The First Ancient Theater of Larissa is an ancient

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and the largest theater in

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

, having a capacity of 10,000 people. It is located on the southern side of Frourio Hill in

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

and it is a registered trademark of the city.

History

The First Ancient Theatre of Larissa was built in the center of the ancient city of

, during the reign of king

Philip V of Macedon Philip V (; 238–179 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by the Social War (220–217 BC), Social War in Greece (220-217 BC) ...

, towards the end of the 3rd century BC. The theatre was in use for six centuries until the end of the 3rd century AD (or the beginning of the 4th century AD) when its operation stopped abruptly. During the first centuries, the theatre was used for two purposes: in addition to theatrical performances, it also hosted the meetings of the highest regional authority, the so-called

Koinon ''Koinon'' (, pl. Κοινά, ''Koina''), meaning "common thing", in the sense of "public", had many applications, some societal, some governmental. An abstract noun formed from the neuter of the adjective, koinos, "common", the koinon could mean ...

of Thessaly. The ancient theatre of Larissa, from the end of the 7th century BC had the lead. The ancient theatre was initially associated with the worship of the god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

and the performance of

theatrical Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...

and

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

activities, and later with the administration of the koinon for the meetings of the city assembly, which was called

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

. An indication of these is a small votive altar dedicated to the god Dionysus, found near the theatre where there were supposed sanctuaries and the names of the representatives of the city-state who participated in the Federation of Thessaly and who appear in the seats of the ancient theatre. The theatre has the typical architecture of a theatre of the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

, having the three basic elements: a koilon, an orchestra, and a skene (stage) with a diameter of about 25 meters. The koilon of the ancient theatre was formed by the slope of Frourio hill, which was shaped into terraces for the placement of the seats. During the reign of the emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

and his successor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

, inscriptions on their honor were found on the brims of the stage.

References

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External links

First Ancient Theatre of Larissa – Larissa Municipality
Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century BC Ancient Greek theatres in Greece Cult of Dionysus Buildings and structures in Larissa History of Larissa Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Thessaly Hellenistic architecture

History

See also

References

External links