Theatres in Asia Minor: A Brief History

Aristodimou, Georgia. Theatres in Asia Minor. Translated by Βελέντζας Γεώργιος.  Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor. 2005. URL:<http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=6932&gt;. Accessed Jan. 25, 2024. Reproduced with permission of the author.

Summery: Theatres in the form of monumental public buildings appeared in Asia Minor after the conquests of Alexander the Great and adopted the architectural style of theatres in mainland Greece. In Hellenistic years a local tradition went above the established standards and later evolved into the theatrical facilities of the Imperial years. In Roman years a new architectural style of theatres was developed, typical of Asia Minor, the so-called‘ Roman Asia Minor, which was a combination of the Greek and the Roman styles.

Introduction

The relations between Greece and Asia Minor coasts were very old. The Mycenaean merchants travelled to and fro and exchanged goods, knowledge and culture. Several centuries later, the passing of Alexander the Great and his Successors from the region helped this culture penetrate the badlands of Asia. The remains of ancient theatres have been preserved on the hillsides of both the familiar coasts and the interior.

The theatre was important not only in classical Greece but in the Hellenistic and Roman world as well, while it was directly related to all civil aspects, both social and political. The Roman architect Vitruvius as well as the historian Strabo compared its importance with that of the Agora (Forum), for it is one of the first constructions built in a new city in Hellenistic and Roman years. Apart from theatrical performances, the theatres also held political gatherings for several centuries.

The theatre is descended from the folk cult of Dionysus. The god’s worshippers painted their faces with the dark-coloured sediment of wine and adorned their heads with grape leaves and tendrils. The flute players accompanied them as they danced and sang the dithyrambs – the songs that hymned life, adventures and the deeds of Dionysus and later evolved into the masterpieces of the ancient drama of Classical years.

2. The Ancient Greek Theatre

The space in the ancient Greek theatre was arranged slowly and gradually. In the years of the great dramatists the theatre was frugally equipped: a circular space, the orchestra, containing thymele, the altar of Dionysus at the centre. At the back there was the skene, a structure of wood and cloth, where the performers dressed and against which they acted.

The people originally gathered around the orchestra and sat on the slope of a small hill. If necessary, the slope was embanked with earth supported by retaining walls. That was the original form of the auditorium. The spectators sat on the ground or on wooden stands, even in the heyday of the drama. The first permanent theatres with stone seats appeared as late as the 4^th century BC. The auditorium was in the shape of a horseshoe or a semicircle. Two horizontal passages, the diazomata, helped the spectators move and divided the auditorium of a theatre into two landings or levels: the lower part was called lower auditorium or theatre and the upper part was called upper auditorium or epitheatre. A covered passage above the auditorium, the peripatos, helped the spectators move and shelter themselves in case of rain. The movement of the spectators was also facilitated by the narrow flights of steps that divided the auditorium into fan-shaped sectors, the tiers. The seats were made of marble or stone. They were often carved on the natural rock. The first row was intended for the officials, that is, the archons and the priests, and was called proedria. They were usually more elaborate, decorated with reliefs and inscriptions.

Two open passages, the parodoi, were formed between the skene and the side walls. Spectators entered the auditorium by them, while the chorus used them to take their place in the orchestra when the performance started. The orchestra, the space between the auditorium and the skene, where the chorus acted, was normally not paved. A circumferential conduit, the euripus, collected rainwater accumulated in the orchestra. Some theatres had an underground staircase(Charoneian staircase) between the skene and the orchestra, by which the dead came from Hades and the departed descended to the underworld.

The skene, a rectangular structure at the back of the orchestra, where the performers dressed and all necessary for the performance items were kept, was just a simple shed made of wood and cloth until the 5^th century BC. Permanent wooden structures appeared between 300 and 250 BC, although nothing has been preserved since wood is a material difficult to preserve. Stone stage buildings appeared after 250 BC.

The side of the skene facing the spectators usually represented the facade of a palace or a temple. The performers entered through three symbolic passages: the middle was supposed to lead to the palace, the right to the city or the harbour and the left to the country. When stage design was invented, the facade of the skene was covered with large paintings depicting a forest, a seaside or even a military camp.

Around the 3^rd century BC a row of columns forming a stoa – the proscaenium –, was added before the stage wall. The stoa included Doric or Ionic columns, an entablature and a wooden roof, and the projecting wings called parascaenia, which served as auxiliary rooms.

