him, work was carried out to rebuild the Acropolis: the hill above the city was decorated with the majestic temples of the Parthenon and Erechtheion. By this time, a democratic form of government had developed in the city, but Pericles wisely knew how to direct the will of the people in the direction they needed.

In 457-446 BC. e. Athens And Sparta fought. Then it was possible to conclude peace on acceptable terms. But in 431 BC. e. the war broke out again. A new conflict that went down in history as Peloponnesian War, lasted until 404 BC. e.. It ended with the complete defeat of Athens and the dissolution of the Athenian Maritime Union. During a meeting of the Spartans and their allies, representatives of Thebes openly demanded the destruction of the city and the sale of its inhabitants into slavery.

School of Hellas: features of the cultural life of Athens

During the Classical era, the most important achievements of the artistic culture of Athens were created. Tragedies and comedies were staged at the Great Dionysia, Lenaia and Anthesteria.

The philosopher Plato put theater on a par with courts and the people's assembly among the institutions that ensure a democratic form of government. There was a special fund in the city, Theorikon, from which the poorest Athenians were given money to buy tickets. Speaker Demade called this money the cement of democracy.

It is believed that the distribution of “theater money” was started by Pericles. It is reliably known that they existed during the times Demosthenes. There were no mentions of the theorikon after the subjugation of Athens to Macedonia in 322 BC. e. No. Most likely, it was abolished.

An official was elected to manage the theorikon. In the 350s BC. e. the politician Eubulus, who held this post, passed a law according to which all monetary surpluses replenished the theorikon. This law established the death penalty for proposing to use the money of the entertainment fund for other purposes. After a long struggle, shortly before the Battle of Chaeronea, Demosthenes was able to get this law repealed.

In the 380s BC. e. Plato, a former student of Socrates, created his own philosophical school. The place for it was a grove near Athens, dedicated to the hero Academ. In honor of him, Plato's school received its name - the Academy. The classes included lectures from mentors and conversations. It is unknown how long the training at the Academy took - presumably one to two years. But Aristotle was Plato's listener for about twenty years.

Disciples flocked to Plato from all over the Greek world. Around 370 BC e. Aristotle arrived there from provincial Stagira. After twenty years of living in Athens, he traveled for some time, and in 335 BC. e. founded his own school. It was called the Lyceum after the place where it was founded.

In the summer, Panathenaea was celebrated in the city. Initially they were celebrated for one day, then the celebrations were extended to three. The earliest mentions of Panathenaea date back to the 7th century BC. e.. The Athenians called the founders of the holiday the legendary king Cecrops or the hero Theseus. It was also assumed that Theseus made Panathenaea a holiday common to all Attica.

Initially, the celebration consisted of presenting a new peplos to the goddess. In 566 BC. e. Panathenaea began to be accompanied by sports competitions. From that time on, Panathenaea began to be celebrated annually, and once every four years, Great Panathenaea, accompanied by the offering of peplos and competitions. To organize the holiday, ten aflofets were elected in the People's Assembly, one from each phylum. They held this position for four years. Under Pisistratus, the Great Panathenaea began to include competitions of rhapsodists performing Homer's poems. Later, musicians' competitions were added to them.

Sports competitions included running, pentathlon, fist fighting, and pankration. There were three age categories of participants - boys, young men, adult men. The winners were awarded amphorae with olive oil. The musicians were awarded a gold wreath and a sum of money.

Chariot races were taking place outside the city. The team competition was a dance performance in full armor. During the Great Panathenaic The trireme race was taking place. Each phylum fielded one ship with a crew, and they competed in speed between the harbors of Piraeus and Munichia.

The offering of the peplos was a solemn procession that left the Keramic region at dawn and went to the Acropolis. The robe for Athena was carried on a cart. The peplos itself was woven nine months before the Panathenaia by girls from noble families of the polis. To lead the work, the archon-basil chose two girls aged 7-11 from noble families. A pattern was embroidered on the robe, depicting the exploits of the goddess in the battle with giants.

