Stoa of Attalos Museum
The most prominent feature on the east side of the Agora is the 116m/380ft long Stoa of Attalos, built by king Attalos II of Pergamon (160-139 B.C.), brother and successor to Eumenes II, who built
the Stoa of Eumenes on the south side of the Acropolis.
The stoa was (and is, since the faithful reconstruction of the original building in 1953-56) two-storied, with Doric columns fronting the lower floor and Ionic columns on the upper floor.
The stoa proper, which is backed by a series of rectangular rooms (originally 21), is divided by Ionic columns into two aisles. The reconstruction has restored the impressive spatial effect of the long pillared hall. In ancient times the stoa was occupied by offices and shops; it now houses the Agora Museum.
Agora Museum
The Agora Museum in Athens is housed in the reconstruction (1953-56) of the Stoa of Attalos, originally built in the second century B.C.
The wealth of material recovered during the Agora
excavations is displayed in the two-aisled stoa and the rooms to the rear.
The display of sculpture begins at the south end with the colossal statue of Apollo Patroos (fourth century B.C.), ascribed by Pausanias to the sculptor Euphranor.
Then follow a painted Ionic capital (fifth century B.C.); two statues (opposite the second column) representing the Iliad and the Odyssey (early A.D. second century); a priestess (opposite the fourth column fourth century B.C.), flanked by two herms, the one on the right with a hand resting on it which, like Praxiteles' Hermes at Olympia, bears a child; a marble stele inscribed with a law against tyranny and a relief depicting Democracy crowning the people of Athens (by the fifth column: 336 B.C.); sculpture from the Temple of Hephaistos (opposite the 11th column); and acroteria from the Stoa of Zeus (at north end).
Rear Hall
The long main hall to the rear of the Agora Museum displays in chronological order a large collection of material, most of it notable not so much for its artistic quality as for the evidence it
gives on life in ancient Athens. The collection begins with material of the Neolithic period (third millennium B.C.). The Mycenaean period (1500-1100 B.C.) is represented by vases and grave goods, including two ivory caskets carved with griffins and nautiluses (case 5, BI 511 and 513). Material of the early Iron Age (11th-eighth century B.C.) includes two ninth C. tombs with their grave goods and Proto-Geometric and Geometric vases (cases 11, 17 and 18). Then come vases in Orientalising style, a mould for casting a bronze statue (case 23) dating from the Archaic period (sixth century B.C.) and a beautiful sixth C. terracotta figure of a kneeling boy (P 1231).
Here, too, are large numbers of items illustrating the everyday life of the Classical period (fifth century B.C.) - inscriptions, a machine for the selection of public officials by lot (I 3,967), sherds used in the process of ostracism (among the names inscribed being that of Themistokles: case 38), etc.
On either side of the exit are cases 61 (finds from a well, ranging in date from the first to the A.D. 10th century) and 63 (material of the Byzantine and Turkish periods).
Temple of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) / Thesseion
From the Agora an attractive footpath runs past the Tholos up the Agora Hill (Kolonos Agoraios), on which stands the Temple of Hephaistos.
The erroneous name of Theseion still stubbornly persists
(and is perpetuated by the name of the nearby station on the Piraeus railroad); but the actual situation of the real Theseion, in which the remains of the Attic hero Theseus were deposited after being brought back by Kimon from the island of Skyros in 475 B.C., remains unknown.
The Hephaisteion, lying near the smiths' and craftmen's quarter of Athens, was dedicated to the divinities of the smiths and the arts, Hephaistos and Athena. It is one of the best preserved of surviving Greek temples, thanks to the conversion into a Christian church which saved it from destruction.
This Doric temple, with the classical plan of 6x13 columns, was built about the same time as the Parthenon but is considerably smaller (columns 5.71m/19ft high, Parthenon 10.43m/34ft. It has, however, certain features (e.g. Ionic friezes instead of Doric triglyphs on the facades of the pronaos and opisthodomos) which appear to be modeled on the Parthenon.
The explanation is that building began, probably under the direction of Kallikrates, before 449 B.C. but was suspended to allow concentration of effort on Pericles' great building program on the Acropolis and resumed only during the Peace of Nikias (421-415 B.C.), after Pericles' death.
This late date explains the more recent aspect of the east end, with the entrance to the temple.
Here the portico, the coffered ceiling of which is completely preserved, is three bays deep (compared with one and a half at the west end) and is tied in to the axis of the third column; the pronaos frieze is carried across to the north and south peristyles; and the metopes have carved decoration, while elsewhere they are plain. All these features are innovations which give greater emphasis to the east end, departing from the earlier principle of a balance between the two ends.
