The Odeon of Philippopolis () was the house of the city council of citizens (known as

bouleuterion Bouleuterion (, ''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 at the bouleuterion to confer and de ...

) of ancient

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

. 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 ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

) 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 of the importance of Philippopolis as a cultural and political center. 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 A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

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 comprised typical elements for roofed theatres like skene,

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: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

and

cavea The ''cavea'' (Latin language, Latin for "enclosure") are the seating sections of Theatre of ancient Greece, Greek and Roman theatre (structure), Roman theatres and Roman amphitheatre, amphitheatres. In Roman theatres, the ''cavea'' is tradition ...

. The skene is narrow and its length spreads through the entire width of the cavea. The proskenion (the podium in front of the skene) was 1,5m higher than the level of the orchestra. The skene was two stories high and built in the Corinthian order which was typical for the period. Typically for 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 ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. 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 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