The Pelasgic wall or Pelasgian fortress or ''Enneapylon'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Εννεαπύλον; nine-gated) was a monument supposed to have been built by the

Pelasgians The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...

, after levelling the summit of the rock on the

Acropolis of Athens The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...

and

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

call it "''Pelargikon''", "Stork wall or place". ''"Pelargikon"'' refers to the line of walls at the western foot of the Acropolis. During the time of Thucydides, the wall was said to have stood several meters high with a large, visible fragment at broad, located on to the south of the present

Propylaia In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia (; Greek: προπύλαια) is a monumental gateway. The prototypical Greek example is the propylaea that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis of Athens. The Greek Revival B ...

and close to the earlier gateway. Today, the beveling can be seen but the foundation of the wall lies below the level of the present hill. The

Parian Chronicle The Parian Chronicle or Parian Marble ( la, Marmor Parium, Mar. Par.) is a Greek chronology, covering the years from 1582 BC to 299 BC, inscribed on a stele. Found on the island of Paros in two sections, and sold in Smyrna in the early 17 ...

mentions that the Athenians expelled the

Peisistratids Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, wikt:Πεισίστρατος, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unificat ...

from the "''Pelasgikon teichos''".

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

relates that before the expulsion of the Pelasgians from Attica, the land under

Hymettus Hymettus (), also Hymettos (; el, Υμηττός, translit=Ymittós, pronounced ), is a mountain range in the Athens area of Attica, East Central Greece. It is also colloquially known as ''Trellós'' (crazy) or ''Trellóvouno'' (crazy mountain) ...

had been given to them as a dwelling-place in reward for the wall that had once been built around the Acropolis. Said to have been built by the Pelasgians, there are some remains of this wall still evident in modern Athens. The wall was believed to be thick according to archaeological remains of the site. File:Das Pelargikon - Boetticher Adolf - 1888.jpg, upright=1.3, Sketch of the course of the Pelasgic wall. File:Pelasgic wall on the summit of the Acropolis, south of the Modern Museum.jpg, upright=1.3, Pelasgic wall on the summit of the Acropolis, south of the Modern Museum File:Southwest wing of the Propylaea and Pelasgic wall.jpg, left, Southwest wing of the

Propylaea In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia (; Greek: προπύλαια) is a monumental gateway. They are seen as a partition, specifically for separating the secular and religious pieces of a city. The prototypical Gree ...

and Pelasgic wall.

References

Bibliography

*Jane Ellen Harrison, ''Primitive Athens as Described by Thucydides'', Cambridge, *Anna Maria Theocharaki, ''The Ancient Circuit Walls of Athens'', 2019. *Spyros Iakōvidēs, ''The Mycenaean Acropolis of Athens'', 2006. *Eirini M. Dimitriadou, ''Early Athens: Settlements and Cemeteries in the Submycenaean, Geometric and Archaic Periods'', Monumenta Archaeologica 42, 2019. Acropolis of Athens Helladic civilization Ancient Greek fortifications in Greece City walls of Athens Pelasgians {{Athens-struct-stub