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ANCIENT THEATRES - ANCIENT THEATRES' IDENTITY
ANCIENT
THEATRE -
STADIUM OF
THESSALONIKI
Information
|
Description
of the
Monument
|
Photo
Gallery
|
Scientific
Report
 |
The theatre - stadium of Thessaloniki is located on
Apellou Street, in the area of Navarino Square.
It is a circus building, combining two types of building,
the theatre (as regards the structure of the cavea on one
side), and the stadium (as regards its length and the
rectilinear layout of the long sides. |
|
|
|
Description of the monument
The theatre - stadium of Thessaloniki is located on Apellou
Street, in the area of Navarino Square. It is a circus building,
combining two types of building, the theatre (as regards the structure of the
cavea on one side), and the stadium (as regards its length and the straight
layout of the long sides).
The presence of the theatre in Roman Thessaloniki is attested by inscriptions and written sources. The earliest reference is by Lucian in his well-known work Lucius or The Ass. An inscription dated to 141 AD informs us of the financing by a private citizen of gladiatorial games and hunts in honour of the emperor. Another inscription of the Severan dynasty, dated to 252 AD, refers to the holding of classical games in the city during the fourth Pythiad.
In the early
1990s, the curved part of a theatre with an estimated width of 100 m was
excavated on two plots of land in Apellou Street. An outer colonnade of pillars
came to light, along with the outer ring on which the last tiers of seats were
set. In the middle of the width of the curved wall, which is up to 3.5 m wide,
is a staircase with two flights symmetrical to the axis of a semi-cylindrical
arch bridging a large landing. This section with the symmetrical flights of
stairs and the entrance between them is a typical example of access to the
theatre from secondary seats around the cavea.
At right angles to this axis, and at a distance from the outer ring of the
theatre, was discovered a strong wall, 5 m high, which formed the enclosure of
the building. The section of the building which has come to light on the two
plots is only part of a huge circus building, the largest in the city of
Thessaloniki after the Late Roman hippodrome, and of much earlier date than the
Palace of Galerius to the east.
The section of the building laid out at the southeast end of the city has been
identified as the theatre-stadium known from the sources. It is thought to have
had a lifespan of three centuries, from the late 1st to the 4th
c. AD. During this time there were several interventions to the building, the
most important of which is its embellishment with brickwork pillars and marble
columns around the outer ring. This intervention may be linked to the erection
of the palatial complex of Galerius further to the east, in an attempt to
provide direct access from the palace to the theatre cavea, from where Galerius
would have enjoyed the Roman circuses.
The theatre-stadium of Thessaloniki has not yet been conserved, and is covered with sand for temporary protection, until the study for its promotion can be approved and implemented.
Is the theatre-stadium connected to the martyrdom of St Demetrius?
The discovery of this large circus building has raised questions of particular importance for the history and topography of Thessaloniki. This site and building must be directly linked to the events surrounding the teaching, arrest and martyrdom of St Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki. According to one of the Lives of the saint, his martyrdom took place in a prison near the palace, in the hypogeum of a bath-house. This information fits in with the existence of a large thermal bath complex excavated on plots of land in Mackenzie King Street, south of the five-aisled basilica, on the site of St Sophia, west of the stadium and immediately adjoining it and the subterranean galleries where the holy spring of St John is today.
Crosses were found carved into the marble columns of a large room in the baths, showing that it was consecrated by contemporary Christians. If, therefore, this is the area of the bath-house where St Demetrius was imprisoned, it must also be where his disciple Nestor went to be blessed by the saint before his fight in the stadium with the idolater Lyaeus. Immediately after Nestor’s victory in the uneven struggle before Galerius Maximus in the packed stadium, according to the sources, St Demetrius was martyred as the man responsible for the defeat of the idolatrous gladiator, who was favoured by the emperor.
The consecration of the baths south of St Sophia, the belief in the existence of a holy spring in the subterranean galleries of St John, the five-aisled basilica, i.e. the “church at the stadium”, all around the same area, bear witness to the sanctity of the site and its importance to the inhabitants of Thessaloniki. It was a site of equal religious significance to the basilica of St Demetrius, where the murdered saint would have been secretly moved immediately after his death, far from his place of martyrdom, and buried by his fellow-Christians.
On these two distant sites, those of the saint’s martyrdom and burial, were built during the Early Christian period the two largest churches in Thessaloniki and indeed the whole of Macedonia: two five-aisled basilicas, one on the mountainous side of the city, where it stands today, and one in the plain. The latter was destroyed relatively early on, perhaps by natural causes, and replaced by the smaller church of St Sophia, which occupied its western section.
