Theater of Dionysus at Athens
Although the earliest performances of tragedy probably took place in the
Athenian marketplace (agora), eventually a site on the SE slope
of the Acropolis was chosen for a theater dedicated to Dionysus.
It should be noted that Greek theaters are not free-standing architecture,
but are built into hills. Do not, however, imagine that the ruins
of the Theater of Dionysus that one sees today are anything like the fifth
century BC theater in which the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
were performed. There were many alterations to theater of Dionysus down
to late antiquity. It was not until the late fourth century BC that the
theater of Dionysus was rebuilt in stone. During the age of the three
great tragedians, the audience sat on wooden benches on the hillside and
watched actors perform in front of a wooden stage building.
Next
section.
Back
to Table of Contents.