Themistoclean Wall

The Themistoclean Wall (Greek: Θεμιστόκλειον τείχος),[1] named after the Athenian statesman Themistocles, was built in Athens, Greece during the 5th century BC as a result of the Persian Wars and in the hopes of defending against further invasion.

King Darius I was unsuccessful in his invasion attempt and was followed by his son, Xerxes I, who led the Second Persian Wars which lasted from 480 to 479 BC.

The people of Athens were worried by a return of the Persians, and Themistocles advocated rebuilding the walls before anything else so they decided to act upon this plan.

The wall bisected the Kerameikos cemetery where all of the funerary sculptures were built into it and two large city gates facing north-west were erected.

Facing the Macedonian invasion in 338 BC, a smaller wall, the Proteichisma, was built in front of the main one as an extra defence.

Map of the Themistoclean Wall with the later Diateichisma
Ruins of the Themistoclean Wall in Athens, Greece, named after the 5th-century-BC Athenian statesman and general Themistocles
Use of spolia at the Odeion of Agrippa in Athens
Themistoclean Wall at the Kerameikos