A Trip through the Athenian Agora

We've never given you a picture tour of the Agora.  It's the ancient Athenian marketplace, excavated by the American School of Classical Studies for the past century or so.  It's full of historic monuments.  This is the place that Greek philosophy and Athenian democracy were born.  And it's beautiful too:  the old houses and shops of the Plaka, now the tourist marketplace and entertainment center, abut it.  The Agora itself was once covered with these old (Ottaman Empire) houses, which have been pulled down for excavation. Only a bit more is scheduled for demolition.  The whole business is nestled under the Acropolis, with the Parthenon above everything.  Have a look! 

These pictures were taken in February 2004. 

  Temple of Hephaestus?  Still disputed

A view of the Stoa of Attalus, and the Plaka houses beyond. Statue of Hadrian (see closeup below) is in the foreground. 

Gary inside the Stoa of Attalus

(right) Statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian

(above) a relief of horses

(below)  A  Corinthian capital in the Agora

(below) Gary explains the olive presses

(left)  Weird Byzantine carving of cross flanked by beasts

(below)  A delicate late classical relief -- decoration from the outside of a building? 

(above) View across the agora toward the main roadway flanked by statues of the mighty. 

(right) Funeral stele relief:  woman with bird.  The face was later obliterated (by the iconoclasts? or by the Bohemians? )

If we can dig up some historic photos of the excavations, or of the area during the19th and early 20th centuries, we'll post those too!

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--Edie Folta, March 28, 2004