§ 4 The Auditorium
The auditorium, or the portion of the theatre containing the seats for the spectators, was called the ‘cavea’ in Latin; but there was no technical name for it in Greek. In almost all Greek theatres it was built upon the side of a hill, so that the natural slope of the ground might serve as a foundation for the tiers of seats. At Athens, as we have seen, the rising ground at the foot of the Acropolis was utilized for this purpose, and supported the central part of the building. It was only at the two wings, on the east and west, that artificial substructures were necessary, in order to bring the back seats up to the proper height. The walls by which the auditorium was bounded on the outside have been preserved to a certain extent, and suffice to mark clearly the original shape of the building. On the western side of the theatre, from a to b in the plan (Fig. 3)334, where a strong support was required for the embankment, a device was adopted which is still commonly employed at the present day. If a single wall had been erected, it must have been of enormous width. As a substitute two narrow walls were built in parallel lines, with cross-walls at intervals, and the intervening space was filled up with earth. Thus the same result was obtained at a less expense. Along the north-western curve of the theatre, between b and c, a single wall proved sufficient, owing to the diminishing size of the embankment. At the point c the rock of the Acropolis abutted upon the theatre, and was hollowed out into a regular curve. This is without doubt the portion of the theatre referred to by the ancients as Katatome, or ‘the Cutting’.335 In the rock at this place is a natural grotto enlarged by artificial means, and 34 ft. long by 20 ft. broad. Here Thrasyllus erected an elaborate monument to commemorate his victory with a chorus of men in 319 B.C. In front of the grotto stood three columns supporting an entablature, and surmounted by a statue of Dionysus. On the architrave was an inscription recording the victory of Thrasyllus. Inside the grotto were statues of Apollo and Artemis destroying the children of Niobe. In modern times the grotto has been converted into a chapel of Our Lady. The columns and entablature were in excellent preservation when Stuart visited Athens, but they were shattered by a mine during the Greek revolution. Above the grotto are two columns, which were erected to commemorate victories with dithyrambic choruses. On the capitals can still be seen the holes made to receive the legs of the tripods.336 After the Katatome the eastern boundary wall, from f to g, is very peculiar in shape. But the reason of the irregularity has not yet been explained, owing to the scantiness of the remains in this part of the theatre. The two wings of the auditorium are terminated on the south by the walls marked a-a and g-g. These walls are of unequal length, the eastern wall being about 111 ft., the western only 88 ft. They are not in the same straight line, but if continued inwards would meet in an obtuse angle in the orchestra. This arrangement was the one generally adopted by the Greeks.
The above description, together with the plan, will give a fair idea of the general outline of the auditorium. If we compare it with the theatre of Epidaurus (Fig. 6), which was built at the end of the fourth century, and designed on one harmonious plan, we shall perceive at once the great inferiority of the Athenian theatre in point of grace and symmetry of outline. In most Greek theatres the auditorium was of the same width from one end to the other, and was shaped in a symmetrical curve. In the theatre at Athens the two wings of the auditorium are narrowed so considerably towards the south as to be less than half the depth of the central part. The outside boundary does not run in a regular curve, but is very much flattened where it encounters the rock of the Acropolis, and terminates in a straight line at each of the southern corners. But the strangest point of all is that the eastern wing, at its termination, is several yards wider than the western wing—an arrangement utterly destructive of symmetry of design. The theatre at Athens was built for use rather than for show. Its shape was determined by the conformation of the ground and by the situation of the adjoining rocks. Although, therefore, it is the most interesting of Greek theatres on account of its historical associations, in point of mere beauty it cannot take the highest rank.
