Hadrian's Arch
The triumphal arch lies on an ancient street that led from the old city of Athens to the new, Roman section, built by Hadrian. It was constructed by the Athenians in A.D. 131, in honor of their benefactor emperor. Two inscriptions are carved on the architrave, one on each side: the first, on the side towards the Acropolis reads "This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus"; the second, on the other side, facing the new city reads "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus"The central arched opening of the monument is supported by pilasters crowned with Corinthian capitals. Similar, but taller pilasters flank the outer corners. The arch is crowned by a series of Corinthian columns and pilasters, with an Ionic architrave at the ends, and an entablature with a triangular pediment in the middle. The whole monument is made of Pentelic marble.
Temple of Olympian Zeus
The construction of this temple started in the 6th century BC and its designs were appointed to the architects Antistates, Callaeschrus, Antimachides, and Porinus. At first, it was intended to be built out of limestone in the austere Doric style and its size was to be the hugest of all temples. However, the works stopped in 510 BC due to political disorders, when the tyrant Hippias was exiled from Athens. The temple remained incomplete for the next 336 years. In 174 BC, the king Antiochus IV Epiphanes started the reconstruction of the temple, replacing the building material from limestone to high-quality Pentelic marble and the architectural style from Doric to Corinthian. In fact, it was the first time that the Corinthian order was used for the exterior decoration of a temple. However, when Antiochus died, the project remained again unfinished. In 125 BC, the Roman emperor Hadrian included this temple in his Athens building programme. Many statues of gods and Roman emperors adorned the temple, including an enormous chryselephantine statue of Zeus. In its final form, the temple had 104 columns of 17 m high each and 2 m in diameter each.The temple suffered over the centuries and much of its material was re-used in other buildings so that today only 15 of the temple's columns are still standing, 2 in the south-west corner and 13 at the south-east corner. One other column collapsed as recently as 1852 CE in a storm and now lies across the site with its column drums picturesquely spread along a perfect line.
Acropolis Museum
One of the most important museums in the world, houses the findings of only one archaeological site, the Athenian Acropolis. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies over the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. Definitely tour the museum, as it's one of the highlights of Athens.
Sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus
The Sanctuary of Dionysus in Athens played host to one of the largest Theatrical festivals in the ancient world. Its influence shaped the spread of theatre to many other areas of the world and pioneered the genres and format of theatrics that we use today. Contains the remains of two temples. The first of these two is dated to around the 6th century BC, whilst the second of which is dated to around 350 BC. Temple of Dionysus itself was a fairly small, permanent stone structure behind the stage.According to ancient sources such as Aristotle, Dionysus Eleuthereus (The Liberator) was the first person to appear as an 'actor' on stage, and communicate with his chorus in character. Dionysus himself is traditionally associated with nature and performance; specifically relating to wine and ecstasy. Worship of the deity is thought to have spread during the rule of Peisistratus in the 6th century BC. Worship of the god was originally a rural festival in the ancient city of Eleutherae, in Attica This rural version of the festival was held in winter, during the month of Poseidon.
Theatre of Dionysus
It is built on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, originally part of the sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus (Dionysus the Liberator). The first orchestra terrace was constructed on the site around the mid- to late-sixth century BC, where it hosted the City Dionysia. The theatre reached its fullest extent in the fourth century BC under the epistates of Lycurgus when it would have had a capacity of up to 17,000, and was in continuous use down to the Roman period. The theatre then fell into decay in the Byzantine era and was not identified, excavated and restored to its current condition until the nineteenth century.
