Athena Review Image Archive ™
Lyon: The Roman Theater
The Roman Theater at Lyon (photo: Athena Review).
Two
Roman auditoriums at Lugdunum include the open-air Theater, and the
enclosed Odéon. Both may be seen on the Fourvière or "old forum" (from
Latin forum vetus), on a hill overlooking the modern city of Lyon.
This
view shows the larger open Theater, built by Augustus in 17-15 BC, and
later expanded by Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. Nearly 110 meters
wide, the Theater could seat 10,000 spectators. Excavations beneath the
Theater found remnants of a cryptoporticus or basement which underlay
the old forum, both of which were destroyed when the Theater was built.
Nearby is the smaller Roman Odéon, a roofed performance hall
with a marble stage, whose massive walls still retain small traces of
paintings.
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