Pompeii, its history, buildings, and antiquities : an account of the destruction of the city with a full description of the remains, and of the recent excavations, and also an itinerary for visitors . ongly illus-trative of the importance of the subject, for choosing a propersituation for a theatre. When the Forum is finished, ahealthy situation must be sought for, wherein the theatremay be erected to exhibit sports on the festival days of theimmortal gods. For the spectators are detained in theirseats by the entertainment of the games, and remaining quietfor a long time, their pores are opene
Pompeii, its history, buildings, and antiquities : an account of the destruction of the city with a full description of the remains, and of the recent excavations, and also an itinerary for visitors . ongly illus-trative of the importance of the subject, for choosing a propersituation for a theatre. When the Forum is finished, ahealthy situation must be sought for, wherein the theatremay be erected to exhibit sports on the festival days of theimmortal gods. For the spectators are detained in theirseats by the entertainment of the games, and remaining quietfor a long time, their pores are opened, and imbibe thedraughts of air, which, if they come from marshy or other-wise unhealthy places, will pour injurious humours into thebody. Neither must it front the south ; f for when the sunfills the concavity, the inclosed air, unable to escape or circu-late, is heated, and then extracts and dries up the juices of thebody. It is also to be carefully observed that the place benot unfitted to transmit sound, but one in which the voicemay expand as clearly as possible. J It is probable that the natural sweep of some dell, hollowedout in a hill-side, furnished the original design of a theatre ;. Comic Scene from a Painting at Pompeii. and the Greeks always availed themselves, if possible, of ahill-side, or some locality which lightened the labour of the * The above sketch of the Roman theatre is compressed from SchlegelsLectures on Dramatic Literature, sect. viii. t Which, however, is the case with the theatre of Pompeii. t Yitruv. v. .3. 192 POMPEII. building. At Nyssa the theatre occupies an angle in a ravinepartially filled up ; and it is said that the only instances nowknown of Grecian theatres built in a plain, are those ofMantineia and Megalopolis, and a small one in Asia Minor.*The Konian theatres, on the other hand, were usually elevatedupon arches, wherever a suitable situation could be found,without regard to economical considerations. That at Pom-peii, however, is hol
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