The Temple of Asclepios
It was the sanctuary built in honour of the gods Asclepius and Hygieia, located west of the Theatre of Dionysos and east of the Pelargikon wall on the southern escarpment of the Acropolis hill. It was one of several asklepieia in the ancient Greek world that served as rudimentary hospitals. It was founded in the year 419–18 BCE during the Peloponnesian War, perhaps as a direct result of the plague, by Telemachos Acharneas. His foundation is inscribed in the Telemachos Monument, a double-sided, marble column which is topped by reliefs depicting the arrival of the god in Athens from Epidaurus and his reception by Telemachos. The sanctuary complex consisted of the temple and the altar of the god as well as two galleries, the Doric Arcade which served as a katagogion for overnight patients in the Asklepieion and their miraculous (through dreams) healing by the god, and the Ionic Stoa that served as a dining hall and lodging for the priests of Asclepius and their visitors.The Doric Arcade was founded according to inscriptions in 300–299 BCE and was a two-storey building with 17 Doric columns on its facade. This is framed by the sacred spring at its eastern end and a pit lined with masonry at its western end. This source is a small cave in the rock, in which there lies the natural spring. The circular well or pit, a deep hollow with polygonal masonry built into the cliff face, was accessed from the second floor of the Doric Arcade and dates to the last quarter of the 5th century. F Robert proposed that it was a place devoted to the celebration of Heroes in the Asklepeion during ta Heroa, which witnessed sacrifices to the chthonic gods and heroes, as testified epigraphically.The Ionian Arcade, west of the temple, is also dated to the last quarter of the 5th century. The sanctuary on its west side was enclosed by a propylon for the visitors to access from the ancient promenade to the Asklepieion site. According to epigraphic evidence, the propylon was renovated in Roman times.At the beginning of the 6th c. CE, when Christian worship succeeded the ancient, all the monuments of Asclepius were demolished and the material incorporated into the complex of a large, three-aisled Early Christian basilica. In the Byzantine years (11th and 13th centuries) two smaller, single-aisled temples occupied the position of the basilica, while the latter of them functioned as the catholicon of a small monastery. Since 2002, partial restorations of the west end of the ground floor of the Doric Stoa façade, the room of the Sacred Cave on the first floor of the Doric Stoa and the temple of Asclepius have been performed.
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
It was built in 161 AD by the Greek Herodes Atticus in memory of his Roman wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla. It was originally a steep-sloped theater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of expensive cedar of Lebanon timber. It was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000. It lasted intact until it was destroyed and left in ruins by the Heruli in 267 AD. The audience stands and the orchestra (stage) were restored using Pentelic marble in the 1950s. Since then it has been the main venue of the Athens Festival, which runs from May through October each year, featuring a variety of acclaimed Greek as well as International performances.*Start Rick Steve's free audio tour of the Acropolosi (Rick Steve's Audio Europe App)*
Beulé Gate
The Beulé Gate is the late Roman defensive entrance to the Acropolis which leads to the stairway up to the monumental Classical Greek gateway of the Propylaia. It is unique among Athens' ancient monuments in being named after an archaeologist, Charles Ernest Beulé (1826-1874), who excavated it and the stairs up to the Propylaia in 1852.The Beulé Gate was built in 280 AD, following a devastating attack by the east Germanic Heruli tribe in 267 AD (usually referred to as the Herulian invasion), at a time of continuing threat from wandering Gothic tribes. It consists of two massive, unequally sized towers (or pylons), between which was the gateway, and was aligned with the axis of the Propylaia, which itself had been built in alignment with the Parthenon.
Propylaea
In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia is a monumental gateway. The prototypical Greek example is the propylaea that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis of Athens. The Greek Revival, Brandenburg Gate of Berlin, and the Propylaea in Munich both evoke the central portion of the Athens propylaea.Commissioned by the Athenian leader Pericles in order to rebuild the Acropolis at the conclusion of the Persian Wars.
Temple of Athena Nike
Dedicated to the goddesses Athena and Nike. Built around 420 BC, the temple is the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis. It has a prominent position on a steep bastion at the south west corner of the Acropolis to the right of the entrance, the Propylaea. In contrast to the Acropolis proper, a walled sanctuary entered through the Propylaea, the Victory Sanctuary was open, entered from the Propylaea's southwest wing and from a narrow stair on the north. The sheer walls of its bastion were protected on the north, west, and south by the Nike Parapet, named for its frieze of Nikai celebrating victory and sacrificing to their patroness, Athena and Nike.
