Theagora (/ˈæɡərə/;Ancient Greek:ἀγορά,romanized:agorá, meaning "market" inModern Greek) was a centralpublic space in ancientGreekcity-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center of the athletic, artistic, business, social, spiritual, and political life in the city.[1] TheAncient Agora of Athens is the best-known example.
Bronze Roman medal (45 mm, 45.6 g) showingCaracalla's portrait and the emperor being greeted by city's citizens in the Agora during his visit to Laodicea ad Lycum (216/217 AD), in front of a two-columned temple with soldiers lined up on both sides.
Early in Greek history (10th–4th centuries BC), free-born citizens would gather in the agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the agora also served as amarketplace, where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods amidarcades. This attractedartisans who built workshops nearby.[2][better source needed]
From these twin functions of the agora as a political and a commercial spot came the two Greek verbsἀγοράζω,agorázō, "I shop", andἀγορεύω,agoreúō, "I speak in public".[3]
TheAncient Agora of Athens was situated beneath the northern slope of theAcropolis. The Ancient Agora was the primary meeting ground for Athenians, where members ofdemocracy congregated affairs of the state, where business was conducted, a place to hang out, and watch performers and listen to famousphilosophers. The importance of the Athenian agora revolved around religion. The agora was a very sacred place, in which holiness is laid out in thearchitecture of the ground upon which it lay. The layout of the agora was centered around the Panathenaic Way, a road that ran through the middle ofAthens and to the main gate of the city,Dipylon.[4] This road was considered tremendously sacred, serving as a travel route for thePanathenaic festival, which was held in honor of the goddessAthena every four years. The agora was also famously known for housing theTemple of Hephaestus, the Greek god of metalworking and craftsmen. This temple is still in great condition to this day. Other temples priorly standing in the agora include honor forZeus,Athena,Apollo, andAres.[5]
The agora was usually located in the middle of a city or near the harbor. Agoras were built ofcolonnades, or rows of long columns, and containedstoae, also known as a long open walkway below the colonnades.[6] They were beautifully decorated with fountains, trees, and statues. When the Athenian agora was rebuilt after theGreco-Persian Wars, colonnades and stoae were not incorporated.[7]
The termagoraphobia denotes a phobic condition in which the sufferer becomes anxious in unfamiliar environments – for instance, places where they perceive that they have little control. Such anxiety may be triggered by wide-open spaces, crowds, or public situations, and the psychological term derives from the agora as a large and open gathering place.
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