Fig. 33.—East Fragment of Wall Belonging to the Early Orchestra in Athens.
Fig. 34.—West Fragment of Wall Belonging to the Early Orchestra in Athens.
Somewhat later are the remains of the early orchestra. According to late notices,[134] the original place of holding theatrical performances in Athens was an orchestra in the old market place, the location of which has not yet been determined. At that period the audience sat upon “wooden bleachers” (ἴκρια), which are said[135] to have collapsed on the occasion of a contest between Aeschylus, Pratinas, and Choerilus in the seventieth Olympiad (about 499 B.C.). In consequence, a new theater was constructed in the precinct of Dionysus, where the seats, though still of wood, could be supported in part by the south slope of the Acropolis. When the stone theater on this site was first brought to light, it was erroneously supposed that this was the structure which had been erected as a result of the accident just mentioned. As a matter of fact, practically all that remains of the first theater are certain fragments of the orchestra (Figs. [33 f.]).[136] These are sufficient to indicate that this orchestra was over seventy-eight feet in diameter and stood nearly fifty feet farther south than the later orchestra (Figs. [32] and [32a]).[137] As it receded from the Acropolis it was banked up to a maximum of about six and a half feet, leaving a declivity immediately behind it. The extant plays of this period show that for about thirty years no background of any kind stood in this declivity (see [p. 226], below). Theatrical properties, such as a tomb, might be temporarily built at the center or to one side of the orchestra. If dressing-rooms were then provided for the actors and chorus they must have stood some distance away. In the absence of a back scene, the performers could enter only at the sides. These same entrances were used also by the spectators in assembling. The seats, being of wood until the fourth century, have left no trace; but there can, of course, be no doubt of their position on the slope. Well up the side an ancient road cut the auditorium into an upper and lower section[138] and permitted ingress and egress for the audience at two additional points. The Athenian theater was somewhat unusual in having these upper entrances.
Fig. 32a.—Cross-Section of Precinct of Dionysus Eleuthereus in Athens, Showing Later and Early Temples and Early and Later Orchestras.