Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, the ''ekklesiasterion'' (ἐκκλησιαστήριον) was the meeting place of the popular assembly ('' ekklesia'') in a democratic Greek city-state (''

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

'', 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 actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

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

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, 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 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 Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

. A circular unroofed building with tiers of seating in

Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Magna Graecia. The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order dating from about 550 to 450 BCE that ...

, ancient Poseidonia, has also been identified as an ''ekklesiasterion''. This is more likely a '' bouleuterion'' however, because it could only seat 500 to 600 people in a relatively large city.

References

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