In the year 86 BCE, the Roman general Sulla laid siege to Athens as Roman conquest made its way across the eastern Mediterranean. He conquered the city-state, destroying most of it in the process, although leaving many of the monumental building projects from the classical period intact. (Click here to read about classical Athens, and click here to read about the Acropolis.)

Fortunately for Athens, it was given special status within both the Roman Republic and the subsequent Roman Empire due to its history and culture, the latter of which was eagerly co-opted into general Roman practice. By the time of Augustus, Athens had been largely rebuilt.

But under the rule of the Emperor Hadrian, Athens would experience another golden age. Ruling from 117-138 CE, Hadrian was part of the Roman era of the “good emperors,” whereby succession was chosen through virtue and adoption rather than by bloodline. (This would come to end with Marcus Aurelius’ son Commodus, of Gladiator fame.)

Hadrian seems to have taken the glory of Rome to truly include the glory of Athens, instituting a building program the city hadn’t seen since Pericles’ time (fifth century BCE). And many of those projects still exist – at least in part – today!

(Note: three of the sites we will talk about – the Roman Forum, Hadrian’s Library, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus – all have their admissions included in the combo Acropolis ticket. For an extra €10 – €30 rather than €20 – you’ll get five days, starting with your Acropolis timed entry, to visit these and a few classical Athenian ruins. If you have the time and interest, it’s worth it. Also note that these prices are rumored to be increasing for 2025, though I haven’t seen specifics.)

Between Sulla’s destruction and Hadrian’s construction, the majority of “old” things in Athens actually date to Roman times, both the monumental projects and just the random ruins one will sporadically come across, like this mosaic inside Athens’ National Garden. (It is hilarious to think that Roman ruins here are actually new in the grand sense of this city, most more than 500 years after those from classical Athens.)

There is no particular order in which to visit the Roman sites of Athens, so we will take these in the order I – totally randomly based on geography and scheduling – chose to see them, starting with the Roman Forum.

Also called the Roman Agora (and not to be confused with the Ancient Agora of classical Athens, hence my use of the Forum name), the Roman Forum is the one Roman project that truly predates Hadrian, coming from the time of Augustus (27 BCE to 14 CE). It was built just about a football field’s length away from the Ancient Agora, probably more as a supplement than anything else. What remains is fairly scant: some columns from the central courtyard area that would have marked the edges of the stoa surrounding it, a lovely columned gate, and some remnants of shops.

But one piece – which predates the Forum itself, dating to roughly 50 BCE – is the highlight: the Tower of the Winds. This octagonal tower is named for the reliefs at the top of each of its sides of various wind gods, although the purpose had nothing to do with wind despite being topped by a wind vane. It was, rather, a water clock. As it isn’t functioning, it is more interesting than cool, but the building is stunning to see from the outside.

Next door to the Roman Forum is one of Hadrian’s projects, one that bears his name: Hadrian’s Library. Completed in 132 CE, it would have appeared similar to the Forum, having a central courtyard with column-lined stoa to each side. But the far (away from the entrance) side stoa held the library itself, one of the largest collections of papyrus scrolls in antiquity. Today, the front facade is the majority of what survives, with the remainder able to be seen in under an hour.

By scale, the Temple of Olympian Zeus is the most impressive of all of the Roman building projects in Athens. Completed in 131 CE, it was in its time the largest temple in all of Greece. At its opening, the temple would have contained 104 columns of the Corinthian order, with a footprint of roughly 350 feet by 135 feet. Unfortunately, all that remains today is a mere sixteen standing columns (most of which are currently covered by scaffolding), and one column lying down in slices, which is actually great to see how the columns are constructed. (Note: if you don’t decide to get a combo ticket for entry, both the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Library can be seen from outside through gates or fences. It won’t offer the scale of going in (in the case of the library) or close, but will be something.)

Just outside the temple sits Hadrian’s Gate. At one time the entrance to the temple and its surrounds – called Hadrian’s City – it became a city gate built into the walls with the temple on the outside.

But how did normal Athenians live under Roman rule, which lasted roughly 500 years, with a small interruption in 267 CE with the sack of the city by the Herulians. The best way to see that is actually beneath the Acropolis Museum, in a large excavation that just opened this summer. (It is included with entry to the museum, which is absolutely worth the admission even without this.)

Here are remnants of ancient Athens. While a few pieces date to the Hellenistic period, what is here is mainly from Roman times. You’ll see footprints of entire buildings, some residential and others commercial, bathhouses, and more, as well as a museum of some of the artifacts found. I was not expecting this, and it was one of the more pleasant surprises of my time in Athens.

While these are the most major of the Roman ruins in Athens, there are, of course, more. Keep an eye out. From random columns in parks to ruined buildings along roads to a temple of the Augustan cult on the Acropolis itself, Roman remains are all over the Greek capital.

Under Roman rule, Athens experienced a second golden age of construction. It is somewhat of a surprise to many visitors, myself included. And seeing this amazing city, learning its storied history, means experiencing this era as well. After all, Roman Athens was so important that Greek was the official language of much of the Eastern Roman Empire, and subsequent Byzantine Empire.

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