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Travel Ephesus |
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Around Ephesus |
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Grand Theater |
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The theater was first built in the time of
Lysimachus, taking advantage of the natural slope of
Mt. Panayir.
As with other ancient theaters, there are three main
sections, which are the scene, the orchestra, and
the seating area.
The most beautiful part was the 18-meter building that made up the scene
area. It was a three-story, multi-column structure
facing the spectators. There were statues in the
niches in between columns. The ground floor is still
standing. It runs north and south and has eight
rooms opening onto the western side.
There is a narrow door leading into the orchestra and a small terrace on
each end.
During the Classic Period there was another scene
section where performers would be on the same level
as the choir section in the orchestra. This area was
sometimes slightly raised. In the Hellenistic Period
the orchestra was reduced in size and a narrow stage
area was used by the actors. This configuration
allowed those seated at the back to hear better and
those at the front to see better.
The second floor of the scene structure has been preserved, revealing a
different plan than that of the first floor. There
was a long corridor in the center with five doors
opening onto the proscene and two rows of rooms on
the western side. The semicircular orchestra was 34
m in width.
During the plays the choir would come in on either side of the orchestra
and speak their lines in unison. There was a
ceremony in front of the altar at the front of the
orchestra before each performance in honor of the
god Dionysius. In the beginning there were
ceremonies at these plays to the god of wine,
Dionysius, hence the tradition of offering a
sacrifice to him in the beginning.
In the Hellenistic Period the orchestra was smaller and expanded by 5
meters in Roman times. Part of the orchestra was
floored with green marble. The seating area was a
semicircle with a radius of 154 m and 38 m high. It
could hold as many as 24,000 spectators. The area
was divided into three sections and had two rows of
steps through the middle.
All the performers were male. As can be seen in the frescoes in the
hillside houses, the actors used masks while
performing. There were also meetings held here for
the citizens of Ephesus. |
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Ephesus Yesterday & Today |
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