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6 - The Agora: Public Life and Administration

from Part I - The Urban Fabric

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2021

By
John McK. Camp
Edited by
Jenifer Neils  and
Dylan K. Rogers
Jenifer Neils
Affiliation:
American School of Classical Studies, Athens
Dylan K. Rogers
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
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Summary

The public, official life of Athens took place mostly in the central square, known as the Agora, described by ancient authors, especially Pausanias, and excavated by the American School of Classical Studies. This chapter explores the buildings that housed the executive (Royal Stoa), legislative (Bouleuterion), and judiciary (law courts, or diskasteria) branches of the Athenian democracy.

Keywords

Agorademocracyexecutivelegislativejudiciary
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Athens , pp. 86 - 97
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

The excavations of the Athenian Agora have been well published. Over sixty volumes and 450 articles have appeared thus far, and more are in preparation. The majority of articles are published in Hesperia, the journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The website of the Athenian Agora Excavations (www.agathe.gr) provides online access to numerous resources, including archival excavation materials, plans, and full publication lists of the excavations. On the early years of these excavations see Dumont 2020. For more on the ancient sources related to the Agora, see Pausanias (Book 1, especially chapters 3–18), Aristotle’s Constitution of the Athenians (Athenaion Politeia), and Wycherley 1957. For general resources on the Agora, consult Thompson and Wycherley 1972, Camp 1992, Mauzy 2006, Camp and Mauzy 2009, Camp 2010, and Gawlinski 2014. On the lawcourts, see Boegehold 1995 and Townsend 1995, along with Lang 1990 on ostracism. For more on the numerous inscriptions of the Agora, see Bradeen 1973, Meritt and Traill 1974, Lalonde, Langdon, and Walbank 1991, Woodhead 1997, and Geagan 2011.

Bibliography

Boegehold, A. 1995. The Lawcourts at Athens: Sites, Buildings, Equipment, Procedure, and Testimonia. Agora 28. Princeton.Google Scholar
Bradeen, D. 1973. Inscriptions: The Funerary Monuments. Agora 17. Princeton.Google Scholar
Camp, J.M. 1992. The Athenian Agora: Excavations in the Heart of Classical Athens. London.Google Scholar
Camp, J.M. 2010. The Athenian Agora: Site Guide. 5th edn. Princeton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camp, J.M., and Mauzy, C., eds. 2009. The Athenian Agora: New Perspectives on an Ancient Site. Mainz.Google Scholar
Dumont, S. 2020. Vrysaki: A Neighborhood Lost in Search of the Athenian Agora. Princeton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gawlinski, L. 2014. The Athenian Agora: Museum Guide. 5th edn. Princeton.Google Scholar
Geagan, D. 2011. Inscriptions: The Dedications. Agora 18. Princeton.Google Scholar
Lalonde, G., Langdon, M.K., and Walbank, M.B.. 1991. Inscriptions: Horoi, Poletai Records, Leases of Public Lands. Agora 19. Princeton.Google Scholar
Lang, M. 1990. Ostraka. Agora 25. Princeton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mauzy, C. 2006. Agora Excavations 1931–2006: A Pictorial History. Athens.Google Scholar
Meritt, B.D., and Traill, J.S.. 1974. Inscriptions: The Athenian Councilors. Agora 15. Princeton.Google Scholar
Thompson, H.A., and Wycherley, R.E.. 1972. The Agora of Athens: The History, Shape, and Uses of an Ancient City Center. Agora 14. Princeton.Google Scholar
Townsend, R. 1995. The East Side of the Agora: The Remains beneath the Stoa of Attalos. Agora 27. Princeton.Google Scholar
Woodhead, A.G. 1997. Inscriptions: The Decrees. Agora 16. Princeton.Google Scholar
Wycherley, R.E. 1957. Literary and Epigraphical Testimonia. Agora 3. Princeton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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