One of the most beautiful and illustrious ancient cities with a powerful economy, access to the sea, beautiful temples - Ancient Athens, named after one of the most revered goddesses of Greece, Athens. On the Greek Olympus, she was known as the patroness of war, sciences, crafts, and was also distinguished by her extraordinary wisdom. The city, named after this deity, should not be inferior in grandeur and power to its patroness.
Occurrence
The capital of Ancient Greece grew up on the site of an elevated hill - the Acropolis. According to legend, in 1825 BC. e. Attica's first king, Kekrop, erected a fortress on the top of the Acropolis, laying the city on this site. Not without the participation of the gods this construction took place. Athena argued with the ruler of the seas and oceans Poseidon, in honor of whom the city would be named, and who would later become its patron. The judges were the supreme gods of Olympus, led by Zeus. The competing gods were given the task: "Whoever brings the most useful gift to the city dwellers will become his patron." Poseidon gifted Ancient Athens with the sun's rays, striking his trident against a rock, and Athena, having thrust a spear into the rock, brought the Greeks an olive. The gods of Olympus leaned toward the gift of Poseidon, but the goddesses and Kekrop supported the patroness of the war. Athena won the argument not in vain, because under her auspices Athens achieved a high economic, political and cultural development. And in honor of the loser Poseidon, the Greeks soon erected a temple.
The city grew noticeably as a result of the resettlement of the people on its safe rocks, who were forced to emigrate due to the constant raids of nomadic tribes.
Heyday of athens
The city reached high development during the reign of Pisistratus. This cruel, but smart king believed that it was lazy people who threatened his power and were able to raise the people to rebellion. It was during his time that the huge Agora market square was built, to which buyers from all over the world came. It was very easy to trade the Greeks, as they, as residents of an island nation, had access to the sea. Agriculture and breeding animals could not distinguish Ancient Greece. Athens was no exception, the main reason for this was the rocky surface of the earth, on which nothing grew. But the Greeks earned on trade in full. Tsar Pisistratus was a famous builder: the temples of Apollo and Zeus of Olympia were erected during his reign. He managed to complete the Temple of Apollo, but Antiochus IV Epiphanes continued to erect the monastery of Zeus. But it was not fate that the temple be built in a short period of time. The Roman conqueror of Sulla destroyed it, and only the ruler Adrian completed the construction.
Historians believe that it was Pisistratus who laid the foundation of the famous Parthenon temple. His story is quite dramatic. Having not existed for long, it was destroyed by the Persians, and only the ruler Pericles was able to rebuild it. The famous sculptor Phidias, the author of one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the statue of Olympian Zeus - was invited to work on the beautiful and rich temple. His sculpture of Athena was so beautiful that the rulers did not dare to erect other structures on the Acropolis.
If you believe the conclusions of archaeologists who studied the teeth of the remains of residents of that era, Ancient Athens fell from an epidemic of plague or, as it was called, typhoid fever, which was rampant there in 430-423. Due to this incurable disease, a third of the state’s population died, the famous city - Ancient Athens fell.
