Odeon of Herodes Atticus
A Roman memorial to one man's wife that became Athens's greatest stage — and closes after 2026 for years.
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Built in AD 161 by orator Herodes Atticus as a gift to Athens in memory of his wife Aspasia Annia Regilla, this 5,000-seat open-air theatre on the Acropolis's southwest slope was the largest of its era. Destroyed by the Heruli in 267, it was rebuilt with Pentelic marble in the 1950s and has run the Athens Festival every May through October since. Maria Callas, Pavarotti, and Sting have all performed here. After the 2026 festival it closes for at least three years of restoration.
What to look for
- The 33 rows of Pentelic marble seating installed during the 1950s restoration
- The three-story stone front wall, pierced by niches that originally held statues
- The entry portico floor — it was laid in mosaic in antiquity
Athens Festival runs May through October; after the 2026 season the theatre closes for at least three years — this is the last window for a while.
Odeon of Herodes Atticus is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Athens, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Athens pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Athens
- ParthenonA temple built to celebrate a war victory that went on to become a church, a mosque, and a gunpowder depot — blown apart in 1687 and still being reassembled.
- Acropolis of AthensA flat-topped rock 150 m above the city where Pericles spent the 5th century BC erecting the buildings that still define Athens.
- Platonic Academy (Akadimia Platonos)Aristotle studied here for twenty years before leaving to found his own school — and the word "academy" has followed ever since.
- Classical AthensDemocracy was invented here in 508 BC — and it took a bribe at Delphi to get it started.
- Olympic Stadium Athens "Spyros Louis"Santiago Calatrava's white steel roof arches over the same track where Athens opened the 2004 Olympics — and hosted three Champions League finals.
- ErechtheionThe one Greek temple that broke every rule of classical architecture — and scholars still can't agree on what it was actually called.