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338-86 B.C.
The
Agora
During the
hellenistic period many monumental buildings occupied
the space of the Agora. The
new big Stoas that dominated the
place, were all donations of Hellenistic Kings.
To see the
images in full screen, just click on them!
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A top
view of the Hellenistic Agora. 1.Stoa of
Attalos, 2.Middle Stoa, 3.South
Stoa II, 4.Aiakeion, 5.Tholos, 6.New
Bouleyterion, 7.Metroon, 8.Hephaisteion, 9.Arsenal, 10,
Temple of Apollo Patroos and Zeus, 11.Stoa
of Eleutherios Zeus,
12.Royal Stoa (Basileios). |
THE
STOA OF ATTALOS (159-138 B.C.)
The Stoa of
Attalos was a donation of
the King of Pergamon, Attalos II
(159 B.C. - 138 B.C.) An insvription on the entablature reads
. It was two-storied,
of Doric order,
and was 120 metres long with
45 columns in the western side. In
the Eastern one, it had 21 rooms that were used
as shops. In noth and south ends
staircases led to the second
floor.
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View
towards the southeast. On the left is the Stoa of Attalos and on
the right, the Middle Stoa. In the foreground is the altar of the
12 Gods and in the background the Acropolis. |
The Stoa
was destroyed by the Heruli in
267 A.D. and became a part of the
postherulian wall of Athens. The
remaining structural materials were used for the construction of
the two towers in the Propylaia
of Acropolis. . The Stoa
was completely restored
between 1953-1956 in order to accomodate the
Museum of Ancient Agora.
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The
Stoa of Attalos from the South. |
The
Stoa of Attalos from the center (orchestra) of the Agora. |
In front
of the Stoa of
Attalos stood a pedestal with
a four horse chariot, probably
dedicated by Attalos himself. Later it
was rededicated to the Roman Emperor Tiberius. In front
of it was the
bema, or speaker's platform. From
there speakers and the politicians used
to speak to the Athenian people. |
SOUTH
STOAS
Middle Stoa (c.160
B.C.)
The Middle Stoa
was constructed probably by the king of
Cappadocia Ariathes V
around 160 B.C. It was 147
metres long and 17.5 m. wide.
It had 160 Doric columns all around
and was separated in the interior by 23
Ionic columns. It was completely destroyed by fire
during the raid of Heruli in
267 A.D.
South Stoa II (c.150
B.C.)
The South Stoa II
(c.150 A.D.) was built with
the materials of the unfinished Square
Peristylion, that was demolished in order to built
in its place the Stoa of Attalos.
It was a simple stoa with thirty Doric
columns in its northern side, while in
the southern wall stood a small
fountain. It was destroyed during the
siege of the Roman general
Sylla in 86 B.C. On
its ruins marble workers and
ironworkers settled their industries by using the ruins.
During the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.),
these industries were
removed and the site was cleaned. A building (Eastern Building) linked
the Eastern utmost of South
Stoa II and the Middle Stoa,
creating a enclosed space which served as
the commercial market.
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Panoramic
view of the
group of southern stoas.
On the left, is
the Middle Stoa and opposite
of it is South Stoa II. Above
left is the conjunctive Eastern Building, while
on the right is the square Aiakeion next
to the Southwest fountain. |
View
from the space between the two stoas. In
the middle is the Eastern Building and
on the right is the
South Stoa II. |
View
of the area from the
west. On left appears part of
facade of the Middle Stoa.
On the right, are the
Aiakeion and the Southwest dountain. |
Another
view from the space between the two
stoas. In the middle is the
Eastern Building, on the left is the Middle
Stoa and on the right
the South Stoa II. |
WESTERN AGORA
Works in a smaller
scale were also realised in the Western part of
the Agora. The Old Bouleuterion was
demolished giving its place in a bigger
building, the Metroon (c.130
B.C.). In the Metroon were kept
the official documents of the city. It
had many rooms and in one of them
was the sanctuary of the Mother of the Gods as a
memory of the archaic temple
(Metroon) that was destroyed by the Persians.
Also, the Royal Stoa acquired two small wings in
both ends for the placement of
steles with the laws. Finally, north of the
Temple of Hephaistos a big
rectangular building was erected that was probably an
Arsenal.
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The
west side of the Agora.
The ionic building on
the left is the Metroon. On the hill,
next to the temple of Hephaistos is the big Arsenal. |
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The
Metroon (c.130
B.C.)
with the Ionic Propylon (entrance) on
the left. |
This
big building is considered to have been an Arsenal due to its
similarity to the Philon's Arsenal which served as an Armoury. |
The
Royal Stoa with the two new wings. It is not known when they were
added or of what order they were. |
For other monuments of Hellenistic Athens click below:
THE
ACROPOLIS & SOUTH SLOPE OF ACROPOLIS
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