Editing Agora

{{Short description|Public space in ancient Greek cities}}
{{About|the ancient marketplace}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2021}}
[[File:The Ancient Agora from the Areopagus on May 12, 2020.jpg|thumb|260px|View of the [[Ancient Agora of Athens]] in the foreground. The [[Temple of Hephaestus]] is to the left and the [[Stoa of Attalos]] to the right.]]

The '''agora''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|g|ə|r|ə}}; {{langx|grc|ἀγορά}}, <small>romanized:</small> ''{{transliteration|el|agorá}}'', meaning "market" in [[Modern Greek]]) was a central [[public space]] in ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[polis|city-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.<ref name=InternationalDictionary>{{cite book |title = International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe | last1=Ring |last2=Salkin |last3=Boda | first=Trudy |first2=Robert |first3=Sharon | publisher = Routledge|date = 1996 | page= 66 | isbn=978-1-884964-02-2}}</ref> The [[Ancient Agora of Athens]] is the best-known example.

==Origins==

[[File:Laodikeia am Lykos - Münzkabinett, Berlin - 5475198.jpg|thumb|275px|Bronze Roman medal (45 mm, 45.6 g) showing [[Caracalla]]'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 a [[marketplace]], where merchants kept stalls or shops to sell their goods amid [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]]s. This attracted [[artisan]]s who built workshops nearby.<ref name="lag">{{cite book |title=Life in Ancient Greece |last=Peppas  |first=Lynn |year=2005 |publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company |isbn=0778720357 |page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeinancientgre0000pepp/page/12 12] |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeinancientgre0000pepp |url-access=registration |access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2024}}

From these twin functions of the agora as a political and a commercial spot came the two Greek verbs {{lang|grc|ἀγοράζω}}, ''agorázō'', "I shop", and {{lang|grc|ἀγορεύω}}, ''agoreúō'', "I speak in public".<ref>{{LSJ|a)gora/|ἀγορά}}, {{LSJ|a)gora/zw|ἀγοράζω}}, {{LSJ|a)goreu/w|ἀγορεύω|ref}}.</ref>

==Ancient Agora of Athens==
{{main|Ancient Agora of Athens}}
[[File:Agora and Acropolis (Αγόρα και Ακρόπολη).jpg|thumb|The Athenian agora today]]
The [[Ancient Agora of Athens]] was situated beneath the northern slope of the [[Acropolis of Athens|Acropolis]]. The Ancient Agora was the primary meeting ground for Athenians, where members of [[democracy]] congregated affairs of the state, where business was conducted, a place to hang out, and watch performers and listen to famous [[philosopher]]s. The importance of the Athenian agora revolved around religion. The agora was a very sacred place, in which holiness is laid out in the [[architecture]] 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 of [[Athens]] and to the main gate of the city, [[Dipylon]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Archaic Athenian Agora: Gateway to Classical Athenian Democracy|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/144/the-archaic-athenian-agora-gateway-to-classical-at/|access-date=2020-12-01|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]}}</ref> This road was considered tremendously sacred, serving as a travel route for the [[Panathenaic Games|Panathenaic festival]], which was held in honor of the goddess [[Athena]] every four years. The agora was also famously known for housing the [[Temple 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 for [[Zeus]], [[Athena]], [[Apollo]], and [[Ares]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Athenian Agora|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-athenian-agora|access-date=2020-10-03|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en}}</ref>

==Location and constituents==
[[File:Stoa_in_Athens.jpg|thumb|The reconstructed [[Stoa of Attalos]]]]
The agora was usually located in the middle of a city or near the harbor. Agoras were built of [[colonnade]]s, or rows of long columns, and contained [[stoa]]e, also known as a long open walkway below the colonnades.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stoa {{!}} architecture|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/stoa|access-date=2020-12-01|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> They were beautifully decorated with fountains, trees, and statues. When the Athenian agora was rebuilt after the [[Greco-Persian Wars]], colonnades and stoae were not incorporated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=agora {{!}} Definition, History, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/agora|access-date=2020-12-01|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

==Phobia==
The term [[agoraphobia]] 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.

==See also==
* [[Forum (Roman)]]
* [[Agorism]]
* [[Platonic Academy]]
* [[E-democracy#Egora|Egora (electronic agora)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

* https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/68303

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181006043407/http://www.agathe.gr/ Official Athenian agora excavations]
* [http://travels.co.ua/engl/greece/athens/Monastiraki/agora/index.html Agora in Athens: photos]

{{Ancient Greece topics}}
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[[Category:Society of ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Archaeological terminology]]
[[Category:Economy of ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Public space]]