1. Introduction
In the early 3^rd century BC, when King Lysimachus transferred the city of Εphesus, the Commercial Agora was located in a flat valley. Excavations brought to light parts of storerooms and other halls from the Hellenistic period, particularly in the western part of the Agora. After extensive restorations in the area, which started about the late 1^st century BC, the Agora became square in shape and was surrounded by two-aisled colonnades on all four sides. Each colonnade was 112 m long. Behind the colonnades there were shops, storerooms and workshops. At the centre an Horologium was revealed, which served as both a sundial and a water clock. The Agora suffered extensive damages because of severe earthquakes (at first in the 1^st century AD and then in the era of Emperor Theodosius I in the late 4^th century AD) but it retained its general ground plan. It remained in use until the 7^th century AD.

2. The Tetragonos Agora

The Commercial Agora of Ephesus, known as Tetragonos Agora, lies to the north of the Library of Celsus. It was built in the second half of the 1^st century BC in the course of a programme of monumentalization carried out in the region as Ephesus became the capital city of the province and its population increased.¹

The Agora includes a vast open square, measuring 111 x 111 m, surrounded by four two-aisle colonnades 11.20 m wide, behind which there were about 100 rooms. The rooms served mainly as commercial shops, but they were also used as meeting places for guild associations and political organisations.²

The shops occasionally had an intermediate floor, which could serve as either a storeroom or an office and workroom. In the anteroom of these chambers there were weights, tables and shelves for putting goods for sale. The paved square of the Agora was divided into parts covered by tents, under which various products were exhibited and trading took place.

There were many differences in the elevation of the land where the Agora was built and, as a result, the premises of the Hellenistic years were on different levels. Works had to be carried out when the Tetragonos Agora was under construction so that the ground would be levelled. So, a cellar was formed beneath the Western Stoa, while in the Eastern Stoa – right beside the Hellenistic retaining wall– the difference in elevation between the Agora and Marble Street was minimised.³

Only the foundations and the main plan have been preserved from the Agora of the era of Augustus (31 BC -14 AD). Today the visible architectural remains belong to restorations carried out in the reign of Emperor Theodosius I (379-395 AD).⁴The 4^th century Agora was built on the foundations of the early 1^st century Agora.

Architectural components from imperial buildings were used as building material. The Western Stoa was made from architectural elements from the facade of the Temple of Domitian. Capitals and entablature from the Vedius Gymnasium and the Harbour Gymnasium were taken to the Agora. Most of the architraves and the cornices come from the colonnades built in the era of Caracalla (211-217). Thus, the restoration of the Agora was long thought to have been carried out during the reign of Caracalla. However, it is clear now that these re-used building components were taken to the Agora in Late Antiquity.⁵

3. The Hellenistic Agora

The extensive excavations of 1977 under the direction of G. Langmann revealed the Agora of the Hellenistic years 3 metres lower than the present ground level. It seems that the Hellenistic Agora, with a side 100 to 110 m long, occupied about half of the area of the Roman Agora. A warehouse of the Lysimachian period in the southwestern corner of the Agora had two rows of rooms, measuring 4.30 x 4.07 m each. Beyond these rooms there was a stoa developed in three phases of modification during the 3^rd and 2^nd century BC. It seems that the stoa was extended to the road near the later Western Gate. Excavations brought to light colonnades to the north of the Western Gate.⁶

4. The Augustan Agora

Few traces of the complex from the time of Augustus (31 BC-14 AD) have survived. All stoas must have had two floors. At least this is what is indicated by the remains of staircases in the southeastern corner, near the Western Gate and to the east of the Northern Gate. The complex was devastated by an earthquake circa 23 AD. Its reconstruction was based on the same foundations and the Agora must have operated again 20 years later, as the statue of Emperor Claudius was erected in the courtyard in 43 AD by the association of Roman merchants. Leaf capitals of the so-called Pergamene type, reused in Late Roman years, adorned the columns of the upper floor in the 1^st century. Few fragments of the Ionic capitals of the ground floor have been preserved.

