The Greek theatre of Syracuse lies on the south slopes of the Temenite hill, overlooking the modern city of Syracuse in southeastern Sicily, Italy. It was first built in the 5th century BC, rebuilt in the 3rd century BC and renovated again in the Roman period.
- Venue
- Greek Theatre of Syracuse
- Town
- Syracuse, IT
The Greek theatre of Syracuse lies on the south slopes of the Temenite hill, overlooking the modern city of Syracuse in southeastern Sicily, Italy. It was first built in the 5th century BC, rebuilt in the 3rd century BC and renovated again in the Roman period. Today, it is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica". The existence of a theatre at Syracuse is attested by the end of the fifth century BC by the mime author, Sophron, who names the architect as Damokopos, called "Myrilla" because he made heavy use of perfume ("myrrha") at the inauguration. It has not been proven, however, that the passage records this monument and some think that it refers to another theatre in another location. However it is certain that a theatre was used in Syracuse from the early classical period and in it, it seems, the theatrical activities of the playwrights Epicharmus, Phormis and Deinolocus took place. At Syracuse, Aeschylus put on "The Aetnans" (a tragedy written to celebrate the re-foundation of Catania as Aetna by Hieron I). His The Persians, which had already been performed at Athens in 472 BC, may also have been performed at Syracuse. This latter work survives to this day, while the former has been lost. At the end of the fifth century or the beginning of the fourth, the plays of Dionysius I were probably performed here, along with those of the playwrights hosted at his court, such as Antiphon. It has been theorised by Polacco that in this period the theatre did not yet have the semicircular form that became canonical in the course of the third century, but might instead have been made up of straight banks of seating arranged in a trapezoid. Diodorus Siculus refers to the arrival of Dionysius at Syracuse in 406 BC as the people were exiting the theatre. Plutarch recounts the escape of an angry bull during a citizen assembly in 355 BC and the arrival of Timoleon in a carriage in 336, while the people were meeting here, testify