Travel

Ancient City Of Athens

History:
Athens has the longest history than any other city in Europe. Athens has been inhabited for at least 3.000 years although there is no definite date. Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC. The cultural developments, achievements during the 5th century BC set an infrastructure for the western civilization. In the Middle Ages, Athens witnessed a diminution but a retrieval under the Byzantine Empire. Athens was relatively prosperous during the military movements. Athens also benefitted from the Italian trade. Athens declined under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, however Athens stood forth and presented itself as the capital of the independent Greek state n the 19th century. The ancient Greeks called Athens "Athenai" and is pronounced as (At-he-na). The word is a plural form as originally Athens was a group of villages which was later fused into a single city. It is believed that the Greeks named the City after its guardian, the goddess Athena, or it is also possible that the goddess took her name from the city. Historians assume that the history and origin of Athens was as a Neolithic hill-fort on the Acropolis during the third millennium BC. The Acropolis stands at a natural defensive position. The settlement stood approximately 8 kilometres inland from the Saronic Gulf, in the center of the Cephisian Plain. During the ancient times, the River Cephisus flowed through the city, however Athens occupied a very small area compared to the of modern city of Athens. The ancient city of Athens was walled in an area measuring about 2 kilometers from east to west and even lesser than that from north to south, although at its height Athens had suburbs beyond the mentioned borders.

Mythical Athens:
Some of the wisest men of Greece were born in Athens such as Euripides, Socrates, Sophocles, Plato, Aeschylus, Hippocrates, Homer and Aristotle. Therefore Athens was also the birth place of a great civilization, humanism and intellectual history as well. The ancient world of Athens was a stepping stone to modern day civilization. Greece has sheltered many influential people, and the place itself was a milestone to the commemoration of a new age western world. Athens during the ancient times was the center of arts learning and philosophy. The earliest settlements were at the Plateau and the Acropolis Hills. Historically Athens was first known as Akte or Aktike, the city was so named as the King who ruled Athens at that time was King Akteos; however Athens achieved a second name which was Kekropia, named by the King who succeeded Akteos named Kekrops whose lower body was believed to be like that of a dragon. Kekrops married the daughter of king Akteos and assumed the title of King. There is a myth handed down by the generations that goddess Athena and Poseidon were competing to get charge over the protection of the kingdom. Athena offered the King an olive tree whereas Poseidon struck the rock of acropolis with his trident ( a spear with three prongs); and the three marks can be seen behind the Erechtheum ... which is a temple on the North side of Acropolis, right after which a salted spring raved out of the rock and also a horse was presented to serve the king faithfully. It is believed that the men of Athens preferred the gift of Poseidon and the women preferred the gift of Athena, as a matter of vote the number of women beat the number of men by a single number, hence Athena was the chosen one. Kekrops had divided the attica into 12 divisions....Aphidna, Brauron, Dekeleia, Epakria, Eleusis, Kekropia, Kephisius, Kytherus, Phalerus, Sphettus, Tetrapolis, Thorikus for better administration. He also introduced the worship of Zeus and ceremonial offerings instead of human sacrifice. Once when an enemy had succeeded to lay seize on the City during the reign of Kekrops it was mentioned by a priestess called Pythia at Delphi that according a prophecy, the human sacrifice of an Athenian was necessary, therefore to help her father the daughter of Kekrops whose name was Agravlos gave up her life at acropolis, so the people dedicated a temple at Acropolis to her and they celebrate the festival of Agravleia for her every year. A very popular legend, exposes that Agravlos, the daughter of king Kekrops who sacrificed her life had two other sisters Herse and Pandrosos. They were entrusted with a box by goddess Athena. The Goddess had instructed them not to open it. Pandrosos, the younger sister kept herself away from the box however Agravlos and Herse opened it from sheer curiosity and saw a child who was serpent shaped. According to another version of the legend a snake surrounding the child Erichthonios, which came out of the box and crawled to the shield of Athena. The girls were so frightened from what they saw, that they leapt to their deaths, from the Acropolis.

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