Symeon, Bishop of Thessalonica, in a well-known codex of the National Library of Athens, vividly describes a ceremony held on the eve of the feast of St Demetrius and connected to his worship. Information on this ceremony is also provided by two panegyrics declaimed by two notable 14th-century figures, Gregory Palamas and Constantine Armenopoulos. All three texts agree that the procession set out from a relatively small church and ended at the church of St Demetrius, representing the beginning and end of his martyrdom.
The sanctity of the area around St Sophia, its connection to the place of martyrdom of St Demetrius, and the recognition of the right of sanctuary in the area, are major reasons to seek the Panagia Kataphyge (Our Lady of Refuge) very close to the church of St Sophia, in the precinct of the former cathedral, perhaps in the remaining part of the older basilica, which the inhabitants of Thessaloniki retained as an unaltered element of local worship. Furthermore, the clergy of Agia Sophia took pride of place in the ceremony of the procession, which set off from the neighbouring church of Kataphyge, St Demetrius’ place of death, and continued “along the avenue” to the place where the saint was buried and where the five-aisled basilica was eventually founded, the largest church in the city during the Early Christian period.
Giorgos Velenis and Polyxeni Adam-VeleniArchitects, Archaeologists
Photo
gallery
 |
Theatre - Stadium of Thessaloniki |
 |
Theatre - Stadium of Thessaloniki |
 |
Theatre - Stadium of Thessaloniki |
 |
Theatre - Stadium of Thessaloniki |
 |
Theatre - Stadium of Thessaloniki |
Scientific
report
| Monument Name |
Theatre
-
Stadium
of
Thessaloniki |
| Category |
Theatre |
| Brief Description |
A
curved
wall
3.5
m
wide
was
excavated.
In
the
middle
of
the
width
of
the
curved
wall
is a
staircase
with
two
flights
symmetrical
to
the
axis
of a
semi-cylindrical
arch
bridging
a
large
landing.
This
section
with
the
symmetrical
flights
of
stairs
and
the
entrance
between
them
is a
typical
example
of
access
to
the
theatre
from
secondary
seats
around
the
cavea.
East
of
the
curved
wall,
which
forms
the
cavea
of
the
theatre,
there
survives
an
outer
colonnade
of
pillars
and
the
outer
ring
on
which
the
last
tiers
of
seats
were
set. |
| Images - Plans |
See
Photo
Gallery. |
| Documentation - Bibliography |
1. Γ. Βελένης Π. Αδάμ-Βελένη, Ρωμαϊκό θέατρο στη Θεσσαλονίκη, ΑΕΜΘ 3, 1989, 241-256. 2. G.Velenis- P. Adam Veleni, The Theater-Stadium of Thessaloniki, Simposio International de Universidad de Granada “La Religion en el Mundo Griego, De la Antiguedad a la Grecia Moderna”, Granada 1992, 249-262. 3. Γ. Βελένης, Π. Αδάμ-Βελένη, Το θέατρο-στάδιο στη Θεσσαλονίκη, Αρχαιολογία 46, Μάρτιος 1993, 69-75. 4. Π. Αδάμ Βελένη, Θεσσαλονίκη νεράιδα, βασίλισσα, γοργόνα, αρχαιολογική περιδιάβαση από τους προϊστορικούς μέχρι τους ρωμαϊκούς χρόνους, Θεσσαλονίκη 2001, 93-96. 5. Π. Αδάμ Βελένη, Ιστορία και πολεοδομία, in Δ. Γραμμένος (ed.), Ρωμαϊκή Θεσσαλονίκη, οδηγός της περιοδικής έκθεσης, Θεσσαλονίκη 2002, 147-150. 6. Π. Αδάμ Βελένη, Ελληνιστική και ρωμαϊκή Θεσσαλονίκη, in the collective edition Θεσσαλονίκης Χαρτογραφία, Θεσσαλονίκη 2008.
7. Π. Αδάμ Βελένη, Μακεδονία Θεσσαλονίκη, μέσα από τις συλλογές
του
Αρχαιολογικού
Μουσείου,
οδηγός
των
μόνιμων
εκθέσεων,
ΤΑΠΑ
(in
press,
published
summer
2009).. |
| Location |
6
and
8
Apellou
St.,
Navarino
Square
area. |
| Dating |
1st-4th
century
AD. |
|
General Description of Monument
|
In
the
early
1990s,
the
curved
part
of a
theatre
with
an
estimated
width
of
100
m
was
excavated
on
two
plots
of
land
in
Apellou
Street.