Cella
In spite of its small size, the cella at the Temple of Hephaistos had columns round three sides framing the cult images of Hephaistos and Athena (by Alkamenes) which were set up in the temple about
420 B.C., this also in imitation of the Parthenon. The cella walls were roughened and covered with paintings.
Pronaos Frieze
The damaged pronaos frieze depicts battle scenes, the west frieze fighting between Lapiths and centaurs (in the middle the invulnerable Lapith Kaineus being driven into the ground by centaurs).
St George's Church
When in the fifth century the temple of Hephaistos was converted into a Christian church, dedicated to St George, it became necessary to construct a chancel at the east end in place of the previous
entrance. A new entrance (still preserved) was therefore broken through the west wall of the cella, and the old east entrance wall and the two columns of the pronaos were removed and replaced by an apse. At the same time the timber roof, normal in Greek temples, was replaced by the barrel-vaulting which still survives.
Scanty remains of painting, dating from the period of use as a church, can be seen on the north external wall.
When King Otto entered the new capital of Greece in 1834, a solemn service was held in St George's Church (depicted in a painting by Peter von Hess in the Neue Pinakothek, Munich). Thereafter it became a museum and continued to serve that purpose into the present century.
Agora Archaeological Site
On the site of the Ancient Agora between the two most prominent features the Temple of Heaphaistos and the Stoa of Attilas Museum are a number of foundations of important ancient Athenian buildings.
Altar of Zeus Agoraios
Opposite the Metroon in the Agora and a few paces east of the Peribolos of the Eponymous Heroes is an altar of Pentelic marble which originally stood on the Pnyx and was later moved to its present
site. It is thought to have been dedicated to Zeus as patron of the Agora (Zeus Agoraios). The oak and laurel trees flanking the altar were planted in 1954 by King Paul and Queen Frederica.
Altar of the Twelve Gods
The Altar of the Twelve gods dates from the time of the Peisistratids. In later times it enjoyed the right of asylum, affording sanctuary from pursuit. It was regarded as the central point of Athens
, and distances from the city were measured from here.
The remains suffered damage during the construction of the Piraeus railroad, and only one corner of the original structure now survives.
Ancient State Prison
The state prison of Athens was identified by the American archeologist E. Vanderpool in the excavation area to the southwest of the Agora.
Going southeast from the Tholos for some 100m/100yd
alongside the Great Drain, we see on the far side of a bridge (to the left of the drain) a substantial building (37.5 by 16.5m - 123 by 54ft) which is dated to the mid-fifth century B.C.
This has an open passage down the middle, with spacious cells on either side. The first two rooms on the right of the entrance, which communicate with one another, agree with Plato's description (in the "Crito" and "Phaedo") of the prison in which Socrates spent his last days in the company of his pupils and finally drank the fatal dose of hemlock.
Bema
In front of the stoa at the Agora in Athens, near the north end, are remains of a small hall and a circular fountain-house. Half-way along are an orator's rostrum (bema) and the base which bore a statue of Attalos II.
Bouleuterion
The Bouleuterion, meeting-place of the Council (Boule) of Athens, was built in 403 B.C. on the slope below the Temple of Hephaistos. A vestibule on the south side led into the main council chamber,
with the semicircular rows of seats for the 500 members of the council rising in tiers like the auditorium of a theater.
The building was destroyed by the Herulians in A.D. 267, but was rebuilt and remained in existence until about 400.
Gymnasion
After the destruction of the Odeion of Agrippa by the Herulians in A.D. 267 the site was used in about 400 for the erection of a Gymnasion to house the University of Athens, which was closed down
by the Emperor Justinian in 529; the foundations of this building can still be seen.
Heliaia
The Heliaia, a court established by Solon in the sixth century B.C., had its meeting-place on the south side of the Agora. It was named after the sun god Helios because it held its sessions before
sunrise. There are remains of a large rectangular structure, on the north side of which can be seen a klepsydra (water-clock) and, on the west side, a fountain-house with two wings meeting at right angles.
Library of Pantainos
The remains of the Library of Pantainos, built by Flavius Pantaenus in A.D. 100 and destroyed by the Herulians in 267, lie immediately south of the Stoa of Attalos, separated from it by the road leading to the Roman Agora.