Monument of Agrippa
The Pedestal, now known as the Agrippa Pedestal located west of the Propylaea of Athens and the same height as the Temple of Athena Nike to the south, was built in honor of Eumenes II of Pergamon in 178 BC to commemorate his victory in the Panathenaic Games chariot race.
Statue of Athena Promachos
The Athena Promachos (Ἀθηνᾶ Πρόμαχος, "Athena who fights in the front line") was a colossal bronze statue of Athena sculpted by Pheidias, which stood between the Propylaea and the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. Athena was the tutelary deity of Athens and the goddess of wisdom and warriors. Pheidias also sculpted two other figures of Athena on the Acropolis, the huge gold and ivory ("chryselephantine") cult image of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon and the Lemnian Athena.Erected around 456 BCE, the Athena Promachos was either to memorialize the Battle of Marathon or the Persian Wars which is possibly what the dedicatory inscription refers to; This inscription also mentions that the trophies won in the Persian War were once placed around the pedestal of the statue (Raubitschek, A. E., and Gorham P. Stevens). It took somewhere near nine years to construct.[3] According to the Greek Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates, the Athena Promachos stood at around 30 feet (9.1 m) tall.[3] It is known that the statue was to be a 'thanks' after war but there are many disagreements about which war.[3] It has also been suggested that the Athena Promachos may have been a cult statue.[1] For a long time there was speculation if the Athena Promachos even existed, however most scholars now agree that it did as there is proof from Roman coins that depict it.[5]Surviving accounts for the creation process for the sculpture cover nine years, but the dates are not identifiable, because the names of officials are missing.[6] The sculpture may have commemorated Kimon's defeat of the Persians at the Eurymedon in 467 or the peace of Kallias in approximately 450 or 449.[7]Made entirely of bronze, the Athena Promachos was spoken of as both 'the bronze Athena' and 'the great bronze Athena,' in ancient times.[3] The term 'Promachos' meaning 'fighting before' or 'in front of' was not originally used when referring to the statue; this nickname came later, most notably being used by Zosimus.[3]Athena Promachos stood[8] overlooking her city for approximately 1000 years, until shortly after 465 CE,[9] when the sculpture was transported to Constantinople (capital of the Eastern Roman Empire) as a trophy in the "Oval Forum", which became the last bastion and safe haven for many surviving Greek bronze sculptures under the protection of the Eastern Empire's Imperial court. Niketas Choniates documented a riot taking place in the Forum of Constantine in Constantinople in 1203 CE where a large, bronze, statue of Athena was destroyed by a "drunken crowd" which is now thought to have been the Athena Promachos.[3]
Parthenon
The Parthenon (/ˈpɑːrθəˌnɒn, -nən/; Ancient Greek: Παρθενών, Parthenṓn, [par.tʰe.nɔ̌ːn]; Greek: Παρθενώνας, Parthenónas, [parθeˈnonas]) is a former temple[6][7] on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patroness. Construction started in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order.[8][5] Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, democracy and Western civilization, and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. To the Athenians who built it, the Parthenon, and other Periclean monuments of the Acropolis, were seen fundamentally as a celebration of Hellenic victory over the Persian invaders and as a thanksgiving to the gods for that victory.The Parthenon itself replaced an older temple of Athena, which historians call the Pre-Parthenon or Older Parthenon, that was demolished in the Persian invasion of 480 BC. Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon served a practical purpose as the city treasury. For a time, it served as the treasury of the Delian League, which later on became the Athenian Empire. In the final decade of the 6th century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.After the Ottoman conquest, the Parthenon was turned into a mosque in the early 1460s. On 26 September 1687, an Ottoman ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by Venetian bombardment during a siege of the Acropolis. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. From 1800 to 1803, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures, now known as the Elgin Marbles, with the alleged permission of the Turks of the Ottoman Empire.
