The walls of Athens are the memory of the city
Imagine being in the vicinity of Korai Street around 450 BC and looking towards Klathmonos Square. You would see a towering wall, about 9-10 m high. Arriving from the Mesogeia, you would be surrounded by cemeteries (along today’s Panepistimiou and Stadiou Streets) with grand enclosures and ornate tombstones, while the pungent smells from the metallurgical workshops in Syntagma might assail your senses. From here, you could enter the city on foot through a small gateway. However, if you were in a carriage, you would need to pass through one of the 13 magnificent gates that encircled the ancient walls of Athens.
Doesn’t this image seem foreign? What do we know about the city’s layout in antiquity and how it has transformed over time? Why do we overlook a monument as significant as the walls? Perhaps it’s because reconstructing the walls is a challenge even for the most skilled. Archaeologists must piece together fragmented findings from excavations in underground parking lots and building foundations, and combine them with information from ancient writers (like Thucydides, Pausanias, etc.) about the fortification’s trajectory. When all the evidence is assembled on a map, a richer, unexpected picture of the city emerges, surpassing what we know from its iconic monuments like the Acropolis and systematically excavated sites such as the Ancient Agora.
The walls demarcated the ‘urban’ from the ‘rural’, shaped the city’s identity, and symbolized the safe ‘us’ and the unknown ‘other’. Massive resources were invested in their construction, with thousands of people working on them, while armies battled and blood was spilled over their repeated destruction.
Another reason for our unfamiliarity with the walls could be that the modern individual is not accustomed to the concept of walls. We didn’t grow up in castles or forts. However, the idea of an unfortified city is a relatively recent phenomenon in history. Up until the 19th century, most cities were walled to protect them from enemy attacks and to define their structure. Athens was no exception. From prehistoric times until it was declared the capital of the modern state in 1833, the city walls were one of its most prominent landmarks. They distinguished the ‘urban’ from the ‘rural’, shaped the city’s identity, and symbolized the safe ‘us’ and the unknown ‘other’. Enormous resources were invested in their construction, and thousands of people worked on them, while armies clashed and blood was spilled over their repeated destruction. Over time, their course varied: sometimes they extended as far as the port of Piraeus, while at other times they barely encompassed the Rock of the Acropolis.
Throughout history, they have always provided sanctuary to the residents of Athens, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or cultural background.
Since the 19th century, parts of the walls have been continually unearthed, particularly during periods of heavy construction activity. This was especially the case when urban land excavations increased, for instance, in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, at least 150 locations within the city still hold remnants of these walls, though we often overlook them during our daily commutes from Varvakeio to Theseion and from Syntagma to Koukaki.
The history of the walls
The earliest fortifications can be found on the Acropolis and date back to the Mycenaean era, around the 13th century BC, during the time of the Trojan War. Today, these Mycenaean walls, which were built to protect the residence of the Athenian anacta as well as an underground spring in the northeastern part of the Rock, are mostly inaccessible to the public. This spring, which extended to the so-called cave of Aglauros, supplied drinking water during sieges but was also the fortification’s weakest point. In fact, it was from here that Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climbed up the Acropolis to take down the Nazi flag in May 1941.
The spring was situated near the Basilica of St. Nicholas, in the northeastern part of the Acropolis.
The Mycenaean wall, possibly with a western extension, remained in use for many centuries, likely until the era of Pisistratus in the 6th century BC. As the city expanded, it required a larger enclosure in its lowland area. This wall is mentioned by ancient writers, but no traces of it remain as it was completely destroyed by the Persian army in the autumn of 480 BC.
Following this destruction, and due to the intense rivalry with Sparta, the Athenians recognized the necessity for more systematic fortification. Under the leadership of Themistocles, they initiated a monumental effort in 479/8 BC to construct walls not only around the city but also its port, Piraeus. Later, under Cimon and Pericles, they built additional walls along the road connecting the two urban centers (the Long Walls). Parts of these walls have been excavated along Piraeus Street and beneath the tracks of the electric railway.
The walls of Athens stood as a testament to its power during the age of democracy, remaining intact until the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. At this time, Spartan general Lysander demolished the fortifications of Piraeus and the Long Walls, and possibly the walls of the Athenian stronghold. However, their reconstruction began soon after under the supervision of Conon from 395-391 BC. The threat of an attack by Philip II’s Macedonian troops, equipped with siege engines, around 340 BC led to a frantic phase of reconstruction. During this period, every available material, even columns from ancestral tombs, was utilized to bolster the fortifications.
The revamped enclosure, primarily constructed from stone, was significantly more robust than its predecessor and comprised three components:
1. The wall, standing approximately 9-10 m high and 2-5 m thick.
2. The lower rampart, situated 8-10 m from the wall.
3. The moat, measuring 8-12.5 m wide and about 4 m deep, which obstructed access to the city and gave it the semblance of a fortified town.
