Roman Theater, Ephesus

"The magnificent theatre is set into the side of a steep hill at the center of the ancient city. Its design, location and conception may have benefited from Hellenistic influences but its size and ornamentations are the products of Empirical Rome. The theatre was built at the end of the Hellenistic period, but it was significantly altered and enlarged by the Romans during the following five centuries. The theatre remained in use until the 5th century AD."

"A major Hellenistic construction phase in Ephesus at the end of the 3rd century BC most likely produced the initial theatre that featured a cavea with a single tier of seats, an orchestra with a drainage channel, and a simple one-story scaenae (stage house). Under the Romans, beginning about 40 AD, the theatre was expanded and renovated to become the massive structure that we see today."

Source: The Ancient Theater Archive by Amanda Heffernan (student research assistant), Whitman College. 2003