In classical drama the performers and the chorus acted mainly in the orchestra. In the 2^nd century BC the performers moved from the orchestra to the logeion, the floor on the roof of the proscaenium, while a second floor, the episcenium, was added to the skene. The performers who appeared on the roof as the ‘god from the machine’ (deus ex machina) entered by means of a specially revolving crane (Greek: mechane).

Ancient theatres were famous for their exceptional acoustics. According to Vitruvius, there were ‘sound boxes’, big bronze vessels positioned in the auditorium aiming to amplify the sounds from the orchestra. Such vessels have been found only in theatres of the Roman period, although Vitruvius reports that some Hellenistic theatres (e.g. Corinth) were equipped with similar devices as well.

[The acoustic responsiveness of a Roman theatre was likely more affected by the shape and the reflective properties of the scaenae and the curved stone theatre seating than it was by “Vitruvian acoustic vessels.” (THines).  “It is concluded that the sounding vessels had no practical importance in the Roman theatres, and Vitruvius was not up-to-date in his writing on theatre design, but relied heavily on older, Greek references.” (Rindel, Jens Holger. “Roman theatres in the ERATO project.” ACTA ACUSTICA UNITED WITH ACUSTICA. Vol. 99 (2013).]

3. Theatre in Roman Times

Rome borrowed the architectural construction of the theatre from Greece and adapted it to the Roman spirit and way of living. In the 1^st century BC the Roman architects created a practical and tasteful architectural set-up.

Theatres started to build all over the entire Roman Empire from the years of Emperor Octavian Augustus onward. Augustus was the first who used the theatres to propagandize his political ideology, that is, the great Roman Empire (imperium romanum) guaranteeing the welfare and freedom of its citizens.

All imperial provinces in East and West are now full of theatres. Even smaller towns in Asia Minor and Africa, previously poor or deserted, have their own monumental marble theatres. The people of the remotest areas should feel part of the Roman world and way of living.

The love of the Romans for organisation and order as well as for luxury led to the construction of theatres that impressed with their organisation and design as well as with their wealth, grandeur and luxury. The striking results were accomplished thanks to the technological innovations of the time, which offered original solutions, such as the construction of theatres on absolutely flat ground, which is the main difference between the Roman and the Greek theatres. The Romans used arches to a great extent, thus proceeding to the solution of vaulted constructions, which were arranged radially under the auditorium (cavea). As a result, the theatres externally looked like multi-story monumental buildings, while the Roman auditorium sloped more than its Greek counterpart. The diazomata (praesinctiones) divided the Roman auditorium into horizontal sectors (maeniana:ima cavea, media cavea, summa cavea). The spectators gained access to the tiers (cunei) through the narrow steps (scalaria). At the top of the auditorium there was a roofed arch (porticus in summa cavea), in the middle of which there was often a small temple (sacellum) dedicated to some god. Large canvas (velarium) tents could shelter the auditorium in order to protect the spectators from the burning sun or the rain. Holes in which the special posts were planted can still be found in several theatres. The orchestra in Roman theatres is semicircular and is spread either with soil or marble slabs.

The essential difference between the Roman stage building (scaena) and the Greek standards is that the scaena is architecturally connected with the auditorium above the parodoi, where the balcony stalls (tribunalia) for the notable spectators are formed. The proscenium (proscaenium) becomes lower and the background of the logeion goes farther. The place where the actors performed was a raised platform (pulpitum), whose facade was adorned with small columns or relief slabs. When no performance was on a large curtain (aulaeum) hung before the stage and separated its front from the background.

Beside the skene were the dressing rooms, which served various needs, while auxiliary rooms (postscaenium) for the actors were at the back. A stoa behind the stage building (porticus post scaenam) sheltered the spectators during the intermissions or in case of rain.

The skene becomes a multi-story luxurious building and its facade (scaenae frons) is richly adorned, in terms of architecture and plasticity, with door cases, small temples (aediculae), niches, columns and statues. In Hellenistic theatres there was little relief decoration. On the other hand, Roman theatres had lots of it because it played an important role in the imperial propaganda,¹ which aimed to establish a common culture in the empire as well as to remind the constant presence of the emperor and the majesty of his title. The most significant positions for the statues were above the three central entrances of the facade. Those three positions were intended for the statues of the emperor and his family as well as for the statues of the gods the city honoured most. The notable citizens that sponsored the building or the decoration of a theatre or held and financed dramatic celebrations (ludi scaenici) were honoured by the city with statues put up in the theatre.

