The Ancient Agora of Athens is the most well-known agora, located in Athens, Greece. The agora in Athens had private housing, until it was reorganized by Pisistratus in the 6th century BC. Although he may have lived on the agora himself, he removed the other houses, closed wells, and made it the centre of Athenian government. He also built a drainage system, fountains, and a temple to the Olympian gods. Cimon later improved the agora by constructing new buildings and planting trees. In the 5th century BC there were temples constructed to Hephaestos, Zeus, and Apollo. The Areopagus and Boule met elsewhere in Athens, but the largest public meetings, such as those to discuss ostracism, were held in the agora. The law courts were located there, and any citizen who happened to be in the agora when a case was being heard, could be forced to serve as a juror; the Scythian archers, a kind of mercenary police force, often wandered the agora specifically looking for jurors.
The agora in Athens again became a residential area during Roman and Byzantine times.
Remains of the Agora of Athens.
External links
Hellenic Ministry of Culture: The Ancient Agora of Athens (http://www.culture.gr/2/21/211/21101a/e211aa03.html) - official site with a schedule of its opening hours, tickets and contact information.
By the 8th century BC Athens had re-emerged, by virtue of its central location in the Greek world, its secure stronghold on the Acropolis and its access to the sea, which gave it a natural advantage over potential rivals such as Thebes and Sparta.
Athens was chosen as the Greek capital for historical and sentimental reasons, not because it was a functioning city: there are few buildings in Athens dated between the Roman Empire and the 19th century.
Athens was occupied by the Germans during World War II and experienced terrible privations during the later years of the war.
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