History of Athens, Greece Part 2

After 146, Athens became a Civitas foederata under Roman rule and received an oligarchical constitution, which, under the influence of Mithridates VI. only 88–86 was replaced by a radical democracy (86 BC, Athens was taken by Sulla). Augustus and Agrippa supported Athens with large buildings. Under Hadrian, Athens received a new district (Hadrian’s City) as well as a new moderately democratic constitution and became the seat of the newly founded Panhellenic League. In 267 AD the Heruli ravaged the city. Under Constantine the Great and Julian the Apostate it was promoted culturally again in the 4th century. When the Roman Empire was divided (395), Athens became part of the Byzantine Empire; 396 It was by the Visigoths under Alaric I visited. In the 5th and 6th centuries, Christianity was victorious here too; the temples were converted into churches, and the art treasures were brought to Constantinople. The closure of the philosophy schools in 529 by Justinian I quickly deserted Athens, which in classical times had been the most populous city in Greece (432 BC: about 100,000 residents, 330 BC: 168,000).

During the time of the Crusades, Athens became the seat of a barony as part of the Latin Empire, later a duchy, ruled successively by the Franconian-Burgundian family de la Roche (1204-1308), the Catalans (1311-86, Catalan Company) and the Florentine patrician family Acciaiuoli (1388-1456). After the city was conquered by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II (June 4, 1456), the Parthenon Mosque and the Propylaea became barracks. In the last Venetian-Turkish war, a Venetian bomb destroyed most of the Parthenon on September 26, 1687.

Turkish rule was a time of deep decline for Athens, now called Setines. According to hyperrestaurant, it was conquered by the Greeks in the Greek struggles for freedom in 1821, lost again in 1826/27 and was only evacuated by the Turkish occupation in 1833. In 1834 King Otto I made Athens the residence of the new kingdom. In 1896 the 1st modern Olympic Games took place in Athens . The city was occupied by the Axis powers on April 27, 1941 and liberated by the Allies on October 13, 1944.

Philippi Archaeological Site (World Heritage)

Originally settled by Thracian tribes, the ancient city was only re-colonized by Greek colonists and after it was conquered by Philip II of Macedonia in 356 BC. Renamed in Philippi. It was located on the former trade route Via Egnatia, which connected Europe and Asia and developed with the establishment of the Roman Empire in the decades after the double battle at Philippi in 42 BC. To a “Little Rome”. After a visit by the Apostle Paul in AD 49 and 50, it became a central place of the Christian faith.

Archaeological Site of Philippi: Facts

The excavation site

Ancient Philippi had an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 residents and, thanks to its location on one of the most important military and trade routes, had a cosmopolitan character. The ruins of the Byzantine city wall, the acropolis, the Hellenistic theater and the Roman forum have been preserved. Thermal baths, latrines and a gymnasium, a kind of sports hall, were also uncovered. The remains of various church buildings are of great importance: to the west of the theater, two early Christian basilicas from the 5th and 6th centuries with imposing columns and capitals, and to the south of the forum an octagonal church building from the 4th century, which was consecrated to the Apostle Paul. The remains of the churches are an exceptional testimony to the first Christian communities.

Old town of Corfu (World Heritage)

Corfu is in a strategic position at the entrance to the Adriatic Sea. The historic town and harbor ensemble, which has largely been preserved to this day, is dominated by the three fortifications that the Venetians built to defend their maritime trade interests against the Ottoman Empire. Numerous neoclassical buildings in the old town are also reminiscent of this time.

Corfu Old Town: Facts

Old town of Corfu: history