1. Location

The theatre is centrally located in the city of Side and constitutes the largest theatre of Pamphylia, while it is also considered as one of the largest and most significant theatres of Asia Minor. The theatre was accessible from a monumental road with colonnades (via porticata), which passed through the central gate on the northeast and ended to the theatre. It is worth noting, however, that the scene building was erected in direct contact with the Commercial Agora of the city.

2. Architectural Design

It is a theatre of a Roman-Asia Minor style, but there are indications that it was built on a previous Hellenistic building, for which we do not have adequate information.¹ This tendency was usual in the area of Asia Minor, where the preexisting Hellenistic theatres were modified during the Imperial era.

The theatre is rather large.² The auditorium (cavea) was larger than a semicircle and had a diameter of 119 m. The ima cavea is built against a natural slope to the west of the Agora, taking advantage of its incline. For the construction of the summa cavea and the retaining walls (anallemata), artificial vaulted substructures were required so as to cover the incline. These appear on the façade as two storeys of arched opening, where solid pillars flanked by antae support the arches. Two annular barrel-vaulted passages were formed inside the substructures.³ The inner passage led directly through arched entrances to the horizontal diazoma(praesinctio).⁴ Radial walls support the substructures and form staircases between the two passages, as well as radial barrel-vaulted square rooms. These chambers allowed the direct connection between the two passages.

The substructures are built in opus quadratum with blocks of local limestone, while less attention was paid to the construction of the vaults, which were built in rubble masonry.

The auditorium is divided horizontally by a broad corridor (diazoma, praesinctio) into two zones (maeniana). The lower section of seating (theatron, ima cavea-maenianum) is divided vertically by twelve staircases (scalae, scalaria) into eleven wedge-shaped segments (cunei). Each tier includes twenty nine rows of seats.⁵ The top row of seats had backs such as the theatre of Myra in Lycia, of Selge, and of Termessus of Pisidia.⁶ Those seats formed a kind of inner wall to diazoma to protect the seated spectators, as well as those who were moving along the semicircular passageway.⁷ The summa cavea (epitheatron) is divided by twenty five staircases into twenty four cunei, and it included twenty nine rows of seats, from which twenty two are preserved. ⁸ The seats are finely constructed, while the rows of seats terminate in arm rests in form of griffin’s feet. The summa cavea (epitheatron) was accessible only by the narrow staircases that penetrated the barrel – vaulted rooms between the two passages. Entrance to the staircases was allowed by doors in the outer annular passage of the substructures.

The orchestra was accessible by the radial passageways formed at the inner sides of the retaining walls. At the late imperial period, when the theatre was remodelled as an arena for amphitheatric games (gladiatorial combats and wild animal hunting), a massive wall (1,5 m. high), was built around the orchestra (diameter 14,75 m.) in order to protect the spectators from the violent activities.

In front of the first row of the ima cavea, a circumferential passageway (0,80 m. wide) was uncovered by the excavations, which was 0,80 m. higher than the orchestra’s level⁹ It was consisted of upright slabs forming a parapet. The orchestra was surrounded by a drain (euripus).¹⁰

The scene (63 m. long, 9,20 m. wide), which was rectangular in shape, was almost as high as the auditorium. It was a two storey structure with an underground chamber. The scene was divided into two (oblong) sections. Each of these sections was divided by eight radial walls into nine barrel-vaulted square rooms. Most of the rear rooms provided direct access to the Agora. However, these entrances were closed, as soon as the inner city wall was erected and the scene building was incorporated to the fortification. It is worth noting, that the three central rooms of the two sections of the scene led directly to the orchestra, and for this reason they are narrower.¹¹ They correspond to the three central doorways of the front wall of the stage (scaenae frons). The scene had an elaborate proscaenium with an alteration of curved and rectangular niches between the door openings (thyromata). The front wall of the scene (scaenae frons) was penetrated by five doorways¹² and was decorated by columns supported by rectangular podia. Each podium supported four columns grouped in pairs, and one column at the angles. The half columns engaged to the wall of the scaenae fonts corresponded to the front columns. The columns of the lower storey stood on marble Attic– Ionic bases, they had smooth shaft made of grey granite and carried capitals of composite order, while the half - columns were made of white marble. The two-fasciae architrave was integral with the frieze, which was decorated with relief theatrical masks. Above the frieze, there was a dentil cornice. The ground floor was 9,25 m. high. The columns of the upper storey were made of coloured marble and carried Corinthian capitals. The frieze was decorated with floral patterns. The upper storey was 8,75 m. high, while the height of the scaenae fronts was 20 m. The scaenae frons was a columnar marble screen two storeys high decorated with niches, aediculae and sculpture. This lavish architectural synthesis was completed by a central Syrian pediment.¹³ It is worth noting that the scaenae frons of the theatre in Side presents similar characteristic features with that of the theatre of Aspendos.

3. Sculptural Decoration

The sculptural decoration is not very well preserved, but it was surely lavish, as it can be seen by the many fragments of statues and inscriptions found scattered at the area of the orchestra. Their destruction was due to the collapse of the colonnade of the scaenae frons.¹⁴ It is worth referring to an inscription that names one of the sculptors who worked for the sculptural decoration of the theatre. ¹⁵

The relief frieze, that decorated the podia of the two storey colonnade was found in situ, but the sculptures are destroyed and too fragmentary. Its damage was probably due to the first Christians’ rage. The podia were decorated with scenes of the Dionysian Cycle together with depictions influenced by the city’s local myths. Of great interest are the coffers of the scaenae frons adorned with relief figures of Gods with their representative symbols

Consequently, there can be recognized Athena, Apollo, Artemis, as well as Demeter and Kore.¹⁶ There are also many statues preserved. Among them are the head of the statue of the Emperor Augustus¹⁷ the group of the three Charites,¹⁸ the statue of Tyche, dated to the 3^rd Century AD, ¹⁹ the copy of the Kassel type Apollo²⁰ the copy of the Hope Athena, dated to the Antonine era²¹ a head of a Satyr,²² the copy of the Dresden type Satyr-Hermaphrodite group,²³ also fragments of two Sphinxes ,²⁴ as well as male and female portraits ,²⁵ and finally a female statue which probably depicted a Roman woman.²⁶

4. Date

The theatre in Side is dated to the mid of 2^nd century AD based on its architectural design and the morphological characteristics. It might have replaced the pre existent Hellenistic building, as shown by the shape of the cavea that is bigger than a semicircle. In the late imperial era (3^rd century AD) the theatrical building was transformed into an arena, while in the 4rth century A.D. it was incorporated into the fortification of the city. At the same period, the theatre was usedas an open-air sanctuary with the additionof two small chapels adorned with frescoes, which were formed at the angles between the scene building and the retaining walls.²⁷ The theatre was rebuilt during the 5^th century because it suffered great damages due to the intense seismic activity of the area. Those repairs were made during the last period of economic prosperity of the city.

5. State of Preservation