224 cities: Greece Ancient Athens reached its zenith in the fifth century b.c.e., when its population numbered around 300,000, of whom 40,000 were citizens part in city government, which was considered a right and duty of every citizen Civic leaders regulated their city’s physical layout by controlling the height of buildings and the width of streets and by restricting certain activities to particular zones The agora remained the central meeting place or town square in addition to being the center of public commerce Surrounding the agora were one or more stoas, long and low buildings with shops and arcaded walkways for the use of the public The stoa provided shelter from the elements and served the public as a meeting place The bouleuterion was a place for the meeting of the boule, or city council, whose members arranged themselves on tiers of seats set around a central platform for speakers The prytaneion was the ancient Greek city hall, which held the offices of the executive committee known as the prytaneis as well as offices for the magistrates who received state guests and ambassadors The symbolic heart of the city, the prytaneion was home to a sacred flame, which was always kept burning Some cities had a tholos, a circular building used for public ceremonies, such as sacrifices and state banquets, and for meetings and meals of the prytaneis An important function of the city was to provide pleasant occupation for a citizen’s leisure time A balaneia was a public bath that held bathtubs made from stone or glazed terra-cotta brick, set in rows, and with running water that could be heated over a fire An odeion was a roofed hall used for musical performances The earliest Greek theaters consisted of wooden benches set into a hillside in a semicircular layout From the fourth century b.c.e on, theaters grew to rival the agoras as places of public assembly The finest had several dozen tiers of raised seats built in stone or marble, often with an expansive view of a valley, harbor, or city from above Gymnasia were public buildings raised for education of the young The gymnasium had an open courtyard for physical training, a running track, and a colonnaded hall similar to a stoa, with rooms for instruction and for public speaking A palaestra was a building for athletic training, with small changing rooms surrounding a central courtyard The stadium was a running track, with banked sides for the use of spectators Private homes were small and simple, built of dried brick or cob, a mixture of wet clay and straw They were