Greetings Readers and History-Lovers!

Welcome back to The World of An Altar of Indignities, the blog series in which we’re taking a look at some of the research that went into our latest novel set in the Roman Empire.

If you missed Part IX on Spirits in Roman Religion, you can read that by CLICKING HERE.

In Part X, we’re going to take a brief look at one of the climactic settings in An Altar of Indignities: the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

We hope you enjoy…

This is unrivalled in size and magnificence, and was built by Herodes, an Athenian, in memory of his dead wife.

(Pausanias, Description of Greece, 7.20)

When writing historical fiction, bringing the setting of the time period and locations to life is everything. It anchors the reader in the chosen period and transports them.

Over the course of An Altar of Indignities, which is set in early third century Roman Athens, there have been many locations that have had a part to play, including the Parthenon, the Roman Agora, the Temple of Artemis Agrotera and several more. However, one could say that the location with the most important role in our dramatic and romantic comedy of ancient Rome and Athens is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

This theatre, the youngest of ancient Athens, is where The Etrurian Players are set to undertake their exciting, climactic performance before the Athenian people at the end of the Panathenaic Games. It is a place of haunting realization and transformation, a place of entertainment and of comic chaos.

For our Etrurian theatre troupe, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus is the setting of one of their most difficult trials to date…

So… What was this theatrical structure of ancient Athens, and how did it differ from the other theatres in the city?

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was a covered theatre located on the southwestern slope of the Acropolis of Athens. Herodes Atticus, the wealthy and well-connected Greek who lavished gifts on Athens as well as other places across the Roman Empire, built the odeon in honour of his recently deceased wife, Annia Regilla, in 161 C.E. If you missed the article about Herodes Atticus, you can read that by CLICKING HERE.

While the Romans did perform plays and put on theatrical productions in odea, they were primarily used for musical performances and poetry recitations.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was the third odeon built in Athens, the previous two being the Odeon of Pericles, built directly beside the Theatre of Dionysus, and the Odeon of Agrippa, which was built in the middle of the ancient Agora.

This impressive Roman odeon seated 5000 spectators in a marble, semi-circular cavea that had thirty-two rows of seats divided into two horizontal sections with a gallery at the top. The marble orchestra before the raised stage, or pulpitum, was also a semi-circle. The cavea curved around this to the edges of the stage, enveloping the orchestra. Stairs at the sides of the pulpitum led to the upper level of the cavea. High above, the ceiling of the odeon was constructed of cedar from Lebanon and roofed with tiles.

Like most Roman theatres, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus had an elaborate scaena frons that was part of the twenty-eight meter high stage house that faced the audience and which was part of the scene. It was made up of three levels, two of which survive to this day. On the bottom level of the scaena frons, there were columns and statues in niches, and three doorways which could serve as part of the set for performances and from which the musicians and actors could come and go. The first two storeys were faced with marble while the third storey was dressed stone.

On the second and third storeys of the scaena frons, there were aspidal (arched) openings with statues flanked by pilasters. Behind these there was a gallery, or metaskenio, from where other performers could participate or look on. The second and third storeys of the scaena frons were reached by way of staircases that flanked the pulpitum.

Though smaller than other theatres around the Roman Empire and the Greek world, this odeon was an impressive addition to the polis where theatre was born.

At the back of the scaena frons of the odeon was a closed stage-house or basilica where set pieces could be kept and performers could prepare before taking to the stage. Today, this is visible as one approaches the Odeon of Herodes Atticus from the pedestrian street of Dionysiou Areopagitou. It is believed that this part of the odeon may have had a mosaic floor.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was a part of a sort of ancient theatre district on the southern slope of the Acropolis. It was connected to the great, open-air theatre and sanctuary of Dionysus by a long, covered stoa built by Eumenes II, King of Pergamon, around 160 B.C.E. This stoa was 163 meters long and provided shelter for theatre goers up until the third century C.E. Nearby, there were also fountains and monuments to past theatrical performers and patrons of Athens such as Thrasyllos and Nikias. In addition to an Asklepion (a healing sanctuary) behind the Stoa of Eumenes, there were fountains and a sanctuary of the Nymph.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was certainly a magnificent addition to the Goddess Athena’s city.

Sadly, like the stoa and so many other monuments of beauty and art in Athens, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus was gravely damaged during the Herulian invasion of the city in 267 C.E., a little over one hundred years after its completion.

Thankfully, between 1950 and 1961, the seating of the cavea was restored using Pentelic marble, and the orchestra floor was restored with marble from Mount Hymettus.

As a result, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus lives on as it is the primary venue for the modern Athens Epidaurus Festival which runs from May to October every year, and which has featured such world-renowned artists as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Boccelli, Nana Mouskouri, Vangelis, Frank Sinatra and many others.

If you are ever in Athens (or Epidaurus!) during the festival, try and get tickets to one of the performances in this ancient odeon for an experience beneath the timeless stars that you will never forget.

Thank you for reading.

An Altar of Indignities: A Dramatic and Romantic Comedy of Ancient Rome and Athens is available ebook, paperback and deluxe hardcover editions from all major online retailers, independent bookstores, brick and mortar chains, and your local public library.

CLICK HERE to buy a copy and get ISBN#s for the edition of your choice.