Museum stories

Historical city travel guide: Athens, 5th century BC

In this week's historical city travel guide, we journey back 2,500 years to Classical Athens. From getting your culture fix at festivals
and plays, to indulging in drinking parties, shopping and the local delicacies, we run through what not to miss in Greece's most
famous ancient city.

John Bailey (1750–1819), View of the Parthenon from the Propylea. Hand-coloured aquatint after Edward Dodwell, 1819.

Alexandra Villing, Curator, Greece and Rome 29 May 2020

Location
The city of Athens lies in the plain of Attica, the large peninsula that forms the southernmost tip of
the Greek mainland, jutting out into the Aegean Sea. Being sheltered on all sides by mountains, the
city has a pleasant climate with hot and dry summers and mild winters. Though a few miles from
the sea, it is well-connected to its busy harbour, Piraeus.
 Fi
ctive view of Classical Athens.
Thomas de Thomon, Reste d’une partie de la fameuse Ville d’Athenes d’ou l’on voit le Temple de
Thesée, 1790–1800. Etching.
Both land and sea are vital to Athens’ economy. Attica – where the Athenians have their farms and
where two thirds of Athenians live – provides grain, olives and vines, figs, nuts and other fruit and
vegetables.
 Fa
rmers sowing and ploughing. Athenian black-figure drinking-cup, attributed to the Burgon Painter,
about 550 BC.
The most important products the Attic land itself provides are olive oil and silver. In the silver
mines of Laurion slaves mine the precious ore from which Athens mints its coins, considered the
most solid currency of the Greek world. Athenian olive oil is also famed the world over. Olive
groves sacred to the city’s patron goddess, Athena, also provide the oil that is given as the prize at
the city’s Panathenaic Games.
 Ol
ive harvest in the countryside. Athenian black-figure amphora attributed to the Antimenes Painter,
around 520 BC.
Travel
Arrival

A
merchant ship with sails and a long and narrow war ship, possibly a pirate ship preparing to attack
the merchant vessel. Athenian black-figure drinking cup, about 520–500 BC.
Most visitors to Athens arrive by sea. Athens’ port, Piraeus, has much grown over recent decades to
become a bustling international town that is well worth a visit in its own right (see below). Here the
visitor can change foreign currency into Athenian silver coins.

A view of the bay of the island of Salamis and the city port of Piraeus.
William Simpson, Bay of Salamis and Piraeus from Xerxes’ seat. 1880. Watercolour, strengthened
with gum, over graphite.
The road to Athens is a busy thoroughfare, and visitors will have to fight their way through the
heavy traffic of people and goods between the port and the city. Those with lots of luggage may
wish to hire a mule or cart. The road, though, is safe to travel, being flanked by the famous ‘long
walls’, part of the big fortifications the Athenians erected to protect their city and harbour following
the catastrophic sack of Athens in the great war against Persia.

At
henian silver coin (tetradrachm), 2nd half of the 5th century BC.
In the city walls, over a dozen major gates open to roads that give access to the countryside beyond.
It is through these gates that travellers approaching the city overland will enter.
Getting around
Athens is a city best explored on foot, and visitors should do as locals do and walk. Having grown
naturally over its long history, Athens has a maze of irregular streets that follow the natural terrain,
many of them narrow unpaved alleyways.
 B
enjamin Pouncy. After Richard Wilson. Athens in its Flourishing State.
View of a classical temple, with a group in the foreground sacrificing a bull. Illustration to Willett’s
A Description of the Library at Merly. Etching and engraving. Around 1785.
A key thoroughfare and point of orientation is the broad Panathenaic way that leads from the Sacred
Gate up to the Acropolis, crossing the large market square at the heart of the city. Branching off
here to the left, along the busy Street of the Tripods (lined by monuments erected by the victors in
the city’s Panathenaic Games), you will reach the far side of the Acropolis with its Theatre of
Dionysus and other festival buildings. Branching off right will lead you to the hill of the Pnyx,
where the Athenian citizens hold their democratic assembly.
Things to do

