Athens: geographical location, development features, history

Ancient city in place of modern Athens originated in the XV century BC. It appeared as a result of the unification of several communities living in Attica. This region connects the Balkan Peninsula with the Peloponnese Peninsula. It was the center of Greece.

Ancient Athens

Semi-legendary King Theseus, who lived around the 13th century BC, reformed the Athenian community. From that moment it was divided into several classes, including demiurges, geomores and eupatridians. The last of them were aristocrats with large allotments of land. Because of this, over time, most of the free population of the city became dependent on these landlords. So in Athens, slavery appeared.

In the city, besides free and slaves, there was a class of metek. They were not slaves, but at the same time they did not have the rights that the aristocracy had. Athens was governed by the council of nine archons, who were elected from the ranks of the richest and most influential townspeople.

Solon Reforms

Ancient Athens, whose geographic location was extremely profitable, quickly riched against the background of their neighbors. This has led to an increase in the gap between rich and poor. The situation required reforms. Archon Solon became their initiator in the beginning of VI century BC.

He belonged to an influential family. Nevertheless, he managed to advance at the expense of his own talents. At first he was known as a poet. At maturity, he became a military commander and led several successful warriors against neighbors, including the Megars.

In 594 BC. E. He became an archon. Because of the emergency, Solon was given the widest powers. Due to this, he carried out a series of reforms. The sale and purchase of people for slavery for their financial debts to borrowers was banned. Through the resolution of wills, there were sprouts of private property and a new middle class. In order for every citizen to pay a reasonable amount of taxes, the entire population of Athens was divided into four categories, depending on the level of income. All these changes served as the foundation for the city to soon become the main political center of all of ancient Greece.

The Golden Age of Pericles

Another person who did a lot for the greatness of Athens was Pericles. He began to rule in 461 BC. E. With him, a system of democracy was established. The state of Athens was the first in the world to adopt this form of government. Since then, all free residents have the right to participate in politics and vote for those leaders who liked them more.

At Pericles the development of Athens reached its maximum. The city was the center of ancient culture. Here lived the historian Herodotus, philosophers, sculptors and poets. The city underwent a radical restructuring. There was a majestic acropolis and the temple Parthenon - masterpieces of ancient architecture. Among the residents was a high percentage of literate and able to read. It is from this moment on that the Greek language becomes dominant throughout the Mediterranean. Even after the fall of ancient policies, it continued to be used in science, thanks to which a huge number of modern terms appeared in various disciplines. Speakers and rhetoric conducted public debates in the midst of the most diverse public.

Athens, the geographical location of which allowed to build ships, at this time became the center of maritime trade and colonization. Hence adventurers and adventurers who settled on the shores of Italy, North Africa and the Black Sea coast traveled to a long journey.

Rivalry with Sparta

In 431 BC. E. Ancient Athens was dragged into war with the southern neighbor - Sparta. Pericles was still alive, and it was he who led the first successful stage of the conflict. However, suddenly in the city, a deadly epidemic began, the victim of which was the famous king himself.

Later, in historiography, the war will be called the Peloponnesian War. Greek Athens became the head of the Delos Union, which also included Samos, Chios and Lesbos. Sparta has been trying to challenge these cities for many years. It was significantly different from democratic Athens. Here at the head of power was the military estate, and all residents lived in barracks conditions. Everyone knows the cruel orders of this policy, for example, the custom to throw sick and sick babies off the cliff. So it was a war not only of two political centers, but also of two systems of social order.

The first period of this armed conflict was characterized by numerous Spartans raids on Attica, while Athens tried to win by fleet and superiority at sea. In the second half of the war, everything turned upside down. Sparta enlisted the support of foreigners of the Persians and was able to build a fleet. With his help, all Athenian allies were first defeated. In 404 BC. E. And the great politician himself acknowledged defeat, as a result of which a long-term tyranny was established there. Both Athens and Sparta were weakened. As a result, in the course of time, Thebes advanced in Greece ahead. However, this period did not last long.

