Remains of the ancient agora Smirny today are located in the Namazga quarter of Izmir, on the northern slopes of the Pagos hills, and are an open-air museum. The Agora was used up to the Byzantine period and was very well preserved due to the fact that on top of the ruins at that place was located first the Byzantine, and then the Ottoman cemetery and the place for prayer. Today, Smyrna's agora is considered to be the largest and best preserved of all Ionic rocks.
Smyrna was discovered by Charles Texier in the 19th century, but the first serious excavations were started here in 1927. Most of the finds were done between 1931 and 1942. The most recent excavations were made on the site of the present agora in 1996 and continued until 2002. Further buildings are hampered by modern buildings that still stand on top of the eastern and southern parts of the agora.
Agora in ancient times was a meeting place, central and market town square; commercial, political, religious and cultural heart of the city, where a variety of social and entertainment events took place. . In fact, in large cities there were usually two agors: the state agro with various public buildings and commercial with the market . Izmir Agora, presumably refers to to the first type . It was formed in the Hellenic period, around the 4th century BC . e ., but at 178 g . . e . was destroyed by a powerful earthquake . The agora was rebuilt already in the Roman period, under Emperor Marcus Aurelius, in accordance with ia with urban development plan Ipodoma Miletus .
Agora Smyrna is a structure of a square layout surrounded by galleries with columns (stoa), with a large courtyard. During the excavations, the northern and eastern stoats with socles were extracted. In the second arch of the western staia was found the bust of the wife of the emperor, Faustina.
The Northern Stoa (basilica), is a square in terms of design dimensions of 165x28 m. To this day, the vaults of its eastern and western borders have reached, which are an amazing example of the Romanesque architecture . The western Stoa is also raised on the basement, like the basilica, and it is a gallery divided by three rows of columns. This building consisted of two floors: here the inhabitants of the ancient city strolled, sheltered from the sun and rain.
Since Smyrna was built according to the Hippodamus system, its parallel streets stretched from east to west, including through the agora. In the place where the street, entering the agora from the east, divided it into two equal parts, a beautiful gate was built. In the center of their northern arch was placed a relief portrait of Faustina, which gave the name of the gate.
During the whole period of excavation in the agora, a huge number of priceless artifacts were found. Many of them can be seen in the Izmir Archaeological Museum and the Museum of History and Art. Among the latest finds are the images of the goddess Hestia, the statues of Hermes, Dionysus, Eros and Hercules, as well as many images of animals and people from marble, stone, bone, glass, metal and terracotta.
The agora wall inscriptions are also interesting. They also refer to the Romanesque period and were plotted on the bases of the arches of the basilica and the walls. Some of them were carved, while others were made with ink made of iron and oak roots, and these are the oldest such inscriptions in the world.
Practical information
Working hours: 9:00 - 12:00 and 13:00 - 18:00
Input: 5 TRL (November 2014)
Reviews about the agora Smyrna (1)
Agora - the wreckage of history December 03, 2014
Agora - this is practically all that remains of ancient Smyrna. Rather, not because nothing has survived, but because the most modern city of Turkey is Izmir ... Read the whole review