Athens - Themistoclean Walls
Until the Persian Wars only the Acropolis was surrounded by walls; but after the destruction of Athens by the Persians in 480 B.C. Themistocles had a wall built round the city. The work was done in great haste, using the ruins of the monuments and buildings which had been destroyed.
A considerable stretch of these Themistoclean walls, with two gates (the Dipylon and the Sacred Gate), has been brought to light in the Kerameikos, another section north of the Olympeion.
A considerable stretch of these Themistoclean walls, with two gates (the Dipylon and the Sacred Gate), has been brought to light in the Kerameikos, another section north of the Olympeion.
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Further remains of the walls were found during the construction of the government buildings over the church of the Ayía Dynamis in Mitropóleos Street, at 6-8 Dragatsaniou Street and on the site of the Divani Zafolia Hotel, in Parthenónos Street, to the south of the Acropolis. These two latter sections are open to the public.
The city's defenses were strengthened between 465 and 460 B.C. by the construction of the Long Walls, which ran southwest and south from Athens and were designed to secure communications between Athens and the ports of Piraeus and Phaleron. The road to Piraeus was further protected by a parallel wall built by Pericles in 445 B.C.
This defensive system was completed in 337 B.C. by the construction of the Diateichisma, an intermediate wall between the Hill of the Nymphs and the Hill of the Muses which shortened the defensive line.
The city's defenses were strengthened between 465 and 460 B.C. by the construction of the Long Walls, which ran southwest and south from Athens and were designed to secure communications between Athens and the ports of Piraeus and Phaleron. The road to Piraeus was further protected by a parallel wall built by Pericles in 445 B.C.
This defensive system was completed in 337 B.C. by the construction of the Diateichisma, an intermediate wall between the Hill of the Nymphs and the Hill of the Muses which shortened the defensive line.
