Athens Ἀθῆναι (Ancient Greek) | |||||||||
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| 508 BC–322 BC | |||||||||
.png) Owl of Athena, patron of Athens
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 Delian League ("Athenian Empire") shown in yellow, Athenian territory shown in red, situation in 431 BC, before the Peloponnesian War. | |||||||||
| Capital | Athens | ||||||||
| Common languages | Attic Greek | ||||||||
| Religion | Greek Polytheism | ||||||||
| Government | Athenian direct democracy | ||||||||
| Eponymous archon | |||||||||
• 508–507 BC | Isagoras | ||||||||
• 322–321 BC | Philocles | ||||||||
| Legislature | Boule Ecclesia | ||||||||
| Historical era | Classical antiquityClassical Greece | ||||||||
• Cleisthenes establishes Athenian democracy | 508 BC | ||||||||
| 478–404 BC | |||||||||
| 404–403 BC | |||||||||
| 378–355 BC | |||||||||
| 322 BC | |||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 5th century BC1 | ~250,000 (men with civil rights: ~30,000) | ||||||||
| Currency | Drachma | ||||||||
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| Part of the Politics series |
| Republicanism |
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 Politics portal |
The city of Athens (Ancient Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athênai [a.tʰɛ̂ː.nai̯]; Modern Greek: Αθήναι, Athine [a.ˈθi.ne̞] or, more commonly and in singular, Αθήνα, Athina [a.'θi.na]) during the classical period of ancient Greece (480–323 BC)[1] was the major urban centre of the notable polis (city-state) of the same name, located in Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Isagoras. This system remained remarkably stable, and with a few brief interruptions, it remained in place for 180 years, until 322 BC (aftermath of Lamian War). The peak of Athenian hegemony was achieved in the 440s to 430s BC, known as the Age of Pericles.
In the classical period, Athens was a centre for the arts, learning, and philosophy, the home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum,[2][3] Athens was also the birthplace of Socrates, Plato, Pericles, Aristophanes, Sophocles, and many other prominent philosophers, writers, and politicians of the ancient world. It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western Civilization, and the birthplace of democracy,[4] largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then-known European continent.[5]
- ^ Democracy and knowledge: innovation and learning in classical Athens by Josiah Ober p. 40 ISBN 0-691-13347-6 (2008)
- ^ "Plato's Academy". Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Archived from the original on 2007-03-21. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
- ^ "Greece uncovers 'holy grail' of Greek archeology". CNN. 1997-01-16. Archived from the original on April 4, 2005. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
- ^ Cartledge, Paul. "Ancient History in depth: The Democratic Experiment". BBC. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ "Ancient Greece". MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on 2009-10-28. Retrieved 26 January 2007.