Theatre of Thorikos, Ancient theater ruins near Lavrio, Greece
The Theatre of Thorikos is an ancient Greek theatre on the southern slope of Velatoúri hill, in the Lavreotiki area of southern Attica, Greece. The stone seating rows run in an elongated, almost oval shape and face southwest, with vertical staircases dividing the tiers.
The Theatre of Thorikos was first built in the late 6th century BC and is widely considered the oldest known theatre in the world. It was enlarged and altered several times over the following centuries before eventually falling out of use.
The site sits in a region once shaped by silver mining, and the theatre served the local community as a gathering place for assemblies as much as for performances. Visitors today can walk along the stone benches and look out over the same landscape that the ancient miners and citizens once faced.
The site is on a hillside, so sturdy shoes are a good idea as the ground is uneven and the stone rows are not easy to move around on. There is little shade on the site, so visiting in the early morning or late afternoon is more comfortable.
The theatre's elongated shape does not match any standard Greek theatre plan, which puzzled Belgian archaeologists who have been excavating the site since the 1960s. Some researchers believe the natural contour of the hill forced the builders to abandon the usual semicircular model from the very start.
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