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. 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) 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 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

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 (automobi ...

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, performanc ...

. 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 t ...

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