17:16 Athens. The leading city of Greece, served by the port of Piraeus on the Aegean Sea. Athens reached its zenith in the fifth century b.c. under Pericles (495–429 b.c.), when the Parthenon and other magnificent structures were built. The classical poets Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes flourished at this time. Although conquered by the Romans in 146 b.c., Athens continued to be a great intellectual and cultural center.

full of idols. There were statues of gods or goddesses in the Parthenon and other temples on the Acropolis, as well as in the public, commercial, and temple buildings below.