Ancient Epidavros
History of the Venue
The Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus, within which the Epidaurus Ancient Theatre is situated, was one of the most extensive sacred sanctuaries in ancient Greece. It belonged to Epidaurus, a small city-state of the Classical period located on the nearby western coast of the Saronic Gulf, where the village of Palea Epidavros (Old Epidaurus) stands today. The buildings of the Sanctuary – temples, athletics facilities, the theatre, baths, and so on – were built in an elevated valley surrounded by mountains. The Sanctuary was linked to the ancient city of Epidaurus by an ancient road, large parts of which survive alongside the modern asphalt road leading to the site.
The Construction and History of the Theatre
As Epidaurus developed, various athletic and artistic contests, including theatrical ones, were added to the worship of god Asklepios, through which systematic medical care was developed in antiquity. These contests at the Sanctuary (held in the theatre, the stadium and elsewhere) formed an integral part of the activities conducted in honour of the god of medicine. Unlike other theatres of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, the theatre at Epidaurus was not modified during Roman times, and thus retained its original form throughout antiquity.
The prevailing view among experts is that the theatre was built in two distinct phases. The first dates to the 4th century BC, a period of significant construction activity at the Sanctuary. The second corresponds to the mid-2nd century BC. The original layout of the Epidaurus Theatre stage shows that it was intended for the performance of dramatic works at the level of the orchestra. During the second phase, actors would have performed on a raised proscenium, leaving the orchestra for the chorus.
Architecture
The theatre is the best preserved monument of the Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus. It has a perfectly executed tripartite structure characteristic of Hellenistic period theatres: auditorium, orchestra, and stage building (skene). The orchestra is perfectly circular (19.5 m in diameter), with a floor of beaten earth bounded by a ring stones at its perimeter. An open duct running around the outside of the orchestra collects and drains the rainwater that runs off the auditorium.
The auditorium itself nestles perfectly into the natural curve of the northern slope of Mount Kynortio at an incline of about 26 degrees. It consists of two sections separated by a semi-circular aisle: the lower section has 34 rows of benches, and the upper tier, which was added during the second phase of construction, has a further 21. Narrow flights of steps divide the two sections into 12 wedge-shaped segments (cunei). The ground plan of the auditorium covers more than a semi-circle, and is slightly elliptical. There is a solid retaining wall at each end. The rows of benches in the eight central tiers were designed as circular curves centered upon the centre-point of the orchestra, while the pairs of tiers on either side form arcs centered upon a point beyond the centre-point of the orchestra.
The theatre seats around 14,000. The elongated stage-building adjoining the orchestra, closing it off end to end on its north side, consisted of two parts. At the front was the raised proscenium, with a façade in the Ionian order and projecting side-walls which faced the orchestra. At the back stood the two-storey stage building. The façade of the second floor bore wide openings, which would have housed paintings (backdrops). Two ramps, one on either side, led up to the level of the proscenium. Ionian pilasters flanking the two gates architecturally linked the stage to the retaining walls of the auditorium. The Epidaurus Ancient Theatre owes its excellent acoustics to its geometrically perfect design.
Pausanias visited the Epidaurus Theatre in the mid-2nd century AD, that is to say at least four centuries after the completion of the second phase of construction, and expressed his infinite admiration for its symmetry and beauty. Pausanias credits Polykleitos as the architect of this renowned theatre, and for the circular tholos, or rotunda, at the Sanctuary. It is not clear whether this ancient traveler identifies the architect of these buildings with the great Argive 5th century BC sculptor of the same name (who was not alive at the time the theatre was constructed), and the reference remains as yet unconfirmed by scholars. The present form of the Epidaurus Theatre is the result of successive reconstruction and restoration works