Library of Hadrian at Athens

Located northeast of the Athenian Agora, the Library of Hadrian is a complex constructed under the Roman emperor Hadrian ca. AD 132. The columns and architecture have a distinctively Roman style, much like the buildings of the Roman Agora in Athens. The Library featured one hundred columns of Phrygian marble, had gilded roofwork, and alabaster architectural details, and was decorated with many statues and frescoes. This building, along with many others of the same style, was part of a Hadrianic building program that Hadrian himself undertook at Athens in an attempt to enhance the urban appearance of the city. It served primarily as a library and a place where the city's elite could come together to exchange ideas. It included a large room for the storage of the scrolls, as well as smaller rooms that could be used for lectures.

The library was damaged in AD 267 during the Herulian sack. The complex was repaired during the early fifth century and then became the site of a paleochristian church. Subsequently a three-aisled basilica was built (seventh century) that was replaced by a single-aisle church in the eleventh century. In 2001, the library began to be used as an archaeological storeroom and was closed to the public.