Bouleuterion, Athens is one of the major Tourist Attractions in Athens. The word ‘Bouleuterion’ is derived from Greek 'boule' which means council and the suffix ‘terion’ which refers to a place for doing something. ‘Bouleuterion’ actually refers to a building which housed the council of ‘boule’ or citizens in Ancient Greece. You will find several extant remains of Bouleuterions around Greece and former Greek territories of ancient times while you are on your Athens Tours. In historical times, a boule was a basic institution of the ancient city-state and it was formed with the representatives of the citizens. Bouleuterion, Athens was the place where the representatives used to assemble in order to discuss and decide about public affairs.
Bouleuterion, Athens was the city council of ancient Athens and it was better known as the council of 500. It was located in the Ancient Agora of Athens. History has it that the original Athenian council was founded in 594 BC by Solon who was Archon during the time. It consisted of 400 men of which each of the 4 original Athenian tribes selected 100. When a new constitution came into being around 507 BC, it included the provision for formation of a council of 500. The new council was to be made up of 50 men selected from each of the newly-created 10 tribes or phylai. The council members with a one-year term, lived in Athens and held meetings at the Bouleuterion.
The first Bouleuterion, Athens was built on the west side of the Agora below the Kolonos Agoraios. The simple, almost square building plan consisted of an oblong-shaped antechamber and a main council chamber. The main hall was a large, rectangular room where wooden benches were arranged in rows along the walls. The roof of the building was supported by five columns placed around the center of the main chamber.
The new Bouleuterion, Athens was built to the west of the old building in the late fifth century. The smaller structure was more sophisticated and it originally consisted of only a main council chamber. The main hall was innovative in design. The seating was arranged in an amphitheater-like system with twelve levels of semicircular benches filling the room.
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