A Short History of Athens

The history of Athens is virtually the history of Greece, for this immortal city was for centuries the heart of the Hellenic world and the acknowledged leader of its civilization. Though in common with all Greek cities, its origins are too remote to be anything more than a matter for conjecture. The Cyclopean wall that runs round the rock of the Acropolis, the neolithic remains, traces of Bronze Age habitation and a number of pre-Hellenic place-names prove that Athens was occupied by man from the very earliest times.

Athens was perhaps the largest of the independent Attic communities with its king residing on the Acropolis, probably in the palace named after Erechtheus, whose memory is perpetuated in the magnificent temple of the Erechtheion. A tribe of their Ionian kinsmen from Marathon, from whom later generations of Athenians were proud to claim descent, invaded the city and rapidly became predominant. Under the rule of Cecrops, the first known king of Athens, and that of his successors, Pandion, Erechtheus, Aegeus and Theseus, Athens increased in size and importance, slowly absorbing the smaller communities of Attica, until in the reign of Theseus (c. 1300 BC) they were all united under his leadership.

About 1100 BC, the Dorians invaded the Peloponnese and swept all before them; it seemed that no army could withstand them, and Athens was in mortal danger. Its citizens sprang to arms, though with a presentiment of certain defeat in their hearts. It had been prophesied that the Athenians could only ensure victory by the death of their king. King Codrus then decided to sacrifice himself to save his people. Making his way disguised into the Dorian camp he provoked a quarrel in which he was killed. When the invaders discovered that it was Codrus they had slain they despaired of success and retreated; Athens was saved.

Since no one was thought worthy to succeed this heroic king, the monarchy yielded to government by the nobles, who appropriated all power. They chose three archons, or executive officials, from among their ranks to represent the king and share the royal power. This change was affected by the devolution of the military powers of the king to the polemarch, who then became the supreme military commander; the first archon, who later became the chief state official, was the civil governor, while the archon basileus, who was a descendant of Codrus, retained the title of king and had control of the religious rites of the state. Although first hereditary and limited to the royal clan, the tenure of the archonship was later reduced to a period of ten years and all noblemen were eligible for office.

This reform, however, did not satisfy the masses that resented the concentration of all state authority in the hands of the aristocracy and clamored for a written constitution. In 594 BC the nobles bestowed full power to remodel the new state on one of their number, the celebrated Solon, trusted by noblemen and peasant alike. For the first time in the history of the world the people were given a measure of participation in government, the grant of political rights and a constitution. Later the office of archon was made annual and elective and to the existing three offices, military, civil and religious, were added the six thesmothetae whose sole duty was to record judicial decisions. In spite of these concessions discontent was rife, and a number of popular revolts exposed the state to constant danger.

In 546 BC, Peisistratus, a distinguished and daring statesman seized power and made himself dictator. Under his autocratic rule Athens enjoyed great prosperity. He stimulated commerce and industry, and by fostering agriculture laid the basis for the development of Athens' chief export, the olive. Through his vigorous foreign policy, for the first time, Athens emerged as an Aegean Power. Posterity is indebted to this devoted lover of the arts since he ordered the preparation of the first authorized version of Homer's sublime epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. He also embellished the city with monuments whose splendor was later surpassed only by those of the Golden Age of Pericles.

Peisistratus died in 527 BC. Though a dictator, he had been an enlightened and benevolent ruler. He had cared for the interests of the common man and curbed the power of the nobles; but his sons, especially the elder, Hippias, were brutal tyrants who exercised their power solely in their own interests. They excited the hatred of the Athenians to such a degree that in 514 BC a conspiracy was organized and the leaders, two patricians, Harmodios and Aristogeiton, killed the younger brother, Hipparchus. Hippias was driven into exile and the civic liberties of the state were restored.

The resounding victories over the Persians at Marathon, in 490 BC, and particularly the glorious Battle of Salamis, in 480 BC, in which Themistocles proved himself a naval commander of genius, laid the foundations of Athenian supremacy over the Hellenic city-states. A statesman of uncommon foresight, Themistocles added diplomatic triumphs to his victories. By protracting the parleys with Sparta he gained the time necessary to complete the rebuilding of the city's fortifications, which had been destroyed by the Persians during their second invasion.

Themistocles' policies were continued by his successor, Cimon. Athenian domination over the states of Asia Minor was consolidated and no enemy ship now dared appear in the waters of the Mediterranean. Besides being a brilliant strategist Cimon was also a great lover of art. He embellished the city, and commissioned his intimate friend, the eminent painter Polygnotus of Thasos, to execute vast frescoes recording the glorious deeds of the Athenians.

The year 460 BC saw the eclipse of Cimon and the rise of his political rival, Pericles, who controlled the affairs of the state, including the earlier period of the Peloponnesian war, until his death in 429 BC. An aristocrat but at the same time leader of the democratic party, he was a fervent advocate and champion of people's rights. During the years of his administration Athens reached the summit of her grandeur, and the most brilliant century of Greek history is known as the Age of Pericles. Athens was now mistress of a superb fleet of three hundred sail and an army of thirty thousand perfectly armed and disciplined soldiers, with fortifications extending to the port of Peiraeus; she was impregnable to attack from land or sea, while her commercial prosperity and the tribute of the Delian League amassed in the treasury made her the richest city in all Hellas.

If the material prosperity of Athens was great during this period, her attainments in every field of culture were incomparable. A galaxy of architects, sculptors and painters and their gifted assistants adorned the city with a dazzling array of temples, public buildings and other works of art. Nor were Athenian achievements in literature less noteworthy. In this period the Attic drama produced many immortal masterpieces. It is also to Periclean Athens that the scientific thought of Europe in logic, ethics, rhetoric and history owes its origin. Supreme in the arts of war and peace, Athens was the most illustrious city of antiquity and seemed destined to endure for ever, but the inconstant gods were envious of happiness that matched their own.

The outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 431 was the first of a series of misfortunes to fall upon the city. Two years after the beginning of this internecine and intermittent struggle between Athens and Sparta for the hegemony of Greece, Athens suffered irreparable loss in the untimely death of Pericles during the dreadful plague that ravaged the city. Twelve years later the treachery of Pericles' nephew, Alcibiades, was the cause of an even greater calamity.

Idol of the masses, Alcibiades was a gifted but completely unscrupulous demagogue who served his native city only when it suited him. Against the opposition of more experienced generals he succeeded in persuading his fellow citizens to embark upon the Sicilian Expedition (415) and was appointed one of the commanders. Shortly after the fleet had set sail he was recalled to stand trial on a charge of sacrilege, but fled to the Spartans, to whom he betrayed Athenian plans for the invasion of Sicily.

The crushing defeat of her fleet before Syracuse with the loss of forty thousand men and two hundred and forty ships, struck a crippling blow at the naval prestige of Athens and in 404 after twenty-seven years of war, utter exhaustion and starvation forced her to capitulate to her rival, Sparta.

Though her defeat deprived Athens of the leadership of Hellas, she retained her cultural eminence. The plays of Euripides and Aristophanes, the sculpture of Praxiteles and Scopas, the paintings of Zeuxis and the philosophical works of Plato mark this period as one of particular brilliance in the history of arts.

During the Corinthian War (395 BC) there was a revival of the Athenian naval power under Conon, whose squadron utterly routed the Spartan ships at the historic battle of Cnidus (394 BC). Following his triumphant return Conon ordered the rebuilding of the Long Walls (393 BC), which Athens had been compelled to demolish by the victorious Spartans at the end of the Peloponnesian War.

These walls completed the city's chain of giant defenses. A roadway 8 kms in length and 170 m. wide, protected on either side by walls 18 m. high and 3 m. thick, secured communication between the city and the port of Peiraeus with its adjoining harbors. To the south was a had already been removed for the adornment of the new city on the Bosporus, and she was the object of further depredation in AD 523 when the great church of St. Sophia was erected. Under Byzantium the Parthenon and other glorious temples were converted into Christian churches, and in AD 529 Constantinople ordered the closing of the celebrated philosophical schools and the confiscation of their libraries; Athens was but a name.

After the Latin conquest of Constantinople in 1204 the Burgundian Count Otto de la Roche was granted the lordship of Athens, later raised to a duchy by Louis IX, and established his court on the Acropolis. On the death of Guy II, last duke of the House of de la Roche, the duchy passed to his cousin, Gautier de Brienne, the last French duke of Athens. Three years later (1311) he perished at the battle of Copais where a fearsome army of Catalan adventurers, known as the Grand Company, slaughtered the flower of Frankish chivalry. The Catalans terrorized the country for seventy years until they were overcome by another horde of Spanish mercenaries, the Navarrese Company.

In 1388 the Florentine Nerio Acciajuoli, Castellan of Corinth and Lord of Thebes, whom the Navarrese had elected as their leader, seized Athens and installed himself in the ducal court of the Acropolis. The house of the Acciajuoli lasted until 1456 when the last duke, Franco, was forced to yield to the Turks.

In 1684 when Venice declared war against the Turks, Doge Francesco Morosini was appointed to command the expedition. Ably seconded by a Swedish general, Count Otto Koenigsmark, he drove the enemy out of the Peloponnese and then marched against their garrison in Athens. In Morosini's bombardment of the Acropolis, then held in force by the enemy, severe damage was done to the monuments there.

In 1821 the great revolution against Turkish occupation, which had lasted for almost four centuries, spread third wall, the Phaleric, which extended to the coastal town of Phaleron and protected the bay connecting it with Peiraeus. These massive walls rendered Athens an impregnable fortress, making it impossible for an invader to cut her off from her trade and food supplies.

