In Ancient Greece, the agora was a space for meeting and discussion.
Agora is a term that comes from the Greek language and called, in the cities (polis) of that nation , the public squares and the assemblies that were held there. Over time, the term was extended to refer to other places of meeting or discussion .
It is important to emphasize that the appearance of the agoras at that time was an authentic revolution from an urban planning point of view. Pericles was the one who allowed their development thanks to his innovations in this area and this is how it was established that they not only served as starting points for the polis , but also that they developed by creating three different types of them.
Types of agoras
Specifically, with the passage of time what was established is the appearance of three different types of agoras. Thus, on the one hand there were the political or religious ones , which are characterized by being located in what were the centers of the populations. On the other hand, there were those that were established near what were the entrance doors to those and finally, in third place, were the commercial agoras that were defined by the fact of being located near the ports.
The case of Athens
The Agora of Athens , where Athenians met to discuss their problems, was one of the most important. Today, it is the only building from Ancient Greece that retains its original roof.
In the case of the Athenian agora we must emphasize that it was made up of a series of monuments and buildings of great value, such as the Mint ; the Temple of Apollo Patroos ; the Altar of the Twelve Gods ; the Heliea, which was the Supreme Court ; or the Monument of the eponymous heroes.
Valencia has had an agora since 2009.
The agora of Valencia
The Spanish city of Valencia also has an agora, but much more modern: it was inaugurated in 2009 .
It is a covered plaza, located in the complex of the City of Arts and Sciences , whose design was carried out by architect Santiago Calatrava .
An anarchist current
On the other hand, agorism is an anarchist current that exalts the agora as a form of realization of anarchy . According to this conception, the agora supposes a voluntary trade network, with business ventures through direct action.
In this way, private companies could displace the State , while contractual relations would render power relations ineffective.
Movie «Agora»
Finally, it should be noted that "Ágora" is a film directed by the Spanish Alejandro Amenábar and starring Rachel Weisz , which was released in 2010 . The film is based on the story of Hypatia of Alexandria , a scientist and philosopher who was murdered in the year 415 .
Michael Lonsdale, Oscar Isaac y Rupert Evans fueron otros de los actores que participaron en esta producción española que consiguió obtener un total de siete premios Goya, lo que supuso que se convirtiera en una de las películas con más galardones de este tipo.