[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: South Stoa I

http://agathe.gr/guide/south_stoa_i.html

South Stoa I Measuring some 80 meters long, South Stoa I takes up much of the south side; its eastern end is the better preserved (Figs. 31, 32). It had a double colonnade, with sixteen rooms behind. It ... The off-center doors indicate the placement of dining couches in the rooms, perhaps used by magistrates fed at public expense, and an inscription found in the building suggests that at least one room was used by the metronomoi, the officials in charge of weights and measures.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: Administration and Bureaucracy

http://agathe.gr/democracy/administration_and_bureaucracy.html

Administration and Bureaucracy The economy of Athens was supervised by numerous boards of officials in charge of the mint, the marketplace, weights and measures, and the grain and water supplies. Most ... Each weight carries not only an inscription giving the name of the weight but also a symbol in high relief, which served both as a visual key to the particular unit or fraction and for the benefit of the illiterate. ... This example of a dry measure bears an inscription on the upper collar stating that it is the official measure of the Athenians. ... Validating stamps that guarantee the capacity of the measure appear between the letters of the inscription: the head of Athena and a double-bodied owl.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: Tyranny

http://agathe.gr/democracy/tyranny.html

Tyranny As happened in many other Greek states, a tyrant arose in Athens in the 6th century B.C. His name was Peisistratos, and after several unsuccessful attempts he seized power in 546 B.C. and ruled ... Fragment Of an inscription, about 425 B.C. ... The letter forms date the inscription to the later part of the 5th century B.C., which means the piece shown here recorded the names of individuals who held office a century earlier. ... Nearby is a statue base with a inscription that identifies the structure as the Altar of the Twelve Gods: "Leagros the son of Glaukon dedicated this to the Twelve Gods."

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: Overthrow and Revolution

http://agathe.gr/democracy/overthrow_and_revolution.html

Overthrow and Revolution In 514 B.C. the tyrant Hipparchos was stabbed to death. The murder, actually the result of a love feud, was quickly deemed a political act of assassination and the perpetrators, ... Fragment of an inscription from a statue base, about 47S B.C. ... Only part of the inscription is preserved, the name of Harmodios and the phrase "established their native land." A handbook of the Roman period on poetic meters, surviving in Renaissance copies, preserves more of the inscription: "A great light shone upon the Athenians when Aristogeiton and Harmodios slew Hipparchos."

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 4 2004: The Agora and Pnyx

http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_agora_and_pnyx.html

The Agora and Pnyx Center of public activity, the Agora was a large open square where all the citizens could assemble (2, 3). It was used for a variety of functions: markets, religious processions, athletic ... In letters which run right to left the inscription reads: “I am the boundary of the Agora.”.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: Political Organization of Attica

http://agathe.gr/democracy/political_organization_of_attica.html

Political Organization of Attica: Demes and Tribal Representation Each tribe was divided into three parts, and each third (trittys) was from one of the three regions of Attica, plain, coast, or hills ... Found inside the remains of the South Stoa, this inscription is a record of the metronomoi, the inspectors of weights and measures, of whom Aristotle wrote in the Athenian Constitution (51.2): "There are ten metronomoi appointed by lot, five for the city and five for Piraeus. ... A good example of this concern with fairness is the fragmentary inscription which records the transfer of the official weights and measures from the outgoing board of officials (metronomoi) to the incoming board.

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: Altar of the Twelve Gods

http://agathe.gr/guide/altar_of_the_twelve_gods.html

Altar of the Twelve Gods Near the middle of the open square, somewhat to the north, lay the Altar of the Twelve Gods (Fig. 7), today largely hidden under the Athens–Piraeus railway (1891). A corner of ... On the altar in the Agora the Athenians later rendered the inscription invisible by adding to the length of the structure."

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: Library of Pantainos

http://agathe.gr/guide/library_of_pantainos.html

Library of Pantainos Lying partially under and behind the Late Roman wall are the remains of a building identified by its inscribed marble lintel block as the Library of Pantainos, dedicated to Athena ... A second inscription preserves the library rules: "No book is to be taken out because we have sworn an oath.