ABSTRACT
The form of the agora underwent many changes from the Archaic to Roman times. From its beginning as a stone circle in Archaic times, the agora became an architecturally framed place in the centre of a city. As the formation of the city centre of Miletus shows, different squares arose by the increasing use of stoai. By increasing the use of stoai and thus giving agorai a compact shape, a new approach in city planning can be observed. For the first time, agorai become independent in their urban context because they were framed squares within the cities and thus open to a new design. The new distance between the political buildings and the agora signalled a change in the use of the central place of a city. The grave for one of the city founders of Thasos can be found in the agora and offers a retrospective as well as a prospective message.
