Apollodorus of Damascus (Ancient Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ὁ Δαμασκηνός)[1] was an architect and engineer from Roman Syria, who flourished during the 2nd century AD.

[5] He is one of the few architects whose name survives from antiquity, and is credited with introducing several Eastern innovations to the Roman Imperial style, such as making the dome a standard.

[19] Cassius Dio reports that Apollodorus offended Hadrian by dismissing and ridiculing the emperor's forays into architecture, which led to his banishment and death.

[20] While some, considering this episode as consistent with Hadrian's documented acts of anger and violence, do believe the execution occurred,[citation needed] many modern historians cast doubt on this event.

According to the historian Jona Lendering, modern scholarship views the anecdote as unlikely to have occurred, due to Hadrian's preoccupation with far greater threats to his power early in his reign, and that the criticism Apollodorus proffered was acted upon.[12]: para.