The Stoa Poikile or Painted Porch, originally called the Porch of Peisianax (Ancient Greek: ή Πεισιανάκτειος στοά), was erected during the 5th century BC and was located on the north side of the Ancient Agora of Athens

Ancient Agora of Athens

The Ancient Agora of Athens is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and is bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Colonus Agoraeus.-History:The agora in Athens had private housing, until it...

. The Stoa

Stoa

Stoa in Ancient Greek architecture; covered walkways or porticos, commonly for public usage. Early stoae were open at the entrance with columns, usually of the Doric order, lining the side of the building; they created a safe, enveloping, protective atmosphere.Later examples were built as two...

 was the location from which Zeno of Citium

Zeno of Citium

Zeno of Citium was a Greek philosopher from Citium . Zeno was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC. Based on the moral ideas of the Cynics, Stoicism laid great emphasis on goodness and peace of mind gained from living a life of virtue in...

 taught Stoicism

Stoicism

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early . The Stoics taught that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not suffer such emotions.Stoics were concerned...

. The philosophical school of Stoicism takes its name from having first been expounded here, and was derived from the Greek word stoa. Zeno taught and lectured to his followers from this porch.

The Stoa Poikile was decorated by fresco painter and sculptor Micon of Athens

Micon

Micon the Younger of Athens was an ancient Greek painter and sculptor from the middle of the 5th century BC. He was closely associated with Polygnotus of Thasos, in conjunction with whom he adorned the Stoa poikile , at Athens, with paintings of the Battle of Marathon and other battles. He also...

 in collaboration with Polygnotos of Thasos

Polygnotus

Polygnotus was an ancient Greek painter from the middle of the 5th century BC, son and pupil of Aglaophon. He was a native of Thasos, but was adopted by the Athenians, and admitted to their citizenship....

; both artists worked around the mid-5th century BC. In the time of Pausanias

Pausanias (geographer)

Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...

 (2nd century AD), the paintings in the Stoa included:

• The Battle of Oenoe (author unknown)
• Amazonomachy
  Amazonomachy
  An Amazonomachy was a portrayal of legendary battle between Greeks and Amazons...
  
   by Micon
  Micon
  Micon the Younger of Athens was an ancient Greek painter and sculptor from the middle of the 5th century BC. He was closely associated with Polygnotus of Thasos, in conjunction with whom he adorned the Stoa poikile , at Athens, with paintings of the Battle of Marathon and other battles. He also...
  
  
• The taking of Troy
  Troy
  Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
  
   by Polygnotus
  Polygnotus
  Polygnotus was an ancient Greek painter from the middle of the 5th century BC, son and pupil of Aglaophon. He was a native of Thasos, but was adopted by the Athenians, and admitted to their citizenship....
  
  
• The Battle of Marathon
  Battle of Marathon
  The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate...
  
   by Panaenus
  Panaenus
  Panaenus, brother of Pheidias, was an ancient Greek painter who worked in conjunction with Polygnotus and Micon at Athens. The painting of the Battle of Marathon in the Stoa poikile is ascribed to Panaenus, and also to Micon and Polygnotus who may have assisted him. He also painted the marble sides...
  
   (also ascribed to Micon and Polygnotus who may have assisted in the work)

There is a contrast between the mythical and historical events portrayed: depictions of Theseus' victory over the Amazonians and the Fall of Troy are juxtaposed sharply with the portrayal of the historic Battle of Oenoe

Oenoe

Oenoe , also written Oinoi or Oene, referred to several cities in Greece:*Oenoe, a city in Attica, modern Oinoi*Oenoe, an ancient city located in Argolis*Oene , an ancient city in modern Elis...

(conjectured to have occurred in the pentecontaetia

Pentecontaetia

Pentecontaetia is the term used to refer to the period in Ancient Greek history between the defeat of the second Persian invasion of Greece at Plataea in 479 BC and the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 433 BC. The term originates in Thucydides, who uses it in his description of the period...

 at Oenoe, Attica on the Thriasian Plain

Thriasian Plain

The Thriasian Plain is a plain in western Attica, immediately to the west of Athens, in Greece. It is bounded by Mount Egaleo to the east, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Pateras to the west, and the Bay of Eleusina to the south.-History:...

 near Eleutherae

Eleutherae

Eleutherae is a city in the northern part of Attica, bordering the territory of Boeotia. One of the best preserved fortresses of the Ancient Greece stands now on the spot of Ancient Eleutherae with walls of very fine masonry that average 2.6m thick. A stretch of wall 206m long containing six...

), the first important Athenian victory over Sparta

Sparta

Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...

, and the Battle of Marathon

Battle of Marathon

The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate...

. The Battle of Marathon features most predominantly and as such, displays the confidence and identity of the Athenians in the wake of the Persian Wars, particularly when compared to the two great mythical victories identified above.

Stoa Poikilê stood in good repair for over six centuries, occasionally gaining additional artwork. It suffered when Athens was sacked in 267

267

Year 267 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Paternus and Arcesilaus...

 by Heruli

Heruli

The Heruli were an East Germanic tribe who are famous for their naval exploits. Migrating from Northern Europe to the Black Sea in the third century They were part of the...

ans, although only easily looted items were taken at that time. The paintings were removed by a Roman governor shortly before 396

396

Year 396 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Augustus...

.