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 cult ...

, the ''ekklesiasterion'' (ἐκκλησιαστήριον) was the meeting place of the popular assembly ('' ekklesia'') in a

democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Greek city-state (''

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 ...

'', plural ''poleis'').

Venue

In a few ''poleis'' the ''ekklesiasterion'' was a separate building, but in many cases the

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

was used for both performances and the meetings of ''ekklesia''. In some cases multiple locations were used. In

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

the regular meetings of the assembly were held on the Pnyx hill and two annual meetings took place in the Theater of Dionysus. Around 300 BC all the meetings of the ''ekklesia'' were moved to the theater. The meetings of the assembly could attract large audiences: 6,000 citizens might have attended in Athens during the fifth century BC. Hansen and Fischer-Hansen argue that theaters were primarily built for performances and that their use by the ''ekklesia'' was a convenient extra function. In ''poleis'' which had a separate ''ekklesiasterion'' the building could take a variety of forms. Many consisted of steps built in the slope of a hill, similar to theaters but much smaller.

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island ar ...

had a roofed building. In Metapontum it was a circular structure on flat terrain with elevated steps. A walkway intersected through the center, where a podium was placed. It could accommodate 7,500 to 8,000 people in the beginning of the fifth century BC, after it was expanded. Such a circular structure was unusual for its location in Magna Graecia. A circular unroofed building with tiers of seating in Paestum, ancient Poseidonia, has also been identified as an ''ekklesiasterion''. This is more likely a ''

bouleuterion A bouleuterion ( grc-gre, βουλευτήριον, ''bouleutērion''), also translated as and was a building in ancient Greece which housed the council of citizens (, ''boulē'') of a democratic city state. These representatives assembled ...

'' however, because it could only seat 500 to 600 people in a relatively large city.

References

Sources

* * {{italic title Ancient Greek buildings and structures Greek words and phrases Legislative buildings