At the head of the procession at the Panathenaea were girls weaving peplos. Behind them are girls with vessels and incense burners for rituals and soldiers of the Athenian militia. The procession included many Athenians, Metics and citizens of the allied policies. A separate category were canephor girls (“basket bearers”), who carried sacrificial equipment in baskets. To become a canephora, a girl had to come from a good family, be beautiful and have an unblemished reputation. The canefor fathers received honors and rewards from the state. Girls who repeatedly performed this duty (not only at Panathenaia) were awarded honorary decrees and even statues.

Difficulties of the 4th century

The year after the Peloponnesian War became a time of new tyranny for Athens. After peace was concluded, a commission of 30 Athenian citizens became the head of the city. It was declared that they should draw up new laws for Athens. Contemporaries called them the Thirty, but later the Greeks and Romans gave this government a more catchy name - “thirty tyrants.”

At the head of the Thirty was the Athenian Kritias, son of Callescher. He came from a noble family of Codrides. His father was one of the members of the Four Hundred coup that tried to overthrow democracy. Critias himself in his youth was a student of Socrates, was friends with Alcibiades, even his epigram has been preserved, in which he claims that he made a proposal to return the disgraced commander from exile. Later he himself was expelled, lived in Thessaly, where he participated in some troubles.

Critias did not hide his contempt for the bulk of the people and the metics. Under him, the Government of the Thirty established a regime of real terror in the polis: metics were arrested and executed without trial, and their property was appropriated. Only three thousand Athenians were considered full citizens. Critias was known as a fan of the Spartan order, and his actions are seen as an attempt to rebuild Athens in the likeness of Sparta. Three thousand are an analogue of the Spartan Gomoys, the rest of the population of Athens are not full-fledged Perieki.

Theramenes, another outstanding member of the government, criticized the actions of the head of the Thirty. But Critias, during a meeting of the assembly of three thousand, forced his colleague to commit suicide. Feramen courageously took the cup of poison, splashed some of its contents on the ground, as if playing kottab, and drank the rest.

Thrasybulus, another friend of Alcibiades, took refuge in Thebes. From there he left with 70 comrades and occupied the fortress of Phil. It became a center where Athenians began to flock, ready to fight the tyrants. The defenders of Philae repulsed the attack of the Thirty warriors, and then gave them a battle in which Critias died. Three thousand drove out the surviving members of the government and organized a new one, wanting to continue the fight against Thrasybulus. After negotiations, both sides managed to make peace. In 403 BC. e. Democratic rule was restored in Athens. The People's Assembly decreed that no one has the right to question another for his actions during the reign of the Thirty and the civil war. An exception was made for surviving members of the government, but even they could justify themselves by giving an account of their actions. Separate trials took place, and the philosopher Socrates became the victim.

In 395 BC. e. Athens, Thebes, Argos and Corinth began war against Sparta. When in 399 BC. e. When the war between Sparta and Persia began, the Athenian strategist Conon, who lived at the court of the ruler of Cyprus, Evagoras, offered his services to the Persians. In 394 BC. e. Conon and the satrap Pharnabazus defeated the Spartans at sea near the island of Cnidus. After this, the Athenian returned to his homeland with Persian gold, with which they restored the fleet and the Long Walls of Piraeus.

At the end of the war, Persia began to support Sparta, and in 386 BC. e. With her participation in Susa, the Greeks concluded a peace treaty. He prohibited inter-city associations, but transferred the islands of Lemnos, Imbros and Skyros to Athenian rule.

The next thirty years were for Athens time of maneuvering between Persia, Sparta and Thebes. In 378 BC. e. Athens and Thebes started a war with Sparta. This year it was created Second Athens Maritime League. The decree on its creation declared the non-interference of the Athenians in the internal affairs of the members of the union. In 377-376 BC. e. Athenian mercenaries under the command of the famous strategist Chabrias defended Boeotia from the Spartans. In 371 BC. e. The Thebans defeated the Spartans at Leuctra, and this victory made Boeotian League the strongest state in Greece.

At the same time, Athens resumed its old ways in relation to its allies. There were cases of interference in the internal affairs of cities. In 357 BC. e. The Allied War began. The city of Pallas was opposed by former members of the union - Byzantium, Rhodes, Chios, who were supported by the Carian ruler Mausolus. Athens lost this war, but the Second Athenian Maritime League existed in a truncated form for another two decades.

