http://agathe.gr/overview/the_archaeological_site.html
The Athenian Agora The Agora of Athens was the center of the ancient city: a large, open square where the citizens could assemble for a wide variety of purposes. On any given day the space might be used ... On any given day the space might be used as a market, or for an election, a dramatic performance, a religious procession, military drill, or athletic competition. ... View looking west toward the Hephaisteion during a torchlight procession. It is during this “Classical” period that the Agora and its buildings were frequented by statesmen such as Themistokles, Perikles, and Demosthenes, by the poets Aeschylos, Sophokles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, by the writers Thucydides and Herodotos, by artists such as Pheidias and Polygnotos, and by philosophers such as Sokrates, Plato, and Aristotle.