We now come to the interior of the auditorium. The boundary between the auditorium and the orchestra is denoted by the dark line in the plan. It will be observed that in the theatre of Dionysus the inside boundary of the auditorium consists of a semicircle with the two ends prolonged in parallel straight lines. This was not the plan usually followed in Greek theatres. In most of the later theatres the two ends of the semicircle were prolonged in the same curve as before, so that the inside boundary of the auditorium formed about two-thirds of a regular circle. The effect of this arrangement was that the spectators sitting at the extremities of the two wings faced towards the centre of the orchestra, and away from the stage. Nor is this surprising. It was previously pointed out that in Greek theatres, where the choral and musical contests greatly outnumbered the dramatic, the orchestra was always the most important part of the whole building. But the arrangement adopted at Athens, of prolonging the two ends of the semicircle in a straight line, had the advantage of giving the spectators in the wings a much better view of the stage. The same plan was also adopted in the theatre of the Peiraeeus, and in the theatres of Assos, Acrae, and Termessos. At Epidaurus and Magnesia a third plan was pursued, differing from both the above. The two ends of the semicircle were prolonged, not in a straight line, nor yet in the same curve as before, but from a new centre, and with a longer radius, so that while they converged to a certain extent, they did not converge so much as in the ordinary Greek theatres. This arrangement, which may be regarded as a compromise between the other two, is perhaps the most beautiful of them all. It is apparently recommended by Vitruvius, though the passage in which he refers to it is extremely ambiguous and has been interpreted in various other ways.337
The interior of the auditorium consisted of a series of stone seats rising tier above tier in a gentle slope from the boundary of the orchestra to the outside extremities of the building. Immediately under the cliff of the Acropolis the seats were carved out of the living rock. With this exception they were made of Peiraic limestone. In some of the upper portions of the theatre they were fixed upon conglomerate foundations. But in most parts they were placed directly upon the bare earth, and were therefore easily capable of being removed. For this reason the greater number of them have disappeared, having been taken away during the Middle Ages for building purposes. All that remain are from twenty to thirty rows in the bottom of the theatre, and portions of a few rows at the top. From these, however, it is possible to obtain a clear conception of the style and arrangement of the auditorium. In order to make the following description more intelligible, an illustration is here inserted, consisting of a restoration of the extremity of the eastern wing (Fig. 4). In this illustration a is the orchestra, b the eastern entrance into the orchestra, c the southern boundary wall of the east wing of the auditorium.338
To proceed with the description of the seats. The lowest step of the auditorium rose about ten inches above the level of the orchestra, and then sloped gently upward towards the front row of seats, where it reached a height of fourteen inches. It was built of large slabs of stone, and formed a sort of passage between the orchestra and the seats. The curve of the seats did not coincide exactly with the curve of the orchestra, but was drawn from a centre rather more to the south, and receded slightly on the two wings. As a consequence the passage was wider at the sides than in the centre, the width at the sides being about eight feet, the width at the centre only four. The same variety of curve is found in the theatre at the Peiraeeus; and Dörpfeld supposes that it was adopted in order to give more room at the entrances of the passage, where the press of people would be the greatest.339 The first row of seats was far superior to the others, and consisted of marble thrones with backs to them. Each throne was about 25 inches wide and 23 inches deep. In the centre was the throne of the priest of Dionysus, slightly larger than the others, and elaborately and beautifully carved. This throne, unlike the rest, was provided with a canopy resting on wooden posts, the holes for which are still visible. Many of the thrones, including that of the chief priest, had receptacles in front of them in which footstools might be placed. The thrones were originally sixty-seven in number, but only sixty of them are now preserved. Fourteen of these were no longer standing in their proper position at the time of the first excavations. Some of them had been designedly removed in Roman times, when certain alterations were made in the front row; others had been accidentally displaced. Most of them have now been restored to their original sites. That the thrones were erected at the latest by the time of Lycurgus appears to be proved by the excellence of the workmanship. Each of them has an inscription in the front, recording the title of the priest or official for whom the seat was reserved. These inscriptions are all of the Hellenistic or Roman period; but behind them are faint traces of older inscriptions, which may possibly go back to the fourth century. The practice of erecting superior seats in the first row for people of distinction was a common one in Greek theatres. At Megalopolis, for example, the front bench was provided with a back, though it was not divided into separate seats, as at Athens. In the theatre of Epidaurus there were three rows of superior workmanship, one at the bottom of the auditorium and two others half-way up the slope, one on each side of the longitudinal passage. But the most peculiar arrangement was that adopted at Oropus and Priene. At Oropus five magnificent thrones were placed inside the ring of the orchestra itself, and well in front of the lowest tier of seats, each throne standing a few yards distant from the other. At Priene a long stone bench with a back was erected in the same position, and in this bench five thrones were inserted at regular intervals.340