The Porch of the Caryatids
A caryatid (/ˌkæriˈætɪd/ KARR-ee-AT-id; Ancient Greek: Καρυάτις, pl. Καρυάτιδες) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head.On the high stylobate of the south porch of the Erechtheion are six maidens, who take the place of columns in supporting the entablature. Now severely weathered and affected by pollution, five of the caryatids were removed to the Acropolis Museum in 1978 and replaced with replicas. The other figure (the second from the left in the first row of four) was appropriated by Lord Elgin, who, between 1801 and 1805, removed about half of the surviving sculptures from the fallen ruins of the Acropolis and from the Parthenon, itself. They were acquired by the British Museum in 1816 and put on public display the following year. Between 1937 and 1938, even the British caryatid, which certainly is in better condition than its sisters, was damaged when masons abraded the surface (as well as that of some of the Parthenon sculptures) in a misguided and unauthorized attempt to brighten them for the opening of the new gallery in which they were to be displayed..
Acropolis Viewing Point
Cool view of athens. Highlights: Ancient Agora, Temple of Hephaistos, Anafiotika Neighborhood, Lykavittos Hill, Syntagma Square.
Views to the South
Another cool view. Highlights: Temple of Olympian Zues, Theater of Dionysus, Acropolis Museum, Filopappos Hill, & Aegean Sea
The Prison of Socrates
Built in the 5th century BC. The use of the rooms is yet unknown. Its cave-like structure and its proximity to the Athenian Agora must have led to the legend that the building is none other than the Prison of Socrates, or an ancient bath, as guidebooks and history books inform us. During WWII, the structure was used to hide antiquities of the Acropolis and the National Archaeological Museum sealed up behind a thick concrete wall, in order to protect them from the systematic theft by the German looters.Socrates was born c. 470 BC, in Athens. We know of his life through the writings of his students, including Plato and Xenophon and the plays of Aristophanes. His "Socratic method," laid the groundwork for Western systems of logic and philosophy. After Athens was defeated by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, Athenians entered a period of instability and doubt about their identity and place in the world. As a result, they clung to past glories, notions of wealth, and a fixation with physical beauty. Socrates attacked these values with his insistent emphasis on the greater importance of the mind. While many Athenians admired Socrates' challenges to Greek conventional wisdom and the humorous way he went about it, an equal number grew angry and felt he threatened their way of life and uncertain future. The jury was not swayed by Socrates's defense and convicted him by a vote of 280 to 221. Possibly the defiant tone of his defense contributed to the verdict and he made things worse during the deliberation over his punishment. Athenian law allowed a convicted citizen to propose an alternative punishment to the one called for by the prosecution and the jury would decide. Instead of proposing he be exiled, Socrates suggested he be honored by the city for his contribution to their enlightenment and be paid for his services. The jury was not amused and sentenced him to death by drinking a mixture of the poison hemlock. 399 BC
Sanctuaire des Muses
The monument there now was built in Roman times in 116 AD. Philopappos Hill is also called the Hill of Muses because it is home to a sanctuary dedicated to the poet and prophet Musaeus. According to the Greek mythology, the muses are the 9 daughters of Zeus and are the presiding deities of arts and sciences. There is also another legend associated with this hill. There is also another legend associated with this hill. It is considered that Musaeus, a poet and disciple of Orpheus, was buried here. Apart from its legendary importance, this hill also offers spectacular views of the Acropolis. Today this shrine might be in ruins but in the ancient times, it was considered as a sacred land and even today you shall see a lot of artists paying homage here.
