AMPHITHEATRE AT DELPHI, PHOCIS, GREECE

 Greek architects provided some of the

finest and most distinctive buildings in
the entire Ancient World
 Greeks concern with simplicity,
proportion, perspective, and harmony
in their buildings greatly influenced the
Roman architects and provided the
foundation for the classical architectural
orders.
 TEMPLES

 OPEN-AIR THEATRES

 PROCESSIONAL GATEWAY
(PROPYLON)
 PUBLIC SQUARE (AGORA)

 STORIED COLONNADE (STOA)

 THE TOWN COUNCIL BUILDING

(BOULEUTERION)
 MONUMENTAL TOMB (MAUSOLEUM)

 STADIUM
 The Greek theater was a large, open-air
structure used for dramatic
performance.
 They often took advantage of hillsides
and naturally sloping terrain and, in
general, utilized the panoramic
landscape as the backdrop to the stage
itself.
 Since theatrical performances were
often linked to sacred festivals, it is not
uncommon to find theaters associated
directly with sanctuaries.
 The seating area (theatron)
 A circular space for the chorus to perform (orchestra)
 The stage (skene)
 Tiered seats in the theatron provided space for spectators.
 Two side aisles (parados) provided access to the orchestra.
 The theater at Delphi is built further up the hill from the Temple of Apollo and it
presented the seated audience with a spectacular view of the entire sanctuary
below and the valley beyond.
 The first stone theatre was built of local limestone from Mount Parnassus in the
4th c. BC.
 In 160/159 BC, Eumenes II of Pergamon funded repairs to the theatre, which
then acquired a more monumental form. The modern form of the theatre dates to
the early Roman period (1st c. AD).
 The removal of earth and the first excavations in the area of the theatre were
originally undertaken in 1895, by the French School of Archaeology at Athens
under the directorship of T. Homolle.
Its 35 rows can accommodate around
5,000 spectators who in ancient
times enjoyed plays, poetry
readings, and musical events during
the various festivals that took place
periodically at Delphi.
The deep, amphitheatral CAVEA,
circular in plan and with a total
capacity of 5,000 spectators, is
divided laterally into two zones
of uneven size by a horizontal
passageway, the DIAZOMA,
which facilitates the spectators’
movement within the cavea.
The lower cavea, or THEATRON
(theatre) has 27 rows of seats and is
divided by radiating symmetrical
staircases into 7 wedge-shaped CUNEI,
while the upper cavea, or
EPITHEATRON (epitheatre), has 8 rows
of seats and is divided into 6 cunei.
The ORCHESTRA, 18.50 m in
diameter, is encircled by a 2.20-
metre-wide passageway
allowing the spectators to move
around, below which runs a
rainwater drainage duct, the
EURIPOS.
The horseshoe shape and paving
of the orchestra floor with
unevenly-sized slabs are
modifications of the Roman
period.
Opposite the cavea and orchestra rose
the STAGE of the theatre. Of this
rectangular stage building only the
foundations remain, at a level lower than
that of the orchestra.
To the north of the main stage
rose the PROSCENIUM, a small
stoa with columns or half-
columns, facing the orchestra. In
the 1st c. AD the proscenium
façade was decorated with a
marble frieze carved in relief.
 Greeks designed theaters to have excellent acoustics. Sound
quality is greatest at the performance area and bounced off the
hard pavement of the orchestra and skene to disburse evenly and
clearly throughout the audience.
 By not enclosing the walls there is no reverberation from outside
sources so there is no loss of sound quality.
 The design became standard to create excellent hearing
conditions, good speech quality, and a still atmosphere that
enabled a clear and successful projection of sound to the audience.
 Inscriptions located on the theater retaining walls can be
correlated to the emancipation of slaves. Located on the stage was
a RELIEF that depicted the Labors of Heracles.
 Many seats bear incised letters, a form of seat NUMBERING in
Roman times. There are also official titles in the genitive case, such
as AMPHICTYONON (“belonging to the members of the
amphictyonian council”) and SYMBOULON (“belonging to the
counsellors”), as well as proper names of distinguished
individuals.
 In modern times the stage is larger and is the focus of attention, similar to
later Roman theaters, but the stage of the Greek theater was less dominant.
 The depth of the stage was roughly 7 to 12 feet, hardly enough room for any
actor to perform his part, so actors also used the chorus as a performance
area.
 Single acts were generally performed by one actor who stood in the center
of the orchestra, on the steps, or around the vicinity of the altar.
 Within the orchestra, actors and chorus members danced, walked, and
acted out their parts, in the view of everyone in the amphitheater. Making
the orchestra among the most dynamic spaces in the theater.
 https://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/delphi-theater.html
 https://www.coastal.edu/intranet/ashes2art/delphi2/sanctuary/theatre.html
 http://www.diazoma.gr/en/theaters/ancient-theatre-of-delphi/
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi#Temple_of_Apollo