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Athens Greek History

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The History of Athens, Greece Athens’ history dates back longer than any other European city. Located in Greece, Athens has been able to convert to the modern ways of the world while maintaining its ancient atmosphere. Athens is assumed to have begun as a small Neolithic hill-fort on top of Acropolis sometime in the third millennium BC, and the city today has come a long way by building a very successful society with over five million residents. In the beginning, the geographic location and climate played a role in why people chose to live here, but today people travel from all over the world to witness the rich history of the city for themselves. Over time, Athens contributed in huge ways to the world’s heritage, and it became the leading …show more content…

The Golden Age is proof that much more history has survived in Athens compared to any other Greek city-state, and it was during this period that Athens reached its climax of cultural and imperial achievements. Many successful events happened in this time period; such as, the building of the Parthenon and the creation of many famous sculptures and paintings. The unique culture of Athens made it the center of intellectual life. The Golden Age was not full of happy endings, but instead many fatal, bloody wars began raging throughout Greece. Until the Peloponnesian war, Athens continued to experience many cultural achievements. The Peloponnesian war started when Sparta and Athens became hostile with one another. Athens won the war after twenty-seven years of fighting and brought an end to the Golden Age. Many people probably wonder what would be the cause for the two major powers of Greece, Sparta and Athens, to become so hostile that it resulted in a bloody battle that lasted over two decades. Spartan leaders saw Athens as a threat due to the popularity and success of democracy in Athens and how it could interfere with Sparta’s conservative Oligarchy. The threat of Athens military power made Sparta fear that their state would lose its dominance. Sparta interfered and finally got what …show more content…

Athens attacked Sicily, but with the help of the Spartans, the Sicily city of Syracuse broke the blockade the Athenians had set up. The Spartans defeated the Athenian army and then destroyed them once they tried to retreat. Athens was now stuck in a political turmoil, and their democracy was overthrown by the oligarchical party. Due to several military victories, the Athenian navy found confidence in themselves and decided to begin working on restoring the democracy. Sparta offered to come to a peace agreement with Athens, but Athenian democratic leaders declined which lead to the war at sea to continue. In 404 BC the war finally ended with the Athenians surrendering and Sparta stripping them of their empire. Fortunately, Sparta did not destroy the city itself. Athens capitulated and their defeat resulted as the worst war so far in history, hurting Greece’s military strength. Thucydides who was an Athenian general during the war stated that the cause behind the war was human greed and desire for power, and he viewed the war as a complete disaster. Many people probably wonder how it was possible for Athens to still be a powerful city after all the devastation the city went through. Fortunately, all the events leading up to the loss to Sparta helped keep Athens history alive and the achievements of Athens in philosophy, drama, and art continued even after the city’s success faded. After a long

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