11/5/2022 0 Comments Ancient cities of goldMegara is considered the hometown of comedy because its inhabitants were famous for their high-spirited nature and the satirical improvisations. Its great wealth exerted a cultural influence on its inhabitants and inspired very important personalities in the field of arts and letters: the philosopher Euclid (450 - 374 B.C.), founder of the Megara philosophy, his disciple, Stilpon, the great architect Eupalinos, the famous elegaic poet, Theognis, as well as large number of sculptors and other poets. The welfare and prosperity of Megara were mainly due to the trade between the metropolis and its rich colonies. Her seafaring people founded very important colonies in Sicily, by the Marmara and Black Seas and the famous Byzance (today, Constantinople) on the coast of the Bosporus during the 6th and 7th centuries B.C. Today, Eleusina is a constantly developing industrialized town.Īs far back as the 8th Century B.C., glorious Megara was a powerful and autonomous city in Ancient Greece. A museum houses the numerous archeological finds from the area. Important ruins of Demeter’s sanctuary, known under the name of great Telestirion where the ceremonies of initiation in the Eleusinian Mysteries were held, can be seen today. The city occupied a very important place in history, as for many centuries, it has been, along with Delphi and Delos one of the greatest cultural centers of the ancient world. To honor Demeter and Persephone, secret “Eleusinian Mystery” ceremonies were held.Įleusina is the hometown of the most illustrious tragic poet of ancient Greece and of all time, Aeschylus (525 B.C.) It is a unique museum where one can become acquainted with the origins of Attic art.Ī city-state of ancient Greece, this town was named after the “eleusis” (which means “arrival” in ancient Greek) of the goddess Demeter’s who came here looking for her lost daughter Persephone. Priceless finds from excavations on the Acropolis, with sculptures from the Parthenon and other temples are housed in the Acropolis Museum that was erected in 1878. In spite of the countless incursions and attacks it has suffered, it raises the majesty of its marbles on top of the sacred rock to link its sublime ancient civilization to its modern one. The Acropolis of Athens constitutes the symbol, the glory and the pride of its city throughout the millennia. It was ornamented with six Caryatids, statues of most beautiful and elegant maidens, supporting the roof of the south porch. The Erechtheion (420-406 B.C.) is an elegant and gracious temple of Ionian style, dedicated to Athina Polias and King Erechtheus. is a masterpiece of Ionian architectural style erected after the plans of Kallikrates to commemorate the victories of the Greeks over the Persians. The Temple of Athena Nike (Apteros Nike = Wingless Victory) built in about 420 B.C. They are some of the most magnificent masterpieces of Greek classical architecture. The Propylea (437-432 B.C.), the glorious entrance to the Acropolis and its monuments, were constructed by the Athenian architect Mnisikles. The Parthenon housed a gold and ivory statue of Athina, a work by the famous sculptor Pheidias who also created the sculptures on the friezes of the temple. It was a Doric temple dedicated to the goddess Athina and built by the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates of white marble from Pendeli. The Parthenon (447-438 B.C.), the most illustrious architectural creation of all time and the most perfect expression of the classical art prevailing in Pericles’ era. Pericles endowed mankind with a magnificent system of government based on freedom and human dignity in which “the demos (people) was the most powerful,” according to Aristotle.Īt the same time, Pericles adorned Athens with brilliant architectural monuments erected on the sacred rock of the Acropolis. He was the first to establish the Athenian Democracy that became a symbol and has been admired throughout the centuries. It reached the zenith of its glory during the 5th century B.C., often referred to as the “Golden Age”, by displaying an immense and astounding role as the founder of a great civilization, mainly due to the highly gifted political personality of Pericles. Athens is the capital of the Greek state and was the most important city of ancient Greece.
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