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THE 



derably elevated above the orchestra, 12 feet or upwards, 

 consequently there was a wall of that height at the back 

 of the orchestra, to which was given the name of Hypo- 

 scenium (awempnov), or Lower Seena, and which formed 

 a sort of architectural basement to the stage, and was 

 adorned with niches and statues. This however is little 

 more than conjectural, for what is known relative to this 

 and other accessory parts of the stage is deiived not from 

 any examples of them discovered in antient structures of 

 j kind, but merely from such mention of the terms ap- 

 plied to them as is found in a lew antient writers aad com- 

 mentators, whose explanations are all more or less obscure, 

 and full of discrepancies. We shall not therefore attempt 

 to say more relative to either the Greek or Roman stage 

 and scena than we have already done. It seems to have 

 been assumed that, because the theatres themselves were 

 of extraordinary extent and solidity in their construction 

 that because there were columns, and marble, and sta- 

 tues the stage exhibitions also must have been in the 

 re superior to those in the comparatively small 

 theatres of modern times. Yet the truth is, that capacious 

 a.< the buildings were, being intended to accommodate 

 nearly the entire population of a city at each performance, 

 the .si was not at all in proportion to the rest. 



There was so little space attached to it either behind or at 

 its sides, that spectacle and scenic contrivance and effect 

 must have been almost impossible : when therefore we 



:hat -not unfrequently a magnificent compilation of 

 machinery gradually descended with the divinities of Olym- 

 pus,' though we do not doubt the fact of there being some 

 contrivance for letting down performers from above in 

 which case, however, the stage itself must have been 



1 in we greatly question the 'magnificence,' and 

 rather suspect that the contrivance must have been some- 

 what clumsy, and the effect almost ridiculous. 



An experiment has lately been mail,' 'November, 1841) 

 in the theatre of the new palace at Potsdam, towards re- 

 viving an antient dramatic performance, with rigorous 

 i iimc. The piece selected for the purpose 

 was the Antigone' of Sophocles, and the theatre and all 

 the arraiiL ere made to conform as nearly :' 



iible to classical example. The pit wits converted into an 

 orchestra upon the Grecian model, and it was here that 

 the piT.-iinii who compiled the chorus remained until they 

 had to appear on the stage, when they ascended to it iii 

 tile sight of the audience, and descended again in the same 

 manner, so carefully was all the antient practice ob.-ervcd. 

 Equal regard to precedent was shown in comparatively 

 trifling nialtci*: for instance, instead of the curtain being 

 drawn up, it was let down, as was supposed to have been 

 the case ill the antient theatres, a circumstance which has 



ly been questioned by us; and it is said that the 

 effect of the upper part of the scene being disclosed before 

 the lower was not a little striking. Indeed, if we may be- 

 lieve all that the Berlin journals ha\e reported of this 

 clinical exhibition, it perfectly realized its prototype, and 

 no doubt greatly surpassed it. if it were only because it took 



by candle-light, and the actors did not wear masks. 



Little more remains to be said on the subject of antient 



Ihcali-es, except to remark that the form of the orchestra 



also determined that of the exterior of the building ; while 



the Roman theatres therefore did not exceed a semicircle, 



those of Greece had a greater curve. In the Greek theatres 



however the orchestra was not always extended beyond a 



'irclc, by the curve being continued, but sometimes 



\<y straight lines at right angles to the chord (or parallel to 



BB, in the plan of the Roman theatre, whose general form 



~haped, the external semicircle being prolonged by 

 the i- < theatres were almost invariably 



built on the sloping side of a hill, so that, as regards the 

 coelum, it was merely necessary to shape it out, and erect, 

 consequently there was no other architectural 

 exterior than that formed by the Parascene (napamqt/)/; 

 and colonnade behind the stage ; for which reason the 



'a of curvature did not manifest itself. The Roman 

 theatres, on the contrary, were erected on level ground, 

 aad therefore the curved part of the exterior was confined 

 to a semicircle, a form which unites better with the rect- 

 anzular one and its straight lines. 



