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Ancient Agora © Tet_Sy
Ancient Agora
Clustered below the Acropolis (enter from Odos Adrianou, east of
Monastiraki Square) is the remains of the Agora, ancient Athens'
commercial and civic centre, where once walked and talked the great
philosophers Socrates and Plato. In fact the disgraced and
despairing Socrates committed suicide in a prison in the southwest
corner of the Agora, by drinking poison.
The area is littered with the ruins of numerous ancient buildings,
including the Dionysos Theatre (the world's oldest theatre where
great plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were first
performed). One building that has been restored is the 200 BC Stoa
of Attalos (a stoa is a long, low roofed promenade which served as
a combination law court, municipal office and shopping arcade in
classical Greece). The reconstructed building now has a museum on
its ground floor containing artefacts covering 5,000 years of
Athenian history.
Telephone: (01) 321 0185
Opening time: Daily 8am to 7.30pm
Admission: €4 for adults), under 19s free.