The Acropolis of Athens has been inhabited since Neolithic times. As early as 1400 BC it was fortified in the manner of Mycenae, Tiryns, and other late Bronze Age citadels. At that time and in the subsequent “dark age” (1200-900 BC) that followed widespread warring among the Mycenaean Greeks, Athens was one of a number of petty states in Attica.
