The ruins of the Temple of Dionysus, possibly built at the beginning of the 6th century BC, and just where we are now, you would find the orchestra of the theater, which was a threshing floor during the festivals of Dionysus.
It wasn’t used by the farmers of Athens to thresh wheat during the festivals. It was a paved round area where Athenians, after religious activities at the temple, could celebrate Dionysus with dances and songs (this is why we call it the Theater of Dionysus) much like how Greeks still celebrate during religious festivals today. This is the first theater in history.
The theater wasn’t just for amusement but to teach morals, and everyone was invited, even slaves. If someone couldn’t pay for a ticket, rich Athenians were proud to be sponsors of the theatrical contests, to help cover the costs of production, costumes, and masks.
If the play they sponsored won, they were allowed to build sponsoring monuments to commemorate the victory. At the top of the pedestals for the monuments was a bronze tripod to immortalize the victory, the team, the play, the author, and the sponsor who offered the money, of course. In Koine Greek, the word “agon” (ἀγών) refers to a contest, struggle, or competition.
The word ἀγών (agon) is used in the New Testament.
Philippians 1:30 – “having the same conflict (ἀγῶνα) which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”
Colossians 2:1 – “For I would that ye knew what great conflict (ἀγῶνα) I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”
1 Timothy 6:12 – “Fight the good fight (ἀγῶνα) of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
A monument with a significant sponsorship intact from the 4th century BC until 1825 is at the Theater of Dionysus. But in 1825, the Turkish artillery used the monument as a target for practice. There are many sketches and drawings of this monument, and many pieces remain, so archaeologists have decided to put these pieces back together. We hope one day to see them as they were before the destruction.
Now, let’s go closer to the theater.”
From the stage, we have a part of the front with cultural decorations.
You see the orchestra in the middle, which was turned into a semi-circular orchestra by the Romans during their time. Originally, it was a round threshing floor. When the Romans came to most of the theaters, they removed this row of seats, the presidential row. They put up fences, like we saw in Philippi, and they turned the theaters into arenas.
Look at the row of presidential seats in front, where the title of the person is written underneath. These seats are all reserved for priests: the priest of Demeter and Persephone, the priest of Zeus, the priest of Theseus, and so on. They had their special seats. All the plays you have heard about—by Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes—took place in this theater. This is the first theater in history, the classical theater of Athens, the Theater of Dionysus.
