Ancient Agora of Thassos

In Limenas, the main town of Thassos, an open archaeological area beside the ancient harbour marks the place where the citizens of the island's ancient city gathered to trade, vote and worship. The Ancient Agora of Thassos lies close to the modern waterfront, so that a short walk from the cafes of the old port leads to the stones of the marketplace. The French Archaeological School, which began digging on the island in the early twentieth century and returned in the decades after the Second World War, uncovered much of it.

Thassos was a rich island. Its wealth came from gold and silver mines, from timber and from white marble, and in the fifth century BC the city of Thassos was one of the leading powers of the northern Aegean, rivalling Athens for a time. The agora reflects that prosperity. In its prime, it was a large open square surrounded by stoas, long colonnaded halls where merchants worked and citizens met, with altars, shrines and monuments scattered across the open space. The remains show a long history from the Archaic period through Hellenistic and Roman times, and later buildings were added in early Christian and Orthodox Byzantine periods, long after the Greek city's heyday.

What survives today is mostly foundations, column bases and stretches of paving, with a few standing walls and fragments of columns that give an idea of the scale. Information boards help visitors read the layout, identifying the stoas, the sanctuaries and the monuments that once stood here, among them an altar dedicated to a hero and monuments listing local officials. Because the site has been excavated slowly, it has the feeling of a working dig, and it is rarely crowded.

The agora is best seen alongside the other monuments of Limenas. A short walk leads to the ancient theatre on the hillside, the remains of the ancient harbour with its walls and the marble gates in the old city wall, among them the Gate of Zeus and Hera. The Archaeological Museum, close to the agora, displays finds from the site, including a famous statue of a ram-bearer in marble, one of the finest examples of Archaic sculpture in the northern Aegean.

While the ruins are modest, the area is flat and easy to explore on foot. Visitors will find little shade, so a hat and water are useful in summer. Opening arrangements may vary, so it is worth checking locally. A visit takes an hour or less, and combined with the museum and a walk along the harbour, it makes a good half-day in Limenas.