Thursday, December 27
Athens has two Agoras. The older one, the Greek Agora, is usually referred to as the “Ancient Agora” to distinguish it from the more modern, “Roman Agora”. Agora literally means “gathering place” but could easily be referred to as the Forum, market place or central square. It was filled with markets, temples, theaters, civic buildings and was a great place to meet. It was also a place where political discussions took place. In Greek the phrases, “I Shop” and “I Speak in Public” both derive from this same root word. Situated in the shadow of the Acropolis it was the heart of the old city.
Fun Fact: The word “agoraphobia” is made up of the two Greek words “agora” and “phobia” and literally means fear of a public places.
Athens offers a combination ticket that allows access to seven sites for €30.00 / $34.50 per person. The sites include The Acropolis, the North and South Slops of the Acropolis, The Ancient Agora, Hadrian’s Library, The Roman Agora, Kerameikos (a cemetery), Olympieion (The Temple of Zeus) and Lykeion (a gymnasium) and is good for five consecutive days.
When we got to the agora the person at the ticket booth told us that during the winter months the tickets were all half price making the combination ticket more expensive. We were delighted. This meant we could take our time and see all the sights at our leisure. Sometimes it’s worth going in the offseason The cost for us to enter the Ancient Agora was just €4.00 / $4.60 per person. Credit cards are accepted.
Note: The combination tickets do NOT include the cost of entry to the Acropolis Museum.
There are some signs spaced out around the Agora that provide a cursory explanation of the site but we wanted to get the most out of our experience so we took along the Rick Steve’s podcasts to guide us. We’ve used them before. They usually contain lots of good information and fun facts but their introductions are very long and uninteresting and their pace is off. Still, if you’re willing to start and stop the recording a few times they will often make the experience better and the cost is great: they’re free!
The tour starts with some background information. In 600 BC the agora was nothing more than an open field that was a common place for people to meet and buy goods. Over the next few hundred years it flourished and buildings started to appear. In ancient times only free males were permitted entry to the site.
In the early 20th century the agora was covered with modern houses. In 1931 a decision was made to re-discover Greece’s ancient roots and preserve its archeological past. The modern buildings were all removed and the site was excavated. The dig was directed by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens who are responsible for the site to this very day.
We began walking down the Panathenaic Way. This was the main street in ancient times. It extends to the North and was the main path to the Acropolis. Everywhere you look there are pieces of old marble and fragments of columns off to the side. Most are small and only serve to provide some idea of the scope of the site.
The first building we saw was the Stoa of Attalos. The Stoa, a two story colonnade used a marketplace, was a gift to the city of Athens from Attalos II, ruler of Pergamon from 159 BC to 138 BC. He donated it in appreciation for the education that he received in the city. In those days all free males were entitled to an education free of charge.
In the 1950s the American School of Classical Studies in Athens reconstructed the building to appear exactly as it would have in antiquity. At 377 feet by 66 feet in size it’s a magnificent sight. Each story has two aisles and 21 rooms. The ground floor is now home to the Museum of the Ancient Agora. The upstairs was closed to visitors when we were there. It was surprising to us that they would be allowed to completely reconstruct an ancient building like that. It was lovely to see how it would have appeared over 2,000 years ago. Given the Vienna Convention and UNESCO no one would be permitted to do that any more.
(Stoa of Attalos)
Admission to the museum is included in the price of entry and it is well worth seeing. There are many artifacts and sculptures on display but perhaps the most interesting exhibits were those on how the Greeks voted. They had a Klerotera on display – a device that was used to select people for jury duty. It was a slab of stone with slots cut into it. People would put their bronze identification tickets into the slots and bronze balls would randomly choose those who would serve. They also had an interesting display on Ostracism, which was a way of removing someone from office.
(Klerotera and Id Tickets)
The outlines of other buildings could be seen but they were mostly rubble. High up on the hill to the North was perhaps the most impressive building of all. It was the Temple of Hephaestus and it was wholly intact from ancient times. Dating from the fourth century BC the temple was dedicated to the god Hephaestus who was the patron of metalworking, craftsmanship and fire and, as blacksmith, made all of the gods’ weapons. Most likely the temple survived because it was repurposed as a church starting around 700 AD. The interior of the temple is closed to visitors but you can walk all the way around. It’s a marvel to see something so old that has survived in its nearly original condition.
(Temple of Hephaestus)
On the way down the hill we were treated to stories of how Socrates, Aristotle and Plato, who could often be found in the agora, would espouse their ideas of philosophy. Another story was about Diogenes, who had eschewed material goods, walked around the agora naked and slept in a bathtub. One account says that Alexander the Great, who was thrilled to meet him one day, asked if there was anything that he could do for him. Diogenes replied, “Yes, get out of my sunlight”.
On the way out we saw the remnants of the Odeon of Agrippa. Marcus Agrippa, the right hand of Augustus Caesar, had a large, two story theater constructed there (the Romans did not confine their building projects to the Roman Agora). The outline of the building is still apparent. At one time six huge sculptures, which doubled as support columns, could be seen at the front entrance. Three of them are still standing today.
Afterwards we had lunch at a Turkish restaurant in the area. They had falafels for just €3.00 / $3.45 each. The sandwiches were rather large, served in a wrap and had yogurt sauce instead of tahini. We washed them down with some Greek coffee (which is actually Turkish coffee). It’s hard to get a bad meal in this country.
Next we visited Hadrian’s Library. The library, built by the Emperor in 132 AD, contained over 16,000 papyrus books. All men, even slaves, had full access to the library at no charge. The building was a large colonnade with a grand entrance on one side and another entrance on the opposite side. Many of the original walls still stand and several of the columns from the grand entrance can still be seen. The size of the library can easily be judged by the outline of the remaining column bases.
(Library’s Grand Entrance)
Distance walked: 6.9 miles