Where Socrates and Confucius once met
Αρχαία Αγορά της Αθήνας / Ancient Agora of Athens
Also known as the Classical Agora, the Ancient Agora of Athens was once a center of commerce and assembly for Athenian residents, much like the Roman Agora. It is composed of a number of buildings in varying degrees of preservation, including the Stoa of Attalos, which has been reconstructed to hold the Museum of the Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Hephaestus, which is largely intact.
In ancient times, the agora was a place to host religious festivals, providing an occasion for people to gather, particularly women, who did not otherwise have the opportunity to leave home and socialize with others outside of their family. The agora was richly decorated with sculptures and marble statues, as this was an important center of production for such works, hosting workshops for Phidias and Praxiteles. Other products made here include sundials, furniture parts, and kitchen utensils.
Στοά του Αττάλου / Stoa of Attalos
A stoa is a covered walkway or portico, commonly built for public use. The Stoa of Attalos was originally built by King Attalos II of Pergamon, who ruled between 159-138 BCE. The building visible today is a reconstruction created from 1952-1956 by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and it holds the Museum of the Ancient Agora.
It was originally built during the Hellenistic age, which was a period of history starting at the death of Alexander the Great and ending at the death of Cleopatra VII. It derives from Ἑλλάς (Hellas), which is the local name for Greece. This was a period characterized by grandiose art, sometimes even more realistic in nature, especially when compared to the idealized, more sterile art of the Classical period. As such, the Stoa of Atticus is a lot more elaborate and larger than earlier buildings in Athens. It is built of Pentelic marble and limestone, and uses the Doric order for the exterior colonnade and the Ionic for the interior.
While Attalos II was ruler of Pergamon, a city in Asia Minor, he built the Stoa as thanks for the education he received in Athens under the philosopher Carneades. The building was in use until it was burned by the Heruli in 267 CE, after which the ruins became part of a fortification wall.
In 1948, Homer Thompson, field director of the agora excavations, proposed that the Stoa be reconstructed to hold all the archaeological findings in the area. Funded by American donors (John D. Rockefeller Jr. was a contributor), the work was carried out by a team drawing members from both the US and Greece. This was, after the Panathenaic Stadium, the most ambitious reconstruction project carried out in Athens.
Today, the Stoa holds the Museum of the Ancient Agora, with a collection including clay, bronze, and glass objects, sculptures, coins, and inscriptions. There is also Byzantine pottery and objects from the Ottoman occupation.
This is a kleroterion (κληρωτήριον), which was a randomization device used by the Athenian polls to host elections to most state offices and court juries. Citizens’ tokens, pinakia (πινάκιά), were placed randomly in the slots, and then a mechanism released black and white bronze balls that would help decide whether the citizens placed on each row would be elected or not.
Άγιοι Απόστολοι Σολάκη / Holy Apostles of Solaki
This church, also known as the Church of the Holy Apostles, is dated to around the 10th century. There are theories as to what “Solaki” means, including the name of the family who sponsored its renovation during the Ottoman occupation, as well as the name of the area around the church in the 19th century, which received the same name.
It is, alongside the Temple of Hephaestus, the only building in the Ancient Agora to remain intact. It was also the first significant church of the Middle Byzantine period in Athens, marking the beginning of the “Athens type.” The church partially covers a 2nd-century nymphaion (νυμφαῖον, also nymphaeum), a building dedicated to nymphs. The church was unfortunately closed on this day, but apparently there are frescoes dating from the 17th century decorating its interior, as well as paintings from nearby churches that eventually made their way here.
Though Confucius and Socrates never met (the former died 10 years before the birth of the latter), Wu Weishan created a scene where he imagines a dialogue between the two great minds. This sculpture was shown as part of the Year of Culture and Tourism of Greece and China, which sought to deepn the cultural relationship between the two countries.
Ναός Ηφαίστου / Temple of Hephaestus
Also known as the Hephaisteion (Ἡφαιστεῖον), this is an ancient temple which stands largely intact to this day, sitting atop the Agoraios Kolonos hill.
Construction of this temple started in 449 BCE as part of the work done by Pericles, and it is thought that it took about 30 years to complete as funds and resources were constantly redirected towards the Parthenon. A statue of Athena Hephaistia — a variation of Athena originating in a not-so-great mythological story involving her and Hephaestus — was placed inside the temple alongside his own statue in 445-440 BCE. The roof was finally added during the Peace of Nicias, which lasted from 421-415 BCE.
As Hephaestus is the god of blacksmithing, craftsmanship, and fire, numerous potters’ workshops and metalworking shops were found in the vicinity of the temple. There was a time before such irrefutable proof had been found, when the temple was mistakenly believed to have been built to host the remains of the Athenian hero (and jerk) Theseus, and so the temple was known as Theseion.
The temple was closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, and served as the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George Akamates from the 7th century, which explains why it’s in such good condition. There are theories for the origin of the name as “Akamates,” including the son of Theseus and Phaedra, Akamantas, as well as the word akamates, which means flaneur, or loiterer, because during the Ottoman occupation the temple was used only once a year.
The building was used as a burial place for non-Orthodox Europeans in the 19th century, many of whom gave their lives for Greek Independence. In 1834, King Otto I of Greece ordered it to be used as a museum, and it eventually returned to its status as an ancient monument in 1934.
One thing that I loved about Athens was how you didn’t need to go very high to get gorgeous views of the city. The Agoraios Kolonos is not that steep a climb, and yet you get this once you reach the Temple of Hephaestus.
Ωδείο του Αγρίππα / Odeon of Agrippa
This Odeon, similar to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, was built in 15 BCE, and covered what had previously been an open area at the center of the agora. It was a gift to the people of Athens by Marcus Agrippa, best known for constructing the Pantheon in Rome. It sat 1,000 people and had a raised stage as well as a marble-paved orchestra.
The roof collapsed in around 150 CE, and the structure was rebuilt as a smaller lecture hall which sat only 500, though it was given a much more elaborate façade, with gigantic pillars carved into the shape of giants with snake tails and tritons. The Heruli finally destroyed it in 267 CE.
Gold Colored Fox 