Epidaurus Theater
Polykleitos

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Alternative Title
Theater at Epidauros
Date
-400--300Description
The circular orchestra, the lower northwest corner (this is the stage where the chorus / actors performed - and is the only circular one to have survived from antiquity); The most important surviving structure at Epidauros is without doubt the great theatre. Its auditorium, still virtually intact, was built in the second half of the 4th century BCE. The seating, of local limestone, is divided into lower and upper sections, the lower extending beyond the upper, perhaps as a result of later work. The stage building is ruined, though its essential arrangement, with side ramps leading to the stage, is clear enough. Pausanias (Guide to Greece II.xxvii.5) attributed the theatre (and the thymele) to Polykleitos. This cannot be the 5th-century bc Argive sculptor but may be his grandson. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 12/10/2007)
Type of Work
theater (building)Subject
architectural exteriors, Performing arts, Classical
Rights
Rights Statement
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only