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Selge (Antiquity), Theatre

Συγγραφή : Aristodimou Georgia (26/9/2002)
Μετάφραση : Dawson Maria - Dimitra , Kamara Afroditi (31/7/2008)

Για παραπομπή: Aristodimou Georgia, "Selge (Antiquity), Theatre", 2008,
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=9728>
Σέλγη (Αρχαιότητα), Θέατρο (1/8/2008 v.1) Selge (Antiquity), Theatre (24/10/2007 v.1) 
 

1. Location

The theater of Selge is built outside the city-walls, northwest of the Lower Agora and the modern village Zerk. The city’s stadium was located at a distance of 100 m. from the theater, towards the southeast. The theater is the best preserved building of the ancient city.1

2. Architectural Design

It is a theater of a Roman-Asia Minor style, of relatively big size, with a capacity of 8,700 spectators.2 The theater’s auditorium (cavea) exceeded a semicirle by a considerable amount, and has a diameter of 102 m. It is built against a hillside, taking advantage of its incline, following the usual design of Greek type theaters.3 For the construction of the retaining walls (analemmata), artificial substructures were required so as to cover the incline. At the same time, the upper zone of the cavea (summa cavea / maenianum) is built on elaborate substructures and radial barrel-vaulted corridors, which have nowadays collapsed.

The auditorium is divided horizontally by a broad corridor (diazoma, praesinctio) into two zones (maeniana). At the top of the cavea there was another circumferential corridor (3.30 m wide), which allowed the easy access from outside the theatre. The entrance to those two corridors was permitted from the rear side of the rock, though a bridge that is no longer preserved.

The horseshoe-shaped orchestra is surrounded by a drainage channel (euripus) for the collection of rain water (0.30 m deep). Between the cavea and the orchestra, there was a stone parapet (1.24 m. high), for the protection of the spectators from the violent actions, when the orchestra was transformed into an arena for combats and wild animals hunting during the imperial era. Behind the stone parapet until the lower row of the ima cavea there is another circumferential passageway (0.83m wide). 4 The lower section of seating (theatron, ima cavea-maenianum) is divided vertically by twelve staircases (scalae, scalaria) into eleven wedge-shapes, called cunei.5 The overall number of seats is estimated at twenty nine rows.6 The top row of seats of the ima cavea had backs, similarly to the theaters in Myra in Lycia and in Termessus of Pisidia. 7 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, which had a width of 2.89 m. A pyramidal sundial, which is preserved today, was placed in the west section of the diazoma.8 A high parapet and a passageway lie between the diazoma and the upper section of seating. 9

The summa cavea (epitheatron) is divided by twenty three staircases10 into twenty two cunei, and it includes thirteen rows of seats. The seats of the summa cavea were accessible from a system of massive substructures and barrel -vaulted corridors. 11 These substructures are penetrated by five pairs of vaulted radial corridors accessible through arched entrances in the outer cavea wall. Thus each one of these substructures is divided into three parts: a central rectangular hall used as a gathering place of the audience during the intervals and two elongated vaulted corridorsflanking each hall. These vaulted corridors led through arched entrances into the central circumferential passageway. Staircases which flanked the doorways allowed access to the seats. This system enabled the people from the audience to enter and exit without too much trouble.

The interior of the theatre was also accessible from the two lateral corridors, the parodoi.12 The barrel-vaulted parodoi connected the cavea with the scene building and created an architectural synthesis, which is a particular design characteristic of the Roman theaters. The parodoi ended in double archways entrances, from which the eastern one is better preserved. Four separate rows of seats, the tribunalia were located above the parodoi. The tribunalia were protected by a high podium and were reached by a staircase from the socleof the scene, as well as by staircases next to the retaining walls. The west parodos was formed like an inner courtyard, while the angles of the analemmata were buttressed by pillars and walls.

The scene building, which was rectangular in shape, has been destroyed, while the proscaenium is buried.13 The proscaenium was divided by nine rectangular doorways (thyromata) leading into the orchestra14 and was adorned with colonnettes (three doorways opened between each pair of the colonnettes). In the front of the scaenae fronts ran a screen of columns on two storeys, with Ionic columns on the ground floor and Corinthian columns on the upper storey.The lower storey of the scene façade contained three doorways, whose size decreased towards sides, and it was decorated by columnar pedimented aediculae. In front of the doorways there were podia, 0.78 m. high which carried a pair of columns and half columns (the podia flanking the central doorway, valva regia, carried three columns and half columns).15 The same architectural decoration –with some alterations– was repeated in the upper storey of the synthesis.

