Stratonikeia Theater

Stratonikeia, one of the main cities of the Inner Caria Region, is in the Eskihisar Neighborhood within the borders of Yatağan District of the Muğla Province. The earliest finds found in the territory of Stratonikeia date back to the Bronze Age. The city walls determining the boundaries of the city centre are dated to the Archaic Period in the first phase and the defense system must have been completed with its general outlines and extant form in the 3rd century BC when Stratonikeia passed to the Seleucid rule. The earliest surviving buildings in the city are dated to the 2nd century BC during the Hellenistic Period. In this period, the most monumental buildings in the city are the Gymnasion and the Theatre on the same axis in the north-south direction. The "Stratonikeia Theatre", which constitutes the subject of our study, has been handled in all aspects. The theatre was built in the north-south direction on the natural slope where Kadıkulesi Hill meets the plain area to the north. The coilon part of the theatre, which was built in Greek type with a single diazoma and double sections, faces north. The stage building, which was built independently from the coilon, was single storeyed in the 2nd century BC. The first floor of the stage building was reorganized with a major renovation work during the Augustus Period, and two more floors were added and made three-storeyed. Thus, the interior and exterior facade Doric order was applied on the first floor and Corinthian order on the second and third floors. With a different application, the first-floor façade of the stage building was built in pseudo doric order with Ionic effect. The façade in pseudo doric order was decorated with reliefs on the pediments and masks on the metopes. Thus, the façade was emphasized in a remarkable way as a fashion in that period. The open gamma 'Γ' shaped parodoi on both sides of the stage building provide access to the horseshoe shaped orchestra section. On the east and west facades of the coil facing north, there is a podium in front and terrace walls behind it, with open landing stairs leading to the diazoma. The theatre, which preserves its originality mostly in this form, has been introduced to the scientific world as a unique structure with the construction phases it has undergone.