The theatrical buildings in the regions annexed after successful campaigns and lacking any tradition of theatrical structures, such as the western provinces of France, Germany and Britain, were in a sheer Roman style. However, the eastern provinces, such as Greece and the Aegean islands followed the deeply established Greek tradition and cultural imprint and, as a result, the architecture of theatrical facilities followed the established standards of the Classical and Hellenistic years.

4. Asia Minor Theatres

Research on Asia Minor theatres as a wider category started recently. The existing monographs as well as the annual announcements from excavations concerned some of the excavated theatres, such as the theatres of Ephesus, Pergamon, Priene, Miletus and Aphrodisias. No research has ever considered them an independent category.² The same happened with excavations in the area, which have only the last decades been intensified and focused on reconstructing and making the theatres known, thus finally aiming to restore the architecture and aesthetics of the ancient building.

The magic of the ancient Greek theatre emerges in a unique way on the land of Asia Minor through the monumental theatres built there in Hellenistic and Roman years. Most of them were built in Ionia, Caria, Lycia, Pisidia and Pamphylia. There are impressive theatres to the north, in Thrace and the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) as well as to the south, in Phrygia and Cilicia.³

The Asia Minor theatre appeared after the conquests of Alexander the Great.⁴ Right from the start it adopted the architectural principles of the theatrical facilities of the 4^th century BC established on mainland Greece: the wide auditorium, the horseshoe-shaped or circular orchestra, the proscenium and the oblong skene.

A local architectural tradition developed in Asia Minor in Hellenistic years, which later evolved into the theatres of the Imperial years. The entrances in the form of vaulted passages, the so-called ‘psalides’ or ‘pselides’,⁵ which started from the external side of the peripheral wall of the auditorium and led to the diazoma by means of steps so that the spectators could enter and exit the theatre through other points except for the parodoi, was a novelty. Moreover, the architecture of the stage building, arranged with colonnades and door cases, which served the theatrical economy and the needs of a performance, as well as the particularly thorough construction of the retaining walls, which constituted the external side views of the theatrical facilities, established the pioneering architectural style of Asia Minor Hellenistic theatres. As a result, it is not an exaggeration to say that the architecture of Hellenistic theatres actually developed in Asia Minor cities.⁶

In Roman times there was no need to build lots of new theatres in the Roman style on the Asia Minor coast. The existing Hellenistic theatres were restored and transformed in order for the Roman standards to adapt to the Greek architectural tradition. They were prepared to put on new spectacles, such as mock sea battles, ballets in the water, combats and fights with animals, which were very common and dear to the Roman troops of the eastern provinces that were a long way from home. In these cases the lower rows of seats of the auditorium were removed and replaced by a wall with a protective railing in order to protect the spectators from the atrocious spectacles. A new type of theatre was then formed, typical in Asia Minor, the so-called ‘Roman-Asia Minor’.It served as a transitional stage, a combination of the Greek and the Roman style, with an auditorium larger than a semicircle and a monumental and multi-story skene.

Among the Asia Minor theatres stand out the Hellenistic theatres of Priene (late 4^th century BC), of the acropolis of Pergamon (3^rd century BC), built on a steep slope, of Letoon (2^nd century BC), of Iassos (2^nd century BC), of Termessus (2^nd century BC) and of Magnesia ad Μaeandrum (2^nd century BC). The Hellenistic theatres of Miletus and Ephesus were transformed around the 1^st century AD and adopted the ‘Roman-Asia Minor’ style, thus being today among the most impressive theatres of Asia Minor. The theatres in Myra of Lycia (2^nd century AD), Selge of Pisidia (2^nd century AD), Side (2^nd century AD), Perge of Pamphylia, Aezani (1^st century BC) and Hierapolis of Phrygia (2^nd century AD) are in the ‘Roman-Asia Minor’ style. The theatre of Aspendus (2^nd century AD) is in the Roman style and is one of the most typical monuments of Roman architecture in Asia Minor.

