Ancient Greek Theater Architecture Many aspects of ancient Greek theaters have long been studied and debated. Much of the information about these theatersis based on speculation due to the fact that so little of them still exist today. This lack ofremnants especially applies to the architecture of the early Greek Theaters. However,through archeological finds and years of studying the people, the plays, and thearchitecture of the time, we are able to make many conclusions about these earlystructures. Greek Theaters are classified into three categories: The early AthenianTheaters, Hellenistic Theaters, and Graeco-Roman Theaters. Like most new inventions orcreations, the initial theaters built by the Athenians were very simple. In the fifth centuryB.C., it became popular to build theaters on the slope of a large hill, or an acropolis,the most famous, being in Athens. These early theaters could be divided into three parts.The theater consisted of the theatron (or auditorium), the orchestra, and the skene (orscene building) (Betancourt). The Greeks would eventually perfect a technique that wouldfit as many spectators into the theatron as possible. At first the spectators sat on theground until wooden bleachers were installed. After it was discovered that the woodenbleachers were prone to collapsing, permanent stone seating was built. The architectscreated concentric tiers of seats that followed the circular shape of the orchestra andhugged the rising ground of a hillside, following the natural contours of the land. Usually,theatrons were symmetrical; however, there do remain examples of irregularly shapedtheatrons. A horizontal passage called the diazoma separated the theatron into halves, thusallowing audience members to more easily get to their seats. The front seats were calledproedria and were reserved for officials and priests. The skene of the fifth century theateris believed to have been a temporary structure,...
