Byzantine Athens: A provincial city in the shadow of its glorious past
Athens needs no introduction as one of the most significant cities of Antiquity. Renowned as the cradle of democracy, philosophy, and theater, its importance during the classical and Roman eras is undisputed, with the city retaining much of its prestige during those periods. But what of Athens during the Byzantine and medieval times? How did this iconic city navigate the challenges of invasions, shifting political landscapes, and the transformative process of Christianization in an era far removed from its ancient glory?
History of Athens in Byzantine and medieval times.
The Early Byzantine period and the decline of Athens’ remaining significance.
In late antiquity, Athens was part of the province of Achaia and was listed by Hierokles as the “metropolis of Attica,” the surrounding region. By then, the city had lost much of its former grandeur. The Heruli sacked it in 267, causing significant damage to its monuments. Whether Alaric did the same is unclear. Some historical accounts suggest he did, while others argue that he spared Athens. Archaeological evidence leans toward the idea that the city suffered destruction during this time, but the question remains unresolved.
During the late antique and early Byzantine period, Athens was surrounded by a fortification that covered only a small fraction of its former size. At the end of the 4th century, Synesios of Cyrene described the city in negative terms, calling it famous only for producing honey. Despite this, Athens continued to be an academic hub and a center of Neoplatonism from the 4th to the early 6th century. This was largely thanks to the revived Academy of Athens and other independent philosophical schools. The city’s prestige as a cultural and intellectual center drew the elite of the time. Notable figures such as the Fathers of the Church—Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus—as well as the future emperor Julian, studied here. The empress Athenais-Eudokia (b. 385, d. 460), an Athenian, was also praised for her learning and produced several literary works during her lifetime.
The bishop of Athens was under the authority of the bishop of Thessaloniki during the whole early Byzantine time. However, paganism remained strong in Athens. Evidence of this is found in the fact that Christian symbols did not appear on lamps until the early 5th century. Theodosius had ordered the destruction of pagan temples, but those in Athens were spared. Justinian took a bolder step by closing the Schools of Athens in 529, though the impact of this decision is still debated among scholars. Basilican churches (for instance the so-called Ilissos Basilica) were constructed on the periphery, but most of the pagan temples were not converted to Christian use until the late 6th century, or even later.
At the end of the 6th century, the Byzantine Empire was facing many challenges, and Athens, like other cities, was not spared from their effects. The Slavs, advancing into Greece, sacked the city in 582. However, the Byzantines managed to retain control, and the situation stabilized to some extent by the 7th century. In 662-663, Emperor Constans II visited Athens while working to bring the Sklavinae—semi-autonomous Slavic settlements—under control. He resettled many Slavs in the Balkans and central Asia Minor.
From the 5th century onward small-scale industrial activity was introduced into the former city center, as the ancient urban pattern was abandoned. The extensive ancient enceinte, repaired by Justinian I, was soon thereafter allowed to fall into decay. Coin finds after the mid-7th century are infrequent, and certain areas—the region of the Odeon and the Pnyx —were completely deserted.
The Middle Byzantine times: Struggles and recovery.
The instability and disruption of the economy and society caused by the plagues, as well as the invasions of the Persians, Avars, and Arabs, affected Athens like many other Byzantine urban centers of the time. The city shrank in size and centered around the Acropolis, where the Parthenon had become the cathedral church. Most of the ancient monuments lay in ruins across the surrounding landscape. By the late 7th century, Athens became part of the theme of Hellas, a new administrative and military division of the empire. During the 8th century, the bishop of Athens was elevated to metropolitan status. His suffragans included the bishops of Euboea, central Greece, and the nearby islands.
Around the same time, Athens and the Aegean Sea began to face threats from Arab pirates, particularly after the Arabs seized Crete in the 820s. Unlike Thessaloniki, however, Athens managed to avoid being sacked. The presence of an Arab mosque in the city suggests that, at least in part, more peaceful relations existed. Archaeological evidence suggest that the city started to recover at that time.
Scholars generally believe that Athens supported icon worship during the Iconoclast period. This assumption mostly comes from the role of Empress Irene. Born into the Sarantapechos family, a local aristocratic clan of Athens, she played a pivotal role in restoring the cult of icons.
In 1018, Basil II visited Athens and gave thanks in the Church of the Virgin in the Parthenon for his victory over the Bulgarians. The Seljuk invasion of Asia Minor after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, followed by the civil wars that persisted until the Komnenian dynasty restored stability, did not significantly impact Athens or its region. Archaeological evidence shows that the city experienced a period of growth until the late 12th century. The agora, abandoned since late antiquity, was reinhabited, and Athens became a center for soap and dye production. Trade flourished, particularly with Italian cities, especially the Venetians. This prosperity led to the construction of numerous churches in Athens and its surrounding areas, including the monastery of Kaisariani.
