What Did the Romans Add to or Change About Greek Theatre Spaces?

Greek Theatre|Theater

The ancient Greeks and Romans both had a great passion for theatre. As a result, they each made significant contributions to the development of drama and theatre spaces. When it comes to the theatre spaces themselves, the Romans made some distinct changes and additions to the Greek model.

Theatre spaces in ancient Greece were often open-air structures, with the stages located at one end of an auditorium. The seating was usually tiered, with stone benches extending up from the stage, allowing for better view of what was taking place on stage. The Romans took this basic design, but changed it in some important ways.

One of the most important changes made by the Romans was to add a roof over the seating area. This allowed for performances to take place in any weather conditions and also added a sense of grandeur to performances taking place within these theatres. Additionally, Roman theatres often featured elaborate decorations on their walls and roofing structures, which further enhanced their grandeur and beauty.

In addition to adding roofs over their theatres, the Romans also enlarged Greek theatre spaces into much larger structures than their Greek predecessors had built. This allowed for more seating capacity and more space for larger scale performances as well as elaborate sets and props that could be used on stage.

Finally, the Romans also added several technological advances to their theatres that had not been seen before in Greek theatres. These included fly-lofts – which allowed for actors or other objects to be raised or lowered onto the stage from above – as well as trap doors – which allowed actors or other objects to enter or exit from below – both of which added greatly to theatrical performances at the time.

All in all, it is clear that while the Greeks laid down the foundation for theatrical performance and architecture with their open-air theatre designs, it was ultimately left up to the Romans to perfect them by adding roofs over them, enlarging them into much larger structures than before, and introducing new technological advances that further enhanced theatrical productions taking place within them.

Conclusion: In conclusion, it is evident that while many of today’s theatre spaces are based on models developed by both Greeks and Romans centuries ago; it is ultimately the Roman’s who perfected these theatre spaces with additions such as roofs over them along with enlarging them into much larger structures than before while also introducing new technological advances such as fly-lofts and trap doors which all contributed greatly towards enhancing theatrical performances taking place within them – this is what truly sets Roman theatre apart from its Greek predecessors; making it what we know today as ‘modern’ theatre architecture.