Agora
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| Imported from WP a month ago, no edits David Martin 20:57, 20 May 2007 (CDT) |
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An agora (αγορά), translatable as marketplace, was an essential part of an ancient Greek polis or city-state. An agora acted as a marketplace and a forum to the citizens of the polis. The agora arose along with the poleis after the fall of Mycenaean civilization, and were well established as a part of a city by the time of Homer (probably the 8th century BC).
The most well-known agora is the Ancient Agora of Athens. The Agora Open Air Museum of Izmir is one of the best preserved agoras in the world.
The word agoraphobia, the fear of critical public situations, derives from agora in its meaning as a marketplace.
Agora also means a place of assembly in any Ancient Greek state. It is sometimes used in modern language to refer to a crossroads, either metaphorically (the point or concept which links, or is the crossroads of multiple related concepts), or literally, a point at which many physical roads or paths meet.