The Agora of Smyrna

The Agora of Smyrna. . , English Text:, In the courtyard of the Agora there were shipped monuments erected in honor of important persons, days and agreements. There were also statues, altars belonging to multiple gods at which offerings were made in religious ceremonies, seating places of marble (exedrae) and also the temple and permanent altar of a god honored by the city., Through the Gate of Faustina (8) the Agora was connected to the Harbor Quarter (today's Kemeralti quarter) by a street (9). Via the Agora North Avenue (10) which passed in front of the Basilica, the Agora was again linked to the Harbor Quarter and, towards the east, with the Gymnasium Quarter., The Agora of Smyrna was used as a cemetary in the Late Byzantine and Ottoman periods. The headstones seen in the southern part of the courtyard area have survived from Ottoman times to our present day., Today a part measuring approximately 129 x 83 meters of the agora's central courtyard area is still visible. Of the structures surrounding this area, a major section (83 meters) of the West Portico (1), a small section (20 meters) of the East Portico (2) and the whole (161 meters) of the Basilica (3) on the north have been revealed. It is expected that the South Portico (4) is under the area south of the agora, presently used as a park. Through the digging of recent years a monumental structure, adjoining the West Portico and named the City Council Building (5) and the Salon with Mosaics (6), has been partially uncovered. The inscription on an architrave block that has been found indicates the existence of a Temple of the Nemeseis (7) that was probably within the agora or adjacent to it.