Top 10 historical facts about the city of Athens

Top 10 historical facts about the city of Athens

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Athens’ official name is the Hellenic Republic, and is one of the most important cities in Greece; a country, close to both Asia and Africa and is located in Southern Europe. As big and as vibrant as it, with its popularity with tourists, Greek Architecture, and art enthusiasts, Athens had at some point in history been reduced to a small almost insignificant town. See, during the Ottoman conquest of the city and other Greek towns, the inhabitants decided to flee to safer places leaving the city with just about 400 houses and a wrecked city! 

 Here are ten other fascinating facts about Athens that you will find interesting!

1. Old City! 

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Athens had formally been ruled by kings, until the 9th Century BC. It is Europe’s oldest capital! It is said that Athens succeeded vastly in bringing other towns in Attica under its rule. However, at some point in time, all these towns became difficult to manage, and the Areopagus (the council of government) appointed Draco to draft a strict code of law (Draconian law). Solon was appointed to create a new constitution after this attempt failed. The city is named after Athens, the god of wisdom and warfare. The city, being the oldest, has also experienced all forms of government known to man. I mean, the city’s first inhabitants landed there in 7000BCE!

The city of Athens is the world’s oldest democracy since people’s ability to voting for laws was introduced around 500 BC.

2. Use of coins 

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In 575 BCE, coins started being used in Athens. The ancient Greek coinage is divided into four periods, the Archaic, the Classical, the Hellenistic, and the Roman. The Archaic period started from the 7th Century until the Persian Wars, in 480 BC. The Classical Period then went on until 330 BC, after which the Hellenistic period began, lasting until the Roman absorption of the Greek world.  

Athens was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1458, under the leadership of Sultan Mehmed II. While the Sultan rode into the city, he admired the beauty and ancient monuments. He forbade the destruction of the city during the siege, and it remained under his rule.

3. The capital of Greece

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Athens became the capital of the Kingdom of Greece in 1834. The Kingdom of Greece was established in 1832 by the Great Powers. The Great Powers are the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire. At this moment, Greece gained full independence from the Ottoman Empire. Before Athens became the capital of Greece, Nafplio was the capital from 1832 to 1834.

4. The Goudi coup 

The Goudi Coup took place in 1909. It was a military coup that brought with it the arrival of Eleftherios Venizelos and his appointment as Prime Minister. This changed Greek political life, which was now divided into two groups: liberal, republican Venizelism, and conservative, monarchist anti-Venizelism.

5. What is in a name?

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Did you know that Athens is named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare? Athens has been a powerful city since about the 5th Century BC; Athens and Sparta were both under the rule of powerful people, but after some time, Athens became a democracy, while Sparta –now called Sparti, continued being ruled as an Oligarch. 

6. It’s playtime!

Athens is an absolute beauty, and not only because of its architecture, but theater as well! It is home to theaters and stages that host all kinds of performances. The theater has been home to theater plays since its first democracy and it’s a tradition that Athenians take very seriously. After all, the city has over 145 theaters in the city!

7. A Home to great people

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Athens is a city of great people and great development in arts, education, music and so on. The famous Plato and Aristotle came from Athens. The Plato Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum is located here. But even as we look at people in the old times, did you know that the co-founder and former Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post, Ariana Huffington was born in Athens? Other notable people include actor Zack Galifianakis, Tina Fey, Hugh Jackman, WWE Champion Dave Bautista, Jennifer Aniston, and surprisingly, Prince Phillip; yes, the English Royal, husband to Queen Elizabeth II!

8. Athens the archeological city

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When the transport system was developed in the city, no one expected to find anything more than a transport system; but during the construction, archeological artifacts were discovered. More than 50, 000 of them and some of them were displayed in six metro stations. This was during the expansion of the Athens Metro System during the 2004 Olympic Games. 

There are also other 17 Foreign Archeological Institutes in the city, and so when you are in Athens, make sure to visit one of them.

9. Home of airports 

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Since Athens is the home of great things, beautiful Greek architecture, art galleries, markets, and culture, it is not very surprising to know that majority of the airports in Greece are located in the city of Athens. No other city in Europe has the same number of international Airports that Athens has! This could be attributed to the fact that the city is a tourist destination for many people especially during the summer when the number of tourists soars. 

10. Sporty City!

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Athletics enthusiasts will be surprised to know that the popular marathon games were first discovered in Athens when a Greek soldier ran from Marathon to Athens to report that Athens had won against the Persians in 490 BC! And talking of sports, Athens held the first modern Olympic games were held in Athens in 1892, the first Olympic Games were held in Olympia in 776 BC. And many years later, the Olympics went back to Athens in 2004.

Athens is one of the oldest cities known to man; it has had its fair share of drama and history, the many things that have happened over time have made the city one to enjoy and one to love! If you must visit one city in the world, choose Athens!