An
outer
colonnade
of
pillars
came
to
light,
along
with
the
outer
ring
on
which
the
last
tiers
of
seats
were
set.
In
the
middle
of
the
width
of
the
curved
wall,
which
is
up
to
3.5
m
wide,
is a
staircase
with
two
flights
symmetrical
to
the
axis
of a
semi-cylindrical
arch
bridging
a
large
landing.
This
section
with
the
symmetrical
flights
of
stairs
and
the
entrance
between
them
is a
typical
example
of
access
to
the
theatre
from
secondary
seats
around
the
cavea.
At
right
angles
to
this
axis,
and
at a
distance
from
the
outer
ring
of
the
theatre,
was
discovered
a
strong
wall,
5 m
high,
which
formed
the
enclosure
of
the
building.
The
section
of
the
building
which
has
come
to
light
on
the
two
plots
is
only
part
of a
huge
circus
building,
the
largest
in
the
city
of
Thessaloniki
after
the
Late
Roman
hippodrome,
and
of
much
earlier
date
than
the
Palace
of
Galerius
to
the
east.
The
presence
of
the
theatre
in
Roman
Thessaloniki
is
attested
by
inscriptions
and
written
sources.
The
earliest
reference
is
by
Lucian
in
his
well-known
work
Lucius
or
The
Ass.
An
inscription
dated
to
141
AD
informs
us
of
the
financing
by a
private
citizen
of
gladiatorial
games
and
hunts
in
honour
of
the
emperor.
Another
inscription
of
the
Severan
dynasty,
dated
to
252
AD,
refers
to
the
holding
of
classical
games
in
the
city
during
the
fourth
Pythiad.
The
section
of
the
building
laid
out
at
the
southeast
end
of
the
city
has
been
identified
as
the
theatre-stadium
known
from
the
sources.
It
is
thought
to
have
had
a
lifespan
of
three
centuries,
from
the
late
1st
c.
AD
to
the
4th
c.
AD.
During
this
time
there
were
several
interventions
to
the
building,
the
most
important
of
which
is
its
embellishment
with
brickwork
pillars
and
marble
columns
around
the
outer
ring.
This
intervention
may
be
linked
to
the
erection
of
the
palatial
complex
of
Galerius
further
to
the
east,
in
an
attempt
to
provide
direct
access
from
the
palace
to
the
theatre
cavea,
from
where
Galerius
would
have
enjoyed
the
Roman
circuses. |
| Current Situation |
The
monument
has
not
been
conserved
and
is
covered
with
sand
for
temporary
protection,
until
the
study
for
its
promotion
can
be
approved
and
implemented.
The
study
has
been
submitted
by
the
16th
Ephorate
of
Prehistoric
and
Classical
Antiquities
for
inclusion
of
the
project
in
the
National
Strategic
Reference
Framework. |
| Excavations - Interventions |
No
interventions
have
occurred,
apart
from
covering
the
monument
with
sand
until
work
on
its
promotion
can
begin. |
| Permitted Uses |
The
monument
is
not
currently
in
use.
Once
the
study
has
been
completed,
it
can
be
used
for
educational
programmes,
small
musical
events
and
public
lectures. |
|
History of Modern Uses |
No
modern
uses. |
| Further Information |
The
monument
is
one
of
the
most
important
buildings
in
Thessaloniki,
mentioned
in
sources
and
sought
by
researchers
for
many
decades.
It
is
connected
to
the
martyrdom
of
St
Demetrius.
The
discovery
of
this
large
circus
building
has
raised
questions
of
particular
importance
for
the
history
and
topography
of
Thessaloniki.
This
site
and
building
must
be
directly
linked
to
events
surrounding
the
teaching,
arrest
and
martyrdom
of
St
Demetrius,
the
patron
saint
of
Thessaloniki.
According
to
one
of
the
Lives
of
the
saint,
his
martyrdom
took
place
in a
prison
near
the
palace,
in
the
hypogeum
of a
bath-house.
This
information
fits
in
with
the
existence
of a
large
thermal
bath
complex
excavated
on
plots
of
land
in
Mackenzie
King
Street,
south
of
the
five-aisled
basilica,
on
the
site
of
St
Sophia,
west
of
the
stadium
and
immediately
adjoining
it
and
the
subterranean
galleries
where
the
holy
spring
of
St
John
is
today.
