Around 3000 BC the history of Athens begins. It was at that time only a small fortified city, and it was not even known as Athens yet. In this first stage it was called Kekropia, named after king Kekropos who was the ruler of the city. Later on it became known as Athens, to honour the Greek godess of wisdom, practical arts and warfare: Pallas Athena. At a certain moment Zeus promised the plains of Attica to the god or godess who could give the most valuable present. Poseidon, the god of the seas, gave the horse, but Pallas Athena on her turn gave the olivetree. Since then the city is under her protection, and has the olivetree been an important symbol for the city.

The rock on which Kekropia was situated was called the Acropolis. It was a rocky hill with a flat top, situatued 156.2 metres above sealevel and measuring 330 metres in length at the base, and 270 metres at the summit. Its steep sides made it very easily defendable, something which was of major importance in those days. This Acropolis, which means "high polis", has always been the heart of Athens. In the early days of Athens the Acropolis was used as a place to live on, it also held the palace of the king. However, as Athens grew the function of the Acropolis changed. Rulers became the only ones who had the right to live on it, but even the most powerfull leaders had to make place later on for the temples of Athena.

In the time of emergence and collapse of the Mycenaean culture Athens was not an important city. It became more powerfull after a while, and started to merge with the villages around it. This synoikismos was the work of the legendary hero Theseus according to mythology. Around 800 BC this process was finished, and Athens ruled the whole of Attica. Still it did not become a city of importance until the late Archaic age. For a long time it was less powerfull than cities like Chalcis, Eretria, Corinthe, Sparta and Milete.

From the seventh century on Athens developed to a great industrial and naval force. During the seventh century Athens had an aristocratic government. Like always there was a lot of competition among the nobility, and this was probably one of the main reasons for Cylons failed attempt in 632 to form a tyranny. The disagreements among the nobility only became worse, and as a result Draco wrote down the laws. Till then it had been a common law, which was in the hands of the nobility. Essential in Draco's laws were that he forbid personal revenge after a murder, that a procedure in court had to determine the penalty for the murderer.

From aristocracy to timocracy.

Around 600 BC Athens was in a serious crisis which was of a political and social nature. The number of free small farmers had rapidly increased, and as a result of this many of them could not live off their land anymore. Often they were forced to loan goods from rich landowners, with themselves as a pledge. These loans were almost impossible to pay back as they were purely consumptive, so not as an investment to increase the production. The obvious result was that after a while the farmer ended up in a vicious circle until he had loaned so much that the value of his yearly crop was the same as his loans. The landowner could not own the land of the farmer as it was property of the fratia of the farmer, but now the landowner practically owned it.

Subsequently was the farmer demoted to the status of hektemoros, who was forced to give a sixth part of his crop to the landowner. Could he not pay this, then the landowner could sell him as a slave. This happened more and more when the contact with the East brought more luxury on the market. The landowners often selled farmers as slaves so they were able to buy the newest statussymbols.

The political aspect of this crisis was that a new economic layer developed, besides the political upper layer of the nobility. These people had gained their richdom mostly by trade and demanded more political power. The nobility still had the power thanks to their land. The new class did not have much political rights yet, but they did have the new form of power: money. People who were not noble, and who did not have any money ended up in misery. This way the laws of Draco already had to be revised after a generation. In 594 Solon was chosen as archon, and he was given exclusive powers. In the Politics section you will find more about his actions, but for now it is enough to say that he declared all debts of the farmers void, and that he created new classes: political power was no longer based on birth (aristocracy), but on wealth (timocracy). This way the crisis was solved.

Like almost every other Polis Athens had to deal with a relative overpopulation. The obvious solution would have been colonisation and expansion of territory, but Athens only managed to found one colony a Sigeum. Closer at home they managed to control the island of Salamis, but not after several long conflicts with Megara and Aegina. Solon devaluated the Attic coin so that there was more space for trade, and he focused on the production of grapes and olives. The export of these quality goods gave the money which was needed for the import of grain to feed the population.

Tyranny of Pisistratus and sons.

Solons actions implied that the farmers were not able to loan anything in times of despair, so the number of farmers had to be decreased to make sure that every farmer could raise enough crop. Many of these ex-farmers moved to the city. After a while Pisistratus became an important person, as he fought for the ex-farmers, and other poor people who lived in the mountains. In 561 he was chosen as tyrant by a majority of the people's council, but he was banished after five years as he did not have the army behind him. During his absence he exploited a goldmine, so he gained enough wealth to afford himself a small army of mercenaries. In 546 he became again tyrant, but this time his position was much stronger.

The period under Pisistratus was a milestone in the history of the city. The exporting commerce of Athens reached Sicily, Egypt and the Black sea. New monuments were built and the city experienced its first cultural and artistic spring, producing some of the most famous philosophers, artists and writers, whose names are a jewel in the history of mankind. At 528 Pisistratus' son Hippias took over the tyranny of his father. But a failed murder on him changed him from "benefactor", like his father, into a suspicious despot. In 510 he was banished with the help of a military invention of Sparta. This was the end of tyranny in Athens.