At the conclusion of the Greek War of Independence, Athens was little
more than a village of the Turkish type, the poorly built houses
clustering on the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis. The
narrow crooked lanes of this quarter still contrast with the straight,
regularly laid-out streets of the modern city, which extends to the
north-west, north and east of the ancient citadel. The greater
commercial advantages offered by Nauplia, Corinth and Patras were
outweighed by the historic claims of Athens in the choice of a capital
for the newly founded kingdom, and the seat of government was
transferred hither from Nauplia in 1833. The new town was, for the most
part, laid out by the German architect Schaubert. It contains several
squares and boulevards, a large public garden, and many handsome public
and private edifices. A great number of the public institutions owe
their origin to the munificence of patriotic Greeks, among whom Andreas
Syngros and George Averoff may be especially mentioned. The royal
palace, designed by Friedrich von Gartner (1792-1847), is a tasteless
structure; attached to it is a beautiful garden laid out by Queen
Amalia, which contains a well-preserved mosaic floor of the Roman
period. On the south-east is the newly built palace of the crown prince.
The Academy, from designs by Theophil Hansen (1813-1891), is constructed
of Pentelic marble in the Ionic style: the colonnades and pediments are
richly coloured and gilded, and may perhaps convey some idea of the
ancient style of decoration. Close by is the university, with a
colonnade adorned with paintings, and the Vallianean library with a
handsome Doric portico of Pentelic marble. The observatory, which is
connected with the university, stands on the summit of the Hill of the
Nymphs; like the Academy, it was erected at the expense of a wealthy
Greek, Baron Sina of Vienna. In the public garden is the Zappeion, a
large building with a Corinthian portico, intended for the display of
Greek industries; here also is a monument to Byron, erected in 1896. The
Boule, or parliament-house, possesses a considerable library. Other
public buildings are the Polytechnic Institute, built by contributions
from Greeks of Epirus, the theatre, the Arsakeion (a school for girls),
the Varvakeion (a gymnasium), the military school ([Greek: scholae
enelpidon]), and several hospitals and orphanages. The cathedral, a
large, modern structure is devoid of architectural merit, but some of
the smaller, ancient, Byzantine churches are singularly interesting and
beautiful. Among private residences, the mansion built by Dr Schliemann,
the discoverer of Troy, is the most noteworthy; its decorations are in
the Pompeian style.
Museums.
The museums of Athens have steadily grown in importance with the
progress of excavation. They are admirably arranged, and the remnants of
ancient art which they contain have fortunately escaped injudicious
restoration. The National Museum, founded in 1866, is especially rich in
archaic sculptures and in sepulchral and votive reliefs. A copy of the
Diadumenos of Polyclitus from Delos, and temple sculptures from
Epidaurus and the Argive Heraeum, are among the more notable of its
recent acquisitions. It also possesses the famous collection of
prehistoric antiquities found by Schliemann at Tiryns and Mycenae, other
"Mycenaean" objects discovered at Nauplia and in Attica, as well as the
still earlier remains excavated by Tsountas in the Cyclades and by the
British School at Phylakopi in Melos; terra-cottas from Tanagra and Asia
Minor; bronzes from Olympia, Delphi and elsewhere, and numerous painted
vases, among them the unequalled white _lekythi_ from Athens and
Eretria. The Epigraphical Museum contains an immense number of
inscriptions arranged by H.G. Lolling and A. Wilhelm of the Austrian
Institute. The Acropolis Museum (opened 1878) possesses a singularly
interesting collection of sculptures belonging to the "archaic" period
of Greek art, all found on the Acropolis; here, too, are some fragments
of the pedimental statues of the Parthenon and several reliefs from its
frieze, as well as the slabs from the balustrade of the temple of Nike.
The Polytechnic Institute contains a museum of interesting objects
connected with modern Greek life and history. In the Academy is a
valuable collection of coins superintended by Svoronos. Of the private
collections those of Schliemann and Karapanos are the most interesting:
the latter contains works of art and other objects from Dodona. There is
a small museum of antiquities at the Peiraeus.
Scientific institutions.
