Walls connected Athens with her ports, Phaleron and (northern and southern long walls) Piraeus (c. 5 mi.). The purpose of such harbor-protecting walls was to prevent Athens from being cut off from her supplies during war. The Persians destroyed Athens long walls when in occupied Athens from 480/79 B.C. Athens rebuilt the walls from 461-456. Sparta destroyed Athens' long walls in 404 after Athens lost the Peloponnesian War. They were rebuilt during the Corinthian War. The walls surrounded the city of Athens and extended to the port city. At the start of the war, Pericles ordered the people of Attica to stay behind the walls. This meant the city was crowded and the plague that killed Pericles held a substantial population captive.
Source: Oliver T. P. K. Dickinson, Simon Hornblower, Antony J. S. Spawforth "Athens" The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth. © Oxford University Press 1949, 1970, 1996, 2005.
- Fast Facts About Ancient Greece
- Topography of Ancient Athens
- The Long Walls and the Piraeus
- Propylaea
- Areopagus
- Fast Facts About the Greek Colonies
Image: 'Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography;' edited by Ernest Rhys; London: J.M. Dent & Sons. 1917.
