Theatre: Did you mean...?

Hadrian’s Villa near Tivoli, Italy, is an opulent, sprawling garden-villa covering some 120 hectares (296 acres). It was built by Emperor Hadrian (76-138 CE) between 125-134 CE for use as his country estate, although the land may have originally...

Carved into the side of the mountain at the foot of the High Place of Sacrifice, the theatre of Petra consists of three rows of seats separated by passageways. Seven stairways ascended the cavea (seating section) which accommodated 4000 spectators...

Dion is located at the foot of Mount Olympus in the north of Greece, in what would have been ancient Macedon. It takes its name from the most important Macedonian sanctuary dedicated to Zeus ("Dios” meaning "of Zeus”). Legend claims this...

The theatre of Marcellus, near the Capitoline Hill, Rome. Begun under Julius Caesar, the project was completed under Augustus and the theatre was named after the son of Octavia who, before his death in 23 BCE, was Augustus' heir. Built in...

The 2nd century BCE theatre of Segesta, Sicily. The theatre had a capacity of up to 4,000 spectators.

Greek theatre likely sprang from the lyrical performance of ancient epic poetry and the rituals performed in the worship of the god Dionysos where goats were sacrificed and participants wore masks. From the 6th century BCE, Greek tragedy...

A sketch by Aernout van Buchel showing actors on the stage of the Swan theatre in 1596 CE in London, one of the principal theatres of Elizabethan theatre. (Utrecht University Library, Netherlands)

The unusually steep cavea of the 2nd century BCE theatre in the Hellenistic city of Pergamon (modern Turkey).

Built from the 4th to 3rd century BCE. Originally there were 81 rows of seats giving a total capacity of 20,000 spectators, making it the largest Greek theatre.

The theatre of Philippi, Macedon, built during the reign of Philip II in the 4th century BCE.