It spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens, Greece, to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

It has been proposed that the arch was built to celebrate the adventus (arrival) of the Roman emperor Hadrian and to honor him for his many benefactions to the city, on the occasion of the dedication of the nearby temple complex in 131 or 132 AD.

The central opening, however, was flanked by antae with engaged Corinthian half-columns that supported a projecting triangular pediment, which rested above the dentils, geison, and sima that joined to those of the two wings.

Graindor states that the screen of the central opening of the attic was removed for aesthetic reason on the instructions of Queen Amalia, for whom the avenue running past the arch was named.

The design of this central aediculum-like, niche of the upper level is similar to the architecture of the scaenae frons (façade of ancient stage buildings) and highly evocative of the representations of aedicula in wall painting of the 2nd Pompeian style.

Roman triumphal arches, however, typically have a massive, solid attic (upper level), often filled with a dedicatory inscription and sculptural decoration.

In addition, Roman arches typically supported major stone or bronze statuary, often including a quadriga (four-horse chariot) or similar at top center.

As Willers notes, the design of the Arch of Hadrian has a very refined upper level that does not allow the mounting of major decoration on top of the attic.

In stark opposition to these proposals, Willers states that there is no evidence of the type of doweling needed to mount statuary on the top of the lower level and that the stone is far too roughly worked on the upper surface for statues to rest on it.

Kouremenos suggests that in Hadrian's time the arch contained painted reliefs, possibly with statues in the central opening, that were taken down and replaced at some point in the Byzantine period.

[16] Patronage of the arch has been attributed to either the Athenian state or to the Panhellenes, a newly formed association of all the Greek cities, based in Athens.

[17] Two arches of the same scale and design were constructed at the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis later in the 2nd century CE and dedicated to an emperor (perhaps Marcus Aurelius) by the Panhellenes.