Ancient Athens: Public Spaces
Three distinct public areas for religion, commerce and government
Within walking distance, Athenian citizens made use of the Acropolois, Agora and Pnyx Hill.
During the years 479 BCE (before common era) and 431 BCE, the culture in Athens flourished as the birthplace of democracy. The city had three distinct public centers, the Acropolis, the Agora and the Pnyx Hill. The Acropolis was the highest point in the city and a place of beauty. The temple complex the Athenians built was considered the ultimate religious symbol of the gods on earth. The agora built at the base of the Acropolis was the center of commerce and the arts. On Pnyx Hill, adjacent to the Acropolis, a natural amphitheater provided seating and acoustics for the meeting of the democratic assembly.
Like other Greek citiy-states, the acropolis was originally used for defense and living space for the king and the wealthiest citizens. During the democratic period, the popular assembly began a building program under the direction of Pericles on the Acropolis in Athens. They built the Parthenon and commissioned a statue of Athena, the guardian of the city. Sailors could see the splendor of the Acropolis in Athens from the Attic coast. Greek temples, unlike today’s churches, were not meant for worship. The Greeks dedicated the temples to deities and believed the deity dwelled in the temple as their home on earth. Throughout the year, the Greeks celebrated festivals honoring these gods, goddesses, and heroes and made sacrifices at the temples.
The agora at the base of the Acropolis reached significance during the democratic age of Athens. Stones placed around the perimeter denoted the area of the agora. At each entrance, whether road or pathway into the agora, a vase held water. The Athenian might sprinkle the water or wash their hands to purify their body before entering the center of the polis (city).
The agora was the pulse of city life and the center of human experience and creativity. Entertainers, from jugglers to magicians, walked through the agora performing similar to a street carnival today. Vendors and craftsmen sold their goods in booths set up like a department store; all the sandal makers were grouped together as were pottery makers, shield makers, and slave sellers. Farmers sold fruits and foodstuffs and often cooked samples to entice shoppers to their booths or sold food that the shoppers could eat while spending time in the agora.
Inside the agora, an Athenian man spent most of the day. He walked, talked to peers, discussed events, debated political issues, and transacted business. Mid-morning he shopped in the Agora where daily he could expect to purchase everything from food to clothing and weapons. Athenian women did not move about freely. Citizen women were revered as the link to the future because they had children and were kept in seclusion to keep them pure. Metics, the Greek word for foreign born, or women of the lower classes had more freedom in the agora. They might spend the day going to the public fountains to get water, as the homes didn’t have running water, purchase food or even sell their crafts or produce.
Athenian men spent the entire day conducting business; hearing law cases and making political decisions regarding fees for public service, reconstructing temples destroyed by the Persians and eventually made the decision to fight Sparta. Other business conducted in the agora included minting coins to be used for trade, developing military strategy, and educating young men. Factories produced shields, pottery, and other goods. If a business was owned by a metic, Athens charged a special tax.
While administrative functions took place in buildings in the agora, the open-air assembly met on Pnyx Hill. A written constitution granted all free male Athenian citizens the right to make decisions, speak about issues and vote. More than a right, participation was expected. In Athens, all voters decided every issue. The United States is a republic, meaning the people are represented but not everyone speaks and votes about every issue. Slaves and metics were excluded from political decision making and voting, though they could live in Athens and take part in business.
In Athens, the functions of daily life were grouped and centralized. While no real equivalents of the Acropolis, agora, and Pnyx Hill assembly exist in common practice, some similarities survive from historical into current public places. The acropolis is echoed in the building of churches and memorials to heroes and heroic events. The agora is translated into modern living with downtown areas with stores for shopping and professional offices like accountants, lawyers, and physicians or shopping malls. The Pnyx hill would be the equivalent of the government buildings where decisions are made and law courts where cases are heard and decided.