5. The Hall of Nero

Along the eastern side of the Agora, facing Marble Street, an oblong doric building, a two-aisled basilica 150 m long was excavated. Archaeologists called it the Hall of Nero, because of an inscription dedicated to Artemis of Ephesus, Nero, his mother Agrippina and the citizens of Ephesus. The two doors on the southern side opened onto the so-called Library Square. Access was through a stairway, part of which is still preserved. The northern end of the building was redesigned in late Roman times and its floor was raised about 1 meter for ceremonial purposes, while it was separated from the two-aisled main room by a transverse wall. The facade facing Marble Street was closed and there was only a small entrance at the northern end. The western half of the Hall of Nero, erected above the row of rooms of the Eastern colonnade of the Agora, collapsed along its entire length. So, nothing is known about its appearance on the agora-side or about whether it was connected with the colonnade of the Agora to the west.⁷

6. The Western Stoa

When the Augustan Western Stoa was built the originally lower level was used as a storage room. Supplies from merchants probably came through the six entrances existing on the western outer wall. Traffic on that side would not have affected the activity of the Agora. After the earthquake of 23 AD a part of this place was filled with depris.⁸

7. The Agora of Caracalla

The Agora square was extensively changed in the years of Caracalla (211-217). It was then that the open Agora was closed with the two-aisled stoas on the sides, including barrel vaulted rooms accommodating shops. Gold and other items could be exchanged here, while reductions were given for various products. The Agora was bustling with life. A colourful human mosaic went back and forth between the wooden stalls buying products and transacting their business. A wealth of scents of all kinds filled the air, while commercial activity lasted until late in the afternoon. It seems that there were problems with keeping the place clean, as several inscriptions recommending that the citizens took care of the place were found.⁹

8. The Agora Gates

Today it is known that access to the Agora was through monumental gates on its three sides.¹⁰

8.1. The South Gate

The best preserved of the three Agora gates, the South Gate,¹¹ is the only large-scale part of the Augustan building programme surviving the earthquake. Through this gate the square of the Library of Celsus was connected with the Agora.¹²

It is very wide and is divided into three passageways by means of three arched openings.¹³ The central part recedes by 1.5 m, while the sides project to the south, that is, to the Library square. Niches are formed in the inner part. The three passagewasys of the Gate communitcate through doors, which open crooswise and are framed with plain surrounds. Over the doors there are rectangular light openings. Over the doors there are rectangular light openings. The light openings are on a level with the front arches.¹⁴

There is elaborate architectural decoration only on the facade of the South Gate. The pillars supporting the arches carry an entablature with a architrave, which consists of three fasciae, and a frieze with floral decoration. Then comes the cornice and the high attic zone, where the monumental building inscription lies in Greek and Latin.

According to the inscription, the Gate was erected in 4-3 BC. The inscription says that Mazaeus and Mithradates, freedmen of the imperial house, dedicated the Gate to Caesar Augustus, his wife Livia Drusilla, his brother-in-law Agrippa and his daughter Julia. The slightly altered Greek inscription reports that the Gate is dedicated to the masters of Mazaeus and Mithradates as well as to the Deme.¹⁵ The spelling on the inscription is not correct, which must be attributed to the fact that the two former slaves were weak in spelling.¹⁶

When the foundations of the gate were excavated it became obvious that the original floor was 45 cm lower, did not have any stairs and was used by carriages. As a result, rainwater flowed unhindered from paved Embolos and the Agora square was covered with mud and dirty water. This unpleasant situation was encountered later by constructing under the paved surface a drainage pipe for removing rainwater. The excavations of 1903 revealed that the drainage pipe was still in situ. The paved floor of the gate was three steps higher than the Agora floor, while the first two steps of the Library of Celsus, whose facade also faced the square, served as parapets for blocking rainwater. Flooding was prevented by a drainage pipe collecting rainwater, which ran in front of the Gate. Then a system of pipes channeled the rainwater to the sea. After the construction of steps in front of the gate the carriages could not use the passage.

Architectural components of the South Gate were traced in the Library square already from the first excavations of 1903. They were concentrated and positioned in place in the course of the restoration project carried out between 1980 and 1989. Today, the facade of the gate to the south has been fully restored – with the almost exclusive use of the ancient building material.

Research in the South Gate - apart from revealing additional building phases and the later pipe - corrected the faults in restoration of the monument made by the excavators, and also enriched knowledge of building techniques. Furthermore, it became clear that the system for dividing the gate into three parts, as adopted here, was incorporated into one of the stoas of the Agora. So it was not a completely independent building. Research also revealed that the two side parts of the gate were simultaneously, though separately, constructed, and were connected by means of the central part. Although the Library of Celsus employs architecture of a larger and more impressive scale, the South Gate introduces a novel technological development, with architects posing new questions and seeking pioneering morphological solutions. It is worth mentioning the thoroughly worked hidden parts and surfaces, especially at the joints of the architectural elements. Even the coffers on the ceiling of the three gateways were placed employing a mixed technique which used wooden beams for the coffer frame and stone for the coffer slabs. All this proves that the South Gate was made by highly skilled craftsmen, who initiated a tradition that was going to reach its heyday in later years.¹⁷

