Unlike its famous neighbor — the Ancient Agora of Athens, which for centuries served as the heart of Athenian democracy, a place of public assemblies and philosophical debates — the Roman Agora was born in a completely different era. By the 1st century BC, Athens, although retaining the aura of the cultural capital of the ancient world, had lost its political independence, becoming part of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire.
The idea of creating a new market belonged to Julius Caesar, who proposed it in 51 BC, but the project was implemented by Octavian Augustus — the first Roman emperor. Construction began in 27 BC and lasted about 10–15 years. This was a conscious departure from the traditional Greek urban planning model: while the Ancient Agora was a multifunctional space where politics, religion, justice, and trade coexisted, the Roman Agora was conceived as a highly specialized commercial center. Its official name at that time — the Agora of Caesar and Augustus — emphasized the patronage of the Roman rulers.
Heyday: 1st–2nd centuries AD
During its heyday, which fell on the 1st–2nd centuries AD, the Roman Agora was an impressive architectural structure without parallel in Athens. It was a huge rectangular complex measuring 111 × 98 meters, enclosed by a high wall around its perimeter, which made it a closed and guarded space. Inside was a spacious open courtyard, surrounded by covered colonnades (stoas), behind which were arranged in two rows of shops, warehouses, and workshops.
Layout of the trading space. Life was bustling here: cries of merchants in Greek and Latin, the clinking of coins. In the shops (tabernae), they sold imported grain from Egypt, amphorae of wine from the islands of the Aegean Sea, olive oil, honey, fish, ceramics, textiles, jewelry. A special role was played by the shops of oil merchants on the north side.
Public toilet (Vespasian) of the 1st century — a unique testament to Roman pragmatism. A rectangular building with a hall where benches with holes stood along the walls. Under them, running water flushed waste into a sewer. This was a social place for meetings and discussing news — a luxury even by Roman standards.
The Gate of Athena Archegetis (western entrance, 11 BC) — a monumental entrance with four Doric columns of Pentelic marble. The dedicatory inscription stated that the gate was erected by the Athenians in honor of Caesar and Augustus and under the patronage of the goddess Athena. The East Propylaea — an entrance with Ionic columns of gray Hymettian marble. The contrast of white and dark marble gave the Agora elegance and richness.
The Tower of the Winds — the most amazing structure. Built around 50 BC by the astronomer Andronicus of Cyrrhus, it stood here even before the construction of the Agora began. This is the world`s first meteorological station. Height — 12 meters, diameter — about 8 meters. It is oriented strictly to the cardinal points. On each of the eight sides are relief figures of the eight winds (Boreas, Notus, Zephyr, etc.) with attributes. At the top stood a bronze weather vane in the form of a Triton, indicating the direction of the wind. Below the weather vane are sundials. The tower served as a clock, calendar, and weather station.
The Agora under Hadrian (117–138 AD)
The second period of the Roman Agora`s flourishing came during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117–138 AD). Hadrian, a passionate admirer of Greek culture, did much for Athens. Under him, the market was expanded, and an inscription appeared on the gates defining the tax obligations of merchants.
During this period, a fountain was built in the southern part of the Roman Agora, fed by a new aqueduct that Hadrian built to Athens. Water was a symbol of the emperor`s well-being and generosity.
It was during this heyday, under Hadrian and his successors, that the Roman Agora became not just a market but also a social center of Roman Athens. Here people made appointments, here they came to listen to philosophers who argued in the shade of the colonnades, here aristocrats made purchases, and ordinary people made their modest acquisitions. Greek and Latin were heard here equally often.
Decline: the Herulian invasion (267 AD)
In 267 AD, the Germanic tribes of the Heruli invaded Greece and sacked Athens. The Ancient Agora was burned and almost completely destroyed. The Roman Agora, although damaged, fared better due to its strong walls.
After this sack, it was decided that restoring the old, political Agora made no sense. The administrative functions of Athens were transferred precisely to the Roman Agora. The walls were strengthened, and new buildings were erected inside. Thus, the market turned into the administrative and commercial center of the city, remaining so for several centuries until it finally fell into disuse in the early medieval period.
Byzantine period (4th–15th centuries)
In the Early Byzantine period (4th–7th centuries), the Roman Agora continued to function as a public center, but on a smaller scale. Trade declined, many shops emptied. The main change was the penetration of Christianity into the urban space.
On the south side of the Agora, directly over the ancient commercial rows, an Early Christian basilica was built — a large three-aisled building with an apse facing east. This was not just a church but an episcopal complex, including a baptistery and auxiliary rooms. The basilica existed for several centuries, as evidenced by traces of multiple reconstructions.
By the 7th–8th centuries, during the era of Slavic invasions and Arab pirate raids, the population of Athens sharply declined. The Agora found itself outside the inhabited part of the city. Ancient buildings gradually fell into ruin, marble columns and blocks were dismantled by local residents for the construction of new houses and fortifications. The Tower of the Winds, however, survived — its strong walls and imposing appearance saved it from complete destruction.
Ottoman period (1458–1833)
On May 29, 1458, Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror entered Athens. The city surrendered without a fight, and a nearly four-hundred-year Ottoman era began, which radically changed the appearance of the Roman Agora.
Fethiye Mosque (1456/1458) — the "Mosque of the Conquest" — the first Ottoman structure on the territory of the Agora. It was built on the site of the ruins of the Early Christian basilica — a common practice of establishing Islam.
The Agora becomes a residential quarter. During the Ottoman period, the territory of the former Roman Agora ceased to be perceived as a single public space. It was built up with residential houses, workshops, stables, and warehouses. Narrow, crooked streets cut through the ancient rectangular layout. Mostly middle-class Greeks and Turks lived here. Most of the ancient columns and marble blocks had by then already been dismantled for building materials.
Destruction by the Venetians (1687). In 1687, during the Morean War between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, the Venetian fleet under Francesco Morosini besieged Athens. The famous explosion of the Parthenon, which the Venetians used as a gunpowder magazine, occurred on September 26, 1687. The area of the Roman Agora also suffered. Fethiye Mosque was turned by the Venetians into a Catholic church (dedicated to Dionysius the Areopagite), and then, possibly, into a warehouse. The Venetians held Athens for only a few years, and by 1690 the Ottomans had returned the city. But the mosque was never restored to its former state — it stood half-ruined.
18th century: desolation
In the 18th century, the Roman Agora finally fell into decline. Fethiye Mosque was abandoned and gradually deteriorated. The residential houses on its territory fell into disrepair. The ancient ruins increasingly sank underground — over centuries of sediment, the ground level rose by several meters. Of the Gate of Athena Archegetis, for example, only the capitals of the columns were visible above the surface. Foreign travelers, who began visiting Greece during the Enlightenment, left descriptions of this place as a sad mixture of ancient fragments, Turkish little houses, and thickets of weeds.
Legacy: what has survived to the present day at the Roman Agora in Athens
• The almost completely preserved Tower of the Winds with its famous reliefs;
• The Gate of Athena Archegetis — the western entrance with Doric columns;
• Fragments of the eastern entrance with Ionic columns;
• Remains of the 1st-century public toilet;
• Foundations and lower rows of stones of the shops and colonnades;
• The later Fethiye Mosque (15th century).
The Roman Agora is a must-stop on the itinerary of anyone who wants to understand how Athens lived under the rule of Rome, Byzantium, and the Ottoman Empire. In one hour, you will see the world`s first meteorological station, preserved ancient commercial rows, a 1st-century public toilet, and a 15th-century mosque. This is a compact, rich, and very photogenic archaeological park, located just a stone`s throw from the bustling Plaka district.
