Stadium
Aphrodisias, Asia minor
(Turkey)
1st century CE
30,000 spectators
The Stadium was built in
the later first century and with the Theatre completed the town’s need for
large-capacity spectator buildings. Unusually for a Greek stadium, it is closed
at both ends. It measures c. 270 X 60 m, and has thirty tiers of marble seats
intact. Its capacity was c. 30,000. The long sides are slightly elliptical - a
practical refinement that improved the spectators’ view. Spectators entered the
stadium by monumental stairways on the south side, facing the town; these
stairs aligned with north-south streets in the city grid. That is, the stadium
was carefully planned as an integral part of the city. Competitors entered
through tunnels under the seating on both short ends. The Aphrodisias stadium
is the best preserved of all ancient Greek stadia and also one of the largest.
The Stadium accommodated
traditional Greek athletic contests such as foot races, long-jumping,
wrestling, discus, and javelin throwing. It was also used for gladiatorial
combats and wild-beast fights that were part of the regular programme of
festivals held in honour of the Roman emperors. In late antiquity, when the
traditional Greek games and naked athletics had declined in importance, the
east end of the building was turned into an amphitheatre and arena specifically
designed for Roman-style entertainments of this kind. Recent investigation has
shown that this conversion of the stadium into an amphitheatre was made in c.
400 CE. The seating preserves a fascinating body of ‘place’ inscriptions carved
on the marble seats, reserving space for various groups (such as the
associations of tanners and goldsmiths) and for wealthy individuals (men and
women) both from Aphrodisias and from nearby communities such as Antioch on the
Meander. The spectators mapped out their social and political affiliations on
the seats of this great public forum.