Location:

The Pnyx is located in Athens, Greece.  The Athenian democracy met on the Pynx.  The Pynx itself was located in Athens' Agora.

Here is a map to show where the Pynx is located in relation to other familiar sites in Athens.

The History:

Athens had once been ruled by Tyrants.  In 508 BC, After the fall of Hippias, Cleisthenes established a democratic institution in Athens .  Cleisthenes is regarded as the founder of Athenian Democracy.  The Athenian Democracy consisted of two parts, The Assembly and The Council. 

The Purpose:

The Assembly was the main forum of the political life.  The Assembly  was made up of all the adult males over the age of 20 who were citizens of Athens, rich or poor.  Women and slaves were not considered citizens, therefore could not participate in the Assembly.  Every ten days they met on a hill, near the Acropolis, called the Pynx to talk and vote on democratic issues.  Tax collecting, street cleaning, policing and going to war were just some of the things they addressed in the Pynx.  There had to be at least 6,000 people at each meeting in order for the Assembly to take place.  

Before the Assembly began, pigs were sacrificed to the gods.  the Priest used the blood from the pig to draw a sacred circle around the Assembly.  Because of the number of people speaking, the meetings were really long.  Food and drinks had to be served.

The Structure:

The Pynx was an area of land that rose uphill from the center of the city.  Inside it had a speakers platform, small walls were built around it, and there was nearby buildings for the members of the Council of Five Hundred. 

At first the area around the Pynx was modest, but during the fifth century BC it was enlarged.  The original semicircle area was increased to accommodate several thousand people.  the speaker's platform was moved further up the hill to a more commanding position.

Four Important Monuments Located at this Site:

Two Large Stoas-Two Stoas that boarder the south side of the terrace.  They are not written about in the records so it is thought that they were never finished.  The purpose of the Stoas was to shelter the people from bad weather.  The Stoas were from the third architectural period (330-326 BC) of the Pynx.

Cutting For The Alter Of Zeus Agoraios-An alter built for Zeus Agoraios.  This structure is located above the bema and is rectangular shaped.  This structure was from the third architectural period (330-326 BC) of the Pynx just like the Stoas. 

Large Cutting Between The Two Stoas-This cutting is 19x13 m and was built in the third architectural period (330-326 BC) of the Pynx.  Excavators that have worked on this structure say that this was the foundation for the entire structure.

The Sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos-The steps, floor, and a number of niches are preserved from this structure.  The big niche in which a statue of a god probably stood dates back  from the roman times.  This sanctuary became known when inscribed plaques were found in 1803.

To find more information on the Pynx, visit the following links used to make this web page: