Laodicea-ad-Lycum (Goncali)

LAODICEA-ad-LYCUM –“second theatre”- (Goncali). Ancient Phrygia / Asia Minor, modern Turkey.

COORDINATES: 37º50’19.55’’ N // 29º06’28.67’’ E

TIPOLOGY : Greeh theatre. Urb.

DATE: III or II B.C.

CAPACITY: 7.000 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing north-west. 100 m. diameter. Built on slope. Cavea had 45 rows of seats but only 38 are visible. 7 cunei.

ORCHESTRA: ? diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: Some fragments and remains of scaena are visible but is has not been excavated.

LOCATION: The “seceond theatre” is nort-west of town, 200 m. west from “first theatre”. Ancient Laodicea is close to modern Denizli.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Yilmaz, Yasar; “Anadolu Antik Tiyatrolari”. Istanbul, Yem Yanin, 2010. //  Bean, George; “Turkey beyond the Maeander”. London, Ernst Benn, 1971 // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006.

OUT OF PRINT: Two times I were in Laodicea I had the same feeling... walking on the moon... that´s what you can feel when you alone discover the ancient remains... two big ancient theatres, an impressive stadium, the odeon, agora... not only for the visual impression but because you seem to float in the middle of this immensity. The city had two huge greek theatres, the one I wrote today is called “the small one” or “the second one”... small... 7.000 spectators. It´s a big mystery that one city had two theatres built in the same period and with that big dimensions. The “smal one” is one of my favourites ancient greek theatres... is like a hole for playing marbles... and it re,mains me when I was a child and I spent hours and hours playing marbles... Marbles in the moon, because, when you visit Laodicea you are walking on the moon...  and now, writing that lines, I realize that these theatre is very musical, because to my mind come Police and Marillion songs... I hope, in a future to return to Laodicea in some rocket to continue walking on the moon...