Classical Athens
City-state in ancient Greece / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 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.
Athens Ἀθῆναι (Ancient Greek) | |||||||||
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| 508 BC–322 BC | |||||||||
 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 democracy | ||||||||
| Eponymous archon | |||||||||
• 508–507 BC | Isagoras | ||||||||
• 322–321 BC | Philocles | ||||||||
| Legislature | Boule Ecclesia | ||||||||
| Historical era | Classical antiquity | ||||||||
| 508 BC | |||||||||
| 478–404 BC (404–403 BC Thirty tyrants) | |||||||||
| 378–355 BC | |||||||||
| 322 BC | |||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 5th century BC1 | ~250,000 (men with civil rights: ~30,000) | ||||||||
| Currency | Drachma | ||||||||
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In the classical period, Athens was a centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, 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]