Where the Early Stoics Taught

Contact: Dr. Jan Garrett

July 8, 2008

Remains of the west steps of the Stoa Poikilê (Painted Porch) today

I am not sure how I came into the possession of this photograph, but that it is part of the Stoa Poikilê is confirmed by this view from the Athenian Agora Excavations website sponsored by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Go to this webpage and click on "General Views" to see more of the archeological site near the Stoa. If anyone knows the origin of the above photo, I would be happy to give credit for it.

The location of the Stoa Poikile is not part of the current agora archeological site open to the public (as of June 2007). My current best judgment is that it is located on the north side of Adrianou Street west of Filippou (and the Church of Aigios Filippos). Adrianou, or Hadrian's street, is the first street one comes to when one exits the public archeological site of the Athenian agora on the north side. Filippou intersects with Adrianou at a right angle. "Aigios Filippos" means "Saint Philip."

Here's a picture of what the Stoa Poikile might have looked like in antiquity. This picture can be found in an informative site on the agora of Athens.

Special thanks to Keith Seddon for converting the above photo to .gif and to Dave Kelly for calling my attention to the American School's web site on the Athenian agora excavations.

Here's Mark Travis' account of his search for the Stoa Poikilê. He was in Athens in May 2007.

For a recent map of the area north of the agora that shows where the Stoa Poikile was, see this page from John M. Camp, The Athenian Agora: Excavations in the Heart of Classical Athens (Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1986; updated October 1992). (Some browsers will permit you to expand it, and this should make it clearer. The rectangle slanted upwards to the right in the center of the map is the Stoa Poikile.) Thanks to Grant Sterling for this reference. Grant visited Athens in June 2008.

Mark, Keith, Dave, Grant, and I are members of the International Stoic Forum.