DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4264#0081
of the
PulP%t
Y- This aiiseS) not 04k
ferment tku tki
*on at the fronts tr-
iable nature. The temt
*J*m supped tofe^
± he Roman pdpi^-
greater relative estent; fc,
ne appeared, but mk\
and dancers, equaUy prff.
sage of Vitravios: "Ito^
nhabentorchestramGiKiK.
linepulpituui,qMdxD,.:„,|
:omici actores in scena pbei
rrchcstram i
raece separatim nomimnh
the logeion was' genenlii
ied by several recent toi
theatre at Patara, in L;ta-
i the Odeion of Herodes),fc
been of a more solid and p
isted with marble. Thisiii
wing the progressive cup
nd with it is introduced t
rior scholar, Mr. WalptM
he Levant.
K.HS
OF THE THEATRE OF BACCHUS. 81
K. L. M. The external wall, encompassing the seats of the spectators.
L. N. The portico, in which were the seats for the women.
N. O. The upper ranges of seats.
O. P. The praecinctio, or semi-circular corridora, separating the upper from the lower ranges
of seats.
P. F. The lower ranges of seats.
The seats for the spectators were in this theatre cut in the solid rock; of consequence there
were no staircases under them, by which the spectators were conducted to the upper ranges of seats,
as in the theatre of Marcellus, and the amphitheatres of Rome and Verona : and therefore there
were not vomitoria by which they emerged from those staircases into the places assigned them. But
there were ample staircases at each extremity of the front: these are marked Q. Q. in the plan.
R. An aperture leading from the stair-case to the semicircular corridor O. P.
I do not any where find specified the precise time when this theatre was erected, nor who was
the architect employed in its construction. Thus much however we are told: a tragic poet, named
Pratinas b, who flourished in the 70th Olympiad, or 498 years before Christ, exhibited one of his
productions on the stage, in a theatre framed of boards, for as yet the Athenians had not erected
one of stone ; on this occasion the concourse was so great, and the spectators were so eager for places,
that the over-crowded building fell, and many were hurt. To prevent such accidents for the future,
the Athenians were induced to set about erecting a stone theatre. Lycurgus, the Athenian orator, it
is said, completed itc. He died in the 113th Olympiad, or about 170 years after the misfortune
which befel the spectators at the exhibition given by Pratinas.
But it is surely not credible, that this building should have remained so many years unfinished
as this account seems to imply ; and we may with more probability suppose, what Lycurgus performed
here was rather an improvement, or perhaps a repair, than that the Athenians, vain as they were of
their magnificent structures, and delighting in dramatic entertainments, should, for such a number of
years, a period including the most prosperous times of the republic, during which their most illustrious
poets wrote, and their most splendid buildings were erected, pay so little attention to their theatre. And
it appears somewhat strange, that Pausanias, speaking so highly in praise of a theatre at Epidaurus,
built by Polycletus, who flourished in the 88th Olympiad, should have said so little concerning this
Theatre of Bacchus at Athens.
From what has been said it appears, that no great discoveries are to be expected from the ob-
»t twelvefe^
, been only ft*' >
vperfect^F^
ianAnt^'ie;;estr^
» We underst ,,1
. more p»toWy
J
, Gree1>s> "
a This was termed Six^u/j.cc by the Greeks, as seen in the
previous inscription at the Theatre of Patara, which settles all
doubt as to the meaning of the word in Vitruvius. See Walpole's
Mem. V. II. p. 537. " [ed.]
* In the Introduction, page 8, it is observed, that " the letters
S. and T. were inserted in this Plate by Mr. Stuart, but not ex-
plained. The former, without doubt, distinguishes the apart-
ments behind the scene, wherein Vitruvius says the chorus was
prepared. The latter probably marks the ' Porticus Eumenici',
mentioned in the Description of the Plan of the Acropolis an-
nexed to this volume."
Mr. Dodwell records an excavation made near the arches
which belonged to the substruction of what is termed the Portico
of Eumenes. This took place in a line from a column near T.
on the plan, which is of white marble, in the direction of the
real theatre of Bacchus, " when other columns were discovered,
which had Ionic bases, with several broken statues of coloured
marble." The soil, he observes, was here found not to be elevated
more than four feet above the original surface. See Dodwell's
Travels, V. I. p. 299. [ed.]
