The Odéion
is a small covered theater used for music concerts and poetry recitals;
it held a restricted and refined audience of approximately 1,300
people. It was built after the foundation of the colony in 80 B.C., by
order of the mayors Gaius Quintius Valgus
and Marcus Porcius, who also
hadthe Amphitheater
built.
The building is a semicircular structure inscribed in a
square that sustained the roof with four slopes. It was divided into
two orders of seats, divided by a backrest. The first five rows have
wider steps and were reserved for the seats (bisellia)
of distinguished personalites. The parapets are characterized at their
extremities by two suggestive kneeling giants (Telamons)
which hold up corbels, an aesthetic solution that is also found in the Forum
Baths. The orchestra was paved in marble.
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