Jo
hn Bailey (1750–1819), View of the Parthenon from the Propylea. Hand-coloured aquatint after
Edward Dodwell, 1819.
Acropolis
As a city governed by the people, Athens lacks the palaces of rulers that you find in many
other countries and the houses of its citizens are generally simple. However, the city is rightly
famous for its splendid temples, statues and public buildings, which few other cities in Greece
can match. The undisputed jewel in the city’s crown, and the one sight a visitor is not to miss,
is the Acropolis, or ‘high city’.
 A
reconstruction of how the Acropolis may have looked in ancient times, including the Parthenon.
Illustration by Kate Morton.
The large rocky plateau that rises from the town is said to have carried a king’s palace in the old
days of the great heroes. Today though it is the preserve of the gods, being sacred to Athena, the
patron deity of Athens, goddess of war and wisdom, and carries her splendid temples.
More than any other place in Athens the Acropolis embodies the spectacular rebirth of the city after
Persian troops under King Xerxes had sacked and pillaged the city (480 BC). Following their
ultimate victory, the Athenians decided to leave the ruined temples on the Acropolis untouched as a
memorial to the barbarians’ impiety. It was not until some 30 years later that they began a huge new
building programme, the brainchild of the prominent and influential statesman Pericles.
 M
arble portrait bust of Pericles. A Roman copy of an earlier Greek original. The name is inscribed in
Greek. 2nd century AD.
As you pass through the gates of the Acropolis, don’t be surprised by the extent to which
monuments and dedications clutter every available space – all speak to the importance this sacred
rock. The most impressive is undoubtedly the colossal bronze statue of a fully armed Athena that
celebrates Athens’ victory over Persia. The statue is one of many works by the famous Athenian
sculptor Pheidias, responsible also for the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon, the large temple
you will see just behind the statue.

E
ngraving showing Pericles (seated) reviewing plans for the Propylaea (monumental gateway) on the
Acropolis. William Sharp after James Stuart from Ralph Willett, ‘A Description of the Library at
Merly in the county of Dorset’ (London, 1785).
Richly sculpted and brightly painted, the Parthenon is a masterpiece of architecture, one of the
largest ever built in Greece and the centrepiece of the building programme. Its sculptural decoration
depicts myths and events relating to the city and its goddess, most notably, in the frieze behind the
colonnade, a colourful sacred procession of Athenians and sacrificial animals.
 A
cow being led for sacrifice. (Block XLIV) from the South frieze of the Parthenon. 438–432 BC.
Don’t forget to catch a glance of the temple’s interior, or you will miss out on the most astonishing
sight. Though only visible on most days through grilles in the door, in the temple’s eastern chamber
stands the most elaborate of all of Pheidias’ statues of Athena, made from gold and ivory. Gleaming
brightly in the dim interior, it is said to have cost the extraordinary sum of about 800 talents, more
expensive even than building the temple itself
 R
eplica of the Athena Parthenon statue in Nashville by Alan Le Quire. Image from Wikimedia
Commons. Photo: Dean Dixon.
Pnyx – the Athenian assembly
The hill Athenians call the Pnyx offers good views over the city, but its main attraction is that
it is the place to watch Athenian democracy at work. Every ten days or so Athenian citizens
(that is, men from Athenian families – women, resident foreigners or slaves are excluded)
assemble here to debate and decide on the fortunes of their city. Don’t imagine these to be
sombre and dignified gatherings, though. As they tuck into the bread and wine they have
brought for sustenance, farmers and city-dwellers, rich and poor, and cobblers and generals
alike all hold forth on current affairs while trading witty remarks and insult.
All citizens are allowed to speak and vote, though it is often skilled orators backed by family
fortunes who achieve the greatest prominence. It is well worth watching a debate and seeing with
what skill and eloquence Athenian orators are able to sway the masses.
Agora – the marketplace
No visit to Athens is complete without a visit to its central marketplace, the Agora, the town’s
civic and commercial centre – and indeed also its geographic centre, as the Altar of the
Twelve Gods serves as the central milestone of the city. In no other place can you watch
citizens and foreigners, slave girls and market women, rich noblemen and penniless
philosophers mix and mingle, for politics, worship, commerce, or gossip, and indeed nothing
will bring you closer to the heart of Athenian life than when you haggle with a fishmonger, get
into a dispute with a philosopher, or join the crowd of idle young men who hang out in the
perfumer-sellers corner.

