I am grateful to J. C. Donati for reviewing my book On the Agora. The evolution of a public space in Hellenistic and Roman Greece (c. 323 BC–267 AD). He gives compliments and raises valid points for further reflection, but the review also, in several ways, misrepresents my aims, my use of evidence and, most troublingly, my words. I am grateful for this chance to respond to the review and restrict myself to the most pressing issues.