From 338 BC the orator Lycurgus was archon. During his tenure of office he further embellished the city and restored those ancient monuments that had suffered either at the hands of man or from the ravages of time. In this same period, from the tribune of the hallowed rock of the Pnyx, resounded the voice of the great orator, Demosthenes, whose name will forever be linked with the last splendors of the immortal city.

Alexander the Great treated Athens with marked favor and granted her a considerable measure of autonomy. Though she had lost her supremacy in science and scholarship to Alexandria, Athens was still considered the natural home of philosophy, while in the theatre Menander's New Comedy made Athenian life known throughout the civilized world.

After being sacked by Sulla in 86 BC for her part in supporting Mithridates the Great against Rome, she became part of the new Roman province of Achaea in 27 BC. Her only importance now lay in her philosophical schools which were frequented by such young Romans as Cicero, Herodes Atticus and Horace.

Athens was later restored to favor as a free and sovereign city and regarded as the cultural center of the Roman world; Hadrian and later Antonines lavishly endowed her with many new buildings. During the reign of the Emperor Hadrian a whole new city, Novae Athenae, to which the Arch of Hadrian was the gateway, rose around the Olympieion.

With the foundation of Constantinople Athens sank into the obscurity of a provincial Byzantine town and is rarely mentioned in the chronicles of the period. Pheidias' statue of Athena Promachos and other works of art throughout Greece. A year later, in 1822, the intrepid Odysseus Androutsos, one of the principal figures of the War of Independence (1821-1833) succeeded by a surprise attack in capturing the Acropolis. In 1826 the Turks under Reschid Pasha again besieged it. An attempt by the French philhellene Colonel Baron Fabvier to relieve the heroic defense force was defeated, and the garrison commander Gouras killed. Further attempts to relieve the Acropolis proved no more successful than the first, instructions were therefore sent to the garrison to surrender.

On 24th May 1827, the Turks having accorded them the honors of war, the remnants of the gallant defenders marched out with flying colors.

The Acropolis remained in the hands of the enemy until 12th April 1833 when, in the name of Greece, Colonel Baligand took formal possession from the Turkish commander. On 13th December of the same year King Othon, the first King of Greece, entered the city. One year later, on 18th September 1834, Athens was officially proclaimed the Capital city of the Kingdom.

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Athens, Greece: Things to Do, Places to See, and How to Get Around

Athens, Greece is an astonishingly beautiful city steeped in history and culture. Tourists flock to Athens all year round, because of the sheer number of tourist attractions to see and experiences to be had in this ancient city. Athens is warm and dry all year round, although it's typically cooler in the winter, which means that tourists can be found in Athens every month of the year.

There are so many sights to see, places of cultural and historical significance, gardens, museums, and more, that discussing them all in one article is nearly impossible. This article will discuss a few of the most famous sites in Athens, for you to be properly acquainted with them before you embark on a trip to the city of Athens, Greece.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a vast theatre made of stone. It dates back to Ancient Greece and it has a seating capacity of 5,000 - 6,000 people. It was built by Herod Atticus and dedicated to his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilli. It is one of the primary venues of the Athens Festival and often houses concerts, events and shows. It is located on the Southern Slope of the Acropolis. It's a remarkable sight, especially in the evening during a concert or an event, when floodlights illuminate the entire structure.

Constitution Square

Constitution Square, also known as Syntagma Square, houses the Parliament Building. The Memorial to the Unknown Soldier can found within this square is guarded by Evzones, guards similar to those at Buckingham Palace. You can watch the Change of Guards here every night at 6 PM.

The National Library

The National Library is a beautiful example of neo-classical architecture. It is part of the Danish architect Theophil Feiherr von Hansen's Trilogy, which includes the Athens University and the Academy of Athens. The National Library has in its possession 4,500 Greek manuscripts and is a must-visit for scholars, book lovers and history buffs alike. It is located at the right-hand side of the University of Athens, on Panepistimiou Street.

The Academy of Arts

Situated next to the University of Athens, the Academy is also part of Hansen's Trilogy of neo-classical structures. The building features Ionic columns and sculptures of Plato, Socrates, Apollo and Athena.

The National Garden

Formerly known as the Royal Garden, the National Garden is home to several species of plants and flowers. It is located behind Parliament House, and a gate connects it to the Zappeion, a building that was used as a fencing hall in the first modern Olympics. The National Garden is an ideal place to visit if you feel the need to get in touch with nature while remaining within the city proper.

Ancient Agora

In Ancient Agora, you can find a number of ancient ruins such as the Odeon of Agrippa, massive statues of Tritons and Giants, the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Thesion, the Royal Stoa, and the famous Altar of the Twelve Gods.

Thiseio

Need a little pick me up before you continue with your tour of Athens, Greece? Grab a frappe (an iced coffee drink many Greeks are fond of) and relax in a sidewalk café on Thiseo. Thiseo is filled with quaint coffee shops, eating-places and resting areas; making it an ideal stopover on a busy tour.

Temple of Poseidon

Located in Cape Sounion in Attica, the Temple of Poseidon overlooks the beautiful waters of the Saronic Gulf. Although the famed sunset at the Temple of Poseidon is every bit as breathtaking as they say, if you want to beat the tourist rush, visit early in the morning. The cool air and tranquil atmosphere at the Temple of Poseidon during an early morning visit is balm to the senses.

Acropolis and the Parthenon

You can't visit Athens without dropping by the Parthenon. Located on Acropolis, the Parthenon was a temple for the goddess of wisdom, Athena. The Parthenon was built in the Doric architectural style, and some say it's the finest example of Doric architecture ever made. Only 15 Corinthian columns from the original 104 remain standing; one other column fell down in 1852. Nevertheless, the majestic beauty of each column is guaranteed to make any viewer breathless. The Parthenon can be seen from a distance, especially in the evening, when the entire structure is illuminated by floodlights. Acropolis Hill also boasts a spectacular view of the city of Athens.

Lycabettus Hill

Lycabettus Hill or Mount Lycabettus is the highest point in the city. You can find the Chapel of St George and an open-air theater on its peak. It features a breathtaking view of the city of Athens.

Plaka and Monastiraki

If you want to give yourself a break from sight-seeing, shop for unique souvenirs in Plaka and Monastiraki. Stroll down Ermou, a pedestrians-only street, and browse through the wares of queer little stores that sell everything from vegetable molders to statue replicas to funky shirts to handmade silk roses. You can also find well-known stores such as Armani, D & G and Gucci, along Ermou. Before you embark on a shopping spree in Plaka or Monastiraki, make sure you eat a big meal beforehand and wear comfortable shoes, as you may find yourself staying at the shops for far longer than you think! On a side note, Plaka was built on the site of the residential areas of Ancient Athens.

Getting Around in Athens Greece

Travelling in Greece and taking in the sights can be an extremely rewarding. It can also be quite exhausting. When visiting Athens, you have quite a few options as far as getting around is concerned. You can rent a car or a moped, or you can take the bus. However, rental vehicles are expensive, and taking a bus can prove to be inconvenient, what with all the waiting around at bus stops and having to walk the remainder of the distance to the destination where you're headed. Taxi tours in Athens are a comfortable, inexpensive and entirely novel way of getting around Athens. Athens Taxi, in particular, offers half-day and whole-day tours in Athens, and they also offer tours from Athens to Mycenae and Epidavros. Athens Taxi can also provide a personal guide for you and your group. If you prefer walking tours, Athens Taxi can also arrange for a personal guide to accompany you and to point out the landmarks and provide mini-history lessons and interesting facts.

Learn more about Taxi Tours.

Daedalos in Athens and Crete

The Athenians have presented the world with many famous savants, who have contributed much to the development of human knowledge. The earliest known was Daedalos, the grandson of King Erechtheos. Like Leonardo da Vinci centuries later, he seems to have been an all-round genius: inventor, craftsman and architect.

He took on as his apprentice his sister Perdix' son, Talos. But the boy showed such great promise that very soon, Daedalos feared that he would demonstrate himself to be even more talented than his teacher, and in time would surpass him. While still an apprentice, he invented the potters' wheel and compass. When, inspired by his inspection of the jaw of a snake, he invented the toothed saw, Daedalos could stand it no longer. He murdered the boy by tossing him from the walls of the Acropolis. It was said that Athena turned him into a partridge.

On learning the sad news of her son's death, his poor mother, committed suicide. On the spot where the young genius died, the Athenians erected a small shrine. Meanwhile, Daedalos was tried at the Areopagus and banished from the city.

From Athens he went to the court of King Minos at Crete, where he became even more famous, for he constructing a wooden cow for the queen, by means of which she was able to satisfy her unnatural desire for a white bull sent by Poseidon. Then he built the infamous Labyrinth to contain the Minotaur, the monstrous result of this union. Finally, he invented wings by which he sought to escape from Crete with Ikaros.

Some scholars think that Daedalos was never an Athenian at all, but that the proud citizens of Athens thought that any figure of such intelligence and ingenuity just had to be Athenian, and so they invented a false geneaology for him, making him a son of Erechtheus.

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Top 3 Tourist Attractions in Athens, Greece

If you are visiting Athens, then you will want to read this article. Below you will find the top 3 attractions in Athens. Don't waste time here and there, because these are the most important sights.

1) Acropolis and the Parthenon
The rock of Acropolis and the Parthenon is definitely your first choice in Athens. You will walk in the ancient ruins, to a path that leads up, to a breathtaking view, of the city. See Parthenon and admire every handmade sculpted design on the marble. Make sure to visit the new Acropolis Museum. This sightseeing includes a long walk, so be prepared.

