 A 3D reconstruction of the Theatre of Pompey | |
   Theatre of Pompey Shown within Augustan Rome | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| Location | Regio IX Circus Flaminius |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°53′43″N12°28′25″E / 41.8953°N 12.4736°E /41.8953; 12.4736 |
| Type | Roman theatre |
| History | |
| Builder | Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus |
| Founded | 62 – 55 or 52 BC |
TheTheatre of Pompey (Latin:Theatrum Pompeii,Italian:Teatro di Pompeo), also known byother names, was a structure inAncient Rome built during the latter part of theRoman Republican era byPompey the Great. Completed in 55 BC, it was the first permanent theatre to be built in Rome. Its ruins are located atLargo di Torre Argentina.
Enclosed by the large columned porticos was an expansive garden complex of fountains and statues. Along the stretch of the coveredarcade were rooms dedicated to the exposition of art and other works collected by Pompey during his campaigns. On the opposite end of the garden complex was theCuria of Pompey for political meetings. The senate would often use this building along with a number of temples and halls that satisfied the requirements for their formal meetings. The curia is infamous as the place whereJulius Caesar wasassassinated byBrutus andCassius during a session of theSenate on 15 March 44 BC.
The Theatre of Pompey had a number of names in Latin.Theatrum Pompeii was most common, but it was also called thePompeian Theatre (Theatrum Pompeianum),[1] theMarble Theatre (Theatrum Marmoreum),[2] and simplythe Theatre (Theatrum),[3] as it was "always the most important theatre in Rome".[4]
Pompey paid for this theatre to gain political popularity during his secondconsulship. According to Plutarch, Pompey was inspired by his visit in 62 BC to aGreek theatre inMytilene.[5] However, this is likely mistaken, as the theatre at Mytilene would have been built into a hillside and, unlike Pompey's theatre, did not have ascaena. If any inspiration came from the theatre there, it must have been largely reworked or discarded, as Rome's urban geography made such a project unadaptable.[4] Construction began around 61 BC.[6]
Prior to its construction, permanent stone theatres had been forbidden, and so to side-step this issue, Pompey had the structure built in theCampus Martius, outside of thepomerium, or sacred boundary, that divided the city from theager Romanus (the territory immediately outside the city).[7][8] Pompey also had a temple toVenus Victrix built near the top of the theatre's seating; Pompey then claimed that he had "not [built] a theatre, but rather a temple of Venus to which I have added the steps of a theatre".[9] This was done, according to Tertullian, to avoid censure but the claim was likely in jest.[10]
The sources on the dedication are contradictory.Pliny reports its dedication in 55 BC, the year of Pompey's second consulship. However,Gellius preserves a letter byCicero's freedman,Tiro that dates the dedication to Pompey's third consulship in 52 BC; in the letter, Pompey requests clarification as to whether to inscribeconsul tertio orconsul tertium.[11][12] It may be, however, that different portions of the theatre – the theatre proper, thescaena, and the adjoining temple – were completed at different times.[13]
Two performances are associated with the dedication:Clytemnestra byAccius, andEquos Troianus either byLivius Andronicus orGnaeus Naevius.[14]Clodius Aesopus, a renowned tragic actor, was brought out of retirement in order to act in the theatre's opening show. The show was also accompanied bygladiatorial matches featuring exotic animals.[8] The showing ofClytemnestra proved an opportunity for Pompey to restage histriple triumph from 61 BC, representing himself both asAlexander the Great and asAgamemnon.[15] Other events were also held around the city in the celebrations, including musical and gymnastic contests along with horse races.[16]
Following Pompey's defeat and subsequent assassination in 48 BC during theGreat Roman Civil War (49–45 BC), Caesar used the theatre to celebrate the triumph over Pompey's forces in Africa. The theatre itself was the site ofCaesar's assassination. At the time, the Roman Senate had been using various venues to conduct business, as the Senate House itself was under renovation.
