For all the fascination and enchantment to be had from exploring Athens' endless ancient ruins, you are often left wanting more. Something physical, real and (above all) complete from the world that the Athenians lived in. The Stoa of Attalos is exactly that – and then some. A lovingly reconstructed stoa – or covered walkway – it is a stupendous example of the splendour of ancient Athenian architecture. It stretches for 115 metres along the edge of the Ancient Agora, its two storeys covered by a red-tiled roof some 11 metres above the ground.
The Stoa of Attalos was, in fact, the largest covered building in Greek antiquity, built in 150 BC by King Attalos II of Pergamon. The Athenians used it as a meeting place, providing shelter from the sun (and occasional rain). It was also open for merchants to sell goods, artists to display work, or for religious gatherings. Both its lower and upper floors housed rooms in their inner colonnades, which were used for shops. In essence, the Stoa of Attalos was a grand and elegant take on the modern shopping mall.
All that ended in 267 AD, when the Heruli, a German tribe, sacked the city, and destroyed the stoa. It lay hidden, covered by later fortifications, until the 19th century, when new excavations revealed the scale of mammoth building. Between 1952 and 1956, 150 workmen, including 50 master masons and 20 carpenters, faithfully recreated the stoa – using authentic materials, and parts of the original ruin.
Now you can walk along its cool, colonnaded walkways, mount the stairs to the first floor and explore the Museum of the Ancient Agora. Because of its closeness to the Ancient Agora, the museum focuses on artefacts connected with Athenian democracy. One of the most poignant objects, though, is just outside the museum. It's a stone engraved with the 'law against tyranny', passed by the Athenians in 337 BC, which has an image of the 'goddess of democracy' crowning the people. A fitting symbol for a city that went on to inspire democratic aspirations across the ages.
