[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: Late Roman Fortification Wall

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

Late Roman Fortification Wall East of the East Building and Mint we arrive once again at the Panathenaic Way, which in this area is lined along its eastern side by a massive wall built in the 3rd century ... Late Roman Fortification Wall East of the East Building and Mint we arrive once again at the Panathenaic Way, which in this area is lined along its eastern side by a massive wall built in the 3rd century A.D. (Fig. 42). The wall was constructed in the years following the sack of Athens by the Herulians in A.D. 267; it starts at the Acropolis with a new gate, runs north down the east side of the roadway, takes in the ruins of the Stoa of Attalos, and then turns eastward toward the Library of Hadrian. ... Square towers, now largely dismantled, projected from the face of the wall at regular intervals.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: The Ekklesia

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

The Ekklesia (Citizens' Assembly) All Athenian citizens had the right to attend and vote in the Ekklesia, a full popular assembly which met about every 10 days. All decrees (psephismata) were ratified ... The natural hill slope was used to form an auditorium, and there was a retaining wall at the bottom which supported the terrace where speakers stood. ... In phase II (about 404/3 B.C.) an embankment with a retaining wall at the bottom created an auditorium with a slope contrary to that of the natural hillside, so that the audience now faced southwest and was sheltered from the winds. ... The excavators associated this passage with a large stepped retaining wall designed to support a seating area that no longer followed the natural slope and that had the bema to the south, facing inland.

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: South Stoa II

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

South Stoa II South Stoa II ran westward from the south end of the East Building, parallel to the Middle Stoa (Figs. 38, 41). Dating to the second half of the 2nd century B.C., it consisted of a single ... Dating to the second half of the 2nd century B.C., it consisted of a single Doric colonnade of limestone, the superstructure reused from a building of the 4th century B.C. Its only adornment is a small fountain set into the back wall.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: The Speakers

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The Speakers Litigants spoke on their own behalf, although occasionally using speeches prepared by trained professionals; skillful rhetoric was necessary in order to sway a jury. The speeches written by ... Demosthenes' skills as a public speaker in the assembly were honed by training and considerable self-discipline: They say that when he was still a young man he withdrew into a cave and studied there, shaving half of his head to keep himself from going out; also that he slept on a narrow bed in order to get up quickly and that since he could not pronounce the sound of R he learned to do so by hard work, and since in declaiming for practice he made an awkward movement with his shoulder, he put an end to the habit by fastening a split or, as some say, a dagger from the ceiling to make him through fear keep his shoulder motionless. ... The clay fragment preserves the base and part of the wall of a deep bowl. It is identified as part of a waterclock by the clay spout fitted with a small bronze inner tube just above the base.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: Theater

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

Theater Western drama was an Athenian invention which developed late in the 6th century B.C. out of the festivals celebrated in honor of the god Dionysos. Originally held in the Agora, the plays were soon ... The mask is life-size but was probably not used as a mask but as a votive gift to be hung on a wall. ... The mold shows a masked woman lying on a couch, a wreath in her right hand. ... Mold for a statuette of a seated slave, about 35O B.C.

[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 ... 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 Archegetis, the emperor Trajan, and the Athenian people in the years around A.D. 100 (Figs. 43, 44). It consists of a large square room and a paved courtyard, surrounded by three stoas that had shops behind their colonnades. ... The dedicator, Titus Flavius Pantainos, was the son of the head of a philosophical school and refers to himself as a priest of the philosophical muses.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: The Prytaneis

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

The Prytaneis (Executive Committee) The senators administered their meetings themselves. Each tribal contingent in the Boule served in rotation for a period of 35 or 36 days as the Prytaneis, or Executive ... It may be that in this instance the senators ate sitting up, on a bench around the inner face of the wall. Fragment Of a marble relief showing a banquet, 4th century B.C. ... On the right, a man reclines on a couch behind a table.

