THE AGORA OF AKRAGAS

According to Italian archaeologist Graziella Fiorentini, former Head of the Department of Archaeology of Agrigento , Akragas had two agorai : the Upper Agora and the Lower Agora.

The first one was located on San Nicola Hill and had a key role in the valley and in the ancient urban layout as it connected the private inhabited areas with the public quarter. Excavations carried out on the hill between 1959 and 1963 have revealed remains of religious and public administration buildings dating from the 6th BC till the 2nd century AD The most important visible buildings to the South of the archaeological museum are the Ekklesiasterion, that is the Greek Chamber of Deputies, dating from the 4th century BC and the so called Oratory of Phalaris, that is a small Roman temple built in the 1st century BC which according to Pr. Ernesto De Miro was dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Cybele, the goddess of nature. She was worshipped by the Romans as the Great Mother of the Gods. At that time the Ekklesiasterion was covered up with debris and converted into a square.
Archaeologists looking for the theatre to the North of the museum have found instead the remains of the Bouleuterion from the 4th century BC, that is the Greek Senate and a big Roman temple dedicated to Isis the Egyptian Mother Goddess dating from the 2nd century AD
The area to the north of the archaeological museum is still closed to visitors as excavations are still under way.
In Middle Ages a nearby cave was used by hermits and during the Norman time the Oratory of Phalaris was converted into a small church. Finally at beginning of the 13th century a big Cistercian monastery and Saint Nicholas church were built by using also some remains of more ancient buildings. A part of the monastery was bombed in WWII. The present archaeological museum is standing on the remains of the monastery and over a Greek sanctuary dedicated to Demeter.