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Athens, Greece
History > -7000 to 30 AT: Pre-Spaceflight Old Earth > 7000 BT to 270 BT: The Agricultural Age
Galactography > Historical Polities
Galactography > Places and Locales
City State, Classical Era, Mediterranean Europe, Old Earth; a major influence on later Western civilizations, and so eventually the early Terragen civilizations of Solsys and the Inner Sphere.Galactography > Historical Polities
Galactography > Places and Locales
Named after its patron goddess Athena, the city was first settled in the Bronze Age, and was governed until about 2970 BT (1000 BCE) by Ionian kings. After that was a rigid rule by aristocrats. Finally Cleisthenes (building on the system of the great reformist Solon) circa 2476 BT (507 BCE) established a democracy, although this only applied to free males. Following the Persian Wars (2469-2418 BT; 499-449 BCE) Athens was the strongest Greek city-state, and reached the height of its cultural and imperial achievement under Pericles (2430-2398 BT; 461-429 BCE) but the protracted Peloponnesian War with Sparta brought about its decline, and the growth of Macedon's power under Philip II meant the end of Athens as a major power, although the city itself was to remain inhabited right up until the Great Expulsion. The ruins of Athens (including a semi-restored restored Parthenon) are currently accessible and can be visited under strict pilgrimage conditions.
The cultural legacy of ancient Athens to Old Earth (and ultimately all Terragen civilization) is incalculable; to a great extent the references to the Greek heritage that abound in the culture of Western Europe and Western Civilization in general are to Athenian civilization.
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Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev; some additions by Stephen Inniss
Initially published on 07 October 2001.
Initially published on 07 October 2001.