The theatre at Athens (called that of Bacchus) was by no 

 means so - , many others, its diameter being only 



250 . liat of the orchestra 72, which are very mo- 



derate dimensions in comparison with those of some of the 



Asiatic theatres. The Odeion of Regilla, also at Athens, 

 though similar in its general plan to the usual theatre, was 

 a music-hall, and was covered in with a tent-like roof, 

 with a semicircular eye or opening for light. Both struc- 

 tures were situated at no great distance from each other, 

 on the south side of the Acropolis [ATHENS, Plan] ; there- 

 fore the scena of the theatre had a northern aspect, and 

 must have been in shadow while the performances took 

 place. 



The following is a list of such antient theatres as are 

 known, together with the respective dimensions of tlreir 

 general diameter and of their orchestra ; which we have for 

 the most part taken upon the authority of a similar table 

 given by Col. Leake, in his 'Tour in Asia Minor,' to which 

 several other examples are here added. 



Uiiim. Orclit-'itra. 



Anemurium .... 197 feet. 



Aspendus . . . . 400 25 rows of seats. 



(scena Ionic and Corinth.) 

 Athens, Theatre of Bacchus . 250 72 ft. 



Odeion ... 90 36 



Cnidus .... 400 



Delos .... 175 



Dramyssus, or Joannina . 440 78 



Ephesus .... 660 240 



Epidaurus .... 370 55 



Herculaneum ... 180 16 rows of seats. 

 Hierapolis .... 346 100 



Laodicea, Great Theatre . 364 136 



Limyia .... 195 not known 



Mantineia .... 227 not known 



Miletus .... 474 224 



Mvia 360 120 



Nicopolis (in Epirus) 360 120 



Orange (scena only remaining, 336 



ft. wide, 114 ft. high.) 



Patara .... 265 96 



Perga ..... 25 rows of seats, 



Phellus .... 400 Scena 150. 



Pol a, about .... 200 68 



(destroyed 1636, but plan preserved by Scamozzi) 

 Pompeii 190 62 



Pompeiopolis . . . 219 138 



Rome, theatre Marcellus . 517 172 



Sardes 396 162 



Selinus (in Cilicia) . . 114 



Sicyon .... 313 100 ' 



Side 390 120 



Sparta 453 217 



Stralonicea .... 390 106 



Syracuse .... 440 



Tauromenium . . . 330 width of scena 132 



Teos 285 70 



Trail es .... 540 150 



Of some of these theatres scarcely anything remains, 

 little more than their general shape and extent being now 

 distinguishable ; accordingly the statements of their dimen- 

 sions are not to be strictly relied upon, though they are 

 sufficient to enable us to estimate their comparative size. 



Fortunately the antient theatre was not taken as a model 

 for modem structures of the kind. The revival of thea- 

 trical representations took place before anything was 

 known relative to that branch of architectural archaeology, 

 and under very different circumstances. Dramatic enter- 

 tainments were then either partly religious, and performed 

 within churches, convents, and colleges; or were acted for 

 the amusement of princes and nobles on occasions of 

 and festivity, in halls merely temporarily lilted up for thai 

 pin-pose : consequently spacious and permanent structures, 

 as public theatres, were not required until long afterwards, 

 when the drama had become a distinct profession. In the 

 meanwhile a taste for scenic display had developed itself, 

 which required a very different arrangement of the stage 

 and its apparatus from that of the antients. Imperfect u.~ 

 they were in many respects, the dramatic pageants and 

 recitations performed before Leo X. were ' got up' with 

 great magnificence, and some of the greatest artists were 

 employed upon the decorations ; among others Bakki.. 

 Pemzzi [PKRUZXI], whose skill in architecture and per- 

 spective carried scene-painting almost to perfection at 

 once. Even in the preceding century diamatic exhibi- 

 liad been produced at Florence in a style then un- 

 dented ; and we are told that the first Italian theatre 