2) Ancient Agora
Ancient Agora was the place that ancient Greeks center of politics. It is a green space with view of Acropolis. There you will see the remains of the ancient Forum, the temple of Hephaestus which is the best preserved Greek temple, the Stoa of Attalos and other monuments. Acropolis is very close, so you can combine visiting both.

3) Cape Sounion
You have to take a bus from Athens to go to Sounion Cape. It is a beutiful place, outside the noisy city. There is the temple of Poseidon, God of the Water World. Stop for some moments to enjoy the view of the Aegean Sea. It is a nice idea to go catch the sunset there and maybe end up one of the nice local restaurants there.

Athens is a big city, and there are many things worth seeing. These are the tourists most favored. You may also want to just wander around and discover other minor monuments. Hope you liked this short introduction.

Ancient History - Athens

Archaeologists have found evidence that Athens has been inhabited from at least the fifth millennium BC. The site would have been attractive to early settlers for a number of reasons: its location in the midst of productive agricultural terrain; its closeness to the coast and the natural safe harbour of Piraeus; the existence of defensible high ground, the Acropolis (from akron and polis, or 'city on the high ground'); and the proximity of a natural source of water on the north-west side of the Acropolis.

Traces of Mycenaean fortifications from the thirteenth century AC can still be seen on the Acropolis, including some foundations belonging to what must have been a palatial structure. The fortifications, known as the 'Pelasgian' walls (after the indigenous people believed to have built them before the arrival of the Greeks around 2000 BC), remained in use until the Persian Wars of 490-480 BC. One stretch behind the temple of Athena Nike appears to have been deliberately preserved in the Classical period.

There was a decline of Mycenaean society across the Greek world around the end of the twelfth century BC. Whether this was directly connected with the Trojan War (around 1184 BC), or the so-called Dorian Invasion thought to have taken place soon after this conflict, Athens does not appear to have succumbed to an attack. The Mycenaean royal family of Pylos is said to have taken refuge in Athens after their city's fall to the Dorians. One of its members, Codros, became king of his adoptive city.

The collapse of Mycenaean civilization left Greece in political, economic and social decline, accompanied by loss of artistic skills, literacy and trade networks. The Mycenaean form of writing, known as Linear B, was completely forgotten, and the Greek alphabet did not emerge until the late eighth century BC as the new form of writing. At this time city states began to emerge throughout the Greek world, governed by oligarchies, or aristocratic councils. Thirteen kings ruled in Athens after Codros, until in 753 BC they were replaced by officials with a ten-year term, known as decennial archons, and in 683 BC by annually appointed eponymous archons.

Conflict between the oligarchs and the lower classes, many of whom had been reduced to slavery, led to a series of reforms that paved the way for the emergence of the world's first true democracy. Around 620 BC the lawmaker Dracon set up wooden tablets on the Acropolis known as axones. These were inscribed with civil laws and punishments so harsh that the death penalty was prescribed even for minor crimes, giving rise to the term `draconian' which is still used today. Dracon's intervention did little to ensure order, prompting representatives of the nobles and lower classes in 594 BC to appoint the statesman and poet Solon as archon.

Solon terminated aristocratic rule, setting up a representational government where participation was determined not by lineage or bloodline, but wealth. He eliminated slavery based on debt, and restituted freedom and land to those who had been enslaved. Solon created a `Council of Four Hundred' from equal numbers of representatives of the Ionian tribes to which the Athenians claimed to belong, and instituted four classes of citizenry.

Peisistratos, Solon's younger cousin, became tyrant (tyrannos) of Athens in 545 BC. He ensured the Solonian constitution was respected and governed benevolently. After Peisistratos' death, however, things took a negative turn and anti-Peisistratid sentiment grew. By 510 BC King Cleomenes of Sparta was asked to assist in deposing Peisistratos' son Hippias. Hippias sought refuge in Persia at the court of King Darius.

Soon after, the aristocrat Cleisthenes promised to institute further reforms giving a more direct role to citizens in government. His reforms were passed in 508 BC, and democracy was established in Athens. A new `Council of Five Hundred' (the Boule) replaced the 'Council of Four Hundred', with equal representation from the various tribes. Cleisthenes is also credited with instituting the system of ostracism, which 'voted' an individual considered dangerous to democracy into exile for ten years.

It is uncertain when the former Mycenaean citadel was transformed into a sacred precinct but by the late eighth century BC a modest temple (or perhaps more than one) stood on the plateau. The oldest and holiest cult image on the Acropolis was the statue of Athena Polias (Protectress of the City), a crude olive-wood figure, so old that Athenians of the Classical period believed it had either fallen from heaven or been made by Cecrops or Erichthonios. This sacred image of Athena was ritually 'dressed' every year in a peplos, a sacred robe, as part of the Panathenaic festival.

A temple is thought to have been built around 700 BC to the south of the later, Classical Erechtheion, to house the statue of Athena Polias. The first major building of which there are significant remains on the Acropolis was the so-called 'Bluebeard Temple', built in the Archaic period around 560 BC. The 'Bluebeard Temple' is thought by some to have stood to the south of the later Erechtheion. Ancient texts mention a mysterious building or precinct contemporary to the 'Bluebeard Temple', called the Hecatompedon, or 'Hundred-footer'. Whatever this structure or place was, it gave its name to the principal room of the Classical Parthenon, perhaps because the later building occupies the same site.

With the expulsion of Hippias a new temple was built on the Acropolis, its foundations still visible to the south of the later Erechtheion. This building, the Archaios Naos, or 'ancient temple', is likely to have been deliberately commissioned around 506 BC as a replacement for the 'Bluebeard Temple'.
The first Persian invasion of 490 BC saw the victory of the Athenians at the battle of Marathon against the forces of King Darius of Persia. The following year the elated Athenians leveled an area on the south side of the Acropolis and began construction of the Old Parthenon. A new gateway to the Acropolis was also commenced, known as the Old Propylaia.

This post-Marathonian building program on the Acropolis came to a violent end in 480 BC when Xerxes, son of King Darius, led a second Persian invasion of Greece. Athens had to be evacuated and Xerxes razed the city and buildings on the Acropolis. Under the command of Themistocles, the Athenians destroyed the Persian fleet in the battle of Salamis. Victory over the Persians was ensured after the battle of Plataea (479 BC), to the northwest of Athens, when a combined Greek army annihilated the Persians.

In the aftermath of the battle of Plataea, a vow was made by the victors never to rebuild the shrines that were destroyed in the war, preserving them instead as memorials for later generations.

Pericles, who was a general and statesman, came to power in Athens around 461 BC. He considered the oath of Plataea to have been fulfilled, as thirty years had elapsed from the Persian invasion, and proceeded to reconstruct the temples on the Acropolis. He gathered together the best architects and artists in the city and plans were drawn up to erect new buildings that would outshine those torn down by the Persians. The Periclean building programme enhanced the lower city with new monuments, such as the Temple of Hephaestus, also known as the Theseion, and the Painted Stoa or Poikile situated near the Agora (marketplace).

To explore the city where all of the above have taken place you will definitely need an Athens Travel Guide or you can just take a look at Ancient Athens Pictures and if you like the location much you can choose among the variety of Athens hotels.

The East Side Of Athens Ancient Agora

During the rule of Solon the Lawgiver, when the Athens Agora was taking shape, its eastern side was entirely free of buildings. The Dromos cut across the area diagonally, serving as a boundary. But since the city was growing, the need for public buildings was also increasing, especially after the Persian wars. Then it was that a great rectangular colonnade was built around structures that very likely belonged to one of the Athens courthouses, as indicated by a ballot box with judges' votes found there. During the Hellenistic period, Attalos of Pergamum donated to the city of Pallas Athena a magnificent, two-storey stoa, squaring off the Agora site and extending the business centre of the city east of the main road. These buildings were destroyed when the city was sacked by Sulla; but immediately afterwards, the Romans began a rapid reconstruction, an unerring measure taken by conquerors throughout history. On this side of the Agora, a library was built and then another stoa, beside that of Attalos. These and other structures were seen by Pausanias and Strabo when they came to Athens in the 2nd century AD.

Of the first long narrow stoa on the southeastern corner of the site, just a few vestiges remained because of the many changes the building underwent during the years after it was first built. Initially, the Stoa was on two levels along the Panathenaic Way, in order to compensate for the natural slope of the ground. It had eleven spaces for shops and a row of columns with Ionic capitals. It must have been a very busy spot, as shown by the figures of Herms, animals, and sundials carved on the first of the columns. The layabouts of antiquity also carved youthful profiles, some with lovely classical features and others created with the intent to ridicule.

The colonnade must have extended in front of the library beside it, of which nothing remains, because it was totally destroyed during the Herulian raid, but also because the wall put up afterward was built on top of the structures on this side of the Agora. Evidence of the inhabitants' anxiety after the sack of the city are the pieces of columns lying like wounded giants, in the hurriedly built wall.

This was the 3rd century AD, when the Roman Empire was confronting the threat of fierce Germanic tribes such as the Goths, Vandals and others, who had set out in the north, followed the river roads of eastern Europe and joined together with the nomadic tribes of the Caucasus. From there they spilled over into the Roman possessions around the Black Sea and Asia Minor. The Goths, together with their cousins, the Herulians, built a powerful fleet and sailed down into the Aegean sowing devastation. They captured Lemnos and Skyros, and destroyed Corinth and Argos while other cities were desperately and vainly building fortifications. In the sack of Athens, the Herulians destroyed everything except for the temple of Hephaistos and the sanctuaries on the Acropolis. The entire Agora was covered with a layer of ash from the buildings burned at that time. Many keys have been found which had been thrown into wells at that period, an indication of the despair felt by the frantic inhabitants. But the barbarian occupation did not last long. Encouraged by the fiery speeches of the orator Dexippus, the residents of Athens remembered how their ancestors had dealt with the Persians, and as one man, two thousand Athenians managed to expel the invaders.

