Mother of arts and eloquence

Valsala R takes you on an armchair trip across the capital of Greece

“Athens, …mother of arts and eloquence.” – John Milton.

Have you ever wondered why the Greek contingent leads the Olympic parade? It’s not that they have the most medals or that they are always the host city, for sure. Well, Greece is the home of the Olympics and their special status derives from this fact. In ancient Greece, this used to be an athletic competition between city states. The modern Olympics was revived in 1896. Greece is also the home of the Marathon, one of the major events at the Games. This run is approximately 40km to mark the distance from Marathon to Athens. The legend goes that the Athenians had learnt that the invading Persians had landed and sent a runner to ask the Spartans for help. (Note: When people talk about city states, what does that mean? Well, it simply is an independent city that has its own governance. The Vatican, for a modern-day example, is a city state.)

Besides the Olympics, what else brings Athens to the forefront of our minds? If you’re a writer or a reader, it’s almost a given that you’ll associate the name ‘Athens’ with beautiful sculptures, with theatre and with myths of gods and goddesses who roamed the earth and played a significant part in day-to-day human life. Indeed, this cosmopolitan city is revered more for its place in the social history of the world than for anything else.

Athens has been inhabited for well over 6000 years. Owing to its location and the fact that the city is located amidst hills (making defence easier), the city became a major centre for trade by 900BCE. The city’s founding myth says that Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, and Poseidon, the god of the oceans vied to become the patron of the new city. Each attempted to win the favour of the King with a gift. Poseidon struck the earth with his trident and a magnificent salt spring sprung up. Athena brought the gift of an olive tree. No prizes for guessing who won. Athens is Europe’s oldest capital city.

Around the 5th century BCE is the time thought of as the Golden Age of Athens. The list of greats who lived in that era is seemingly endless. This was the age of the great general, Pericles, and the age of Socrates, the father of Western philosophical thought and of his illustrious student, Plato. Socrates was mainly concerned with the theory of knowledge. He famously taught by asking questions and making his students think. Plato talked about literature, education, society, love, friendship, rhetoric, arts, and so on — all as he walked. The ruins of the schools established by these two can still be seen. Art, literature and philosophy flourished in classical Athens and evidence of this is visible everywhere — most prominently in the beautiful, marble Parthenon that sits atop the Acropolis (the hill that is the focal point of the city). A fact that the casual observer may not notice is that none of the outer columns of the Parthenon are straight — they bend slightly as they go up and theoretically could meet high above the enormous statue of the goddess Athena that it housed. As modern Athens built its Metro, the digging was continually interrupted by the finding of more and more artefacts from antiquity and many of the Metro stations have museums that display these finds. Hippocrates, in whose name every doctor takes oath, lived in the Golden Age. Playwrights such as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides flourished during that time. Theatre was and still is a very important part of Athenian life (There are said to be around 150 stages for theatrical performances in modern Athens!). Greek tragedy and comedy were setting the standards for western playwrights by around 500 BC. Pericles encouraged the arts and also democratic ideals.

Democracy (of a sort) was established in Athens around 500BC. It didn’t mean what it means to us today but there was a system of election. Only men, and that too men who owned property, could vote. But it was a beginning. The word ‘democracy’ itself comes from two Greek words — “demos” meaning the people, and “kratos” meaning power. As the great historian, Thucydides said, “Justice will not come to Athens until those who are not injured are as indignant as those who are injured,” which translates in modern times to mean that we should elect people who will be indignant on our behalf!

A couple of centuries after the time of Pericles, Athens came under foreign rule for around 2000 years. It was only in 1834 that she became an independent nation under King Otto. Monarchy was abolished in 1973.

Apart from influencing western theatre, thought and philosophy, official games and democracy, Athens has some of the best weather in Europe and one of the lowest crime rates. The fascination that the city holds for all those interested in cultural history is enormous. (There are 18 cities in the US alone that are called ‘Athens’!) So, what are you waiting for? Bring Athens to the top of your travel wish list.