Database: Fortifications

The naval installations of Athens' harbors were fortified. The walls were extended on either side of each harbor's mouth by means of moles, thereby decreasing the width of the entrance passage. Moles were terminated with fortified towers to which a chain was attached, enabling the port to be completely sealed off in times of danger. Although the demolition of Athens' fortifications and shipsheds was imposed by the victorious Spartans in 404 BCE and the new oligarchic regime of the Thirty Tyrants, it was not completed. As a result, the Athenian fortifications and harbor remained a recurring theme among orators of the 4th century, a symbol of prestige and power.