Apollonia ad Rhyndacum ancient city’s theater had a “private” spectator seating area

A reserved spectator seat for an individual has been discovered in the theater section of the Apollonia ad Rhyndacum archaeological site in the Nilüfer district of Bursa.

The name of the ancient city of Apollonia ad Rhyndacum is derived from Apollo, one of the important gods in Greek mythology, and means “Apollonia by the Rhyndakos.” The Rhyndakos is the river that feeds Lake Uluabat.

The ongoing excavations in the city, which turned into an important city-state especially in the Hellenistic period, are expected to shed light on this period.

The theater of the city was built on the slope of Zambaktepe, overlooking Lake Uluabat, at the end of the 4th century BC. The theater, which features VIP areas and box-like sections, is estimated to have a capacity of approximately 6,000 people.

Prof. Dr. Derya Şahin, a faculty member of the Department of Archaeology at Bursa Uludağ University and the head of the excavation, stated, “Last year, we largely uncovered the orchestra area, found the seating rows, and partially opened the western parodos. This year, we are continuing our work in both the western parodos and the kavea (the area where the spectators sit).”

Prof. Şahin stated, “The size of the theater, with an orchestra approximately 28 meters in diameter and the kavea section, which encompasses the entire seating area along with the surrounding walls, is about 78 meters. So, we are talking about a quite large theater, nearly 80 meters in size. Therefore, it has a seating capacity of around 6,000 people. The seating capacity is significant; it is planned according to the population density of both the cities and the neighboring cities in contact with it. We can define this as a very large theater. The construction of the theater on the slope clearly indicates that it was built during the Hellenistic period. However, due to changes in people’s desires, needs, and preferences during the Roman period, we can say that the orchestra was arranged in an arena form during that time.”

In the early periods, the theater featured tragedy-themed plays, as people enjoyed works written by Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschylus.

During the Roman period, the orchestra was surrounded by a parapet wall for safety reasons, particularly due to the display of violent gladiatorial games and animal fights.

Emphasizing that the seating arrangement in theaters is hierarchical, Şahin stated,

“The section at the bottom where people sit is called prohedria, which is the area for VIPs. As you move up from the bottom, you can see that people of decreasing importance are seated. We know that at the top, slaves and individuals of secondary importance would sit. It is also known that seating rows in theaters were reserved. There are examples from different studies in various cities regarding this. Here, we have identified an inscribed seating step. This step indicates not a specific profession but rather the presence of a special name. The existence of reserved areas in the theater is quite significant, such as a name like ‘Aitroy.’ However, we cannot complete it due to missing fragments.”

“It was very important to choose the location for the theater’s seating area at the beginning. The site of the theater was planned to face a nearby sea or lake, and, as in our example, it was built on a slope in Hellenistic theaters. They used materials from the nearby primary rocks at the construction site, sometimes leveling the bedrock to create a foundation. By using metals and employing connecting elements known as ‘tenon and mortise’ in ancient architecture, they linked the building stones together both horizontally and vertically.”