Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The Roman-era theater still hosts performances during the Athens Festival (June-August). Though younger than the Theater of Dionysus, it maintains the tradition of theatrical performance on the Acropolis slopes. Attend an evening concert or play to experience what Greek theater audiences felt - the combination of art, place, and shared experience.

What to do there

3 things to do

1. 1 Learn the Reason This Theater Was Built History · Free

   In AD 160, Aspasia Annia Regilla was kicked in the abdomen while eight months pregnant. She died. Her husband - one of the richest men in the Roman Empire - built this theater the following year. The murder was never prosecuted.

   Herodes Atticus was a Greek-born Roman senator, friend of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and the wealthiest private individual in the Roman Empire. In AD 160, his wife Aspasia Annia Regilla was killed. According to Philostratus, Herodes ordered his freedman to strike her. 'Beaten in the womb, the woman miscarried and died.' No one was convicted - Marcus Aurelius protected his friend. Herodes built this theater in AD 161, 'in memory of' his wife, as a gift to the city. Every performance that ran here for 70 years was a monument to a woman murdered by the man who paid for the stage. Face the three-story stone facade of the Odeon on Dionysiou Areopagitou Street (closed for renovation 2026-2028 but exterior accessible with €30 Acropolis ticket). The cedar-of-Lebanon roof that once covered all 5,000 seats was a statement of obscene wealth.

   Backup: The GreekReporter article 'The Dark Secret Behind the Odeon of Herodes Atticus' (published January 2026) covers this in full detail and is readable on mobile.

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2. 2 Witness the Engineering of Guilty Money Adventure · Free

   The cedar roof that once covered this theater had no vertical supports across its entire span. It was the largest unsupported wooden roof in the ancient world - and it burned when the Heruli sacked Athens in AD 267.

   The Odeon of Herodes Atticus seated 5,000 and was completed around AD 161. The stage building rose 28 meters high - three full stories. The wooden roof, made from cedar of Lebanon, covered the entire seating area with no vertical support columns in between. This was an engineering statement as much as a musical venue. When the Heruli invaded Athens in AD 267, they burned it completely. Standing outside the theater, study the preserved three-story facade wall, then look at the 33 rows of marble seating visible inside - these are mostly modern restorations (1950-1960) installed to allow performances from 1955 until the renovation closure. The original roof would have made this an enclosed, acoustically controlled space - unprecedented in ancient construction.

   Backup: The Acropolis ticket (€30) includes the south slope where the theater sits. Even during renovation, the exterior and surrounding walkways are accessible.

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3. 3 Attend a Performance at an Alternative Venue Adventure · Price: high · Optional

   The Athens and Epidaurus Festival runs every summer. With the Odeon closed for renovation until at least 2029, performances have moved to alternative venues across the city - but the festival itself continues.

   Since 1955, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival has been one of Europe's most prestigious summer arts events - opera, orchestral music, ancient drama, and contemporary dance performed against ancient stone. The Odeon closure is the first break in 70 consecutive years of performances. The festival has moved to alternative Athens venues for 2026, 2027, and 2028 while the Odeon undergoes structural restoration. Elton John played here in 2000. Andrea Bocelli raised cancer research funds here in 2010. Visit aefestival.gr in spring for the summer program (typically announced March-April). Tickets range from budget to expensive depending on event and seating. The ancient theater of Epidaurus (2.5 hours from Athens) remains open with acoustics still considered the finest in the world for open-air performance.

   Backup: If the festival program doesn't fit your dates, the Odeon is still photographable and visitable as a historical monument (Acropolis ticket). The renovation work visible on the structure is itself a document of what 70 years of performances do to ancient stone.

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Insider tips

• Book Athens Festival performances months ahead

• Bring a cushion - marble is hard

• The Acropolis backdrop is incomparable

• Post-performance dining in Plaka or Psyrri