Despite this growth, which appears to have ended around 1180, according to archaeological evidence, Athens remained a provincial city, far from rivaling the larger Byzantine cities, especially the capital, Constantinople. Michael Choniates, a prominent figure of the 12th century and metropolitan of Athens from 1182 to 1204, lamented the city’s poverty, the ignorance of its inhabitants, and the rapacity of imperial officials.
The late Byzantine period: Athens under Latin rule and rivalries.
The early 13th century brought more challenges for Athens. While the Byzantine Empire was struggling with instability, which would eventually lead to the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade, Leo Sgouros, a magnate from the Peloponnese, took advantage of the situation. With rebellion in Thessaly and Macedonia cutting southern Greece off from Constantinople, and unrest in the Peloponnese, he declared himself an independent ruler. Sgouros seized the crucial fortresses of Argos and Corinth and showed hostility toward the Church.
Soon, he turned his attention to Athens, launching naval raids against the city with the help of pirates from Salamis and Aegina. Choniates, leading the defense, appealed to Constantinople, but received no assistance. In 1203, Sgouros attacked Athens and captured the city. The metropolitan Michael Choniates and the inhabitants retreated to the Acropolis, where they held out against heavy bombardment from siege engines. Sgouros left the Acropolis under blockade, set the lower city on fire, and marched north.
However, after the capture of Constantinople in 1204, the Crusaders under Boniface of Montferrat marched into Greece. Sgouros withdrew to defend the Peloponnese, and Boniface’s army took Athens without resistance, lifting the blockade of the Acropolis. Choniates surrendered the city, marking the end of nearly two centuries of Byzantine rule over Athens.
Boniface appointed Guy de la Roche as the first Duke of Athens. The duchy controlled all of central Greece and much of the Peloponnese, though the dukes made their residence in Thebes. A Latin archbishop, who replaced the Orthodox bishop after 1204, played a key role in the papacy’s plan to control the Greek Church. In 1311, the Catalan Grand Company took control of Athens. In 1385, Nerio I Acciajuoli seized the city, but the Catalans held out in the Acropolis until 1388. Nerio adopted a more localized approach to governance, hiring both Italian and Greek officials to administer the duchy. He made Greek the language of administration and allowed the Greek Orthodox archbishop to settle in the lower town.
With the Ottomans advancing in Greece, Nerio agreed to pay a weary tribute in 1394. He died soon after and was buried in the Parthenon. His brother Donato inherited the duchy but, facing an Ottoman threat, ceded the city to Venice. In 1402, Antonio Acciajuoli reclaimed the lower city and forced the Venetian defenders to surrender the Acropolis in 1403. Although he preferred to rule from Thebes, his capital, Antonio showed interest in restoring Athens’ monuments and patronizing its culture. His death in 1435 triggered a succession conflict, and in 1446, Nerio II lost the city to the future Constantine XI.
Athens returned to the Byzantine Empire for the final years of its existence. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed II took Athens in 1458. The Acropolis finally surrendered in 1460.
Byzantine and medieval figures associated with Athens.
Athens, a city rich in history, was home to several significant figures throughout the Byzantine period, many of whom shaped both the city and the empire. Among them were empresses, like Eudokia and Irene of Athens. Irene was one of the most intriguing and controversial figures in Byzantine history. Her actions, including the restoration of icons and her complicated relationship with her son, make her one of the most mysterious and compelling figures of the Byzantine era.
In addition to these imperial figures, religious leaders like Michael Choniates, the metropolitan bishop of Athens in the 12th century, played crucial roles. Choniates is remembered for his valiant defense of Athens during a time of invasions and political instability. His writings offer a vivid portrayal of Athens during this trouble time.
Together, these figures showcase Athens’ significant, though often turbulent, role in Byzantine history, reflecting its political, religious, and cultural importance during challenging times.
The monuments of Byzantine Athens.
Athens still preserves many standing monuments, and numerous others have been uncovered through excavation, particularly in the Agora. While these findings don’t offer a complete understanding of the city’s evolution throughout the entire Byzantine and medieval period— especially given the scarcity of historical written sources and the destruction of many ancient remains in the 19th century —they provide valuable evidence that gives a solid overview of the city’s development and transformation.
The Acropolis.
The sacred heart of classical Athens, the Acropolis, remained a central feature of the medieval landscape under the various medieval rulers. Two significant changes reshaped the rocky hill during this period. The Christianization of the city likely led to the removal of many ancient statues of deities and the conversion of several ancient monuments into churches. The Parthenon became the cathedral of the city, dedicated to the Theotokos, while the Erechtheion was also repurposed as a church. Meanwhile, the Propylaia was transformed into the bishop’s mansion and likely fortified to secure the entrance to the Acropolis, which served as the city’s ultimate refuge during attacks.
