Athenian Agora: Joelle

When I found out that I would be able to do a report on the ancient agora, I was very excited. Ever since I learned about the public space, I was captivated by the multitude of functions for the space and disappointed to learn that only a few citizens were allowed to use the space.

The word 'agora' comes from the Greek word to "speak" and that is just what the space was used for. It was the main square of the city that had everything that any citizen could have wanted. The maze of buildings held philosophers, politicians, goods to buy, services to sell, religious sites, a gymnasium, along with simple buildings to provide some shade. It was the hub of a city and anyone who was anyone would go there to converse or do business. However, the only somebodies that were actually allowed in the agora were native Greek speaking men. It was amazing to think that back in antiquity, none of the people on our tour could have probably gone into the space because most of us are women and the two men on the trip are not native Greeks. Only our professor would have been able to partake in the business of the agora.

There were two religious buildings that I found to be of great interest, the first one was the altar of Zeus Agorias (Zeus of the Agora). It was used to make sacrifices to the god right there in the middle of the space, so if you needed something from Zeus that day or in the future it would have been a perfect place to make your request before you complete your other business for the day. The second building would be the Temple to Hephaestus. This building was just outside the boundary line of the agora but was apart of our visit to the site. There were many blacksmiths that would be using the temple since Hephaestus is the patron god of the forge and craftsmanship. This temple was very well preserved, and it was easy to make out the stone reliefs on the building. It gave the class a very good example of how an ancient temple would have been constructed. We were impressed!

Many of the other buildings in the agora were not well preserved, we mostly saw stone foundations that were only a few feet high, but even those land markers gave me a good idea of just how large the space was and actually how crowded it would have been. I am so used to having large enclosed shopping malls, grocery stores, and strip malls filled with services. In the Athenian agora, there were designated areas for businesses to be, but it was all in one spot. It would have been crowded, loud, (probably smelly), and unorganized. Greeks nowadays have a hard time forming a line, I can't imagine how they organized their agora's in antiquity!

At the end of our tour, we were able to sit underneath a reconstruction of a stoa. A stoa is a long shallow building that is roofed and its function is mostly to provide shade for the citizens in the agora. It is a very simple building and I was grateful for the structure being there because it was relaxing sitting inside enjoying the shade. I could just imagine taking a break from the day and sitting inside with a neighbor or friends and discussing the latest news or the success of your business, or simple settle inside It was a great experience, especially for a classical humanities major, to be able to place into memory and emotion the spaces that I have been studying for the past three years at the UW. The agora is by far the most traveled place of a city where all the action happens and where any male Greek citizen would want to be in order to stay caught up in society.