ABSTRACT
From the foundation of Philadelphia and the probable construction of the theatre, to the days when Nero set fire (if indeed he did) to Rome for the pleasure of building it up again, is a matter of over three hundred years. The theatre must have been completely Hellenic in its early days; indeed up to the time of Pompey in 63 B.C., there would have been little chance of novelties from Rome coming to that remote spot. And it is very unlikely that they did even then, for it has been often remarked that the theatres of· Asia Minor showed very little Roman influence, many of them retaining their primitive Greek character. It is evident that, at Amman, a stage had been erected across the orchestra, and the odeion, now full of rubbish and difficult to reconstruct mentally, was a quite up-to-date small theatre to seat about four hundred people. In these little theatres there used to be what we should call rehearsals, but which were, in reality, more, for in them the poets who were going to compete appeared with their actors and choregi, and with the rich citizen who was going to pay for the performance of his plays. It was a full-dress show of great brilliance, and no doubt all playgoers were anxious to assist. Recitations of rhapsodists and contests of harp-playing were also held here.
