Showing posts with label Ars Amatoria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ars Amatoria. Show all posts

Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Roman theater of Sabratha

It seems that Libya is home to an impressive collection of Roman ruins, which officially didn't exist under Quadafi's regime. I admit to finding 'other' Roman ruins (as in, not the Roman forum) a bit boring, even very extensive ones that have been more or less lost and rediscovered:

Leptis Magna, the arch of Septimius Severus (Image credit)
But I think even non-archaeologists might find themeselves captivated by the theater at Sabratha, where a three-story architectural backdrop still stands:

Image credit


I would love to know if this was a standard feature of Roman theaters. Perhaps we don't even know for sure, if theater backdrops are not preserved elsewhere. But it does change the way I imagine the theater scenes from Ars Amatoria, or the performances at the Theater of Pompey where Caesar was assassinated (in an adjoining meeting room).

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