Laodicea North Agora

The North (Sacred) Agora is located at the west end, and north of, the Syrian Street. It is huge, almost 9 acres (3.6 ha.) in size—about equal to 6.5 American Football Fields. The three main entranceways are from the Syrian Street via monumental entrances. There are two porticos running north-south—one on the east and one on the west. Parallel to them, there were two long pools. In the center of the Agora, there were two temples: one dedicated to Athena and the other to Zeus—along with associated altars.

The Agora was initially constructed during the reign of Augustus (r. 27 BC to AD 14). The temples were dismantled during the reign of Constantine (r. 306–337) and a church was constructed at the north end of the Agora. The earthquake of 494 destroyed parts of the Agora and it completely collapsed in the early seventh–century.