The Theater

The Theater was built on the northern slope of the acropolis, at the end of the first century A.C. or, early in the second. It was apparently in use until the Byzantine period. About 70 meters in diameter, it contained some 4,500 stone seats. The stone stage, floored with wood, was decorated along its entire length with square and semicircular niches. Behind it were found the remains of the scaena frons - an ornate structure often three stories high - which closed off the semicircular theater and provided background for the actors during the performance. The theater had five entrances: three entrances leading into the seating area, and two others at the ends of the stage. All the entrances were connected by a vaulted hallway around the circumference.

Performances in the roman theater expressed a lifestyle which was superficial, hedonistic, and above all, idolatrous - a way of life which was totally antithetical to the Jewish life. 

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