The ancient Agora of Athens If you look out the door maybe you will notice the houses around, maybe the natural landscape of the field across the street, maybe they are also your neighbors walk their dogs on the street. But I implore you to try to look out and imagine what this place would have been like a hundred years, or even a thousand years. What would it have been like if you had seen the horse-drawn carriages, the street markets of locals selling and trading for their daily wages, the children running through the streets or even the people harvesting the fields of their farmlands. Now try doing the same in the Ancient Agora of Athens. This is what I will help you do today, guiding you through the history of the Agora and its architecture through its monuments. We hope that through this article you can stand in the Ancient Agora of Athens and imagine how it would have looked over the hundreds of years it was occupied, starting from 500 BC until the end of the 5th century BC. Many of the monuments throughout these centuries they were important for the history and use of the ancient Athenian Agora; however I will only use four to show you the importance and history of the Ancient Agora. The four monuments I will talk about are the altar of the twelve gods, the Stoa of Attalus, the Odeion and the Hippodrome. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The first major monument dates back to 500 BC and, we believe, was in use until at least the end of the 5th century. the altar to the twelve gods. The altar was built in 522 BC by Pisistratus during his reign. (Ministry of Culture and Sports). It was built from the ash and bones of other sacrifices on the site. When it was discovered two walls were found with the base of a marble statue dedicated by a man to the twelve gods, clearly identifying this as the exact location of the previously unknown site of the altar of the twelve gods. There are many reasons historically why the altar was so important as it was a house of refuge for people fleeing justice enforcers such as Pericles and Phidias. (Ministry of Culture and Sports). The altar also served over time as the geographical center of Athens, the point against which all other structures are measured, making the altar a place of great religious importance throughout the city, as it became the navel of the entire city . ("Agorah.") This was one of the first structures within the boundaries of the ancient Athenian Agora among the temples, the Heliaia, the Eschara, and the Prytanikon. It was right up against the Via Panathenaic road and up against the grassy knoll which was rough terrain on which nothing should have been built. This was one of the holiest spaces in the entire city, and with such an important site nestled right in front, it all has immeasurable importance for the city. With the Panathenaic Way right next to it, also the road on which the entire city ascended to the Acropolis on the occasion of the festival celebrating the birthday of Athens' patron goddess, Athena, and the anniversary of the start of the battle between the gods and giants.(Ancient Greece-The Acropolis) All this added prestige to the altar of the twelve gods. For it was then seen by all who went to this festival and by all who came from all over the city-state to participate in the Panthenaic games which took place once every four years. (Ministry of Sports and Culture) This points to the increased prestige of the Athenian Agora as a whole which led to increased funding and construction projects within the boundaries of the Agora. Over the next three hundred years the Agora would be completely built around the sacred space within the Agora.3rd century BC the Agora as it was known changed forever when the Macedonians conquered the Greek city-states and united them under a single territory. With the original purpose of the Agora now gone, it continues to be built and its prestige continues to grow despite the decline of the import of the city of Athens itself. The Stoa of Attalus was built by King Attalus of Pergamum, who reigned between 159 BC and 138 BC, and was built as a gift to the city of Athens and all Athenians for the education King Attalus received at the University there. of Attalus) The Description that can be seen near the border wall of the modern reconstruction states that the Stoa, or covered portico, was built and paid for by Attalus second of Pergamum. So this Stoa was in the modern sense basically another alumnus paying for a new wing of the old alma mater. (Diamant) The Stoa when built would have been immensely more elaborate than many other buildings within the Agora or even Athens itself. Its immense size and location make it an important location within the Agora. ("Agorah.") It is located on the east side of the Agora with its south end bordering the Panathenaic Way, appearing as a kind of wall to show the border of the Agora and align the space sacred to the gods in the middle on which it seemed . The building would have been incredible to look at for Athenians of the time. It was immensely large at 115 x 20 meters and was two stories high, which was literally unheard of for monumental structures previously. (Stoa of Attalus). This means that the building itself would have been large and tall enough to look down on the rest of the Agora. You could look out from the second floor of the building and most likely see everything that would happen in the Agora at any given time, the sacrifices, the debates, the thinking classes, even the court that meted out justice on the city's criminals. everything would have been easily visible. (“Agora.”) The Stoa would be used continuously for many things, including shopping and socializing, until its destruction in 267 AD during an attack by an East Germanic tribe. (Stoa of Attalus) With the construction of the Stoa and the subsequent wall around the Agora that created the whole appearance of the place inside would have changed as it was now bordered by such large stoas on both borders. Then the subsequent construction of the Stoa would have given the Agora an ever greater size. In the 2nd century BC the Romans defeated the Greeks and Athens was once again under the rule of a foreign hand. By this time the city of Athens was greatly diminishing in its overall importance as well as being a tourist place to visit for many Romans, but despite its diminishing lack of importance the best and most powerful continued to build on the Agora of Athens as a way to show off their power and money. This is perhaps why the Romans decided it was now right to build on the previously vacant sacred land that had been reserved for the gods, and allowed it to be filled by the Odeon, the Temple of Ares, and the Altar of Zeus. . The Odeon was a theater built in 15 BC by Marcus Agrippa, general of the Roman army, as a gift to the people of the city of Athens. It was a two-story theater that could seat about 1,000 people, had a raised stage and a floored orchestra. ("History of Greece The Roman Period"). It would have been one of the most extravagant buildings in all of The Agora with its incredibly massive and ornate Corinthian pillar capstones and its underground system of corridors and walkways. (The Odeon of Agrippa) However, due to the ornamentation of the building and its weight to the ceiling, it eventually caused part of the building itself to collapse in 150 AD and was rebuilt to seat only 500 and contained a?