Iaitas, Ietas, Giato (modern Monte Iato, Italy)

325 BCE

Cavea Width: 68 meters
Orchestra Width: 22 meters

Iaitas (modern Monte Iato, Sicily, Italy. Cavea width: 67.9 m; orchestra width: 21.5; ima cavea: 15 rows with 7 cunei; suma cavea: 17 rows; south facing; stage: L 11.5 m x W 3 m; scene building 23 m x 3.5 m; capacity: 4,400 / 5,000; ca. before 300. BCE.

Greek theatre at Iaitas (modern Monte Iato, Sicily, Italy)

History and Location

Ancient Iaitas (modern Iato) was inhabited from the end of the 9th century BCE to the beginning of the 13th century CE. Established as an indigenous Sicano-Elime settlement, the city was influenced by the arrival of a Greek population in the mid-6th century BCE. By the second half of the 3rd century BCE, the settlement was rebuilt in the style of a Greek city with a city fortification, a street system, public buildings such as a theater and an agora. It later developed into a thriving Roman outpost before falling into decline for several hundred years. In the 10th century CE, it flourished once again as the last refuge of the Muslim population until Frederick II sacked and destroyed the town in 1246, thus ending Iaitas’ two millennia of existence (Sicilian Region, Transparent Administration).

The archeological site is located on Mount Iato, 40 kilometers southwest of Palermo in the northwest interior of Sicily. At a height of 850m above sea level, Iato’s immense vistas fan out in all directions taking in Lake Poma and the Gulf of Castellammare to the north and vast swathes of the Sicilian countryside to the south, east, and west. The geographic inaccessibility of the city was a defensive advantage in antiquity but is an inconvenience to modern-day travelers. A visit to “Zona Archeologica Monte Jato” in 2019 required a moderately difficult, 2-kilometer ascent by foot from the archeological site’s parking lot. The narrow pathway is paved and the views of the valley below are spectacular, but the steep incline can be a challenge, especially during the summer months. As of September of 2019, no communal facilities were available at the upper site, and although the paved road is open to archeologist vehicular traffic, visitors are required to park and proceed to the summit by foot.

The Theatre

The theatre dates from the late 4th century BCE with modifications during the Roman occupation of the city (Isler, cited in Sear). It is located northwest of the agora under the highest point of the hill, with the bouleuterion in the northwest corner of the agora (Sear).

Cavea (sitting area)

The cavea (seating area) has a diameter of 67.9 meters, faces south, and exceeds a semicircle. The analemmata (retaining walls) are parallel to the scene building. The ima cavea (lower section) consists of 15 rows of seats (0.39 × 0.74 m) divided into 7 cunei (wedge-shaped seating sections). A praecinctio (curved walkway) of 1.08m width separates the lower (ima) cavea from the upper (summa) cavea, which is composed of approximately 17 seating rows also divided into 7 cunei (Sear). The theatre seated approximately 5,000 people (Siti Archeologici d’Italia).

Substructures

The theatre was built partly on artificial fill (Sear).

Parodoi (side entrances to orchestra)

In the final phase of construction, walls were built parallel to the short sides of the scene building, running up to the analemmata walls to enclose L-shaped parodoi (entrance passages). This was likely an unfinished attempt to roof them over. The parodoi were accessible through doorways adjacent to the back of the scene building (Sear).

Orchestra (performance place between cavea and stage)

The orchestra is paved in beaten earth, is 21.5 meters wide with an inner diameter of 14.8m, and is surrounded by a passageway (1m wide) with 4 steps leading up from the parados. The first 3 rows of seats surrounding the orchestra are prohedria (seats of honor); the second and third rows have griffin’s foot terminations, and the 3rd row has continuous, raised backs. Reclining lions decorated the low walls flanking the ends of the seats of honor. There is no drainage system surrounding the orchestra (Sear).

Pulpitum (stage)

The original stage measured 11.5 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 0.40m high, and was flanked by paraskenia (projecting buildings on either side of the stage house) measuring 5.75m long by 3.00m wide. During the Roman era, the stage was altered to 12.76m long by 6.75m wide, with a height of 2.50-3.00m, and extended into the orchestra as far as the line of the analemmata. (Sear).

The scaenae frons (scene building)

The scene building was 23m long and 3.25m wide. It had 3 doorways: one in the center of the building and one in each of the flanking paraskenia. It was most likely two stories high and had a tiled roof decorated with antefixes. Two types of paving were found: one white, the other in red cocciopesto, suggesting the scene building may have had two storeys (Sear).

A portico (23m long, 4.75m wide) was later added behind the scene building (Sear).

Decoration

Two limestone statues (2m high) of a Maenad and a satyr, both acting as Atlantes, possibly from the west and east paraskenia, adorned the theatre. Fragments of a limestone Ionic order with frieze and sculptural decoration, parts of a Doric half-column of tufa (comparable to those at Tyndaris and Segesta), and a stucco Doric frieze probably from the façade of the scene building have also been discovered (Sear). The Maenad and Satyr statues date to the late 3rd/early 2nd century BCE (Wilson, cited in Sear).

