Theatre of Dionysus

37°58′13″N 23°43′40″E / 37.97034°N 23.727784°E / 37.97034; 23.727784

The Theatre of Dionysus^[1] (or Theatre of Dionysos, Greek: Θέατρο του Διονύσου) is an ancient Greek theatre in Athens. It is built on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, originally part of the sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus (Dionysus the Liberator^[2]). The first orchestra terrace was constructed on the site around the mid- to late-sixth century BC, where it hosted the City Dionysia. The theatre reached its fullest extent in the fourth century BC under the epistates of Lycurgus when it would have had a capacity of up to 25,000,^[3] and was in continuous use down to the Roman period. The theatre then fell into decay in the Byzantine era and was not identified,^[4] excavated^[5] and restored to its current condition until the nineteenth century.^[6]

^ Travlos, 1971, p.537
^ C. Calame, Aetiological Performance and Consecration in Taplin and Wyles, The Pronomos Vase and Its Context Oxford, 2010, p.70, "As a simple aetiological hypothesis, one can imagine a threefold etymological pun on the epiklesis of the god to whom the satyric drama is dedicated: Dionysos Eleuthereus, Liberator of men who are free, coming from Eleutherai."
^ Plato, Symposium 175e, if taken as a reference to the theatre suggests it could seat 30,000. Pickard-Cambridge, 1988, p.263 dismisses this and states "[a]s reconstructed by Lycurgus, the theatre can have held 14,000-17,000 spectators."
^ First correctly located by R. Chandler in Travels in Greece Oxford, 1776. Identified as the Theatre of Bacchus.
^ Christina Papastamati-von Moock, The Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus in Athens: New Data and Observations on its ‘Lycurgan’ Phase in Csapo et al, 2014, summarizes the archaeological literature p.16 n.2
^ Archaeology began in earnest at the site with A. Rousopoulos in 1861. Arch. Ephm. 1862, pp.94-102

[1] Travlos, 1971, p.537

[2] C. Calame, Aetiological Performance and Consecration in Taplin and Wyles, The Pronomos Vase and Its Context Oxford, 2010, p.70, "As a simple aetiological hypothesis, one can imagine a threefold etymological pun on the epiklesis of the god to whom the satyric drama is dedicated: Dionysos Eleuthereus, Liberator of men who are free, coming from Eleutherai."

[3] Plato, Symposium 175e, if taken as a reference to the theatre suggests it could seat 30,000. Pickard-Cambridge, 1988, p.263 dismisses this and states "[a]s reconstructed by Lycurgus, the theatre can have held 14,000-17,000 spectators."

[4] First correctly located by R. Chandler in Travels in Greece Oxford, 1776. Identified as the Theatre of Bacchus.

[5] Christina Papastamati-von Moock, The Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus in Athens: New Data and Observations on its ‘Lycurgan’ Phase in Csapo et al, 2014, summarizes the archaeological literature p.16 n.2

[6] Archaeology began in earnest at the site with A. Rousopoulos in 1861. Arch. Ephm. 1862, pp.94-102

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