An agoranomos ( el, ἀγορανόμος, plural: ''agoranomoi'', ἀγορανόμοι) was an elected official in the cities of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...

and

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, responsible for order in the

marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

(''

agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order o ...

'', hence the name, translated as "market overseer"). A ''

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

'' could have several of them. The position was similar to the Roman ''

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to ...

''.{{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Agoranomi, volume=1, page=381 Their duties included setting prices for certain goods, certifying goods and weights and scales, controlling money exchange, and the important function of managing the supply of the ''polis'' with grain. In controlling unscrupulous merchants, an agoranomos had the right to impose corporal punishment (and was often portrayed walking along the agora with a

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

) on non-freeborn people, and fines on free citizens. An agoranomos also kept an eye on temples in the ''agora''. Ancient Athens had ten agronomoi, chosen annually. Five were responsible for the city, and five for the

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saro ...

. Over time, ''agoranomos'' has also become an honorary title for a public benefactor, who contributed significant amounts for public institutions. The term is still in use today in modern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

(''Αγορονομία'' — Agoranomía), for the analogous in U.S. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, which is a branch of the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

References

Demos: Classical Athenian Democracy
Ancient Greek titles

See also

References