Theatre
The first construction phase of the theater dates back to the late 5th c. B.C. It included fixed seats and a wooden stage.
A new orchestra and staging were added during the Hellenistic period. In the early 1st c. A.D., the gradient of the seats became steeper and a covered stoa was added to its upper part. The scene building was reconstructed towards the middle of the 2nd c. A.D., acquiring a three-storied façade with a colonnade and reliefs under the columns. During late Antiquity, theatrical aesthetics changed and the theater orchestra became a gladiators’ area.
The front seats of the orchestra were removed in order to create a vertical curtain decorated with murals which separated the audience from the gladiators. Later on, the orchestra was covered in waterproof plastering, in order to host theatrical naval battles.
The courtyard to the east of the stage reveals a stone slab in its floor, put to second use, which bears a Latin inscription referring to the aedilis (financial manager) of the city of Erasto. The theater area continued to be in use also in the Byzantine period.
