The study presents how the the spaces of two different civilizations are relatively inspired by the earlier one yet with different peculiarity.

1. THE AGOR OF GREEK
VS
THE ROMAN FORUM
by Ganesh Thakur

2.  "The Greek agora establishes a formal typology, the
Roman Forum defines the symbolism of the square as
a center of an architecture and a society
essentially urban. While the Greek agora
contributed to giving the citizen self-
consciousness, the Roman Forum made him aware of
the state. "
 Juan Carlos Pérgolis in his book "The Plaza. The
center of the City"

3.  It is inevitable to
establish a parallel
between the agora , the
public space developed by
the Athenians, and the
Roman Forum.
 In fact, it is possible
that the Roman space
received influences from
its Greek equivalent, a
theory reinforced by the
fact that in Etruscan
cities (that preceded the
Romans) no traces of a
similar public space have
been found.
 After all, the Agora was,
as the forum, the most
important public space in
the city, where people
would gather to discuss
important aspects of their
community.

4.  In terms of their relationship
with the landscape, it is
possible to establish
similarities between the
Athenian agora and the
Republican forum.
 Both areas were located on
flat land near or surrounded
by hills (the forum was built
on a drained swamp), and the
way buildings are crammed into
the original forum around the
Capitoline Hill evoke the
urban arrangement of
structures around the the
Aeropagus hill in the early
agora.
 It should be noted, however,
the imposing presence of the
Acropolis, a visual and
symbolic landmark -with no
equivalent in Rome- that
influenced the layout of the
circulation and the use of
public space in Athens.

5.  It is impossible to define the
agora without referring also to
the surrounding landscape.
 The space interacts with two hills
that stand in the middle of flat
relief.
 The closest is the Areopagus,
Aerios pagos or the "Hill of Ares"
where the Council used to meet,
and from where St. Paul gave a
rousing speech. But undoubtedly
the most prominent landscape
feature was the Acropolis (lit.
"over the city").
 Furthermore, next to the Agora is
a promontory called Kolonos
Agoraios, where the temple to
Hephaestus is located.
 The intense relationship between
the Agora and the Acropolis was
not just visual, which is in
itself quite intense as the
Parthenon is seen at all times
from everywhere, but also
functional: the space was crossed
diagonally by a road called
Panathenaic Way, which joined the
Acropolis to the Dypilon Gate,
located on the northwest edge of
town.
 Besides being a place where
shows, games and races were
carried out, the Panathenaic Way
was also the beginning of a
processional ascent to the
Acropolis.

6.  In later stages the Imperial
Forums became more defined,
geometric, and enclosed,
forming a series of separate
spaces.
 This geometric rationality is
also observable in forums of
Roman cities such as Gerash
and Caesarea, or Romanized
cities, like Petra.
 If the construction of Odeion
of Agrippa in the center of
the agora would have been an
attempt by the Empire to
define the urban space that
would appear too "open" for
Roman eyes.
 In general, the old Roman
forum shared with the Greek
agora a commercial character,
later adding civic, religious
and even recreational
activities, as eventually
games were held in Rome during
the Republic.

7.  However, particularly in
the imperial period, Roman
Forum area evolved as a
space for celebration and
commemoration, both
functional and symbolic
terms, hence the
monumental size of the
structures.
 The forum turned into a
stunning space for
imperial power propaganda
, and for this reason the
commercial functions were
relegated to a sector of
it.
 Similarly, in Athens, the
Romans forbade the market
in the original agora,
creating the so-called
"Roman agora" for
commercial purposes.

8.  Religious buildings are also
located in both the agora and
the forum, serving a variety of
symbolic functions
 But the difference is
noticeable in the scale of
these religious buildings,
being the Roman version the
most monumental
 There are also architectural
differences between the temples
of the agora and the forum,
although the Greek influence is
evident in Roman buildings.
 However, while the Athenians
placed the temple of Hephaestus
on a krepidoma or platform
which could be accessed from
either side, as it was usual in
Greek temples, in the Roman
case there was only a frontal
access through a staircase,
leading to the temple placed on
a much higher and more
prominent pedestal .

9.  In fact, although both spaces
appear as the heart of their
cities, their scale, formal,
spatial and functional
differences clearly express the
kind of society they
represented.
 These differences are evident
not only between the agora and
the forum, but in the evolution
of the Republican forum to the
Imperial Forums.
 Finally, there is greater
complexity in the development of
the forum that in the case of
the agora, expressed in the
spatial distribution (sequence
of squares and cloisters), the
conformation of the building
fabric (with types such as the
basilica, for example), the
landscaping of the urban space
(including commemorative items
such as arches and columns), the
use of materials (like brick and
concrete) and building
techniques (such as the arch and
the vault).

10. WE SHOULD NOT FORGET, HOWEVER, THE GREAT INFLUENCE
THAT THE GREEKS EXERTED OVER THE ROMANS, BOTH BY
THE CULTURAL CONCEPTS INHERITED BY THE LATTER AS FOR
THE PARTICIPATION OF NUMEROUS GREEK ARCHITECTS AND
BUILDERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERAL ROMAN
BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS.
Thank You