Tetragonos Agora (Ephesus)

The agora of Ephesus (commercial agora, lower agora) or Agora of Tetragonos (in ancient Greek: Τετράγωνος, romanized: Tetragōnos, 'quadrangular') was an ancient agora of the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. It was the commercial centre of the city in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The remains of the agora form part of the archaeological site of Ephesus, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.​

The commercial agora of Ephesus should not be confused with the administrative agora of Ephesus.

History

The agora of Ephesus was built in the Hellenistic period in the 3rd century BC immediately after the refoundation of the city. It was the site of an earlier agora from the Archaic period, between 700 and 500 BC of the town of Smyrna, which should not be confused with the better‑known city of Smyrna. Apparently, it was abandoned over time due to changes in sea level, and in the Classical period, between 400 and 300 BC, there was craft activity in the area. The earlier buildings were demolished during the construction of the agora. The ancient name of the square, Tetragonos, is known from inscriptions. The agora was used mainly for commercial purposes. It was also used for meetings of commercial guilds and for political meetings.​ It was rebuilt in the 1st century BC and again at the beginning of the Roman Empire after the earthquake of 23 AD. It was rebuilt again at the end of the Roman period under Emperor Theodosius I around 379‑395, using a great deal of stone from earlier buildings, such as temples. The Agora remained in use until the early Byzantine Empire up to the year 600.​​

Buildings and finds

The commercial agora was located on the plain west of the so‑called Marble Street and Mount Peion, present‑day Panayır‑dağ. In the Roman period, the agora was square, hence its name Agora‑Tetragonos. Its sides measured about 112 m, and it was flanked on all sides by stoae of two aisles and two floors that housed shops.​​

In the centre of the Agora there was a horologium, a combination of water clock and sundial. It was built on a pedestal of about 10 × 5.9 m. The Agora also had a large number of statues and votive monuments.​

In the Roman period, the main buildings and structures of the commercial agora and its surroundings were (the numbers refer to the plan view):

Terraced houses 1

Terraced houses 2

Altar

Hellenistic peristyle house

The so‑called drum gate of the bridge

Library of Celsus

South gate of the Agora

Tomb of Dionysius the Rotund

Brick cave (Embaton)

Circular monument in the fountain basin

Marble street

Commercial agora (agora‑Tetragonos)

Nero’s Hall

West gate of the agora

North gate of the agora

West street

Gate of Medusa

Serapeum

Theatre

Nero’s Hall

Behind the colonnade, on the eastern side of the Agora, was the so‑called Nero’s Hall, built during the reign of Emperor Nero. It was a two‑winged basilica of about 150 m in length. Its columns were of Doric style. An inscription dedicated the building to Artemis of Ephesus, Nero, Agrippina and the Ephesians.​

Gates

The so‑called South Gate of the Agora is also known as the Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates, and in antiquity as Triodos, because of its three doors. The gate led to the Agora from the square situated in front of the Library of Celsus. It was built under Emperor Augustus in the year 3 BC. According to a Greek and Latin inscription on the gate, it was built by Mazeus and Mithridates. They were freedmen of Agrippa, and dedicated the gate to Augustus and Livia, and to Agrippa and his daughter Julia Minor. The building was decorated with statues of the imperial family. The winged structures of the gate apparently contained the tombs of the donors. The gate was restored between 1979 and 1988.​​

The west gate was the main entrance to the agora. It was built at some point after the year 23. The gate led to the agora from the so‑called west street (see below), from which the gate was ascended by a staircase of ten steps. Later ramps for carts were added. The columns of the gate followed the Ionic style.

The north gate led to the agora from the square located opposite the Theatre.

Street

To the west of the Agora there was a street oriented east‑west about 160 m long and 24 m wide. On both sides there was a Doric‑style colonnade six meters wide. The southern colonnade gave access to the Serapeum. There were gates at the ends of the street, with the eastern gate, the western gate of the agora (see above), which led to the agora. At the western end of the street was the so‑called Gate of Medusa. It had three doors and was called that because of its relief ornamentation of Medusa heads, among other things.

Hellenistic agora

The surface of the primitive Hellenistic agora was about three meters below the Roman agora. The size of the agora at that time was about 100 × 110 m. The remains of this phase include a storage building and the remains of the stoas that bordered the agora.

Settlement of Smyrna

In the archaic settlement of Smyrna, on the same site, remains of dwellings from 700‑500 BC and a craftsmen’s area from 400‑300 BC have been found.