Theatre of Aspendos
About
The Aspendos-born architect Zenon, son of Theodorus, designed this theatre for two wealthy brothers who funded its construction around the mid-2nd century CE, decades after Trajan's death. Its stage building still rises unbroken to the top of the seating bank, the best-preserved example of that design anywhere in the Roman world, and it still hosts performances today. Roughly 15,000 spectators could fill its curved rows in antiquity. On 11 August 117 CE, Aspendos was still generations away from cutting the first stone for this theatre.
What happened here
Seating is the message: the front rows are reserved by law for the town council, and everyone can see who is sitting where. The building is a half-circle against a tall stone backdrop that also serves as a permanent set, and the acoustics are good enough that an actor can be heard without effort. The programme is mime and pantomime more than the old tragedies — bawdy, topical, sometimes politically sharp enough that performers get exiled. Audiences are loud, partisan, and quite prepared to shout a piece down. Awnings and perfumed water sprays are laid on when the sponsor is generous. Shows are attached to religious festivals and paid for by a magistrate who wants the credit, and his name is on the seating.
Sources
Nearby
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Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →