J - 86 : Where are the Greek Theatres?

The Theatre of Tindari dates back to the 4th century BC and overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea

One of the true pleasures of sailing along old trade routes is finding ancient Greek theatres. In Greece and Turkey we found one at almost every stop. They are obiquos. Now working on the details of this summer's trip from Malta to Pozzuoli (near Naples), I was looking forward to put them on our diary - researching their history and origin. Except - there are surprisingly few. Why are there no theatres along this year's route? The ancient Greek built their theatres into hillsides - so even if all stones were recycled and used for other buildings, there is still the foot print of the theatre's semi-circle. Were they never any in the 1st place?

Map of Ancient Theatres in Greece

Saying none is inaccurate - of course. There are five Greek theatres inSicily's eastern part: Syracuse, Akrai, Catania, Taormina and Tindari but none on Calabria's Tyrrhenian coast and only two in Campania: in Naples and Posillipo, about 12 km south-west of Naples. There are a few more theatres on Calabria's south coast and Puglia but their are off our travel route. But even there, big Greek colonies like Coron or Sibaris doe not seem to have a theatre.

Map of Magna Graecia and the Major Green Cities

It is instantly noticeable that there are many more

Greek cities than there are Greek Theatres

Three of the six theatres on my visiting list are like shrines tucked away from urban centers. Taromina was never a big town, neither was Posillipo nor Tindari - the seating capacity of their theaters exceed the local population by far. The capacity was usually between 5 - 10% of a towns population. Maybe theatres had a different function in Magna Graecia. Could it be that they were regional religious centers for an entire region built around locations which the ancient Greek deemed to be holy?

The Ancient Greek Theatre of Segesta in Sicily's West - we are not visiting since off route

In today's world, theatres are entertainment centers. Greek theatres though were institutions with a broader role as we know since our visit to Delphi in 2021. At a time when only 1% of people could read, they were places of cultural transmission where people learned about their Gods, traditions and history. It probably started with a festival called Dionysia which honored the God Dionysus, the God of wine. Getting drunk was for ancient Greek men (women had to stay home) a mind altering and welcome experience. The festival also included performances of texts about the divine and ordinary Greek world which was so perfectly captured by the ancient Greek authors.

Ancient Greek Plays are still performed In the small Theatre of Akrai every year

Could not find out much more about the puzzle of the missing theatres. But since we are going to visit many ancient Greek towns this summer, we will have plenty of time to ask our local guides why towns like Paestum or Cumae do not have any. Am very curious about their take on the issue.

The Greek-Roman Theatre of Posillipo is sadly closed this Year due to Restauration