Immediately behind the line of thrones there was a vacant space about 33 inches wide. Then came what appears to be a small step. But Dörpfeld has shown that this step is merely the back part of an ordinary seat, of which the front portion has been removed. In the original theatre there was a regular tier of seats following closely on the thrones. But in later times the front half of this tier was taken away. The object of the change, as Dörpfeld thinks, was to open out a wide space for the reception of a row of wooden thrones, which might serve as a supplement to the marble ones.341 After the step, which we have just described, began the first of the ordinary tiers of seats, which were continued in exactly the same style from this point up to the top of the building. The shape of the seats is very much the same as in other Greek theatres. Their dimensions are as follows. Each seat was 13 inches high, and was hollowed out slightly in front, so that the person sitting on it might have more freedom for his legs. The surface of the seat was 33 inches across, and was divided into three distinct portions. The first part was for sitting upon, and was 13 inches deep. The second part was 2 inches lower, and was intended to receive the feet of the persons upon the seat above. It was 16 inches across. The third part was merely a narrow edge, of the same level as the first part, and 4 inches deep. The height of the tiers, as we have seen, was 13 inches. If we add to this the 2 inches of the depression in front, it raises the height of the actual seat to 15 inches. A seat of this kind would be rather low for a man of average size. But it was the practice of the Greek spectator to provide himself with a cushion, which would raise the surface to a more comfortable level. The structure of the tiers in the manner described appears to have been due to a desire for economy in the use of space. In a Greek theatre, where an immense number of people had to be accommodated with seats in tolerable proximity to the orchestra and stage, it was necessary to place them as close together as possible. If the surface of each tier had been perfectly flat from front to back, the distance between the successive tiers must have been considerably increased, in order to obtain a height of 15 inches. The depression in the tiers provided the requisite height, while allowing a much smaller interval. Along the front of the rows of seats were two sets of vertical lines engraved in the stone. The lines in the first set were 13 inches apart; the lines in the second, which are rather fainter, were at intervals of 16 inches. Probably the second series of lines was intended to mark off the separate seats. In the first series the intervals are too narrow for this purpose, and can only have served as general measures of distance.
For the purpose of giving access to the different parts of the auditorium a series of passages ran in divergent lines, like the spokes of a wheel, from the orchestra up to the outside boundary. The passages were fourteen in number, and the two upon the extreme south at each side adjoined immediately upon the boundary walls. In theatres of large size, such as those of Epidaurus and Aspendos, it was usual to insert extra passages in the upper part of the auditorium. The manner in which they were arranged will be seen by looking at the plan of the Epidaurus theatre (Fig. 6). At Athens the upper portion of the building has so entirely disappeared that it is impossible to say whether it ever contained additional passages of this kind. But the great size of the theatre makes it probable that such was the case. These vertical passages were always very narrow, in order to save room. At Athens they were only about 27 inches in width, the result being that not more than one person could ascend at a time. The arrangement of the steps along the passages in the Athenian theatre was altogether exceptional, and is only paralleled at the Peiraeeus. In all other Greek theatres each tier of seats had two steps corresponding to it in the vertical passages. But at Athens, and also at the Peiraeeus, there was only one step for each tier of seats. As the seats were 13 inches high, while the steps were only 8½, it was necessary to make up the difference by building the steps with a sloping surface. The surface was furrowed over, to make the ascent more easy. The fourteen passages divided the auditorium into thirteen blocks. Such blocks were called ‘cunei’ or ‘wedges’ in Latin, because of their shape. In Greek they were called ‘kerkides’, from their resemblance to the ‘kerkis’, a tapering rod used in weaving.342 The front row in each ‘kerkis’ contained five marble thrones, with the exception of the two ‘kerkides’ on the extreme south of each wing, which contained six thrones each; so that the total number of marble thrones was sixty-seven.
