Built in the fourth century according to design by Polykleitos the Younger, the theatre at Epidauros still remains about 90% intact. And while Epidauros’ theatre is one of the most famous theatres in Greece, it is not representative of the type of theatre in which playwrights of the Golden Age had the opportunity to perform their plays. With its perfectly circular orchestra, elaborate entranceways, perfectly curved stone audience benches, and superb acoustics, Epidauros was built without rival.

http://www.home.uchicago.edu/~igor2006/myc_epid/theater.jpg

The layout of the theatre at Epidauros possesses all the parts of the Standard Greek Theatre Layout. In the orchestra, the base of an altar to Dionysus still remains, and it was in this space that both actors and the chorus performed until a stage was added during the Hellenistic period. The 55 rows of the theatron held up to 12,000 audience members; the theatron was divided vertically into 13 separate sections by staircases and divided horizontally into two sections by the diazoma. The seats closest to the orchestra had back supports and were reserved for guests of honor. The skene, which was added in the Hellenestic period, was a two-storey building in back of the one-storey stage. The stage was supported by 14 pillars of Ionic half-columns. Wood panels sat between all the pillars, except the middle two and were used as a backdrop for the plays. A ramp projected from each end of the stage, and at the end of each ramp were two-doored gateways, serving as walkways from the skene to orchestra, by way of the paradoi.

References

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"Epidauros, Theatre." Perseus. Dept. of Classics, Tufts U. 2 Dec. 2005 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0039&query=Epidauros%2C%20Theater>.

Storey, Ian C., and Arlene Allan. A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama. Malden: Blackwell, 2005.

Taylor, David. The Greek and Roman Stage. London: Bristol Classical P, 1999.

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