While the Acropolis stands as the crown jewel of Athens, the Agora was the day to day heart of the city. The Agora was the center for many activities whether they be bipolitical, social, and even some religious. Here I will highlight a few key buildings that were housed in the Agora.
Royal Stoa
The Royal Stoa was the headquarters for the Athenian justice system; it is where written versions of the laws were housed, and it is where Socrates was officially charged by Meletus with impiety and corrupting the youth. Fittingly so, in front of the Royal Stoa stood a sculpture of Themis, the goddess of fairness and order. Additionally, before entering the Royal Stoa for official business, one had to take an oath of truth to the gods similar to the common practice of swearing on the Bible in a courtroom today. The Royal Stoa captures the Athenians' respect for justice within their society.
The Altar of the 12 Gods
The Altar of the 12 Gods was dedicated to the 12 gods who were also shown on the frieze of the Parthenon; there are many ties between the Acropolis and the Agora because they were the two most vital centers of the city. The Altar acted as mile 0 in Athens, the point from which all distances were measured. This shows that the Agora was the true heart of daily life in the city of Athens.
The Hephaestion
While not as large or intricate, the Hephaestion has many similarities to the Parthenon, from the Doric style columns to the metopes and friezes. The fact that the Hephaestion stands so intact today as opposed to the ruins that are the Parthenon shows that it is sometimes the understated pieces that are most perseverant.
The Bouleuterion
Originally, the Bouleuterion consisted of 100 people, 10 from each deme. However, with Cleisthenes' reform, that number was increased to 500, 50 from each deme. Members of the Boule were essentially councilmen who had been elected by lot for the year. The Bouleuterion met every single day to discuss a range of topics from politics to economics to military policies. These policies would later be presented to the Ecclesia at the Prytaneum.
The Prytaneum
If the word Prytaneum sounds familiar to you, it may be because it is the Prytaneum that Socrates suggested he be permitted to live the rest of his life during his infamous trial! This was a sort of dining hall that also served as the meeting place for many important assemblies of the Boule and Ecclesia. Each deme elected by lot a council of Prytanes; these ten councils took turns serving in the Prytaneum for a tenth of the year each. The order of which deme's council served during which period was also drawn by lot. There was also a president of the Prytaneum, but this position rotated every twenty-four hours.
Eponymous Heroes
The Eponymous Heroes was the center for news in the Agora. This was a place to read and talk about what was going on in Athens. In the picture here you can see the marble base of the monument that used to hold ten bronze statues.
House of Simon
Simon's house lay just outside the northern boundary of the Ancient Agora. The boundaries of the Agora were important because there were some people (those who were underage, had been convicted of certain crimes) were not allowed to enter the Agora. Simon was thought to be a cobbler who might not have been allowed into the Agora himself. Luckily for him, Socrates spent much of his time at Simon's house and where Socrates went, important conversations followed. It was in Simon's house that Socrates conversed with those too young to enter the Agora yet.
The Jail
The jail in the Agora is where Socrates spent the last few days of his life. It is said that when the court reached the verdict of execution for Socrates' trial, they were in the midst of some sort of religious observance which did not permit them to perform executions. Because of this, Socrates spent a couple of days in the jail in the Agora.
Stoa of Attalos
The Stoa of Attalos acted as a market place for the Ancient Athenians. Various vendors would set up shop in the cool shade of this Stoa. Today, the Stoa of Attalos serves as a museum where artifacts are stored in the open for people to observe. Here you can find a variety of artifacts including many that relate to Athenian political life.
“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." -Pericles
The statue of Themis from the agora held high importance to me as soon as I learned of it. I deeply appreciate the fact that the Athenians valued Themis, the goddess of justice and fairness, so much that they felt compelled to erect a sculpture in her honor. The fact that it once stood in the agora only makes it better because that is where Themis truly belonged, the Athenians needed justice in the political and social heart of their city. Themis' solemn facial expression and the folds of the fabric in the marble of this sculpture are very striking to me as well, I love this piece!
Reflection
A component of the Agora that I found particularly interesting was that of ostracism. Ostracism was the punishment for becoming too powerful; it did not matter what you intended to use that power for, good or bad, you were seen as a threat to democracy if you gained too much influence. Ostracisms were not terribly common, they were only in place for about 50 years; each year there would be a vote on whether they needed to perform an ostracism. If they voted no, they moved on with other business and if they voted yes, they then had another vote of who was to be ostracized. There was no ballot or anything of the sorts, everyone simply scratched a name into their piece of pottery called an ostraka, which you see in the picture here. In order for an ostracism to occur, there had to be a name that received the majority of votes, something that, without a ballot, seemed to ensure that that person was truly seen as a threat.
When I try to imagine the Athenians' policies being enforced in our country today, I am often intrigued by the implications. When considering ostracism, I can't help but think that we would be ostracizing many of our citizens because so many are incredibly influential in various ways. Whether they have political agendas is another story, but considering the fact that we do not currently have a typical politician as the president, I think that the fact that anyone with influence has the potential for stirring up political waters. One of my peers even suggested that ostracisms might even be a symbol of status and something to be celebrated because they would be so common! The prevalence of social media and the media in general in our society today makes it easier than ever to both influence and be influenced by others. For goodness sake, "influencer" is even considered a job in our society today! Another of my peers suggested that implementing ostracisms might have the effect of helping people to think for themselves, rather than to blindly believe everything they read or watch. I agree that the reduction in influence would result in more self-reflection, as the Athenians intended with their system. However, we must also consider that the Athenians found the process problematic enough to remove it after only 50 years, suggesting that it probably would not benefit our society today.
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