Hill of the Pnyx Athens

North of Filopappou Hill, this hill was the official meeting place of the Democratic Assembly in the 5th century BC – really, the first site of democracy. You can see the speakers' steps, where the great orators Aristides, Demosthenes, Pericles and Themistocles addressed assemblies. (More recently, politicians have used it for photo ops.) The hill is often empty, save for birds, and its view of the Acropolis' front steps gives a real sense of the temples' centrality to ancient Athenian life.