Themistoclean Walls
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The Themistoclean Wall (), named after the
Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
statesman
Themistocles Themistocles (; ; ) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. As a politician, Themistocles was a populist, having th ...
, was built in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, Greece during the 5th century BC as a result of the
Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of th ...
and in the hopes of defending against further invasion.


History

The Persian Wars were waged by the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
of Persia in an attempt to conquer the Greeks. King
Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...
was unsuccessful in his invasion attempt and was followed by his son,
Xerxes I Xerxes I ( – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was a List of monarchs of Persia, Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. He was ...
, who led the Second Persian Wars which lasted from 480 to 479 BC. Xerxes saw more victories than his father, successfully burning down Athens. Following the Persian Wars the Greek city states were left in disarray. Many buildings, statues, and fortifications of the Greek city states were destroyed. The people of Athens were worried by a return of the Persians, and Themistocles advocated rebuilding the walls before anything else so they decided to act upon this plan. This project was opposed by the
Spartans Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...
and their Peloponnesian allies alarmed by the increasing power of Athens, arguing that a walled Athens would be a useful base for an invading army, and that the defences of the
Isthmus of Corinth The Isthmus of Corinth ( Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The wide Isthmus was known in the a ...
would provide a sufficient shield against invaders. The Athenians went ahead to protect themselves from the Peloponnesians;Fine, ''The Ancient Greeks'', 330
Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...
, in his account of these events, describes a series of complex machinations by
Themistocles Themistocles (; ; ) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. As a politician, Themistocles was a populist, having th ...
through which he distracted and delayed the Spartans until the walls were built up high enough to provide adequate protection. The Themistoclean Wall was completed in 479 BCNeer, Richard T. ''Greek Art and Archaeology: a New History, c. 2500-c. 150 BCE''. Thames & Hudson, 2012. and built with
spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin for 'spoils'; : ''spolium'') are stones taken from an old structure and repurposed for new construction or decorative purposes. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice (spoliation) whereby stone that has been quar ...
, old materials, in this case destroyed temples, statues, and other ruins because of the rushed nature of the work and the readily available material. It had a total length of 8500 m, height 8–10 m, width 3m and had at least 13 gates. The wall bisected the
Kerameikos Kerameikos (, ) also known by its latinization of names, Latinized form Ceramicus, is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, Athens, Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the ancient ci ...
cemetery where all of the funerary sculptures were built into it and two large city gates facing north-west were erected. The
Sacred Way A sacred way, spirit way, spirit road, spirit path, etc. (, ''shéndào'') is the ornate road leading to a Chinese tomb of a major dignitary. The sacred way is lined on both sides by a succession of statues, pillars, and stelae. The statues al ...
ran through the
Sacred Gate The Sacred Gate (, ''Hiera Pyle'') was a gate in the city wall of Classical Athens, in the modern neighbourhood of Kerameikos. Its name derives from the Sacred Way that led from it to Eleusis, the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusini ...
, on the southern side, to
Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...
. On the northern side a wide road, the Dromos, ran through the double-arched
Dipylon The Dipylon (, "Two-Gated") was the main gate in the Themistoclean Walls, city wall of Classical Athens. Located in the modern suburb of Kerameikos, it led to the namesake ancient cemetery, and to the roads connecting Athens with the rest of Greec ...
Gate (also known as the Thriasian Gate) and on to the Platonic Academy a few miles away. After their defeat in the
Peloponnesian war The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...
in 404 BC the Athenians had to destroy all the walls. However, when democracy was re-established
Conon Conon () (before 443 BC – ) was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, who led the Athenian naval forces when they were defeated by a Peloponnesian fleet in the crucial Battle of Aegospotami; later he contributed significantly ...
repaired the city walls in 394 BC. Facing the
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...
invasion in 338 BC, a smaller wall, the Proteichisma, was built in front of the main one as an extra defence. The walls were badly damaged when
Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...
besieged and attacked the city in 86 BC. They were eventually rebuilt along some sections by Valerian (253-260 AD).


