The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word STOA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
T
O
A
More clues leading to the result STOA
- Way to get over a roofed colonnade
- Zeno’s lecture arena is beside Academy
- Walk under cover from Athens to Alexandria
- Tailless furry creature seen in colonnade
- A feature associated with Greek thinkers from Socrates to Aristotle
- Covered colonnade in street area with zero occupation
- Passage taken by Greeks to Agora — or from letters to 28
- STOA, in Athens where Zeno gave his lectures)
- Starts to stroll through once awesome colonnade
- Colonnade attaches to Athenian houses
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a place of philosophical discourse" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a place of philosophical discourse = stoa.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does STOA mean?
STOA noun- In Ancient Greece, a walkway with a roof supported by colonnades, often with a wall on one side; specifically, the Great Hall in Athens.