Dating

The cavea dates from the late 4th century BCE (Isler, cited in Sear), the new scene building from around 200 BCE, and the attempt to roof over the parodoi from the Augustan period (Isler, cited in Sear).

Renovations and Excavations History

Roman Renovations

The theatre underwent significant modifications during the Roman period. The most substantial changes occurred to the stage and scene building. The original Greek stage was altered from its modest dimensions (11.5 × 3 meters) to a larger Roman-style stage (12.76 × 6.75 meters) that extended further into the orchestra (Sear). The height of the stage was also increased significantly from 0.40m to between 2.50-3.00m, reflecting Roman theatrical traditions that preferred higher stages (Sear). The paraskenia were also modified to become narrower and oblique rather than rectangular.

During the Augustan period (late 1st century BCE to early 1st century CE), there was an attempt to roof over the parodoi, though this work appears to have been left unfinished (Isler, cited in Sear). A porticus post scaenam (portico behind the scene building) measuring 23m long and 4.75m wide was also added behind the scene building during the Roman period, enhancing the architectural complex (Sear).

Post-Ancient Period

After the decline of the Roman Empire, the theatre, like much of the city, fell into disuse. The site was largely abandoned during the Byzantine period, with archaeological evidence showing minimal activity (University of Innsbruck). The Muslim occupation beginning in the 9th century CE and subsequent Norman rule saw little documented attention to the theatre structure. Archaeological evidence indicates the theatre was likely already in ruins by this time (University of Innsbruck).

In 1246 CE, Frederick II sacked and destroyed the town during his campaign against the Muslim rebellion, further contributing to the deterioration of the site’s structures including the theatre. After this destruction, Monte Iato was largely abandoned by 1270 CE, and the theatre remained buried and forgotten for centuries (University of Innsbruck).

Modern Archaeological Excavations

The archaeological rediscovery of Iaitas began with illicit excavations in the 1960s, which brought attention to the site’s historical importance (University of Innsbruck). The first systematic scientific excavations of Monte Iato, including the theatre, began in 1971 under the direction of Professor Hans Peter Isler and Professor Heinrich Bloesch of the Archaeological Institute of the University of Zurich (University of Innsbruck).

Professor Isler led extensive studies of the theatre’s architecture, focusing particularly on defining the various phases of the building from Greek to Roman periods. His work established the chronology of the theatre’s construction and modifications (Montali). The excavations revealed the well-preserved lower part of the cavea and the foundations of the scene building, along with decorative elements including the limestone Maenad and Satyr statues (Sear).

In 2011, the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Innsbruck joined the project under the direction of Erich Kistler and Birgit Öhlinger, working in collaboration with the Zurich team and the Archaeological Groups of Italy from the Jato valley. This collaboration has continued the documentation and study of the site.

Recent research by scholars like Giuseppe Montali has focused on analyzing specific features such as the prohedria of the theatre, examining structural elements to further refine the chronology and understanding of the theatre’s development phases (Montali).

Notable discoveries from the theatre excavations include large stone antefixes from the scene building’s roof, which are now displayed in the Antiquarium di Monte Iato. These roof tiles, some nearly one meter long, bear inscriptions with the Greek word “TEATPOY” (of the theatre), which identified them as public property to prevent theft for private use (Parco Archeologico di Himera, Solunto e Iato).

Bibliography / Resources:

“Archaeological Area of Monte Iato.” Sicilian Region, Transparent Administration. https://parchiarcheologici.regione.sicilia.it/himera-solunto-iato/en/siti-archeologici/area-archeologica-di-monte-iato-san-cipirello/. Accessed 2 Feb 2024.

“Iaitas.” Siti Archeologicl D’Italia. Via Pasteur, 16-Milano. https://www.sitiarcheologiciditalia.it/en/iaitas-monte-jato/. Accessed 5 Jan 2024.

“Ietas.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ietas. Accessed 2 Feb 2024.

Isler, Hans Peter. “Ausgrabungen auf dem Monte Iato.” Antike Kunst, 33.1 (1990): 52-62.

Isler, Hans Peter. Monte Iato: Guida archeologica. Palermo: Sellerio, 1991.

Montali, Giuseppe. “Osservazioni sulla proedria del teatro di Iaitas/Ietas (Monte Iato).” (2024).

“Monte Iato (IT).” Antike Kunst: Association of Friends of Ancient Art | CH-4051 Basel / Switzerland. 2020. https://www.antikekunst.org/publikationen/die-grabungsberichte/monte-iato-it/. Accessed 2/4/2020.

“Monte Iato Project.” University of Innsbruck. https://www.uibk.ac.at/projects/monte-iato/index.html.en. Accessed 22 Mar 2025.

“Monte Iato Archaeology Park.” CoopCulture. https://www.coopculture.it/en/poi/monte-iato-archaeology-park/. Accessed 22 Mar 2025.

Ribi, E. “Der Theaterbau von Iaitas.” In Studia Ietina, I, edited by E. Ribi, 13-29. Zurich: Juris, 1976.

Sear, Frank. Roman Theatres: An Architectural Study. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.