DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.25500#0081
44
COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE.
THE THEATRES
were the largest buildings the Greeks attempted. They were
unroofed, the performances taking place in the daytime.
'There were few actors, and therefore they had only a shallow
stage. A permanent architectural background with door-
ways answered for the scene.
The chorus executed dances, and chanted, in a circular
inclosure in front of the stage.
The auditorium was rather more than semicircular in
plan, in rising tiers, as at the Theatre of Dionysos at Athens,
where the seats are hollowed out of the Acropolis rock.
The Theatre at Epidaurus is one of the most perfect in
Greece, and apparently retains its original Greek arrange-
ment. The circle in which the orchestra was placed is
complete. There was apparently no raised platform for the
stage, which was level with the orchestra. Chambers and
passages are placed behind the fixed architectural scene.
The cavea, or auditorium, is rather more than a semicircle
in plan, and the seats are in rising tiers, cut out of the solid
rock, and faced with marble.
THE PALACES AND DOMESTIC BUILDINGS.
At Tiryns and Mycenae, the former situated by the sea-coast
to the south-west of Athens, remains have been discovered of
recent years which are of the greatest interest in showing
the general arrangement of these buildings.
At Mycenae, flights of steps lead to an outer courtyard, from
which, by traversing a portico and vestibule, the megaron, or
principal men’s apartment, is reached; this was surrounded
by a roof, open to the sky in the centre. From the
megaron other chambers, whose uses are not defined, are
entered. The women’s chambers are planned so as to
afford the greatest seclusion, and are reached from the other
side of the outer court. The plans of domestic buildings
seem to have resembled, on a smaller scale, the general
arrangement of the palaces.1
1 Many of the stele or tombstones, in the design of which the Greeks
excelled, remain in the “Street ofTombs” at Athens. The upper part is
generally treated with an anthemion design (No. 31 b). Examples may
be seen in the British Museum.
COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE.
THE THEATRES
were the largest buildings the Greeks attempted. They were
unroofed, the performances taking place in the daytime.
'There were few actors, and therefore they had only a shallow
stage. A permanent architectural background with door-
ways answered for the scene.
The chorus executed dances, and chanted, in a circular
inclosure in front of the stage.
The auditorium was rather more than semicircular in
plan, in rising tiers, as at the Theatre of Dionysos at Athens,
where the seats are hollowed out of the Acropolis rock.
The Theatre at Epidaurus is one of the most perfect in
Greece, and apparently retains its original Greek arrange-
ment. The circle in which the orchestra was placed is
complete. There was apparently no raised platform for the
stage, which was level with the orchestra. Chambers and
passages are placed behind the fixed architectural scene.
The cavea, or auditorium, is rather more than a semicircle
in plan, and the seats are in rising tiers, cut out of the solid
rock, and faced with marble.
THE PALACES AND DOMESTIC BUILDINGS.
At Tiryns and Mycenae, the former situated by the sea-coast
to the south-west of Athens, remains have been discovered of
recent years which are of the greatest interest in showing
the general arrangement of these buildings.
At Mycenae, flights of steps lead to an outer courtyard, from
which, by traversing a portico and vestibule, the megaron, or
principal men’s apartment, is reached; this was surrounded
by a roof, open to the sky in the centre. From the
megaron other chambers, whose uses are not defined, are
entered. The women’s chambers are planned so as to
afford the greatest seclusion, and are reached from the other
side of the outer court. The plans of domestic buildings
seem to have resembled, on a smaller scale, the general
arrangement of the palaces.1
1 Many of the stele or tombstones, in the design of which the Greeks
excelled, remain in the “Street ofTombs” at Athens. The upper part is
generally treated with an anthemion design (No. 31 b). Examples may
be seen in the British Museum.