The most complete information guide about Athens, Greece
HISTORY
OF ATHENS
Athens during the Middle Byzantine period
During the
first years of the Middle Byzantine period, after the schools
of Athens had closed and Christianity replaced paganism, Athens
became a provincial city disconnected from the centre of power
and with limited strategic significance.
Little
is known about the city life during that time. Emperor Constans
II spent the winter of 662-663 in Athens on his way to Sicily.
The bishopric of Athens became a metropolis in about the mid-9th
century. The city came under the Theme of Greece (an administrative
district in the Byzantine Empire) seated at Thebes whereas the
local power was exercised by the archon of Athens (athenarchos).
Apparently
the economy of the city was mostly based on agriculture. However,
the fact that two Athenian women ascended the throne of the Easter
Roman Empire, testifies to the existence of aristocratic families.
One of these Athenians was the Empress Eirene of Athens, wife
of Leo IV the Khazar and mother of Constatine VI. She was the
first woman to ascend the imperial throne (797-802). The other
was her niece Theophano, wife of Emperor Stavrakios (811).
Eirene
of Athens (752-803)
Eirene
was Empress of Byzantium, born in Athens, wife of Leo
IV and mother of Constatine VI. After Leo’s dead
she came into power as the guardian of her young son.
Later she removed him from the throne and became the first
Empress (797-802).
She lost her throne to Nikephoros I in 802 and was exiled
to Lesvos.
Eirene
restored the icon worship which had been banned in the
Byzantine Empire by the so-called “eikonomachi”,
(inconoclasts), people who destroyed icons. Emperor Leo
III ordered the destruction of all icons of Jesus, the
Virgin Mary, and the Saints in his empire. She was active
in charitable work and her international policy was quite
successful. Her financial policies, however, proved damaging
to the public in the long run.
The
tomb of Leo, the strategos (general) of Greece who died in 848,
situated on the Acropolis, reveals that, from the 9th century,
the city probably became the seat of the Theme. The development
of Athens also is established by the reissue of the folles, which
were bronze coins for everyday transactions, and by the extensive
building activity shown by archaeological research.
A
great number of churches from the 11th and 12th century have survived.
They have given shape to the so called Athenian type: small-sized
cross-in-square churches with an exquisite eight-sided dome, fine
cloisonné masonry and brickwork decoration with dentils
and kufic motifs. The use of these motifs suggests possible relations
with Arabs and perhaps even the existence of an Arabic community
in Athens.
Typical
churches of that period are the Holy Apostles of Solakis (Agii
Apostoli Solaki), Kapnikarea (Panagia Kapnikarea), the Holy Incorporeal
(Agii Assomati) at Thissio etc. Many of these were founded by
members of the Athenian aristocracy which had acquired affluence
in a growing city.
The
centre of the city covered the area around the Agora and the Acropolis.
An important district was the Tzykanisterion, named after the
place where the tzykanion game was played which resembled today’s
polo. Another district was that of the Konchyliarioi, the purple
dyers, and that of Elafos near the Saint Marina church.
Economy
was based on agriculture and industry, more precisely, pottery,
oil-industry, the production of soap and purple dye. Trade was
also a growing sector. In the 11th century, the Venetians obtained
the right to conduct free trade in the city.
At
times there were severe tensions as a result of the heavy taxations.
One such incident occurred in 915 when the Athenians rose in rebellion
and stoned the administrator at the Parthenon because they held
him responsible for the state policy. Another event was the visit
of Emperor Basil II in 1018 to the church of the Virgin Mary of
Athens (Panagia Athiniotissa) in the Parthenon, where he prayed
for victory against the Bulgars. Panagia Athiniotissa had become
an important shrine that was visited by important clerics.
Until
1203, Athens had not been greatly affected by the general instability
of the Eastern Mediterranean and continued to act as the peripheral
centre of the Easter Roman Empire facing occasional
difficulties such as the Norman and Arab invasions in 1147 and
in the second half of the 12th century. Descriptions of the city,
such as that of the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi, in the 12th century,
present Athens as a greatly populated city surrounded by a rich
country.
Influenced
by Athens as a cultural centre in the past, Michael Choniates
who had profound knowledge of classical literature came to the
city in 1182 in the capacity of
archbishop. He was disappointed by the poverty and the illiteracy
with which he was confronted. His term of office as archbishop
coincided with very difficult times for the city. In 1203, Leo
Sgouros, ruler of Nauplion, attacked Athens whose inhabitants,
with the help of Choniates, withstood the attack. Ultimately,
in 1204, the city was seized by the Frankish crusaders led by
Boniface of Monferrat as part of the Fourth Crusade. This event
introduced a new phase in the history of the city.