Hierapolis Agora

About

At 200 by 130 meters, this marble-paved square ranked among the largest agoras anywhere in Asia Minor and served as the city's commercial heart, ringed by a two-story stoa with Ionic and Corinthian colonnades. Its west side and eastern basilica-stoa were built during the reign of Hadrian, who took the throne in August 117 CE, so the monumental agora seen today postdates the snapshot even though Hierapolis had earlier marketplaces on the same general site.

What happened here

Trade is regulated and everyone is aware of it. Weights and measures are checked against the standards kept by the aediles, and short measure gets you fined and named. Stalls are arranged by trade, with the fish and meat kept to one side and downwind where the town has any choice. Prices swing with the shipping season and are shouted rather than displayed. Much of the meat on sale has come from a sacrifice, so the religious calendar shows up in the supply. Slaves buying for a household argue harder than their owners would. The upper floors, where there are any, are offices and storage let by the town for rent. It opens at dawn and the good produce is gone by mid-morning.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierapolis
• https://madainproject.com/hierapolis

Nearby

Hierapolis Frontinus Gate

164 m

Hierapolis Nymphaeum of the Tritons

246 m

Hierapolis Necropolis

297 m

Hierapolis Theatre

336 m

Hierapolis Temple of Apollo

508 m

Hierapolis Plutonium

554 m