The allied war coincided with the first conflict between Athens and King Philip II of Macedonia. The struggle was for control of the cities of the Halkidiki peninsula. The confrontation between Athens and Macedonia ended with the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. uh..

The Athenians lost the battle but retained their independence. During the reign of Alexander the Great, Athens was led by the politician Lycurgus. Thanks to his financial genius, the policy, without receiving income from foros, was able to increase its income several times. The Athenians were accumulating strength - new ships were built (the Athenian fleet was never as large as in these years).

After the death of Alexander, Athens and some other policies decided to give battle to Macedonia. Thus began the Lamian War of 323-322 BC. e.. Under the command of talented strategists Leosthenes and Antiphilus, the Athenians achieved some success, but were ultimately defeated at the Battle of Crannon. At the same time, the Macedonians defeated the Athenian fleet three times, which was no longer revived as a serious military force.

Oligarchic rule was imposed on the city, which was soon overthrown. In 317 BC. e. One of Alexander’s generals, Cassander, imposed his protege on Athens, Demetrius of Phalerus, who ruled the city for ten years.

In 307 BC. e. Athens was liberated by Prince Demetrius, son of Antigonus, and Demetrius of Phalerum fled. The Athenians restored a democratic constitution, destroyed the statue of the deposed ruler, and repealed some of his laws.

For the first time in the history of the polis, they awarded divine honors to the kings, and this marked the beginning of a tradition in the history of Hellenistic Athens. The cult of the savior gods Antigonus and Demetrius was established in the city, and games were held in their honor. The priest was responsible for the cult of the new gods. To the ten phyla, two more were added - Antigonida and Demetrias, which received first place in the list of phyla. The podium, where the statues of the eponymous heroes of the phyla stood, was expanded and statues of kings were placed on it. Other statues of them were erected next to the monument to Harmodius and Aristogeiton.

In subsequent years, the Athenians retreated from Poliorketes and again swore allegiance to him. In 287 BC. e. Athens rebelled and drove the king's garrison out of the city. But Piraeus and some Attica fortresses remained under Macedonian control. For the next 25 years the policy was independent. In 267 BC. e. Athens risked challenging Macedonia in alliance with Sparta and Egypt. The war was unsuccessful, and Athens again became dependent on Macedonia. But in 229 BC. e. The Athenians managed to peacefully, with the help of a sum of money, force the foreign garrisons to leave Athens, Piraeus and other fortresses in Attica.

After regaining independence, the Athenians established a state cult of Demos. His hereditary priests were the descendants of Mikion and Euryclid, through whose efforts in 229 BC. e. freedom was achieved. Statues of citizens who had distinguished themselves before Athens began to be dedicated to the temple built by Demos.

In 224 BC. e. The king of Egypt, Ptolemy III, was awarded divine honors. A state cult was established for him and the position of priest was introduced. The thirteenth phylum of Ptolemais was established. The number of members of the Bule increased to 650. One deme from other phyles was assigned to the fille, and the deme of Berenikid was also established in honor of Ptolemy's wife. The statue of the king took its place among the statues of the eponymous heroes of the Athenian phyla. A Ptolemaic public holiday was established.

On the eve of the war with Macedonia in 200 BC. e. King Attalus of Pergamum arrived in Athens. The city residents received him with honor. The Athenians established a new phylum, Attalida, in honor of the king, and within it the dem Apollonia, named after Attalus’s wife.

At the end of the 3rd century BC. e. a new power appeared in the Balkans - Rome. During the 2nd century BC. e. Athens was an ally of the Roman Republic, which was increasing its influence on the peninsula. In 88 BC. e. Athens risked supporting King Mithridates VI of Pontus in his war with Rome. At first, the Peripatetic philosopher Athenion became the head of the anti-Roman movement in the city. Later he was replaced by another native of Athens, Aristion, a follower of the philosophy of Epicurus. He was sent to the city by Mithridates.

