Ancient Agora of Athens guide

The Agora was the beating heart of ancient Athens — not just a marketplace but the setting for politics, law, philosophy and daily life. Socrates questioned passers-by here; citizens gathered to vote and serve on juries. Walking its paths, you tread the same ground as the people who invented Western democracy, with the Acropolis rising directly above.

• The Temple of Hephaestus — the best-preserved ancient Greek temple anywhere, its Doric colonnade almost intact
• The reconstructed Stoa of Attalos, now a museum of finds from the Agora
• The scattered ruins of council houses, temples and civic buildings
• The Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles

From Piraeus, take the metro to Monastiraki or Thissio, both a short walk from the Agora entrances. Because it sits between the Acropolis and Plaka, the Agora slots perfectly into a walking loop of central Athens on a longer port call.