Cyrene (Shahat)

CYRENE (Shahat), ancient Cyrenaica, modern Libya.

COORDINATES: 32º49’12.59’’N // 21º51’26.20’’E

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban. Called “Market theatre” or “Theatre of Suk”.
DATE: Last quarter of IV A.D. It is one of the five theatres or odeons that there are in Cyrene.
TRANSFORMATIONS: The theatre was transformed in kolymbethra in V a.D., for aquatic games.
CAPACITY:
CAVEA: Facing North. 40 m. diameter. Built against slope. Irregular semi-circle.  Maenianum: Ima cavea with 6 rows of seat in 5 cunei; Summa cavea with 7 rows in 5 cunei. There were  not aditus maximi but lateral passageways. Before the theatre was built there was a religious complex in the area built in II A.D., in fact a small temple dedicated to Asklepiusand Hygeia, destroyed by an earthquake in 365 A.D.
ORCHESTRA: 15,5 m. diameter, surrounded by a podium.
STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium was built with reused II A.D. stones. Scaenae frons was rectilinear with three doors.
LOCATION: “Market theatre” is north of Agora, in the central quarter, close to the road that runs between the north hill and south hill.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: 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.// Di Vita, Antonio; Di Vita-Evrard, Ginette; Bacchielli, Lidiano; “Libia antigua”. Barcelona, Könemann, 1999. // Dal Bosco, Oriana; Grassi, Maria Teresa; “Mediterranean and Roman Libya”. Firenze, Polaris, 2005. // Goodchild, Richard; “Cyrene and Apollonia. An historical guide”. Tripoli, Dar-Al Fergiani, 1993.

OUT OF PRINT: There are ancient cities that had more than one ancient theatre; for example in Jerash, in Joedan, there are three, or in Gortyn -Creta, Greece- there are four. The ancient that preserves more ancient theatres is Cyrene, in modern Lybia, it has remains of five ancient theatres, some of them well preserved; we talk about five, but we could consider six if we consider the ancient Greek theater of Apollonia, in fact Cyrene´s port, 14 klm. nort-east from the city –see the my information about Apollonia in the blog-. It was a long day to discover ancient Cyrene... not only for the number of ancient theatres, each of the diferent, but for all that ancient Greek and Roman city was.

Sabratha (Sabratha)

SABRATHA (Sabratha), ancient Tripolitania / Africa Proconsularis, modern Libya.

COORDINATES: 32º48’19.50” N // 12º29’06.77” E

TIPOLOGY : Roman theatre. Urban.

DATE: Last II –First III A.D.

CAPACITY: 6.000 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing north. 92,6 m. diameter. Built on level ground, but rested on a plataform rock. Maenianum: Ima cavea with 11 rows of seats in 6 cunei; Media cavea with 6 rows and 7 cunei; Summa cavea with 15 rows in 8 cunei (the extreme ones small).

ORCHESTRA: 25 m. diameter (including balteus and four steps for bisellia. Paved on whit marble.

STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium niches (3 curved and 4 rectangular) has a marvellous and very well preserved relief sculptures (Muses, Satyrs, Graces and Judgment of Paris are the motifs. Scaenae frons, like other theatre parts have been restored, the corinthian columnatio  has three storeys (21 m. high)

LOCATION: Sabratha is 65 klm. west of Tripoli.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Caputo, Giacomo; “Il teatro di Sabratha”. Roma, l’Erma di Bretschneider, 1959. // 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. // Bieber, Margarete. “The History of The Greek and Roman Theatre”. Princeton University Press, 1961. // Di Vita, Antonio; Di Vita-Evrard, Ginette; Bacchielli, Lidiano; “Libia antigua”. Barcelona, Könemann, 1999. // Dal Bosco, Oriana; Grassi, Maria Teresa; “Mediterranean and Roman Libya”. Firenze, Polaris, 2005. // Haynes, D.E.L.; “The antiquities of Tripolitania”. London, Darf.

OUT OF PRINT: What to say about these ancient theatre... I spent some hours, fascinated with its remains. I sat down in the inma cavea and wait for a long time for the actors; I called them, encouraging them to start, like children do when they want the play start... some hours passed... and nobody acted these day, only the echo of the wind, mimicking the sound of the seashell... only the shadows projected of some clouds clueless, lonely, like me that day in the wilds of ancient Libya, that evening in which the only act was the acting of the shadows.

Apollonia (Marsa Susa)

APOLLONIA (Marsa Susa), ancient Cyrenaica, modern Libia.

COORDINATES: 32º54'10.01" N // 21º58'29.73" E
TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Not urban.
DATE: First quarter of the III B.C.
TRANSFORMATIONS: At the end of I A.D. steps were added.
CAPACITY: 3.500 ¿? spectators.

CAVEA: Facing nort-northwest. 39 m. diameter. Only one maenianum with 28 steps and 6 cunei. In greek times 13 steps, in roman times 18 more steps were added. The cavea is not a complite semi-circle because of the presence of the city walls.

ORCHESTRA: 13 m. diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: It had a greek logeion (19,7 x 2 m.) but was replaced by a roman pulpitum (24 x 4,5 m.). Nothing remians of the roman stage building but greek building foundations have been recovered.

LOCATION: Apollonia was Cyrene´s port for over a thousand years, it is 18 klm east of Cyrene . The ancient theatre is facing the sea, east of the city.

BEDSIDE TABLE: 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. // Di Vita, Antonio; Di Vita-Evrard, Ginette; Bacchielli, Lidiano; “Libia antigua”. Barcelona, Könemann, 1999. // Dal Bosco, Oriana; Grassi, Maria Teresa; “Mediterranean and Roman Libya”. Firenze, Polaris, 2005. // Goodchild, Richard; “Cyrene and Apollonia. An historical guide”. Tripoli, Dar-Al Fergiani, 1993. 

OUT OF PRINT: Visiting Apollonia´s greek theatre is like revival the last scene of the "Planet of the Apes" film. There is a feeling of end, of sandcastle, but with a incredible beauty. Take time to listen the waves from the steps. Take time to realize about the silence... a theatre converted into a huge shell, which surrounds a timeless sound.