The Pontic commander Archelaus made Piraeus his headquarters. In 87 BC. e. Attica became a battlefield. The Roman general Sulla besieged Athens and Piraeus. Archelaus was a capable commander, and the siege of the port was difficult. By order of the Roman, the groves of the Academy and Lyceum were cut down and siege engines were made from the trees. In March 86 BC. e. Legionnaires captured the city with a night attack. A massacre began in Athens, but Sulla, at the request of exiles and senators from his headquarters, stopped it, declaring that he was sparing the living for the sake of the dead. Aristion and his loyal people defended the Acropolis for some time, but hunger forced him to surrender. The philosopher, his guards, and the magistrates of Athens that year were executed. Archelaus and his army escaped from Piraeus by sea.

Having finished the war, Sulla returned to Athens. There, honors from the Athenians awaited him: they glorified him as a liberator from the tyranny of Aristion, held the Syllaeum festival in his honor, and erected a statue of the commander.

During the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, Greece became the battlefield, and its policies supported Pompey. Several Athenian ships strengthened his fleet, and Athenian hoplites joined his army and fought at Pharsalus. After Caesar's victory, the Athenian embassy arrived to ask for his mercy. Julius Caesar forgave the city for the glory of the Athenians' ancestors. The Athenians customarily erected a statue of the Roman, on the pedestal of which they glorified him as a savior and benefactor. A few years later, the Athenians were again drawn into the Roman civil wars. After Caesar's assassination, Athens supported his killers. In October 44 BC. e. Brutus and Cassius sailed to Greece. In its cities, honorary decrees were passed in honor of Caesar's murderers, and the Athenians erected bronze statues of them next to the statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton.

Brutus lived for some time in Athens. He attended lectures by philosophers at the Academy and Lyceum. At the same time, he worked to gather forces and attracted influential Romans who held posts in the Balkans to his side.

After the defeat of Brutus and Cassius, Mark Antony lived in Athens for some time. He tried to win over the inhabitants of the ancient city and took pleasure in being called “friend of the Athenians.” In 39-37 BC. e. Mark Antony lived in Athens with his wife Octavia, whom the townspeople loved very much.

In 32 BC. e., when the war with Octavian began, Antony and Queen Cleopatra visited Athens. Remembering Octavia’s popularity, the ruler of Egypt tried to win over the citizens of the polis with gifts. After the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. e. Augustus occupied the city without a fight. This ended the period of independence of Athens, which was to become part of a province of the Roman Empire. Achaia.

Athens is named after the goddess of wisdom, who patronized the polis. The city-state achieved such enormous development that it determined many trends in the further development of all of Europe. This is where democracy and philosophy and the Olympics began. Read on, the sights of Ancient Athens.

About the city of Athens

Athens is not just a capital; classical Greece and Western civilization as a whole appeared here. The first people settled in this area back in 3000 BC. In the 19th century, after many years of Ottoman rule, Athens was a pitiful settlement, more like an ordinary village. Now it is an agglomeration that includes the old city, several central areas, suburbs and the port of Piraeus. All this is surrounded by mountains. Now a third of the country’s total population lives here, the density is more than 8 thousand people per 1 square kilometer. It may take a whole month to explore all the interesting places.

Athens on the map

Acropolis of Athens Greece

Each Greek polis had its own acropolis, but the Athenian one was never surpassed in scale, layout and the number of monuments located on its territory. This is a real mecca for tourists, everything here looks majestic and amazes with its beauty and grace. Initially, the imperial palace was located on this hill; in the 7th century BC the first stone was laid for the construction of the Parthenon Temple. The special layout allows you to view this building in volume; this can be seen from the side of the central gate, when three walls are visible at once.

The secret is that the columns are built here at different angles in relation to one another. According to myths, a dispute once took place in Erechtheinon between Poseidon and Athena. Now here you can see statues of the Caryatids - columns in the form of female figures, and in some places a mosaic has been preserved.

Near the temple of the goddess Nike is the ancient Theater of Dionysus, where performances by famous Greek playwrights, including Aristophanes, Aeschylus and Sophocles, took place. Previously, access to the Acropolis was possible through a huge gate, which housed the first art gallery in the world. Entrance costs 20 euros. To save money, it is better to purchase a so-called special ticket for 30 euros, which allows you to visit about 10 attractions, including the archaeological museum. The next day when you can visit this place for free is May 18th. Opening hours from 8:00 to 20:00 daily.

