![Map ancient athens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Map_ancient_athens.png)
The Themistoclean Wall ( el, Θεμιστόκλειον τείχος), named after the
Athenian
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
statesman
Themistocles
Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. A ...
, was built in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Greece during the 5th century BC as a result of the
Persian Wars
The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the ...
and in the hopes of defending against further invasion.
History
![City walls Kerameikos Athens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/City_walls_Kerameikos_Athens.jpg)
The Persian Wars were waged by the
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
of Persia in an attempt to conquer the Greeks. King
Darius I
Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...
was unsuccessful in his invasion attempt and was followed by his son,
Xerxes I
Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of ...
, who led the
Second Persian Wars which lasted from 480 to 479 BC. Xerxes saw more victories than his father, successfully
burning down Athens. Following the Persian Wars the Greek city states were left in disarray. Many buildings, statues, and fortifications of the Greek city states were destroyed.
The people of Athens were worried by a return of the Persians, and Themistocles advocated rebuilding the walls before anything else so they decided to act upon this plan. This project was opposed by the
Spartans
Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...
and their Peloponnesian allies alarmed by the increasing power of Athens, arguing that a walled Athens would be a useful base for an invading army, and that the defences of the
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth (Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancien ...
would provide a sufficient shield against invaders. The Athenians went ahead to protect themselves from the Peloponnesians;
[Fine, ''The Ancient Greeks'', 330] 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 ...
, in his account of these events, describes a series of complex machinations by
Themistocles
Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. A ...
through which he distracted and delayed the Spartans until the walls were built up high enough to provide adequate protection.
The Themistoclean Wall was completed in 479 BC
[Neer, Richard T. ''Greek Art and Archaeology: a New History, c. 2500-c. 150 BCE''. Thames & Hudson, 2012.] and built with
spolia
''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...
, old materials, in this case destroyed temples, statues, and other ruins
because of the rushed nature of the work and the readily available material. It had a total length of 8500 m, height 8–10 m, width 3m and had at least 13 gates.
The wall bisected the
Kerameikos
Kerameikos (, ) also known by its Latinized form Ceramicus, is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the ancient city walls, on both sides of the Dipylon Ga ...
cemetery where all of the funerary sculptures were built into it and two large city gates facing north-west were erected. The
Sacred Way
The Sacred Way ( grc, Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, ''Hierá Hodós''), in ancient Greece, was the road from Athens to Eleusis. It was so called because it was the route taken by a procession celebrating the Eleusinian Mysteries. The procession to Eleus ...
ran through the
Sacred Gate
The Sacred Gate ( gr, Ἱερὰ Πύλη, ''Hiera Pyle'') was a gate in the city wall of Classical Athens, in the modern neighbourhood of Kerameikos. Its name derives from the Sacred Way that led from it to Eleusis, the site of the Eleusinian Mys ...
, on the southern side, to
Eleusis
Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest ...
. On the northern side a wide road, the Dromos, ran through the double-arched
Dipylon
The Dipylon ( gr, Δίπυλον, "Two-Gated") was the main gate in the city wall of Classical Athens. Located in the modern suburb of Kerameikos, it led to the namesake ancient cemetery, and to the roads connecting Athens with the rest of Greece. ...
Gate (also known as the Thriasian Gate) and on to the Platonic Academy a few miles away.
After their defeat in the
Peloponnesian war
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
in 404 BC the Athenians had to destroy all the walls. However, when democracy was re-established
Conon
Conon ( el, Κόνων) (before 443 BC – c. 389 BC) was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, who led the Athenian naval forces when they were defeated by a Peloponnesian fleet in the crucial Battle of Aegospotami; later he c ...
repaired the city walls in 394 BC. Facing the
Macedonian invasion in 338 BC, a smaller wall, the Proteichisma, was built in front of the main one as an extra defence.
The walls were badly damaged when
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
besieged and attacked the city in 86 BC. They were eventually rebuilt along some sections by
Valerian (253-260 AD).
Visible remains
The main visible remains are:
[Strolling Through Athens: Fourteen Unforgettable Walks Through Europe's Oldest City, John Freely. 9781850435952 p 165-]
* in the Kerameikos, the highest remaining section
* on the
Pnyx
The Pnyx (; grc, Πνύξ ; ell, Πνύκα, ''Pnyka'') is a hill in central Athens, the capital of Greece. Beginning as early as 507 BC (Fifth-century Athens), the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, thus making t ...
