Pnyx Monument

The Pnyx features a massive, crescent-shaped retaining wall built of immense, rough-hewn limestone blocks that anchors a wide, sloping terrace. This platform served as the official meeting place for the Athenian Assembly starting in the fifth century before Christ. Citizens gathered here by the thousands to debate matters of state, standing on the dusty hillside to vote by a show of hands. According to reports from the time, the orator Demosthenes once stood here and struggled to be heard over the wind.