Crosses
were
found
carved
into
the
marble
columns
of a
large
room
in
the
baths,
showing
that
it
was
consecrated
by
contemporary
Christians.
If,
therefore,
this
is
the
area
of
the
bath-house
where
St
Demetrius
was
imprisoned,
it
must
also
be
where
his
disciple
Nestor
went
to
be
blessed
by
the
saint
before
his
fight
in
the
stadium
with
the
idolater
Lyaeus.
Immediately
after
Nestor’s
victory
in
the
uneven
struggle
before
Galerius
Maximus
in
the
packed
stadium,
according
to
the
sources,
St
Demetrius
was
martyred
as
the
man
responsible
for
the
defeat
of
the
idolatrous
gladiator,
who
was
favoured
by
the
emperor.
The
consecration
of
the
baths
south
of
St
Sophia,
the
belief
in
the
existence
of a
holy
spring
in
the
subterranean
galleries
of
St
John,
the
five-aisled
basilica,
i.e.
the
“church
at
the
stadium”,
all
around
the
same
area,
bear
witness
to
the
sanctity
of
the
site
and
its
importance
to
the
inhabitants
of
Thessaloniki.
It
was
a
site
of
equal
religious
significance
to
the
basilica
of
St
Demetrius,
where
the
murdered
saint
would
have
been
secretly
moved
immediately
after
his
death,
far
from
his
place
of
martyrdom,
and
buried
by
his
fellow-Christians.
On
these
two
distant
sites,
those
of
the
saint’s
martyrdom
and
burial,
were
built
during
the
Early
Christian
period
the
two
largest
churches
in
Thessaloniki
and
indeed
the
whole
of
Macedonia:
two
five-aisled
basilicas,
one
on
the
mountainous
side
of
the
city,
where
it
stands
today,
and
one
in
the
plain.
The
latter
was
destroyed
relatively
early
on,
perhaps
by
natural
causes,
and
replaced
by
the
smaller
church
of
St
Sophia,
which
occupied
its
western
section.
Symeon,
Bishop
of
Thessalonica,
in a
well-known
codex
of
the
National
Library
of
Athens,
vividly
describes
a
ceremony
held
on
the
eve
of
the
feast
of
St
Demetrius
and
connected
to
his
worship.
Information
on
this
ceremony
is
also
provided
by
two
panegyrics
declaimed
by
two
notable
14th-century
figures,
Gregory
Palamas
and
Constantine
Armenopoulos.
All
three
texts
agree
that
the
procession
set
out
from
a
relatively
small
church
and
ended
at
the
church
of
St
Demetrius,
representing
the
beginning
and
end
of
his
martyrdom.
Based
on
Symeon’s
text,
S.
Pelekidis
believed
the
starting-point
to
be
the
basilica
of
Acheiropoietos.
A.
Xyggopoulos
looked
for
the
church
in
the
city
centre,
near
the
Roman
forum.
However,
the
new
excavation
data
appear
to
bear
out
Pelekidis’s
view.
It
seems
perfectly
logical
to
conclude,
as
he
did,
that
the
Kataphyge
must
be
very
close
to
the
church
of
St
Sophia.
We
know
that
the
latter,
or
perhaps
another
church
nearby,
was
a
sanctuary
for
the
citizens
of
Thessaloniki
in
Byzantine
times,
a
church
where
one
could
seek
refuge
to
avoid
the
heat
of
someone’s
wrath.
The
sanctity
of
the
area
around
St
Sophia,
its
connection
to
the
place
of
martyrdom
of
St
Demetrius,
and
the
recognition
of
the
right
of
sanctuary
in
the
area,
are
major
reasons
to
seek
the
Panagia
Kataphyge
(Our
Lady
of
Refuge)
very
close
to
the
church
of
St
Sophia,
in
the
precinct
of
the
former
cathedral,
perhaps
in
the
remaining
part
of
the
older
basilica,
which
the
inhabitants
of
Thessaloniki
retained
as
an
unaltered
element
of
local
worship.
Furthermore,
the
clergy
of
Agia
Sophia
took
pride
of
place
in
the
ceremony
of
the
procession,
which
set
off
from
the
neighbouring
church
of
Kataphyge,
St
Demetrius’
place
of
death,
and
continued
“along
the
avenue”
to
the
place
where
the
saint
was
buried
and
where
the
five-aisled
basilica
was
eventually
founded,
the
largest
church
in
the
city
during
the
Early
Christian
period.