Official website

http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2384

Acropolis on the map

Temple of Hephaestus Athena

Tourists love this place because here you can plunge headlong into the era of Ancient Greece; you cannot ignore this ancient building when describing the sights of Ancient Athens. This is one of the best preserved structures that has survived to this day. The estimated date of construction is 449 BC. But only 19 centuries after its construction, from 1834, the temple was used as an Orthodox church. The Greeks themselves treated this building with great trepidation, as evidenced by the fact that the columns, all the pediments without exception, and part of the roof remained in their original form. The only thing is that over the centuries, all the jewelry that was here was plundered.

The temple is one of the most valuable monuments in the country. Built in the Doric style, like the Parthenon, it is 31 meters long and 14 meters wide. This is the first structure in Greece that was built from marble. Numerous sculptures have been preserved, which are called metopes, for example metopes that tell about the exploits of Hercules and Theseus.

Entrance costs 12 euros for adults, children are free. From November to March, you can enter the temple for free on Sundays. Open from 8:00 to 18:00 hours.

Temple of Hephaestus official website

http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=6621

Temple of Hephaestus on the map

Temple of Zeus in Olympia Greece

The construction of this giant began several hundred centuries BC at the instigation of the then ruler, the tyrant Pisistratus. There was only one plan, but a very ambitious one - to outshine all the wonders of the World. However, it was fulfilled, albeit with one caveat, after the death of the tyrant. According to historians, society at that time was hostile to such an idea. The nobles and rich were inclined to think that this was simply arrogance, and ordinary citizens thought that this was simply a way to immortalize themselves in history. The construction was finally completed by another ruler - Emperor Hadrian. In total, the duration of construction lasted for 6 centuries, considering that the building stood for only three and was destroyed by an earthquake, it can be classified as a dubious project.

Now only ruins are visible to travelers, but they also impress with their gigantomania. The columns reach a height of 17 meters; initially there were more than a hundred of them. The perimeter of the structure was 96 and 40 meters. The interior decoration can only be judged by the stories contained in various written sources. They indicate that the central decoration was a huge statue of Zeus, made of ivory and decorated with gold. One of the legends says that Caesar tried to transport her to Rome.

You can explore the ruins every day, from 8:00 to 19:30. An entrance ticket for one adult will cost 20 euros.

Official website

http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=500

Temple of Zeus on the map

Theater of Dionysus in Athens

Great Greek writers were shown on the stage of this theater for the first time. This stage area, which is located directly in the open air, is one of the oldest on Earth, having appeared here in the 5th century AD. Initially, the theater was built of wood; the main function it served was to host various celebrations. Performances were held twice a year, during such Dionysias, and theatrical competitions were a separate item on the program. As a rule, three playwrights competed, each staging several tragedies and one comedy. The results, by the way, were strictly recorded, they were called didascalia and then deposited in the local archive.

Among the modern entertainments offered to visitors is an acoustics test. To do this, one person remains in the center of the orchestra and tries to say something, the other rises to the furthest row and tries to listen. The theater became a stone theater only in 330 BC. Spectators were seated in 67 rows, the total capacity was 17 thousand people, then this was exactly one second of the population of the entire city. Nowadays you can see parts of the very last rows. The first row contained 67 marble chairs for VIPs, with names and positions carved into the seats. The emperor himself sat in the second row. During Roman rule, the theater was rebuilt and repurposed for gladiatorial fights, for example, then a high side appeared near the first row, which served for the safety of spectators.

You can visit every day from 8:30 to 18:00. The entrance fee is 12 euros.

