Tholos, Agora, Athens, Greece


Date
465 BCE ca.
Description
The southernmost building on the west side of the Agora is the Tholos (also know as the Skias), a circular structure 18.3 meters (60 feet) in diameter. It was built around 465 BCE on the site of an earlier rectangular building, known as building F and burned by the Persians in 480 BCE. It originally housed the sacred hearth and was the meeting place of the 50 prytaneis of Athens. One-third of the senators were to be on duty at all times, so here they were provided with meals and sleeping quarters. The roof of the tholos was supported by six columns. In the third century BCE a portico was added on the east side. Rebuilt after its destruction by Sulla in 86 BCE, it remained in use until 450 CE. The Archivision Collection of Ancient Sites was funded by the Jack Martin Balcer Library Endowment. Keywords: Greece, Perifereia Protevousis (Greater Athens), Athens, Ancient Greek, Mediterranean.
Style/Period
Greek
Material
stone and/or rock