Roman Agora

The Roman agora is an ancient Roman market square built during Roman rule. Its construction began in 27 BC at the expense of Octavian Augustus, but the idea of creation belonged to Julius Caesar, who proposed it in 51 BC. That is why the square is also known as the Agora of Caesar and Augustus. The Roman agora is still not fully excavated, but it is known that it was a spacious open square surrounded by a colonnade. In the southern part there was a fountain, and on the western side there were Ionic Propylaea (Gate of Athena). In the east rose Doric Eastern Propylaea, nearby was the famous octagonal Tower of Winds and public baths. In the 2nd century AD, under Emperor Hadrian, the market was enlarged and an inscription appeared on the gates defining the tax obligations of merchants. During Ottoman rule, the gates of Athens became the entrance to the agora, where grain was traded. In the middle of the XV century on the territory of the agora erected a mosque Fethiye-djami, which in the XVII century was rebuilt, and in 1687 the Venetians turned it into a Catholic church. Today, the Roman Agora is a popular tourist site where you can see monuments from different historical eras.