Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MOMENTS IN HISTORY
1. BIRTH OF ATHENS
The Acropolis was first inhabited in Neolithic times (around 3000 BC), and began to
take on the form of a city when it was fortified by the Mycenaeans (inhabitants of the
southeastern Greek mainland) in about 1400 BC.
2. GOLDEN AGE
The 6th and 5th centuries BC saw the city-state develop into a colonial power. Under
Perikles (495-429 BC) Athens enjoyed its greatest period of building, when the
Parthenon, Erechtheion and Temple of Nike were erected. Cultural and intellectual
life flourished until Sparta's defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404
BC).
3. ROMAN ATHENS
Roman rule began in 146 BC and lasted five centuries. Athenians initially maintained
good relations with their rulers, but in 86 BC a potential move towards Athenian in-
dependence was brutally crushed by the Romans. Emperor Hadrian (AD 76-138) re-
mained a great admirer of Greek culture, however, and together with Greek scholar
Herodes Atticus he set up various building schemes, including the great theatre (for
further details see
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
).
4. BYZANTINE PERIOD
When Roman territory was divided between East and West in AD 395, Greece fell
within the east, and subsequently became part of the Byzantine Empire. The pagan
philosophical schools were closed and many temples were rebuilt as churches.
5. OTTOMANS TAKE ATHENS
The Ottoman Turks took Athens in 1458, and the city became a provincial backwater.
After bombarding the Parthenon, the Venetians held the city briefly in 1687. Then,
during the 18th century, English and French artists and writers visited Athens as part
of the Grand Tour, signalling its reawakening but also walking off with many ancient
artworks.
