Travel Guide Athens & Attica

Ancient Greece

Even in ancient Greece, Athens was one of the most powerful city states (póleis in Greek) in Greece. Particularly in the Geometric period (900-700 BC) and the Archaic period (700-500 BC), Athens was able to consolidate its position as a powerful, politically and economically important poleis. In particular, the fortifications on the Acropolois and the central access to the sea on the Saronic Gulf gave the city an advantage over Thebes and Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. It also meant a certain degree of prosperity for the city, even if not all of the city's inhabitants, most of whom were slaves and foreigners (métoikos in Greek), were involved.

Until the year 510 BC. BC, Athens was ruled by tyranny under Peisistratos and later his sons, Hippias and Hipparchos. After the tyranny ended in 510 BC with the murder or expulsion of the brothers, the democratisation of Athens began. Essentially introduced by the reforms of the politician Kleisthenes, this was a milestone in political history - and the foundation stone for democracy, which is the form of government in 76 countries today.

Athens' heyday

Athens experienced its real heyday in the 5th century BC after the Persian Wars. While the harbour of Piraeus developed into the most important hub in the Mediterranean, the most important writers, mathematicians and artists stayed in the city. However, Athens is particularly famous for its history of philosophy: The pre-Socratics, for example, founded Western (Western philosophy) and defined the world view with their ideas in the 5th century BC. Athens - the cradle of civilisation - also attracted many poets and thinkers in the following centuries. In the 4th century, the world-famous philosophers Plato and Aristotle lived in Athens, who for the first time placed the human being at the centre of their considerations and attempted to answer ethical and political questions.

In the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, Athens stood on the side of Rome in Macedonia's conflicts with the Roman Empire. The city had been under Roman rule since 146 c. Chr. at the latest. However, Athens remained a free city during this time - and in particular a centre of cultural life. The city continued to develop under Roman influence: in addition to the ancient buildings, some of which date back to the 5th century, important structures were added that still characterise the cityscape today. These include, for example, the Roman Angora, which was built during the reign of Emperor Augustus. Roman aristocrats who were devoted to Athens (so-called philhellenes) also donated the City of Hadrian to the city, of which Hadrian's Library is still preserved, or had the construction of the Olympieion completed.

Modern Athens

No less than the Romans, the Byzantines and Ottomans also left their mark on Athens when it was under their rule. It was only during the Greek struggle for independence in 1822 that the locals succeeded in ending the siege of the city. The reconstruction of the city began under the first Greek king, Otto I, and was continued by his successor, George I. The first theatres and the National Theatre were built. The first theatres and the National Theatre, the Athens Market Hall, large hotels and many restaurants, cafés and tavernas were built, which also attracted Italians, French, English and Germans to the Greek metropolis. The first modern Summer Olympics were held in Athens in 1896. Despite the world wars and the Balkan wars, which also had an impact on Greece, Athens has managed to preserve its cultural wealth to this day - and is one of the most important and most worthwhile European metropolises!