Roman Agora

Athens, Greece

The original Roman Agora was encroached upon and obstructed by a series of Roman buildings, beginning with the imperial family's gift to the Athenians of a large odeion (concert hall). The Odeon of Agrippa was built by him in around 15 BC, and measured 51.4 by 43.2 metres, rose several stories in height, and – being sited just north of the Middle Stoa – obstructed the old agora. In return for the odeion, the Athenians built a statue to Agrippa at the site of the previous agora; they based it on a plinth recycled from an earlier statue by covering the old inscription with a new one.

After the invasion of the Herulae in AD 267 the city of Athens was restricted to the area within the Late Roman fortification wall, and the administrative and commercial centre of the city was transferred from the Ancient Agora to the Roman Agora and the Library of Hadrian. 

During the Byzantine period and the Turkish occupation the area was covered with houses, workshops and churches along with the Fethiye Mosque. 

Buildings and structures

The Tower of the Winds is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower that functioned as a horologion or 'timepiece'. It is considered the world's first meteorological station. The structure features a combination of sundials, a water clock, and a wind vane. It was supposedly built by Andronicus of Cyrrhus around 50 BC, but according to other sources, might have been constructed in the 2nd century BC before the rest of the forum.

The Gate of Athena Archegetis is considered to be the second most prominent remain in the site after the Tower of the Winds. Constructed in 11 BCE by donations from Julius Caesar and Augustus, the gate was made of 4 Doric columns and a base of Pentelic marble. It was a monument dedicated by the Athenians to their patroness Athena Archegetis.

The East Propylon is the eastern entrance of the Roman Agora in Athens. Built in 19-11 BCE, it constituted of 4 Ionic columns made of gray Hymettian marble.

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Address

Polignotou 3, Athens, Greece
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Details

Founded: 19-11 BC
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Greece

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Marin “SayanMk” Kolev (2 years ago)
Buy the combined ticket online. You then just scan or show it at the entrance. Highly recommended! As for the Roman Agora remains - it's in 4th place from my experience. Good looking pieces but what I liked most was the small tower behind the main entrance. Location is very central, you can't miss it.
Charlie Newey (2 years ago)
Pretty good, takes 15 - 30 minutes max - coming from a History teacher, could do with more information on the items found in the site. Felt like most of the stuff was piled up and left on the side. A bit of investment in restoration is needed.
Lynne Lin (2 years ago)
Update July 2022 Most impressive are forum gates …. Admission required to go into gate ground and see up close. You can get combo ticket with agora or just one site at a time. Having those sites located right in historical centre town / tourist area is definitely easy access. As the weather was scorching hot, I did not feel like walking in the blazing sun for an hour so I simply walked around it’s perimeters. The great thing about this site is that you can Pretty much of view all the archeological sites from the outside gate; either from elevated area our same surface level. The good thing about the elevated area is it’s quite shaded with a few trees and sitting down places as well. As you can see all the pictures were taken from a different angle from the outside.
C Hameed (2 years ago)
Only saw from the outside and hills as whole site closed due to snow! Utterly amazing site though and you can still imagine the hussle and bustle of this being the centre of trade and social gatherings. Beautiful. Only downside is the modern railway line going straight through the middle of it!
Peter Orfankos (3 years ago)
Definitely visit this place if doublet the Ticket for all the sites. It’s not the most impressive of all sites in Athens, but it does have its charm. The tower of the Winds for example is considered to be the worlds first meteorological station. So considering that, definitely worth a visit.
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