1. Kerameikos Cemetery of Ancient Athens
Kerameikos was the ancient Attic municipality of the potters. This was
the main place, where most of the well – known Attic vessels were
produced. Beneath this area the river Iridanos flows. This fact was
leading often to floods, so this region was not appropriate for residence
and was converted to a cemetery. Two main gates are found in
Kerameikos.
The Dipilo Gate, it is the Gate where the procession of the festival of
Panathenea started.

2. The Sacred Gate is the point where the so - called Sacred Way started .
The procession of The Elefsinia Sacraments was passing through this
Gate. (The Elefsinia Sacraments was considered as the most respectable
festival of Ancient Athens and it was dedicated to Goddess Dimitra, the
Goddess of agriculture and to her daughter Persefoni).
Kerameikos was used as a cemetery for more than 15 centuries
continuously.
Ostracism: An ordinance of the Athenean democracy dated from the 6th
century B.C. This ordinance helped the Athenean citizens to decide
whether some other citizens had accumulated lots of political power,
therefore they could be dangerous for the democratic system of
government. Once in a year the Athenean citizens were gathering and
they decided if someone should be deported. Every citizen was taking a

3. shell and was writing the name of the citizen he considered as dangerous
and wanted his deportation. In order for someone to be deported his name
should be found written on more than 6.000 shells! The citizen who was
deported had ten days in order to take care of any personal matters. The
deportation lasted for ten years, but later it was reduced to five years. In
Athens there have been found 10.500 shells, 9.000 here in Kerameikos.
Most of the other were found in the Ancient Agora and at Acropolis hill.
Through the years,thirteen Athenean citizens had been deported.

4. The Ancient Agora of Athens
The Ancient Agora was the administrative, social and commercial center
of the city of Ancient Athens. The Panathenea procession was passing
through this place to Acropolis hill.
The so – called ΄΄Poikili Stoa΄΄, that means the ΄΄Painted Gallery΄΄ was
the most famous gallery of the city, where the Ancient philosophers were
teaching. The Gallery was decorated with paintings of the most notorious
painters of antiquity.

5. The so – called ΄΄Vasilios Stoa ΄΄ was the senior Gallery of Athens, where
the courts convened. The plates on which the most significant laws were
written were here kept.
The so – called ΄΄Tholos΄΄ , the ΄΄Dome΄΄ was used as the meeting
place for the chancellors of the Parliament.

6. The so – called ΄΄Nomismatokopeio΄΄, the ΄΄Mint΄΄ was a rectangular
building with two small galleries used for the coin΄s manufacture. During
the excavations held in the Ancient Agora many coins were found!
The precinct of the court is an outdoor precinct, which was used as a
court.

7. The Gallery of Attalos was a two floor building, built according to the
Doric architectural rhythm , of 120 meters long, it had 21 rooms at the
ground floor, which were used as shops. It was the largest sheltered
building. (159 – 138 B.C).
The Conservatory of Agrippas was a massive rectangular building, built
by Agrippas, who was general of the Romean Emperor Octavianos
Augustus. Musical performances were held here. This is also the place,
where the plilosophers, who were visiting Ancient Athens were teaching.

8. The Ancient Agora has been plundered repeatedly. At the end of the 19th
century A.C ,when the Greek State was firstly established after Greece΄s
liberation, the region of Ancient Agora was buried under the
neighborhood ΄΄Vrisaki΄΄. During the 19th
century A.C the first
excavations were held by the Greek Archaeological Department and
German archaeologists as well. The excavation is still in progress and is
held by the American Department of Classical Studies under the
supervising of the Greek Archaeological Departement.
The Museum of Ancient Agora presents Athenean΄s citizens public life
via objects, excavations findings connected with their political and
administrative activities. The Museum also presents aspects of their every
day life via the excavation findings, which were revealed at the houses
built in the wider region of the archaeological site of Ancient Agora, as
well as at the graves (Ancient Greeks used to bury favorite personal
objects of the dead with them).
The most significant exhibits are connected with the Athenean
democratic system of government , dater from the Classical years, such as
public measures, weights, court votes, resolutions, court panels, a clay
water clock used for counting the oration time, shells. We will also find at
the Museum many objects of every day life, vessels, figurines, coins, oil
lamps. The statues we see come from the temple΄s and other building΄s of
the Ancient Agora sculptural decoration.