Roman Theatre, Aphrodisias Stock Photo

The Theatre was a central building and institution of the developed Greek city state. It was used for a wide range of dramatic and other kinds of entertainment, but it was also here that the demos, the people, met in assembly. The Aphrodisias theatre preserves its full twenty-seven tiers of seats below the walkway diazōma and a few rows of seats above it, as well as much of the stage architecture. It originally seated c. 7,000 persons.The auditorium cavea was built against the prehistoric settlement hill höyük in the late hellenistic period, and an elaborate three-storeyed marble stage building was added by Zoilos before 28 BC