towards the end of the ancient Hellenic period theatrical representations were also given at festivals not in honour of Dionysus. In consequence of this the structure of the theatres, and especially the place for the spectators, had to be far larger than at the present day. As performances only took place a few times in the year, and not only the whole population of the town and neighbourhood, but even many strangers from a distance, collected together for them, the space for the audience had to be so large that many thousands, even tens of thousands, might have room there, and it must also be built in such a way that the performance could be conveniently seen from every place. These remarks refer in particular to Athens, with whose theatrical arrangements we are best acquainted, and which, moreover, was the model for most of the others. In the first place, it was impossible to have a covered space; covered theatres—concert-halls (ὠδεῖα), as they were called—were destined, not for dramatic, but for musical performances; secondly, the performances took place by daylight, in consequence of which much of the illusion was lost. Again, the great size of the structure and the considerable distance of most of the seats from the actors necessitated certain peculiarities in the costume of these latter which we must discuss later on.
The memory of the origin of the drama from choruses, to which in the course of time was added dramatic action, was preserved in a separation between the performers who presented the action and the chorus who only accompanied it—a separation which only gradually disappeared at a time when means were insufficient for defraying the considerable expenses of equipping a chorus. This distinction between actors and chorus was not only observed in the composition of the drama, but also in locality; the chorus, who not only sang, but also danced and marched, required a very large space for their evolutions, while the actors, whose number was very small, could do with less. Therefore, while the modern theatre consists of only two parts, the stage with its
Fig. 151.
Fig. 152.
accessories and an auditorium, the Greek theatre consisted of three parts; besides the auditorium and the structure of the stage, there was between the two a space for the chorus known as orchestra. In considering the arrangement of the buildings, we derive assistance from the descriptions of the ancients, as well as the still existing remains of Greek theatres. Fig. [150] represents the ground plan of the ruins of the great theatre of Dionysus at Athens, though we must remember that this structure, built originally in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., had experienced considerable changes in the Roman period. Fig. [151] gives a view of the theatre of Syracuse in its present condition, and the ground plan restored is seen in Fig. [152]; while Fig. [153] gives a restored view of the theatre of Segesta, reconstructed by Strack. We