The Theater of Dionysus was the largest theater in ancient Greece , located in the eastern part of the southern slope of the Acropolis of Athens and forming part of the Temenos of Dionysus . Dedicated, as its name indicates, to Dionysus, god of the vineyards and the theater , it was initially prayed in his honor around the altar of the temple and the spectators sat on the sides. Later, these rituals became the classic tragedies of Aeschylus , Sophocles , Euripides and Aristophanes.Its measurements are 117.9 cm high and 96.09 cm wide. Around the year 407 a. C. the custom was that after the representation a satire was made . The duration of the representations lasted up to six hours and the entrance was expensive
The grandstand or koilon had 78 tiers, divided into two levels by a circular hall. In the central and last part of the first steps there were 67 seats that were later made of decorated marble and reserved for dignitaries. 2 In its final stage it had a capacity for 15,000-17,000 spectators.
The bleachers surrounded by about two thirds of its circumference the central circular space, called the orchestra , where the choirs sang and danced, accompanying the dramatic action with voice and gesture.
The actors performed in the legion or proskenion , a long and narrow platform, limited by a permanent architectural decoration that served as the background, and joined to a rear chamber, made of wood, usable for costumes and whose name, skené , is equivalent to scene or stage . The skené was often flanked by two projecting bodies, the parascenias , intended for the theater machinery.
Most of them are preserved today, among the ruins that remain. Today it is famous for its remains, which eloquently show the use of urban spaces during the Greek Empire. The façade material is travertine from the Barco quarry, near the Baths of Tivoli, the same as that of the Colosseum, in Rome. And also like in this one the arches are covered with the superimposed classic orders, in this case the Doric (Tuscan) below and the conical above. The Theater of Dionysus, as we see it today, is the result of a meritorious restoration and release of hairpieces and occupants carried out between 1926 and 1932.
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