Philopappos Monument
Philopappos died in 116, and his death caused great grief to his sister Julia Balbilla, citizens of Athens and possibly to the imperial family. As a dedication to honor the memory of Philopappos, Balbilla with the citizens of Athens erected a tomb structure on Muses Hill (Λόφος Μουσών) near the Acropolis of Athens. His marble tomb monument is still known as the Philopappos (or Philopappou) Monument, and the hill is today known as Philopappou Hill (Λόφος Φιλοπάππου).The Greek geographer Pausanias describes Philopappos’ grand tomb as a monument built for a Syrian man. The monument was built on the same site where Musaios or Musaeus, a 6th-century BC priestly poet and mystical seer, was held to have been buried. The location of this tomb, opposite the Acropolis and within formal boundaries of the city, shows the high position Philopappos had within Athenian society.
Filopappou Viewing Podium
Great views on the entire city including the Acropolis and Piraeus harbour.
Deaf Man's Cave
Recently excavated in 2009. Believed to have been originally used as a place of worship, then as homes, and later as tombs and burial monuments. The name hints at a local legend that the man who resided in this particular stone cut structure was deaf.
Kimon's Tomb
5th century BC Athenian statesman and victor in the Battle of Marathon, Cimon, lies buried in the rock-cut tomb..Cimon (/ˈsaɪmən/;[citation needed] c. 510 – 450 BC) or Kimon (/ˈkaɪmən/; Greek: Κίμων, Kimōn)[2] was an Athenian statesman and general in mid-5th century BC Greece. He was the son of Miltiades, the victor of the Battle of Marathon. Cimon played a key role in creating the powerful Athenian maritime empire following the failure of the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I in 480–479 BC. Cimon became a celebrated military hero and was elected to the rank of strategos after fighting in the Battle of Salamis.One of Cimon's greatest exploits was his destruction of a Persian fleet and army at the Battle of the Eurymedon river in 466 BC. In 462 BC, he led an unsuccessful expedition to support the Spartans during the helot uprisings. As a result, he was dismissed and ostracized from Athens in 461 BC; however, he was recalled from his exile before the end of his ten-year ostracism to broker a five-year peace treaty in 451 BC between Sparta and Athens. For this participation in pro-Spartan policy, he has often been called a laconist. Cimon also led the Athenian aristocratic party against Pericles and opposed the democratic revolution of Ephialtes seeking to retain aristocratic party control over Athenian institutions.
Church of Agios Demetrios Loumpardiaris
Agios Demetrios is a beautiful 12th c. small church of the vaulted single-aisle basilica type. The construction of the chapel is probably associated with the final phase of the fortification wall (12th c. A.D.). Inside the church, the frescoes date to 1732 according to the building inscription. According to tradition, the surname "Loumbardiaris" (the Bombardier) is due to the fact that the church was saved by a miracle around 1640-1650, when Yusuf, the then Turkish commander of the Acropolis, bombed the church from the Propylaea of the Acropolis. The following day, lightning struck the Propylaea, killing Yusuf and his entire family. The church has undergone several changes over time. Its current form, complete with open spaces and the Kylikeion aka Peripteron, owe to the restoration of its Post-Byzantine phase by the renowned architect Dimitris Pikionis (1887-1968) in the early 1960s.
Dipylon Gate
The Dipylon gate was built, along with the neighbouring Sacred Gate, in 478 BC as part of Themistocles' fortification of Athens following the Persian Wars. The new circuit was much wider than the old one that was destroyed by the Persians, and many of the graves and monuments of the already existing Kerameikos cemetery were used in its construction, a fact which earned Themistocles the hostility of many Athenians whose relatives' tombs were despoiled. During the Peace of Nicias (421–416 BC), the wall was complemented by a moat and a secondary wall (proteichisma). The construction of the Pompeion in the empty space between the Dipylon and Sacred Gate began shortly after, but was not completed until the next century. The Themistoclean Wall was torn down after the Athenian defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC, but in 394 BC, with the help of Persian funds, the Athenian statesman Conon restored it.