(foundations)
* near Kotzia square, near the Acharnian gate visible in the basement of National Bank on Aiolou Street
* at 29 Erysichthonos; a section in a house basement which was just north of the Peiraic Gate
Gates
The Themistoclean Wall had a number of gates, many of which have been excavated in whole or in part. The most important were:
*
Dipylon Gate
The Dipylon ( gr, Δίπυλον, "Two-Gated") was the main gate in the city wall of Classical Athens. Located in the modern suburb of Kerameikos, it led to the namesake ancient cemetery, and to the roads connecting Athens with the rest of Greece. ...
(Δίπυλον, "Double Gate"), originally the Thriasian Gates (Θριάσιαι Πύλαι)
*
Sacred Gate
The Sacred Gate ( gr, Ἱερὰ Πύλη, ''Hiera Pyle'') was a gate in the city wall of Classical Athens, in the modern neighbourhood of Kerameikos. Its name derives from the Sacred Way that led from it to Eleusis, the site of the Eleusinian Mys ...
(Ἱερὰ Πύλη)
*
Peiraic Gate (Πειραϊκαὶ Πύλαι, "Gate of
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
")
*
Demian Gate
''Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth'' is a Bildungsroman by Hermann Hesse, first published in 1919; a prologue was added in 1960. ''Demian'' was first published under the pseudonym "Emil Sinclair", the name of the narrator of the story, ...
(Δήμιαι Πύλαι, "Gate of the Executioner")
*
Eriai Gate (Ήριαι Πύλαι, "Gate of the Graves")
*
Acharnian Gate
Acharnae or Acharnai (; grc, Ἀχαρναί) was a ''deme'' of ancient Athens. It was part of the phyle Oineis.
Acharnae, according to Thucydides, was the largest deme in Attica. In the fourth century BCE, 22 of the 500 members of the bou ...
(Ἀχαρνικαὶ Πύλαι, "Gate of
Acharnae
Acharnae or Acharnai (; grc, Ἀχαρναί) was a ''deme'' of ancient Athens. It was part of the phyle Oineis.
Acharnae, according to Thucydides, was the largest deme in Attica. In the fourth century BCE, 22 of the 500 members of the At ...
")
* Northeastern Gate (modern name, ancient name unknown)
*
Diochares Gate (Διοχάρους Πύλαι), not excavated
*
Hippades Gate (Ἱππάδες Πύλαι, "Gate of the Riders") or Gate of
Aegeus
In Greek mythology, Aegeus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰγεύς, Aigeús, also spelled Aegeas) was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was the father of Theseus. He was also the founder of A ...
(Αἰγέως Πύλαι)
*
Diomeian Gate (Διόμιαι Πύλαι, "Gate of
Diomeia Diomea or Diomeia ( grc, Διόμεια) was a deme of ancient Attica, located in the city of Athens, both within and outside the walls of Themistocles, in interior portion included the eastern sector of the city, and the external portion contained ...
"), not excavated
*
Itonian Gate (Ἰτώνιαι Πύλαι)
*
Halade Gate (Ἅλαδε Πύλαι) or eastern Phaleric Gate (Φαληρική Πύλη), not excavated
* South Gate (modern name, ancient name unknown) or western Phaleric Gate (Φαληρική Πύλη)
*
Dipylon above the Gates (Δίπυλον το ὑπέρ τῶν Πυλῶν)
*
Melitides Gate (Μελίτιδαι Πύλαι, "Gate of
Melite")
See also
*
City walls of Athens
The city of Athens, capital of modern Greece, has had different sets of city walls from the Bronze Age to the early 19th century. The city walls of Athens include:
* the Mycenaean Cyclopean fortifications of the Acropolis of Athens
* the Pelasgic ...
References
Sources
*Peck, Harry T. “Athenae.” ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'', Harper and Brothers, 1898.
Perseus
*Neer, Richard T. ''Greek Art and Archaeology: a New History, c. 2500-c. 150 BCE''. Thames & Hudson, 2012.
*Wees, Hans Van. ''Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities''. Gerald Duckworth & Co., 2004.
*Sage, Michael M. ''Warfare in Ancient Greece: A Sourcebook''. Routledge, 1996.
*
*
* {{cite book , first = F. E. , last = Winter , title = Greek Fortifications , publisher = Routledge & Kegan Paul , year = 1971 , isbn = 978-0-608154244
Ancient Greek fortifications in Greece
Classical Athens
Ancient Greek buildings and structures in Athens
Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century BC
City walls of Athens