Hadrian's Library

The Library of Hadrian is a sprawling archaeological site at the northern foot of the Acropolis, on the edge of Athens' Monastiraki and Plaka districts. Emperor Hadrian built it around 132 AD as a combined library, lecture hall and assembly space. The plan echoed Rome's Templum Pacis: a long colonnaded courtyard with a central pool, the eastern end holding the two-storey halls of book scrolls. The entrance facade was clad in green Karystos marble, with a row of columns still standing. Inside the courtyard visitors can trace the foundations of an early Byzantine tetraconch church from the fifth century, built over the ruined library. The site is included in the combined Acropolis ticket.