A good way to explore Siracusa is to get into one of the many hop-on-hop-off buses plying the designated route of this city. We did just that on 25 May. We took a long stop at a station, Teatro Greco to visit the Greek Theatre of Siracusa. This is part of the larger Neapolis Archaeological Park. Originally built in the 5th century BC, rebuilt in the 3rd century BC and renovated again during the Roman era, it was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2005.
Built over 2,600 years ago, this theatre is one of the largest then, with outer diameter of close to 140m (460ft). With simple tools and equipment, it takes a lot of imagination to appreciate the ingenuity and creativity of those yesteryears engineers and builders to set such perfect geometry!
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| A google view of the Greek Theatre. |
The open air theatre has also undergone retrofitting to protect against weathering degradation and for the comfort of spectators. This theatre since 1914 has served as the venue for the annual performance of Classical Play held during the months of May and June.
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| Work being carried out on stage during the time of our visit. |
We overheard from a tourist guide telling some visitors that holes left behind in some of these carved out cubicles were anchor holes once used to fasten chains to hold up prisoners or slaves. Were they gladiators?
Archaeologists however upon examining the theatre lowest row of seats concluded that in the absence of any sign of a protective wall to protect spectators from animal attack during gladiatorial fights, this arena was unlikely used for gladiatorial fight. This bloody fight is noted to have been held in the nearby Roman amphitheatre.
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| Holes in small cubicles. |
Water brought to the top of the theatre by ancient aqueduct is still visible.
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A huge cave called Ear of Dionysius in
Neapolis Archaeological Park.
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