ANCIENT AGORAMUSEUM OF THE STOAOF ATTALOSATHENSThe Agora was a large square on the northwest slopeof the Acropolis, where social and religious activities,
commerce, outdoor theatrical performances and athletic
contests were held. In other words, it was the heart of theancient city. But above all it was the center of Athenian
democracy, since it was there that the most important
administrative and judicial functions and political assemblies
took place. From the 6th c. BC onwards, the open space,which was traversed by the Panathenaic Way, was graduallysurrounded by many public buildings, and it was adorned
with temples, altars, stoas, fountains, portraits, and statues.
It acquired its final form in the 2nd c. AD.
The Agora’s main buildings include the Royal Stoa (StoaBasileios), the Bouleuterion (Council House), the Tholos,
the Metroon, the Altar of the Τwelve Gods, the Monumentof the Eponymous Heroes, the Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios,
the Strategeion, the Painted Stoa (Stoa Poikile), the Stoaof Attalos, the Library of Pantainos, the Odeion of Agrippa,and others.
A number of important roads ended in the Agora, including
Piraeus Street, which connected the city with Piraeus,Areopagus Street, and others.
To the South and West, the Agora was framed by thehills of the Areopagus and Kolonos Agoraios, respectively.
The Areopagus accommodated Athens᾽ oldest court, thesanctuary of the Semnai (“the vengeful ones”) or the
Eumenides (“the kindly ones”), a part of the Kydathenaion
quarter, and the Christian church dedicated to Dionysius
the Areopagite. The hill of Kolonos Agoraios is dominatedby the classical temple dedicated to Hephaestus and AthenaErgane. Southwest of the Agora, developed a residential
area that formed part of the ancient demes of Kollytos andMelite, while the sanctuary of Eleusis grew up southeast ofthe site.
The Athenian Agora was repeatedly destroyed and pillaged:
by the Persians (480 BC), the Romans under Sulla (86 BC),
the Herulians (AD 267), and the Slavs (AD 580). In the10th c. AD, following a long period of desertion, a Byzantine
neighborhood grew up in the Agora area, and the Church of
the Holy Apostles was built. The area was again destroyedin 1204 by invaders under Leon Sgouros, ruler of Nauplion,
and in 1826-27 during the Greek War of Independence.
In the late 19th c., the Agora was buried under the “Vrysaki”
quarter of modern Athens, the capital of the newly-formed
Greek state, with its densely built-up “Vlasarou” and “Agion
Apostolon” (Holy Apostles) neighborhoods. The firstexcavations at the site were carried out in the 19th c. by the ArchaeologicalSociety and German archaeologists, but the organized excavation of theAgora has been conducted from 1931 to the present by the American Schoolof Classical Studies. Since 1957, the archaeological site has operated under
the supervision of the Greek Archaeological Service.
The Museum of the Athenian Agora is housed in the reconstructed Stoa ofAttalos, a 2nd c. BC building that was restored (1952-56) by the American
School of Classical Studies to house the finds from excavations at the site.
The building commands the eastern side of the Agora; it is two-storied, witha double colonnade on its façade and 21 shops at its rear on each floor. The
Stoa was built by Attalos II, King of Pergamon (159-138 BC), and functioned
as a place for meetings and walks, and as a commercial center. The Museumwas renovated by the Ministry of Culture in 2003-04 within the program ofthe modernization of museums for the Athens Olympic Games.
The exhibition on the ground floor is deployed in a large oblong gallery that
resulted from joining 10 of the Stoa’s ancient “shops”, in the lower open

