Ancient Agora of Athens

The place

The Agora lay northwest of the Acropolis, between two hills

The Ancient Agora lies to the northwest of the Acropolis, bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by Agoraios Kolonos, also called Market Hill. Its initial use was as a commercial, assembly or residential gathering place.

Notice board

The Monument of the Eponymous Heroes doubled as a notice board

On the west side stood the Monument of the Eponymous Heroes, for the ten heroes of the tribes of Athens. It was also used as a notice board for new legislation, public events and military conscription. Nearby stood the Tholos, the Bouleuterion and the Temple of Hephaestus.

The stoa

The Stoa of Attalos, a row of shops, was rebuilt as the museum

The Stoa of Attalos, lined with shops, was built in the 2nd century B.C. In the 1950s the Hellenistic stoa was reconstructed on the east side of the agora. Today it serves as a museum and as storage and office space for the excavation team.

The digs

The first digs missed the Agora, and the American School began in 1931

Excavations in 1851 and 1852 in the courtyard of the Psoma House failed to uncover the monuments they were looking for. After a bill to expropriate properties in Vrysaki was defeated in 1924, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens took on the project. Its work began in 1931 and was largely funded by John D.

The finds

Half the site was cleared by 1935, with over 41,000 coins found

By the end of the 1935 season, around half of the site had been cleared, with almost 600 items of sculpture, over 6,000 pieces of pottery, and over 41,000 coins found. In 1974 a lead tablet turned up: a letter written by Lesis, a slave, one of the few recorded instances of slave literacy.

41,000coins found by the end of the 1935 season