8.2. The North Gate

The North Gate is the end of the street coming from the north. The street that connected it with the Theatre Square is actually what is left from the central street deviated in the Early Imperial period in order to cross Marble Street. The gate is now in the form of its last building phase.¹⁸

8.3. The West Gate

The oldest gate and the main entrance to the Agora was the West Gate. At the same time it was the monumental eastern termination of the so-called West Street that came from the harbour. The West Gate is more plainly constructed than the elaborate Italo-Roman South Gate. It is reminiscent of Hellenistic buildings. Recent excavations showed that the gate was built after 23 AD on a smaller foundation from the years of Augustus. Few remains of the structure have been preserved today. It had a U-shaped ground plan, while the two projecting wings surrounded a staircase with 10 stairs. Three doors opened in the central part, while a row of Ionic columns was formed on the two sides. The bases of the columns, some of which are still in situ, and the Ionic capitals were richly decorated. When the Agora started to operate, it was realised that, however impressive the gate may have been, it did not facilitate the transportation of goods. Thus, in Domitian’s era (81-96), an Alexandrian contractor undertook to carry out some modifications. The present form dates from the Late Roman period. Three passages of the same gate and sloping ramps for heavy vehicles date from the same period as well.¹⁹

9. Horologium

The foundations of a building measuring 10 x 5.87 m were excavated in the Agora square and slightly to the west of its centre. It is directed from north to south. It has been assumed that it is the Horologium reported on late Hellenistic inscriptions. However, recent research has shown that this building was erected probably in the 6^th century AD and may have been part of a larger building program. In the course of this program the northern part of the Agora was rebuilt as a two or three-storied arcaded stoa, whose rear wall supported an artificial hill. This hill accommodates today depots of the Museum of Ephesus and military barracks.²⁰

10. The Site of Smyrna

The first excavations in the area were responsible for destroying a village settlement in the western corner of the Agora. The settlement can be identified with site of Smyrna, attested by the archaic poets Callinos and Hipponax. Field research carried out there from 1987 onward brought to light the five successive building phases of the settlement, already from the 8^th century BC. All buildings were constructed by clay walls on stone foundations. One of the houses of the archaic period, which had an oval ground plan, measured 7.30 x 4.50 m and was oriented from north to south, was replaced by a rectangular building measuring 10.30 x 5.00 m, which had an anteroom to the east. In the 7^th century BC this building was joined by another almost square building along a narrow lane. Large residential houses were built in the 6^th century, where older walls were partly used. The houses were abandoned in the 5^th and 4^th century BC, possibly because of the rising sea level. The area was then used by potters and other craftsmen.²¹

11. Burials

Along the central square of the Agora, to the east of the Roman Agora and under the Library square excavations brought to light burials dated to the Late Archaic and Classical period.²²Among the most important finds are a grave lion of the 6^th century BC, found the Byzantine depris near the North Agora Gate.

12. West Street and Medusa Gate

The West Gate of the Agora is the eastern end of the long West Street (measuring 160 x 24 m). Along the street there were porticoes (6 m wide) with Doric columns and rooms behind. In the southernmost colonnade there was a doorway to the so-called Serapeion. The crossroad formed at the western end of the street is marked by a gate with three passageways, which dates to about 400 AD. The capitals of the entrance pillars are adorned on their front with relief Medusa heads, which gave the gate its modern name (Medusa Gate). On the sides there are palmettes, broadly similar to those adorning the so-called Herakles Gate on Couretes Street. It is also noted that even when Christianity had spread, there were still mythological motifs adorning the buildings.²³

13. History of Research

Excavation works in the Agora of the Late Roman period were carried out between 1901 and 1911. The West and the South Gate were excavated in 1903, while the inside halls in the northern and eastern part in 1909 and 1911. General directors were R. Heberdey and W. Wilberg. About 60 years later the Turkish Archaeological Service carried out additional excavating and restoring works in parts of the stoas.²⁴

Finally, it is worth mentioning that during the course of centuries the vast Agora square was filled with numerous honorary statues and dedicative monuments. However, only the foundations are still in situ. Several dozens of inscribed pedestals of statues belonging to senior state officials, which had been previously used as building material, were found. This provides a mine of information on the building of the city, its cultural events and the various aspects of the religious and political life as well as its administration.