Theatre of Thorikos
The Theatre of Thorikos (), situated north of Lavrio, was an ancient Greek theater in the demos of Thorikos in Attica, Greece. It is the oldest known theater in the world since it was built around 525–480 BC. The theater is unusual in its design, as it is elongated instead of the typical semicircle. History The Thorikos theatre was built in several stages. The first construction phase is dated to the end of the archaic period around 525–480 BC, the theatre can be considered a primitive Greek building, being the oldest still standing Greek theatre in the world. The unique shape of the theater is explained by the fact that it would have been built in its entirety when the shape of theaters was not yet established. More recently, the shape is considered to be explained by the fact that expansions have been made to the theater's stand in stages over the oldest part after its construction. The theater became elongated when it was expanded in the classical period of the 4th century BC, halfway between changes were made to it as early as 300 BC. Archaeological excavations of the theater were conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1886. Structure The ruins of the theater are located on the southern slope of the hill known today as Velatoúri. The theater stand is elongated in the middle and curves at both ends. It opens towards the southwest and its width is about 55 meters. The theater's orchestra is oval in shape and measures approximately 16 × 30 meters or approximately 443 square meters. The theatre was built with limestone from the ancient quarry located near the it. In the first phase of construction, the theatre had about 19-21 straight rows of stone benches, with a retaining wall on the north side. Two vertical staircases divided the auditorium into three sections of different sizes. The benches in the middle of these are almost diagonal. In the middle of the 400s BC, curved sections were added to the east and west ends of the original gallery. In the 300s BC, further curved rows of benches were added to the rear of the gallery, above the earlier retaining wall. This section may have had wooden benches and some 11-12 rows of benches, or alternatively it may have been seated on the ground. A new retaining wall was built on the north side of the extension. It had two entrances, providing access from the north side of the theatre to the upper part of the auditorium. A single raised walkway led from the slope to the west side, while a bridge formed the east side access road. At the final stage, the theatre could accommodate between 2 000 and 3 200 spectators. See also Theatre of ancient Greece Ancient Greece Hellenic historiography References Bibliography Walter Miller: The Theater of Thorikos. Preliminary Report. In: Papers of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens 4, 1885/86 (1888), S. 1–19 (Digitalisat). William