Stobi Things to Do

There was a Jewish synagogue at Stobi was built by a man named Polycharmos and dedicated in.
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Please see the website below for more about the site as well as the following link for the dedication .

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The Theater of Stobi was built at the end of the 2nd or at the beginning of the 3rd century AD.

It could accommodate over 7600 spectators. The names of some of them can be seen in the inscriptions in the seats.

Originally, the theater in Stobi was built for the performances of plays, mime with pantomime, and musical shows.

At the end of the 3rd century, it was converted into an area for gladiator and wild animal shows.

The bodies of the murdered Christians were carried away through the underground corridors, outside the Theater. There, they were taken care of by their relatives and by members of the Christian community, and buried next to the Theater or on the western necropolis outside Stobi.

Many Christians must have died here, and likely at least some of the basilicas at Stobi were erected for these martyrs.

The Theater was deserted in the end of the 4th century and as a result it was demolished during the following years in order to build other structures.

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The Baptistery is part of the Episcopal Basilica or Bishop Philp's Basilica.

A staircase leads from the south door of the narthex of the Episcopal Basilica to the Baptistery. The Baptistery, erected at the same level of the Old Episcopal Basilica, was built in the shape of a tetraconch and included a circular pool dating from the period of the early church, at the end of the 4th century. During the 5th century considerable maintainance was done.

The paved mosaic floors are the most beautiful found at Stobi. They are decorated with compositions in which a water-fowl, deer and a peacock drink from a kantharos. The walls are covered with three layers of fresco paintings. The most significant are those depicting the life of Christ.

On the south of the Baptistery there was a praefurnium for heating water and a basin.

As an integral part of the Episcopal Basilica, it served for baptizing in all of its phases.

Another Baptistery at Stobi can be found at the North Basilica.

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The Episcopal Basilica is also called the Basilica of Bishop Philip.

It was built at the end of the 5th century AD on an artificial terrace. The basilica was constructed 4 m above the floor of the Old Episcopal Basilica from the early 4th century.

The Old Episcopal Basilica was constructed during the ministry of the Bishop Budios. The Old Basilica probably is the oldest Christian church discovered in Macedonia. The Old Basilica is a three-aisled building. Fresco paintings as well as the geometric and floral pavement mosaics date from the first construction period. The second construction phase, dating back to the first half of the 5th century, corresponds to the ministry of the Bishop Eustathios. The remains of the fresco paintings decorated with the monograms of Christ and the Bishop Eustathios, and the mosaics in the nave, date from the same period.

The New Episcopal Basilica was significantly larger than the Old Episcopal Basilica. Parts of walls adorned with gold mosaics, the remains of a crypt in the apse, and the columns date from the first construction phase. An inscription describing the Bishop Philip as the patron of the church, situated above the entrance of the nave, dates back to the second construction phase, around 530 AD. The New Basilica ceased to function in the second half of the 6th century, after a catastrophic earthquake, which destroyed the city.

Next to the Episcopal Basilica is a beautiful and well preserved Baptistery.

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The North Basilica is the first structure on the northern site of the discovered site of buildings in the western part of Stobi, hence the name North Basilica.

The church was discovered in 1937. The erection of the columns of the atrium and the conservation of the niches, were done after the excavations, and again after World War II.

The church lies below the level of the street (Via Principalis Inferior).

The North Basilica was erected over a Late Antique palace and had several construction phases. This Roman palace was renovated by the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century (AD) and adjusted for the service as a church of basilica type.

It has a baptistery on the north side was added later. An entrance was opened in the northern nave for communucation with the baptistery. Enriched with this baptistery, the building was used for a while as the Episcopal Basilica of Stobi during the building of the Basilica of Bishop Philip (the later Episcopal Basilica).

After the building of the Episcopal Basilica with its highly decorated baptistery, the funtion of the baptistery in the North Basilica was terminated.

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The Semicircular Square (or Semicircular Court or Forum) dates back to the 4th and 5th century AD.

It was a square with a semicircular colonnade for an open hall, which is surrounded with 10 rooms.

In the very center of this square a big statue was placed.

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The Episcopal Residence, or Archbishop's Residence, is situated north of the Episcopal Basilica.

In the 4th century AD, it served as a Christian oratorio.

One century later, in the the 5th century, it was converted into the Episcopal Residence, which was connected to the large Episcopal Basilica.

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The House of Fuller is a group of connected buildings from the 3rd-4th century AD that have been used for different purposes.

In the 5th century, a part of the object was used for textile dying.

Valavica refers to a water spot where rugs are hand-washed.

Fuller also refers to somebody who is involved in the preparation of cloths.