DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4593#0164
THE SHRINES OF ATTICA 143
through which the actors could pass, was set up before
the skene and called the proskenion, a word latinized
into proscenium. None of the words, orchestra, scene,
and proscenium, which are so familiar in a modern
theatre, are used to-day in their original signification.
Different theatres varied in particular features, but the
general plan of all was the same, so that one which
was truly Greek could be easily distinguished from
one which was Roman.
To convert the temporary theatre into a permanent
one it was not necessary to change the plan, but to
solidify and elaborate the parts. At first the spec-
tators contented themselves with sitting on the bare
ground; wooden seats naturally followed, and held
their place a long time. In the days of yEschylus and
Sophocles the Athenians sat on wooden benches.
Later, stone steps and benches were introduced. The
auditorium was strengthened by a solid supporting
wall, and divided into segments by aisles that served
as stairways. It was also divided into an upper and a
lower portion by a passage called the diazoma. The
orchestra was preserved as before. As the theatre
was uncovered, there was no protection against rain,
but to prevent it from flooding the orchestra a canal
at the foot of the auditorium carried it off to an un-
derground drain. The provisional tent gave way to
a low permanent building, and the provisional screen
to a marble one made of a row of columns with
niches for pictures or statues between them, and a
central door for the actors.
In none of the numerous theatres excavated in
Greece and Asia Minor has any trace of a stage
been found. Recent literary and architectural re-
through which the actors could pass, was set up before
the skene and called the proskenion, a word latinized
into proscenium. None of the words, orchestra, scene,
and proscenium, which are so familiar in a modern
theatre, are used to-day in their original signification.
Different theatres varied in particular features, but the
general plan of all was the same, so that one which
was truly Greek could be easily distinguished from
one which was Roman.
To convert the temporary theatre into a permanent
one it was not necessary to change the plan, but to
solidify and elaborate the parts. At first the spec-
tators contented themselves with sitting on the bare
ground; wooden seats naturally followed, and held
their place a long time. In the days of yEschylus and
Sophocles the Athenians sat on wooden benches.
Later, stone steps and benches were introduced. The
auditorium was strengthened by a solid supporting
wall, and divided into segments by aisles that served
as stairways. It was also divided into an upper and a
lower portion by a passage called the diazoma. The
orchestra was preserved as before. As the theatre
was uncovered, there was no protection against rain,
but to prevent it from flooding the orchestra a canal
at the foot of the auditorium carried it off to an un-
derground drain. The provisional tent gave way to
a low permanent building, and the provisional screen
to a marble one made of a row of columns with
niches for pictures or statues between them, and a
central door for the actors.
In none of the numerous theatres excavated in
Greece and Asia Minor has any trace of a stage
been found. Recent literary and architectural re-