stoa, and on the terrace. The exhibition in the main gallery is arranged inchronological and thematic groups, on the one hand to present to visitors
the public life of Athenian citizens through objects representing each of
their political and administrative activities, and coming from the excavationsof public buildings. On the other hand it presents the Athenian citizen᾽sdaily life through the finds discovered in houses of the ancient city within
the archaeological site as well as in tombs, since in early times the area wasused as a cemetery.
The oldest items on exhibit, including vases, figurines, and weapons, dateback to the Neolithic period, the Early and Middle Bronze Age, and theMycenaean and Geometric period. These come primarily from burials andwells.
The most important exhibits in the Museum are connected with thefunctions of Athenian democracy and date to the Classical and Late Classicalperiod. They include: clay public measures, official bronze weights, part of amarble ballot-box, jurors᾽ ballots, a clay klepsydra-water clock for timingspeeches, ostracism ostraka incised with the names of ancient politicians,
and important inscriptions like the marble stele (337/6 BC) depicting Demosand Democracy with inscribed decree of the Assembly of the Deme against
tyranny. The exhibition is complemented by black- and red-figure vases, theworks of well known vase painters like the krater by Exekias, vessels foreveryday use, figurines, lamps, coins and miniature sculpture such as an ivory
statuette which is a copy of the Apollo Lykeios attributed to Praxiteles.Votive
reliefs, inscriptions and sculptures coming primarily from the decoration oftemples and public buildings in the Agora are on display in the lower openstoa. These include the cult statue of Apollo Patroos, a work by Euphranor(4th c. BC), a colossal statue of Aphrodite dating to the Classical period,
an exceptionally fine torso of Themis (4th c. BC), sculptures from thedecoration of the Hephaesteion and the temple of Ares, the winged Nike(Victory) from the acroterion of the Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios (5th c. BC),and the Roman statues which are personifications of the Iliad and Odyssey
from the Library of Pantainos.
The exhibition on the 1st floor of the Stoa of Attalos, inaugurated in 2012,
has been organized in six units that present to the public a representativecollection of Athenian sculptures, with a special focus on the importantgroup of portraits from the Athenian Agora excavations.

1. Temple of Hephaistos (5th c. BC)
2. Arsenal (3rd c. BC)
3. Stoa Basileios (460 BC)
4. Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios(5th c. BC)
5. Temple of Apollo Patroos(340-320 BC)
6. Metroon (2nd c. BC)
7. Monument of the Eponymous
Heroes (4th c. BC)
8. Bouleuterion (5th c. BC)
9. Altar of Zeus Agoraios(4th c. BC)
10. Tholos (460 BC)
11. Strategeion (5th c. BC)
12. South Square (2nd c. BC)
13. South-east Fountain House(6th c. BC)
14. Heliaia (460 BC)

15. South-west Fountain House(4th c. BC)
16. Triangular Shrine (5th c. BC)
17. Middle Stoa (2nd c. BC)
18. Poikile Stoa (460 BC)
19. Basilica (2nd c. AD)
20. Altar of the Twelve Gods(522-521 BC)
21. Temple of Ares (440 BC)
22. Odeion of Agrippa (15 BC)
23. Stoa of Attalos (159-138 BC)
24. Monopteros (AD 150)
25. Tribunal (2nd c. BC)
26. Library of Pantainos (AD 100)
27. Nymphaion (AD 150)
28. South-east Stoa (150 BC)

OPERATING RULES
Please be informed that the following is strictly prohibited:(Law 3028/2002 and Official Government Gazette 88/B/23.1.2004)• to collect, remove or damage any kind of object, including ancient and contemporary
works of art as well as any natural item,• to consume food or beverages,• to smoke,• to produce litter of any kind,• to behave, dress or act in a way not compatible with the nature of the archaeologicalsite/museum,• entrance to people under the influence of substances (intoxicants, narcotics, etc.),• entrance to pets, except for dogs accompanying people with disabilities,• entrance to all vehicles, except for emergency vehicles and those used for conducting
archaeological works.
Furthermore, visitors and guides are kindly requested:• to comply with the instructions and indications of the security guards,• to follow the signs, walk along marked routes and avoid entering restricted areas,• not to touch any work of art,
• to be very careful whilst being near areas of high risk or areas where works are inprogress.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILMING(Official Government Gazette 1138/Β/10.04.2012, 3046/Β/30.12.2011 and 648/Β/07.03.2012)• Photography and filming with professional cameras as well as aerial photographyand filming, with or without human presence, are allowed only after a special permit
has been issued and fees have been paid.
• Photography and filming with amateur cameras are permitted for free unless they
are to be used for commercial purposes.
• Photography with the use of supplementary lighting systems inside a museum is notallowed, unless permission is granted.
Non-compliance with the above rules can lead to the evictionof recalcitrant visitors.
The archaeological site is partially accessible to visitors with disabilities using awheelchair, with the assistance of an escort.The Museum is fully accessible.

ANCIENT AGORAMUSEUM OF THE STOAOF ATTALOSATHENSi T: 210 3214825
TEXT: N. SARAGA
PHOTOS: EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF THE CITY OF ATHENSGENERAL SUPERVISION: HOCRED, DIRECTORY OF PUBLICATIONSAND DIGITAL APPLICATIONSLAYOUT: DIMITRA THEODOROUΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ∆ΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑHELLENIC REPUBLIC
Υπουργείο Πολιτισµού και ΑθλητισµούMinistry of Culture and Sports

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