Immediately afterward, they built a wall using rubble from the ruined buildings. The perimeter of this wall greatly reduced the area which the Athenians would have to protect in any future attack. The fortifications started under the Propylaea, from the position of the present Beule gate, descended to the east side of the Panathenaic Way, crossed the southeastern stoa and the library, reached as far as the back wall of the Stoa of Attalos, turned east for some meters and then turned south again, to touch the Acropolis rock. The extent of this fortification shows that the number of residents had already - dropped sharply. The wall was 11-1/2 meters high and 3-1/2 m. wide, it had two faces and the space in between was filled with column drums, inscriptions, pedestals of votive statues and sculptures of all kinds. Traces of one fortress tower and parts of a water mill have been preserved. Three gates have been identified with certainty on the west side, along the Panathenaic Way. But the most impressive part of the remaining wall, with the built-in column drums and the pieces of marble from earlier buildings, is on the site where the library of Pantainos once stood.

This was the intellectual heart of Athens, built around the end of the lst century AD. A long inscription has been found informing us that Titus Flavius Pantainos dedicated the entire structure with all its buildings and library with all its books to Athena Polias and the emperor Trajan. This same inscription enabled scholars to conclude that the building had a courtyard with rooms and roofed areas, as well as some outdoor stow. Another inscription demonstrated the strict operating regulations of the institution, which forbade the borrowing of the books on oath. Strangely enough Pausanias did not mention this library at all, ever partial to the sanctuaries of the gods and to more ancient structures. He treated the huge building next door, the Stoa of Attalos, with the same indifference.

Attalos of Pergamum, who built this magnificent Stoa, came from an adventurous dynasty which, although its roots were of Asia Minor extraction, had become fully Hellenized. Its founder was a certain Philetairos from the Pontus in whom the Macedonian Lycimachos had such confidence as to entrust his treasury to him to be kept in the fortress at Pergamum. The person who gained most from the disputes between Lysimachos and Seleucos over the division of Alexander the Great's enormous empire was this flexible Philetairos who found himself owner of all the goods entrusted to him. He founded the Attalid state which, between 283 and 129 BC developed into a centre of commerce and letters, largely due to the use of a new writing material derived from animal skins. It was, of course, not so new; from very ancient times, highly significant writings were recorded on a piece of thin leather called a diphthera. The Persians took this word and adapted it to their own language as defter, from which comes a Greek word meaning notebook. When, under the rule of the Ptolemies, Egypt prohibited the export of papyrus, the kingdom of Pergamum perfected the technique of making diphthera, to give it a finer texture, whiter colour and the possibility of writing on both sides. It also acquired a new name, pergamini or parchment.

The kings of Pergamum were great lovers of beauty. They adorned their capital with wonderful monuments, and superb sculptures. The "Dying Gaul" in the Capitol Museum in Rome, but above all the Altar of Pergamum in the Berlin Museum, bear witness to the high artistic standards of the period. The library of Pergamum, which was said to contain some 20,000 volumes, later was given by Mark Antony to the lovely Cleopatra to enrich the library at Alexandria. Finally, Attalos III, the last of his line, bequeathed this wealthy kingdom to the people of Rome by virtue of a controversial will, thus consolidating the Roman presence in Asia.

Two of the most significant scions of the Attalids, who alternated their rule of Pergamum, had studied in Athens. Each one, at the height of his glory, donated magnificent buildings to the city of their youth: the Stoa beside the Theatre of Dionysus, called Eumenes II, and the large Stoa in the Agora, Attalos II. Built in 150 BC at right angles to the slightly earlier Middle Stoa, the Hellenistic Stoa of Attalos became the new commercial centre of Athens for the next four centuries.

To construct the enormous base, or crepidoma, on which the stoa rested, the remains of an older peristyle which may have belonged to one of the 5th century courthouses, had to be covered. The Stoa was built in two tiers; it was about 117 metres long and 20 m. wide. Its facade, which faced west. was adorned by 45 Doric columns, unfluted at the bottom, as was the custom in the Hellenistic years, while in the interior, covered area there were 22 columns supporting a roof, all of which were unfluted with Ionic capitals. The facade of the upper floor also had 45 little Ionic columns which were joined together with decorated marble slabs: parapets to protect the people. There was an inner colonnade on the upper floor, as well, corresponding to the one on the ground floor. On each of the two levels, there were 22 square rooms suitable for use as shops. Initially the stairs leading up to the second level were outside, on the two narrow sides of the Stoa, as we can see traces of them on the northern edge of the ground floor roofed area, where the vestiges of a large marble fountain were also found. The outer, southern stairway was replaced by an interior one when the library of Pantainos was built to create more space between the two buildings. It has been restored and is used today. Later, a road passed over the south side of the Stoa of Attalos leading to the Athens gate at the boundary of the Roman Agora, where the commercial centre of the city continued to be during the centuries that followed. But even when the ancient Agora was no longer regarded as the business centre, it never ceased to be the main meeting place for the residents. Strabo, who came to Athens in the 2nd century AD, called the Roman market "Eretria", referring to the more ancient one by the same name his contemporary, Pausanias, used: "Kerameikos".

During the barbarian invasion, the Stoa was burned as seen from marks on the south inner wall. During the subsequent fortification, the solid structure built by Attalos was deemed suitable for a city wall. Then the shop facades were built, rows of columns were torn down and fortification towers were added all along the former stoa, leaving the Agora outside the protected district. One part of the back wall was dug up in the 19th century, and after the regular excavations in 1953, the Stoa of Attalos was fully restored by the American School of Classical Studies. Today it houses a museum on its ground floor, and in the roofed outdoor area there are statues, votive sculptures, inscriptions and stelae which bring to life many details of the past life of the City.

In front of the outer colonnade of the Stoa of Attalos, in the middle of the facade, a large square base was erected for a monument depicting the king of Pergamum in a chariot. Some years after the Stoa was built, a bema (raised platform) was also put up, from which orators and Roman generals could address the citizens of Athens, another indication of how much traffic there was in the area. The large number of bases of honorary monuments on the opposite side of the Panathenaic Way proves the same thing. Right behind these monuments are the ruins of the Odeion, one of the most greatly altered buildings in the Agora, owing to the many reconstructions and additions.

From various sources in antiquity, we know that the open, triangular space in the Agora next to the Dromos, was the venue for rituals and presentations, before the theatre of Dionysus was built. There were ikria here, wooden platforms from which the spectators watched the action unfolding. A brief reference even exists to the fact that one could see by climbing up on the branches of a poplar tree growing nearby. Perhaps this previous usage, together with the existence of a playing area and a large open space, was the reason why Agrippa built the Odeion on this precise spot.

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was Augustus' son-in-law and governor of the Eastern provinces of the Empire. Late in the 1st century BC, he offered the Athenians a magnificent building for performances or even for philosophical discussions, thus winning the coveted title of benefactor of the city together with an honorary monument at the entrance to the Acropolis. The design of the Odeion reflected the Roman taste for the grandiose; it utilised the natural incline of the ground in the best possible way, giving it plenty of space on the ground, with stoae, multiple levels and two entrances. The most impressive of these must have been in the south, right in front of the Middle Stoa.

Persons entering the Odeion from this side passed under two rows of Corinthian columns, then proceeded into the main hall with its very high ceiling projecting up above the building. From this point, one descended to the 1000-seat audience area, and from there to the semi-circular marble-tiled orchestra. Above the orchestra was the stage, behind which was the other, northern entrance with a small exterior gate.

The large dimensions of this hall must have been the reason why the roof collapsed a century after it was built. In the restoration which followed, a good many rows of benches were removed from the upper section, and the hall acquired perceptibly smaller dimensions. Now it had but one entrance, that of the north side, embellished with the statues of Giants and Tritons. After the barbarian raids, the building underwent another radical change of form, to house a gymnasium. Of its old facade, only four of the gigantic statues were kept, while behind it, a large flat area was levelled off to be used as a porticoed courtyard. Even farther back, rooms and more courtyards were built and equipped with bath facilities. The large number of these disparate areas can be explained by the custom of the ancients to have classrooms in their gymnasia. This custom provided the root for the modern Greek word gymnasio meaning secondary school.

Even though the Odeion was completely destroyed, the monumental 2nd century AD entrance remained, of which we can still see the bases and the statues of two proud representatives of the world of myth. One is a Giant with a snakish form and the other is a mature, strongly-built Triton with a fishtail instead of legs.

It has been ascertained that myths were generated at the dawn of human thought. Beginning with the superstitions of the early peoples up to the symbolism of the Platonists that expressed primitive totemism and interpreted metaphysical concerns, myth passed through various stages of evolution. But it always presupposed the distant past, because only then did events take on the dimension of hyperbole. A typical example was provided by the Romans whose own mythology was comparatively poor. In addition, they were practical and victorious army commanders and administrators who had no need of heroic models, nor were they generally renowned as being lovers of speech and poetry. But they adopted the Greek religion and liked to present mythological beings in their art.