5. Architectural Forms of Asia Minor Theatres

5.1 Cavea

The peripheral wall of the cavea received special attention already from Hellenistic years. Various types of masonry were used, with particularly impressive aesthetic results. The spectators were greatly facilitated thanks to the underground vaulted passages, which started from the external side of the peripheral wall of the cavea.⁷ This helped the theatre fill and empty very quickly. The entrance and exit arches of these passages, which led to different positions of the diazomata, have been preserved in several Asia Minor theatres. Many of them had decorative frames with cymas, such as the theatre of Ephesus.⁸ The theatre of Letoon had vaulted passages specially adorned with epistyles and metopes.⁹ The underground vaulted passages opened up on the periphery and the side wings of the cavea, usually higher than the parodoi, and led to the passage of the diazoma. Special attention was paid so that the building could be stable.¹⁰ Entrances at the ends of the cacea appeared in the theatres of Caunus (second half of 2^nd century BC), Alinda (2^nd century BC) as well as in the large theatres of Miletus, Ephesus and elsewhere.¹¹

Particular attention is paid when building the retaining walls, the vertical walls designating the two ends of the cavea to the side of the parodoi. The point where the cavea meets the retaining walls is supported either by columns, as it happened in the theatre of Erythrae (4^th century BC), where the walls have no functional use,¹² or often by two big corner towers lower than the overall height of the theatre, as it happened in the theatre of Patara in Lycia.

5.2 Parodoi

The parodoi, in Hellenistic theatres open passages, were sometime roofed with a semi-cylindrical arch, thus joining the auditorium with the stage building. The structural connection of the auditorium with the skene is one of the main differences between the Hellenistic and the Roman theatre.

5.3 Orchestra

Little is known about the evolution of the orchestra. Although several Asia Minor theatres have been preserved in good condition, few of them have been extensively excavated so that the area of the orchestra could be researched.¹³

5.4 Proscenium

One of the most typical transformations in Hellenistic Asia Minor theatres was that the wings of the proscenium, the paraskenia (dressing rooms), are reduced, while the top view of the proscenium is almost trapezoid, as it happened in the theatre of Caunus, or rectangular, as it happened in the theatre of Priene.¹⁴ The proscenium in the theatre of Halicarnassus was the first with a trapezoid top view and dates in the first half of the 3^rd century BC.¹⁵ In the 1^st century BC the stage buildings in the theatres of the Lycian cities of Kadyanda (Üzümlü), Pinara and Arycanda (Arif) had trapezoid Doric prosceniums and five-door skene facades, without architectural decorations, though. In the third quarter of the 1^st century BC the two-story skene facade in Aphrodisias had a high and narrow trapezoid proscenium with a Doric colonnade, where paintings were hung.¹⁶

5.5 Skene

In late Hellenistic years the big Ionic cities with the long Greek tradition played a significant role in the evolution of this type, at least as regards the spread of the multi-story skene. An essential difference between the Roman skene (scaena) and the Greek standards is that it is architecturally connected with the auditorium, above the parodoi. The oblong and multi-story rectangular skene facade was not borrowed from the Italian theatres of the 1^st century BC, as it was formerly supposed.¹⁷ The evolution of this type of skene, characterised as ‘Roman-Asia Minor’, had appeared in Asia Minor earlier and was not restricted to the gradual replacement of the skene walls with colonnades and niches, but had a more complex architectural style.¹⁸ For example, towards the turn of the 1^st century BC a projecting trapezoid platform with a front wall with a door was added to the theatre of Miletus, which had a skene with door cases. It is also possible that the five-door skene facade of the ‘Roman Asia Minor’ theatres evolved from the Hellenistic skene with the five door cases that were covered with paintings.¹⁹ However, some other elements following western standards appeared later. In particular, it is evidenced that in the years of Nero the theatre of Miletus had a central semicircular niche on the skene facade, which first appeared in Asia Minor and seems to have come from the western part of the empire, as it was quite common in Italy and Galatia in the 1^st century BC.

6. Decor

The facade of the skene (scaenae frons) and the proscenium (proscaenium or fronspulpiti) are richly adorned, in terms of architecture and sculpture, with statues and reliefs.²⁰ The Hellenistic theatres were not adorned with reliefs but with busts of great poets. This practice was established by the Romans, who were famous for their preference for luxury. The motifs selected depended on local cults, myths and local traditions of the cities as well as on the messages they wanted to convey.

