Anamphitheatre (American English:amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports.[2] The term derives from theancient Greekἀμφιθέατρον (amphitheatron),[3] fromἀμφί (amphi), meaning "on both sides" or "around"[4] andθέατρον (théātron), meaning "place for viewing".[5][6]
Ancient Greektheatres were typically built on hillsides and semi-circular in design. The first amphitheatre may have been built at Pompeii around 70 BC.[7] AncientRoman amphitheatres were oval or circular in plan, with seating tiers that surrounded the central performance area, like a modern open-airstadium. In contrast, both ancient Greek and ancientRoman theatres were built in asemicircle, with tiered seating rising on one side of the performance area.
Modern English parlance uses "amphitheatre" for any structure with sloping seating, includingtheatre-style stages with spectator seating on only one side,theatres in the round, andstadia. They can be indoor or outdoor.
About230 Roman amphitheatres have been found across the area of theRoman Empire. Their typical shape, functions and name distinguish them fromRoman theatres, which are more or less semicircular in shape; from thecircuses (similar tohippodromes) whose much longer circuits were designed mainly for horse or chariot racing events; and from the smallerstadia, which were primarily designed forathletics and footraces.[8]
Roman amphitheatres were circular or oval in plan, with a centralarena surrounded by perimeter seating tiers. The seating tiers were pierced by entrance-ways controlling access to the arena floor, and isolating it from the audience. Temporary wooden structures functioning as amphitheaters would have been erected for the funeral games held in honour of deceased Romanmagnates by their heirs, featuring fights to the death bygladiators, usually armed prisoners of war, at the funeral pyre or tomb of the deceased. These games are described in Roman histories asmunera, gifts, entertainments or duties to honour deceased individuals, Rome's gods and the Roman community.[9]
Some Roman writers interpret the earliest attempts to provide permanent amphitheaters and seating for the lower classes as populist political graft, rightly blocked by theSenate as morally objectionable; too-frequent, excessively "luxurious"munera would corrode traditional Roman morals. The provision of permanent seating was thought a particularly objectionable luxury.[10]
The earliest permanent, stone and timber Roman amphitheatre with perimeter seating was built in theCampus Martius in 29 BCE.[11] Most were built under Imperial rule, from theAugustan period (27 BCE–14 CE) onwards.[12] Imperial amphitheatres were built throughout the Roman Empire, especial in provincial capitals and major colonies, as an essential aspect ofRomanitas. There was no standard size; the largest could accommodate 40,000–60,000 spectators. The most elaborate featured multi-storeyed, arcaded façades and were decorated withmarble,stucco and statuary.[13] The best-known and largest Roman amphitheatre is theColosseum inRome, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre (Amphitheatrum Flavium), after theFlavian dynasty who had it built. After the ending of gladiatorial games in the 5th century and of staged animal hunts in the 6th, most amphitheatres fell into disrepair. Their materials were mined or recycled. Some were razed, and others were converted into fortifications. A few continued as convenient open meeting places; in some of these, churches were sited.[14]
Aerial photograph of theHollywood Bowl, showing the seating after the 2005 renovation.
In modern english usage of the word, an amphitheatre is not only a circular, but can also be a semicircular or curved performance space, particularly one located outdoors.[15] Contemporary amphitheatres often include standing structures, calledbandshells, sometimes curved or bowl-shaped, both behind the stage and behind the audience, creating an area which echoes or amplifies sound, making the amphitheatre ideal for musical or theatrical performances. Small-scale amphitheatres can serve to host outdoor local community performances.
A natural amphitheatre is a performance space located in a spot where a steep mountain or a particular rock formation naturally amplifies or echoes sound, making it ideal for musical and theatrical performances. An amphitheatre can be naturally occurring formations which would be ideal for this purpose, even if no theatre has been constructed there.
There is evidence that theAnasazi people used natural amphitheatres for the public performance of music inPre-Columbian times including a large constructed performance space inChaco Canyon,New Mexico.[16]
^Dodge, Hazel,Amphitheaters in the Roman World, pp.545-553, Ch. 37 in "Blackwell companions to the Ancient World", edited by Christesen, P & Kyle, Donald, Wiley Blackwell, 2014
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