Ancient Greek Theaters
Greek theater began as festivals to the Greek gods, and this religious influence had affects to where and how the theaters were constructed. Like the Greek theater of Epidaurus, they consist of three main elements. The Orchestra, Skene and the theatron, these three elements have had a strong explanation to the why these magnificent theaters were among the best of their time.
The Orchestra or the stage, is the core of any Greek theater. The “dancing place” of the chorus and the chief performance space as they would call it, due to the religious background. Almost nothing remains from the fifth-century structure of the Theater of Dionysus in Athens, but later theaters suggest that the original orchestras were full circles; The orchestra is approximately 66 feet in diameter. Skene, A large rectangular building situated behind the orchestra, used as a backstage. Actors could change their costumes and masks. Earlier the skene was a tent or hut, later it became a permanent stone structure. These structures were sometimes painted to serve as backdrops. The audience sat in the theatron, the “seeing place,” on semi-circular terraced rows of benches (in the earliest theaters these were wooden; they were later built of stone). The Greeks often built these in a natural hollow (a koilon), though the sides were increasingly reinforced with stone, as can be seen in this overhead view of Epidaurus. Scholars often use the Latin word for hollow, cavea, to designate the seating in an ancient theater. Stairs mounting to the highest levels divide the sections of seats into wedges; at Epidaurus there are 55 semi-circular rows, providing an estimated seating capacity of 12,000-14,000. Although the name theatron suggests an emphasis on sight, in reality actors and chorus would look rather small even from seats only part-way up, and from the top rows one would see mostly colors and patterns of movement rather any details of costuming or masks. The...