The Odeon of
Philippopolis ( bg, Одеон на Филипополис) was the house of the city council of citizens (known as
bouleuterion
A bouleuterion ( grc-gre, βουλευτήριον, ''bouleutērion''), also translated as and was a building in ancient Greece which housed the council of citizens (, ''boulē'') of a democratic city state. These representatives assembled a ...
) of ancient
Plovdiv
Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...
.
It was also used as a theatre due to its appropriate structure. The Odeon buildings had four construction periods: from the 2nd century AD (during the reign of
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
) when it was initially built to the 4th century AD when it was abandoned. The existence of such a building in ancient Plovdiv is a sign for the importance of Philippopolis as a cultural and political centre.
Evidence of the 250/1 destruction by the Goths has been discovered around the Odeon.
Location
The Odeon of Philippopolis was discovered near General Gurko street in the northeastern corner of the
Roman forum
The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
in Plovdiv. The natural connection between the odeon and the forum was destroyed during the construction of Maria Luiza blvd. and the tunnel under the main pedestrian street of Plovdiv.
The Odeon
![Odeon plan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Odeon_plan.png)
The Odeon was a rectangular building which comprise typical elements for roofed theatres like
skene
Skene may refer to:
* Skene, Aberdeenshire, a community in North East Scotland, United Kingdom
* Skene, Mississippi, an unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States
* Skene, Sweden, a village now part of Kinna, Sweden
* Skene (automobile) ...
,
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
and
cavea
The ''cavea'' (Latin for "enclosure") are the seating sections of Greek and Roman theatres and amphitheatres
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performance ...
. The skene is narrow and its length spreads through the entire width of the cavea. The
proskenion
In the theatre of ancient Greece, the ''skene'' was the structure at the back of a stage. The word means 'tent' or 'hut', and it is thought that the original structure for these purposes was a tent or light building of wood and was a temporary ...
(the podium in front of the skene) was 1,5m higher than the level of the orchestra. The skene was two stories high built in Corinthian order system of Roman type which was typical for the period. Typically for a theatre buildings, vertical grooves were found in the skene's wall which indicate that a structure for raising and lowering a curtain probably existed. The height of the construction that bears the cavea was considerable.
The Odeon
The orchestra had a horseshoe shape which was typical for Roman provinces. In the last construction period of the Odeon, however, size of the orchestra was reduced and its shape became semicircular. The floor was made of large marble slabs surrounded by marble orthostates near the cavea.
A wall around the Eastern end of the orchestra supported the lowest part the cavea.
The cavea surrounds the Eastern side of orchestra and had between 300 and 350 spectator seats
www.plovdivbg.info arranged in step-like shape for better visibility. A vaulted structure with numerous vaulted spaces in truncated cone shape supported the cavea. A similar structure was used for the construction of the spectator area of the Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...
in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. The cavea is separated from the skene via parodoi.
Conservation and restoration
The Odeon of Philippopolis was discovered in 1988 by the archeologist Z. Dimitrov and Maya Martinova. In 1995 the ancient monument was listed as a cultural value of national significance. Conservation works were carried out in 2002 with the financial support from the Leventis foundation.
Gallery
Image:Odeon plovdiv.jpg
Image:Odeon2.jpg,
Image:Bulgaria-0819 - Roman Odeon (7432953250).jpg,
Image:Bulgaria-0828 - Roman Odeon (7432961404).jpg,
Notes
References
Roman Plovdiv
The Forum of Philippopolis
{{Ancient Monuments in Plovdiv
Ancient Roman theatres in Bulgaria
Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century
Buildings and structures in Plovdiv
Tourist attractions in Plovdiv
Philippopolis (Thrace)
Culture in Plovdiv