The Roman Theatre is an ancient Roman theatre in

Cartagena, Spain Cartagena () is a Spanish city and a major naval station on the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Iberia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants, being the region's second-largest municipality and the country's sixth-lar ...

History

The theatre was built between 5 and 1 BCE, as has been proven by the dedication of the edifice to

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius Pol ...

and

Lucius Caesar Lucius Caesar (17 BC – 20 August AD 2) was a grandson of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. The son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, Augustus' only daughter, Lucius was adopted by his grandfather along with his older brother, ...

, grandsons of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

, who had designated them as his successors. In the 3rd century a market was built over the theatre, reusing its materials, with a semicircular open space which followed the plan of the ''orchestra''. The market was perhaps abandoned after a fire caused by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

in 425. A market quarter of the Byzantines was established on the site in the 6th century. During the 13th century the Old Cathedral of the city was built over the upper

cavea The ''cavea'' (Latin for "enclosure") are the seating sections of Greek and Roman theatres and amphitheatres An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performance ...

. In 1988 the first remains of the theatre were discovered during the construction of the '' Centro regional de artesanía''. The archaeological excavations and the restorations were completed in 2003. In 2008 a museum, designed by

Rafael Moneo José Rafael Moneo Vallés (born 9 May 1937) is a Spanish architect. He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996, the Royal Institute of British Architects, RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003 and Venice Biennale, La Biennale's Golden Lion in 2 ...

, was opened.

Description

The

was carved directly on the rocks in its central part, and tops a series of vaulted galleries. It had a capacity of some 6,000 spectators. It was divided horizontally in three parts (''ima'', ''media'' and ''summa cavea''), in turn divided into radial sectors by the staircases (five in the upper part, seven in the medium and upper ones). The public entered from two side passages (''aditus''), where the dedications have been found. The ''orchestra'' had a semicircular plan and housed three rows of wooden seats for the authorities (''proedria''). The stage (''proscaenium'') had a length of 43.60 m. The ''scaenae frons'' had three semicircular

exedra An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...

s and decorated by two orders of columns, with bases and capitals in Luni's marble, and shaft in pink travertine of Mula. The stage edifice had a total height of 14.60 m. It have been found three round altars dedicated to the Capituline Triad and to the divinities of Apollo (Graces, Muses and

Horae In Greek mythology the Horae () or Horai () or Hours ( grc-gre, Ὧραι, Hōrai, , "Seasons") were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. Etymology The term ''horae'' comes from the Proto-Indo-European ("year"). F ...

), as well as a statue of Apollo with

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

and one of

Rhea Silvia Rhea (or Rea) Silvia (), also known as Ilia (as well as other names) was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome. Her story is told in the first book of ''Ab Urbe Condita Libri'' of Livy and in Cassius D ...

. Behind the stage building was a portico (''porticus post scaenam'') with a double porticoed gallery revolving around a central room housing a garden.

External links

Page at archinfo.it

Official page
{{coord, 37.5995, -0.9841, type:landmark_region:ES, display=title 1 BC 1988 archaeological discoveries Ancient Roman theatres in Spain Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC Buildings and structures in Cartagena, Spain Tourist attractions in the Region of Murcia

History

Description

See also

External links