Das Theater in der römischen Unterstadt von Pergamon – Ergebnisse der Bauuntersuchung

Abstract

The theater in the lower city of Pergamon belongs, together with the amphitheater and the stadium, to a group of large buildings erected in the Roman imperial period around the hill to the west of the lower city of Musalla Mezarlığı. The theater is preserved with only a few remains, the two flank walls, the radial walls to the north and the arched gate (Viran Kapı) to the south, which is still upright and visible from a distance. The Viran Kapı is a feat of civil engineering in that the Sacred Way passes through it diagonally with a barrel vault under the rising vault of the koilon. The structure was the largest ancient theater in Asia Minor. The size and monumental design are an expression of the competition between the cities of Ephesus and Pergamon, manifested in the architecture of their large buildings.