Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
reforms created the pretext for the tyrant Peisistratos, formerly head of the military, to
seize power in 560 BC.
Peisistratos built a formidable navy and extended the boundaries of Athenian influen-
ce. A patron of the arts, he inaugurated the Festival of the Great Dionysia, the precursor
of Attic drama, and commissioned many splendid works, most of which were destroyed
by the Persians.
Peisistratos was succeeded by his son Hippias in 528 BC and Athens rid itself of this
oppressor in 510 BC with the help of Sparta.
Athens' Golden Age
After Athens finally repulsed the Persian Empire at the battles of Salamis (480 BC) and
Plataea (again, with the help of Sparta), its power knew no bounds.
In 477 BC Athens established a confederacy on the sacred island of Delos and deman-
ded tributes from the surrounding islands to protect them from the Persians. The treasury
was moved to Athens in 461 BC and Pericles (ruler from 461 BC to 429 BC) used the
money to transform the city. This period has become known as Athens' golden age, the
pinnacle of the classical era.
Most of the monuments on the Acropolis today date from this period. Drama and liter-
ature flourished with such luminaries as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. The
sculptors Pheidias and Myron and the historians Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon
also lived during this time.
ATHENS IN…
Two Days
Start by climbing Plaka's early morning streets to the glorious
Acropolis
, then
wind down through the
Ancient Agora
. Explore
Plaka
and the
Monastiraki Flea
Market
, taking a break at an Adrianou cafe. Head to the
Acropolis Museum
for the
Parthenon masterpieces. Amble around the
grand promenade
, then up to
Filo-
pappou Hill
and the cafes of
Thisio
, before dinner at a restaurant with Acropolis
views.
On day two, watch the
changing of the guard
at Syntagma before heading
through the gardens to the
Panathenaic Stadium
and the
Temple of Olympian
Zeus
. Take a trolleybus to the
National Archaeological Museum
, then catch an
evening show at the historic
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
, or head to
Gazi
for dinner
and nightlife.
