Although there’s not a lot to see now, the agora is arguably the most important site in Athens. This was the beating heart of Athens’ social, commercial, legal, political, and (in many ways) religious activities. Athenians visited the Acropolis … the agora is where they lived.

You want to visit the agora because:

• Many famous people also visited here: philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno; politicians like Pericles, Kimon, Solon; generals like Themistocles, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great; speakers like Demosthenes and Cicero; religious figures like the Apostle Paul.
• Important events transpired here: several of Socrates’ “Dialogues”; the trial of Socrates; the beginning of the Stoic school of philosophy; the reign of the Tyrants; publication of Solon’s reforms; the intimate workings of Athenian democracy; the preaching of Paul.
• Some of the most important structures in Athenian life were built here: the senate house; the records hall; the archon’s offices; eight stoae (for shopping and meetings); temples; a theater; the city “bema” (or speakers’ podium—the equivalent of the rostrum in Rome); the Panathenaic Way.
• One of the best (albeit small) museums in Athens is sited here.
• The restored Stoa of Attalos gives you a sense of the sophistication and power of the Athenians and what the agora would have looked like in the day.
• The Hephaestion is one of the most inspiring sights in Athens.