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northwards by means of a huge retaining wall. A peripheral corridor surrounded the arena, under the front rows of seating, which led to entrances for combatants at the eastern and western ends of the arena. On the south side of the arena, new seating was built over the top of the cavea of phase 5. The cliff-side location meant that it was impossible to build seating on the north side of the arena, which was thus left open.
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was expanded and the brought forward; a large retaining wall was built to support the earth fill under the seating at the eastern edge of the theatre. Above this retaining wall, on the east side of the cavea, a very steep stepped pyramidal monument was built, surmounted by a base which supported a set of four statues (now lost). The inscription on the base (
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In phase 2, perhaps in the fifth century BC, the scenae was replaced by a slightly larger building, still made of wood and again attested only by a set of postholes in the bedrock. This was roughly 15 metres wide, like its predecessor, but extended back a bit further, and had a wooden stage along the front.
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instead of drama. The semi-circular orchestra was converted into an oval shaped arena, measuring 32.67 metres from east to west and 28.21 from north to south. To accomplish this, the scenae was demolished, the lower seating was removed, a wall was built around the arena, and the plateau was extended
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at Cyrene (ca. 320-96 BC).The stage building was demolished and replaced with a larger structure, with short wings at each end. This structure had three doors in the front from which actors could make entrances and exits. The stonework is of a poorer quality than in phase 3. At this time, the cavea
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The theatre is located on the west end of the narrow plateau below the
Acropolis, which looks north towards the sea. The sanctuary of Apollo is located on the same plateau, to the east and the theatre was originally part of the sanctuary complex. It has a complicated construction history, comprising
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In phase 3, the wooden stage building was demolished in favour of a stone structure, about 25 metres long, located a little further to the north. The first signs of stone seating also derive from this period and suggest a cavea with a diameter of 65 metres. Fragments of earlier structures reused in
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The earliest phase is now indicated only by three rows of postholes in the middle of the orchestra, which were probably intended for a small wooden scenae, roughly 15 metres long and 5 metres deep. Parallels from the rest of the Greek world suggest this structure dates to the late sixth century BC.
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Phase 5 belongs in the early Roman period (i.e. the 1st century BC or AD). In this phase, the stage building was monumentalised, by adding engaged columns to the façade. The lower portion of the surviving seating probably belongs to this phase, as do straight retaining walls on the edges of the
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97900) dates to the late fourth or early third century BC and names the honorands as
Cleuthemis son of Stasis (who erected the monument while serving as a priest), Cleuthemis son of Philengyus, Damon son of Chartadas, and Stasis son of Cleuthemis.
138:; unlike many other structures in Cyrene, there is no evidence that the theatre was damaged during the sack. In this phase, the wings of the scenae were extended forwards, apparently blocking entry to the theatre through the orchestra.
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The new amphitheatre was separated from the sanctuary of Apollo to the west by the construction of the Wall of
Nicodamus, which crosses the plateau from north to south to the east of the theatre. A verse inscription
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View of the arena of the theatre. The curved masonry in the centre of the arena is the remains of the front row of seating from phase 4 of the theatre. Part of the wall of the arena from phase 7 is visible left of
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163:) by "shutting off their sacred bushes from the sight of the gladiators." This was necessary because gladiatorial combat was considered
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Department of
Antiquities, and the Libyan Ministry of Culture conducted emergency conservation on the theatre to halt the subsidence.
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31) names priest
Nicodamus as the builder and specifies that it was built to "for the purity of Phoebus and his sister" (Apollo and
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seven phases, which are not easily distinguished or dated. In most phases, the basic structure consisted of a semicircular
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It is unclear when the amphitheatre went out of use. Cyrene was heavily damaged by earthquakes in 262 and
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In phase 7, in the late second century AD, the theatre was converted into an amphitheatre, to be used for
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436:"Die Entwicklung des Apollon-Heiligtums von Kyrene vom 4. Jh. v. Chr. bis zum Ende des Hellenismus"
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Ensoli, S. (2010). "Il teatro-anfiteatro del
Santuario di Apollo a Cirene". In Luni, M. (ed.).
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suggest that this construction took place in the second half of the fourth century BC.
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cavea. Phase 6 may have followed the sack of the city in 115 AD during the
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Willoughby, Michelle; Charlton, Justin; Elliott, Tom (18 July 2016).
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400:. Libya Archaeological Guides. Vol. 2. Silphium Press.
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542:"Theater of Cyrene: a Pleiades place resource"
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502:"IGCyr097900: Private honors and dedication"
346:. Global Heritage Fund (GHF). Archived from
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385:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
419:. Rome: Bretschneider. pp. 286–289.
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434:Thiessen, Oliver J. (2012).
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173:Stoa of Hermes and Heracles
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375:. Roma. pp. 117–145.
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415:Stucchi, Sandro (1976).
394:Kenrick, Philip (2013).
561:"Greek Theatre, Cyrene"
62:Greek Theatre of Cyrene
594:Ancient Greek theatres
481:"Kyrene, Amphitheater"
417:Architettura cirenaica
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37:32.824591°N 21.85083°E
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188:Global Heritage Fund
599:Roman amphitheatres
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479:Gogräfe, Rüdiger.
458:Gogräfe, Rüdiger.
315:Dobias-Lalou 2017b
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84:Description
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583:Categories
426:887062448X
354:2009-04-27
202:References
148:gladiators
28:21°51′03″E
25:32°49′29″N
397:Cyrenaica
381:cite book
177:Caesareum
136:Kitos War
91:orchestra
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161:Artemis
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