The statues represented idealistic figures and portraits. The idealistic figures included the gods of Olympus, minor deities, mythological figures and personifications.²¹ The portraits are characterised as imperial when they depict the emperor and the members of the imperial family or personal when they depict notable citizens.²²

Reliefs were another significant part of decoration and appeared in the Imperial years. Relief representations on friezes have been found in theatres of the Mediterranean basin and particularly in Asia Minor, Greece, North Africa, Sicily and South France. In Asia Minor friezes and sporadic reliefs adorn the theatres of Pergamon, Ephesus, Alabanda, Miletus, Aezani, Hierapolis, Nyssa, Sagalassos, Side, Perge²³ and Tralles.²⁴ The first friezes appeared in theatres in late Hellenistic years, in the theatre of Pergamon, which set the standards.

Although reliefs appeared in the western part of the empire as well, they were sporadic and did not have a narrative style. The decor of relief friezes was more common in eastern theatres. This happened because the Greek element was prevalent in the East before the bloody battles took place there. At the same time, the Greek cities wanted to stress on their historical background by using their local myths.

Lots of poets, actors, musicians and athletes have been represented in eastern theatres.²⁵ The statues depicting artists expressed the pride the Anatolian Greeks took in their intellectual superiority in relation to the Romans. At the same time, they are typical of the Greek efforts to maintain this intellectual superiority despite the threat coming from theatrical performances of lower quality.

---

1. There are no new idealistic sculptures erected at theatres after the years of the Severus dynasty (193-235 AD). This is not a fortuitous event, since Christianity prevails and ancient gods are not welcome in public places.

2. One of the first great works that deal with the subject is the four-volume work: De Bernardi, F., Teatri classici in Asia Minore, v. 1-4 (1966-1974).

3. Moretti, J.Ch., ‘L’Architecture des théâtres en Asie Mineure (1980-1989)’, TOΠΟΙ 2 (1992), p. 9.

4. Moretti, J.Ch., ‘L’Architecture des théâtres en Asie Mineure (1980-1989)’, TOΠΟΙ 2, 1992, p. 11.

5. Pollux, Onom., 4, 123.7

6. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 683-688.

7. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 683-684.

8. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 684-685, note 15.

9. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 685, note 16.

10. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 684-686.

11. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 685, note 14, p. 686, notes 20-22.

12. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 684.

13. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 683.

14. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 686, notes 27 and 29.

15. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 687, note 30.

16. Isler, H.P., ‘Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus’, in: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 687, notes 31-33.

17. Moretti, J.Ch, ‘L’Architecture des théâtres en Asie Mineure (1980-1989)’, TOΠΟΙ 2, 1992, p. 12; Fiechter, E., ‘Die baugeschichtliche Entwicklung des antiken Theaters’ (1914), pp. 112-114.

18. Moretti, J.Ch, ‘L’Architecture des théâtres en Asie Mineure (1980-1989)’, TOΠΟΙ 2, 1992, p. 12.

19. Moretti, J.Ch, ‘L’Architecture des théâtres en Asie Mineure (1980-1989) )’, TOΠΟΙ 2 (1992), p. 14, note 19.

20. Isler, H.P., Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus, in the volume: Fiesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (ed.) 100 Jahre Österreichische Frisungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions, Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 683.

21. Particularly important is also the representation of Gods. They coexist with the portraits of emperors, thus suggesting that these two powers cooperate in the issues of peace, freedom and prosperity of the empire and its citizens separately. Can Özren, A., ‘Die Skulpturenausstattung kaizerzeitlicher Theater in der Provinz Asia, am Beispiel der Theater in Aphrodisias, Ephesos und Hierapolis’, Thetis 3 (1996), p. 102, pp. 110-113

22. The citizens of the upper class are represented in the theatres in exchange for the services they had offered to their city. Men are represented wearing the toga in the theatres of the West, while in the East the himation is still common. Women are represented in the statuary type of Pudicitia, the Large and Small Herculaneum Women, in order to stress the virtue and modesty of their character. Can Özren, A., ‘Die Skulpturenausstattung kaizerzeitlicher Theater in der Provinz Asia, am Beispiel der Theater in Aphrodisias, Ephesos und Hierapolis’ Thetis 3 (1996), pp. 101-2, p. 109, p. 113.

23. About the relief decoration of the theatre of Perge, see Inan, J., Atik N., Öztürk A., Alanyalı S.H., Ateş, G., ‘Vorbericht über die Untersuchungen an den Fassade des Theaters von Perge’, AA 2000, pp. 285-340.

24. The theatres in present day Turkey are divided into three groups: Western coast (Pergamon, Ephesus, Alabanda, Miletus), Southern coast (Side, Perge), Inland (Aezani, Hierapolis, Νisa, Sagalassos, Tralles).

