Odeon or Odeum (, , lit. "singing place") is the name for several ancient

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

buildings built for musical activities such as singing, musical shows, and poetry competitions. Odeons were smaller than

and

theatres.

Etymology

The ancient Greek word comes from the verb (, "I sing") which is also the root of (, "

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

") and of (, "singer").

Description

In a general way, the construction of an odeon was similar to that of an

ancient Greek theatre Ancient Greek theatre was a Theatre, theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The Polis, city-state of Classical Athens, Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was ...

and Roman theatre, but it was only a quarter of the size and was provided with a

roof A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

for acoustic purposes, a characteristic difference. The prototype odeon was the Odeon of

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...

(

Odeon of Athens The Odeon of Athens or Odeon of Pericles in Athens was a odeon, built at the southeastern foot of the Acropolis in Athens, next to the entrance to the Theatre of Dionysus. History It was first built in 435 BC by Pericles for the musical contest ...

), a mainly wooden building by the southern slope of the

Acropolis of Athens The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...

. It was described by Plutarch as "many-seated and many-columned" and may have been square, though excavations have also suggested a different shape, . It was said to be decorated with the masts and spars of ships captured from the Persians. It was rebuilt by king

Ariobarzanes I of Cappadocia Ariobarzanes I ( grc, Ἀριοβαρζάνης), surnamed Philoromaios ( grc, Φιλορωμαίος, Philorōmaíos, "Friend to the Romans"), was the first Ariobarzanid king of Cappadocia from 95 BC to 63/62 BC. Ariobarzanes I was a Cappadocian ...

after its destruction by fire in the

First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridates ...

in 87–86 BC.

Examples

The oldest known odeon in Greece was the Skias at

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, so-called from its resemblance to the top of an

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...

, said to have been erected by

Theodorus of Samos Theodorus of Samos () was a 6th-century BC ancient Greek sculptor and architect from the Greek island of Samos. Along with Rhoecus, he was often credited with the invention of ore smelting and, according to Pausanias, the craft of casting. He i ...

(600 BC). In Athens, an odeon near the spring Enneacrunus on the

Ilissus The Ilisos or Ilisus ( el, Ιλισός, ) is a river in Athens, Greece. Originally a tributary of the Kifisos, it has been rechanneled to the sea. It is now largely channeled underground, though as of June 2019 there are plans to unearth the ...

was referred to the age of

Peisistratus Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular ...

and appears to have been rebuilt or restored by

Lycurgus Lycurgus or Lykourgos () may refer to: People * Lycurgus (king of Sparta) (third century BC) * Lycurgus (lawgiver) (eighth century BC), creator of constitution of Sparta * Lycurgus of Athens (fourth century BC), one of the 'ten notable orators' ...

(c. 330 BC). Also in Athens, the

Odeon of Agrippa The Odeon of Agrippa was a large odeon located in the centre of the ancient Agora of Athens. It was built about 15 BC, occupying what had previously been open space in the centre of the Agora. It was a gift to the people of Athens by Marcus Vips ...

was a large odeon located in the centre of the

ancient Agora of Athens The ancient Agora of Athens (also called the Classical Agora) is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora, located to the northwest of the Acropolis and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill kn ...

. The most magnificent odeon was the

Odeon of Herodes Atticus The Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Greek: Ωδείο Ηρώδου του Αττικού; also called Herodeion or Herodion; Greek: Ηρώδειο) is a stone Roman theatre structure located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, Greece. Th ...

on the Southwest cliff of the Acropolis at Athens. It was built in about 160 AD by the wealthy sophist and rhetorician

Herodes Atticus Herodes Atticus ( grc-gre, Ἡρώδης; AD 101–177) was an Athenian rhetorician, as well as a Roman senator. A great philanthropic magnate, he and his wife Appia Annia Regilla, for whose murder he was potentially responsible, commissioned ...

in memory of his wife, and considerable remains of the odeon still exist. It had accommodation for 4500–5500 persons, and the ceiling was constructed of beautifully carved beams of cedar wood, probably with an open space in the center to admit the light. It was also profusely decorated with pictures and other works of art. Similar buildings also existed in other parts of Greece: at

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

, also the gift of Herodes Atticus; at

Patrae ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

, where there was a famous statue of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

; at

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

, Tralles, and other towns in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. The first odeon in Rome was built by Domitian (

Odeon of Domitian The Odeon of Domitian was an ancient Roman building on the Campus Martius in Rome, used for plays and musical competitions and with room for an audience of 11,000. Begun by Domitian in imitation of Greek odeons (neighbouring his stadium to its ...

), a second by

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

. In Sicily, there are at least two Roman odeons, one at

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

and another at

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...

. The

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

of Philippopolis (present day

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 ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

), with 300 to 350 seats, and the

Odeon of Lyon The Odeon of Lyon (french: Odéon antique de Lyon) is a small ancient Roman theatre (an odeon) near the summit of the Fourvière hill in Lyon, France. It forms a pair with the Ancient Theatre of Fourvière, one of only two such pairs in Gaul ( ...

are another examples. File:Bulgaria Bulgaria-0812 - Roman Odeon (7432938030).jpg, Roman Odeon, Philippopolis, Bulgaria Image:The Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. In the distance Philopappos Hill.jpg, View of the

from the

, Greece File:Odeon-lyon.jpg,

, France File:Catania-Teatro.jpg, Ancient Roman Odeon at

, Sicily

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book , last= Sear , first=Frank , date=2006 , title=Roman Theatres: An Architectural Survey , publisher= Oxford University Press , isbn=978-0-19-814469-4 Leisure in classical antiquity Ancient Roman buildings and structures Ancient Greek buildings and structures Ancient Greek theatre