THEATRE

(Yunanca köken — orijinale bakınız.) In Architecture, a building appropriated to the representation of dramatic spectacles. The theatres of theGreeks and Romans display some of the most extraordinary specimens of their power in the arts. Bacchus has the reputation of being the inventor of them, which, after their temples, appear to have been the most important public edifices of those people. They seem to have been carried to perfection in the Grecian colonies at an earlier period than they were in the mother country. The first theatre of stone at Athens, called the theatre of Bacchus, was built in the time of Them is toc les; and as there seems little doubt that the A then i ans were the inventors of the drama as a regular scenic action, it is fair to presume that thev were the first to regulate the form and proportions which nece ity and pleasure dictated in their arrangement. The subjoined diagram shows the general form of the Greek theatre, which differed but little ft-om that of the Romans; and the instructions given by Vitruvius in the eighth chapter of his fifth book, as to the general outline ' Whereas in the Latin theatre the points of four triangles touch the circumference, in the theatres of the Greeks the angles of three squares are substituted; and the side of that square I which is nearest to the place of the scene, at the points where it touches the circumference of the" circle, is the boundary of the proscenium. A line drawn parallel to this, at the extremity of the circle,will give the front of the scene. Through the centre of the orchestra, opposite to the proscenium, another parallel line is drawn touching the circumference on the right and left; then, one foot of the compa es being fixed on the right-hand point, with a radius equal to the distance from the left point describe a circle on the right-hand side of the proscenium, and, placing the foot of the compa es on the left-hand point, with the distance of the right-hand interval describe another circle on the left side of the proscenium. Thus describing it from three centres, the Greeks have a larger orchestra, and their scene is further rece ed. The pulpitum, which they call Xeys/ev, is le in width; wherefore among them the tragic and comic performers act upon tlie scene, the rest going through their parts in the orchestra." The ancient theatres were frequently used for the deliberations of the general a embly of the people on political matters, as we find from Tacitus and A us on i us in respect of the theatres at Antioch and Athens. Notwithstanding the use of those buildings in later times as quarries freely used by the inhabitants of the cities in which they stood, there are still considerable ruins at Ephesus. A lab and a, Teos, Smyrna, Hierapolis, Cyzicus, Alinda, Magnesia, Laodicea, 'Myla a, Sardis, Miletus, Str a to nice a, Tel me us, Jasus, and Patara, all in Asia Minor; in Sicily, at Catana, Taurominium, Syracuse, Argyrium, and Segesta. In Greece, ruins are still extant at Athens, Sparta, in the island of Egina, at Epidaurus, and Megalopolis. According to Pausanias, that at Epidaurus, built by Polycletus, surpa ed all the other theatres of Greece in its beauty and proportions; but in grandeur and magnificence the Roman theatres far surpa ed those of the Greeks; nor is this surprising, considering the population the former had to accommodate compareS* 1227 THEFT. with that of the latter. For a very considerable period the theatres of Rome, like those of the Etruscans, were of wood; and Pompey, on his return from the war against Mithridates, was the first who constructed one of stone. This must have been of large dimensions, inasmuch as it would contain 40,000 spectators. The remains of it at some stables of a palace are still visible. There were two other considerable theatres in Rome; the first built in the year 741 of the city, by Cornel i us Balbus; and the second, which was begun by Julius Cjesar, but not finished till the time of August us, who dedicated it to his friend Mar cell us. From the remains it appears that it was a specimen of great beauty and purity, as far as relates to the profiles of two of its orders, there being no vestiges of the upper order. The only other remains of Roman theatres are at Saguntum and Oranges, though the Romans usually erected theatres in their jiewly conquered cities, or at least embellished and improved, those they found on the spot. The modern theatres of Rome are, perhaps, the worst in Europe. Italy, however, boasts some beautiful examples; the principal whereof are those at Parma, now in a very dilapidated state, Milan, Verona, Turin, Naples, and Bologna. In France, a very fine theatre at Bourdeaux; the theatre at Versailles; and some elegant theatres in Paris. Till recently this country has been unsucce ful in the design of theatres; but a taste seems rising, which we doubt not, if opportunity occurred, would tend to raise its character in that respect in the eyes of foreigners. We subjoin a short table of the width of the stage in a few European theatres: — Milan - - - - 40 feet. San Benedetto, Venice - • 40 Theatre Frangais, Paris - - 40 Parma - - - 40 Bourdeaux - - - 39 Turin - - - 39 Covent Garden - - - 37 Argent i no at Rome - - 36 Theatre It alien, Paris - - 33 [s. 1240]