D
etail from a red figure kylix (cup) showing a cobbler at work making shoes. 480–470 BC.
The central space of the Agora on most days is taken up by market tables, booths or carts, from
which vendors offer everything and anything anyone could ever desire – from bread and figs to
garlands and wine, cloaks and perfumes, dining couches and slaves. Athenian shop holders,
however, have a reputation for cheating on tourists, so visitors should remember that the Athenian
market overseers hold an official set of weights and measures in the Tholos.
Gymnasia
To exercise both mind and body, visit a gymnasium. First established more than a century ago
as places for young men to take military and athletic exercise, gymnasia have developed into
centres of learning, where teachers offer philosophical discussions and instruction in subjects
ranging from mathematics and astronomy to zoology, botany, logic and rhetoric. They have
also become popular places for men to meet. There are three great gymnasia: the Lyceum, the
Kynosarges, and the most famous of all, the Academy.

Tr
aining in the palaistra (wrestling school). Two youths practice boxing while a trainer is about to hit
two wrestlers who have got carried away – eye-gouging was one of the few things that was actually
forbidden. Athenian red-figure drinking cup, attributed to the Foundry Painter, 490–480 BC.
Alas, no similar facilities are available to women, unless you count the professional training schools
for courtesans that instruct in dance, song and music and that enjoy a high reputation. For
intellectual debate, Athenian women resort to meeting in private houses. Best known is the salon
kept by Aspasia, the former mistress of the great statesman Pericles.
 T
wo young girls receive a dancing lesson. Athenian hydria (water-jar). Around 430 BC.
Baths
For those tired of sightseeing, debating and shopping, Athens offers some good recreational
facilities. Weary travellers will be glad to soak their tired limbs in one of the city’s public bath
suites, located mostly outside the city walls. The baths outside the Dipylon Gate are
particularly nice, with a pebble-mosaic floor and bathtubs supplied with hot water from a
nearby cistern and furnace, but the baths of Diochares and Isthmonikos generally receive
good reviews.
Shopping
With goods from across the Mediterranean world on offer, it is difficult to choose what to bring
home from Athens. Popular are local specialities, such as Attic honey or olive oil, or imported
spices such as North African silphium. Nor can one go wrong with a bottle of perfume, exotic
imports from Egypt such as cinnamon scent, or the Athenian Panathenaikon, sold in miniature
bottles imitating the large Panathenaic prize amphorae. Intellectuals will appreciate scrolls with the
latest works of Athenian playwrights or philosophers. For those with space in their luggage, a set of
exquisitely painted Athenian pottery is a must.

Panat
henaic prize amphorae (olive oil jar) showing the goddess Athena. 425–400 BC.
Entertainment
No other city in Greece has as much to offer in terms of entertainment and comforts of life. The best
way to enjoy Athens is to visit during a major religious festival, when the whole city comes together
to celebrate, and spectacles and competitions are staged that have their equal in few other corners of
the known world. With some religious festival or other taking place on average every three days,
visitors stand a good chance to catch some of the fun.

