A monumental opus of the
Classical Age Bodrum which survived up to the present day is the
Bodrum theater. Almost as in every
theater,
Bodrum theater comprises three sections. These are the skene ( the stage building),
orchestra (
semi-circle) and
cavea (
audience). This theater is one of the oldest theaters of
Anatolia. It is from the
Mausolos period. The auditorium section is called
Cavea or
Theatron. The cavea is divided in two by a diazoma. The lower part remained in a rather good condition. On some seats names are engraved . In the lower part there are 30 rows. Since the top part is heavily destroyed the majority of the rows there have worn off.The theater had a capacity of 13.000 seats. The orchestra is larger than a semi circle. There is a rectangular altar right in front of the seats in the lower level. Some parts of the barrier plates did survive. The auditorium facing the stage is seperated from the stage with a barrier called analemma. The open passage between the stage building and the two caveas is called parodos. The stage building of the Bodrum theater is two storey. The building is rectangular shape. At both ends there is a door for the actors to enter the stage. The building has three main doors. Prof. Ümit Serdaroğlu from the
9 Eylül University carries on excavation and restoration works in the theater since 1973.
