Roman theatres

Roman theatres grew out of the Greek theatre, and they kept its semicircular form: a curved auditorium of stepped seats facing a stage with a tall decorated back wall, the scaenae frons. Unlike the amphitheatre, which was built for games and could be round, the theatre was shaped for sound, and it hosted plays, pantomimes, choral performances, speeches and even business. The Romans often built theatres on their own foundations rather than against a hillside, enclosing them on all sides, though many in the provinces reused Greek theatres cut into slopes.

That mixture shows clearly in this atlas. At Butrint and Phoenice in southern Albania, Greek theatres of the 3rd century BC were rebuilt under Roman rule; Butrint’s is known for the inscriptions carved on its stones, and the area around it can be under water. At Apollonia an odeon of the 2nd century AD stood on the north side of the agora for music and cultural events. In Pula the Small Roman Theatre, built into the slope of the town’s hill, has been partly rebuilt and is used for performances again, and at Salona only the outline of the auditorium survives.