The Roman Forum of Thessaloniki, also called the Ancient Agora, is the large sunken archaeological site on Dikastirion Square, just uphill from Aristotelous Square in the city centre. It was the civic and religious centre of Roman Thessaloniki, with colonnades, a small theatre, a mint and baths. It came to light by accident in the 1960s, when the city started work on a new courthouse here.
The Roman Forum at a glance
- Where: Archaias Agoras Square, still widely known by its old name Dikastirion (Courthouse) Square, at the junction of Olympou and Filippou streets.
- Built: in two main phases in the mid-2nd and mid-3rd centuries AD, on a site that was already a public space in Hellenistic times.
- What it is today: an open archaeological site with an underground museum, opened in 1999, and a restored odeon used for performances in summer.
- Time needed: about an hour with the museum, or 10 minutes to look down from the railings.
Found under a planned courthouse
Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by the Macedonian king Cassander, who named it after his wife Thessalonike, a half-sister of Alexander the Great. Under Rome it became the capital of the province of Macedonia. The area of the forum was a public space from the 3rd century BC, but the complex you see was built in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD: a large rectangular square framed by two-storey colonnades, an odeon, a mint, a public archive and baths. It stayed in use until at least the 6th century.
Over the following centuries the ruins disappeared under the city. In the 1960s the square was chosen for the new Municipal Courthouse, and when the digging began the remains of the forum appeared. The courthouse was never built; excavations followed from 1962, and the official name of the square became Ancient Agora Square, though most locals still call it Dikastirion. The odeon was consolidated in 1969–1973, restored in the 1990s and reopened as a venue on 27 June 1997, and the site museum followed in 1999.
What to look for
- The odeon: a small theatre built in the mid-2nd century on the site of an older council house. After the mid-3rd century it was roofed and seated about 300 people; today it hosts plays and concerts from May to September.
- The cryptoporticus: a double vaulted gallery under the colonnade along the south side, probably used for storage. You enter the site through it, and it is also used for exhibitions.
- The square itself: column bases, floor slabs and the lines of the colonnades that framed the open space.
- The Roman baths: one of the forum's two bath houses has been excavated; the other still lies under the city.
- The underground museum: finds from the excavations of 1962–1999 and the story of the site from the Hellenistic period to today, including glass and gold objects.
Las Incantadas: the enchanted ones
Next to the forum once stood a two-storey colonnade whose upper level was decorated with eight carved figures from myth: a Maenad, Dionysus, Ariadne, Leda, Nike, Aura, one of the Dioskouroi and Ganymede. The Sephardic Jews of Thessaloniki, who spoke Ladino, called them Las Incantadas, the enchanted ones, and in Greek they are the Magemenes. In 1864 the figures were taken down and shipped to France, and they are now in the Louvre in Paris. An old engraving of the colonnade is shown in the site museum.
Tips for your visit
- Walk round the railings at street level first: from above you can see the whole layout of the forum before you go down into it.
- In summer, check the programme of the odeon. Watching a performance in a Roman theatre in the middle of the city is a fine way to end a day.
- The site is reached through the cryptoporticus and is wheelchair accessible.
Nearby
- Church of Agios Dimitrios: the great basilica of the city's patron saint, with a crypt built into Roman baths, a few minutes' walk uphill.
- Panagia Chalkeon: a small brick church from 1028 at the southern corner of the square, part of Thessaloniki's UNESCO-listed Byzantine monuments.
- Bey Hamam: an Ottoman bath house from 1444 on Egnatia Street, a few minutes' walk away.
- Aristotelous Square: the city's grand square, laid out after the fire of 1917 and running down to the sea.
See Thessaloniki with World City Trail
Our Thessaloniki scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 53 minutes of walking. It includes the Church of Agios Dimitrios, just uphill from the forum, and the Rotunda. You can play in English, German, French, Italian or Greek.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Thessaloniki.
Play the Thessaloniki scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Thessaloniki →
Play the outdoor escape game in Thessaloniki →
Facts checked in October 2026.