Ephesus: the Grand Theatre and Harbour Street

This will be the last blog post from my trip to Ephesus and of course I've kept the best for last.

The Grand Theatre

With a seating capacity of almost 24,000 and room for 1,000 standing spectators the Grand Theatre at Ephesus was the largest theatre in Asia Minor and the biggest Hellenistic theatre anywhere.

Arguably the most magnificent structure in Ephesus, the Great Theatre is located on the slope of Panayir Hill, opposite the Harbor Street and easily seen when entering from the south entrance to the city. It was originally constructed in the Hellenistic Period in the third century BC during the reign of Lysimachos, but was enlarged during the Roman Period to its current style that is seen today.

The Grand Theatre

Did you know the term Theater is derived from the Greek word Theatron which means "the place to observe?" Also, the half circle shaped section was called Orchestra and performances were held on the stage building known as a Skene. During the Hellenistic period Skenes were built in 2 storeys, 3 storeyed Skenes didn't appear until the Roman period.

The Grand Theatre

Harbour Street, also known as Arcadiane, was a magnificent colonnaded avenue, renovated at the beginning of the 5^th century A.D. in honor of Emperor Arcadius. It was 550 meters long and 11 meters wide leading from the harbour to the theater. The street was paved in marble and had shops and galleries on both sides behind the colonnades.

Harbour Street

The two pedestrian walkways behind  the colonnades were 5 metres wide and paved with mosaics. At night the Arcadiane was lit by torches, making Ephesus, along with Rome and Antioch, one of the three ancient cities known to have had street lighting.

Looking at Ephesus today it is perhaps hard to think of the city being on the water's edge and having a harbour. Thanks to 2,000 years of silting, the sea is now some 7 kilometres away.

There is far more to Ephesus than those buildings/areas I have mentioned in my recent blog posts. To do the city real justice I would need to spend rather more time there than I had available. It is my intention to return to Ephesus at some point in the future and explore further.