Entry into the city was granted through 13 large gates, while the space between the rampart and the wall functioned as a ring road (evidence of grooves for carriage wheels have been discovered on its surface). Today, you can see one such gate, the Acharnika, in the basement of the National Bank, at the intersection of Sofokleous and Aeolou, as well as the road that led to it in Kotzias Square. The wall distinctly divided the city’s functions: public buildings, sanctuaries, and residential areas were located within, while cemeteries, workshops, and the city’s gymnasia were situated outside. This is best exemplified in the archaeological site of Kerameikos, where the city’s grandest entrance, the renowned Dipylon, with its two fortified gates and the beginning of the Panathenaic Way (which led to the Acropolis via the Agora), is preserved, as well as the Sacred Gate, by which the River Iridanos (one of the city’s main water sources along with the Ilisos, which was outside the walls) flowed. Just outside the walls lay the aristocratic cemetery of Kerameikos, monuments to fallen soldiers (Public Sign), and numerous ceramic workshops. The road leading to Plato’s Academy in Kolonos and the Iera Odos leading to Elefsina commenced from here.
The formidable wall endured for centuries, until the Roman general Sulla overpowered the city in 86 BC, causing its extensive destruction. The emperor Hadrian appears to have rebuilt and even expanded the city eastwards between 124 and 135 AD, extending the wall up to the banks of the Ilisos River, near the Panathenaic Stadium. Noteworthy remnants from this era include Hadrian’s Gate, which delineates the boundary between the old city and Hadrian’s expansion, and a Roman bridge over the Ilissos River. Although the bridge no longer exists today, it remained in use until the late 18th century BC.
The city walls underwent numerous demolitions and fluctuations in their extent. In 267 BC, a raid by the Heruli almost entirely destroyed them, along with the rest of Athens. Subsequently, a much smaller wall was erected around the Acropolis Rock. In the 6th century AD, it seems that Justinian repaired the wall and added numerous fortification towers. The ensuing centuries, which marked a period of decline for Athens, remain shrouded in mystery. However, it is known that a small wall, known as the Rizokastro, was built around the Acropolis in the 13th century following devastating raids by Saracens and the lord of Nafplio, Leo Sgouros, in 1204. During the Frankish rule (1204-1456 AD), the city’s life was confined within this small wall. The Ottoman conquest, which occurred without destruction, heralded a new era of growth for the city, which gradually expanded in all directions. Initially, it appears that only the Acropolis remained fortified. However, in 1778, the governor (voevodas) of Athens, Haji Ali Haseki, built a new fortified enclosure. Although much smaller than the ancient one (only 3 m high), it was built over the remains of the ancient wall in several places. This wall remained until the Revolution and the siege by Kioutahi in 1826, which essentially leveled the city.
With the arrival of the Bavarians in 1833, the innovative concept of the open city was introduced to Greece. The new capital was designed following the model of European megacities, featuring large streets, boulevards, and squares, but without fortifications, walls, or other elements that could hinder its expansion. Thus, a modern western capital was born. However, this also meant that a significant part of its history and the urban organization methods that had prevailed throughout the post-Byzantine and Ottoman periods were gradually forgotten. The impact of these changes on the city’s collective memory has not yet been fully assessed.
The task of uncovering the history of the walls fell to the officials of the Archaeological Service. They worked to reveal the story of the walls buried under the foundations of neoclassical houses and later apartment buildings. This endeavor often met with strong resistance from investors, developers, and even politicians, particularly during the period of counter-representation and the seven years of the junta. Regrettably, similar attitudes are still encountered today. The fragmented memories of our urban history frequently fail to sway those who champion ‘fast-track development,’ as these memories don’t yield immediate profits. However, it’s these modest recollections – not just the Acropolis and its dazzling museum – that link us to the city’s vibrant past, enabling us to uncover the subterranean paths and everyday tales of its inhabitants. Let’s seek these stories out, look beneath our feet, and attempt to piece together the puzzle buried just inches below the surface. Let’s remember the millions who lived in this city before us – a diverse mix of pagans, Christians, Muslims, Greeks, Franks, Venetians, Turks, and Arvanites – all finding solace behind its towering walls. Walls that were tangible, shielding them from real adversaries, unlike the invisible barriers that some of the city’s current residents try to build around themselves, conjuring up imaginary foes within the desolation…
Sources
Vlahopoulos, A. (ed.), Ancient Athens and Attica. Historical topography of the city and the country, Athens, Melissa Publications, 2010 / Connolly P. & Dodge H., The Ancient City. Life in Ancient Athens and Rome, Athens, Pataki Publications, 2001 / Greco E., Topografia di Atene. Sviluppo urbano dalle origini al III secolo d.C., Athens, Pandemos, 2010/11 / Korres Manolis (ed.), Attiki odoi. Ancient roads of Attica, Athens, Melissa Publications, 2010 / Parlama L. & Stambolidis N. (eds.), The city under the city. Finds from the excavations for the metropolitan railway of Athens, Athens, Museum of Cycladic Art, 2000 / Theocharaki, A.M., “The ancient circuit wall of Athens: its changing course and the phases of construction”, Hesperia, The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens 80, 2011, p. 71-156. From prehistoric times to the early 19th century (2nd edition), Athens, Kapon Publications, 1993 / Electronic version: The Archaeology of the City of Athens, National Hellenic Research Foundation.
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Dr. Nikos Papadimitriou is an archaeologist, currently affiliated with the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Nikos and Dolly Goulandris Foundation.
