Ancient Agora, Athens, Greece

The agora was important because it was where the community congregated to discuss events of the day, politics, religion, philosophy, and legal matters. The agora served the same purpose in ancient Athens as the town square and town hall in later societies.

The Ancient Agora: Adrianoy 24, Athina 105 55, Greece

The Ancient Agora, one of the most important sites of the Greek capital, is located on the northwest of the Acropolis, between the neighborhoods of Thission and Monastiraki.

A large area with ancient ruins and much greenery, the Ancient Agora was the center of Athens in the antiquity, the place where political gatherings and juries would take place.

On the way to the Ancient Agora, Hadrian’s Library was nearby, so I stepped in.

In the heart of Athens, between the Agora and the Acropolis, philhellene Roman Emperor Hadrian 132 AD built, in an area of 10,000 sq m, the renowned complex of the Library that contained – in addition to the three stories housing books – reading rooms, teaching rooms, porticoes for philosophical walks, gardens and a pond for recreation. The Emperor’s goal was to create a place of academic study worthy of the reputation of Ancient Athens in Letters and Science.

Walking to the Ancient Agora

The Ancient Agora

This is the same road where Socrates once walked.

The Stoa building is reconstructed.

Inside the Stoa is a small library that displays artifacts discovered in the Ancient Agora area.

The outside of the museum

The Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion, is a well-preserved Greek temple dedicated to Hephaestus; it remains standing largely intact today.

The overall view of the Ancient Agora

Church of the Holy Apostles, Athens

The church is particularly significant as the only monument in the Agora, other than the Temple of Hephaestus, to survive intact since its foundation, and for its architecture: it was the first significant church of the Middle Byzantine period in Athens, and marks the beginning of the so-called “Athenian type”, successfully combining the simple four-pier with the cross-in-square forms. The church was built partly over a 2nd-century nymphaion, and was restored to its original form between 1954 and 1957

Exiting the area

After I had walked around the Ancient Agora for about an hour and a half, I found that someone had opened all four zippers of my backpack during my walk.  I did not have anything inside the backpack then, so I did not lose anything, but it reminds me to keep mindful about someone stealing my possessions during sightseeing.