THE ROMAN THEATER
Although the Romans thoroughly enjoyed the Latin
versions of Greek drama that were performed in Rome, the authorities were
concerned that the Roman people might be corrupted by Greek influences.
As a compromise, drama continued to presented at various religious festivals,
but the theaters were all temporary structures, put up just before the
peformances and taken down afterwards. There were two abortive attempts
to build permanent stone theaters in 179 and 174 BC, but they were never
completed. We do not know why they were never finished, but we can
guess. In 154 BC a third attempt was made to build a permanent stone
theater, but the consul, P. Scipio Nasica, caused the unfinished structure
to be torn down as "undesirable" and "harmful to public morals" (Livy,
Periochae
48.68).
A decree of the Roman Senate forbade sitting at theatrical performances
"so that the manly behavior of standing might be known as proper to the
Roman people for the relaxation of their spirits (Valerius Maximus, Memorable
Words and Deeds 2.4.2)." The ordinance against sitting at a dramatic
performance seems to have been forgotten by 145 BC, because in that year
L. Mummius built a wooden theater with seats to celebrate his triumphs.
Thus the plays of Plautus and Terence were never performed in a permanent
theater in the lifetime of the playwrights.
In 55 BC Pompey erected the first permanent
stone theater at Rome. There must, however, have still been some
opposition, for the theater was constructed in such a way that it could
be seen as serving a religious purpose rather than for mere entertainment.
A temple of Venus was placed at the top of the seating area so that the
rows of seats appeared to be steps leading up to the temple.
The
Roman theater, although similar in form to the Greek theater, developed
a magnificence and splendor in keeping with Rome's imperial status.
This grandeur is most evident in the stage building, which was raised to
the height of the seating area. Thus the stage building was normally
three stories high in comparison with the two stories of the skene in
later Greek theaters. No permanent theaters in Rome have survived,
but the Roman stage building can be seen in this theater in the provincial
town of Orange (France) with a statue of Augustus in a niche (in third
story niche in middle). See a drawing
of a full frontal view of this stage building at Orange. See also
the stage building of the Roman theater in Sabratha in North Africa on
the "Exploring
Comedy" home page.
One other difference between the Greek and
Roman theaters should be noted. The orchestra in the Roman theater
for the most part became a seating area1 because of the virtual
disappearance of the chorus from Roman drama.
1. Note that in modern theaters the
seating area on the floor of the theater is called the 'orchestra'.
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