Choregic Monument of Nikias, Ancient memorial structure at Acropolis, Greece

The Choregic Monument of Nikias was a commemorative structure that stood between the Theatre of Dionysus and the Stoa of Eumenes, featuring a temple-like design with six front columns. Its foundation remains are still visible within the Acropolis archaeological area today.

Built in 320–319 BCE, the monument honoured the choregos Nikias, son of Nikodemos, of the deme Xypete, for a choral victory. It was destroyed in 267 CE, probably by the Heruli, and its triglyphs and dedicatory inscription were later reused in the Beulé Gate.

Nikias, son of Nikodemos, from the deme of Xypete, funded the monument after winning a choregic victory; the choregos paid for the chorus and production of the winning performance. The dedicatory inscription survives, built into the central part of the Beulé Gate, where visitors can still read it. The display of wealth by Nikias and Thrasyllos, both from the period of Macedonian oligarchic rule, may have prompted Demetrios of Phaleron's sumptuary law.

You can see the foundation remains of this ancient structure within the Acropolis archaeological zone, alongside other preserved ruins from the same period. Planning to visit in the morning allows you to explore both this site and the nearby theater and stoa remains in comfortable conditions.

The exact location of this monument remained uncertain for many years until American archaeologist William Dinsmoor pinpointed it in 1910. His discovery corrected decades of mistaken assumptions about where the structure had actually stood.