Ancient Agora of Athens

During a lovely dinner in February 2023, Steve, Philippe and I decided to visit Athens during the – Catholic – Easter Holiday. As I was lucky to have the full Easter weekend – Saturday, Sunday and Monday – off, I booked flights and a room. Steve and Philippe arrived in the capital of Greece two days earlier. It wasn’t Orthodox Easter, so for the Athenians, it was a normal, low-season, weekend.

The Ancient Agora in Athens was a central public space and marketplace in ancient Athens. It served as the political, commercial, social, and cultural hub of the city, and was a place where citizens gathered for various purposes. The word ‘agora in Greek means ‘gathering place’ or ‘assembly’, and it was the heart of civic life in ancient Athens.

There is also the Roman Agora in Athens.

The Ancient Agora was located at the foothills of the Acropolis and covered a large area. It was surrounded by important public buildings, temples, stoas (covered walkways), monuments, and other structures.

The site dates back to the 6th century BCE and was used continuously for over 5,000 years. It was a bustling center of activity in ancient times, with market stalls, workshops, and civic buildings where Athenian citizens conducted business, discussed politics, and participated in public life.

The Ancient Agora was not only a commercial and administrative center, but also a place for philosophical and intellectual discourse. It was the birthplace of democracy, and served as a venue for the popular assembly, where citizens gathered to participate in democratic processes and make decisions about the governance of the city.

Some of the notable structures within the Ancient Agora include the Temple of Hephaestus, the Stoa of Attalos, the Bouleuterion (Council House), the Tholos (round building), and the Altar of the Twelve Gods. These structures and monuments provide important insights into the architecture, politics, and daily life of ancient Athens.

Today, the Ancient Agora is an important archaeological site and a popular tourist destination. Visitors can explore the ruins of the ancient buildings, stroll along the paths once walked by ancient Athenians, and learn about the history and significance of this important site in the development of Western civilization.

Temple of Hephaistos

The Temple of Hephaestus is also known as the Hephaisteion and the Theseion. For a while historians believed it was a temple for Theseus.

It is one of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples and is considered a masterpiece of Doric architecture. The temple is dedicated to Hephaestus, the Greek god of blacksmiths, metallurgy, and craftsmanship, and Athena Ergane, the goddess of crafts and arts.

The Temple of Hephaestus was built in the 5th century BCE, during the Golden Age of Athens, and is attributed to the architect Ictinus, who also co-designed the Parthenon on the Acropolis. It is made of marble from the nearby Pentelic Mountains and features a peripteral design, with a colonnade of Doric columns surrounding the cella, or inner chamber.

The temple has a rectangular floor plan with six columns on the front and back, and thirteen columns on the sides, for a total of 34 columns. The columns are made of white marble and have fluted shafts with Doric capitals, and the entablature above them includes a frieze with triglyphs and metopes, depicting various mythological scenes.

The exterior of the temple is adorned with intricate sculptural details, including friezes depicting scenes from the labors of Hercules and the mythological battles of Theseus.

The pediments, or triangular gables at the ends of the temple, also contain sculptures depicting scenes from Greek mythology, including the birth of Athena and the battle between Athena and Poseidon for the patronage of Athens.

The Temple of Hephaestus was originally used as a place of worship, but it was also likely used for civic and social functions. It is believed to have served as a treasury for the city of Athens and was later used as a Christian church and a mosque during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Today, it is an important archaeological site and a well-preserved example of ancient Greek architecture, attracting visitors from around the world who come to admire its beauty and historical significance.

Stoa of Attalos

The Stoa of Attalos is a reconstructed stoa, or covered walkway, that was originally built by Attalos II, the King of Pergamon, in the 2nd century BCE. The Stoa of Attalos is one of the few fully reconstructed buildings in the Ancient Agora and serves as a museum and exhibition space today.

The Stoa of Attalos was a gift from Attalos II to the city of Athens, and it was used as a multi-functional building. It served as a place for merchants to display and sell their goods, as well as a shelter for people to gather, socialize, and engage in philosophical or political discussions. The stoa was a prominent feature of ancient Greek architecture and was typically a long, covered colonnade with a façade facing a public space.

The Stoa of Attalos was a two-story building with a colonnade on both levels. It was about 120 meters long and featured 42 columns on the ground floor and 21 columns on the upper floor. The columns were made of marble and had capitals of the Ionic order, which is characterized by its scroll-like volutes. The stoa was built using limestone from the nearby Pentelic Mountains and had a brick foundation and a marble superstructure.

The Stoa of Attalos was destroyed in the late Roman period and was later buried by debris and soil. It was rediscovered during archaeological excavations in the 19th century, and a major reconstruction project was undertaken in the 20th century by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.

The reconstruction was completed in the 1950s, and today the Stoa of Attalos serves as a museum – the Museum of the Ancient Agora – showcasing various artifacts from the ancient agora, including sculptures, pottery, coins, and inscriptions. It provides valuable insights into the social, economic, and cultural aspects of life in ancient Athens.

Ostracism

Particularly interesting were the ostraca or ostraka on display. An ostracon is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. They were used to write short to longer messages.

In Classical Athens, when the decision at hand was to banish or exile a certain member of society, citizen peers would cast their vote by writing the name of the person on an ostracon. The vote was counted and, if unfavorable, the person was exiled for a period of ten years from the city, thus giving rise to the term ostracism.

Ostraca were also used for anal hygiene. Scholars have suggested that shards from a vote may have been re-used for this purpose, to curse the exiled individual by soiling their name.