Official website

http://www.visit-ancient-greece.com/theatre-of-dionysus.html

Theater of Dionysus on the map

Hadrian's Library

It is considered a unique architectural complex; this place received this name due to its great external resemblance to the Roman Forum. Emperor Hadrian went down in history as a passionate admirer of culture; he was one of the first rulers to grow a beard in order to have an external resemblance to the Hellenic sages. It was thanks to him that many cultural institutions appeared in the city, one of them is this complex. At the time of completion of construction, not only books were stored here, it was a large cultural center. There were several lecture halls, translation rooms and a small stage. The book fund consisted of 16 thousand copies, among which there were many rare manuscripts. The marble walls served as a cool oasis and had very good acoustics. The shape of the building was erected in the shape of a rectangle, of which one wall was marble and the rest from local sandstone. The marble colonnade has survived to this day. The library was barbarically plundered by the Romans, who turned the structure into part of a defensive wall. Later, in the 4th century, the institution was again restored, during the Turkish occupation it served as a barracks for the royal army. After a large-scale reconstruction, which was completed in 2004, the library is again open to the public.

You can visit the institution from 8:00 to 19:30, the visit will cost 20 euros per person.

Official website

http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp

Library on the map

Tower of the Winds in Athens

This tower is considered an amazing architectural monument, which also has a practical function; it houses a working weather station. The Greeks themselves call this structure Clepsydra, because of its peculiarity, which is that on the tower there is a hydraulic clock mechanism that indicates the time according to the sun. There is also an official name - the Clock of Kirrista, according to scientists, it was built by an astronomer from a town called Kirra. Researchers date the construction time to the 1st century BC; the tower is 12 meters high and has a diameter of 8 meters. Interesting decorations can be seen on the friezes of the building, which symbolizes the compass rose. The gods are painted on those sides of the tower walls from where the winds blow, for example, Boreas is depicted on the north side.

The construction material was marble; the building below is located on a three-stage platform. The roof is cone-shaped and covered with ceramic tiles. In ancient times, the tower served to measure time; the main clock was a sun clock, but when the weather was cloudy, a water clock was used. You can see this building in the old part of the city, which bears the name Plaka.

You can get to this place every day, from 8:00 to 19:00.

The entrance fee is 3 euros and gives you the right to visit the Agora at the same time.

Tower on the map

Odeon of Herodes Atticus - Sights of Ancient Athens

This famous object is located on the southern slope of the Athenian Agora; when exploring the sights of Ancient Athens on your own, be sure not to miss the opportunity to visit here. Despite its great age, the concert venue is not only still used for its intended purpose, it is also the main city venue. The Odeon was erected in Athens in the 2nd century, thanks to the philosopher Herodes. Legend has it that he was such a rich man that the emperor himself tried to take his life for money. He was a sponsor of many cultural institutions that were erected during his lifetime. In ancient Greece, the Odeon was the name given to the place where concerts and other musical events were held.

Externally, the Athenian Odeon resembles a Roman amphitheater, of which there are about a dozen preserved in the world, but the Greeks, naturally, find many differences. The rows for spectators were made in the shape of a semicircle, in the middle there was a large stage, behind which there was a marble wall, richly decorated, but its main purpose was to improve acoustics. The roof was wooden, made from expensive Lebanese cedar. To this day, everything has survived except the roof and wall. Large-scale reconstruction was completed here in the 50s of the last century. Now, in addition to numerous musical events, this arena hosts the annual Athens Festival, which begins in May and ends in October.

You can only get into the Odeon if you purchase a ticket to one of the festival events.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus on the map

Standing Attalus

Long before our era, by order of the Pergamon king Attalus, this structure was erected, which served as a commercial center. The structure is a covered pavilion, one facade wall of which was crowned with rows of columns, while the remaining walls were made blank. The building consisted of two floors and several dozen porticoes in the form of arches, inside which retail outlets operated. In this original form, the building existed for several centuries and was not even destroyed during the barbarian invasion. Currently, the building available to visitors is a replica, or in other words, a full-scale model, where they tried to recreate the details of the original building as closely as possible. This happened thanks to the preserved ruins. The model contains an ancient foundation and the remains of antique columns. A stone quarry was opened specifically for the restoration of this object. Restoration work was completed in 1956. This design was ideal for a huge crowd of people; on the one hand, it protected from bad weather, on the other, there was always a lot of free space and fresh air. Now there is an archaeological museum with a rich collection of antique objects. You can visit this institution daily from 8:00 to 20:00. The entrance fee is 8 euros.