For forty years, the theatre was the only permanent theatre located in Rome, untilLucius Cornelius Balbus the Younger constructed theTheatre of Balbus in 13 BC in thecampus Martius. Regardless, the Theatre of Pompey continued to be the main location for plays, both due to its splendour and its size. In fact, the site was often considered the premiere theatre throughout its entire life. Seeking association with the great theatre, others constructed their own in and around the area of Pompey's. This led to the eventual establishment of a theatre district, in the most literal sense.[8]
Octavian, in 32 BC, renovated the theatre and moved the statute of Pompey at which Caesar was murdered from thecuria to thescaena.[17] The theatre burned in AD 21 and afterwards, Tiberius reconstructed the portions destroyed.[18] During the reconstructions, a statue ofSejanus was set up in the theatre ondecree of the senate but it did not survive Sejanus' downfall.[19] The Tiberian restorations were completed under Caligula but dedicated by Claudius.[20] During Claudius' restorations, his name – along with that of Tiberius – were inscribed next to that of Pompey.[21]
The porticos and theatre were maintained for centuries.Octavian restored parts of the complex in 32 BC, and in AD 21 Tiberius initiated a reconstruction of the part of the theatre that had been destroyed by fire which was completed during the reign ofCaligula.Claudius rededicated the Temple of Venus Victrix;Nero gilded the interior of the temple for the visit of Tiridates in AD 66.[22] Thescaena burned in a large fire in AD 80 and was restored byDomitian. There were further restorations underSeptimius Severus; one Quinus Acilius Fuscus is noted by inscription asprocurator operis Theatri Pompeiani.[23] The fire burned again in AD 247 and was later restored under the emperorsDiocletian andMaximian, emperorsHonorius andArcadius,[24] and later bySymmachus.[25]
A catalogue compiled at the end of the 4th century recorded that the theatre's seating capacity was 22,888 people.[26] A modern estimate of capacity, in the 1992A new topographical dictionary of ancient Rome, places its capacity at 11,000.[25] After thefall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476, the Theatre of Pompey remained in use and when the city of Rome came under the dominion of theOstrogothic Kingdom, the structure was once again renovated between AD 507–511.[27] However, this renovation would be its last. Following the destructiveGothic War (535–554) there was no need for a large theatre because the population of Rome had declined drastically. As such, the theatre was allowed to deteriorate.[28]
During theEarly Middle Ages, the marble covering of the theatre was used as a material to maintain other buildings. Being located near theTiber, the building was also regularly flooded which caused further damage.[28] Nevertheless, the concrete core of the building remained standing in the 9th century AD, as a pilgrim guidebook from that time still listed the site as atheatrum.[28][29] By the 12th century, buildings had started to encroach upon the remains; two churches, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria in Grotta Pinta were constructed on the site, with the latter probably having been built over one of the theatre's access corridors.[29] However, the floor plan of the old theatre was still recognizable.[28] In 1140, one source referred to the ruins as theTheatrum Pompeium, whereas another referred to it as the "temple of Cneus pompeii". In 1150, Johannes de Ceca is reputed to have sold atrillium, or round structure (i.e. the theatre curve) to an ancestor of theOrsini family. In 1296, the site of the theatre was turned into a fortress by the Orsini.[29] Later in the Middle Ages, the square ofCampo de' Fiori was built and the remaining parts of the theatre were quarried to supply stone for many newer buildings which still exist in modern Rome.[28]
Today, not much remains visible of the theatre, as the vestiges of the structure have entirely been enveloped by the structures that lie between theCampo de' Fiori andLargo di Torre Argentina. The largest intact sections of the theatre are found in thePalazzo della Cancelleria, which used much of the bone-coloured travertine for its exterior from the theatre. The large red and grey columns used in its courtyard are from the porticoes of the theatre's upper covered seating; however, they were originally taken from the theatre to build the old Basilica of S. Lorenzo.[30] And while the theatre itself is no longer discernible, the imprint of the building itself can still be detected; the structure’s semicircular form can today be traced by walking east from the Campo de' Fiori through thePalazzo Orsini Pio Righetti. The path of the Via di Grotta Pinta, near the Via dei Chiavari, also roughly follows the outline of the theatre's original stage. Deep within the recesses of basements and wine cellars of buildings located in the Campo de' Fiori, arches and fragments of the theatre's walls and foundations can still be seen.[31] The ground plan of the Palazzo Pio also reveals that many of the supporting spokes of the theatre were re-purposed into walls for new rooms.[32] The arches that were left after the theatre’s abandonment even led to the name of the aforementioned Santa Maria di Grotta Pinta (i.e. the "painted grotto").[33]
One of the first individuals to draw the ruins of the theatre wasGiovanni Battista Piranesi, who made two notable etchings depicting the theatre in the middle of the 18th{ century. The first, entitled "A Demonstration of the Current Remains of the Theatre of Pompey" (Dimonstrazione del Odierno Avanzo del Teatro di Pompeo), illustrates, from both a top-down and a cross-section perspective, a view of the ruins. This illustration suggests that the only remnants of the once-great structure in the 18th century were portions of the seating closest to the orchestra, or theima cavea. Piranesi specifically notes that four of the large doors (vomitoria) through which spectators would have entered the complex were still preserved. However, much of the height of the building had long ago been stripped away.[34]
Another etching, entitled "The Remains of the Theatre of Pompey", shows a more artistic view of the structure. This illustration, facing the south-east, postulates that the remainingima cavea was split on the Western side, where the ancient stairs to the Temple of Venus would have been located. The image also prominently shows a remaining substructure arch that originally would have supported themedia andsumma caveae.[35] Piranesi seems to have been basing his drawings largely on what he could imagine, as in the legend for "A Demonstration of the Current Remains of the Theatre of Pompey", he explicitly mentions that these etchings illustrate what the theatre would look like if modern structures were removed from the site (protratta secondo il giro delle moderne fabbriche situate sullo rovine della medesima).[34][35]
