59ALAMY/GETTY IMAGES Æ
The Parthenon dominates the Acropolis in Athens. By the time Heracleides of Crete visited,
the city had declined, and he bemoaned its “miserable old lanes [and] mean houses”separate neighbourhood was allocated to
each clan, with its own schools and
marketplaces. In addition, at the heart of
the city was the main market, where tens
of thousands traded every day. Writing
to the king of Spain, Cortés described
the colourful profusion of fresh food and
drink, metalware, furs, textiles, stone
tools and other goods – not to mention
human manure, for curing skins and
making salt – available in this market.
Cortés, led by the Aztec emperor
Moctezuma himself, ascended the
blood-soaked steps of one of the huge
pyramids of the Templo Mayor (Great
Temple) to absorb a panoramic view of
the entire city. Meanwhile, Díaz visited
the interior of the temple, describing the
gore and stench of blood from human
sacrifices, and the dismal beat of a great
drum that resounded across the city.
Following the death of Moctezuma
and the Spanish capture of Tenochtitlán
in 1521, the city was ransacked and the
population massacred. The colonial city
of Mexico was built on the ruins.on arrival could hardly believe that this
is the Athens of which he has heard so
much”. Nevertheless, he still found much
to admire, including the Parthenon,
the temple of Olympian Zeus (which,
left unfinished in the late sixth century,
was being extended when Heracleides
visited), the theatre and the music hall.
He admired the many statues, along with
the verdant gardens of the Academy and
the Lyceum.
Athenians, rich and poor, enjoyed
regular festivals, shows and pageants,
and visiting artists were welcomed and
celebrated. Other visitors, though, were
in danger of being waylaid by the many
prostitutes and by lawyers pestering po-
tential clients. Heracleides considered the
native Athenian people to be real lovers
of music and drama, and described them
as “highminded, straightforward and
capable of true friendship”. In contrast,
he regarded natives of the surrounding
region of Attica who were also resident in
the city as slanderous, nosy and false.Athens
Third century BC
Arts-loving metropolis with
shows and statues, prostitutes
and philosophersAfter the disastrous Peloponnesian Wars
of the late fifth century BC, followed by
triumph for the forces of Macedon un-
der Philip II against Athens and Thebes
in 338 BC, the Athenian Golden Age
was over. The population began to de-
cline, and continued to fall through the
Hellenistic period (323–31 BC). By the
third century BC, Athens was reduced
to a mere shadow of its former glory, its
wealth and power depleted, yet it still
kept its reputation as a cultural centre.
The geographer Heracleides of Crete,
who visited in the early third century BC,
described both aspects of the Hellenistic
city. He noted the “miserable old lanes
[and] mean houses, such that a strangerИЗП
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ALAMY/GETTY IMAGESpopulation massacred. The colonial city ППpopulation massacred. The colonial city population massacred. The colonial city population massacred. The colonial city population massacred. The colonial city population massacred. The colonial city ППАА"What'sNews"ALAMY/GETTY IMAGES
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