Agoraea Explained

"Agoraea" and "Agoraeus" (Ancient Greek: Ἀγοραία, Agoraia and Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ἀγοραῖος, Agoraios) were epithets given to several divinities of Greek mythology who were considered to be the protectors of the assemblies of the people in the agora (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἀγορά), particularly in Athens, Sparta, and Thebes. The gods so named were Zeus,^[1] Athena,^[2] Artemis,^[3] and Hermes.^[4] As Hermes was the god of commerce, this epithet seems to have reference to the agora as the marketplace; a bronze statue of Hermes Agoraeus is mentioned as standing near the agora in Athens by both Aristophanes and Demosthenes.^[5]

The Agoraios Kolonos, or "Market Hill", was a precinct on the westernmost boundary of the agora in Athens.

References

• Aristophanes, Knights from The Complete Greek Drama, vol. 2. Eugene O'Neill, Jr. New York. Random House. 1938. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Aristophanes, Aristophanes Comoediae edited by F.W. Hall and W.M. Geldart, vol. 1. F.W. Hall and W.M. Geldart. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1907. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. . Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
• Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

Notes and References

1. [Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]
2. Pausanias, 3.11.8
3. Pausanias, 5.15.3
4. Pausanias, 1.15.1, 2.9.7 & 9.17.1
5. [Aristophanes]