At
henian marble relief with the goddess Bendis receiving a procession of worshippers. 400–375 BC.
The main city festival is the Panathenaia, celebrated every year in the summer on the birthday of
Athena. But it is only every four years that it features the spectacular games for which the best
athletes, musicians and numerous spectators flock to Athens from all over the Greek world.
For five days there are public competitions in music, in reciting Homer’s poetry, in gymnastic and
in equestrian contests, including boxing, wrestling, pentathlon, footraces, horse-races and chariot-
races. There are also events such as dancing in armour, torch races, a regatta in the harbour, and
even a male beauty pageant called euandria.
 R
ed-figure Panathenaic ampora, showing two boys horse racing. Around 500–490 BC.
The other great festival is the Great Dionysia, celebrated every spring – though to participate in this
requires some stamina. After a lively procession, sacrifice and much revelry, dancing and drinking
as befits a festival for Dionysus, god of wine and debauchery, there follows the highlight of the
festival, as the audience settles into an open-air theatre set into the Acropolis hill for several days of
watching performances put on by the greatest of Greek playwrights.
 A
n Athenian terracotta figure of a comic actor playing the part of a young woman. About 350 BC.
Where to stay
Both the city and its port, Piraeus, offer lodgings for travellers at inns or taverns. For most tourists,
Athens will be the first choice, though for those with business to conduct in shipping or sea trade,
Piraeus will also be a good option. For those arriving from a city or country that has an honorary
consul, a proxenos, in town, he should be the first point of call as it will be his business to assist and
look after the interests of any visitors. If you cannot call on such services or prefer to make your
own arrangements, here is what you need to know about the different parts of town.
 A
n Athenian kylix (drinking cup) showing a youth surrounded by four large oared ships and dolphins.
510–500 BC.
Athens has a population of some 100,000 actually living in the city, and twice that in the Attic
countryside. Not surprising, then, that the city may seem crowded, noisy and polluted. Inside the
city walls is especially densely built up, notably so in the residential districts of Koile and Melite,
towards the Pnyx. Leafier areas are found in the residential quarters just outside the city walls and
along the three rivers that cross the city, Cephissus, Ilissos and Eridanos. Kolonos, close to the park
and exercise grounds of the Academy, is a pleasant district that is best-known for being the home of
the playwright Sophocles. Probably the most upmarket districts is Alopeke, south-east of the city
walls, home to millionaires such as Kallias, one of the richest men of Greece notorious for his
lavish life-style.
Piraeus is the port of Athens and one of the largest ports of Greece, served by three harbours. Under
Pericles some decades ago the town was rebuilt and has since exploded in size. Piraeus today is far
more than just an appendix to Athens – it is a densely populated town with a cosmopolitan flair
thanks to the foreigners, from Egyptians and Thracians to Phoenicians and Syrians, who have made
it their home.
Food and drink

