GREEK ARCHIECTURE

Theatres

Joarder Hafiz Ullah

Assistant Professor
DUET, Gazipur.
The architecture of the ancient
greek theatre consists of three
major parts:

•the Orchestra,
•the Scene and
• the main theatre,
called Koilon / Theatron.
The Greek Theatre, an open-air structure, which consist of
Orchestra, auditorium or cavea and scene building, was
generally Hollowed out of the slop of a hillside, in or near a city.
The Orchestra (literally, "dancing space")
was the almost circular place, situated in front
of the scene (stage) facing the audience. It
was a level space where the chorus would
dance, sing, and interact with the actors who
were on the stage near the skene. At the
center of the orchestra was situated
theThymeli, which at the early years was
meant to be an altar and later on, a place,
where the leader of the chorus (koryphaios)
was standing. Some archaeological
researches in the Athens area gave some
clues for the existence of rectangular
orchestras in some ancient Greek theaters,
but the circular shape was the dominant one
and also the closest to the Dionysiac cult (the
circle was supposed to have supernatural
power). The orchestra was the acting place,
especially in the early years, although
gradually the action moved from the orchestra
to the scene and -if we want to be more
specific-to front side of the scene, which part
was called Proscenio, because it was
situated in front of the scene (pro+scene).
 Orchestra and scene building
from above, Epidauros, Theater

In the 5th century B.C.

with the exeption of the
orchestra, the other parts
of the theatre were
wooden and mobile. At the
end of the 5th century the
Greeks started building
permanent Scenes and
Koilons made of stone,
(replacing the earlier
wooden constructions).

The earliest orchestras were simply made of hard earth, but in the
Classical period some orchestras began to be paved with marble
and other materials. In the center of the orchestra there was often a
thymele, or altar. The orchestra of the theater of Dionysus in
Athens was about 60 feet in diameter.
Theatron / CAVEA: The theatron (literally, "viewing-place") is where the spectators sat.
The theatron was usually part of hillside overlooking the orchestra, and often wrapped
around a large portion of the orchestra . Spectators in the fifth century BC probably sat
on cushions or boards, but by the fourth century the theatron of many Greek theaters
had marble seats.

It was also called koilon because of

its shape. Its shape was semi-circular,
built around the orchestra. It was
divided in two Diazoma, the upper and
the lower. At first the spectators were
sitting around the orchestra. Later the
Greeks started building the Koilon. It is
believed that during the 5th century,
the spectators carried along cushions
to sit on. Radial staircases separated
the Koilon into wedge shaped
sections, in order to make the
entrance and exit of the spectators
easier.
Skene: The skene (literally, "tent") was the building directly behind the stage.
During the 5th century, the stage of the theater of Dionysus in Athens was probably
raised only two or three steps above the level of the orchestra, and was perhaps 25
feet wide and 10 feet deep. The skene was directly in back of the stage, and was
usually decorated as a palace, temple, or other building, depending on the needs
of the play. It had at least one set of doors, and actors could make entrances and
exits through them. There was also access to the roof of the skene from behind,
so that actors playing gods and other characters could appear on the roof, if
needed.
At the back of the scene one could find two buildings with doors, that let on
the Proscenio and as far as their decoration is concerned, they might extend the
theme of the scene or even present another theme.
Along the back wall of the scene was built a narrow but raised plattform, the
Logeion. It was a place designed just for the actors, by which they got separatad
from the chorus. This structure probably developed sometime in the hellenistic
period, because in the classical theater there were no logeion and the performance
was taking place strictly on the orchestra.
The flat roof of the scene was dedicated to gods and it was
called Theologion(theos=god).
Parodos
The parodoi (literally,
"passageways") are the
paths by which the
chorus and some
actors (such as those
representing
messengers or people
returning from abroad)
made their entrances
and exits. The
audience also used
them to enter and exit
the theater before and
after the performance.

Between the scene and the seats, there were two more entrances, called Parodoi, one
on the right and one on the left, from which the chorus and the persons coming from the
outside (i.e. not from the Temple nor the Palace) were enering the scene. If someone
was entering from the right parodos, that meant that he was coming from the city or
the port. If he was coming from the left parodos, he was supposed to come from the
fields or abroad.
 The front seats were called Proedria and were
reserved for officials and priests. The most
honorable spectator of the theater was the priest of
Elefthereos Dionysus, who was sitting in a throne
made of marble.

The priest of Dionysus sat in a

special throne in the middle of
the front row of the
theater. Although it is not visible
in this photograph, the throne
was decorated with roosters
being urged to fight by winged
boys. This decoration no doubt
symbolized the contests among
dramatists that was a feature of
every City Dionysia
festival. This throne belongs to
the fourth century BC, when the
theater of Dionysus was first
constructed of stone.
Aerial view of Acropolis, from SW, Athens, Chalkotheke, Erechtheion,Temple of Athena Nike, Theater of Dionysos
 THANK YOU.

References:

Sir Banister Fletcher- A History of Architecture. (Twentieth Edition)

Emily Cole- The Grammar of Architecture
Louis Hellman- Architecture for beginners

This is just a track line to the subject matter. students are requested to study the recommended books & also go after .