In addition to the vertical passages all Greek theatres of any size were also intersected by one or two longitudinal passages, called ‘praecinctiones’ in Latin. These passages divided the auditorium into sections, called ‘belts’ or ‘girdles’ in Greek technical terminology.343 A passage of this kind may still be traced in the upper part of the theatre of Dionysus. Its course is determined by the foundations at d, by certain excavations in the rock at e, and by the two entrances at b and f. The great width of the passage—about 15 feet—is explained by the fact that it was also intended to serve as a road. From ancient times there had been a road at the foot of the Acropolis, running from east to west. Traces of this old road have been discovered during the excavations of 1889, and lie about 26 feet below the level of the present auditorium. When its course was intercepted by the erection of the theatre, this passage was constructed on a larger scale than usual, to serve as a substitute. On ordinary occasions, when the theatre was empty, it would be used as a public highway.344 That it formed a conspicuous object in the midst of the auditorium is shown by a coin in the British Museum (Fig. 5), which contains on one side a rude representation of the theatre at Athens.345 On this coin, in spite of the roughness of the design, the passage stands out very prominently. Whether there was a second longitudinal passage in the Athenian theatre is uncertain. But the space to the north of the existing passage is so small when compared with the space to the south of it, that it seems reasonable to infer that there was another passage lower down, dividing the under part of the auditorium into two sections. It was the fashion in Roman theatres to erect a portico along the top of the auditorium, following the line of the uppermost tier of seats.346 But there are no traces of such a portico in the theatre at Athens, or in any other theatre of purely Greek origin.
The following facts and measurements will give some idea of the size and capacity of the Athenian theatre. The distance between the inside corners of the auditorium was 72 feet. The distance between the outside corners was 288 feet. In the centre of the auditorium, from north to south, it is calculated that there must have been 78 tiers of seats. Of course on each of the two wings the number of tiers would be considerably less than half that amount. The arrangements throughout were designed with the view of bringing together the largest possible number of people within the smallest possible compass. The vertical passages were little over 2 feet in width. The seats were constructed in such a manner that the spectators could be packed tightly together, without any space being wasted. As the theatre was in the open air the close crowding of the audience was no doubt much less intolerable than it would have been in a covered building. At the same time the situation of the spectator cannot have been a very comfortable one. He had to remain cramped up in one position, with no back to lean against, and with very little opportunity of moving his limbs. That the Athenians were willing to put up with such inconveniences for several days in succession is a proof of their enthusiastic devotion to music and the drama. The total number of people who could be accommodated in the theatre at Athens is shown by recent calculations to have been about 17,000.347 The theatres at Epidaurus and Megalopolis held nearly the same number.348 Plato, referring to the wooden theatre of his own time, speaks of ‘more than thirty thousand spectators’.349 But this must have been an exaggeration. The old theatre of the fifth century is not likely to have been larger and more capacious than the theatre of Lycurgus.
The auditorium, unlike the rest of the building, was subjected to very little alteration in later times. The parts of it which are still preserved remain in much the same state as in the age of Lycurgus. The various successive changes in the style of the dramatic performances, while they led to corresponding changes in the orchestra and the stage-buildings, had naturally no effect upon the structure of the auditorium. A few innovations were introduced in the Roman period, mostly for the purpose of increasing the comfort of the more distinguished spectators. We have seen that in the old theatre the only person provided with a canopy was the priest of Dionysus. The same luxury was now extended to all the people in the front benches. An awning was erected on wooden posts to protect them from the sun. Three lines of holes for the reception of the posts may still be traced in the stone-work, one in front of the thrones, one behind, and one in the second row of ordinary seats. It seems that about this date there was an increase in the number of people for whom seats of honour were required. The front row of the ordinary benches was removed, in the way already described, to supply the necessary space. Single marble thrones were also set up here and there in the rows further back. Another change, which involved some disfigurement of the building, was made about the same time. A large stone basis, approached by steps, was erected in front of the sixth vertical passage, thus closing the approach to that passage, and also necessitating the removal of four of the marble thrones, which were placed elsewhere. The basis was probably intended as a sort of royal box, and held a special throne reserved for people of imperial rank. A similar basis was also erected, probably for the same purpose, behind the seat of the priest of Dionysus.