DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5542#0022
Chap, xxxi.]
THEATRE.
13
of a compact semi-crystalline blue limestone found in the
neighbourhood. They are chiefly isodomous, and are still
in some places several feet in height, and fourteen or fifteen
feet thick. Near the south wall, which is remarkably well
preserved to the west of the port, we found an interest-
ing inscription,* alluding to buildings near its line, which
appear to have been pulled down, and for which a sum of
money had been paid. That part of the wall which extends
northward from the port, and defended the city on the side of
the marshy plain above mentioned, is strengthened by many
salient and re-entering angles, as well as square towers; and
near what appears to have been a forum, to the N. of the
port, are the remains of a narrow gateway, arched towards
the outside, but on the inside covered with large square
stones. It now serves as a drain to carry off the wet from
the fields and grounds within an embankment, which has
been formed on a line of ancient walls to keep off inunda-
tions from the marshes. The passage, which smelled
strongly of musk-rats, was nearly filled up, but we were
able to crawl through it.
The building which first attracts the attention of a
stranger coming from Sighajik is the theatre, on the side
of a hill facing S. and bearing N. by W. from the mole
of the southern port. It commands a magnificent view,
overlooking the site of the ancient city, the marshes, the
harbour, the bay, and along the coast as far as the bold
promontory of Myonncsus and the island of Macri, and
only bounded to the south by the distant outline of Samos.
How intensely the contemplation of such a scene must
have heightened the enjoyment of the spectator during a
performance of the Agamemnon, or the Medea. The
marble seats are all gone, and the rubbly substruction
exposed, formed of small and uneven stones cemented
with a profusion of mortar : a great portion of the gallery
round the diazoina is still perfect. To judge from the
parallelism of the walls which form the wings of the cavea,
the theatre was probably of Roman construction : the wings
* See Appendix, No. 238.
THEATRE.
13
of a compact semi-crystalline blue limestone found in the
neighbourhood. They are chiefly isodomous, and are still
in some places several feet in height, and fourteen or fifteen
feet thick. Near the south wall, which is remarkably well
preserved to the west of the port, we found an interest-
ing inscription,* alluding to buildings near its line, which
appear to have been pulled down, and for which a sum of
money had been paid. That part of the wall which extends
northward from the port, and defended the city on the side of
the marshy plain above mentioned, is strengthened by many
salient and re-entering angles, as well as square towers; and
near what appears to have been a forum, to the N. of the
port, are the remains of a narrow gateway, arched towards
the outside, but on the inside covered with large square
stones. It now serves as a drain to carry off the wet from
the fields and grounds within an embankment, which has
been formed on a line of ancient walls to keep off inunda-
tions from the marshes. The passage, which smelled
strongly of musk-rats, was nearly filled up, but we were
able to crawl through it.
The building which first attracts the attention of a
stranger coming from Sighajik is the theatre, on the side
of a hill facing S. and bearing N. by W. from the mole
of the southern port. It commands a magnificent view,
overlooking the site of the ancient city, the marshes, the
harbour, the bay, and along the coast as far as the bold
promontory of Myonncsus and the island of Macri, and
only bounded to the south by the distant outline of Samos.
How intensely the contemplation of such a scene must
have heightened the enjoyment of the spectator during a
performance of the Agamemnon, or the Medea. The
marble seats are all gone, and the rubbly substruction
exposed, formed of small and uneven stones cemented
with a profusion of mortar : a great portion of the gallery
round the diazoina is still perfect. To judge from the
parallelism of the walls which form the wings of the cavea,
the theatre was probably of Roman construction : the wings
* See Appendix, No. 238.