• Photos and Panorama Movies • Theatre Archive Home • Glossary of Terms - The Ancient Theatre at Corinth, Greece:
The theater of ancient Corinth was rebuilt on top of an older one, whose first building phase dates back to the end of the 5th century.
This first theater was built on a natural slope with stone seats in the cavea but with a wooden stage. In the Early Hellenistic period, its hollow was extended and its capacity was estimated to have reached around 18,000 spectators. It was divided into fourteen tiers, it had sixty-six rows of seats, and its shape was more than a semicircle, as it served as a recreation venue and green space, with the stage being joined by stairways framed by pillars and columns.
It was rebuilt in the 1st century A.D. when it acquired an imposing stage. The second quarter of the 2nd cent. A.D. it was entirely reconstructed and acquired a three-floored columned proscenium with three arched entrances. The proscenium was decorated with painted sculptures. A rectangular peristyle courtyard with a fountain on the southern side was constructed north of the proscenium. On the northern wall of the atrium in the courtyard of the archaeological museum there is a series of 15 relief tablets, which come from the decoration on the façade of the theater’s stage building. These relief tablets date back to 125-150 AD. and depict scenes from three themes, which were particularly popular in ancient Greek art. One frieze has scenes from the struggle between gods and giants. (Gigantomachy), the other from the struggle of the Greeks against the Amazons (Amazonomachy) and the third of Heracles’ labors.
In the 3rd century, the theater was turned into a arena for beast fights and duels. The first ten rows of seats were removed, the rock was carved at the level of the orchestra, while three underground spaces were opened for the gladiators. A tall wall with frescoes depicting animal hunting surrounded the arena. Shortly afterwards, the orchestra and the first rows of seats were restored and special watering systems were built to fill the arena with water in order to recreate fictional naval battles for the gladiators. After the devastating invasion of Alaricus to Corinth in 396 AD, the theater was never used again.
http://www.diazoma.gr/en/theaters/theater-ancient-corinth/
- The Ancient Theatre at Corinth, Greece:
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Copyright © 2003 Thomas G. Hines, Department of Theatre, Whitman College. All Rights Reserved. The Ancient Theatre Archive is a non-profit, educational project, located at Whitman College, USA. Research and Publication Partially Funded Through Grants from Whitman College, The United States Institute for Theatre Technology, The Benson Foundation, and The National Endowment for the Humanities.
- © This website is copyright protected. Pages may be downloaded, printed, copied, and distributed as long as they remain unchanged and The Ancient Theatre Archive is given due credit.Last Update 11/20/2016.