Human virtues

The values-based philosophy of the Stoics of ancient Greece has influenced many modern psychological therapies.

- Marc Wilson

Athens is dotted with places to see really old stuff. There's many a fenced-off ruin with a plaque describing the ancient structure within. The Acropolis Museum is built over an ongoing excavation of ancient structures which you can see through glass sections of the first floor.

Among the places to visit is the Ancient Agora of Athens - a large area studded with ruins, some reconstructed, that served as a meeting place for citizens going about their daily business. My favourite part is the massive Stoa of Attalos. This is a giant, rectangular, two-storey building with pillars along one side and rooms along the other. The reconstructed stoa has been adapted to house the Museum of the Ancient Agora.

There are stoa in pretty much every place where ancient Greeks made a home. The Stoa of Attalos is important for many reasons but, for the purpose of this column, it's notable as the place where students of the early school of Stoicism congregated. In fact, Stoicism took its name from the word stoa.