The rumours claimed that Herodes Atticus, an eminent Athenian of the 2nd-century CE, was involved in the death of his pregnant wife. This wealthy art patron was thought to have given the order for her assassination in a fit of anger. Public outcry and remorse forced him to build the Odeon to put the rumours to rest. The building was so magnificent that Herodes gained the desired absolution and immortalised his name. The odeon was richly adorned and admired for its wooden roof made of expensive cedar and Lebanon timber. Athens had numerous odeons, but none was as luxurious as this one. The building was accessible through the Stoa of Eumenes. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was destroyed in 267. The church of Saint Andrew occupied the site during the Byzantine period. The restoration of the odeon began in the 19th century.