Under Latin rule, the dukes of Athens further altered the Acropolis. They converted the Propylaia into their palace and reinforced its defenses by adding towers around the hill. While the Orthodox metropolitan was replaced by a Latin prelate, the churches likely underwent modifications to reflect their new Latin use.
In Athens’ later period, shortly before its fall to the Turks, the Acropolis may have resembled the reconstruction proposed by Ancient Athens 3D. When Mehmet II conquered the city in 1460, the ancient monuments, particularly the Acropolis, impressed him so deeply that he forbade his soldiers from damaging the city.
Civil architecture.
Excavations of the Athenian Agora have unearthed the remains of Middle Byzantine settlements, offering insights into Athenian houses during the city’s period of prosperity in the 11th and 12th centuries, as well as the Frankish era. These findings, along with a rich archive of records, architectural plans, photographs, and artifacts, provide valuable data to reconstruct the city’s built environment and explore the identities, activities, and history of its inhabitants.
The agora remains a long-standing site of archaeological studies of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Religious architecture.
In the courtyard of the Library of Hadrian a large quatrefoil structure of the 5th century has been uncovered, probably a church rather than a lecture hall or audience hall as previously believed. On the slopes of the Areopagos and the south side of the Acropolis have been found houses associated with the philosophical schools. See the restitution of the Tetraconch on Ancient Athens 3D.
Apart from the churches established on the Acropolis within ancient classical monuments, most Athenian churches are small and clustered in the area just north of the Acropolis.
Beginning around 975 with the katholikon of Moni Petraki, there is an unbroken series of surviving churches in Athens, nearly all adhering to the Constantinopolitan cross-in-square type, many featuring pseudo-Kufic decorative elements.
The Church of the Holy Apostles in the Agora, dating to the late 10th century, is the first significant church of the Middle Byzantine period in the city. Remarkably, it has survived mostly intact since its foundation, though some repairs, reconstructions, and alterations have occurred over time. Architecturally, it is a domed quatrefoil of considerable sophistication, marking the emergence of the so-called “Athenian type,” which combines the four-pier and cross-in-square forms. Unfortunately, the church has not retained its original painted decoration.
The Church of Sts. Theodore, dated by an inscription to 1065, is one of the best-preserved monuments from the Middle Byzantine period in Athens. Although it may have undergone transformations in the 12th century, it has remained largely unaltered in subsequent centuries. Nonetheless, like many other Byzantine churches in the city, its original painted decoration has not survived.
The Church of the Panagia Kapnikarea is believed to have been built in the 11th century, possibly around 1060. It may have originally served as the katholikon of a monastery. The structure comprises three interconnected units constructed in succession: the south church, the chapel of St. Barbara, and the exonarthex. The latter two components were likely added during the Frankish period.
The Panagia Gorgoepikoos, also known as the Church of St. Eleutherios or the “Little Metropolis,” is constructed entirely of marble, much of it consisting of reused and sculpted blocks. It likely dates to shortly after 1200.
The poorly restored Panagia Lykodemou, dating to the 11th century, was a large domed octagon, presumably reflecting architectural influences from Constantinople. It was likely the katholikon of a monastery.
The Hephaestion was converted into a church during the Byzantine period. Subsequent restoration efforts aimed at returning it to its original form resulted in the removal of most of the medieval structures and decorations. However, an arch inside the temple has survived and still retains a few remnants of Byzantine-era paintings.
None of these churches retains its original painted decoration. Fresco programs have survived, however, in several churches on the outskirts of Athens, notably the cave chapels on Mount Pentele of the early 13th century, similar in style to that of the late Komnenian period, which preserve a haloed portrait of Michael Choniates, and the Omorphe Ekklesia of the late 13th century which already reflects the latest stylistic developments in the contemporary painting of Macedonia.
The architectural remodeling of Athens in the 19th century.
While Athens still preserves many medieval monuments, more have been lost in the 19th century. After the establishment of the Modern Greek state, the city underwent a deep transformation of its urban tissue. The focus during this period was to align Modern Greece with its ancient classical heritage, prioritizing the restoration of ancient monuments, particularly the Acropolis, by removing post-classical additions. This process erased much of the post-classical history of these structures, transforming them from active sites into museum artifacts. The emphasis on classical antiquity also led to the neglect and destruction of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine architectural heritage, including numerous churches. Early maps, travelers’ accounts, textual sources, and archaeological findings offer insights into Athens’ Byzantine and Ottoman periods, marked by significant church building. The extend of destruction appears enormous : dozens (probably around 100) byzantine and post-byzantine churches disappeared.
Sources and further resources.
A few interesting 3D reconstructions of medieval Athens can be seen on the website Ancient Athens 3D.
The Mapping Eastern Europe project includes a section on Inhabiting Byzantine Athens.
