West of the acropolis, near St. George square and surrounded by Germanou, Sotiriadou and Pandokratoros streets, one can find the Ancient Conservatory of Patras which was built in the middle of the 2nd century AD, even earlier than the Herodion Theatre in Athens. It has all the essential parts of the theatre, auditorium, orchestra, front stage, stage and backstage. It is smaller than the Herodion and it can seat about 2,500 spectators.
West of the Acropolis, in the Upper town, there stands the Roman Conservatory of Patras, which was built in earlier than the Conservatory of Athens (Herodion, 160 AD). Paphsanias, who visited Patras in the decade of 170 AD, mentions “it has the most beautiful decoration I have ever seen, excluding the Conservatory of Athens”.
As Paphsanias mentions, in the Conservatory which was adjacent to the Ancient Market, there was a statue of Apollo, made of the spoils of the war against the Gauls, when Patras people helped the Aetolians.
In the following centuries, earthquakes, wars and conquerors destroyed the Conservatory and covered in with other buildings and soil. Out of the small hill that created, only few parts remained uncovered. It came back to light in 1889, when excavation works were realised on the hill for the backfill of the harbour. A lot of decades passed until the process of its restoration started and it was completed in 1956, the year when the Conservatory acquired its original form. In the same decade, the surrounding area was transformed into an archaeological site where sarcophagi, mosaics and other findings are exposed.
The Conservatory has all the essential parts of the theatre, auditorium, orchestra, stage, front stage, backstage and 23 rows of seats that can host 2900 spectators. The auditorium has four levels of seats below the trier and one above. The outside high wall of the stage has five entrances to the stage and backstage. The front stage is accessible by two built staircases, one on the right and one on the left. The orchestra is paved and separated by a semicircular parapet from the auditorium.
Since the foundation of the International Festival of Patras, the Ancient Odeon is its main domicile, hosting leading Greek and foreign artistic groups in the summer months.
Information
Tel: +30 2610 220829
Opening Hours: Τρίτη- Κυριακή 8:00-15:00
Free Entrance
Source: http://el.wikipedia.org
