Pompeii offers an extraordinary testimony to the life and culture of the time. Among the places of entertainment and culture, theaters occupied a prominent place in Pompeian society.
The city housed two main theaters: the Teatro Grande and the Little Theater, also known as the Odeion. Both buildings were constructed of masonry and were inspired by Greek theater models.
The Great Theater, erected in the second century B.C., was the oldest masonry theater building in Pompeii. The cavea, which housed the tiers where spectators sat, rested directly on the natural slope of the ground, as in Greek theaters.
Audience access was through two covered passages, called parodoi, located at either end of the hemicycle.
Spectators flowed into the orchestra, the space at the foot of the cavea, which in the Teatro Grande was shaped like a horseshoe, as in the Greek theaters.
The first few rows (ima cavea) were reserved for the authorities, while the lowest rows of seats in the middle part (media cavea) were probably intended for eminent personalities of the city and perhaps representatives of the artisan guilds.
In the center of the lowest row of seats, a bronze inscription commemorates the seat reserved for Marcus Olconius Rufus, a wealthy citizen of Pompeii who had helped restore and enlarge the theater in the Augustan age.
The Little Theater, built around 75 B.C., was intended primarily for musical performances and poetic recitations. It had a smaller cavea and a wooden roof that provided better acoustics. The plaster of the outer walls retains a great deal of spectators' graffiti, sometimes from distant regions.
Theatrical performances in Pompeii
Theater was one of the most popular forms of entertainment for the Romans. In Pompeii, theatrical performances were held on various occasions, such as religious holidays, political celebrations, or public games.
The most frequently performed theatrical genres were:
Tragedy: inspired by the Greek model, it dealt with mythological and historical themes in solemn and dramatic tones.
The comedy: of Greek origin, but adapted to Roman taste, it staged comic and satirical situations drawn from everyday life.
The fabula atellana: a popular farce of Oscan origin, characterized by fixed characters and masks, with realistic language and situations, often bordering on obscenity.
The mime: a farcical performance that combined acting, singing, dancing and funny gesticulations.
Pantomime: a form of performance based solely on mimicry, without the use of speech.
The actors, often itinerant professionals, were considered figures of low social status, despite their popularity. They wore elaborate costumes and masks to play the different characters.
The chorus was present in the tragedies, where they sang and danced in the orchestra accompanying the actors' acting.
Music was a key element of theatrical performances. Flutes (tibiae) accompanied the performances, and other musical instruments were also used.
Expenses for the performances were borne by the Aediles, the magistrates responsible for the public games. Admission was free for citizens.
Pompeii's theaters, in addition to being places of entertainment, were also spaces for meeting and socializing. Graffiti and inscriptions on the walls of the buildings testify to the lively participation of the public in theatrical events.
Essential Bibliography:
M. Bieber, The History of Greek and Roman Theater, 1961
A. Maiuri, Saggi nella cavea del teatro grande, in Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità 1951, pp. 126 ss.
A. Neppi Modona, Gli edifici teatrali greci e romani. Teatri, odei, anfiteatri, circhi, 1961