In antiquity, the Agora played a major role as both a marketplace and a political centre. The Agora is dominated by the Stoa of Attalos and the Theseion, or Hephaisteion, dedicated to the God of metalworking and also to Theseus, one of the heroes of Greek mythology.

The National Archaeological Museum, in Exarchia, is home to Ancient Greece’s most spectacular pieces. One room contains Schliemann’s finds from Mycenae, another has the famous frescoes from Santorini on display. There is also a fine collection of idols from the Cyclades and ceramics from all parts of the Mediterranean. The star of the museum is the Antikythera Mechanism — an ancient hand-powered orrery, described as the oldest example of an analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance. This scientific marvel is dated somewhere between 205 and 60 BCE.

Sandwiched between the Palatine and Capitoline hills, the Forum Romanum (Roman Forum) is an open-air forum that was once the commercial, political, social, and religious hub of ancient Rome. Throughout the Imperial period, Emperors like Julius Caesar and Augusts expanded the Forum to include temples, statues, monuments, a senate house, and low courts. Today, the Forum Romanum is one of the most visited archaeological sites in the world and offers fascinating insights into Roman civilisation.