1 Cicero mentions the name of Pliilo as architect of the Piraan Docks, and
Pausanias at the above quoted chapter, describes docks at Pirams built during the
administration of Lycurgus, who completed the Theatre. Valerius Maximus thus
honorarily records the name of that celebrated architect;—" Gloriantur Alhense
armamentario suo, nee sine causa : est enim illud opus et impensa et clegantia
VOL. II.
uvriryvvi^ETo d£ Ala-^vXu T£ y.ai Xo^/AAw liri ry<; IfitSopyy.otnvJz 'OXvp.-
7rtccoo$. y.u.L <7TpbJTos lypatyi cra.TVpov$. H.'XiOZiX.VVU.EVOV OS TOVTOV, O"VV:0y} TO.
IjiPtcCj s^' wy \(TTr,y_£o-a.v ol usaTff!, Tree-En/, y.a.) ly. toiitou Qeargov aiy.odc~
fA,r,6yi 'Aiym'm;. Suidas, voce n^ariva;.
' Pratinas, son of Pyrrhonides or Encomias, a Phliasian, a tragic
poet, competitor with iEschylus and Chcerillus, in the seventieth
Olympiad ; he first wrote satires. Exhibiting one of his dramas,
it happened that the boards on which the spectators stood fell in,
and after this the Athenians had a theatre built for them.' See
likewise Libanius'« argument to the First Olynthiac of De-
mosthenes.
c Lycurgus the Orator, amongst his other virtues, is celebrated
for his munificence and public spirit- See Plutarch, in The Life
of the Ten Orators, and Pausanias, Attic, cap. xxix. p. 75-
Pliilo, the architect, who built the naval arsenal, or repository
for ships, in the Pirteus, was probably the person who repaired
and improved this Theatre of Bacchus '.
visendum : cujus architectum Philonem Ha facunde rationem institutions suae in
Theatro reddidisse constat, ut disertissimus populus non minorem laudem elo-
quential ejus, quam arti tribuerit." L. VIII. C XII. Cic. de Orat. L. I.
C. XIV. [ra>.]
PulP%t
Y- This aiiseS) not 04k
ferment tku tki
*on at the fronts tr-
iable nature. The temt
*J*m supped tofe^
± he Roman pdpi^-
greater relative estent; fc,
ne appeared, but mk\
and dancers, equaUy prff.
sage of Vitravios: "Ito^
nhabentorchestramGiKiK.
linepulpituui,qMdxD,.:„,|
:omici actores in scena pbei
rrchcstram i
raece separatim nomimnh
the logeion was' genenlii
ied by several recent toi
theatre at Patara, in L;ta-
i the Odeion of Herodes),fc
been of a more solid and p
isted with marble. Thisiii
wing the progressive cup
nd with it is introduced t
rior scholar, Mr. WalptM
he Levant.
K.HS
OF THE THEATRE OF BACCHUS. 81
K. L. M. The external wall, encompassing the seats of the spectators.
L. N. The portico, in which were the seats for the women.
N. O. The upper ranges of seats.
O. P. The praecinctio, or semi-circular corridora, separating the upper from the lower ranges
of seats.
P. F. The lower ranges of seats.
The seats for the spectators were in this theatre cut in the solid rock; of consequence there
were no staircases under them, by which the spectators were conducted to the upper ranges of seats,
as in the theatre of Marcellus, and the amphitheatres of Rome and Verona : and therefore there
were not vomitoria by which they emerged from those staircases into the places assigned them. But
there were ample staircases at each extremity of the front: these are marked Q. Q. in the plan.
R. An aperture leading from the stair-case to the semicircular corridor O. P.
I do not any where find specified the precise time when this theatre was erected, nor who was
the architect employed in its construction. Thus much however we are told: a tragic poet, named
Pratinas b, who flourished in the 70th Olympiad, or 498 years before Christ, exhibited one of his
productions on the stage, in a theatre framed of boards, for as yet the Athenians had not erected
one of stone ; on this occasion the concourse was so great, and the spectators were so eager for places,
that the over-crowded building fell, and many were hurt. To prevent such accidents for the future,
the Athenians were induced to set about erecting a stone theatre. Lycurgus, the Athenian orator, it
is said, completed itc. He died in the 113th Olympiad, or about 170 years after the misfortune
which befel the spectators at the exhibition given by Pratinas.