Metroon
The remains of the Metroon, a sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods (Meter Theon) built in the second half of the second century B.C., lie in front of the Bouleuterion, on the west side of the Agora.
Although the plan of the structure is difficult to distinguish on the ground, it consisted of four rooms with a colonnade to the square. In the fifth C. the Metroon was converted into a Christian church, to which the mosaic pavement still visible on the site belonged.
Peribolos of Eponymous Heroes
Opposite the Metroon is a long narrow rectangular base. On this there stood statues of the 10 eponymous heroes who gave their names to the 10 tribes (phylai) into which the population was divided. Here in ancent times new laws were made public.
Nymphaion (Closed for Restoration)
In the A.D. second century a semicircular fountain-house, the Nymphaion, was built at the southeast corner of the Agora, in an area occupied by a number of older buildings: immediately southwest a
fountain-house (the Enneakrounos) of the sixth century B.C., adjoining this a fifth C. structure which was probably a mint (Argyrokopeion), and to the east a temple dating from the early Roman period.
Columns and probably also the cult image from the Doric temple of Demeter and Kore in Thorikos (fifth century B.C.) were used in the construction of this temple; remains of the structure were built into the late Roman "Valerian Wall".
Above the Nymphaion stands the 11th C. church of Ayii Apóstoli.
Odeion of Agrippa
A well-preserved Corinthian capital of imposing dimensions marks the position of the Odeion of Agrippa, in the center of the Agora. Built about 20 B.C. by the Roman general Agrippa, Augustus'
son-in-law, it was a rectangular building with a stage and 18 tiers of seating which could accommodate an audience of 1,000 (some remains preserved).
The entrance was on the south side. In the A.D. second century a new entrance was constructed on the north side, with three tritons and three giants supporting the roof of the portico; three of these figures are still erect.
Panathenaic Way
According to Pausanias (VIII, 2, 1) the Panathenaic festival in honor of Athena was instituted by Theseus. From the time of Peisistratos (sixth century B.C.) it was celebrated every four years on
the 28th day of the month of Hekatombaion (July-August), Athena's birthday. Starting from the Pompeion in the Kerameikos, the great Panathenaic procession made its way through the Agora and up to the Acropolis.
Considerable stretches of the old processional way, with paving of the second century B.C., are still preserved within the area of the Agora, entering the excavation site at the Altar of the Twelve Gods and running southeast from there.
Eleusinion
On the east side of the Panathenaic Way, which climbed up to the Acropolis, was the Eleusion, a sanctuary of the Eleusinian divinities Demeter, Persephone and Triptolemos. It was smaller than the
one in Eleusis, but large enough to accommodate a meeting of the Council of 500 on the day after the celebration of the mysteries.
In the center of the precinct are the foundations of a temple, with an antechamber leading into the adyton (the "not to be entered" holy of holies). The temple, which stood on a high terrace, was extended southward in Roman times. Peribolos of Eponymous Heroes
Opposite the Metroon is a long narrow rectangular base. On this there stood statues of the 10 eponymous heroes who gave their names to the 10 tribes (phylai) into which the population of Attica was divided. Here in ancient times new laws were made public.
Royal Stoa
It was long thought that the Royal Stoa (Stoa Basileios) was identical with the Stoa of Zeus, but it has now been located in the new excavation area north of the Piraeus railroad.
17.75m/58ft long
, it is dated by the excavations to the middle of the sixth century B.C. It was destroyed in the Persian attack of 470 B.C. but was rebuilt soon afterwards. In the fourth century B.C. this stoa, like its larger neighbor, the Stoa of Zeus, was extended by the addition of wings on either side.
The Royal Stoa was the seat of the Archon Basileus, who took over the cultic functions of the earlier kings. Among these functions was the trial of offenders accused of asebeia (impiety, godlessness); and accordingly this stoa may have been the scene of Socrates' trial in 399 B.C., when he was condemned to death by drinking hemlock, after defending himself against charges of impiety and the corruption of youth in the "Apology" recorded by Plato.
South, Middle & East Stoas
American excavations have revealed a number of stoas (porticos serving various public purposes) in the southern part of the Agora. South Stoa I, lying between the earlier Heliaia and fountainhouse,
was built between 425 and 400 B.C. Situated on the road which bounded the Agora on the south, it was a two-aisled portico with a series of small rooms to the rear. In the second century B.C.
South Stoa II was built, partly overlapping the site of the first one. This was a single-aisled portico with 30 Doric columns along the open north side.