The Pnyx
The Pnyx was used for popular assemblies in Athens as early as 507 BC, when the reforms of Cleisthenes transferred political power to the citizenry. The Pnyx was the official meeting place of the Athenian democratic assembly. It was then outside the city proper, but close enough to be convenient. It looks down on the ancient Agora, which was the commercial and social centre of the city. The Pnyx one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of democracy.At this site all the great political struggles of Athens of the "Golden Age" were fought out. Pericles, Aristides and Alcibiades spoke here, within sight of the Parthenon, temple of Athena. Here Demosthenes delivered his vilifications of Philip II of Macedon.
Ancient Agora of Athens
Entrace to the Ancient Agora of Athens. The word "agora" applies to an assembly of people and by extension marks the gathering place. In modern Greek the term means "marketplace". Remained in use either as an assembly, as a commercial, or as a residential area for about 5000 years. Consequently the area has undergone countless building, destruction, and rebuilding cycles. Today this strata of history has been distilled through excavations to expose the Agora's important functions from Archaic to Greco-Roman and Byzantine times.*Start Rick Steve's free audio tour of the Agora of Athens (Rick Steve's Audio Europe App)*
Stoa of Attalos/ The Agora Museum
The Stoa of Attalos (also spelled Attalus) was a stoa (covered walkway or portico) in the Agora of Athens, Greece.[1] It was built by and named after King Attalos II of Pergamon, who ruled between 159 BC and 138 BC. The current building was reconstructed from 1952 to 1956 by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and currently houses the Museum of the Ancient Agora.A dedicatory inscription engraved on the architrave states that it was built by Attalos II, who was ruler of Pergamon. The stoa was a gift to the city of Athens for the education that Attalos received there under the philosopher Carneades. His elder brother and his father had previously made substantial gifts to the city. The building was constructed on the east side of the Agora or market place of Athens and was used from approximately 150 B.C. onwards for a variety of purposes. The stoa was in frequent use until its woodwork was burned by the Heruli in AD 267. The ruins became part of a fortification wall, which made it easily seen in modern times. Between 1859-62 and in 1898-1902 the ruins of the Stoa were cleared and identified by the Greek Archaeological Society.
Middle Stoa
Stoas, in the context of ancient Greek architecture, are covered walkways or porticos, commonly for public usage.This stoa is approximately in the middle of the Agora and dividing it into north and south areas. Built 175 BC - 150 BC
Great Drain
Early 5th century BC: Drain with width and breadth of 1 m., its side walls of polygonal masonry with a tiled bottom and large covering slabs. Its purpose was to convery to the Eridane River waste from the buildings of the Agora and rainwater from the surrounding hills. Its main channel crosses the west side of the Agora from south to north beneath the paving of the "West Street". At the beginning of the 4th century BC. two branches were added immediately south of the Tholos, one to the southeast and one to the southwest, to bring rainwater and waste from a broader section of the Agora into the main channel. In later antiquity the statue of the emperor Hadrian, set up on the "West Street" was used as a cover slab for the drain.
Tholos
Built in 470 AD. The south half of the west side was given over to the major administrative buildings used to run the Athenian democracy. The buildings are poorly preserved, but the identifications are secure thanks to the account of the traveler Pausanias, who visited Athens in the years around A.D. 150.The Tholos, recognizable by its round shape, served as the headquarters of the prytaneis (executive committee) of the boule (senate of 500), according to Aristotle (Ath. Pol. 43.3). Here the fifty senators were fed at public expense, and at least seventeen spent the night in the building, available to deal with any emergency, whatever the hour. In a sense, then, the Tholos represents the heart of the Athenian democracy, where citizens serving as senators could be found on duty twenty-four hours a day.