Giants and Tritons were the remnants of Greek prehistory. The former were vanquished by the gods in a decisive battle for peace, because as children of the Earth - shown by their snakish tails - they represented natural phenomena such as storms, floods and disasters. One of these was Enceladus, who was buried under the island of Sicily and every time he moved, he created earthquakes. The Tritons were considered to be marine spirits and had a dual substance of both destruction and restitution; rather like a storm followed by calm. Although Triton appears as the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite in Greek mythology, he may very possibly be of foreign origin.

A gold Mycenean ring shows some creatures wearing a strange, scaly garment. There are Babylonian ring stones and Assyrian seal stones in the British Museum, depicting forms that are half human and half fish, while at Pasargadae in Persia, a gate has been found on the jamb of which there is a relief representation of such a dual-form being. Eusebius, a 4th century Christian chronicler, mentioned similar creatures who appeared, he said, during the years of the Babylonians. Eusebius found this information in the texts of Apollodoros, a 2nd century BC historian and philosopher who was interested in the genealogy of the gods before the Flood. Apollodoros' main source was a "Babylonian History" written in Greek in the 4th century by a priest named Berosos from Bithynia. Having access to the cuneiform texts of the Chaldeans, Berosus learned that in the very ancient times, an amphibian creature named Oannes had arisen from the sea. This strange being civilized humanity with its superior wisdom. Other Oannes also appeared from time to time, always bearers of abundance and knowledge. The Sumerians worshipped this figure as a god named Enki, while the Babylonians called the same divinity Ea, i.e. god of the waters, and believed that his palace was in the city of Eridu on the Persian Gulf. It is strange to consider the fact that in western Africa there is a tribe called the Dongons, who believe that knowledge about the movement of the stars was imparted to them by wise amphibian creatures. Then of course there is the Gorgon or mermaid of more recent Greek folklore. So it would appear that the Triton of the ancients is a timeless being, with distant alien ancestors as well as more recent local descendants.

In Pausanias' book Boeotica, there is a very interesting reference to Tanagra. The men of the region, he said, managed to catch a Triton by trickery and beheaded it because it was annoying their wives. The traveller described the headless body, which he claimed to have seen displayed in the city, and, in fact, described an amphibian, unpleasantly anthropomorphic being. The Triton of the Odeion was a beautified version of this mythic creature which has so captured the human imagination.

In front of the gigantic statues at the entrance to the Odeion there was a large temple of Ares. Today nothing of this building has been preserved other than its outline - distinguishable from the rest of the site because it is covered with gravel - a few slabs with relief shields, and some scattered parts of columns and capitals. Many of the latter bear the characteristic notches made by Roman masons, even though the rock was cut in the 5th century, showing once more that the temple had been initially built somewhere else, and was brought here bit by bit and rebuilt together with its later altar during Roman rule. The citizens of classical Athens were not particularly interested in erecting a temple to Ares, the violent, strongly built, and not exceptionally intelligent, god of war; especially when their city was protected by Promachos Athena, she of organised defence and cool strategy. But the Romans held Ares (Mars) in high esteem as the divine leader of their legions. The prevailing opinion of scholars as to the initial position of the temple of Ares in the Athens Agora is that it was originally situated in Acharnes, where there is known to have been a sanctuary of the god. A cult of this kind would have been absolutely logical there, given that this Attic Deme was situated at the border which had to be guarded against enemy raids, and the war-loving Ares, pugnacious and always ready for a fight, was the most appropriate protector of the borders. One should also point out the mingling of two extreme states in the erotic relationship between warlike Ares and the tender goddess Aphrodite. The union of these two totally different divinities generated the all-powerful Eros, who could calm even his fierce father, and Harmony who brought the equilibrium into this contradictory world.

Pausanias gives us only one fleeting mention of the temple of Ares, because, when he passed by the site, he was mainly interested in the statues in and around it. Some of these statues have been identified in the truncated sculptures found nearby and now exhibited in the Agora Museum. Others have been lost forever: such as the 6th century statues of the tyrannicides Harmodios and Aristogeiton. These statues were booty which Xerxes took to Persia where they remained until Alexander the Great regained them and sent them back to Athens. The tyrannicides were considered worthy of respect as symbols of Democracy; they were also the first mortals to be honoured by having statues erected to them, a privilege hitherto reserved only for gods and demigods. The statues had been placed on this side of the Agora because this was probably where Hipparchos was killed. His death was decisive in bringing down the tyranny instituted by his father, Peisistratos. Thucydides told us that this bold action took place on the day of the Panathenaia, when the tyrant was supervising the preparations for the procession. We also know that the celebrants' point of departure was the Altar of the Twelve Gods, the city's main crossroads.

This significant Altar had been built in about 520 BC on the northern edge of the Agora, the apex of the imaginary triangle which constitutes its area. Within a walled enclosure, it had become established as the place where the underprivileged, the persecuted and even badly treated slaves sought sanctuary. Perhaps this was why Pausanias wrote that he saw an Altar of Mercy: an obvious reference to sanctuary, which led -most archaeologists to conclude that these two names referred to the same altar. Of the structure itself there are no significant traces, because the train line passed right over it. This railroad line is for visitors the northernmost boundary of the Agora, even though there were in antiquity, important buildings on the other side, which have not yet been fully excavated and studied.

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Athens - The Theatre of Dionysus

The sacred precinct of Dionysus, god of the vine, fertility, revelry, and patron of theatrical competitions, is enclosed by a polygonal wall, of which some traces are still visible, and contains the ruined foundations of two temples of different periods, an altar, a stoa, and votive monuments, as well as the remains of a fourth century BC theatre.

Passing through the main gate we come to the conglomerate foundations of the second temple of Dionysus. This temple, built around the year 420 BC, consisted of the sanctuary proper (which housed the chryselephantine statue of the god by Alcamenes, a famous pupil of Pheidias; all that remains of this masterpiece are the foundations of its great base) and the pronaos on the east.

To the right of the foundations of the temple stands a tall marble pillar on which is recorded a decree of the Amphictyonic Council honoring the Dionysian Guild of Actors, an important body enjoying many privileges and numbering among its members poets and musicians. A little farther on is a delightful circular altar of Dionysus dating from the second century BC, carved with garlands, rosettes and masks of Silenus. A short distance north of this altar, just before we reach the theatre, are the blue limestone foundations of the first temple, a small construction in antis, built under Peisistratus, which housed the primitive wooden image (xoanon) of Dionysus. East of the foundations of this temple lie those of a large stoa with a Doric colonnade which was intended for the convenience of audiences and served as a foyer during intermissions.

The Greeks sited their theatres within easy reach of the city, and adapting their construction to the natural contour of hills built them on the slopes. The earliest theatres were intended for the performance of dithyrambic choruses and consisted of two principal parts: the orchestra - literally, "the dancing place" - a circle of beaten earth, roughly 20 m. in diameter, with the thymele (altar of the god) in the center, and the theatre, that is the auditorium, built in the form of two-thirds of a circle.

At the Great Dionysia during which a he-goat dedicated to the god was sacrificed, the chorus, carrying phallic symbols and dressed in goat-skins to resemble satyrs, sang the Dithyrambos to the accompaniment of a flute, and danced round the thymele of Dionysus Eleutherius. The Dithyrambos, a combination of both song and dance, was a passionate recital of the suffering and exploits of the god and later developed into a special class of Greek lyric poetry. One of the earliest forms of the drama, tragedy (literally goat-song), is derived from the Dithyrambos.

No lover of the theatre can fail to be moved as he stands before the Theatre of Dionysus, for this hallowed spot is the birthplace of Attic drama, where the plays of the great masters, Aeschylus, Sophochles, Euripides and Aristophanes were first performed.

In the Classical period there was no stage and the actors performed on the orchestra. In the Hellenistic period a colonnade was added behind the orchestra, to the proscenium. This colonnade supported a balcony on which the actors representing gods made their appearance; hence the term theologeion (Speaking-place of the gods). The chorus entered the orchestra along passages on either side of the stage. The audience also entered the theatre through the orchestra, from which they climbed the flights of steps leading to their seats. In Roman times seats for the spectators were also added to the orchestra. The actors then started performing on the proscenium, which was levelled above the ground in order to enhance the visibility of the spectators below them. The proscenium was later adorned with statues and other sculptures, particularly by the Emperor Nero in the first century AD.

The proscenium we see today was erected in the third century AD and dedicated to Dionysus by the Athenian archon Phaedrus (AD 224-225) as an inscription informs us. The high reliefs are Attic work of the first century AD and were taken from the proscenium set up by Nero. They represent scenes from the birth and worship of Dionysus. Left of the stairs to the hyposcenium Silenus crouches in the posture of Atlas. Right of the stairs: the Birth of Dionysus; Zeus is shown seated while Hermes stands before him holding the new-born infant in his arms; at the sides two kouretes (demigods, to whose protection his mother Rea entrusted the infant) are performing the Pyrrhic dance; then a scene of sacrifice: on the left Icarius leads a goat and is followed by his daughter Erigone and her dog Maera; at the right Dionysus followed by a young satyr initiates Icarius into the cultivation of the vine; another figure of Silenus crouches in the attitude of Atlas; then the Marriage of Dionysus with the Basilissa (Queen), with Tyche (Goddess of Fortune) carrying a cornucopia, and finally the scene of the enthronement of Dionysus in the theatre. In the presence of his bride, with Theseus representing Athens, Dionysus receives the homage of the gods and heroes of Attica; above them is the upper part of a Doric building, presumably the Parthenon.

