I think I'm getting close and just might finish posting about our trip in the next week. After our visit to Mars Hill we walked down to the ancient Agora via the Panathenaic Way. This will be the final history lesson of our trip - all that remains after today are a day at sea, the beautiful island of Capri, and our final day in Rome. All the detailed information about the Agora is from a fabulous site Athenian Agora Excavations by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Numerous roads led in and out of the Agora square. By far the most important, however, was the broad street known as the Dromos or Panathenaic Way, the principal thoroughfare of the city. It led from the main city gate, the Dipylon, up to the Acropolis, a distance of just over a kilometer, and served as the processional way for the great parade that was a highlight of the Panathenaic festival. Halfway along, it enters the Agora at its northwest corner and passes through the square on a diagonal, exiting at the southeast corner.
The Agora of Athens was the center of the ancient city: a large, open square where the citizens could assemble for a wide variety of purposes. On any given day the space might be used as a market, or for an election, a dramatic performance, a religious procession, military drill, or athletic competition. Here administrative, political, judicial, commercial, social, cultural, and religious activities all found a place together in the heart of Athens, and the square was surrounded by the public buildings necessary to run the Athenian government.
Used as a burial ground and for scattered habitation in the Bronze and Iron Ages, the area was first laid out as a public space in the 6th century B.C. Administrative buildings and small sanctuaries were built, and water was made available at a fountainhouse fed by an early aqueduct. Following the total destruction of Athens at the hands of the Persians in 480 B.C., the city was rebuilt and public buildings were added to the Agora one by one throughout the 5th and 4th centuries.
The Late Roman Fortification 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. The old Agora, former center of town, is not even within the fortified limits of the Late Roman town, which lay to the east. The wall is made up almost entirely of reused architectural pieces taken from buildings and monuments destroyed
This wall is also known at the Herulian Wall. The Herules (or Heruli) were an East Germanic tribe. In the third century, they were named along with Goths as one of the most important "Scythian" groups who attacked Greece from the Black Sea by sea.
Lining the east side of the Agora square is the Stoa of Attalos. A stoa in ancient Greek architecture is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. The Stoa of Attalos was 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. (He must have been married!)
Double colonnades on two stories provided shaded walkways in front of forty-two shops that were rented out by the city. White Pentelic and blue Hymettian marble were used, along with limestone for the walls. The faceting of the lower part of the outer colonnade reflects the intense use of the building; lots of people and goods will have passed through, rubbing and banging against the columns, so there was little point in fluting them at the level of potential damage and wear.
The stoa served as the main commercial center for the Athenians for centuries; it was destroyed by the Herulians in A.D. 267 and then incorporated into the new fortification wall, which preserved its northern end up to roof level.
It was fully restored in 1953–1956 to serve as the site museum. It houses storage facilities in the basement, a public display area on the ground floor, and offices and workrooms on the first floor. Parts of the original building were left or incorporated at the south end. The reconstruction demonstrates the effectiveness of the stoa as the ideal architectural form for a public building in Greece: the colonnaded walkways provide light and fresh air for literally thousands of people, while protecting them from the intense sun of summer or the wind and rain of winter.
It was chosen to serve as the museum because it was large enough and because enough architectural elements were preserved to allow an accurate reconstruction; in addition, the northern end stood to the original roof line, allowing precision in recreating the height of the building.
The Middle Stoa ran east–west across the old square, dividing it into two unequal halves and obscuring one of the original boundary stones at its western end. At just under 150 meters long, it is the largest building in the Agora, with colonnades at both north and south as well as down the middle.
Traces of a narrow parapet that ran between some of the columns can be made out on individual drums. The original steps and three columns remain on site at its eastern end; to the west, only the heavy foundations of reddish conglomerate survive. Except for its size the stoa is a relatively modest building, made of limestone, with a terracotta roof. It was built between 180 and 140 B.C.
In the Agora stands a headless statue of Roman Emperor Hadrian, originally placed beside the statue of Zeus Eleutherios in front of the stoa of Zeus. A striking scene is depicted on the breastplate - Athena standing on the back of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, an allegory for Hadrian’s vision of the Athenian cultural heritage nourished by Roman rule. Athena is flanked by two winged Victories emphasizing the importance of Athens. This statue shows Hadrian’s relation to both Athens and Rome.
Late in the 1st century B.C. the Athenians were given money for a new marketplace by Caesar and Augustus, and the northern half of the old Agora square was filled with two new structures, the Odeion of Agrippa and the Temple of Ares. A large concert hall or odeion was given to the Athenians by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, the son-in-law and general of Augustus, in the years around 15 B.C. It was a huge two-storied structure that must have dominated the square. The auditorium, with its raised stage and marble-paved orchestra, seated about 1,000 spectators
The great open span of the auditorium (25 meters) eventually proved too great and the roof collapsed in the years around A.D. 150. The structure was rebuilt as a lecture hall, with the seating capacity reduced to about 500, and a far more elaborate facade was built at the north, using massive pillars carved in the form of giants (snaky tales) and tritons (fishy tails).
All this wandering made us hungry! We stopped in the Antica Cafe for lunch.
We didn't want to each too much so we ordered a pizza to share. Not what you would really call "Greek pizza" unless, of course, you ate it in Greece!
Before going back to the bus we stopped for gelato. This sign was in the store:
Our meeting place was across the street from the Arch of Hadrian. It has been proposed that the arch was built to celebrate the arrival of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor him for his many contributions to the city, on the occasion of the dedication of the nearby temple complex in 131 or 132 AD.
It was another full day! More pictures HERE.
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