Luigi Canina (1795–1856) was the first to undertake serious research on the theatre. Canina examined what ruins he could and then combined this information with Vitruvius' famous description of a Roman theatre, thereby producing a working plan of the theatre. Later in 1837, Victoire Baltard used Canina's work, as well as information gleaned from theForma Urbis to construct a more refined plan.[36] Much likePiranesi before him, Baltard also created a sketch of what the ruins would look like were they to be completely excavated.[37]
The structure and connectingquadriporticus had multiple uses. The building had the largestcrypta of all the Roman theatres. This area, located behind the stage and within an enclosure, was used by patrons between acts or productions to stroll, purchase refreshments or just to escape to the covered porticoes from the sun or rain.[38]
ThePorticus Pompeii contained statues of great artists and actors. Longarcades exhibiting collections of paintings and sculpture as well as a large space suitable for holding public gatherings and meetings made the facility an attraction to Romans for many reasons. Lavish fountains were fed by water purchased from a nearby aqueduct and stored. It is not known if the water supply would have been enough to run the waterworks for more than a few hours a day, or if some other supply allowed the fountains to run nearly nonstop.[30]
The remains of the east side of the quadriporticus, and three of four temples from an earlier period often associated with the theatre can be seen on theLargo di Torre Argentina.[39] The fourth temple remains largely covered by the modern streets of Rome. This archaeological site was excavated by order ofMussolini in the 1920s and 1930s.[40] The scarce remains of the theatre itself can be found off the Via di Grotta Pinta underground.[41] Vaults from the original theatre can be found in the cellar rooms of restaurants off this street, as well as in the walls of the hotel Albergo Sole al Biscione.[42] The foundations of the theatre as well as part of the first level andcavea remain, but are obscured, having been overbuilt and extended. Over building throughout the centuries has resulted in the surviving ruins of the theatre's main structure becoming incorporated within modern structures.[30]
The characteristics ofRoman theatres are similar to those of the earlierGreek theatres on which they are based. However, Roman theatres have specific differences, such as being built upon their own foundations instead of earthen works or a hillside and being completely enclosed on all sides.[43]
Rome had no permanent theatres within the city walls until this one. Theatres and amphitheatres were temporary wooden structures that could be assembled and disassembled quickly. Attempts to build permanent stone structures were always halted by political figures or simply did not come to full fruition.[44]
Pompey was supposedly inspired to build his theatre from a visit to the Greek theatre of Mytilene on Lesbos.[45] The structure may have been a counterpart to theRoman Forum. The completion of this structure may also have prompted the building of theImperial Fora.[45][46]Julius Caesar would come to copy Pompey's use of the spoils of war to illustrate and glorify his own triumphs when building his forum which in turn would be copied by emperors.[46] The use of public space incorporating temple architecture for personal political ambition was taken fromSulla and those prior to the dictator. Using religious associations and ritual for personal glorification and political propaganda were an attempt to project a public image.[46]
The use ofconcrete and stonefoundations allowed for a free standing Roman theatre and amphitheatre.[47]
The stage andscaenae frons sections of the theatre is attached directly to the auditorium, making both a single structure enclosed all around, whereas Greek theatres separate the two.[48] Thecavea – the seating area – had a diameter of around 150–160 metres; the scaena measured approximately 95 metres.[25] This created acoustic issues requiring different techniques to overcome.[49]
This architecture was the model for nearly all future theatres of Rome and throughout the empire. Notable structures that used a similar style are theTheatre of Marcellus and theTheatre of Balbus, both of which can be seen on the marble plan of the city.[50]
In order to build the theatre as a permanent stone structure, a number of things were done, including building outside the city walls. By dedicating the theatre to Venus Victrix and building the temple central within the cavea, Pompey made the structure a large shrine to his personal deity. He also incorporated four Republican temples from an earlier period in a section called the "Sacred Area" in what is today known asLargo di Torre Argentina. The entire complex is built directly off the older section which directs the structure's layout. In this manner, the structure had a day-to-day religious context and incorporates an older series of temples into the newer structure.
Temple A was built in the 3rd century BC, and is probably theTemple ofJuturna built byGaius Lutatius Catulus after hisvictory against theCarthaginians in 241 BC.[51] It was later rebuilt into a church; its apse is still present.
Temple B, a circular temple with six columns remaining, was built byQuintus Lutatius Catulus in 101 BC to celebrate hisvictory over Cimbri; it wasAedes Fortunae Huiusce Diei, a temple devoted to the "Luck of the Current Day". The colossal statue found during excavations and now kept in theCapitoline Museums was the statue of the goddess herself. Only the head, the arms, and the legs were of marble: the other parts, covered by the dress, were of bronze.
Temple C is the most ancient of the four, dating back to the 4th or 3rd century BC, and was probably devoted toFeronia, the ancientItalic goddess of fertility. After the fire of 80{ AD, this temple was restored, and the white and black mosaic of the inner temple cell dates back to this restoration.
Temple D is the largest of the four; it dates back to the 2nd century BC with Late Republican restorations, and was devoted toLaresPermarini, but only a small part of it has been excavated (a street covers the most of it).
The Notitia... and the Theatre of Pompey with its 22,888 seats.
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Media related toTheatre of Pompey at Wikimedia Commons
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