25. Can Özren, A., ‘Die Skulpturenausstattung kaizerzeitlicher Theater in der Provinz Asia, am Beispiel der Theater in Aphrodisias, Ephesos und Hierapolis’, Thetis 3 (1996), pp. 116-7. See also Schwingenstein, C., Die Figurenausstattung des griechischen Theatergebäudes (München 1977), p. 64 onwards, p. 69 onwards, p. 74; Fuchs, M., Untersuchungen zur Ausstattung Römischer Theater in Italien und in den Westprovinzen des Imperium Romanum (Mainz am Rhein 1987), pp. 163, 184, from p. 186 onwards.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alcock S.E., Graecia Capta. The Landscapes of Roman Greece, Cambridge 1993

Allen J.T., Stage antiquities of the Greeks and Roman and their influence, New York 1927

Arnott P.P., Public and Performance in the Greek Theatre, London, New York 1989

Beacham R.C., The Roman theatre and its audience, London, New York 1995

Beare W., The Roman Stage, London 1968

Bejor G., “L’edificio teatrale nell’urbanizzazione augustea”, Athenaeum, 57 , 1979, 126-138

Bejor G., “La decorazione scultorea dei teatri romani nelle province africane”, Prospettiva, 17 , 1979, 37-46

Bieber Μ., The History of the Greek and Roman Theatre, Princeton 1961

Brothers A.J., “Buildings for entertainment”, Barton, Ι.Μ., Roman public buildings, Exeter 1989, 97-125

Bulle H., Untersuchungen an griechischen Theatern, München 1928

Cailler P., Cailler D., “Les Théâtres gréco-romains de Grèce”, Style, 1, 1966, 1-84

Can Özren A., “Die Skulpturenausstattung kaiserzeitlicher Theater in der Provinz Asia, am Beispiel der Theater in Aphrodisias, Ephesos und Hierapolis”, Thetis, 3, 1996, 99-128

Ciancio Rossetto P. – Pisani Sartorio G. (eds), Teatri Greci e Romani, alle Origini del Linguaggio rappresentato, Roma 1994

Blume H.D., “Theater”, NPauly 12.1, 2002, 254-274

Forni G., “Teatro”, EAA Suppl., Roma 1970, 772-789

Fiechter E.R., Die baugeschichtliche Entwicklung des antiken Theaters, München 1914

Frézouls E., “Le théâtre romain et la culture urbain”, La città antica come fatto di cultura: atti del convegno di Como e Bellagio 16/19 giugno 1979, Cômo 1983, 105-130

Frézouls E., “Aspects de l’histoire architecturale del théâtre romain”, ANRW ΙΙ, 12.1, Berlin-New York 1982, 343-441

Frézouls E., “Les théâtres antiques del’Orient syrien”, Atti del Settimo Congresso Internazionale di Archeologia Classica, τόμ. 1 (International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Rome–Naples 1958), Roma 1961, 339-351

Fuchs M., Untersuchungen zur Ausstattung römischer Theater in Italien und in den Westprovinzen des Imperium Romanum, Mainz am Rhein 1987

Gebhard E., “Ruler’s use of theaters in the greek and roman World”, Πρακτικά του ΧΙΙ Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου Κλασικής Αρχαιολογίας, τόμ Δ΄ (Αθήνα 4-10 Σεπτεμβρίου 1983), Αθήνα 1988, 65-69

Ginouvès R., Dictionnaire méthodique de l’architecture greque et omaine, τόμ. 3. Espaces architecturaux, bâtiments et ensembles, Roma 1998

Green R., Theatre in ancient greek society, London, New York 1994

Gros P., L’Architecture Romaine du début du IIIe siècle av.J.-C. а la fin du Haut-Empire 1. Les Monuments Publics, Paris 1996

Gros P., “La fonction symbolique des édifices théâtraux dans le paysage urbain de la Rome augustéenne”, L’Urbs, espace urbain et histoire: actes du colloque international organisé par le CNRS et l’Ecole française de Rome (Rome, 8-12 mai 1985), Rome 1987, 319-346

Gros P., “Les théâtres en Italie au 1er siècle de notre ère. Situation et fonction dans l’urbanisme impérial”, L’Italie d’Auguste à Dioclétien: actes du colloque international organisé par l’Ecole française de Rome, Rome 25-28 Mars 1992, Rome 1994, 285-307

