Photo of the theatre today: remains of the skene in the foreground, the semi-circular orchestra with the base of the thymele, and the two rows of edolia of the koilon.
The theatre was built in the second half of the 1st century BC, on the southwestern slopes of the Pefkakia hill.
Roman conquest of Greece.[1] The excavator of the site, Athanasios Tziafalias, suggested in particular a connection with the festival of Eleutheria, which featured athletic and horsemanship contests as well as theatrical, musical, and poetry performances.[2] An inscription dedicated to Demeter and the Kore indicates that the site also housed a temple dedicated to them (thesmophorion).[1]
The theatre was left in ruins in the
Byzantine church dedicated to the Holy Wisdom or to Saint Paraskevi was erected in its place.[2] The church was in turn replaced by the mosque of Hasan Bey was erected on the site during the Ottoman period.[2] The Pefkakia hill was levelled in the 1950s to provide space for housing construction.[2]
The theatre was rediscovered in 1978, during digging for the construction of a new apartment building complex. The site was excavated in 1985–1986.[2] The theatre has been occasionally used for theatrical performances since.[1]
Description
Only the stage (
kymatia (decorative bands). It stood on a stepped pedestal of three steps, of which the two lower ones survive.[1]
The marble used in the theatre was not newly quarried, but reused from an older building, probably of circular shape. Some of the blocks feature inscriptions from
^ abcdefghi"Το Β' Αρχαίο Θέατρο". Municipality of Larissa Cultural Portal (in Greek). Municipality of Larissa. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
