User Reviews
Hagia Irene is an Eastern Orthodox church in the outer courtyard of Topkapı Palace, Istanbul. It is the city's oldest church and, along with the Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols, one of the few Byzantine churches never converted into a mosque. Used as an arsenal until the 19th century, it now serves as a museum and concert hall.
Believed to stand on a pre-Christian temple, Hagia Irene predates Hagia Sophia, originally built under Constantine I in the 4th century. It served as the Patriarchate's church until Hagia Sophia's completion in 360. Destroyed in the Nika Revolt (532), it was rebuilt by Justinian I in 548 and later restored by Constantine V after an earthquake in 740.
The church follows a basilica plan with a cross-domed gallery level. It features Byzantine mosaics, including an Iconoclastic-era cross, and houses the city's only surviving synthronon (clergy seating).
After Constantinople fell in 1453, Hagia Irene became an arsenal for the Janissaries and later a military museum (1726–1978). Since 1980, it has hosted classical music concerts, particularly during the Istanbul International Music Festival. Open to the public since 2014, it remains a significant historical and cultural site.
References:The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.
The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.
Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.