Among all ancient civilizations, Athens was one of the oldest and greatest cities in the world. It was founded around 3400 years ago, in Ancient Greece, by a ruler named Cecrops. It was originally a small city, but quickly gained more land as it grew with its creativeness and intelligence. The city-state itself also has many wonders. The Acropolis was one of the oldest buildings in Athens, being able to withstand many attacks and battles throughout the years. The Parthenon, one of the most famous temples, was built for its patron goddess Athena. During the golden age of Athens, they were the cultural and artistic prime of Greece. They shared many important foundations and wonders of the world, building the foundation of modern civilization.…show more content… Some of their most famous achievements are democracy, architecture, philosophy, and other inventions that help with daily life. Democracy comes from the Greek word for people (Demo) and rule (Kratos). It is the idea that the people should work together to form a government. There were two stages of democracy in ancient Athens. The first one was called the Council of 500. The members of the Council of 500 had to be 30 or older, and 500 of them were randomly chosen to serve. The council did daily tasks as a government, as well as proposing new laws. These new laws then had to be approved by the Assembly of Athens. They debated whether the laws would be official or not. The assembly met on a hill every 10 days and required at least 6,000 people to attend the meeting. If there were less than 6,000, they would send slaves out to look for people to be at the assembly, and those people would have to attend the meeting dressed in red painted clothes. Although modern democracy is different from ancient Greek democracy, it still uses the key factors of direct democracy. People can still vote, but they can only vote for the people that represent them. Another way that Athens has impacted the modern world is by improving its architecture. The most recognizable Greek buildings are temples. Temples were made to worship their Greek god or goddess. For example, one of the most famous temples was the Parthenon, worshiping the Greek god Athena. The Athenians hired master builders and sculptors to build the Parthenon because Athena was believed to look over Athens. Inside these buildings, there might also be a statue of the god or goddess portrayed with famous symbols. In the Parthenon, Athena is shown with a large snake and a bronze shield, holding Nike in her right hand and a spear in the left. There are also famous types of architecture used in the temple that were invented in ancient Athens, such as
