South Agora of Miletus

The South Agora was an ancient agora or market and place of commerce in Miletus, in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey.

History

It was built in the Hellenistic period around 280-150 BC. Its construction began under Antiochus I, and 20 blocks of the earlier city of the Classical period were cleared with their houses, that is, about 120 houses. The first thing built was the east side of the agora, with columns, and later, in 200 or 100 BC, the columned rooms on the north side and then on the south side. The agora was modified and rebuilt in the Roman period, when it was completely transformed into a plaza enclosed by buildings. It has been proposed as the political agora of Miletus, used for official occasions. The rulers made many donations there.

Description

It was located in the centre of the promontory of Miletus, south of the North Agora and the Buleuterion and its central square to the east. The size of the agora was about 164 × 194 metres, that is, about 31 816 m², making it one of the largest agoras of the Greek world. The square and its buildings were integrated with the rest of the city’s urban plan.

Market gate

The north gate of the Agora was built in the Roman era, around 100 AD, under Emperor Hadrian. Previously it had been the site of a Doric-style propylon. Currently, the gate has been rebuilt by the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, and is known as the “Gate of Miletus”. The gate measured about 29 m in length and about 17 m in height. It had two stories and was built on a three‑level crepidoma. The columns of the lower floor were of Composite style and those of the upper, Corinthian style. The three arched doors on the ground floor served as the entrance to the agora.

East stoa

On the eastern side of the agora there was a Doric‑style stoa, with three rows of rooms at the back. It could be a stoa stadiaia, or stadium, mentioned in an inscription found at Didyma. The building was possibly a commercial space. Moreover, statues of numerous figures from the Hellenistic and Roman periods have been found in it. The Temple of Apollo at Didyma was possibly financed with the revenues of trade. The colonnade measured about 189.2 m in length and about 22.7 m in depth, with a colonnade on the agora side of about 7.1 m and the rest were rooms.​

North Stoa

The north side of the agora and the north side of the west side were bounded by a two‑wing stoa with an L‑shaped doorway and no rooms. The north wing of the stoa measured about 129.3 m in length and 13.8 m in depth, and the west wing about 101.1 m in length and 13.5 m in depth. The interior columns of the building may have been Ionic.​

South Stoa

The south wing and the southern part of the west wing were surrounded by another two‑wing L‑shaped stoa, with a row of rooms in the south wing. The south wing of the stoa measured about 126.7 m in length and 21.1 m in depth, and the west wing about 84.5 m in length and 13.5 m in depth. This stoa also had a Doric façade and was possibly Ionic inside.​

Other structures

In the northeast corner of the Agora there was a structure interpreted as a spring‑excavation building, in Corinthian style. It was dedicated to Laodice I, probably in reference to the wife of Antiochus II Theos, Laodice. In the Roman period the agora also had a south gate. Near the agora there was a large warehouse built around 100 BC, which was related to its operation.