Stoa Basileios ( el, στοά βασίλειος or τοῦ βασιλέως), meaning Royal Stoa, was a

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usuall ...

constructed in

Ancient Athens Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural achieve ...

in the 6th century BC and substantially altered in the 5th century BC. It was located in the northwest corner (known as "the Herms" because of the great number of

Herma A herma ( grc, ἑρμῆς, pl. ''hermai''), commonly herm in English, is a sculpture with a head and perhaps a torso above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height. Hermae we ...

e set up there) of the

Athenian Agora The ancient Agora of Athens (also called the Classical Agora) is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill kn ...

. The stoa was built in the

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of c ...

and it measures 18 by 7.5 meters. Its facade carries a plain Doric frieze. Its Doric exterior includes 8 columns, while its interior space includes four columns. The modifications of the fifth century BC add two small porches to the archaic structure. The Royal Stoa was the headquarters of the King Archon and of the Areopagos council (in charge of religious affairs and crime). A statue of

Themis In Greek mythology and religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, fai ...

(representing Justice) stood in front of the building. Copies of some of the city laws were kept in the Stoa. The front of the building was where

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no t ...

met

Euthyphro ''Euthyphro'' (; grc, Εὐθύφρων, translit=Euthyphrōn; c. 399–395 BC), by Plato, is a Socratic dialogue whose events occur in the weeks before the trial of Socrates (399 BC), between Socrates and Euthyphro. The dialogue covers su ...

and had the conversation which

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

recreated in his ''

''. It was where Socrates was formally charged with

impiety Impiety is a perceived lack of proper respect for something considered sacred. Impiety is often closely associated with sacrilege, though it is not necessarily a physical action. Impiety cannot be associated with a cult, as it implies a larger be ...

Meletus Meletus ( el, Μέλητος; fl. 5th–4th century BCE) was an ancient Athenian Greek from the Pithus deme known for his prosecuting role in the trial and eventual execution of the philosopher Socrates. Life Little is known of Meletus' life beyon ...

. Historians believe that the voting for

ostracism Ostracism ( el, ὀστρακισμός, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the ci ...

, a political practice in Athens during the 5th century BC, may have taken place in front of the Royal Stoa.Cf. e.g. Tom Garvey, "Stoa," in Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, ed. Michael Gagarin (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010)

References

External links

* Agathe.gr
the Royal Stoa
Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century BC Ancient Greek buildings and structures in Athens Former buildings and structures in Greece Ancient Agora of Athens Basileios {{Athens-stub