One of the greatest cultural achievements of the people of the ancient civilizations was the building of numerous cities. (Why do you think this is so? A display of the ruler's great power perhaps?) Some of these cities still exist today and are popular historic places of interest. Due to the vast number of cities that were constructed in the past, we shall briefly explore only the major cities during that time.

One of the most famous cities of the ancient world, Thebes, was the capital of Egypt at the height of its power. The ancient Egyptians called it Wase, and later Nowe, but the ancient Greeks called it Thebes. The city was divided into 2 parts, one on each bank of the Nile River. The east bank was known as the city of the living, which was filled with grand temples and houses. The west bank was known as the city of the dead, which was filled with royal tombs, royal mortuary temples, and houses of priests and workers devoted to the dead. It was here that the famous tomb of King Tutankhamen was discovered in 1922.

Thebes had become an important city during the Middle Kingdom (from 2133 to 1603 BC) and became an even more important one when it was made the capital of Egypt during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt (from 1567 to 1320 BC), where it was rebuilt and enlarged. However, the city began to lose its importance during the 20th Dynasty. Today, besides being an archaeological site, it is also a place of interest in Egypt, visited by tourists on Nile boat trips.

In Mesoamerica, during the Maya civilisation, Tikal was one of the largest and most powerful city-states. It contained about 3000 constructions which included temples, pyramids, palaces, shrines, ball courts, plazas, reservoirs, houses, that were all linked by broad roads called sacbes. It was estimated that about 55,000 people have lived there. According to a rather interesting story on the history of Tikal which was gathered from Maya carvings and hieroglyphs, a man named Stormy Sky became King in 411 B.C. and under his reign, Tikal had grown into a very huge and important city which was also a religious hub. It was however, abandoned by its people when it lost power in around 889 B.C.

One great city that most of us should be familiar about is the city of Athens in Greece. It was the most important city-state in ancient Greece.Today, it is the capital and the chief centre of commerce and industry of Greece. It is also a popular tourist destination, attracting thousands of tourists each year. The city-state of Athens was very populated and housed many huge stone temples. It was however, conquered and destroyed by the Persians in 480 B.C. It was later rebuilt by the Athenians when they returned next year, though the destroyed temples were left untouched as a reminder of the brutality of the Persians until a peace treaty was signed with Persian in 449 B.C.

Interesting, isn't it? To think that these famous cities of the past have so much in common, such as them being the capital of the country and the reasons for their fall! Even up till today, Athens still remains as the capital of Greece and is a popular tourist destination. Do you know the history of the well-known cities in your countries too?

The golden throne is from the tomb of the Egyptian king Tutankhamen, who reigned from 1361 to 1352 BC.

The colossal statues of King Amenhotep III all that remains of his temple near Thebes once weighed more than 700 tons each and were nearly 70 feet high. The Romans thought they depicted Memnon, a Trojan hero.

Tikal, largest of the ancient Mayan cities, has ruins of temples, palaces, and pyramids covering more than 1 square mile (2.6 square kilometers).

The Agora, or city center, of ancient Athens depicted as it may have looked in the Age of Pericles, was the gathering place and market center for citizens to shop, discuss affairs of state, and exchange gossip.