Summary

In the ancient Greek city, the agora was a multifunctional venue for public administration, the buying and selling of goods, religious affairs, and other social and cultural interests. Most cities whether big or small had a designated agora, oftentimes situated at a prime locale—a sign of its fundamental importance in the community. The etymological use of the term agorē by Homer, particularly in his description of the city of the Phaeacians, shows that within the early Greek polis the agora became a daily gathering venue for citizens, often for political and military meetings, but also for religious events and athletic contests. Excavations reveal that the agora from c. the 7th to the mid-5th century bce was architecturally an unassuming place, and it did not need to be more than an open area with a scattering of administrative, commercial, and sometimes even domestic structures. In addition, its setting was frequently associated with the cult of a poliadic deity (temple) or local hero (heroon). The Athenian Agora is an exceptional case where buildings for political assemblies were erected following democratic reforms c. 500 bce. In most other places, architectural elaboration in the agora did not precede the 4th century bce, when stone structures in canonical Doric and Ionic orders, particularly versatile colonnaded stoas, became normal embellishments. By the Hellenistic period (c. 300–31 bce), as well as in the ensuing centuries of the Roman era, purpose-built administrative buildings and large, even colossal, commercial and cultural venues contributed to the realization of a mature and monumental public space.