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OLD AGORA

Archaeological site
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Carte de l'emplacement de l'établissement
Athens, Greece
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2024
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2024

Demarcating the limits between Antiquity and the modern period, this site allows to survey the political center of ancient Athens.

History. The agora is certainly the center of any ancient Greek city: it is there that the political decisions are taken, that the prisoners are judged and that the stores are also installed. At first a simple esplanade, the Agora of Athens was gradually enriched with colonnaded porticoes where the citizens could refresh themselves. It took the shape we know today in the 6th century BC. The buildings then bordered the site on its western side, destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. During the rest of the5th century, the Athenians rebuilt their Agora and adorned it with other buildings to the north and south. Shortly after 450 B.C., the construction of the temple of Hephaestus, better known as the Theion, the one you can still see standing over the whole site, was started. The 4th century is marked by building efforts, but it is only in the 2nd century BC that the colonnades (portico or stoa) that surrounded the Agora were added, such as the portico of Attalus, rebuilt by the American School of Archaeology to house the museum of the Agora site. In 86 BC, the sack of Athens by Sylla's Romans severely damaged the buildings south of the Agora. Around 15 B.C., Agrippa had the Odeon built in the axis of the central square, and the temples of the Attica countryside were also dismantled to rebuild them on the site of the Agora, in particular the temple of Ares. In the 2nd century AD, other buildings were constructed, such as the Library of Pantainos, the Nymphaeum and the Basilica. In 267 AD, the Heruli, barbarians from the North, sacked Athens. The stones of the monuments were torn out to build a wall around the Agora, the sophists built luxurious houses on the northern slopes of the Areopagus, the palace of the Giants was built on the ruins of the Odeon. Towards the end of the VIth century AD, the site is abandoned and covered little by little by thick layers of alluvium. Around the year 1000, the church of the Holy Apostles was built.

Guided tour of the site. We propose a guided tour of the site of the Agora, starting from the southern entrance, i.e. the one closest to the Acropolis. You will enter the site following the ancient Panathenaeus route, where a huge procession started from the Ceramics and ended at the Erechtheion on the Acropolis, crossing the Agora by the Sacred Way. You can see the traces of the marble pavement which covered the road as well as the deep marks probably left by the passage of the chariots. On your right, before entering the site itself, there is a series of stores sheltered by a colonnade, and on the other side of the road is the southeast temple whose deity is unknown. We know however that these columns were recovered on the temple of Athena of Sounion. After passing the gate of the site, you will see on your left, near the small church of the Holy Apostles, the foundations of the public fountain of the southeast, from the 6th century BC.

We suggest that you turn left to follow the remains of the southern portico of the Agora. This vast set of colonnades consisted of a first intermediate portico which framed, with a second portico further south, a vast rectangular square. In the west of this one was a building of square plan which was used as court, even if inscriptions found on the site learned us that meetings were held outside under the colonnades. Adjacent to the court, which is called the Helia, is a square paved pit which is the remains of a water clock or clepsydra and which probably dates from the 4th century BC.

Continuing westward, past the fountain, you will come across a building that may have been the prison of Socrates, as well as busts of prisoners, one of which may represent Socrates himself.

We suggest you now to go back to the north of the site, passing at the foot of the rocky promontory on which stands the temple of Hephaestus. You will thus pass in front of the western buildings of the Agora, the oldest of the site. You pass first in front of the circular base of the Tholos. Built around 460 BC, it served as headquarters and canteen for the prytanes, the presiding committee of the Council of 500 members, or boulê. There was also a set of standard weights and measures. The meetings of the Council took place in the building of which one guesses the foundations behind the building of Tholos: the bouleutêrion. The archives of the Council were preserved on papyrus, parchments or in marble, in another building built beside the tholos: the metrôon. You will recognize it by the Ionic portico in front of it, which dates from the 2nd century BC. In front of the metron, on the other side of the path foreseen for the visit, stands a large rectangular platform surrounded by a restored balustrade. It is the monument of the eponymous heroes. In the middle of the balustrade stood the bronze statues of ten legendary heroes who had given their names to the ten tribes or political districts of the territory of Athens. Behind them you can see the base of a huge altar that must have been dedicated to Zeus.

Continuing north, you pass what remains of a small Ionic temple dedicated to Apollo Patroos, built in 340-330 BC, and then a more imposing building with two wings: the portico of Zeus Eleutherios, god of Liberty. It is here that all the characters who contributed to the freedom of the city were venerated. Still to the right of this building stands the royal portico, of smaller size than its neighbor. It was probably built around 460 B.C., certainly initially to shelter and expose the laws enacted by Solon. It was then used as headquarters for one of the main magistrates of Athens: the Archon King. It was here that Socrates came to answer the questioning that was to lead to his death sentence.

Now we invite you to take a closer look at the wonderful temple that stands above your heads: the temple of Hephaestus, better known as the Theseion. The sculptures of the two pediments were lost, on the other hand remain fragments of the Doric frieze and the metopes which illustrate the works of Heracles and the exploits of Theseus from whom it draws its nickname. Let us now dwell on the buildings of the center of the Agora. Going along the wall of the railway line towards the east, we discover the corner of what was the altar of the Twelve Gods, the rest of the monument being behind the separation wall. Founded in 522 B.C. by Pisistratus the Younger, this sanctuary was dedicated to the twelve gods of Olympus and served as a landmark for the measurement of distances from Athens.

Let's go now to the colossal statues which stand in the middle of the site: they represent tritons (half men, half fish) and giants (half men, half snakes). These statues have been taken from the facade of Agrippa's odeon, now disappeared. Passing between the giants, you arrive on the ruins of the odeon itself. Its architecture was remarkable for the absence of columns inside, which is probably the first cause of the collapse of its roof around 170 BC. Today you can admire the marble-paved stage. The Heruli destroyed the Odeon in 267 AD and the Athenians used the stones of the building to provide the city with a new fortification. The cement foundations that now cover the square of the old odeon belonged to a large architectural complex known as the Palace of the Giants.

We suggest that you visit the stoa of Attalus, which today houses the Agora Museum. This portico owes its name to King Attalus II, king of Pergamon from 159 to 138 BC, a classic gesture of recognition for a prince of Attica sent to Athens in his youth to receive a proper education.

The stoa consists of two floors with 21 rooms each. These rooms were occupied by stores but also offices of the administration.


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4.3/5
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benelli59
Visited in may 2023
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A faire
Belle balade a faire. Un peu moins touristique a mon avis, du coup moins de monde .
Ithea
Visited in april 2022
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A voir
Site permettant de se représenter la vie dans l'Athènes d'autrefois.
@V
@V
Visited in april 2022
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Un joli moment passé à la découverte de l’ancienne agora. Prendre le temps de flâner et de jeter un œil au musée
flos06
Visited in april 2022
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A decouvrir
Après l'Acropole, c'est probablement le site à découvrir à Athènes. Le site et le musée sont très intéréssants.
FCoheur
Visited in march 2019
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Une belle balade au calme
Moins impressionnant que le site de l'Acropole, celui de l'Agora offre une plus grande balade en plein centre ville et un grand bol d'air frais, d'autant plus qu'il y a souvent moins de touristes. Il faut s'y balader tranquillement, découvrir les ruines et les temples qui s'y trouvent et ressentir l'Histoire qui a traversé ce lieu. La visite du lieu est comprise dans le pass d'Athènes, autant en profiter !
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