Stage machinery and scenery were employed in the Greek Theatre from at least the fourth century BC. A light portable screen on which was painted the scene of the play (in tragedies invariably the facade of a royal palace) served as the background. Scenic changes were mainly effected by a periaktos, set up towards the foreground on each side of the stage. The periaktos was a device consisting of three side-scenes, turning on wooden pins and painted to suggest changes of locality, thus permitting the scenery at one or both ends of the stage to change, the background remaining always the same. The scene to the right of the audience indicated the city; to the left a far country. Actors entering from the right were shown as coming from the immediate neighborhood; those entering from the left, from a distance. There was a whole repertoire of stage noises, thunder, for example, being imitated by rolling casks filled with small stones down metal chutes. In various parts of the theatre bronze vessels of different tones amplified the actor's voices and carried them to the most distant parts of the auditorium.

In the earliest days of the drama there was only one actor in the cast; later a second was introduced, and by the time of Sophocles (495-406 BC) the usual number was three. These three actors (apart from the chorus) constituted the entire cast. This called for great versatility as they had to take all the parts in the play, including those of women, and necessitated rapid and frequent changes of costume. Besides acting, the players were required to be skilled dancers and singers, and since their features were hidden behind masks corresponding to the type of character they represented in a play they also had to be accomplished mimes. Certain conventions were observed as to their height and color of the hair: goddesses and young persons of either sex wore fair hair; gods, or older persons, were represented by brown hair; white hair was the color of old age, while black was reserved for Pluto (In Greek mythology, Prince of Hades) and his minions.

Actors playing heroic roles in tragedy wore thick-soled buskins to enhance their presence. Kings and queens wore splendid long-sleeved robes reaching to their feet, richly embroidered with bands of color. Actors impersonating women wore, of course, chiton and peplos, which varied in color according to the character they portrayed. Those playing the part of Teiresias, or other soothsayers, wore a net-like woolen robe. Hunters and athletes wore a purple mantle rolled round the left arm. Soiled garments of somber hue were symbolic of persons in distress.

The chorus, to the strains of a solemn march, entered the orchestra with the flute player at their head, sometimes in three lines of five, or five lines of three, where after arranging themselves in the form of a square they remained until the end. The chorus represented the perfect audience, and through their choryphaeos (leader), the third in the line nearest the spectators; the second and fourth were the leaders of the semi-choruses, their actions and comments assisted to the development of the play. As the plot unfolded it would change position on the orchestra, and if the action required it, break up into semi-choruses. At crucial moments the chorus would execute long lyrical pieces with appropriate gestures and dances.

Apart from being padded in comical fashion, actors in comedy mostly wore clothes modeled on those of everyday life. At times a short close-fitting tunic made them appear almost naked, while yet again in other comic plays the actors would wear either the usual goat's skin cloak or a threadbare mantle. Slaves were dressed in a leather jerkin and tight-fitting trousers. In a comedy the members of the chorus, twenty-four in number, were dressed according to the nature of the play. In Aristophanes' comedies for example, the chorus in The Birds wore bird-masks with open beaks, combs, feathers and wings; in The Wasps they carried stings; in The Clouds, they wore voluminous transparent draperies, while in The Frogs they were dressed in costumes to represent these amphibians.

It must be noted that the ancient theatre was no mere recreation, but a semi-religious function under the absolute control of the State. No individual had the right to produce a play without the sanction of the selection board presided over by the first archon, to whose judgement the poets submitted their plays for acceptance. Theatrical representations were an essential part of the religious festivals of the Dionysia in which, as we have already noted, the drama had its origins.

In addition to paying the successful authors an honorarium, the State engaged the actors, financed the production of the plays and undertook to maintain order during the performances. The expense of providing, and training the chorus was borne by a wealthy citizen, the choregus (sponsor), whom custom obliged to perform this public duty. Once accepted, authors had an entirely free hand in directing and producing their plays, in which they often acted themselves, sometimes designing the costumes and even composing the music. Since they could count on the support of the State and were certain of large and discerning audiences the standard of acting and production of the plays was correspondingly high.

These theatrical competitions took place only twice a year. The first and more ancient took place during the Lenaea, or Feast of Vats, in the month of Gamelion (JanuaryFebruary) and the second during the Great Urban Dionysia which was celebrated with exceptional splendor in the month of Elaphebolion (March-April).

For days before the celebration of the Great Urban Dionysia the whole town was astir. Business was at a standstill, the law courts were closed and sentences suspended. The festival lasted for six days, three of them devoted to the plays, three tragedies and a satyric play, or comedy, being performed each day, in all twelve plays. From daybreak immense crowds besieged the theatre, for it was only at the Great Urban Dionysia that plays could be seen during the author's lifetime.

Every play was judged by a committee, composed of one representative from each phylae, chosen by lot and bound by oath to give its judgement on the merits of the plays, the sponsors and the actors. At the end of the contests prizes were awarded. A golden crown was publicly conferred upon the winning poet. A crown was also awarded to the best choregus, who moreover had the privilege of dedicating a votive offering (usually a tripod) to Dionysus, while besides their customary honoraria monetary prizes were awarded to the best actors.

The auditorium, hewn out of the rock of the Acropolis, measuring approximately 100 m. in diameter, rises in tiers to a height of 30 m. Built to accommodate audiences estimated at between fourteen and eighteen thousand, it could, if necessary, seat a larger number. To allow easy access to the various parts of the theatre the parallel tiers of seats were divided horizontally into three concentric zones, running from one end of the auditorium to the other, and vertically into thirteen kerkides (wedge-like blocks).

The front row consisted of sixty-seven marble stalls reserved for priests, generals, heralds, and other high ranking officials, ambassadors of foreign states, and any other citizen or distinguished foreigner it was desired to honor. The existing stalls date from the first century AD and are presumably copies of older originals.

The central seat in the first row is the throne of the Priest of Dionysus Eleutherius; in spite of its damaged condition it has retained much of its former splendor. The throne is supported on lions' paws; below the seat a front panel depicts a fight between kneeling Arimaspi and winged griffins. The griffins were mythical monsters believed to be the guardians of the earth's gold, and the one-eyed Arimaspi, a Scythian tribe of ferocious robbers living on the northeastern borders of the world, somewhere in Siberia.

Behind the throne of the Priest of Dionysus stands part of the pedestal, with a Latin inscription, of a statue raised in honor of the Emperor Hadrian. To the left of the pedestal is the seat of the Priest of Olympian Victory. To the right another doublestall bears the inscription stratigou and kirikos, indicating that the seats were intended for a general and a herald. Higher up, on the third row and left of the seat of the Priest of Olympian Victory, is the throne offered to Marcus Ulpius Eubiotus, a benefactor of the City of Athens, and higher to the left of this is the base of a statue set up in honor of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Parts of the bases of statues honoring other illustrious personages are to be found in various places in the auditorium.

Above the Theatre of Dionysus, and under the Wall of Cimon, the face of the rock is cut vertically forming a scarp within which is a cave; at the entrance lie the scanty remains of the choregic monument erected by Thrasyllus of Dekeleia in 320 BC. This monument stood on a base of two steps and consisted of three pilasters supporting an architrave on which, in addition to the dedicatory inscription, the frieze, with a design of leaves and fruit, was carved in low relief. The architrave was surmounted by a three-stepped base on which rested the victor's bronze tripod. Later, in 271 BC, Thrasyllus' son, Trasycles, set up a statue of Dionysus as well as a votive tablet, recording his own triumphs as choregus. The statue was removed by Lord Elgin and later sold to the British Museum; the monument itself was destroyed during the siege of the Acropolis in 1826.

On the higher level, at the foot of the wall of Cimon, stand two Corinthian columns erected during the Roman period for the support of votive tripods.

East of the Theatre of Dionysus was the Odeion of Pericles, built mostly of timber. This splendid building, completed in 443 BC for rehearsal of the music and drama contests held during the Panathenaea and Dionysia, was considered the finest in the Hellenic world and served as the prototype of all successive odeia. It was destroyed by fire during Sulla's siege of Athens in 86 BC but was rebuilt on the same plan some twenty years later.

A path above the last tier of the theatre leads directly to the Asclepeion, which may also be reached from the proscenium by following a winding path to the northwest, skirting the Stoa of Eumenes.

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West Side Of The Ancient Athens Agora

One approaches the site of the ancient Agora today by descending a wide stairway to the right of the temple. At the edge of the plateau, the American School of Classical Studies which conducted the excavations has put up a chart assisting visitors to find their way around the site.

Some of the first public buildings from Solon's rule were constructed on the west side of the Agora thereby creating the nucleus of Athens' administrative centre. The Bouleuterion (Council House) was built first together with the adjacent Prytaniko; the first sewage ducts were installed and the boundaries of the site were marked with inscribed stelae. During the 6th century, buildings had been erected on top of pre-historic graves, and were covered over in turn by subsequent structures.

The first building we meet, to the left at the bottom of the steps, is the raised floor of the Tholos. In the 6th century a rectangular edifice with an internal colonnaded courtyard was built on this site and used as a refectory by the assembly members. It was called the Prytaniko to distinguish it from the initial Prytaneion which must have been still in use when the old agora was situated on the slope of the Acropolis. The Prytaniko was destroyed during the Persian wars and replaced by the Tholos, which then became the official Prytaneion. This circular structure was absolutely dependent on the adjacent Bouleuterion, the seat of the Assembly of the Five Hundred. The annually elected members were always divided into groups of 50 representatives from each tribe and in this form they presided on a rotating basis for a period of 36-39 days. This period was called the "prytaneia", during which the members had the right to free meals at the Prytaneion, where they performed their duties. About one-third of them remained there continuously, even at night, in the event that some emergency decision had to be made. Every day near sunset, the prytaneis drew lots from among themselves to choose the epistatis (supervisor), who was the supreme archon for 24 hours, as he held the state seal and the keys to the state archives.

