Agora: An Ancient Meeting Place Visited By Many Famous Philosophers

AncientPages.com - The Agora was a large open place meeting place surrounded by buildings.

The word Agora means “gathering place” or “assembly”.  In ancient Greece it was common practice that free citizens met to discuss ideas, philosophy and politics. In ancient Rome, the Agora had a similar function, but the meeting place was called “the Forum”.

The Agora was a place where men to discuss philosophy, politics and vote.

The Agora was surrounded by temples dedicated to gods such as Zeus and Apollo.  Other buildings around the Agora were government buildings, like the Strategeion where Athenian military leaders met to discuss war tactics.

Many interesting ancient people visited the Agora in Athens. Among them were the great philosopher Socrates and Aristotle son of Ariston who today is known as Plato.

Later the Agora became an open-air marketplace where merchants had their shops and where craftsmen made and sold their wares. The original Agora of Athens was located below the Acropolis near the building which today is known as The Thesion and open-air markets are still held in that same location in the modern day.

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