Agora

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Agora (disambiguation).

An agora (αγορά), translatable as marketplace, was an essential part of an ancient Greek polis or city-state. An agora acted as a marketplace and a forum to the citizens of the polis. The agora arose along with the poleis after the fall of Mycenaean civilization, and were well established as a part of a city by the time of Homer (probably the 8th century BC).

The most well-known agora is the Ancient Agora of Athens. The Agora Open Air Museum of Izmir [1] is one of the well-preserved agoras in the world.

The word agoraphobia, the fear of critical public situations, derives from agora in its meaning as a marketplace.

Agora also means a place of assembly in any Ancient Greek state.