The Prytaneion was in essence the administrative seat of the Republic of Athens because the prytaneis had full control over military, political and financial matters. They even had the right to express criticism of the newly elected officials. They received ambassadors from other cities, studied the reports of the strategoi (military leaders), assigned contracts for public works and organised the sales of property seized from penalized citizens. The weights and measures of the state were kept in the Prytaneion; another duty exercised by the prytaneis was to keep close check on the measures of weight used in the market to prevent profiteering. They also had the power to arrest dishonest tax collectors and to take judicial decisions to impose fines of up to 500 drachmas. But the most significant task of the prytaneis was to prepare the bills to be passed; first the bills went to the Boule for drafting and then to the Assembly of the Deme for final approval.

The enormous weight attached by the Athenians to the duties of the prytaneis can be seen in Socrates' defence, in which the philosopher cited his earlier refusal to pass a death sentence, by withdrawing from the Tholos while he was serving his term as prytanis during the rule of the Thirty Tyrants. In this way, Socrates believed that he had performed an act of resistance to oppressive power, even though he knew that his punishment for refusing to perform his duty would be exemplary. He himself proposed, with a large measure of irony, that the most appropriate sentence for the charges against him would be to oblige him to eat forever in the Prytaneion, near the citizens who already enjoyed this privilege.

The Tholos with its characteristic round shape was built after 470 BC. It had a simple entrance to the east and its ceramic tiled roof was supported by six poros stone columns, the bases of three of which have been found. The floor was earthen and the thick walls were built of stone. On the north side of the building was a small room that served as a kitchen; next to it traces have been found of a makeshift roasting pit. During the Roman years, the Tholos acquired an a outer gate, the floor was paved with marble slabs and the initial pyramidal roof-with a shape that made the Athenians call the building "skias", i.e. sunshade -was replaced by a flatter one. Whatever remains on this site today is from the Roman era.

The classification of the population of Athens into ten tribes from Denies drawn at random was, as pointed out earlier, one of the more inventive measures taken by the reformer Kleisthenis in the 6th century. The members of every tribe elected fifty delegates annually to the Boule or Assembly of the Five Hundred thus weakening the power of the oligarchic families. Herodotus was the first to use the term isonomia (equality in law), denoting the fact that all male citizens of the tribe took part in the draw with an equal possibility of being elected. The same person could not be elected two years in succession. The members of the Boule took a strict oath before entering the Bouleuterion and wore myrtle wreaths as an indication of their office. During their term as bouleutis (member of the Assembly) they were relieved of all military obligations, and occupied a position of honour at theatrical performances and feasts. At the daily sessions of the Boule, decisions were made by raising the hand, and the members were remunerated with five obols for each time they attended. The election of the ten military leaders, one from each tribe, was also held there. This was an extremely important office for the running of the city and the colonies.

Elections to annual offices were held by a draw, and there had to be at least two candidates for each office. The usual system was to use as many black and white pebbles as there were candidates. As the name of a citizen was drawn from one container, the vote fell into the other. White meant election, black rejection. Among the various artefacts found in the region were small square clay tiles, cut in such a way that two pieces could be put together to make one complete piece; these might be evidence of another manner of election.

Any request by a citizen for settlement of a private matter of debt to the state had to be in writing and had to be checked by three secretaries elected by the Boule. There were also secondary state officials to ensure full transparency in the handling of public funds.

Apart from being a legislative body, the Boule also had executive powers. It could decide to call an emergency meeting of Athenians to ostracise a politician who showed dictatorial tendencies. If such an action was decided upon, an open space in the Agora was enclosed on the predetermined day, leaving ten openings to be used as entrances, one for each tribe. The citizens would present themselves at the entrance corresponding to their tribe and would hand over the potsherd (ostrako) on which they had written the name of the public person they believed to be dangerous. Then they would enter the fenced area where they remained until the end of the voting. The used potsherds were considered to be worthless after they had been counted, and for this reason, many of them were found under the main road through the Agora where they had been dumped as an under layer for the dirt road.

The primary use of this part of the Agora can be seen from the tablets found in the area, recording the written decisions of the all-powerful Boule. We can read the names of citizens penalized by the confiscation and sale of their possessions, together with tablets containing a detailed inventory of each of these men's assets. Mention was made of the fact that these assets were sold off by responsible clerks and the sales tax was paid, about 1% of the total value of the goods seized. In the Agora Museum one can see such charts of state buying and selling. But votes were also found containing favourable mention of Assembly members who honoured their tribe during their prytaneia, as well as friendship treaties with neighbouring cities. From ancient texts we know that in the Bouleuterion there was a column bearing an inscription to the effect that any citizen who killed a traitor would not be punished. We still have the incised vote against the tyranny of the Archon Phrynichos in the 4th century. A clay water clock was found nearby in which the flow of water from one container to the other determined the time permitted for speeches. Some letters can still be discerned from the inscription telling us that this utensil was the property of the tribe of Antiochis, to which Socrates belonged. Another indication of its use was the marking of two XXs which means a period of about six minutes. That was all the time the speakers had.

The ruins of the Athenian Bouleuterion rest on top of other, older buildings. One of them was the prehistoric sanctuary of Gaia, the Mother of the Gods, together with the traces of a structure from the early 6th century which was probably the first rudimentary council chamber under Solon. A little later, the Old Bouleuterion was constructed, a square building with graduated wooden seats on three sides and a large entrance on the side facing the Prytaniko. The Persians destroyed this building when they invaded Attica, but it was later restored and continued to function until the end of the 5th century. This can be concluded from Xenophon's Hellenica in which he described a dramatic meeting during the grim years of the Thirty Tyrants. In about 400 the New Bouleuterion began being built, right behind the old one, which very likely became the archives, taking the name Metroon, temple of the Mother of the Gods. There the votes of the Boule were kept, written on papyrus and ready for the first discussion.

In building the New Bouleuterion, part of the rock of the Agoraios Kolonos had to be cut. The edifice was smaller than its predecessor, with its back to the side of the hill and its seats turned eastwards. The early wooden benches may have been replaced later by stone ones. It was then that the roofed courtyard was built to the south of the building, creating an impressive entrance to the chamber. A two-tier marble gate, with two Ionic columns on the top part and four on the bottom, was part of the plan for the site. This gate rested on the southeastern corner of the Old Bouleuterion on which were found the remains of a fountain and the bases of votive statues. The problem of supplying water to the site obliged the masons to hew two cisterns out of the rock for rainwater; they were connected underground to a similar structure near the Tholos.

In the second century BC, the Old Bouleuterion was rebuilt. The old building was torn down and covered over by four rooms in a row, incorporating the sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods. This area was then exclusively turned over to the Athenian's registry office. The largest of these rooms had two stories and an inner colonnaded courtyard with an altar; an upper room looked out onto it. Perhaps these were the reading rooms of the archives. An elegant Ionian portico of which only the foundation remains, adorned the entire facade of this grouping which is generally called the Metroon.

The civic buildings ended here, leaving a space vacant to permit an unhindered view of the temple of Hephaistos. Almost no trace remains of the stairs leading up to the temple entrance, but we can still see a group of semi- circular poros stone seats carved in the 5th century. These benches were carefully built, but we do not know what their function was. It might have been a meeting place for the citizens alongside the central stairway leading to the sanctuaries of the Agoraios Kolonos.

During the early years when the Agora was taking shape, and the buildings were still few and scattered, another sanctuary had been built some distance from the old temple of the Mother of the Gods, and dedicated to Patrons Apollo. The god was worshipped here in his attribute as father of Ion; his mother was the local princess Kreousa, and as a consequence, Apollo was considered to be father of all Athenians. Initially put up in the 6th century, the little temple was rebuilt in the 4th, with four Ionic columns on its facade and an additional small room on its north side, entrance to which was through the cella. Pausanias mentioned the cult statue in this temple, a work by the sculptor Euphranor; it was found nearby and can be seen today in the restored stoa of Attalos. The god was portrayed in a standing position wearing women's clothes, as was the practice of musicians in antiquity, and possibly holding his lyre.

Incorporated into the temple of Patroos Apollo was most of a 4th century building identified as the sanctuary of Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria. Archaeologists drew this conclusion because of an inscription on an altar which, although found some distance away, fits perfectly in the temple's altar space. The protectors of the clans were worshipped together with their forefather Apollo, perhaps this was where the feasts of the Apatoureia in the month of Pyanepsion, i.e. our October, were held. This significant Athenian feast was a distant memory from the time when the clans were still very important because the strength of the group lay in the bonds of kinship. The Apatoureia was initially the official recognition of newborn boys by their relatives, and for this reason, the feast was held nine months after Gamelion, the traditional month of weddings.

On the first day, all the members of the clan would gather together from the various demes in which they were living, to enjoy a meal together. On the second day animals offered by the infants' fathers were sacrificed. The priest who performed the sacrifice had the prerogative of taking a leg, a side and an ear from the slaughtered animal together with half a drachma. The third day of the feast was the most important and was called koureotis showing clearly that some of the child's hair was cut. One cannot help thinking that some of the details from the Apatoureia are similar to our baptism today. It seems that each tribe had its own day for recognising its new members, but this day was always in the month of Pyanepsion. These boys participated in the same feast when they became 18 years old and were registered officially in the city rolls. The formal part of the puberty feast was exactly the same as that for infants, except that the priest was given an additional silver drachma. Knowing the enormous significance attached by the Athenians to the title of free citizen, one can understand how important was this sanctuary to the Phratrioi (clan) gods.