Hanson J. A., Roman Theatre-temples, Princeton 1959

Isler H.P., “Bemerkungen zu kleinasiatischen Theatern des Hellenismus”, Fiesinger H., Krinzinger F. , 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos. Akten des Symposions Wien 1995, Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften , Wien 1999, 683-688

Jory E.J., “Theatre, performance and public in the Roman empire”, Sinclair, R. , Past, Present and Future ancient world studies in Australia, Melbourne 1990, 66-72

Kolb F., Agora und Theater. Volks- und Festversammlung, Berlin 1981

Kolb F., “Theaterpublikum, Volksversammlung und Gesellschaft in der griechischen Welt”, Dioniso, 59.2, 1989, 345-351

Mandolfo C., “Teatro e spettacoli nell’Historia Augusta”, SicGymn, 33, 1980, 609-669

Moretti J.C., “L’architecture des théâtres en Grèce (1980-1989)”, TOΠOI, 1 , 1991, 7-38

Moretti J.C., “L’architecture des théâtres en Asie Mineure (1980-1989)”, TOΠOI, 2, 1992, 9-32

Neppi-Modona A., Gli Edifizi teatrali Greci e Romani: teatri, odei, amfiteatri, circhi, Firenze 1961

Blume H.D., Εισαγωγή στο αρχαίο θέατρο, Αθήνα 2002, (Einführung in das antike Theaterwesen)

Rawson E., “Theatrical life in Republican Rome and Italy”, PBSR, 53 , 1985, 99-100

Schwingenstein C., Die Figurenausstattung des griechischen Theatergebäudes, München 1977

Scodel, R. (ed.), Theatre and society in the classical world, Ann Arbor 1993

Sear F., “Vitruvius and roman theatre design”, AJA, 94, 1990, 249-258

Traversari G., Gli Spettacoli in aqua nel teatro tardo antico, Roma 1960

Paribeni P., “il teatro durante l’impero romano”, Dioniso, 6.4-5, 1937-1938, 209-216

Wacher J., The Roman Empire, London 1987

Tengström E., “Theater und Politik im kaiserlichen Rom”, Eranos, 75, 1977, 43-56

Trojani M., “Vitruvio e la genesi storica del teatro romano”, AttiVenezia, 133 , 1974-1975, 463-477

Κυριακίδης Σ., Ρωμαϊκή Ευαισθησία Συμβολή στη μελέτη της καλλιτεχνικής δεκτικότητας και δημιουργίας των Ρωμαίων, 146-31 π.Χ., Θεσσαλονίκη 1986

Μάξιμος Π., Αρχαία Ελληνικά Θέατρα, Αθήνα 1988

Μερκούρης, Σ. (επιμ.), Μια Σκηνή για τον Διόνυσο, Θεατρικός Χώρος και Αρχαίο Δράμα, Θεσσαλονίκη 1997

Μποσνάκης Δ., Γκαγκζής Δ., Αρχαία Θέατρα: Θέατρα θέας άξια, Λεύκωμα, Ιτανός, Αθήνα 1996

Σάλη Τ., “Τα θέατρα των ονείρων”, Γεωτρόπιο, 181 , Σεπτέμβριος 2003, 34-49

Αγγελικόπουλος, Β. (επιμ.), Τα Αρχαία Ελληνικά Θέατρα, 1999, Επτά Ημέρες, Καθημερινή

Αγγελικόπουλος, Β. (επιμ.), Τα Αρχαία Ρωμαϊκά Θέατρα, 1η Αυγούστου 1999, Επτά Ημέρες, Καθημερινή

De Bernardi Ferrero D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore II. Città di Pisidia, Licia e Caria, Roma 1969, Studi di Architettura Antica

De Bernardi Ferrero D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore 1. Cibyra, Selge, Hierapolis, Roma 1966, Studi di Architettura antica

De Bernardi Ferrero D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore III. Città dalla Troade alla Pamfilia, Roma 1970, Studi di Architettura antica

De Bernardi Ferrero D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore IV. Deduzioni e proposte, Roma 1974, Studi di Architettura Antica

Small D.B., “Social Correlations to the Greek Cavea in the Roman Period.”, S. Macready, F.H. Thompson , Roman Architecture in the Greek world, London 1987, Society of Antiquaries, Occasional Papers, New Series 10, 85-93

Last Update: 01-28-2024