Theater of Dionysus in Athens – history, photos, description

The Theater of Dionysus in Athens is the prototype of modern theaters. It was here that a special art was born, which is very popular today. And the equipment, the acoustics of the site were first tested in Hellas. The structure has survived to this day damaged. But modern architects have carried out painstaking restoration, and now tourists can admire the unique monument. A visit to the site allows you to immerse yourself in ancient Greece, to understand the customs and habits of the inhabitants of Athens.

Construction history

Polis in the 4th century BC ruled by an enlightened head – Pisistratus. One of his favorite gods was Dionysus. This Olympian patronized fun, winemaking, and entertainment. And Pisistratus ordered to build an altar in his honor, inside of which stood a statue of Dionysus. Initially, it was wooden, later it was replaced with an image of a god made of bone and decorated with gold. Sacrificing in honor of Dionysus is impossible without dances and songs.

Therefore, next to the altar, they arranged a small platform for celebrations. It was she who became the beginning of the theater of Dionysus. The starting material for the site is wood. Subsequently, the stage was made of stone. This was an innovation of the time: stone structures lasted longer. The theater became very popular: works of favorite authors were presented on its platforms: Euripides, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Sophocles.

And visiting the site was publicly available: any resident could watch the performance for free. Only special days were suitable for performances: Small Dionysia or Great Dionysia. These days, no one worked: the inhabitants of Athens participated in the sacrifice to the cheerful god and watched performances in his honor. The rest of the time the theater was closed.

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Architecture

Restoring the architecture is quite simple: this place was especially popular with the Athenians, so it was often described in documents.

The main features of the building:

1. Below was the stage. At first it was made of wood, then dilapidated, and it was replaced with stone.
2. Armchairs towered like an amphitheater and reached the Acropolis itself. They were also carved out of stone, replacing the original wooden ones. The capacity of the auditorium was impressive: 17,000 visitors could watch performances at the same time. (At that time, just over 40,000 people lived in Athens.)
3. There was no roof at the theater of Dionysus, so the performances were held in the open air. Comedies or tragedies lasted 8-10 hours, natural lighting was not enough, and it was replaced by torches.
4. The spread of gladiator fights in the 1st century required changes in architecture. To protect the audience, a high side of marble was made, a metal grate was erected on it.
5. In the 2nd century, the orchestra changed: Emperor Nero ordered that it be supplemented with images of paintings from myths and stucco elements.

The first row of 67 seats for distinguished guests was not well preserved. But some chairs have embossed inscriptions with the names of visitors.

Peculiarities

The theater served not only as a place for offering sacrifices to Dionysus and subsequent entertainment. Drama and comedy writers competed against each other for the best production. All the results were recorded on didascalia and then handed over to the archive. Subsequently, the performances were replaced by gladiator fights. But the popularity of the tetra of Dionysus did not decrease: there were enough people who wanted to get to the performance.

Spectator seats

Seats for spectators covered the stage in a semicircle. In order for those sitting behind to also see what is happening on the stage, the subsequent rows towered above the previous ones. There were 67 marble seats in each row, and there were 64 rows. Unfortunately, the modern Theater boasts only 20 rows. Seats in rows 1-2 were intended for noble visitors. To prevent the chair from being accidentally occupied, the name of the guest was engraved on it.

The place of honor of Emperor Hadrian was in the 2nd row. And Nero preferred not to sit in the hall, but to perform on stage. When visiting the theater became paid, the government allocated a special subsidy to poor citizens so that they could participate in the holiday. The settlers also received the right to come to the performances. Spectators took their seats in advance: often real battles arose for the right to take a seat.

Organization of celebrations

In order for such a large-scale action to take place, the efforts of different people were required:

1. The duties of the priests were assigned to members of the government. A commission was chosen – the archons. This commission disposed of a part of the state money that was allocated for the preparation of celebrations, and acted as a censor. Archons were chosen for six months, until the next Dionysius.
2. The archons chose 10 choregs (directors of plays). Choreg must be a wealthy Greek, because all the basic expenses for the production (making scenery and masks, sewing costumes) were reimbursed from his own funds. If the choreg hired additional actors, then he was obliged to pay for their services himself.
3. The authors presented their works to the archon. At the same time, it was completely indifferent whether the author was a poet or a mathematician, the main thing was to write an interesting play. The archon selected the worthy ones, and at the end of the competition determined the winners.
4. The performance was accompanied by a choir. It was paid for by the choreg from his own funds.
5. The audience reacted violently to the performance: they whistled, applauded, and stamped their feet. This expression of emotion was acceptable.

Interestingly, each play was shown only once. The repertoire of Dionysius was followed by all the inhabitants of the policy, so the responsibility of the authors and archons was great.

Place of public gatherings

Athens is a democratic city. And on all important points, ekklesias, meetings of citizens were held. Prior to the opening of the theater of Dionysus, Pnyx Hill was used for these events. But the theater accommodated more people and had better acoustics, so ekklesias began to be held in it. Only trustworthy male citizens over 20 years of age were allowed to attend meetings. There were black lists of unreliable people: those who were listed there did not receive a pass – a special plaque. Compliance of a citizen with the black list was strictly controlled. In order for the ecclesias to be successful, offerings to the Olympians were first placed on the altar, and the Hellenes who came prayed for the bestowal of grace.

Orchestra, skene, scenery

The Theater of Dionysus is a technically complex building:

1. In the center of the stage was the orchestra (or orchestra). During the performance, there was a choir, musicians, actors on it.
2. But the participants in the performance needed a place to change clothes: this is how skenes appeared. Initially, these were wooden tents attached to the orchestra. Subsequently, they were built from Parian marble. Skenes were also created to improve acoustics.
3. Decorations were attached to the front facade of the skene. They were painted with paints on canvas or wooden boards. The first to use scenery to convey the content of the play was Sophocles.

All the innovations that appeared in Athens are actively used in the modern theater.

How did the theatrical performances go?

Performances in the theater were special:

1. In all performances there were no more than 3 actors, and the first performances were played by one person.
2. The main and secondary roles were determined by lot.
3. During the performance, the actors put on face masks appropriate for the episode. To change the mask, it was required to spend a minimum of time: turn away or sit down, and then quickly return to its original position.
4. All roles, even women's, were performed by men.
5. All the replicas of the actors were repeated by the choristers to amplify the sound.

The productions took place for a long time: up to 10 hours, and the actors had to play the roles flawlessly. At the same time, they were required not only to expressively recite poetry, but also to sing.

Theater of Dionysus today

After Christianity began to spread in Greece, the theater fell into decay. He was badly damaged. But the government regularly allocates funds from the state budget for the restoration of the structure. 20 rows out of 64 have been reconstructed. Performances are still taking place in the theater. Tickets must be purchased in advance. The rest of the time access to the building for tourists is limited. But the complex is perfectly visible from the observation deck of the Acropolis Museum.

Opening hours and ticket prices

You can visit the theater of Dionysus during the annual Athens festival. It runs from June to September. Visitors are brought here on special buses. You can view the building without going inside by purchasing a ticket to visit the Acropolis complex. The ticket costs 12 euros, EU citizens enjoy a discount. Entrance to the Acropolis for tourists is allowed from half past nine in the morning until half past eight in the evening.

Where is it located and how to get there

The most convenient way to get to the Acropolis is by metro. Get off at the Acropolis station.

Theater of Dionysus on the map