Visible remains

The main visible remains are:Strolling Through Athens: Fourteen Unforgettable Walks Through Europe's Oldest City, John Freely. 9781850435952 p 165- * in the Kerameikos, the highest remaining section * on the
Pnyx The Pnyx (; ; , ''Pnyka'') is a hill or hillside in central Athens, the capital of Greece. Beginning as early as 507 BC (Fifth-century Athens), the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, thus making the hill one of the ...
(foundations) * near Kotzia square, near the Acharnian gate visible in the basement of National Bank on Aiolou Street * at 29 Erysichthonos; a section in a house basement which was just north of the Peiraic Gate


Gates

The Themistoclean Wall had a number of gates, many of which have been excavated in whole or in part. The most important were: *
Dipylon Gate The Dipylon (, "Two-Gated") was the main gate in the city wall of Classical Athens. Located in the modern suburb of Kerameikos, it led to the namesake ancient cemetery, and to the roads connecting Athens with the rest of Greece. The gate was of m ...
(Δίπυλον, "Double Gate"), originally the Thriasian Gates (Θριάσιαι Πύλαι) *
Sacred Gate The Sacred Gate (, ''Hiera Pyle'') was a gate in the city wall of Classical Athens, in the modern neighbourhood of Kerameikos. Its name derives from the Sacred Way that led from it to Eleusis, the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusini ...
(Ἱερὰ Πύλη) * Peiraic Gate (Πειραϊκαὶ Πύλαι, "Gate of
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...
") * Demian Gate (Δήμιαι Πύλαι, "Gate of the Executioner") * Eriai Gate (Ήριαι Πύλαι, "Gate of the Graves") * Acharnian Gate (Ἀχαρνικαὶ Πύλαι, "Gate of
Acharnae Acharnae or Acharnai (; ) was a ''deme'' of ancient Athens. It was part of the phyle Oineis. Acharnae, according to Thucydides, was the largest deme in Attica. In the fourth century BCE, 22 of the 500 members of the Athenian council came ...
") * Northeastern Gate (modern name, ancient name unknown) * Diochares Gate (Διοχάρους Πύλαι), not excavated * Hippades Gate (Ἱππάδες Πύλαι, "Gate of the Riders") or Gate of
Aegeus Aegeus (, ; ) was one of the List of kings of Athens, kings of Athens in Greek mythology, who gave his name to the Aegean Sea, was the father of Theseus, and founded Athenian institutions. Family Aegeus was the son of Pandion II, king of Athe ...
(Αἰγέως Πύλαι) * Diomeian Gate (Διόμιαι Πύλαι, "Gate of
Diomeia Diomea or Diomeia () was a deme of ancient Attica, located in the city of Athens, both within and outside the walls of Themistocles, in interior portion included the eastern sector of the city, and the external portion contained the Cynosarges. It ...
"), not excavated * Itonian Gate (Ἰτώνιαι Πύλαι) * Halade Gate (Ἅλαδε Πύλαι) or eastern Phaleric Gate (Φαληρική Πύλη), not excavated * South Gate (modern name, ancient name unknown) or western Phaleric Gate (Φαληρική Πύλη) *
Dipylon above the Gates The Dipylon (, "Two-Gated") was the main gate in the city wall of Classical Athens. Located in the modern suburb of Kerameikos, it led to the namesake ancient cemetery, and to the roads connecting Athens with the rest of Greece. The gate was of ma ...
(Δίπυλον το ὑπέρ τῶν Πυλῶν) * Melitides Gate (Μελίτιδαι Πύλαι, "Gate of Melite")


See also

*
City walls of Athens The city of Athens, capital of modern Greece, has had different sets of city walls from the Bronze Age to the early 19th century. The city walls of Athens include: * the Mycenaean Cyclopean fortifications of the Acropolis of Athens * the Pelas ...


References


Sources

*Peck, Harry T. “Athenae.” ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'', Harper and Brothers, 1898.
Perseus
*Neer, Richard T. ''Greek Art and Archaeology: a New History, c. 2500-c. 150 BCE''. Thames & Hudson, 2012. *Wees, Hans Van. ''Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities''. Gerald Duckworth & Co., 2004. *Sage, Michael M. ''Warfare in Ancient Greece: A Sourcebook''. Routledge, 1996. * * * {{cite book , first = F. E. , last = Winter , title = Greek Fortifications , publisher = Routledge & Kegan Paul , year = 1971 , isbn = 978-0-608154244 Ancient Greek fortifications in Greece Classical Athens Ancient Greek buildings and structures in Athens Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century BC City walls of Athens