Agoranomos (ἀγορανόμος, plural: agoranomoi, ἀγορανόμοι) was an electable official position in the cities of Ancient Greece and Byzantine Empire that controlled the order of the marketplace (agora, hence the name, translated as "market overseer"). A polis could have several of them. Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: ) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... A marketplace is the space, actual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. ... Map of the Agora of Athens in Socrates and Platos time An agora (αγορά), translatable as marketplace, was an essential part of an ancient Greek polis or city-state. ... A polis (πολις) — plural: poleis (πολεις) — is a city, or a city-state. ...

Some of their duties were setting prices for certain goods, certifying goods and weights and scales, controlling money exchange, and an important function of managing the supply of the polis with grains. In controlling unscrupulous merchants, an agoranomos had rights to impose corporal punsihments (and was often portrayed walking along the agora with a whip) for non-free-born and impose fines for free citizens. An agoranomos also kept an eye on temples in the agora. For other uses, see Whip (disambiguation). ...

Over time, an agoranomos has also become a honorary title for a public benefactor, who contributed significant amounts for public institutions.

See also

• Astynomos, a person in charge of public places ouside the agora
• Muhtasib in Islamic world had similar (and some other) duties

Reference

Demos: Classical Athenian Democracy