Salamis Theatre
The theatre of Salamis lay undiscovered till 1959. At that time, the
decision was made to renovate it, so that it could be once again used
for theatrical performances, a role which it does to this day, with
performers as diverse as Boney M and Jose Carreras.
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The Theatre at Salamis |
The present day ruins date back to around the time of Augustus
(63BC - 14AD), and seems to have been rebuilt around 200AD. The
structure is unusual. Roman theatres were normally built into a
convenient hill, which made construction a lot easier. (Have a look at
the layout of Soli). The Salamis theatre, however, was a free-standing
one, not an excavated landscaped one. The inner half of the auditorium
was partially cut into a rocky prominence, and was supported on a
solidly built up masonry mass, while the outer part was supported on a
complicated system of heavy walls and vaults. The theatre part was
built on flat ground, and although you might expect it to face out to
sea, it in fact, faces inland.
The auditorium originally consisted of 50 rows of seats and held over
15,000 spectators. Its orchestra bore an alter dedicated to Dionysus and
two bases dedicated to Marcus Aurelius Commodus, and Caesar Constantius,
and Caesar Maximanius.
Performances took place on a raised stage whose background was
decorated with statues. The theatre was in use until around 400AD, but
it was destroyed by earthquakes, and allowed to fall into ruins. Much of
the structure was used in the rebuilding of the gymnasium and baths
nearby.
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