A
red figure fish plate showing a red mullet, sea-perch or bass, small torpedo, sargus, and a cuttle-fish.
Made in Campania, 360–330 BC.
Athenians love to eat well, and travellers will not go hungry. Across town a wide range of
establishments, from carts selling drink to well-regarded taverns such the ‘Bald Man’ kept by
Kallias and Thraitta, serve wine and food and are much frequented by locals. In terms of food there
is something to suit every taste and pocket. Visitors will be glad to find plentiful and decent
supplies of bread and cheese, to be spiced up with garlic and onions, as well as lentil soup or
cooked bulbs to keep them going throughout the day. For variety, small-fry fresh from the sea or
sausages are widely available.
 Te
rracotta figure of a woman grinding grain. 5th century BC.
Specialities not to miss include tuna (imported from the Black Sea) in cheese and garlic sauce,
tender roasted birds sprinkled with olive oil and grated silphion, or pig’s belly and sow’s matrix,
seasoned with cumin, vinegar and silphion. Be sure to also sample Athenian cakes – the Athenian
cheesecake considered second to none!
 A
selection of cooking pots. 500–400 BC.
Fine dining
The Athenians have perfected to an art the traditional Greek symposium, or drinking party,
where dinner is followed by more drinks over cakes and nibbles. An invitation to a private
symposium is the surest way to experience Athenian feasting at its best.
 At
henian stamnos (storage jar) showing men at a symposion, one of them sings while a woman plays
the double pipes, another swings his cup by the handle, preparing to play kottabos. 450–440 BC.
Private symposia are usually small, with three to seven comfortable couches on which two diners
each can recline. Even if guests will often contribute a prepared dish from home (fear not, this will
not be expected of a traveller), your host will have hired a cook and probably some additional
serving staff.
 A
n Athenian drinking cup showing a dancing girl performing at a symposion, while a diner, reclines a
couch. 490–480 BC.
Professional female entertainers such as dancers, flute players and acrobats will have been invited.
Later on in the evening you may find that revellers from other parties gate crash your dinner, or that
your party in turn takes to the road to continue revelling in the street – this is quite common and
generally tolerated, as long as party-goers refrain from serious vandalism and sacrilegious acts.
Drinking
‘Drink’ in Athens means wine, which Athenians drink frequently and in some quantity. Stalls
and taverns sell wine in bulk, but also by the cup, and will serve anything from the cheap and
simple local wines to the highly regarded imports from Mende, Magnesia, Thasos or Chios.
 T
he rowdy end to a symposion. Athenian drinking cup. 490–480 BC.
While visitors need to take care not to fall prey to unscrupulous landlords who overly dilute their
wines, it is important to remember that some dilution is indeed the norm in Athens: like other
Greeks, Athenians, too, will drink their wine only mixed with water, with the mixing bowl – the
krater – forming the centre of any symposium. Drinking wine neat is considered just as barbarian as
drinking beer and will immediately disqualify any foreigner
Local customs
Things to know
Athenians welcome visitors, and with many of the city’s residents and slaves coming from abroad,
plus numerous passing traders and diplomats, locals are well used to (and generally tolerant of)
even the strangest foreign customs. Nonetheless, Athenians are also proud and protective of their
own privileges, and so some events and spaces, including some sanctuaries and festivals, are
reserved for citizens alone, and unless invited by locals visitors should respect such restrictions.
Special care to adhere to rules should be taken also in the religious sphere (see below).
 A
bronze juror’s ticket inscribed with the name of his owner, ‘Aristophon, son of Aristodemos’. Jurors
were chosen by lot from among the citizens. 4th century BC.
For women travellers Athens may present some inconvenience, as to most Athenian men a
respectable wife’s place is in the home, far from the gaze of any man, and men generally consider
themselves superior and naturally privileged. This means that a travelling couple is likely to have to
dine separately when invited to an Athenian’s house, and that also the best food and entertainment
is reserved for men. Nonetheless, women are able to move around town freely. While some spaces
(such as certain sanctuaries, or gymnasia where men exercise) may be barred to women, most
attractions, including splendid theatre festival at the City Dionysia, are accessible, and there is
feasting in women-only festivals just as much as in men’s.

Fo
r Athenian men, a wife’s place was in the home. Detail of painting on a pyxis (cylindrical box)
showing women in interior settings. 500–470 BC.
Things to watch out for
 D
etail of painting from red figure cup showing a woman in an interior setting. 480–470 BC.
Given Athenians’ views on women, male visitors should take care before approaching a citizen’s
wife or daughter, as well as avoid getting into arguments with drunk revellers (many of whom will
be sons of influential politicians), and refrain from causing any damages to an Athenian’s life or
property. While all this is sensible in any foreign place, it is so even more in Athens, as Athenians
are notorious litigious.
Religion
To visitors from other parts of the Greek world will find Athenian religious customs will look
familiar enough, but also visiting foreigners should encounter few problems. Athenians are tolerant
of all foreign religion, but will expect visitors to adhere to basic rules, especially within sanctuaries.
Special sanctuary rules are often publicly displayed, but it is useful to remember that generally it is
not allowed to remove anything from a sacred precinct, so don’t be tempted to walk off with a
‘souvenir’!
 Bl
ack figure vase showing meat from a sacrifice to the god Hermes (represented by a statue on the
right), being cooked on a fire. 520–510 BC.
We hope you enjoyed your visit to Classical Athens!
Source: https://blog.britishmuseum.org/historical-city-travel-guide-athens-5th-century-bc/