Right next to the cluster of temples of Patroos Apollo and the Phratrioi gods, a large building, initially almost 50 metres long, has been revealed resting on three steps. It was the portico of Zeus Eleuthereus, which took its name from the statue of the protector god of that supreme value, Freedom (eleutheria).
And here the history of the Agora was repeated with the ruins of early buildings being covered over by later ones. The Portico of Zeus was built in the 5th century as its foundation dates from then; it was trapezoidal in shape with wings extending out at both ends. It should be noted that this is one of the first applications of this architectural plan which became very popular in subsequent centuries. Especially during the Hellenistic years, lateral projecting wings became a particularly popular feature of buildings, as the long facades were seen to be recessed, creating a variety of lines pleasing to the eye. In the Stoa of Zeus Eleuthereas an outer colonnade surrounded all the facade and the wings, giving the impression that the latter were little temples incorporated into the edifice. There were pediments on the wing facades, and at the corners of the roof, were statues portraying Victory. One of these, found at the southern corner of the portico in fairly good condition, is a lively young figure flying against the wind with her light garment billowing in harmonious folds. Pausanias saw a statue of Zeus Eleuthereus in front of the main part of this portico. The round shape of the base of this statue caused archaeologists to suppose that the archaic altar of the god might have been used subsequently as the most suitable pedestal for the cult statue.

In the inner covered area an Ionic colonnade, parallel to the outer Doric one, separated the portico and its wings into two parts while supporting the roof at the same time. Some square bases of these columns have been preserved, within which some little trees have now sprouted. At the time of Pericles, the building had a stone facing on its western wall, and a bench was built around the interior to accommodate passers-by. Here Pausanias spoke of the painted decoration on the middle and side walls, also works by Euphranor. The ancient traveller was particularly impressed by the representation of Theseus with the Deme and Democracy. The Greeks liked the human figures representing their ideals; on this spot, the founder of Athens was depicted attesting to the values of the City.

During the Roman years, the back of the Portico changed its appearance, as the natural rock was once again hewn out to make way for two additional rooms. Nobody knows for sure what these later extensions were used for; perhaps it was a place for some contemporary cult. The modern visitor can see only the ground plan of the portico and the south wing together with very few parts of the original columns. The north side was also sacrificed for the needs of the electric railway. For this reason, the visitor who reaches the fence at the tracks and wants to continue walking on the archaeological site, must turn around and go back toward the statue of Hadrian.

When Pausanias came to the Agora, he reported having seen a statue of the emperor Hadrian in front of the Portico of Zeus. This statue, which was discovered by excavations to be lying on top of a drainage duct, where it had been placed as a covering slab during the Byzantine period, was reerected on a new base near where it was found, even though it is headless and rather battered.

Poplius Aelius Hadrian, emperor of the Roman world from 117 to 138 AD, became ruler of the vast empire when it extended from the Caspian Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. He was a clear-sighted military man who fortified the outposts of the empire to protect its citizens from enemies; he was also highly educated, and as such was a patron of the arts and letters. Poet and mystic, he was the preeminent philHellene. This is why he is always presented with a short beard like the Greek philosophers. He respected local customs and laws everywhere, particularly in Greece where he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries and in fact built a bridge on the road to Eleusis so that the faithful would have easier access to the sanctuary of Demeter.

Athens was Hadrian's favourite city, which is why he gave the order that a great library be built near the Agora, and that an aquaduct be constructed, the reservoir for which was high up on Lycabettus Hill and is still used today. He also erected a triumphal gate near the temple of Olympian Zeus, which was completed only after being in a semi-finished state for centuries. But the love of this great Roman for Athens was shown most clearly by his founding of the Attic Panhellenio. This was a congress to join all Greeks together, both from mainland Hellas and from the diaspora. The condition for participation was the proven authenticity of the delegates' descent. Hadrian's initiative was intended to help Hellenes with alien customs to regain their cultural identity by recognising the forgotten values of their forefathers. Standing humbly before the breadth of Attic knowledge, Hadrian wanted to be portrayed in official statues dressed in an imperial cuirass upon which was always the same scene: two winged Victories flanking the goddess Athena, with her sacred animals the snake and the owl right and left, while she herself was standing on the back of the Roman she-wolf which suckled Romulus and Remus, the founders of ancient Rome. This scene portrayed most eloquently the definition of "the victor who was vanquished by the defeated", i.e. this special relation created between Rome and Hellenism.

Behind the statue of Hadrian is a large base for an altar dedicated to Zeus Agoraios. The quality of the masonry and the fine decoration indicate that this work was done during the classical age in Athens, although there are marks of stone fittings characteristic of the Roman period. These masons' marks placed to assist the correct positioning of architectural members, might possibly be evidence that the altar was initially located at some other spot and was brought to its present site to adorn the Agora during Roman times.

In front of the altar of Zeus Agoraios facing the Bouleuterion, the visitor can see what remains of a very significant structure in ancient Athens. It is the base of a monument entitled Eponymous Heroes, mentioned by Pausanias, and about which Aristotle has given us a fair amount of information. This was the place where the announcements made by the City to the citizens were posted, a site very likely chosen for its proximity to the Metroon and the Boule.
The monument of the Eponymous Heroes had a long narrow pedestal on top of which stood ten bronze statues of honoured heroes who were especially associated with local myths. At each end of this base there were believed to have been bronze cauldrons, an indication of worship because each hero represented the tribe which had taken its name from him. Around the pedestal was a stone fence consisting of vertical stakes with a hole at the top to support horizontal wooden boards. Under each statue, officials would hang wooden slates with the announcements of concern to the members of the corresponding tribe. Thus the Athenian citizen could stand in front of the statue of his tribe's hero . and read the information which interested him. Here was recorded: the names of citizens who had to present themselves for some service, the names of young people whose turn had come for military service and announcements of court rulings. Also posted there were the drafts of laws, so that the citizens would learn about them in good time and be able to vote dispassionately at the meetings of the Assembly of the Deme. Even though the administrators obliged the citizens to participate in public affairs, it was the latter who had the responsibility of informing the interested parties. Aristotle tells us that on this monument were also written the names of citizens who had distinguished themselves for the public benefit either in battle or in the performance of their duties; they were models to be emulated.
Right behind the statue of Hadrian and all along the length of the buildings on the west side of the Agora, passed the drainage duct, an important and highly functional work. This arrangement for rainwater runoff proved to be vital in Attica, with its seasons of sudden rain, which in no time fills the dry river beds. Just how important it was became clear after the gradual abandonment of the area in the post Byzantine years. When the city became smaller and its Agora declined, nobody looked after clearing the drainage ducts which gradually filled with soil and mud, spilling out over the site and covering the abandoned buildings and sanctuaries. The slope of the ground shows that, as early as prehistoric times, there was a natural ditch between the Acropolis and the Pnyx which gathered the rainwater and channeled it into the Eridanos stream north of the site on which the Agora was subsequently built. In the early 6th century BC stones were laid on the floor of this water-carved ditch.

But it wasn't until a century later, i.e. early in the 5th century, that the Agora acquired an effective drainage system. The old duct on the south side met up with another which descended from the inhabited area, the hill on which the observatory is now located, and together the waters flowed into the central channel running in a straight line along all the western side until it joined up with the Eridanos. The duct was built on three sides, and was covered on top with large slabs; it was also used for the wastes from the public buildings. The careful construction with the polygonal rocks explains how it was kept in such excellent condition. Its functionality has been proved over time as the central duct in the Agora is still used to drain the area on rainy days.

The place at which the three central drainage ducts meet, still covered at quite a few spots by large slabs, is near the Tholos, at the point where the western and southern sides of the site come together. The careful visitor can see one of the official boundaries of the Agora in a nearby ditch lower than the present ground height. It is a square rock with a rough surface and smooth edges with an inscription telling us of its use, according to the custom of the times. In the angular script of 500 BC, this boundary stone informs the passer-by: "I am the limit of the agora".

How simple was this declaration and how significant! For this was not just the demarcation line of an area, but at the same time it was a barrier to entry by those who did not meet the conditions for access to a sacred place. We know that entrance to the Agora was prohibited to any citizens who had been convicted or who owed fines and, of course, to those who had been ostracised. The fact that the base of a water basin was found very close to this boundary point, may indicate that people entering this venerable area of the city went through some sort of simulated cleansing.

Right in front of this stone boundary, at the ground level of the Roman years, there is a small grouping of three rooms identified by the archaeologists as civic offices. The officials in these offices supervised the unhindered move t ment of goods in the market, as confirmed by the sculptured examples of the ceramic tiles which were found there. Any citizen who doubted the quality and size of a tile he had bought, could compare his with the official samples showing the correct dimensions. This was the city's market control service.

Access to the civic offices was from the north side of the largest room where there were steps and the bases of columns, testifying to the existence of a gate. The room at the entrance was connected by an interior door to the adjoining room, which in turn opened onto the third one. The latter, although it was the smallest of all, had a minimal toilet with underground drainage linked to the central drain. The strange layout of these rooms, which decreased in size from east to west, was interpreted as the need to leave more free space at the entrance to the Agora. Moreover, the civic offices were added in the second century AD when the Agora was full of buildings, thus giving it its final form.

This may have been the last time the city's architects observed the original order in positioning buildings according to their use. Observing the diagram of the entire site, we note that the west side was dedicated to religion with its various sanctuaries, the south to justice with the courthouse of Heliaia and at the point of access to these significant functions, the administrative buildings were constructed.

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