Odeon (building)

[clarification needed] The ancient Greek word ᾨδεῖον comes from the verb ἀείδω (aeidō, "I sing") which is also the root of ᾠδή (ōidē, "ode") and of ἀοιδός (aoidos, "singer").

[2] The oldest known odeon in Greece was the Skias at Sparta, so-called from its resemblance to the top of an umbrella, said to have been erected by Theodorus of Samos (600 BC).

In Athens, an odeon near the spring Enneacrunus on the Ilissus was referred to the age of Peisistratus and appears to have been rebuilt or restored by Lycurgus (c. 330 BC).

It had accommodation for 4500–5500 persons, and the ceiling was constructed of beautifully carved beams of cedar wood, probably with an open space in the center to admit the light.

[1] Similar buildings also existed in other parts of Greece: at Corinth, also the gift of Herodes Atticus;[4] at Patrae, where there was a famous statue of Apollo; at Smyrna, Tralles, and other towns in Asia Minor.