Odeon (Kos)

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Odeon in Kos, view from the top tier onto the stage
Inside the Odeon
On the left one of the two earlier stage entrances to and from the basement of the Odeon
Basement with part of the exhibition

The Odeon in Kos (Odeum, Greek Ρωμαϊκό ωδείο Roman Odeon ) is an important archaeological site in the city ​​of Kos on the island of Kos . For those interested, it is particularly attractive that cultural events are taking place in the complex again today.

location

The ancient building from Roman times is located almost 600 m in a south-westerly direction from the port of Kos at about 11 meters above sea level, on the edge of the settlement area of ​​today's city. The main street Grigoriou E ' passes a few meters before the excavation site . Close by lie east several visitor parking, the Catholic Church and the cemetery (memorial to the massacre of Kos ), the Orthodox chapel of Agios Ioannis and the Casa Romana and on the road the western archaeological site ( Western Archeological Site ) with the Acropolis , Decumanus , Nymphaeum and the gymnasium with a formerly covered sports facility ( Xistós drómos ). The altar of Dionysus , god of wine, joy, grapes, fertility, madness and ecstasy as well as the theater, is only 400 meters northeast of the Odeon.

At the time the Odeon was built, it was on the southwestern edge of the Roman part of the city of Kos.

Plant / building

The Odeon was probably built in the 2nd century AD. The building is said to have acted as a replacement for another, older public building. The Odeon was damaged in the earthquake in AD 142 and repaired during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161). The Odeon was originally 29.9 meters long and 31.9 meters wide and 12 meters high. It was designed and covered for around 750 visitors. Not only was it used for public cultural events, but it was also the seat of the local council of elders. The Odeon was decorated with marble statues and mosaics. A portrait statue found here, often interpreted as Hippocrates, is in the Archaeological Museum of Kos (inventory number 32).

The stage in front of the semicircular rows of seats in the Odeon, which is still visible today, is divided into two parts and three passageways lead from the rear part to the front part ( Proskenion ). On the left and right of the Odeon there were also entrances to the lower area (today exhibition rooms), which could be easily reached from the stage.

The excavations on this object were carried out in 1929, before the great earthquake of 1933, which largely destroyed the city of Kos. The excavations and construction work for the Odeon were completed by the Italian occupying forces under the direction of the archaeologist Luciano Laurenzi ( Italian occupation of the island from 1912 to 1943).

The current complex consists of the rebuilt Roman Odeon and a small excavation field. The historical part of the Odeon itself dates back to around the 2nd century AD. The structure occupies an area of ​​around 900 m². The rebuilt Odeon has a length of around 22 m (with stage) and is around 25 m wide. Below the rebuilt Odeon there are exhibition rooms today. Important restoration and maintenance work has been carried out over the past decades with the support of the European Union .

literature

  • Eleni Anna Chlepa: The Architecture of the Roman Odeion at Kos. In: The Annual of the British School at Athens . Volume 94, 1999, pp. 415-435.
  • Luciano Laurenzi: L'Odeion di Coo. In: Historia. Volume 5, 1931, pp. 592-602.
  • Rüdiger Meinel: The Odeion. Investigations on roofed ancient theater buildings. Lang, Frankfurt am Main et al. 1980, ISBN 3-8204-6462-X , pp. 239-244.

Web links

Commons : Odeon in Kos  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Information according to the information board on site.
  2. ↑ Peter Cornelis Bol : The "Hippocrates statue" in Kos. In: Ancient plastic. Volume 15, 1975, pp. 65-71; Renate Kabus-Preisshofen: The Hellenistic sculpture of the island of Kos (= Athenian messages. Supplement 14). Gebrüder Mann, Berlin 1989, pp. 186–188 No. 19.
  3. ↑ a b Roman Odeion of Kos , website: odysseus.culture.gr.
  4. ^ Roman Odeon of Kos , website: kos.gr.
  5. ↑ Ellen Katja Jaeckel: Kos , Merian live, ISBN 978-3-8342-1989-3 , p. 47 f.

Coordinates: 36 ° 53 '23 "  N , 27 ° 17' 5.3"  E