A lot of the terms that we use today originate in the Latin language. The Roman Empire, having died under the onslaught of barbarians, nevertheless, influenced the development of culture and civilization throughout Europe and Asia Minor. But just as the modern world is to a greater extent based on the achievements of this state, so it, in turn, has borrowed a lot from the Greek predecessors it conquered. Researchers consider this culture as a whole. It was in ancient Greece that the theater itself was born. However, subsequent generations transformed it into a slightly different phenomenon. It began to be called the Roman Amphitheater. What it is? How does it differ from classical Greek theater?
In ancient Greece, the mysteries in honor of the god Dionysius were very popular. The festivities lasted several days, which were declared non-working. They were accompanied by solemn processions and religious rituals. An integral part of the ceremonies was the performance of playwrights, choristers and reciters. For these purposes, special structures were erected in the open. On a hillside, an even semicircle broke out in the ground or was cut down in a rock. Benches for the audience were raised by ledges, so that people sitting in front did not interfere with the view of those who were behind and above. The merit of the ancient Romans was that they from the ranks for the audience created a vicious circle. Thus, they built an amphitheater in the theater.
The Greeks did not need to look at the actors from all sides. “Theatron” - in Greek, “a spectacle” - implied a play of actors or a performance of the choir. Therefore, the public mainly looked at their faces. In ancient Rome, the function of the theater has changed. There, more and more often, gladiator fights were organized, animal persecution took place, whole massacres even took place, including on the water (such representations were called naumahii). Therefore, the audience was interested to look at what is happening on the stage from all sides. The ancient architects had to solve the problem of preserving the acoustics, increasing the capacity of the hall, protecting the audience from attack by animals, a possible crush in the audience stands. Amphitheater in the theater - clear evidence that they coped with their task perfectly.
Things were different in ancient Greece. There, the theater space consisted of several parts. First of all, from the orchestra - on it stood the altar of Dionysus and all the actions took place. Then the skena followed - a small extension where the actors changed clothes and where they left. The last was the theatron - a semicircle in the audience. Roman architects moved the place to prepare actors for benches for the public. How did they do it? The revolution in the construction of Roman stage for spectacles was that the main premises were not torn out in the ground, but built on a flat surface. Thus, amphitheater in the theater had a blank external wall equal in height to the top row of seats.
Having removed the skena out of sight, the architects received a huge space of a round or ellipsoid shape. For deadly battles, he was sprinkled with sand to make it easier to remove traces of blood. Thus, this place was called "arena" ("sand"). From animals and accidental hits of copies, the audience was protected by a podium - a high wall that served as a partition of the stage and the auditorium. The largest buildings, such as the Flavian Amphitheater in Rome (Colosseum), as well as in Verona, Nimes, Pompeii, Arles and other places of the great Roman Empire, are still preserved, we can admire them.
Depending on the size of the city, such structures could accommodate from five to 50 thousand spectators. Usually they did not have a ceiling. The acoustics were preserved due to the use of marble and other types of resonating stones in the construction, as well as the insertion of empty amphoras into the voids between the walls. A complex system of arcades and walkways naturally distributed the flow of spectators among the rows, helping to avoid crowding. An awning stretched over the masts covered the audience from the scorching rays of the sun. But since the aggressive policy of Rome extended its warlike hand far north, the need arose to build a covered building. Such an amphitheater in a theater with the roof began to be called odeon.