The theater was constructed by blocks of local limestone mainly according to the isodomic style of masonry (opus quadratum).

3. Date

The prevalent views regarding the date of the theater are those of Bernardi Ferrero and of Machatschek and Schwartz. Bernardi Ferrero dates the theatrical building to the third quarter of the 3rd century A.D. (250-275 AD) based on the fact that we find no use of marble in the construction.16

Other arguments stated by Bernardi Ferrero that enhance her view are the architectural and decorative choices of the structure, like: 1) the system with staircases of the epitheatre, 2) the radial substructures similar with those of the “western roman type theaters", along with the Asia Minor theaters in the cities Perge, Aezani, Miletus, Sagalassos, Myra and 3) the simple decoration of the false front of the scene.17

On the contrary, Machatschek and Schwartz date the construction of the theatre earlier, to the middle of the 2nd century A.D., since they think that its architectural features already appear in the theatre of Aspendos (139-168 A.D.).18

Regarding the lack of marble in the construction, they claim that it was due to the steep and full of turns roads that lead to the city which hindered the transportation of this particular material. Thus it was preferred the use of the less heavy limestone as a building material.19 In Late Antiquity, the orchestra was remodeled as arena for gladiatorial combats. This information is testified by an inscription found by Lanckoroński.20

4. State of preservation

The present condition of the building is very good. It is one of the best preserved ancient monuments in Selge. The cavea is preserved in good condition, even though the upper rows of the seats have been damaged. The stage building is visible until the level of the proscaenium. There has been no archaeological research or restorative works on the theatre building. There is not any evidence on the monument’s usage in later periods.

1. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 72.

2. There were 30 rows of seats at the lower section of seating (theater, ima cavea) and 15 rows of seats at the upper section of seating (epitheatre, summa cavea). There was a space of 0,50 m. for every seat, see Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 72.

3. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 72.

4. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 72.

5. The staircases along the retaining walls, as well as the 3rd and 5th, 8th and 10th staircases had 64 steps, while the rest of the staircases had 59 steps, see Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 72, footnote 492.

6. According to Di Bernardi Ferrero, the cavea had 30 rows of seats.

7. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 73, fig. 48.

8. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 73 , footnote 494, fig. 49

9. A parapet 2,65 m. high and a passageway 1,12m. wide. See Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 73.

10. Each staircase had 23 steps .

11. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 73, . ΧΙΙ, ΧΙΙΙ, fig. 45-46.

12. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 74. De Bernardi Ferrero, D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore 1 (Roma 1966) p. 44 ff.

13. De Bernardi Ferrero, D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore 1 (Roma 1966) p. 51.

14. The doorways were 2,05 m high , 0,60 m wide, and 0,25 m deep. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 75, footnote 511.

15. Half-columns were formed behind the front columns.

16. During the 3rd century A.D. the marble quarries were abandoned due to political instability and continuous conflicts among the generals, see De Bernardi Ferrero, D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore 1 (Roma 1966) p. 52.

17. Similar to the lavish decorated theatre of Perge that is dated to the Severan era of (193-235 A.D.), see De Bernardi Ferrero, D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore 1 (Roma 1966) p. 53, and De Bernardi Ferrero, D., Teatri classici in Asia Minore 4 (Roma 1974) p. 128.

18. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 79.

19. All the buildings of Selge were made of limestone. Only the peripteral temple of Zeus and some parts of the Nymphaeum were made of marble, see Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 79 , footnotes 527-529.

20. Machatschek, A., Schwartz, M., Bauforschungen in Selge (TAM Suppl. 9a, Wien 1981) p. 80, footnotes 538-539. See also Lanckoroński, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens 2. Pisidien (Wien 1892) No 247a. Rober, L. Les gladiateurs dans l’Orient Grec (Paris 1940) p. 143, no 99.
     
 
 
 
 
 

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