Athens

Visiting Scholars

Open House | Immigration and Belonging: Phoenician Immigrants in 4th-Century BCE Athens, with Denise Demetriou

We were pleased to welcome Denise Demetriou, University of California – San Diego, for an Open House discussion entitled “Immigration and Belonging: Phoenician Immigrants in Fourth-Century BCE Athens,” on Friday, October 9, at 11 a.m. EDT, which was recorded In preparation for this event, you might like to read this PDF handout of readings: Immigration and Belonging Handout You can watch the video on our YouTube channel, or in the… Read more

Book Club

Book Club | September 2020: Plato Timaeus and Critias

Poseidon, receiving for his lot the island of Atlantis, begat children by a mortal woman, and settled them in a part of the island, which I will describe. Looking towards the sea, but in the centre of the whole island, there was a plain which is said to have been the fairest of all plains and very fertile. Near the plain again, and also in the centre of the island… Read more

History

Kimon: The Battle of Eurymedon, and Thasos

The Battle of Eurymedon After Eion, Skyros, and Naxos, the next mission for the Athenian Stratēgós Kimon came in either 469 or 466 BCE. After the siege of Skyros, he put in at the Piraeus. There he arranged for repairs and general supplies, and added more triremes to his fleet. The existing ships were designed by Themistoklēs with a focus on speed and maneuverability; the new design of Kimon had… Read more

History

Founders of democracy unsung | Part 2: Re-establishment of democracy by Thrasybulus

In part 1, we looked at the role of Cleisthenes. Now, in part 2, we look at the re-establishment of democracy by Thrasybulus. Thrasybulus played an instrumental part as a general in Athens’ victories in the “Ionian War” during the years 411–407 BCE as well as the (temporary) return of Alcibiades to Athens. However, after the defeat of Alcibiades’ fleet at Notium in 406 and the departure of that loved… Read more

History

Founders of democracy unsung | Part 1: Cleisthenes’ democracy

Imagine a United States in which George Washington was never celebrated as the “Father of his Country” or the “Indispensable Man”! Imagine a Great Britain in which knowledge of the Magna Carta had been relegated to specialists in constitutional history, or a France which did not celebrate Bastille Day! Yet this seems to have been the situation in ancient Athens in regard to the founder of its democracy, Cleisthenes son… Read more