Where Did Ancient Athenians Go to Read Public Notices?

An announcement in ancient Athens had an address. In the Agora, citizens knew to look for notices at the Monument of the Eponymous Heroes. The bronze figures have gone, but the long base and the line of the fence make this a particularly rewarding ruin to read at ground level.

Who were the Eponymous Heroes?

Each gave his name to an Athenian tribe. When citizens were reorganized into ten tribes around 508 BCE, the groups took names associated with legendary figures of Attica. Much later, the surviving monument brought their statues together on a long pedestal. Citizens who belonged to different tribes could recognize their own hero within a single public monument.

What sort of information was posted there?

An Athenian might come looking for a military call-up, a public honor or a proposed law due to go before the assembly. Think of a particular citizen arriving to find out whether his name had appeared. The important part of the monument for him that day was down at reading height, below the elevated figures that a passerby could recognize from farther away.

How do I recognize it beside the council buildings?

Look in the southwestern part of the square near the old council house. Find a long, narrow rectangle with a low enclosure around the pedestal. Part of the fence has been reconstructed. Follow its length with your eye. The proportions make sense once you picture a row of separate figures and space alongside them for people to pause and read.