Temple of Hephaestus
After the battle of Plataea, the Greeks swore never to rebuild their sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians during their invasion of Greece, but to leave them in ruins, as a perpetual reminder of the war. The Athenians directed their funds towards rebuilding their economy and strengthening their influence in the Delian League. When Pericles came to power, he envisioned a grand plan for transforming Athens into the centre of Greek power and culture. Construction started in 449 BC, and some scholars believe the building not to have been completed for some three decades, funds and workers having been redirected towards the Parthenon. The western frieze was completed between 445–440 BC, while the eastern frieze, the western pediment and several changes in the building's interior are dated by these scholars to 435–430 BC, largely on stylistic grounds. It was only during the Peace of Nicias (421–415 BC) that the roof was completed and the cult images were installed. The temple was officially inaugurated in 416–415 BC.
Odeon of Agrippa
The two-story auditorium seated around 1,000 spectators and was equipped with a raised stage and marble-paved orchestra. On three sides it was surrounded by a subterranean cryptoporticus with stoae above. The building was decorated externally with Corinthian pilasters. The main entrance for spectators was originally on the south side of the building, with access from the terrace of the Middle Stoa. The north facade only had a small portico to give access to the stage.Unfortunately, the 25 m (82 ft) span of the auditorium eventually caused the roof to collapse in around 150 AD. The Odeon was rebuilt as a smaller lecture hall, seating only 500, and a more elaborate facade was added to the north side. Its massive pillars were carved in the form of 'giants' (snake tails) and 'tritons' (fish tails).The Odeon was finally destroyed in 267 AD by the Herulians. A sprawling palace was built on the site in the early 5th century AD with the pillars of the northern facade being used to create a monumental entrance
Late Roman Era Wall
East of the East Building and Mint we arrive once again at the Panathenaic Way, which in this area is lined along its eastern side by a massive wall built in the 3rd century A.D. (Fig. 42). The wall was constructed in the years following the sack of Athens by the Herulians in A.D. 267; it starts at the Acropolis with a new gate, runs north down the east side of the roadway, takes in the ruins of the Stoa of Attalos, and then turns eastward toward the Library of Hadrian. The old Agora, former center of town, is not even within the fortified limits of the Late Roman town, which lay to the east.The wall is made up almost entirely of reused architectural pieces taken from buildings and monuments destroyed by the Herulians: marble architrave blocks, Ionic and Doric columns, inscriptions, and statue bases were all used to make two solid faces, while the interior was filled with rubble. Square towers, now largely dismantled, projected from the face of the wall at regular intervals.
Church of the Holy Apostles
The church is particularly significant as the only monument in the Agora, other than the Temple of Hephaestus, to survive intact since its foundation, and for its architecture: it was the first significant church of the middle Byzantine period in Athens, and marks the beginning of the so-called "Athenian type", successfully combining the simple four-pier with the cross-in-square forms. The church was built partly over a 2nd-century nymphaion, and was restored to its original form between 1954 and 1957.
Roman Forum of Athens
The original Agora was encroached upon and obstructed by a series of Roman buildings, beginning with the imperial family's gift to the Athenians of a large odeion (concert hall). The Odeon of Agrippa was built by him in around 15 BC, and measured 51.4 by 43.2 metres, rose several stories in height, and – being sited just north of the Middle Stoa – obstructed the old agora. In return for the odeion, the Athenians built a statue to Agrippa at the site of the previous agora; they based it on a plinth recycled from an earlier statue by covering the old inscription with a new one
Horologion of Andronikos Kyrrhestes
The Tower of the Winds or the Horologion of Andronikos Kyrrhestes is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower in the Roman Agora in Athens that functioned as a horologion or "timepiece". It is considered the world's first meteorological station. Unofficially, the monument is also called Aerides (Greek: Αέρηδες), which means Winds. The structure features a combination of sundials, a water clock, and a wind vane. It was designed by Andronicus of Cyrrhus around 50 BC, but according to other sources, might have been constructed in the 2nd century BC before the rest of the forum. In summer of 2014, the Athens Ephorate of Antiquities began cleaning and conserving the structure; restoration work was completed in August 2016.
Plaka Stairs
The Plaka is the oldest section of Athens. Though it is quite commercialized it is still a neighborhood and arguably the nicest neighborhood in central Athens.