The capture of the Macedonians

In the IV century BC. E. The Macedonian kingdom, which was north of Greece, was elevated. His ruler Philip II decided to conquer the southern neighbors, who had been engaged in internecine wars for many years. The inhabitants of Athens united with the citizens of Thebes and met with the enemy at Chironee in 338 BC. E. The Greeks were defeated.

After this, both Athens and Sparta were part of the Macedonian state. The son of Philip - the great commander Alexander - soon led a huge number of Greeks to the east in order to conquer distant lands. He finally defeated the Persians, who for a long time were a threat to the policies. The new state, which also embraced Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Egypt and neighboring India, did not last long. Nevertheless, for several decades, all these provinces adopted the Hellenistic culture, the focus of which were the policies of Athens and Sparta. The Greek language became interethnic.

In Athens at this time there was another flourishing of cultural life. The Academy of Plato and Lycée of Aristotle was opened.

Roman Province

In 146 BC. E. Athens was annexed to the Roman Republic, which later became an empire. Since then, the city has become provincial. Nevertheless, the Romans learned a lot from Greek culture. It was their peculiarity - they never destroyed local traditions, language, etc. Instead, the Romans took the best from the conquered peoples, drawing them into their orbit of influence peacefully.

The present decline of Athens happened in the III century AD. E., when the Balkan provinces became targets for barbarian raids. Many monuments of ancient culture came to desolation and eventually collapsed. The Olympic Games were canceled, which were an important and regular event in the life of local Greeks.

Part of Byzantium

With the collapse of the empire into two parts, Athens, whose geographical position corresponded to its eastern half, became part of Byzantium. It was at this time that the local population began to accept Christianity, especially after the edict of Constantine the Great. This led to the disappearance of the ancient ancient gods from the mass consciousness. Byzantine emperors did not like the characteristics of Athens, and they methodically got rid of the symbols of the past era. So in the VI century Justinian banned the activities of philosophical schools, which he considered a hotbed of paganism and blasphemy.

Athens became a provincial city, while Greek became the official language of the empire, whose capital was Constantinople. The proximity to the political center allowed the city to survive for several centuries. In the XIII century Byzantium briefly ceased to exist after Constantinople was captured by the Crusaders. The Catholics established several states on the territory of Greece. Athens became the center of a small duchy, dominated by the French and Italians.

Turkish city

In 1458 the city was captured by Muslims by the Turks. He became a part of the Ottoman Empire for a long time. Several times Athens became the target for the attacks of the Venetian Republic, which fought against Turkey for domination of the Mediterranean. In the XVII century, during one of the sieges, the ancient Parthenon was destroyed.

The modern capital of Greece

Despite the power of the Turks, the Greek nation survived, although, of course, it had little in common with the ancient Greeks. This people had its own orthodox church - the Christian religion has remained here since Byzantium. In the XIX century, amid the crisis in the empire, the Greek national upsurge began. The revolution, supported by many European Christian countries, broke out. In 1833, an independent Greek kingdom emerged, the capital of which was Athens.

After liberation from Turkish rule, a colossal archaeological work unfolded here. A huge number of European specialists and historians began to study the remains of the ancient city. At the same time, the restoration of the city began. Here the famous architects (for example, Teofil von Hansen and Leo von Klenze) who flocked the neglected streets flocked. In 1896 the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens.

At the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to the Greco-Turkish agreements on the exchange of the population, compatriots from the most remote lands returned to the city. Millions of Greeks were able to visit Athens for the first time. The geographical location of the capital allowed many of the settlers to be accommodated.

During the Second World War, Athens was not long in the German occupation. Today it is a modern European city with numerous monuments of antiquity and developed infrastructure.

Little Geography

The city is located on the central plain of Attica (south of the Balkan Peninsula), washed by the Saronic Gulf. It currently occupies almost the entire territory of the plain, so soon the city will have nowhere to grow because of natural boundaries in the form of mountains and water. But while the suburbs on the outskirts are expanding. Through Athens flowing rivers Kifisos, Eridan and Pikrodafni.