By Dorieo – Wikimedia

Top 8 Facts about the Ancient Agora of Athens


 

The Ancient Agora of Athens is found between Monastiraki and the Acropolis. There is a train running through it but the site has not been damaged.

The Name Agora means market place. It is characterized by scattered piles of rocks and wall ruins. These are the remains of what used to be trading stalls.

Some buildings and shrines acted like the lifeline of ancient Greece. Notable Greek philosophers used to meet here such as Socrates, Pericles, Plato among others.    

Ancient Agora has several interesting things to see. These sites and archaeological ruins are the basis of the following top 10 facts.

1. Ancient Agora used to have private houses

When the Agora was first built, it had private houses. This did not last long because Peisistratus destroyed them in the 6th century BC.

He instead built his residence inside the Agora and closed the wells that supplied people with water. The Agora soon became the administrative centre for his government.

Peisistratus also constructed a drainage system, fountains and a temple for the Olympia gods. In centuries that followed, the Athenians planted trees at the Agora.

They also added public buildings and the temple of Hephaestus.

Other than being the administrative centre and residential area, the Agora acted as a market place.

2. This used to be the meeting place for the elite in ancient Greece

By Dorieo – Wikimedia

During the classical antiquities of Athens, the Agora was a popular meeting place. It was considered as the centre for democracy.

The city council, council presidents and magistrates, all met at the Ancient Angora. It was also the venue for the law courts.

Most of the buildings at the Agora were destroyed by the Persians during the siege of Athens. The Athenians were however resilient and rebuilt the Agora. It became the residential place for the Romans.

The other group of elites that met at the Agora were Sophocles, Socrates and Protagoras. Ordinary citizens also mingled with their peers.

There was a sense of freedom, justice and social conscience of the people. The buildings were also used as theatres, gymnasium, educational and political purposes.

3. Several buildings were brought down during the excavation of the site

To preserve this historical site, several buildings that were built in the area were brought down.

The Greek government bought all the buildings that were marked for demolition. They then commissioned the American School of Classical Studies with the excavation.

The area marked for excavation was about 24 acres and had more than 365 modern houses.  

A large part of the Agora was revealed during the construction of the Athens-Piraeus railway in 1890.

The excavation is said to be one of the most productive archaeological projects. More than 40 scholarly works on the artefacts and other findings have been published.

4. The most well-preserved Temple in Greece is found at the Ancient Agora

By Storey – Wikimedia

Within the Ancient Agora is a temple that is one of the most well preserved. The temple of Hephaestus is the best-preserved ancient temple in Greece.

There is another one known as the Stoa of Attalus, this was recently renovated. it used to be a market that was constructed by the King Attalus of Pergamus.

The Stoa is now a museum and has several interesting exhibits that were excavated from the Agora.

The temple was built in honour of Hephaestus, its construction is said to have been about the same time the Parthenon was built.

Later, the temple was turned into a church dedicated to Saint George in the 7th century.

It was used as the cemetery for protestants and European philhellenes who died in the Greek War of Independence in 1821.

5. It was here that Socrates was sentenced to death

By Jacques-Louis David – Wikimedia

Athens’s best-known philosopher, Socrates was one of the regulars at the Agora. He would be spotted at the Agora with his disciples in tow.

In 399 BC, he was accused of corrupting the youth as well as promoting idolatry. His punishment was death.

The jurors who determined his fate were all male who had been chosen through a cast lot.

Socrates chose not to run but spent his last days in the company of his friends and students.

On the day of his execution, he was handed a cup of hemlock, the fatal drink, which he drank.  

6. Stoa of Attalos at the Ancient Angora has exhibitions of ancient Greece

There is one structure that one cannot miss while at the Agora. It is the Stoa of Attalos.

This building was built by King Attalos of Pergamon in Asia minor. It was renovated in the 1950s by American archaeologists.

The building is currently a museum and has artefacts that are more than 5,000 years old.

Some of the interesting artefacts that can be found in this museum are including sculpture, a voting machine, and a child’s potty seat

In ancient times, the Stoa of Attalos was the meeting place for several people. There were several shops.

Some of the items excavated from this site are more than 160,000 years old, others are from the 19th century. 

A tour of the museum will introduce you to the permanent exhibitions on the upper floor of the stoa. The exhibits are from the late Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods

7. The Ancient Agora was home to several traders

By Janmad – Wikimedia

Retail traders were the middlemen between the craftsmen and the consumer at the Agora.

They were not the favourite of many since they were believed to be cunning.

Aristotle said that they served a kind of exchange which is justly censured. He found it to an unnatural mode by which men unfairly gain from one another.

The Agora had confectioners who made pastries and sweets, slave traders, fishmongers, vintners, cloth merchants, shoemakers, dressmakers, and jewellery purveyors.

There was a separate potter’s market that was for buying and selling cookware. This section of the market was frequented by women. 

8. It is not the same as Roman Agora

The Roman Agora was filled with commodities such as silk and other sheer fabrics.  It was frequented by women who shopped for the groceries.

There was a law that was passed that encouraged modesty among the women in Rome. Most of the women in Rome at the time wore sheer fabric to public events.

The law applied to both men and women. Another group of people that loved the market place were Latin writers.

They drew inspiration from the behaviour of the people at the market. 

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