Turkey, Pergamum - Theatre

The Hellenistic theatre at Pergamum is extraordinary. It’s built into a steep hill-side, in close proximity to the city’s famous altar of Zeus, as well as to temples dedicated to Athena and Dionysus. But the constraints of the chosen site meant that the theatre could not take the ‘normal’ Greek shape (rather more than a semi-circle). Instead, to fit in the required number of seats, the cavea was extended vertically: there are 78 rows. The result is vertiginous.