Who was the ruler of Athens?

Pericles, (born c. 495 bce, Athens—died 429, Athens), Athenian statesman largely responsible for the full development, in the later 5th century bce, of both the Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece.

Who was the first ruler of Athens?

According to the Greek mythology, Cecrops, who was half man and half serpent, founded Athens and became the first king. Around the tenth century B.C., the settlers formed twelve cities, of which Athens was always dominant.

Who ruled Athens?

Athens did not have a king, it was ruled by the people as a democracy. The people of Athens believed that no one group of people should make the laws and so citizens could choose the government officials, and vote for or against new laws.

Was Athens ruled by a king?

Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the archons, Athens was ruled by kings. Most of these are probably mythical or only semi-historical. This list is based on that given by Eusebius. These two kings were supposed to have ruled before the flood of the Deucalion story.

Who was the first ruler of Greece?

Otto, also called Otto von Wittelsbach, (born June 1, 1815, Salzburg, Austria—died July 26, 1867, Bamberg, Bavaria [Germany]), first king of the modern Greek state (1832–62), who governed his country autocratically until he was forced to become a constitutional monarch in 1843.

Ancient Athens: Highlights of Athenian History (History of Ancient Greece)

Who started Athens?

According to Greek mythology, the first city of Athens was Phoenician and Cecrops was the king who founded it. The city of Athens was officially created the day the Gods decided to have a contest: the growing city would be named after the deity who would offer to mortals the most useful gift.

Who was the last ruler of Athens?

Codrus, traditionally the last king of Athens, but there is some doubt as to whether he was a historical personage. According to the legend, Codrus was the son of Melanthus of Pylos, who went to Attica as a refugee from the Dorian invaders (11th century bc).

When did Athens end?

In 338 BC the armies of Philip II defeated the other Greek cities at the Battle of Chaeronea, effectively ending Athenian independence. Further, the conquests of his son, Alexander the Great, widened Greek horizons and made the traditional Greek city state obsolete.

Who ruled Sparta?

Sparta was an oligarchy. The state was ruled by two hereditary kings of the Agiad and Eurypontid families, both supposedly descendants of Heracles and equal in authority, so that one could not act against the power and political enactments of his colleague.

Did Zeus destroy Sparta?

Upon leaving Rhodes, Zeus proceeded to destroy Sparta not only because the Spartan people worshipped Kratos, but to further punish Kratos himself. After destroying Sparta, Zeus believed he finally dealt with Kratos and returned to his throne on Mount Olympus.

Why did Sparta fall?

Although the Spartans were often held up as an example of military prowess and strength, they were not invincible. In fact, the Spartan state was eventually brought down by a number of factors, including internal strife, economic decline, and foreign invasion.

Who betrayed Sparta?

The historical Ephialtes of Trachis, whose name is synonymous in Greek with "nightmare," was a Malian Greek who betrayed the Spartans for Persian gold, showing them a secret path in the mountains through which a contingent of archers were able to flank and ultimately destroy the Spartans.

Why did Athens fall?

The Peloponnesian War marked the end of the Golden Age of Greece, a change in styles of warfare and the fall of Athens, once the strongest city-state in Greece. The balance in power in Greece was shifted when Athens was absorbed into the Spartan Empire.

Who was Athens destroyed by?

The Achaemenid destruction of Athens was carried out by the Achaemenid Army of Xerxes I during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and occurred in two phases over a period of two years, in 480–479 BCE.

What was Athens old name?

The original name of Athens was Aktaio or Akti and it was taken from its first king, Aktaios. Its second name, Kekropia, was derived from King Kekropas. The history of Athens, the once-mighty city-state of antiquity, begins thousands of years ago and it is fascinating.

When did Athens fall?

The Final End of Athenian Democracy. Support for PBS.org provided by: What's this? A year after their defeat of Athens in 404 BC, the Spartans allowed the Athenians to replace the government of the Thirty Tyrants with a new democracy.

Who was the most famous Greek king?

Alexander the Great is the most famous Greek personality ever. His short life was full of adventures. Born in Pella, Macedonia, in 356 BC, he became king at the age of 20.

Who was the greatest Athenian king?

Theseus, the king of Athens. The semi-mythical, semi-historical Theseus was the great hero of ancient Athens. The numerous heroic deeds ascribed to him were seen by the ancient Athenians as the acts that led to the birth of democracy in the Attic city-state, the cradle of Greek democracy.

Which God created Athens?

Roman name: Minerva

Athena is a goddess in Greek mythology and one of the Twelve Olympians. She is most famous for being the patron god of the city of Athens. Athena also helped many of the Greek heroes such as Hercules and Odysseus on their adventures.

Which God founded Athens?

The people found the goddess Athena's gift to be superior to Poseidon's and named her their patron, thus naming the city Athens. The city is filled with monuments to the goddess to this day, and in ancient times great festivals were held in her honor.

What are 5 facts about Athens?

Did Sparta defeat Athens?

Athens was forced to surrender, and Sparta won the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. Spartans terms were lenient. First, the democracy was replaced by on oligarchy of thirty Athenians, friendly to Sparta.

Why did Athens fight Sparta?

The reasons for this war are sometimes traced back as far as the democratic reforms of Cleisthenes, which Sparta always opposed. However, the more immediate reason for the war was Athenian control of the Delian League, the vast naval alliance that allowed it to dominate the Mediterranean Sea.

What ended ancient Athens?

It would be another decade of warfare before the Spartan general Lysander defeated the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami. This defeat led to Athenian surrender. As a result, the Peloponnesian War was concluded. Simultaneous to the end of this conflict came the end of the golden age of ancient Greece.

Who was Sparta afraid of?

Owing to their own numerical inferiority, the Spartans were always preoccupied with the fear of a helot revolt. The ephors (Spartan magistrates) of each year on entering office declared war on the helots so that they might be murdered at any time without violating religious scruples.