Ancient Theatre of Sparta
About
Carved into the slope below the Spartan acropolis around 30-20 BCE under the patronage of the Augustan-era dynast Gaius Julius Eurycles, this theatre gained its permanent two-story marble stage building as a personal gift from Emperor Vespasian in 78 CE. By 117 CE it stood as Sparta's grandest public building, its Corinthian-order skene bearing an inscribed architrave naming its imperial donor. The stone cavea and finished marble stage were both firmly in place well before Hadrian's accession.
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
- Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.14
Notes tombs opposite the theatre, including that of Leonidas, and describes annual speeches and a Spartans-only contest held there.
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 →