Owing to the numbers and activity of its institutions, both native and
foreign, for the prosecution of research and the encouragement of
classical studies, Athens has become once more an international seat of
learning. The Greek Archaeological Society, founded in 1837, numbers
some distinguished scholars among its members, and displays great
activity in the conduct of excavations. Important researches at
Epidaurus, Eleusis, Mycenae, Amyclae and Rhamnus may be numbered among
its principal undertakings, in addition to the complete exploration of
the Acropolis and a series of investigations in Athens and Attica. The
French Ecole d'Athenes, founded in 1846, is under the scientific
direction of the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres. Among its
numerous enterprises have been the extensive and costly excavations at
Delos and Delphi, which have yielded such remarkable results. The
monuments of the Byzantine epoch have latterly occupied a prominent
place in its investigations. The German Archaeological Institute,
founded in 1874, has carried out excavations at Thebes, Lesbos, Pares,
Athens and elsewhere; it has also been associated in the great
researches at Olympia, Pergamum and Troy, and in many other important
undertakings. The British School, founded in 1886, has been unable,
owing to insufficient endowment, to work on similar lines with the
French and German institutions; it has, however, carried out extensive
excavations at Megalopolis and in Melos, as well as researches at Abae,
in Athens (presumed site of the Cynosarges), in Cyprus, at Naucratis and
at Sparta. It has also participated in the exploration of Cnossus and
other important sites in Crete. The American School, founded in 1882, is
supported by the principal universities of the United States. In
addition to researches at Sicyon, Plataea, Eretria and elsewhere, it has
undertaken two works of capital importance--the excavation of the Argive
Heraeum and of ancient Corinth. An Austrian Archaeological Institute was
founded in 1898.
Industry and commerce.
Notwithstanding certain disadvantages inherent in its situation, the
trade and manufactures of Athens have considerably increased in recent
years. Industrial and commercial activity is mainly centred at the
Peiraeus, where cloth and cotton mills, 45 cognac distilleries, 14 steam
flour mills, 8 soap manufactories, 13 shipbuilding and engineering
works, chair manufactories, dye works, chemical works, tanneries and a
dynamite factory have been established. The shipbuilding and engineering
trades are active and advancing. The export trade is, however,
inconsiderable, as the produce of the local industries is mainly
absorbed by home consumption. The principal exports are wine, cognac and
marble from Pentelicus. As a place of import, the Peiraeus surpasses
Patras, Syra and all the other Greek maritime towns, receiving about 53%
of all the merchandise brought into Greece. The principal imports are
coal, grain, manufactured articles and articles of luxury. The total
value of exports in 1904 was L459,565; of imports, L2,459,278. The
number of ships entered and cleared in 1905 was 5020 with a tonnage of
5,796,590 tons, of which 416, with a tonnage of 609,822 tons, were
British.
The Peiraeus.
The Peiraeus, which had never revived since its destruction by the
Romans in 86 B.C., was at the beginning of the 19th century a small
fishing village known as Porto Leone. When Athens became the capital in
1833 the ancient name of its port was revived, and since that time piers
and quays have been constructed, and spacious squares and broad regular
streets have been laid out. The town now possesses an exchange, a large
theatre, a gymnasium, a naval school, municipal buildings and several
hospitals and charitable institutions erected by private munificence.
The harbour, in which ships of all nations may be seen, as well as great
numbers of the picturesque sailing craft engaged in the coasting trade,
is somewhat difficult of access to larger vessels, but has been improved
by the construction of new breakwaters and dry docks. The port and the
capital are now connected by railway with Corinth and the principal
towns of the Morea; the line opening up communication with northern
Greece and Thessaly, when its proposed connexion with the Continental
railway system has been effected, will greatly enhance the importance of
the Peiraeus, already one of the most flourishing commercial towns in
the Levant.
Population.
The population of Athens has rapidly increased. In 1834 it was below
5000; in 1870 it was 44,510; in 1879, 63,374; in 1889, 107,251; in 1896,
111,486. The Peiraeus, which in 1834 possessed only a few hundred
inhabitants, in 1879 possessed 21,618; in 1889, 34,327; in 1896, 43,848.
The total population of Athens in 1907 was 167,479 and of Peiraeus
67,982. (J. D. B.)