Epidauros Theater
Space for Dancing
Still used for outdoor dramatic performances, the Theater at Epidauros seats 15,000 spectators. Like most ancient Greek theaters — and also like the Apollo Temple at Bassae — it is designed so that the spectators will look down on a circular dancing floor called the 'orchestra' (space for dancing). It was used by the chorus, dancers who moved to the same rhythm both while dancing and chanting words - a central feature of ancient drama. The spectators would see above the orchestra a slightly elevated rectangular stage set, and beyond it a natural landscape meant by the designer to be part of the larger view. Tragic and comic plays were performed from dawn to dusk in the daytime only, starting in spring and ending in winter.
