//
Photo: Tomisti, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
If Athens is the birthplace of democracy, then Pnyx is its cradle. Around 507 BCE this rocky hill, overlooking the Akropolis, became the meeting place for the ekklesia, Athens' early democratic assembly. This site thus witnessed addresses by Pericles, Aristides and Alcibiades during the "Golden Age" of Athens, and had a capacity for 6000 to 13,000 hearers. The site was redesigned several times, creating three distinct phases in its history, until the ekklesia moved to the Theatre of Dionysos some time during the first century BCE. During the Roman era Pnyx was instead used as a sanctuary of Zeus.
The Pnyx is a hill or hillside in central Athens, the capital of Greece. Beginning as early as 507 BC, the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, making the hill one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of democracy.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
It was the ancient fortified town of Athens, dating back to the Late Bronze Age. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its historic role and the many iconic buildings of the Greek Classical age, among them the Parthenon, the Erectheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. The key landmark of Athens, visible from afar, the Acropolis dominates the Athenian sky and symbolizes the foundation of modern culture and civilization. The Acropolis is considered to be an enduring symbol of Western civilisation.
This theatre, built in 161 CE, is still used for concerts and plays. The stone backdrop is still preserved to a remarkable height of 3 stories, because it was incorporated into a later fortification on the site.
The site of the ancient city centre is a green space with a beautiful view of the Acropolis. It was built as a multipurpose area, then evolved into a religious area over time. The Ancient Agora was eventually abandoned and then large parts of it were later built over for a thousand years. The open space you see today was excavated starting in the 1850s.
Agias Apostoli
From the 11th century, one of the oldest churches in Athens.
The best preserved ancient Greek temple, 5th century BCE.
Museum of the Ancient Agora
This building was reconstructed in the 1950s from its original foundations, incorporating as much of the original structure and materials as possible, with limestone quarried from Piraeus and roof tiles made of clay from Attica. It is used as a museum to house relics found in the Agora.