part in city government, which was considered a right and
duty of every citizen.
Civic leaders regulated their city’s physical layout by con-
trolling the height of buildings and the width of streets and
by restricting certain activities to particular zones. Th e agora
remained the central meeting place or town square in addi-
tion to being the center of public commerce. Surrounding the
agora were one or more stoas, long and low buildings with
shops and arcaded walkways for the use of the public. Th e
stoa provided shelter from the elements and served the public
as a meeting place.
Th e bouleuterion was a place for the meeting of the boule,
or city council, whose members arranged themselves on tiers
of seats set around a central platform for speakers. Th e pryta-
neion was the ancient Greek city hall, which held the offi ces
of the executive committee known as the prytaneis as well as
offi ces for the magistrates who received state guests and am-
bassadors. Th e symbolic heart of the city, the prytaneion was
home to a sacred fl ame, which was always kept burning. Some
cities had a tholos, a circular building used for public ceremo-
nies, such as sacrifi ces and state banquets, and for meetings
and meals of the prytaneis.
An important function of the city was to provide pleas-
ant occupation for a citizen’s leisure time. A balaneia was a
public bath that held bathtubs made from stone or glazed
terra-cotta brick, set in rows, and with running water that
could be heated over a fire. An odeion was a roofed hall
used for musical performances. The earliest Greek theaters
consisted of wooden benches set into a hillside in a semi-
circular layout. From the fourth century b.c.e. on, theaters
grew to rival the agoras as places of public assembly. The
finest had several dozen tiers of raised seats built in stone
or marble, often with an expansive view of a valley, harbor,
or city from above.
Gymnasia were public buildings raised for education of
the young. Th e gymnasium had an open courtyard for phys-
ical training, a running track, and a colonnaded hall similar
to a stoa, with rooms for instruction and for public speak-
ing. A palaestra was a building for athletic training, with
small changing rooms surrounding a central courtyard. Th e
stadium was a running track, with banked sides for the use
of spectators.
Private homes were small and simple, built of dried
brick or cob, a mixture of wet clay and straw. Th ey wereAncient Athens reached its zenith in the fi ft h century b.c.e., when its population numbered around 300,000, of whom 40,000 were citizens.224 cities: Greece