The Middle Stoa, 146m/480ft long, was built between 175 and 150 B.C. Open on all sides, with Doric columns around the perimeter supporting the roof, this was divided into two aisles by Ionic columns.
The East Stoa, open on the east side, was built about 150 B.C. (after the Middle Stoa but before South Stoa II). Like the other stoas, it was destroyed in 86 B.C. by the Romans under Sulla and thereafter served as a quarry for builders in quest of marble.
Statue of Hadrian
Among the numerous monuments the bases of which have been preserved along the west side of the Agora was a statue of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138) erected in the A.D. second century.
This
well-preserved figure is notable for the quality of the carving, particularly the richly decorated breastplate.
Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios
The northwest part of the Agora, extending to the Piraeus railroad line (the construction of which destroyed its north end), is occupied by the Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios (Zeus who maintains the
freedom of the city).
Originally 46.55m/153ft long, this was built in the fifth century B.C., in a style reminiscent of Mnesikles' Propylaia on the Acropolis. It had projecting wings at each end, and in front of it, on a round base, stood a statue of Zeus Eleutherios.
During the Roman period two rooms were built on to the rear of the stoa, probably for the purposes of the Imperial cult. Pausanias tells us that the Stoa of Zeus contained pictures, including representations of the Twelve Gods, Theseus and the battle of Mantineia.
The earlier belief that the Stoa of Zeus was the same as the Royal Stoa has been shown by recent excavations to be erroneous.
Temple of Ares
The Temple of Ares stood in the northern part of the Agora in Athens; originally built on another site around 440 B.C., it was moved to its present position in the Augustan period.
Although only
scanty remains have survived, there is sufficient evidence to establish that this temple resembled the Temple of Hephaistos and was probably built by the same architect. The cult image of Ares, god of war, carved by Alkamenes, has been lost, but the excavators found a statue of Athena and a number of relief figures (from an interior frieze) which are now in the Agora Museum. Also in the museum is the central acroterion from the east front, representing Ares's sister Hebe.
At the outside of the temple is the altar.
Tholos
The most southerly building on the west side of the Agora is the Tholos, a circular structure 18.30m/60ft in diameter. Built around 465 B.C. on the site of an earlier rectangular building, this
originally housed the sacred hearth and was the meeting-place of the 50 prytaneis (senators - representatives elected by the various tribes in the city state) of Athens, a third of whom were required to be in attendance at all times, even during the night; they were accordingly provided with meals and sleeping accommodation in the Tholos.
The roof of the Tholos was supported on six columns. In the third century B.C. a portico was added on the east side. Rebuilt after its destruction by Sulla in 86 B.C., the building remained in use until about A.D. 450.
Only the floor of the Tholos now remains, with an altar in the middle.
Valerian Wall
The Valerian Wall was a late Roman defensive wall built after the Herulian invasion of A.D. 267, using the remains of destroyed buildings. Fragments can be seen to the south of the Library of Pantainos and to the east of the Ayii Apóstoli church.
Great Drain
The Great Drain was constructed in the early fifth century B.C. to channel the rainwater which flowed down from the Acropolis and Areopagos into the Eridanos. From the southwest end of the Agora it
runs northeast and then bears north passing in front of the buildings on the west side of Agora. 1m/3ft 3in wide and 1m/3ft 3in deep, it is constructed of polygonal masonry. At the point where the drain turns north and is joined by a subsidiary channel coming from the southeast stands the Horos, or boundary stone of the Agora, which was set up around 500 B.C. to show where the sacred area begins.
Only free citizens with no criminal record could enter the Agora, and they had to undergo a ritual cleansing before doing so.
Medrese
To the east of the mosque at the Roman Agora in Athens is the doorway (inscriptions) of a Turkish medrese (Koranic school).
Church of the Holy Apostles / Agii Apostoli
The Church of the Holy Apostles was the only building left standing when the whole of this quarter of Athens was pulled down to permit the excavation of the Agora. Originally built in the 10th C
over a circular nymphaion (sacred spring) and subsequently much altered, it has been reconstructed in its original form.
The exterior is notable for its good ashlar masonry and the ornamental use of Kufic inscriptions. The dome is borne on four columns, and the apse and transepts have semicircular conches. There are well-preserved frescoes of Christ Pantocrator (Ruler of All: in the dome), John the Baptist, cherubim and archangels. Parts of the original 11th C. iconostasis have been preserved.
The paintings in the narthex (ca. 1700) are from St Spyridon's Church.
Print this page
Add to Favorites
