The Royal Stoa was built in 525 B.C. Much of the Stoa was rebuilt in the 5th century to repair damage caused by the Persian invasion of 480 B.C. During the repair, two small prostyle wings were added to the Stoa.
The Royal Stoa, or Stoa Basileios, was the headquarters of the King Archon. The King Archon controlled all religious and legal affairs, including homicide. Copies of the law codes of Solon were stored and displayed in the Stoa. Council of the Areopagous held its meetings in the Stoa. It was in front of the Royal Stoa that Socrates was formally charged with impiety by his accuser, Meletus.
The Royal Stoa is located in the northwest corner of the Agora. This area became know as "the Herms" because of the great number of Herms set up there. Herms were believed to be protectors of houses and cities.
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This is a picture containing the Royal Stoa on the right and a fence on the left. The fence is called the Soreg. |
The statue in front is Themis. Plato's story called Euthyphro, was an account of Socrates encountering Euthyphro in front of this statue. The building was in the northwest corner of the agora. |
They called the area where the Stoa sat the Hermes.
This is one of the statues that stood in the area giving the area the name Hermes.
This is the modern area where the Royal Stoa once was.
Visit these links to find more information on the Royal Stoa:
http://www.hopin.com/history/Agora.htm
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/architindex?entry=Athens,Stoa+Basileios+(Royal+Stoa)
http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/dunkle/athnlife/roylstoa.htm
http://www.wisc.edu/arth/ah300/21-athensagora/15.frameset.htm
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