Agora of Athens

Athens, Greece

The Ancient Agora of Classical Athens is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora (central public space in ancient Greek city-states), located to the northwest of the Acropolis and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Agoraios Kolonos, also called Market Hill. The Agora's initial use was for a commercial, assembly, or residential gathering place. 

Agora contains several remains of ancient temples and buildings. Temple of Hephaestus is one of the best-preserved Greek temples, built around 450 BCE. The excavations has uncovered most of the over 30 known major buildings from the Agora, along with thousands of artifacts. Conservation efforts have restored thousands of pieces of pottery and amphora (the standard storage vessel of the ancient world), studied thousands of marble statues and reliefs, and analyzed the remains of human and animal bones to give us a better understanding of what life was like in the ancient Athenian world.

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Address

Vrisakiou 17, Athens, Greece
See all sites in Athens

Details

Founded: 5th century BCE
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Greece

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
ancient-greece.org
www.atlasobscura.com

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Parthenon (0,5 km)
Acropolis (0,4 km)
Erechtheion (0,4 km)
Temple of Rome and Augustus (0,5 km)
Propylaea (0,4 km)
Asclepeion (0,6 km)
Temple of Athena Nike (0,4 km)
Odeon of Herodes Atticus (0,5 km)
Theatre of Dionysus (0,7 km)

User Reviews

MrPappas10 Kay (5 months ago)
Great place to visit. A 2,500 years old Market where Plato, Aristotle or Alexander the Great have probably shopped there! I would suggest that you hire a guide to show you around and explain how the ancient Greeks would keep their stuff fresh in the ground!!!
Daria Yavorska (6 months ago)
No doubt it's a famous and picturesque place full of history. Would be nice to have an opportunity to hire a tour guide/join a scheduled tour group or, at least, scan an QR code for reading historical overview about objects there. All those descriptions of style of architecture are nice, but not what you will remember.
Jason Bridges (9 months ago)
The birthplace of democracy. Amazing to consider the social experiment started over 2000 years ago. The entire complex is worth exploring, keeping in mind this represented the first known direct democracy in the western world. The ruins, artifacts, and reconstructions are all impressive if you use them to create a mental picture of what it must have been.
V Thompson (11 months ago)
I liked the ancient agora almost better than the Acropolis. This is the ancient city center of Athens and you really get an appreciation for how sophisticated the Greeks were so long ago. There are many buildings (or what once were buildings) at this site, and the site is included in the €30 Monument pass (just the Acropolis is €20 and if you have the time to explore, pay the extra €10 for the extended pass). I recommend spending two hours here (or longer of you like to see and read a lot).
Onoufrios Dovletis (2 years ago)
A beautiful and peaceful archaeological park in the historical centre of Athens where the heart of the ancient city used to beat. You can see the BEST-PRESERVED TEMPLE in all of Greece as well as the wonderful museum of the site which was the birthplace of DEMOCRACY and a place where SOCRATES used to teach in the 5th cent BC.
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Construction on the present building was begun in the 17th century by the architect Domenico Fontana. Intended to house the King Philip III of Spain on a visit never fulfilled to this part of his kingdom, instead it initially housed the Viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro, count of Lemos. By 1616, the facade had been completed, and by 1620, the interior was frescoed by Battistello Caracciolo, Giovanni Balducci, and Belisario Corenzio. The decoration of the Royal Chapel of Assumption was not completed until 1644 by Antonio Picchiatti.

In 1734, with the arrival of Charles III of Spain to Naples, the palace became the royal residence of the Bourbons. On the occasion of his marriage to Maria Amalia of Saxony in 1738, Francesco De Mura and Domenico Antonio Vaccaro helped remodel the interior. Further modernization took place under Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. In 1768, on the occasion of his marriage to Maria Carolina of Austria, under the direction of Ferdinando Fuga, the great hall was rebuilt and the court theater added. During the second half of the 18th century, a 'new wing' was added, which in 1927 became the Vittorio Emanuele III National Library. By the 18th century, the royal residence was moved to Reggia of Caserta, as that inland town was more defensible from naval assault, as well as more distant from the often-rebellious populace of Naples.

During the Napoleonic occupation the palace was enriched by Joachim Murat and his wife, Caroline Bonaparte, with Neoclassic decorations and furnishings. However, a fire in 1837 damaged many rooms, and required restoration from 1838 to 1858 under the direction of Gaetano Genovese. Further additions of a Party Wing and a Belvedere were made in this period. At the corner of the palace with San Carlo Theatre, a new facade was created that obscured the viceroyal palace of Pedro de Toledo.

In 1922, it was decided to transfer here the contents of the National Library. The transfer of library collections was made by 1925.

The library suffered from bombing during World War II and the subsequent military occupation of the building caused serious damage. Today, the palace and adjacent grounds house the famous Teatro San Carlo, the smaller Teatrino di Corte (recently restored), the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III, a museum, and offices, including those of the regional tourist board.

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