The Ancient
Agora of Athens
Greek Treasures
 The Agora was the heart
of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity,
the religious and cultural centre, and the seat of justice.
The site was occupied without interruption in all periods of the city's
history. It was used as a residential and burial area as early as the
Late Neolithic period (3000 B.C.). Early in the 6th century, in the
time of Solon, the Agora became a public area.
After a series of repairs and remodellings,
it reached its final rectangular form in the 2nd century B.C. Extensive
building activity occured after the serious damage made by
the Persians in 480/79 B.C., by the Romans in 89 B.C. and by the Herulae in A.D. 267 while, after the Slavic invasion in A.D.
580, It was gradually abandoned. From the Byzantine period until after
1834, when Athens became the capital of the independent Greek state, the Agora was again
developed as a residential area.
The first excavation campaigns were carried out by the Greek Archaeological
Society in 1859-1912, and by the German Archaeological Institute in
1896-97. In 1890-91, a deep trench cut for the Athens-Peiraeus
Railway brought to light extensive remains of ancient buildings. In
1931 the American School of Classical Studies started the systematic excavations with the financial support of J.
Rockefeller and continued until 1941. Work was resumed in 1945 and is
still continuing. In order to uncover the whole area of the Agora it
was necessary to demolish around 400 modern buildings covering a total
area of ca. 12 hectares.
In the 19th century the four colossal figures of Giants and Tritons
at the facade of the Gymnasium were restored by the Greek Archaeological
Society. In the years 1953-56, the Stoa of
Attalos was reconstructed to become a museum and in the same
period the Byzantine church of Aghioi Apostoloi, built around A.D. 1000, was restored by the American School. Between 1972 and 1975, restoration
and preservation work was carried out at the Hephaisteion;
the area was cleared of the vegetation, and the roof of the temple was
repaired in 1978 by the Archaeological Service.
The most important monuments of the site are:
Temple of Hephaistos. The temple, known as the "Theseion", is Doric, peripteral,
with a pronaos and opisthodomos.
It crowns the hill of Kolonos Agoraios
and is the most prominent and better preserved monument of the Agora.
The temple was dedicated to two gods, Hephaistos
and Athena, whose bronze cult statues stood in the interior. The construction
of the Hephaisteion started in 449 B.C.
Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios. The stoa was erected at the end of the 5th
century B.C. in honor of those who fought
for the freedom and security of the city. Socrates is said to have met
his friends in this stoa.
Temple of Apollo Patroos. Small Ionic temple, erected in ca. 340-320 B.C., identified as the
temple of Apollo who was worshipped as the "Father"
(Pater), the founder of the Ionian race. Inside
the cella stood the cult statue of the god,
made by the famous sculptor Euphranor.
Bouleuterion. The Council
of 500 (Boule) held its regular meetings here.
The building was erected at the end of the 5th century B.C. replacing
the Old Bouleuterion, the ruins of which were
found beneath the Metroon.
Metroon. The building has an Ionic propylon
and was erected in the 2nd century B.C. It accomodated both the sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods and
the state archives, including the proceedings of the meetings of the
Council of 500 and various official documents, protected by the goddess.
Monument of the Eponymous Heroes.
Remains of an oblong pedestal enclosed by a fence. It supported the
bronze statues of the legendary heroes who gave their names to the ten
tribes of Attica. In addition to its honorary function,
the monument served as the official notice board of the city. It is
dated to the second half of the 4th century B.C.
Altar of the Twelve Gods.
Fenced area with an altar at the centre, onstructed
in 522/21 B.C. The sanctuary was a popular place of asylum and
was considered to be the heart of the city, the central milestone from
which distances to other places were measured.
The Odeion of Agrippa. It was
built by Agrippa in 15 B.C. and comprised an auditorium with a seating
capacity of about 1000 people, and a two-storeyed
portico. It was destroyed by fire in A.D. 267 and in about A.D. 400
the Gymnasium was erected in this area. Its north side was adorned by
four colossal figures of Giants and Tritons set up on massive pedestals,
salvaged from the debris of the Odeion.
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