The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone

Dimension stone

Dimension stone is natural stone or rock that has been selected and fabricated to specific sizes or shapes. Color, texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are also normal requirements...

 theatre structure located on the south slope of the Acropolis of Athens

Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis of Athens or Citadel of Athens is the best known acropolis in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification...

. It was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus

Herodes Atticus

Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes, otherwise known as Herodes Atticus was a very distinguished, rich Greek aristocrat who served as a Roman Senator and a Sophist. He is notable as a proponent in the Second Sophistic by Philostratus.-Ancestry and Family:Herodes Atticus...

 in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla

Aspasia Annia Regilla

Aspasia Annia Regilla, full name Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia Tertulla , was a wealthy, aristocratic and influential Roman woman, who was a distant relative of several Roman Emperors and Roman Empresses. She was the wife of the prominent Greek Herodes Atticus .-Genealogy:Regilla was born...

. It was originally a steep-sloped amphitheater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof, and was used as a venue

Music venue

A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...

 for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000.

Events

The audience stands and the 'orchestra' (stage) were restored using pentelic marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 in the 1950s. Since then it has been the main venue of the Athens Festival

Athens Festival

Athens - Epidaurus Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Athens and Epidaurus, from May to October. It is one of the most famous festivals in Greece. The festival includes musical, theatrical and other cultural events....

, which runs from May through October each year, featuring a variety of acclaimed Greek as well as International performances; The Odeon

Odeon (building)

Odeon is the name for several ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions. They were generally small in size, especially compared with a full-size ancient Greek theatre....

 has hosted Maria Callas

Maria Callas

Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...

, Maurice Béjart

Maurice Béjart

Maurice Béjart was a French born, Swiss choreographer who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He was the son of the French philosopher Gaston Berger.- Biography :...

, the Bolshoi Ballet

Bolshoi Ballet

The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...

s, Karolos Koun

Karolos Koun

Karolos Koun was a Greek theater director, widely known for his lively staging of ancient Greek plays. He had been praised all over Europe for his bawdy, colorful stagings of the 5th century BC political comedies of Aristophanes...

, Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis

Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...

, Manos Hatzidakis,Nikos Koundouros, Spiros Evangelatos,Giannis Markopoulos, George Dalaras

George Dalaras

George Dalaras , also possibly spelled as Yorgos or Giorgos Dalaras, is a Greek singer. He is of international fame and has recently been selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Nea Kokinia, Piraeus. His father was Loukas Daralas, a singer of rebetiko.-Early...

, Haris Alexiou

Haris Alexiou

Haris Alexiou is a Greek singer. She is considered one of the most popular singers in Greece and has been commercially successful since the 1970s. She has worked with important Greek songwriters and composers, has performed at top musical theatres all over the world and has received several awards...

, Marinella

Marinella

Marinella is one of the most popular Greek singers whose career has spanned several decades. She has sung professionally since 1957. Since the beginning of her career, she has released 66 personal albums and has been featured in albums of other musicians.-Early life:She was born Kyriaki...

, Dionysis Savopoulos and many other important artists and artistic organizations. It was the venue for the Miss Universe 1973

Miss Universe 1973

Miss Universe 1973 was held at the 2,000-year-old amphitheatre of Odeon of Herodes Atticus, at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece on July 21, 1973...

 pageant and hosted Yanni

Yanni

Yanni , born Yiannis Hrysomallis is a Greek self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer who has spent most of his life in the United States.He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time...

's Live at the Acropolis

Yanni Live at the Acropolis

Yanni Live at the Acropolis, is the name of both an album and video by contemporary instrumental musician Yanni, recorded live at the Herodes Atticus Theatre, Athens, Greece, on September 25, 1993, and released in 1994. . This album peaked at #1 on "Billboard's "Top New Age Albums" chart and at...

 performance in September 1993. Another memorable performance at the Odeon of Herod Atticus was given by the Greek singer Nana Mouskouri

Nana Mouskouri

Nana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...

 in 1984; after 20 years of absence she returned to her country. In 1957, Edith Hamilton

Edith Hamilton

Edith Hamilton was an American educator and author who was "recognized as the greatest woman Classicist". She was sixty-two years old when The Greek Way, her first book, was published in 1930...

 was pronounced an honorary citizen of Athens at ninety years of age. Sting performed at the venue during his Mercury Falling

Mercury Falling

Mercury Falling is the fifth studio album released by Sting. The album was marked by its tight studio production and use of brass reminiscent of recordings made at FAME Studios in the 1960s. This release was considered by many fans to signal the beginning of Sting's transition from heavier...

 Tour on May 17, 1996. Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

 performed 2 concerts at the venue during his Medusa Tour in 2000.

Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....

 gave a concert at the Odeon of Herod Atticus, in September 2010, attended by George Papandreou

George Papandreou

Georgios A. Papandreou , commonly anglicised to George and shortened to Γιώργος in Greek, is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece following his party's victory in the 2009 legislative election...

, the prime minister of Greece

Prime Minister of Greece

The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...

 and Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens

Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens

Ieronymos II is the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and as such the primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece. He was elected on 7 February 2008.-Early life and career:...

, among others. All proceeds were donated to help cure cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

.

External links

• The southern slope of the Acropolis and the theatre itself, Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
• Video: Haris Alexiou performance at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in 1994, directed by Mauro Bolognini; in this video a part dedicated to her collaboration with Manos Hadjidakis, who had died a few days before the concert.