Stoa of Attalos

The Stoa of Attalos (also spelt Attalus) is one of the most impressive buildings in the Athenian Agora. It was built by and named after King Attalos II of Pergamon between 159 and 138 BCE. Typical of the Hellenistic Age, the stoa was elaborate and enormous compared to the earlier building in Athens. The stoa is 115 by 20 meters and comprised of Pentelic marble and limestone. Surprisingly, the Doric order was used for the ground floor with Ionic columns on the inside. The interior order of the upper floor was the new Pergamene order common in that period. The stoa was in frequent use until it was destroyed by the Herulians in 267AD. The ruins became part of a fortification wall, which made it easily seen in modern times. In the 1940s, the Stoa of Attalos was fully reconstructed and made into a museum.