Ancient Agora of Kos - Kos Island (Dodecanese, Greece) - Ancient Roman Civilization on Waymarking.com

The ancient agora (market place) of Kos, mostly filled by ruins from the Roman period, is considered one of the biggest in the ancient world.

The agora of Kos, one of the largest in the ancient world, was among the most splendid monuments of the new city that was founded on the northeast tip of the Kos island in 366 BC. The complex began from the harbour quarter, in contact with the defensive wall, and ended south at a central street of the city, some 33 m. wide, which led to the Asklepleion. Approximately 350 m. long, it covered an area of 16 building of the urban grid. It comprises a central court surrounded by stoas and shops. Its south part, which was a short distance from the area of the acropolis, widened westwards in order to create space for the construction, over time, of sanctuaries and civic buildings, among them the so-called altar of Dionysos, the Doric temple of the Attalids and a circular edifice of the Roman period.

Construction of the agora began in the late 4th-early 3rd century BC. In the 2nd century BC, as part of the general urban-planning project for the city’s public buildings, the agora was reconstructed almost in toto, acquiring a monumental aspect, heightened by the copious use in the colonnades of local Los white marble from (quarries on Mount Dikaios). The earthquake in AD 142 caused extensive damage to the agora but was followed almost immediately by large-scale repairs and reconstructions. The north face of the complex was remodelled and its elevated inner area was connected to the harbour quarter by a monumental propylon and a wide staircase constructed of marble from Asia Minor. Dominating the centre of the propylon was a rectangular hall resembling a temple with prostasis of Corinthian columns and the front onto the agora court was arranged as a nymphaeum. The Koans possibly dedicated this hall to the cult of Emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 137-161), in gratitude for his contribution to rehabilitating the island after the seismic destruction. The agora was destroyed by the earthquake in AD 469 or AD 554.