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| The Pnyx (from the Greek word meaning "tightly packed together") was the meeting place of the Athenian democratic assembly (Ekklesia). |
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| In the earliest phase (called Pnyx I, probably the early 5th century B.C.), people sat on the natural slope of the hill, facing the Bema (the speaker's platform). In the next recreation of the Pnyx (Pnyx II, probably 403 B.C.), the positions of the speaker and the people were reversed by building a retaining wall in the north to support an artificial embankment sloping down to the south. The Bema was moved to the south, and the people sat with their backs to the north (and the Agora and their homes – I wonder if that was a subconscious or a conscious choice to show the speaker that they were protecting their city, homes, families and wealth by not believing them). |
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| In the third redesign, by now Pnyx III (probably in the 330's B.C.), the area was made even bigger. A massive retaining wall was built to the north, and the bedrock of the hillside of was cut back on the south slope to create a speaker's platform and two vertical scarps. The seating capacity may have been anywhere from 6000 to 13,000 people. |
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| Finally, during the Roman period, part of the Pnyx was used as a sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos (Supreme). The niches for votive plaques cut into the bedrock serve as evidence that it served as the sanctuary. Many of the votive plaques are carved with representations of human body parts (eyes, breasts, etc.), suggesting that this Zeus Hypsistos was a healing divinity. Most of what we see today is from Pnyx III. |
| The text and photographs are courtesy of the The Stoa Consortium |
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