The word agora comes from the Greek language, since it called, in the cities (cops) of that nation, the public squares and the assemblies that were held there. Over time, the term was extended to refer to other meeting or discussion venues.
The agora arises after the fall of the Mycenaean civilization and constitutes itself as a cultural, political and commercial center of each city.
It is important to emphasize that the appearance of the agoras at that time was a true revolution from the urban point of view. Pericles was the one who allowed them to develop thanks to his innovations in this field and that is how it was established that they not only exerted as starting points for the polis but also that they developed by creating three different types of them.
Specifically, with the passage of time what was established is the appearance of three different classes of agoras. Thus, on the one hand there were the political or religious ones that are characterized by being located in what were the centers of the populations. On the other hand, there were those that were established near what were the entrance doors to those and finally, thirdly, there were the commercial agoras that were defined by the fact of being located near the ports.
The Agora of Athens, where the Athenians met to discuss their problems, was one of the most important. Today, it is the only building in Ancient Greece that retains its original roof.
In the case of the Athenian Agora, we must emphasize that it was made up of a series of monuments and buildings of great value, such as the Casa de la Moneda, the Temple of Apollo Patroos, the Altar of the Twelve Gods, the Heliea that was the Supreme Court or the Monument of the eponymous heroes.
The Spanish city of Valencia is currently building an agora, which would be presented during the year. It is a covered plaza, located in the City of Arts and Sciences complex. Its design was carried out by the architect Santiago Calatrava.
On the other hand, agorism is an anarchist current that exalts the agora as a form of concretion of anarchy. According to this concept, the agora is a voluntary trade network, with business ventures by direct action. In this way, private companies could displace the State, while contractual relations would render power relations void.
Finally, it should be noted that Ágora is a film directed by the Spanish Alejandro Amenábar and starring Rachel Weisz, which was released in 2010. The film is based on the story of Hypatia of Alexandria, a scientist and philosopher who was murdered in the year 415.
Michael Lonsdale, Oscar Isaac and Rupert Evans were other actors who participated in this Spanish production that managed to obtain a total of seven Goya awards, which meant that it became one of the films with the most awards of this type.