Official website

http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=10303

Stoya Attalus on the map

Athens attractions photos and descriptions:

Museums

There are several dozen museums in Athens; to tell about everything, you will need to write a separate review, but some are worth mentioning when reviewing the attractions of Ancient Athens.

Athens City Museum

The exhibition displays of this museum tell about what the Greek polis was like in the 19th century, and what it has become in our modern days. The collections consist of works of art, there are installations in the form of entire rooms of the Greek nobility. For example, in one of the halls the furniture of King Otto is displayed. The building that the museum itself occupies is considered one of the most beautiful in the city; it is a former mansion where the first Greek king and his wife lived. The second name that is used in relation to this building is the Old Palace. The palace is connected by a covered gallery to another building, which was built 16 years after the construction of the palace. Visitors saw the museum exhibition for the first time in 1980. Opening hours: except Tuesday from 9:00 to 15:00, Wednesday and Friday until 16:00. The entrance ticket here costs 5 euros.

Official website

http://www.athenscitymuseum.gr/en/

Museum on the map

Numismatic Museum of Athens

This exhibition institution is one of the most popular and visited among tourists. The core of the collection, which is considered unique of its kind, consists of coins found during archaeological excavations. This museum is located in the building of the Ilion Palace, which is a landmark in itself; the famous archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann was among its owners. Inside this establishment you can not only examine ancient coins, but also feel like a minter. The museum has been operating for several hundred years, the first opening took place in 1834, although it is worth noting that it acquired its own building quite recently - in 1999. In addition to the coins themselves, in the first hall you can see old tapestries that are dedicated to Schliemann; besides them, here you will be introduced to what numismatics is, they will tell you about counterfeiters and ask you to distinguish a fake from the original with your own hands. In other rooms, in addition to coins, you can see precious stones and various medals, and not only from Ancient Greece. On the ground floor of the museum there is a shop where you can buy replicas of ancient coins. The open-air garden café offers a cup of coffee and a snack.

Opening hours: 9:00 to 16:00 except Mondays.

The entrance ticket costs 6 euros.

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 in 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 (Greece) - the most detailed information about the city with photos. The main attractions of Athens with descriptions, guides and maps.

Athens city (Greece)

Public transport in Athens includes the metro, commuter trains, trams, trolleybuses and buses. A single ticket is valid for all types of transport. The metro has three lines: M1 (green) - connects the port and northern suburbs through the city center, M2 (red) - connects western and southern Athens, M3 (blue) - connects the southwestern suburbs with the northern suburbs and the airport.

Attractions

The most famous landmark of Athens is the sacred hill - the Acropolis. Here are the amazing antique ruins of ancient temples that symbolize the heyday of Greek civilization.

The Acropolis is 156 meters high and visible from almost everywhere. In ancient times, there was a royal palace, majestic temples to the gods, religious objects and numerous sculptures here. Most of the main structures of the Acropolis were built during the reign of Pericles (5th century BC) during the heyday of Athens.

The most famous landmark of the Acropolis is the magnificent Parthenon, which, despite time, is one of the best preserved ancient Greek structures in Athens. The Parthenon is considered the largest temple of the classical period of Ancient Greece and is dedicated to Aphrodite. It was completed in 438 BC. The temple is famous for its monumental Doric columns and was decorated with numerous sculptures.

Among the ancient ruins of the Acropolis, the Temple of Nike Apteros, built in 427-424 BC, stands out. and dedicated to Athena the Victorious, the propylaea (the main entrance formed by columns and porticoes), the Erechtheion, a temple built between 421-406 BC. and dedicated to Athena, Poseidon and King Erechtheus.

All structures and ruins of the Acropolis:

1. Hecatompedon.
2. Statue of Athena Promachos.
3. Propylaea.
4. Eleusinion.
5. Bravronion.
6. Chalcotheca.
7. Pandroseion.
8. Arreforion.
9. Athens altar.
10. Sanctuary of Zeus Polyaeus.
11. Sanctuary of Pandion.
12. Odeon of Herodes Atticus.
13. Standing Eumenes.
14. Asklepion.
15. Odeon of Pericles.
16. Temenos of Dionysus.
17. Sanctuary of Aglavra.

