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Athens: Ancient Agora
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Follow the road along Ermou, a main shopping street, and you will find the ancient agora (Arhea Agora) dating from the 6th century BC on the left of the street, not to be confused with the Roman Agora. There are a few interesting buildings on this agora, such as the Stoa van Attalos. Only a short distance apart you will also find the Pnika, the hill of Philopappos, and, between the two, Aghios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris, a Byzantine church.
In the 6th century BC the “Arhea Agora” was the centre of public life in Athens. This place can also be considered as the centre of democracy. In those times you would probably have heard the voices of Demosthenes and Socrates. One of the best-preserved buildings is the Thesion temple, built in the Doric style and dedicated to Hephaestos, the god of fire and ironwork. On the opposite side to this agora stands the Stoa of Attalos, dating from the second century before the Christian calendar. A stoa is a covered colonnade, which can also be used as a marketplace. It now houses the Agora Museum, which contains objects associated with daily and political life, as it used to be lived here.
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Passing the greenery along the Apostolou Pavlou we reach the “Pnika”, also known as the “Pnyx”, where the people’s representatives gathered in the 5th and 4th century BC. Here, great orators such as Pericles and Themistocles gave their speeches. People still flock here today, only now they come to admire the sound and light show on the Acropolis. The best view of Athens is to be had less than half a kilometre further on, from the “Lofos Filipapou” (hill of Philopappos), on top of which you will find the mausoleum of this Roman senator, who is said to have done much for the city. About half way between the Pnika and the hill of Philopappos you can visit “Aghios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris”, a Byzantine church originating from the 9th century.
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Photo: ©iStockphoto.com/Toon Possemiers
Text: RD - © AT-Europe bvba
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