Why You'll Love the Ancient Agora in Athens
Today, I'm in Athens, Greece! Let's go walk where Socrates broke the law, Plato told stories and the Persians caused a lot of trouble.
The Ancient Heart of Athens
We are standing in the ancient Agora of Athens. This is the first attraction I visited in Greece and it's still one of my favorites. Today, it's a lot of ruins and broken buildings and compared to sexier attractions like the Parthenon, it may not look all that thrilling at first.
But this is where democracy itself was first dreamed up and put into practice. It's where philosophy was casually discussed among some of the most influential influencers of all time. You think Mr. Beast has a lot of followers? Well, he's got nothing on Plato.
Where Athenians Shopped
The Agora was the marketplace for the city of Athens. You would come here to buy olive oil, fabric to make clothing, jewelry and pottery. But ancient Athenians also came here to see and be seen, to discuss current events and to talk about big ideas.
We are waling where Socrates walked. Where the leaders of Athens discussed battle plans. Where someone, someday said: you know what, maybe we should all vote on things.
Democracy was invented here under the shadow of the Parthenon, under the watchful eyes of ancient gods.
Pretty exciting, right? These old ruins are starting to look a little more impressive, when viewed this way.
What You'll Find at the Agora
One of the main points of interest here is the fantastic Temple of Hephaestus, which is remarkably intact considering It's about 2,000 years old. It withstood Roman occupation. It withstood Turkish occupation. It withstood Venetian wars. And now, it looks out over the Agora the way we're looking at it today.
The main road leading to the Agora was the Panapolopic Way. You can still see pieces of this ancient pathway leading to the center of the Agora. It leads to this: the Stoa of Attalos.
This building, the Stoa of Attalos, has been reconstructed to look the way it did in the 400s B.C.E.
In those days, the long collanade would be filled with little stalls where vendors would sell dyes, candles, bundles of herbs, perfumes, all the things you need for daily life in ancient Athens.
Today, it's where you will find the Museum of the Ancient Agora. This is a remarkable collection of artifacts from the Agora. It's very open and airy and it's truly beautiful. It's also included with your ticket price, so there's no reason to skip it.
Inside the Museum
You'll find all sorts of pottery and statues here, along with jewelry, small art works, pieces that all tell a story and help paint the picture of what daily life was like in Athens 2,500 years ago.
Admission to the site and museum will run you around $23, depending on the day's exchange rate. It is well worth visiting and you can see it all in like an hour, an hour and a half.
There are some ways to mitigate that cost so you can visit the Agora and museum a little cheaper. That info is in my Athens on a budget video. EIther way, this is truly one of the best attractions in Athens, and one of my favorites.
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