300 meters away is the Acropolis Museum, which is one of the most important modern buildings in Athens and is built of steel, glass and concrete. Priceless finds and antiquities that were found here during excavations are stored here.

An archaeological path leads from the Acropolis into the city, along which you can see other antiquities of Athens, which belong to different periods and cultures. So, at the foot of the hill, there are the ruins of Olympion, a temple dedicated to Zeus. It was the largest building in Ancient Greece. It began to be built in the 6th century BC. and finished only in the 2nd century AD. under the Roman Emperor Hadrian. More than a hundred huge marble columns once supported the grand sanctuary. Only 15 of them have survived to this day.

The Theater of Dionysus is located on the south side of the Acropolis and is considered the oldest structure of its type in Greece. Many of the most famous ancient Greek comedies and tragedies were presented on this stage. The theater, originally built as a temple, dates back to the 6th century BC. It was dedicated to Dionysus, the god of fun and wine, and could accommodate 17,000 people.

The ancient Agora was the market and center of daily life in ancient Athens. Most of the surviving ruins are from the Roman period and date back to the 1st century AD. The Agora was surrounded by colonnades and columns. It also hosted sporting events and theatrical performances. To the east is the 12-meter tall Wind Tower.

An excellent view of the Agora opens from the northern wall of the Acropolis.

Hadrian's Arch was built in 131 AD. and symbolizes the entrance to the ancient city. Not far from the western slope of the Acropolis is the Pnyx Hill. Here the citizens of Athens could exercise their democratic rights. To the southwest of the Acropolis of Athens is the hill of Philopappos, which was known as the Hill of the Muses and preserves several ancient ruins. There is also a tiny 12th-century Byzantine chapel with 18th-century frescoes.

The core of the historical center of Athens is the Plaka district, located on the eastern side of the Acropolis. This area has been inhabited since ancient times. Now it is a labyrinth of narrow, flower-filled, picturesque streets lined with traditional 19th-century houses. Plaka is famous for its provincial atmosphere (sometimes you can’t even believe that this is the center of a bustling metropolis), cute restaurants and historical churches.

From Plaka, the Athenian streets will lead to Monastiraki Square, which is one of the central squares of old Athens with narrow streets and small buildings. A traditional market (Yousouroum) is held in the square. Monastiraki is a popular shopping area with over 2,000 different shops.

Anafiotika is another atmospheric village quarter of Athens, located north of the Acropolis. Here tourists can enjoy traditional Greek food and a stroll through the winding Cycladic-style streets. Anafiotika was built in the 60s of the 19th century.

Herodes' Odeon is an ancient Roman theater built in the 2nd century AD. on the steep slopes of the Acropolis by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife. The theater seated 6,000 spectators and was restored in the 1950s.

The Olympic Stadium was built in the 19th century for the first modern Olympics. It seats 50,000 spectators and is the largest sports facility made entirely of marble. The first stadium on this site was built in the 3rd century BC. and rebuilt in 144. In ancient times, the stadium hosted a religious festival dedicated to the goddess Athena every four years.

The Church of Our Lady of Kapnicarea is a magnificent example of 11th-century Byzantine architecture. The church is located on one of the central streets of Athens - Ermou.

The Church of the Holy Apostles is a 10th-century religious building on the site of the ancient Agora, built in typical Byzantine style. The inside of the dome is decorated with original frescoes. A significant part of the ancient iconostasis from the 11th century has also been preserved.

Syntagmatos Square is the central square of modern Athens. The Presidential Guard in national costumes stands in front of the Greek Parliament building. The change of guard takes place in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier at 11 a.m. daily.

• The National Archaeological Museum is one of the largest museums in Greece, which has one of the largest exhibitions of Antiquity in the world. The 8,000 square meter building contains 11,000 exhibits.
• Byzantine Museum - more than 25,000 exhibits, representing a treasure trove of religious artifacts from the Byzantine period, as well as works of early Christian, medieval and post-Byzantine art.
• Museum of Cycladic Art - ancient artifacts found in the Cycladic Islands and Cyprus.