A dictionary of Greek and Roman . er. Uponthese ruins see the works of Clarke, Dodwell,Leake. Hughes, Arundell, and the Supplement toStuarts Antiquities of Athens. The construction of the Greek theatres has beenthe subject of much discussion and dispute in mo-dern times, and although all the best writers agreeon the great divisions of which a theatre consisted,the details are in many cases mere matters of con-jecture. The Attic theatre was, like all the Greektheatres, placed in such a manner that the placefor the spectators formed the upper or north-western, and the stage with al
A dictionary of Greek and Roman . er. Uponthese ruins see the works of Clarke, Dodwell,Leake. Hughes, Arundell, and the Supplement toStuarts Antiquities of Athens. The construction of the Greek theatres has beenthe subject of much discussion and dispute in mo-dern times, and although all the best writers agreeon the great divisions of which a theatre consisted,the details are in many cases mere matters of con-jecture. The Attic theatre was, like all the Greektheatres, placed in such a manner that the placefor the spectators formed the upper or north-western, and the stage with all that belonged to itthe south-eastern part, and between these twoparts lay the orchestra. We shall consider each ofthese three divisions separately, together with itsparts and subdivisions, referring the reader to theannexed plan which has been made from the re-mains of Greek theatres still extant, and from acareful examination of the passages in ancientwriters which describe the whole or parts of atheatre, especially in Vitruvius and • ft Q % ® % 1. The place for the spectators was in a nar-rower sense of the word called ftearpov. The seatsfor the spectators, which were in most cases cutinto the rock, consisted of rows of benches risingone above another ; the rows themselves (a) formedparts (nearly three-fourths) of concentric circles,and were at intervals divided into compartmentsby one or more broad passages (b) running betweenthem and parallel with the benches. These pas-sages were called Sia(co^ara, or KaTarojAai, (Vitruv. v. 3 and 7 ; Bekker, Anec- dot. p. 270 ; Pollux, iv. 123 ; Harpocrat. and v. KaTaTO/^rj), and when the concourse of peoplewas very great in a theatre, many persons mightstand in them. One side of such a passage formedtowards the upper rows of benches a Avail, in whichin some theatres, though perhaps not at Athens,niches were excavated which contained metal ves-sels (r/xe0 to increase the sounds coming from thestage
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