Approximately four or five miles inland from the Aegean Sea, a flat-topped rock juts prominently from the surrounding plain. This natural citadel, measuring roughly 1,000 feet long by 500 feet wide, rises with sheer cliffs 150 feet above the Attic landscape.
The inherent security offered by this rocky elevation undoubtedly influenced its selection as a stronghold by the earliest Attic settlers. Here, atop the rock's summit, a cluster of rudimentary buildings surrounded by a wooden palisade marked the humble beginnings of a city destined for global renown: Athens.
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