History of Athens

Athens

Ἀθῆναι
Athens Ἀθῆναι
Polis
	Painting of an idealized reconstruction of the Acropolis and Areios Pagos in Athens, by Leo von Klenze (1846)

Historical affiliations

Kingdom of Athens 1556 BC–1068 BC
City-state of Athens 1068 BC–322 BC
Hellenic League 338 BC–322 BC
Kingdom of Macedonia 322 BC–148 BC
Roman Republic 146 BC–27 BC
Roman Empire 27 BC–395 AD
Eastern Roman Empire 395–1205
Duchy of Athens 1205–1458
Ottoman Empire 1458–1822, 1826–1832
Provisional Administration of Greece 1822–1826
Kingdom of Greece 1832–1924, 1935–1941, 1944–1973
Second Hellenic Republic 1924–1935
Hellenic State 1941–1944
Greek junta 1973–1974
Third Hellenic Republic 1974–present

Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of Western civilization.

The earliest evidence for human habitation in Athens dates back to the Neolithic period. The Acropolis served as a fortified center during the Mycenaean era. By the 8th century BC, Athens had evolved into a prominent city-state, or polis, within the region of Attica. The 7th and 6th centuries BC saw the establishment of legal codes, such as those by Draco, Solon and Cleisthenes, which aimed to address social inequalities and set the stage for the development of democracy.

In the early 5th century BC, Athens played a central role in repelling Persian invasions and subsequently established its hegemony over other city-states through the formation of the Delian League. Under the leadership of Pericles, the city experienced a period of prosperity and cultural flourishing known as the Golden Age. This era saw the construction of significant architectural works, such as the Parthenon, and advancements in philosophy, drama, and the arts, establishing Athens as a center of classical civilization. The Peloponnesian War against Sparta ended in Athenian defeat and marked a decline in its political power. Nevertheless, under Hellenistic and Roman rule, Athens retained its status as a center of learning, attracting students and philosophers from across the empire.

During the early Middle Ages, the city experienced a decline, then recovered under the later Byzantine Empire and was relatively prosperous during the period of the Crusades (12th and 13th centuries), benefiting from Italian trade. Following a period of sharp decline under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Athens re-emerged in the 19th century as the capital of the independent and self-governing Greek state.