The most complete information guide about Athens, Greece
HISTORY
OF ATHENS
Athens during the Middle Ages
(267-1456)
The
year 267 is a significant one in the history of Athens. It was
when the Herulians, a Germanic tribe from the north coast of the
Black Sea, invaded the city and razed it to the ground almost
in its entirety. As a result, the city, as it had been formed
during the Roman period with the expansion of the residential
area and the splendid public buildings, changed completely. A
small area, around the Roman Agora, became the main residential
area which, in 280, was enclosed by a wall known as the Late Roman
Wall. This area would be the main part of the city for several
centuries.
However,
efforts were made towards the restoration of at least some of
the public buildings under the protection of Emperor Diocletian
who assigned the reconstruction to a special official, the “corrector”
of the province of Achaia (Corrector Provinciae Achaeae), since
Athens came under the administrative jurisdiction of that province.
The first building to regain its former appearance was Hadrian’s
Library, probably because it was the place where the tax archives
were kept.
Even
though it was confined, 4th century Athens was intellectually
radiant. Its schools continued to operate and gathered students
from all over the world, especially those who wanted to study
philosophy and rhetoric. Important philosophers and orators such
as Libanius and Himerius, Longinus and Porphyry, taught in the
city’s schools. Some of the students of the 4th century
were the future emperor Julian, Basil the Great and Gregory of
Nazianzos.
The
blow dealt to the city by the Visigoths and their leader Alaric
in 395-396 was not enough to impede its course as an intellectual
centre. The late 4th century saw an extensive building activity,
which led to the expansion of the city beyond the Late Roman Wall.
This was the period of the reconstruction of the Theatre of Dionysos
as a meeting place, the Tholos and the Metroon in the Ancient
Agora. New constructions were:
•
the Gymnasium of the Ancient Agora, a complex that included
teaching halls, a
library, a training site and baths
• a building dedicated by the eparch (governor of a province
of Roman Greece) Aetius
to the emperors Arcadius and Honorius.
Many
private philosophy schools were built near the Areios Pagos and
on the south slope of the Acropolis. The repairs at Hadrian’s
Library were made thanks to Herculius, eparch of Illyricum who
had shown a great interest in the city.
The Neo-Platonic Academy
The
5th century was a thriving period for the Neo-Platonic Academy.
It was headed by outstanding philosophers such as Plutarch, Syrianus
and, the most renowned, Proclus (412-485), who was put in charge
of the Academy in 427. The commentarial work by Proclus covers
a very wide range of works by ancient philosophers. His most important
works include the commentaries on the Platonic dialogue “Timaeus”
and on the first book of the “Elements” by Euclid
as well as an overview of the astronomical theories set out until
that time. Recent excavations brought to light the location of
his residence at the south slope of the Acropolis.
Proclus
had lived most of his life in Athens with the exception of a short
period of time, in about 450, during which he left the city on
the grounds of religious conflicts. He had been one of the most
active citizens who participated in the common affairs of the
city until his death in 485. The school acquired great prestige
under his guidance and his works, despite the subsequent religious
conflicts, have survived to a large extent.
Throughout
the 5th century, the city maintained a pagan way of life following
the Greco-Roman tradition. Institutions of the Classical period
such as the eponymous archon as well as rituals like the Panathinaic
procession were still in use. Certain renowned families seem to
have played a significant role in it. The archon patrician and
senator Theagenes, one of the archons of that time, was sponsor
of the Panathenaic procession. He was an eminent member of the
imperial court who was married to Asclepigeneia, grand-daughter
of the Neo-Platonic Plutarch.
Another
well known person of that time was Leontios, teacher of the Academy
and father of Athenais. She is better known as Eudocia, a name
she took when she was
baptized a Christian. She became the wife of Emperor Theodosius
II (408-450). She had received a classical education and was intellectually
broad-minded. Nevertheless, she did nothing to prevent Theodosius
from effecting persecutions, to a limited extent, against all
pagans and from carrying off works off art from the city in order
to enhance the beauty of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine
Empire. The palace she built near the Acropolis proves, however,
that she maintained relations with her native city.
Christianity in Athens
Throughout
the late antiquity, paganism and Christianity seem to have co-existed
rather peacefully. As early as the time of Dionysus the Areopagite,
there was a small Christian community in Athens that made its
presence more felt from the 4th century onwards. Proof of its
existence was found in clay lamps with Christian symbols and tomb
slabs found during the excavations in the Agora.
Perhaps
the oldest Christian church in the city was founded in the
5th century at the centre of Hadrian’s Library. It was
a central plan church known as Tetraconch, which later, in
the 7th century, would be replaced by the basilica of the
Great Virgin Mary (Megali Panagia). At the same time a large
three-aisled basilica was built on the banks of the Ilissos
river next to the martyrium that housed the relics of the
martyr Leonides.
It
seems that the followers of Christianity multiplied dynamically
after the measures taken by Theodosius in 437 when he banned all
ancient cults. The Christian community received members of a particular
economic and social prosperity. By the end of the 5th century
they had almost prevailed over the pagans. This is clear judging
from the appropriations of the sanctuary of Asclepius, following
the death of Proclus, which, until then, was the main sanctuary
of the Academy but also from the temporary exile of Marinos, the
new head of the school.
The
final defeat of the pagans was brought about by the decree of
Emperor Justinian in 529, which imposed the shutting down of the
Neo-Platonic school. The last teachers (Damascius, Simplicius,
Priscianus, Eulamius, Hermeias, Diogenes and Isidorus of Gaza)
abandoned the city and sought refuge in the court of the Persian
king Chosroes. The predominance of the Christians is also reflected
in the conversion of the ancient sanctuaries into Christian churches.
In
the mid-6th century, the Temple of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon
was converted into the church of the Virgin Mary of Athens (Panagia
Athiniotissa). In the early 7th century, the Erechteion changed
into a three-aisled basilica, the Temple of Hephaestus at the
Agora was dedicated to Saint George and later the sanctuary of
Artemis Agrotera on the banks of the Ilissos River became a church
dedicated to the Virgin Mary. At the same time, a number of churches
were built on or very close to ancient monuments such as the three-aisled
basilica dedicated to Saint Anargyri which was built on the site
of the sanctuary of Asclepius and the basilica at the Theatre
of Dionysos.
An
interesting fact is that the ancient sanctuaries were dedicated
to saints of the Christian religion with similar qualities. The
sanctuary of Asclepius became the church of Saint Anargyri (Healing
Saints) and the fountain was transformed into holy water. The
temple of the ancient doctor Toxaris was converted into the church
of Saint John, the healer of fever. This habit was continued throughout
the following period. The caves of the Acropolis were also transformed
into Christian churches. For example, the cave of Pan became the
chapel of Saint Athanasios and the cave of Clepsydra became the
chapel of the Holy Apostles.
During
the last two centuries of antiquity, Athens experienced prosperity
judging by the numerous pottery workshops that have been discovered
but also judging from the new fortification of the city by Emperor
Justianian at the border of the former Themistoclean Wall, a fact
that reveals the expansion of the settlement.
In
the late 6th century (582), however, Slavs and Avars attacked
the city causing complete devastation. This invasion marks the
transition to a new era for which very little information is available.
This new period was the conclusion of a series of changes (administrative,
economic and social) throughout the empire, which signified the
end of the cities as they were known since antiquity, namely as
autonomous centers.