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: The Boule

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

The Boule (The Senate) The Athenian legislature also included a deliberative body known as the Boule. It was made up of 500 members -- 50 from each of the 10 tribes -- who were chosen by lot and served ... The Boule (The Senate) The Athenian legislature also included a deliberative body known as the Boule. ... X 23.80 m.), with a cross wall dividing the structure into a main chamber and entrance vestibule. ... Fragment of a marble basin, about 500 B.C.

[Agora Webpage] AgoraPicBk 16 2003: Stoa of Attalos

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

Stoa of Attalos Lining the east side of the Agora square is the Stoa of Attalos (Fig. 47), built during the reign of Attalos II of Pergamon (159–138 B.C.), who studied in Athens under the philosopher Karneades ... Stoa of Attalos Lining the east side of the Agora square is the Stoa of Attalos (Fig. 47), built during the reign of Attalos II of Pergamon (159–138 B.C.), who studied in Athens under the philosopher Karneades before becoming king. In a sense, this is a gift from a loyal alumnus, and what he gave the Athenians was a shopping mall. ... The column capitals used upstairs for the inner colonnade are of an unusual type ("Pergamene"), a late adaptation of early Egyptian prototypes. ... It houses storage facilities in the basement, a public display area on the ground floor, and offices and workrooms on the first floor.

[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 ... 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 the enclosure wall survives, along with the inscribed marble base for a bronze statue that reads "Leagros, the son of Glaukon, dedicated this to the twelve gods." ... Herodotos (2.7), when giving a distance in Egypt, tells us that it is as far from Heliopolis to the sea as it is from the Altar of the Twelve Gods in Athens to Olympia. On a milestone dating to ca. 400 B.C. we read: "The city set me up, a truthful monument to show all mortals the measure of their journeying: the distance to the altar of the twelve gods from the harbor is forty-five stades" (IG II2 2640).

[Agora Webpage] Birth of Democracy: The Popular Courts

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

The Popular Courts The popular courts, with juries of no fewer than 201 jurors and as many as 2,500, heard a variety of cases. The courts also had an important constitutional role in wielding ultimate ... The Popular Courts The popular courts, with juries of no fewer than 201 jurors and as many as 2,500, heard a variety of cases. ... This original complex was replaced toward the end of the 4th century with a large colonnaded court, square in plan (38.75 m. on each side), each interior wall lined with columns. Individual courts may have functioned simultaneously in the various colonnades; the space between the columns and back wall on each of the four sides could have accommodated a court of 500 jurors.

[Agora Webpage] Publications: Monographs

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Monographs Excavations in the civic and cultural center of classical Athens began in 1931 and have continued almost without interruption to the present day. The first Athenian Agora volumes presenting ... The texts are given in the original Greek or Latin, followed by a translation and a commentary. ... Each section on a monument opens with a brief synopsis of the evidence contained in the texts which follow. ... The earliest church on the site, built over a wall of the 5th-century B.C.

[Agora Webpage] Overview: The Stoa of Attalos

http://agathe.gr/overview/the_stoa_of_attalos.html

The Stoa of Attalos The Stoa of Attalos was originally built by King Attalos II of Pergamon (159–138 B.C.), as a gift to the Athenians in appreciation of the time he spent in Athens studying under the ... The Stoa of Attalos The Stoa of Attalos was originally built by King Attalos II of Pergamon (159–138 B.C.), as a gift to the Athenians in appreciation of the time he spent in Athens studying under the philosopher Karneades. What he gave the city was an elaborate stoa, a large two-storeyed double colonnade with rows of shops behind the colonnades. ... Where possible, remains of the original building were incorporated: the north end, the southernmost shops, part of the south wall, and the south end of the outer steps.

[Agora Webpage] Overview: The Church of the Holy Apostles

http://agathe.gr/overview/the_church_of_the_holy_apostles.html

The Church of the Holy Apostles Though several churches were removed in the clearing of the site for excavation, it was decided to save and restore the little Byzantine church dedicated to the Holy Apostles ... The original length of this wall is so far unclear. The south wall seems to have suffered at least one major destruction, and from a point ca. 2 m. west of the southern apse little original masonry remains above the lower course. ... The two watercolors represent just a tiny fraction of the work he left behind.