Argos (Argos)

ARGOS (Argos), ancient Argolis, modern Greece.

COORDINTES: 37º37’53.65’’N // 22º43’40.47’’E

TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre.

DATE: III B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS: II A.D.

CAPACITY: 20.000 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing east. It´s far for completing a semicircle, so it was built extending up, radius maximum of cavea is 77,28 m. Greek cavea had two maeniana, ima cavea with 49 rows of seats in 4 cunei and summa with 37 rows of seats in 4 cunei. In roman times cavea was transformed in 4 maeniana, with 13, 41, 11 and 17 rows of seat, respectively from bottom to top, with 4,6,2 and 2 cunei respectively.

ORCHESTRA: 14,5 m. diameter., 26m. including euripus.

STAGE BUILDING: Greek stage building was 6 m. width. Roman pulpitum was 35x5,6 m. and 1,20 m. high.

LOCATION: In Larissa hill, south-west from modern city.

MY BEDIDE TABLE: Moretti, Jean-Charles; “Théâtres d’Argos”. Paris, École française d’Athenes, 1993. // Lange, Judith; Bosnakis, Dimitris; “Ancient theatres”. Athens, Itanos, 1996. // Maximos, Platon; “Ancient Hellenic theatres”. Athens, 1998. // Maximos, Platon; “Fair competition: ancient stadia – ancient theatres”, Athens,  , 2004. // Mee, Christopher; Spawforth, Anthony; “Greece. Oxford archeological guides”. Oxford University Press, 2001. // Arias, Paolo Enrico; “Il teatro greco fuori di Atene”. Firenze, G.C. Sansoni, 1934. // Cailler, Pierre; Cailler, Diky; Bettex, Ivan; “Les Théatres gréco-romains de Grèce”. Laussane. Style. 1966. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995.

OUT OF PRINT: Argos has five ancient theatrical structures, the the big ancient Greek theatre is one of my favourite ancient theatres. When I visited it I was a bit hypnotized, I was not conscious about the time I spent there. I sat down in the last row, in the upper cavea and could see the modern city in front of me, from the ancient theatre. It was strange, I could feel like a frontier between the theatre and the modern city, like it was two different layers, overlapping, coexisting in the same space but at the same time, independent, autonomous, indifferent to each other... it seemed that Greek Gods, in modern times, had given a respite to humans and had decided no to interfere more in earthly affairs, although, indeed, from the ancient theatre of Argos they still observe our madness... our unjustifiable reluctance life, lamenting a time where the theatre made them visible, made them close to men, made them imperfect, capricious, earthly.

Botrys (Batroun)

BOTRYS (Batroun), ancient Syria, modern Lebanon.

COORDINATES: 34º15’21.50’’N // 35º39’42.27’’E

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.

DATE:

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY:

CAVEA: The only existing remains are part of the cavea, probably summa by the diameter of the section.

ORCHESTRA:

STAGE BUILDING:

LOCATION: The remains of the roman theatre are inside a garden of a private house, east of modern Botrys, 60 klm. north of Beirut.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Chase, Raymond G. “Ancient Hellenistic and Roman amphitheatres, stadiums and theatres. The way they look now”. Portsmouth, Peter E. Randall Publisher, 2002. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995.

OUT OF PRINT: When I was a child I used to watch Beirut images on tv news, they were images of tanks in a dusty city... for me that was a far world, like a world that lived in another dimension, very far... that images of Lebanon war made me feel strange and restless, but in another way I felt safe for being so far... that was I believed, a very far world, so far that it was impossible for me to be there in my life... so I was safe... Walking by Beirut´s streets you can see today the traces of the war that I watched on tv when I was younger although unfortunately you can see traces of more wars there... so many wars there... I had the luck of travel to Lebanon, of work there doing the best I know to do... thanks to Wallid and Wasim and all the people of the Palestinian refugee camps for teaching me the right meaning of life.

Grumentum (Grumento Nova)

GRUMENTUM (Grumento Nova), ancient Regio III, modern Italy.

COORDINATES: 40º16’59.77’’N // 15º54’18.98’’E

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.
DATE: First I A.D. (Iulio-Claudian).
TRANSFORMATIONS: Scaena transformed in II – III A.D.
CAPACITY:
CAVEA: Facing north-east. 128 m. diameter. Built on substructures, over two semicircular ambulacrum. It had ima, media and summa cavea.
ORCHESTRA: 32 m. diameter. Two steps for bisellia.
STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium was 1,2 m. high. Pulpitum 28,8 m. long.
LOCATION: South-west side of old town. 2 klm. east from modern Grumento Nova, in Basilicata.
MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Tosi, Giovana; “Gli edificio per spettacoli nell’Italia romana”. Roma, Quasar, 2003. // Courtois, Catherine; “Le bâtiment de scène des théâtres d’Italie et de Sicile”. Providence, Louvain-la.Neuve, 1989. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995.
 

OUT OF PRINT: Marvelous place with a very big amphitheatre in a short walk from roman theatre, an ancient town far from the bustle of the empire.