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O bright and violet-crowned and famed in song, bulwark of Greece, famous Athens, divine city!

It is not hard to imagine how the author of these words felt about Athens. At the time they were written in 500 B.C., life in the Athenian polis was very different from life in Sparta.

Athens is on the peninsula of Attica. It used its location near the sea to grow as a center of trade. Artisans from all over the Aegean flocked to Athens to practice their crafts. As a result of their long history of sea travel, Athenians were the most skillful sailors.

The Athenian polis became an exciting and vital place where new ideas were welcome. Rather than the strict, military ways of Sparta, freedom was cherished in Athens. The Athenians believed that life was empty unless people tried to gain new knowledge and lived freely.

Towering above ancient Athens, the Acropolis was the site of religious and political activity. The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena stands at the hill's crest. Center of Athenian life was the Agora (the Roman name was the Forum). What would be comparable to the agora in today's society?

LIFE IN ATHENS Imagine that you have gone back in time to the Athenian polis. You are standing in the agora (ag' a ra), or central marketplace of the city. The agora is overflowing with activity, and it takes a moment to get your bearings. Is it possible that there is any place on the earth as busy as the Athenian agora? Shops, temples, and government buildings surround the agora. Young men who are students stand in the shadows of these great buildings and wait for their teachers. Small children explore the fruit stands with their parents. Merchants have come from all over the "Aegean World"-and farther -to gather in the agora and sell their goods. Tables are piled high with vegetables, bread, fish, and cheese. Beautifully painted pottery is for sale, and even toys can be bought. Merchants from Asia and North Africa sell colorful cloth, fine jewelry, and sweet perfumes. The agora is truly a lively place. Explore the agora. Wander around the tables and along the edges of the market. Then, begin to follow some of the roads that lead away from the agora. One road climbs uphill. You wonder where it leads....

THE ACROPOLIS

As you continue climbing the uphill road from the agora, you come upon a remarkable site. The people of Athens built one of the world's most magnificent landmarks of civilization. Called the Acropolis (a krop' a lis), it was a hill-top fortress. Acropolis is a Greek word meaning "high city."

Look at the diagram above, showing how the Acropolis may have looked in ancient times. Note how it rises above the agora and all of Athens. As you see, the Acropolis was made up of many buildings. The citizens of Athens met in this "high city" to discuss the affairs of their community.

Like the pyramids and ziggurats of earlier societies, the Acropolis also had a special, religious purpose. The largest building on the Acropolis was the Parthenon. The Parthenon was a temple dedicated to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom who was believed to be the protector of Athens. Built in the fifth century B.C., it has been called one of the world's most beautiful buildings.    The Parthenon, the way it might have looked in 450 BC. (Right).   Notice what time and erosion has done to one of the greatest buildings ever built. (left)