Theatre of Nicopolis
About
Built in Augustus's initial wave of public works, the theatre blended Greek and Roman technique, its cavea running up the natural hillside on one side and on built stone vaulting on the other. It hosted the dramatic and musical competitions of the Actia games alongside civic assemblies. The original Augustan structure was already a working venue during the years Epictetus's students filled Nicopolis to hear him lecture.
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.
In ancient writing
- Arrian, Discourses of Epictetus praef.
Arrian records that he took down Epictetus's lectures as a young student attending his school at Nicopolis around 108 CE, under Trajan, presenting them as near-verbatim notes rather than his own composition.
Sources
Nearby
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 →