The Theatre of Hierapolis is of impressive size. The seating area is divided into two tiers and by 8 staircases. Above was the gallery of the summa cavea. In the centre of the ima cavea (the lower seats) is a large marble exedra, with seats that have lion paw terminals and high backs, for people of high status.
The stage building is divided into a logheion (the stage itself) and a scaena. The scaenae frons was divided into three superimposed orders, sitting upon a podium decorated with a figurative cycle dedicated to Apollo and Artemis. This building was erected in the third century AD, during the reign of emperor Septimius Severus, enveloping and cancelling an earlier theatre, perhaps of Flavian date. The theatre was used into late Roman times; an inscription, dating to AD 352, cites the restoration of the scaenae frons.
The frieze above the central doorway is of the emperor Septimus Severus next to his wife, Julia Domna. The pediments with Apollo-Sun and Artemis-Moon flanking the central doorway are copies.
The theatre underwent extensive restoration and reconstruction from 2009-2013. This included a painstaking study of around 3000 marble blocks uncovered during the excavation, and repairing features after a combination of the theatre's collapse, the impact of human activity, atmospheric conditions and biological attack.
Hierapolis, Türkiye #0275
13 June 2024
