Athens – The Odeon of Herodes Atticus

This is one of the best known and loved ancient buildings in Greece, inextricably linked to some great performances of the 20th century. Since it was partially restored, it has been used as a stage for musical and theatrical performances.

The Herodes Atticus Odeon was built in memory of Regilla, Herod’s wife, who died in 160-1 AD. C.; the sixty-year-old patron of the arts spent an enormous amount of money to build it. The theater was his last great work and became famous for its superb construction, very advanced for the time, and for its luxury that is still perceived today, so many centuries later.

The cavea of ​​the Odeon has a diameter of approximately 80 meters and the orchestra, which is more than a semicircle, has a diameter of 19 meters. A catwalk, called a diazoma, divided the theater seats into two sections. The lower one had five wedge-shaped sections with 20 rows of seats each. The upper part had ten wedges, with 13-14 rows of seats each. They were all marble, as was the orchestra floor. The Odeon is estimated to have had a seating capacity of 6,000. The facade of the Odeon, 28 meters high, has three floors and is decorated with arches and openings. The skene has three stairs.

The most impressive part of the construction was the roof; it is believed that it covered the entire building. It was made of cedar wood, a precious material in those days, and ancient writers noted that the cost of cedar was high even if one only wanted a statue made of this material. Whether it was used as an Odeon after its destruction by the Herulians is unclear.