ABSTRACT
Athens, practically – though not entirely – untouched by the various invasions after 1300 .., had been actively involved in the Ionian migration (see p. 5), and Athenian pottery had flourished in the ninth and eighth centuries; after that there is no evidence that Athens was of importance till the time of Solon. What the Greeks themselves later wrote about early Athenian history is partly legend and partly the story of the transition from monarchy to aristocracy, which was general among Greek states. Some conclusions, however, can be drawn from later sources.1 If we concentrate here on Athens, it is not only because of her later importance but also because we have so very little evidence for other states. In general they will have developed along similar lines, though Athens was never really typical. The most important fact is that the whole of Attica, originally divided among many poleis (cf., e.g., the ‘Tetrapolis’ round Marathon), was united under the rule of Athens at an early date. This was later described as a single act of synoecism, and regarded as the work of Theseus, mythical hero and king of Athens. Thucydides (2, 15) tells us that Theseus did away with the independent poleis and created one bouleuterion and one prytaneion, that is, one council chamber and one seat of government. It can be accepted as historical that a political unification took place without any large transfer of population. It is, however, out of the question that it all happened in one single move; we must rather assume that there was a lengthy process, probably ending when the ancient sanctuary and town of Eleusis with its fertile hinterland, the Thriasian plain, lost its independence in the late eighth century (or even the early seventh), after
having been an independent state under kings of its own. Like Sparta, Athens held a comparatively large territory; but unlike Sparta, Athens did not rule over subjects free or bond, rather the whole of Attica was citizens’ land. In Homer, Attica is never mentioned; it was identical with Athens (Il. 2, 546 ff. Od. 3, 278), a view necessarily based on the fact of synoecism.2
