RR3

RR3

Forget the Roof, Let's View the Polis

The Epidauros theater in Greece was erected circa 350-300 B.C.E. by the famous architect Polykleitos the Younger.  It was capable of hosting up to 700 people which was nearly all of the voting populationl; later it was expanded to hold up to 14,000.  Because of its enormity, it was impossible to roof in the entire structure at this time.  "Around the top most seats were fourteen supports, reducing the span required of the wooden truss roof to roughly 47.5 feet (14.5m), a considerable span at that time."



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• There were three basic parts to this theater: the theatron, the orchestra, and the skene.
• The theatron was the "seeing place" which was essentially the spectator's seats.
• The orchestra or "dancing place" was the 70.5 ft in diameter circular floor where the acting, singing, etc. took place.  An alter to Dionysos was centered here. 
• The skene was the backdrop to the orchestra.



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"At Epidauros, there are fifty five semicircle rows of seats divided by an ambulatory about two thirds of the way up." (Roth, 229)

• There are two major design elements here: circles and stacks.
• The orchestra is center circle with all seating arranged in a circular pattern around it for a 200 degree view.
• The circular seating pattern is built up as tiers, one tier after another on top of itselft through the methodology of stacking.



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"Going to the theater was a celebration of community spirit; the plays contributed importantly to political education and were not merely facile entertainment as they because later in the Roman Empire." (Roth, 227)

• The Greek climate was relatively mild which made open air arenas and theaters possible.
• The seating allowed audience members to look out at the landscape, or their polis.
• This theater going became an all important part of civic life.

*Roth, Leland M.. Understanding Architecture:  Its Elements, History and Meaning.  New York, NY: Icon Editions, 1993. Print.