1. The agora was the place Athenians came to:
   1. Shop and gossip
   2. Read posted laws
   3. Defend themselves against charges such as bribery or theft
   4. All of the above
2. What agora structure was considered the center of Athens and was used to measure distances to and from the city?
   1. The Altar of the Twelve Gods
   2. The Royal Stoa
   3. The Hephaestion
   4. The Monument to the Eponymous Heroes
3. The Panathenaic Way (that ran through the agora) was also called:
   1. The Panhellenic Way
   2. Main Street
   3. The Sacred Way
   4. The Peripatos
4. The best preserved temple from the Classical Period is found in the agora. What is it called?
   1. The Temple of Olympian Zeus
   2. The Hephaestion
   3. The Temple of Apollo
   4. The Parthenon
5. Long, roofed “porches” (walled along the back and columned along the front) were very popular with the Athenians, giving them a place to escape the weather and still conduct business or meet with their friends. What was this kind of structure called?
   1. Tholos
   2. Odeon
   3. Bouleuterion
   4. Stoa
6. The agora was the center of Athens’ political and administrative activity. Agora buildings housed important functions of government. Which of the following is not true?
   1. The Metroon housed the city’s archives.
   2. The Bouleuterion is where the city senate met and voted.
   3. The Tholos is where a subset of senators were on call 24 hours a day.
   4. All of the above are true.
7. The agora was also a place for religious observances and sacrifices, hosting numerous temples. One of these, the Hephaestion, honored which Olympian god or goddess?
   1. The god of wine and revelry
   2. The goddess of wisdom and battle
   3. The god of fire and forge
   4. The goddess of hearth and home
8. Some Agora buildings were paid for by the Athenians. Some were gifts from wealthy foreign benefactors who felt a great affection for Athens. Which of the following structures was given to the city by an admirer?
   1. The Royal Stoa
   2. The Stoa of Attalos
   3. The Temple of Apollo Eleutherios
   4. The Monument of the Eponymous Heroes
9. The right-hand general of Octavian Augustus (first Emperor of Rome) built a concert hall for Athens here in the agora. What was his name?
   1. Agrippa
   2. Caligula
   3. Pompey
   4. Cassius
10. One of the most important structures of the agora was built under it. What was it?
    1. An escape tunnel that led out under the city walls
    2. The Great Drain (the agora sewage system)
    3. The Treasury (a subterranean vault)
    4. The Dungeon (Athens’ prison)

1) d
All of the above. The agora was a remarkably versatile place, housing temples, government facilities, shops, concert halls, and public gathering spots. The Acropolis may have been dedicated to the gods, but the Agora belonged firmly to the Athenian people.

2) a
The Altar of the Twelve Gods. One of the oldest structures in the agora and dedicated to the Olympian gods, this spot was an important Athenian landmark. An ancient milepost dug up near Piraeus reads, “the distance to the Atar of the Twelve Gods from the harbor is forty-five stades.” Sadly, this revered site was simply cut in two a century ago when the Athens-Piraeus railroad went through.

3) c
The Sacred Way. Many cities in ancient Greece had a street that went by this name. (Delphi had one, for instance.) It designated the route of processionals, walked in honor of the gods, that led up to temples, altars, and acropoli. In Athens, that processional was known as the Panathenaia (the “all Athens” parade), and the Sacred Way in Athens took that more specific name.

4) b
The Hephaestion. Even today, this temple retains its roof, the cella walls are still intact, and its columns are all standing. Much of its statuary (the metope and frieze sculptures) has been severely damaged by weather and vandalism. But the structure itself is in a remarkable state of preservation. There is no temple from the Greek Classical Period in better condition anywhere.

5) d
A “stoa” or porch was a common feature of ancient Greek and Roman life. Essentially a roof supported by solid walls at the back and ends and an open, columned front, the Stoa provided shelter against rain, wind, and sun—important factors for people whose lives were lived largely out of doors. Very often, the Stoa would also house shops and taverns along its back wall. As such, the Stoa made a comfortable place to meet for business or debate or browsing … or just to catch up on the latest city gossip. For the Greeks of old, the Stoa was meeting place, mall, storm shelter, and social center.

6) d
All of the above. The western side of the agora was the center of political and administrative functions in Athens. The buildings grouped together in the shadow of the Kolonos Hill were where records were kept, the Senate met and debated, lesser trials were heard, and public matters (such as laws, announcements, and conscription lists) were posted.

7) c
For anyone familiar with the Greek pantheon, this was easy. Hephaestus—god of fire and forge—was the Olympian god honored by this temple. This was the largest and most expensive temple to Hephaestus in the ancient world. The temple sits atop the Kolonos Hill and there is evidence of forges and metal working all over the surrounding grounds—although whether the temple was built as a result of the presence of the craftsmen, or the craftsmen gravitated to the temple is debated.

8 ) b
The Stoa of Attalos was a gift to the city of Athens. The donor—Attalos II, King of Pergamum—erected this structure in the middle of the 2^nd century b.c. out of love and admiration for the city of Athens. [His older brother, by the way, King Eúmenes II, built the Stoa on the south slope of the Acropolis—the one connecting the Theater of Dionysus with the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. The family, apparently, had a thing for stoas!]

9) a
Agrippa had known Augustus when he was still Octavian and only the nephew (not the adopted son) of Julius Caesar. When Augustus came to power, he naturally relied on the friends he’d known before, particularly Agrippa. Agrippa was not only a skilled administrator, he was a gifted general. He and Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi and then, in turn, he defeated Antony at the Battle of Actium. In time, he became very wealthy. One of the ways he demonstrated that wealth was to build things that bore his name.

10) b
The Great Drain was among the first structures built in the agora. One meter high and one meter wide, the Drain was large and well-constructed. From the materials used and the careful workmanship, we can see how important a functioning sewer was to the Athenians. Today, over 2500 years later, the Drain still works—a heavy rain will turn the Drain into a rushing torrent.