Melos (Milo)

MELOS (Milo), ancient Achaea, modern Ciclades, Greece.

COORDNATES: 36º44'15.82" N // 24º25'16.09 E
TIPOLOGY : Greek theatre. Urban.

DATE:  III or II B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS: Shows signs of Roman phase, II A.D. , orchestra and stage building.

CAPACITY: 2.500 ¿? espectators.

CAVEA: Bill against slope. Facing south. Maenianum unknow although Ima cavea has 7 cunei and 9 rows of seats still survives. Four seats shows inscriptions in which you can read that the seats were reserved for some categories of citizens.

ORCHESTRA: 27 m. diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: Some elements of roman scaenae frons survives.

LOCATION: 1 klm. From modern Milos, in the road to Klima´s port.

BEDSIDE TABLE: Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Lange, Judith; Bosnakis, Dimitris; “Ancient theatres”. Athens, Itanos, 1996.

OUT OF PRINT: The theatre was discovered in 1814, it is close to the place where the famous Venus of Milo was found. Milo is a Ciclades island, a very pacefull place for a rest, with a lot of magic places where the time seems to have stoped, like Sarakiniko´s lunar scenary or Thiorixeia´s red beach with his sulphur mine, a spontaneous industrial art cementery.

Simitthu (Chemtou)

SIMITTHU (Chemtou), ancient Africa Proconsularis, modern Tunisia.

COORDINATES: 36º29'28.40" N // 8º34'20.39" E
TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.
DATE: III A.C.
CAPACITY: 3.500 ¿? spectators.

CAVEA: Facing north. 68 m. diameter. It was built on level ground, using 13 radial vaults. Two maenianum. Ima cavea is covered, 6 cunei and 6 steps; summa cavea probably 10 steps.

ORCHESTRA: 24 m. diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: pulpitum 1 m. high, 29 m. long. Proscaenium has three large and two curved niches.

LOCATION: Modern Chemtou is about 50 klm. north-west of Le Kef. In 27 AD the roman colony was founded; Simitthu was a very important marble quarry in roman times. West 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. // Slim, Hédi; Fauqué, Nicolas; “La Tunisie antique”. Paris, Mengès, 2001.

OUT OF PRINT:  The present state of the theatre is very spectacular, ima cavea is cover, what you can see in photograph is only the summa cavea -on the left you can see the "head" of the aditus maximus- . If you walk behind, surronding the outer wall, you can reach the vomitorium, go into the "squeleton" and reach the orchestra level. You are down on earth but touching the orchestra. Simitthu´s ancient theatre is like a body sleep, still waiting for being digged... it reminds me Goya´s painting called "Fight whit clubs" although only in poetic way.

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.

Cuicul (Djemila)

CUICUL (Djemila), ancient Numidia, modern Algeria.

COORDINATES: 36º19'14.59"N // 5º44'15.75" E
TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Not urban.
DATE: First half II A.C.
CAPACITY: 3.500 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing nort-east. 62 m. diameter. Partially rest in hill. Two maenianum: Ima cavea 6 cunei and 9 steps; summa cavea 6 cunei and 15 steps.
ORCHESTRA: 24 m. diameter. Subsellia: three steps.
STAGE BUILDING: 34 x 7,2 m. Proscaenium: three curve and two rectangular niches. Scaenae Frons with three doors, much of it survives. Postcaenium: four rooms. Porticus post scaenium remains.

LOCATION: Cuicul remains are in modern Djemila, 50 klm north-east Setif. In ancient times it was a provincial market town, not very large, founded by veterans in 96 A.D. though with probably native origin.The theatre is 150 m. south-east of forum.

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. // Lancel, Serge; “L’Algérie antique”. Paris, Mengès, 2003. // Blas de Roblès, Jean Marie; Sintes, Claude; “Sites et monuments antiques de l’Algérie”. Aix-en-Provence, Édisud, 2003.

OUT OF PRINT: Djemila is on of the most wonderfull view I have ever seen, very well preserved, a place with a very special energy, a place for spend days and days, walking slowly in their ancient streets. I could not resit the temptation of playing a monologue in his stage; one of my favourites ancient theatres, one of these where you have the physical sensation of being hugged. The museum has a big collection of the African´s roman mosaic style.

Phoinike (Finik)

PHOINIKE (Finik), ancient Epiro, modern Albania.

COORDINATES: 39º54'49.50" N // 20º03'21.97" E
TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Urban.
DATE: Late III B.C.
TRANSFORMATIONS: Some roman ionic style fragments suggest the existence of a roman stage building.
CAPACITY: 5000 espectators ¿?
CAVEA : Facing south-west. Rest on natural slope.
STAGE BUILDING: 25 m. long.
NOTES: It has been partially uncovered, only orchestra and scaena.
LOCATION: Phoinike was in ancient times the political center of the greek tribe of the chaonians. The city remains are in Albania, close of modern Finik, 10 klm. far from Saranda.
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. // Cabanes, Pierre (Ed.), “Carte Archéologique de l’Albanie”. Tirana, Klosi & Benzenberg, 2008. // Ceka, Neritan. “The Illyrians to the Albanians”. Tirana, Migjeni, 2005.

OUT OF PRINT: Not too much to see in Phoinike... maybe... the bones are covered, the body is in rest... but it is easy to think that all sleep under earth... and nothing can disturb these peace... I have a souvenir of that day... trying to acces to the theatre, looking for diferent points to taking photos I was trapped in a thicket and since then a scar on my leg remind me the rest in peace of Phoinike´s cavea... in other way I found the outer wall of the theatre and I could chek the huge size of the theatre, quite big.