Agora
Definition of agora
Agora, in ancient Greek cities, an open space that served as a meeting ground for various activities of the citizens. The name, first found in the works of Homer, connotes both the assembly of the people as well as the physical setting.
It was applied by the classical Greeks of the 5th century BCE to what they regarded as a typical feature of their life: their daily religious, political, judicial, social, and commercial activity.
The agora was located either in the middle of the city or near the harbour, which was surrounded by public buildings and by temples. Colonnades, sometimes containing shops, or stoae, often enclosed the space, and statues, altars, trees, and fountains adorned it.
The general trend at this time was to isolate the agora from the rest of the town. Earlier stages in the evolution of the agora have been sought in the East and, with better results, in Minoan Crete (for instance, at Ayiá Triádha) and in Mycenaean Greece (for instance, at Tiryns).
History and Etymology for agora
borrowed from Greek agorá, noun derivative of ageírein "to gather, assemble," of uncertain origin
NOTE: An Indo-European base *h2ger- is reconstructible, but Greek ageírein has no easily recognizable congeners.
Comparisons with Latin greg-, grex "flock" (allegedly from a reduplicated *gre-g-) and further forms with assumed root extensions from a base *gr- are extremely tenuous.
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