Roman Odeon of Kos - Kos Island (Dodecanese, Greece)
N 36° 53.378 E 027° 17.088
35S E 525376 N 4082666
Well preserved ruin of ancient Roman Odeon belongs among principal landmarks of Kos town, the capital of Kos Island (Dodecanese island chain, Greece).
Waymark Code: WMPJW0
Location: Greece
Date Posted: 09/10/2015
Views: 4
Well preserved ruin of ancient Roman Odeon belongs among principal landmarks of Kos town, the capital of Kos Island (Dodecanese island chain, Greece).
The Roman Odeon in Kos Town was built around the 2nd or 3rd century AD and was found in the early 20th century. Its purpose was most probably to host music competitions. It has a North-South orientation, with the "koilon" (the place for the seats) found at the South and the orchestra and scene at the North. The first nine rows you will notice are made out of original marble and used to seat by the most important citizens of the time. After the landing there are another five rows made out of granite where regular people used to sit. A lot of statues were found in the surrounding area and you can admire some of them at the Archaeological museum in Kos Town. The floor, the wings, the stage and the orchestra pit remain in relatively good condition.
Odeon is the name for several ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for music: singing exercises, musical shows, poetry competitions, and the like. The word comes from the Ancient Greek ?de???, Oideion, literally "singing place", or "building for musical competitions"; from the verb ?e?d?, aeido, "I sing", which is also the root of ?d?, oide, "ode", and of ???d??, aoidos, "singer". [wiki]