Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Areopagus
Immediately below the entrance to the Acropolis • Free
Metal steps as well as ancient, slippery, rock-hewn stairs ascend the low, unfenced hill
of the
Areopagus
, or “Hill of Ares”. This was the site of the Council of Nobles and the
Judicial Court under the aristocratic rule of ancient Athens; during the Classical period
the court lost its powers of government to the Assembly (held on the Pnyx) but it
remained the court of criminal justice, dealing primarily with cases of homicide. In
myth, it was also the site where Ares, God of War, was tried for the murder of one of
Poseidon's sons; Aeschylus used the setting in
The Eumenides
for the trial of Orestes,
who stood accused of murdering his mother Clytemnestra. The Persians camped here
during their siege of the Acropolis in 480 BC, and in the Roman era Saint Paul
preached the “Sermon on an Unknown God” on the hill, winning among his converts
Dionysios “the Areopagite”, who became the city's patron saint.
Today, there's little evidence of ancient grandeur beyond various steps and niches cut
into the perilously slippery rock, and the hill is littered with cigarette butts and empty
beer cans left by the crowds who come to rest after their exertions on the Acropolis and
to enjoy the
views
. These, at least, are good - down over the Agora and towards the
ancient cemetery of Kerameikos.
1
The ancient Agora
Daily: summer 8am-6.30pm, winter 8.30am-3pm • €4 or joint Acropolis ticket • Metro Monastiráki
he
Agora
or market was the heart of ancient Athenian city life from as early as 3000 BC.
Approached either from the Acropolis, down the path skirting the Areopagus, or through
the northern entrance on Adhrianoú, it is an extensive and confusing jumble of ruins,
dating from various stages of building between the sixth century BC and the fifth century
AD. As well as the marketplace, this was the chief meeting place of the city, where orators
held forth, business was discussed and gossip exchanged - St Paul, for example, took the
opportunity to meet and talk to Athenians here. It was also the first home of the
democratic assembly before that moved to the Pnyx, and continued to be its meeting place
when cases of ostracism (see p.74) were discussed for most of the Classical period.
Hephaisteion and the Áyii Apóstoli
The best overview of the Agora is from the exceptionally well-preserved
Hephaisteion
,
or Temple of Hephaistos, where there's a terrace overlooking the rest of the site from
the west. Here a plan shows the buildings as they were in 150 AD, and the various
remains laid out in front of you make a great deal more sense with this to help (there
are similar plans at the entrances). The temple itself was originally thought to be
dedicated to Theseus, because his exploits are depicted on the frieze (hence Thissíon,
which has given its name to the area); more recently it has been accepted that it
actually honoured Hephaistos, patron of blacksmiths and metalworkers. It was one of
the earliest buildings of Pericles' programme, but is now one of the least known
- perhaps because it lacks the curvature and “lightness” of the Parthenon's design; the
barrel-vaulted roof dates from a Byzantine conversion into the church of Saint George.
The other church on the site - that of
Áyii Apóstoli
(the Holy Apostles), by the south
entrance - is worth a look as you wander among the extensive foundations of the other
Agora buildings. Inside are fragments of fresco, exposed during restoration of the
eleventh-century shrine.
The Stoa of Attalos
Same hours as Agora but opens 11am Mon
For some background to the Agora, head for the
Stoa of Attalos
. Originally constructed
around 158 BC, the Stoa was completely rebuilt between 1953 and 1956 and is, in
FROM TOP
ATHINAIS (P.89); TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (P.80); ACROPOLIS MUSEUM (P.71) >