THE
RESCUE
OF
THE
THEATRE-STADIUM.
The
central
part
of
the
Theatre-Stadium
of
Thessaloniki,
with
the
curved
section
which
proves
it
was
a
theatre
building,
was
preserved
and
expropriated
thanks
to
the
steadfast
resistance
of
the
archaeologists
of
the
16th
Ephorate
of
Prehistoric
and
Classical
Antiquities,
the
support
of a
portion
of
the
press
and
a
radio
station
(“Paratiritis”),
and
the
approximately
17,000
signatures
of
residents
of
Thessaloniki,
submitted
during
the
re-examination
of
the
case
by
the
Central
Archaeological
Council
(KAS).
The
story,
briefly,
is
as
follows:
The
first
plot
of
land
at
the
corner
of 8
Apellou
and
Al.
Svolou
St.
was
excavated
in
1986-7.
It
was
realised
that
this
was
an
exceptionally
important
building,
but
its
use
was
not
identified
at
once.
Since
the
same
contractor
team
was
due
to
build
up
the
second
plot
at 6
Apellou
St.,
the
16th
Ephorate
proposed
that
the
second
plot
should
also
be
excavated
and
the
fate
of
both
plots
be
decided
together.
The
engineer
in
charge
did
not
accept
the
proposal,
and
so
the
antiquities
were
covered
over
and
partially
destroyed,
to
the
height
that
they
projected
and
“impeded”
the
laying
of a
continuous
reinforced
concreted
bed,
the
foundation
method
planned
for
the
new
building.
The
engineer
was
condemned
to
six
months’
imprisonment
for
the
damage
by
the
Court
of
the
First
Instance.
In
1989-90
the
second
plot
at 6
Apellou
St.
was
also
excavated.
The
central
curved
section
of
the
theatre
with
the
two
staircases
was
discovered,
and
it
was
realised
that
the
theatre-stadium
of
Thessaloniki,
sought
for
centuries,
had
been
found.
The
16th
Ephorate
proposed
that
the
land
be
expropriated,
and
this
was
approved
by
the
KAS
and
decided
by
ministerial
decree
in
the
spring
of
1992.
However,
in
the
summer
of
the
same
year
the
matter
was
placed
before
the
KAS
again,
without
the
Ephorate
being
informed
and
given
the
opportunity
to
make
a
recommendation
anew,
and
the
expropriation
decision
was
changed
to a
decision
to
cover
the
monument
over.
In
September
1992,
in
view
of
the
impending
burial
of
the
antiquities,
archaeologists
of
the
16th
Ephorate,
led
by
the
excavator
P.
Veleni
and
with
the
approval
of
the
then
Director
Julia
Vokotopoulou,
entered
the
plot
of
land
in
order
to
prevent
this
from
happening.
There
followed
a
six-month
legal
battle
to
persuade
the
political
leadership
of
the
Ministry
of
Culture
to
alter
the
decision
again
and
rule
in
favour
of
expropriation,
something
which
was
finally
achieved
in
March
1993,
after
a
major
public
awareness
campaign
for
the
preservation
of
this
extremely
important
monument.
The
expropriation
process
was
concluded
a
few
years
ago,
and
the
land
has
been
paid
for
in
full
and
is
now
the
property
of
the
Greek
State.
However,
until
this
lengthy
process
could
be
completed,
the
plot
of
land
has
remained
covered
with
sand
in
order
to
protect
it,
depriving
both
citizens
and
scientists
of
the
opportunity
to
visit
a
historic
monument,
and
allowing
some
people
to
question
the
value
of
the
fight
to
preserve
it.
Its
inclusion
in
the
National
Strategic
Reference
Framework
following
the
configuration
study
prepared
by
the
16th
Ephorate,
and
the
realisation
of
the
study,
will
give
this
major
monument
the
place
it
deserves
in
the
city. |
| Intellectual Rights |
Giorgos
Velenis
and
Polyxeni
Adam-Veleni. |
| Jurisdiction |
16th
Ephorate
of
Prehistoric
and
Classical
Antiquities
of
Thessaloniki. |
|
Latitude |
40°37'52.21"N |
| Longitude |
22°56'57.63"E |
| Altitude |
0 |
| Google Earth |
40.631233,22.949291 |
