Handbook of archaeology, Egyptian - Greek - Etruscan - Roman . seats within the orchestra; the prsetor had asomewhat higher seat. The space between the orchestra and the THEATRES. 67 first prseeinctio, usually consisting of fourteen seats, was reserved forthe equestrian order, tribunes, etc. Above them were the seats ofthe plebeians. Soldiers were separated from the citizens. Womenwere appointed by Augustus to sit in the portico, which encompassedthe whole. Behind the scenes were the postscenium, or retiring-room, and porticoes, to which, in case of sudden showers, thepeople retreated from the
Handbook of archaeology, Egyptian - Greek - Etruscan - Roman . seats within the orchestra; the prsetor had asomewhat higher seat. The space between the orchestra and the THEATRES. 67 first prseeinctio, usually consisting of fourteen seats, was reserved forthe equestrian order, tribunes, etc. Above them were the seats ofthe plebeians. Soldiers were separated from the citizens. Womenwere appointed by Augustus to sit in the portico, which encompassedthe whole. Behind the scenes were the postscenium, or retiring-room, and porticoes, to which, in case of sudden showers, thepeople retreated from the theatre. The earliest theatres at Eomewere temporary buildings of wood. A magnificent woodentheatre, built by M. Amilius Scaurus, in his edileship, b. c. 58,is described by Pliny. In 55 b. c, Cn. Pompey built the firststone theatre at Rome, near the Campus Martins. A temple ofVenus Victrix, to whom he dedicated the whole building, waserected at the highest part of the cavea. The next permanenttheatre was built by Augustus, and named after his favourite, the. KOMAN THEATRE. young Marcellus, son of his sister Octavia. Vitruvius is generallyreported to have been the architect of this building, which wouldcontain 30,000 persons. From marks still visible in the largetheatre at Pompeii, the place reserved for each spectator was about13 inches. This theatre contained 5,000. The theatre of Pompey,at Rome, contained 40,000. The theatre of Scaurus is said to havecontained 80,000. The Romans surpassed the Greeks in the grandeurand magnificence of their buildings. They built them in almost alltheir towns. Remains of them are found in almost every countrywhere the Romans carried their rule. One of the most strikingRoman provincial theatres is that of Orange, in the south of France. f 2 68 HANDBOOK OF ARCHEOLOGY. Amphitheatres : Etruscan.—Remains of amphitheatres are foundin several cities of Etruria. The amphitheatre of Sutri is con-sidered to be peculiarly Etruscan in its mode of constr
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