But it is surely not credible, that this building should have remained so many years unfinished
as this account seems to imply ; and we may with more probability suppose, what Lycurgus performed
here was rather an improvement, or perhaps a repair, than that the Athenians, vain as they were of
their magnificent structures, and delighting in dramatic entertainments, should, for such a number of
years, a period including the most prosperous times of the republic, during which their most illustrious
poets wrote, and their most splendid buildings were erected, pay so little attention to their theatre. And
it appears somewhat strange, that Pausanias, speaking so highly in praise of a theatre at Epidaurus,
built by Polycletus, who flourished in the 88th Olympiad, should have said so little concerning this
Theatre of Bacchus at Athens.
From what has been said it appears, that no great discoveries are to be expected from the ob-
»t twelvefe^
, been only ft*' >
vperfect^F^
ianAnt^'ie;;estr^
» We underst ,,1
. more p»toWy
J
, Gree1>s> "
a This was termed Six^u/j.cc by the Greeks, as seen in the
previous inscription at the Theatre of Patara, which settles all
doubt as to the meaning of the word in Vitruvius. See Walpole's
Mem. V. II. p. 537. " [ed.]
* In the Introduction, page 8, it is observed, that " the letters
S. and T. were inserted in this Plate by Mr. Stuart, but not ex-
plained. The former, without doubt, distinguishes the apart-
ments behind the scene, wherein Vitruvius says the chorus was
prepared. The latter probably marks the ' Porticus Eumenici',
mentioned in the Description of the Plan of the Acropolis an-
nexed to this volume."
Mr. Dodwell records an excavation made near the arches
which belonged to the substruction of what is termed the Portico
of Eumenes. This took place in a line from a column near T.
on the plan, which is of white marble, in the direction of the
real theatre of Bacchus, " when other columns were discovered,
which had Ionic bases, with several broken statues of coloured
marble." The soil, he observes, was here found not to be elevated
more than four feet above the original surface. See Dodwell's
Travels, V. I. p. 299. [ed.]
1 Cicero mentions the name of Pliilo as architect of the Piraan Docks, and
Pausanias at the above quoted chapter, describes docks at Pirams built during the
administration of Lycurgus, who completed the Theatre. Valerius Maximus thus
honorarily records the name of that celebrated architect;—" Gloriantur Alhense
armamentario suo, nee sine causa : est enim illud opus et impensa et clegantia
VOL. II.
uvriryvvi^ETo d£ Ala-^vXu T£ y.ai Xo^/AAw liri ry<; IfitSopyy.otnvJz 'OXvp.-
7rtccoo$. y.u.L <7TpbJTos lypatyi cra.TVpov$. H.'XiOZiX.VVU.EVOV OS TOVTOV, O"VV:0y} TO.
IjiPtcCj s^' wy \(TTr,y_£o-a.v ol usaTff!, Tree-En/, y.a.) ly. toiitou Qeargov aiy.odc~
fA,r,6yi 'Aiym'm;. Suidas, voce n^ariva;.
' Pratinas, son of Pyrrhonides or Encomias, a Phliasian, a tragic
poet, competitor with iEschylus and Chcerillus, in the seventieth
Olympiad ; he first wrote satires. Exhibiting one of his dramas,
it happened that the boards on which the spectators stood fell in,
and after this the Athenians had a theatre built for them.' See
likewise Libanius'« argument to the First Olynthiac of De-
mosthenes.
c Lycurgus the Orator, amongst his other virtues, is celebrated
for his munificence and public spirit- See Plutarch, in The Life
of the Ten Orators, and Pausanias, Attic, cap. xxix. p. 75-
Pliilo, the architect, who built the naval arsenal, or repository
for ships, in the Pirteus, was probably the person who repaired
and improved this Theatre of Bacchus '.
visendum : cujus architectum Philonem Ha facunde rationem institutions suae in
Theatro reddidisse constat, ut disertissimus populus non minorem laudem elo-
quential ejus, quam arti tribuerit." L. VIII. C XII. Cic. de Orat. L. I.
C. XIV. [ra>.]