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Concept
Theatre of Pompey
Summary
The Theatre (UK) or Theater (US) of Pompey (Theatrum Pompeii, Teatro di Pompeo), also known by other names, was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great. Completed in 55 BC, it was the first permanent theatre to be built in Rome. Its ruins are located at Largo di Torre Argentina.
Enclosed by the large columned porticos was an expansive garden complex of fountains and statues. Along the stretch of the covered arcade were rooms dedicated to the exposition of art and other works collected by Pompey during his campaigns. On the opposite end of the garden complex was the Curia of Pompey for political meetings. The senate would often use this building along with a number of temples and halls that satisfied the requirements for their formal meetings. The curia is infamous as the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus and Cassius during a session of the Senate on 15 March 44 BC.
The Theatre of Pompey had a number of names in Latin. Theatrum Pompeii was most common, but it was also called the Pompeian Theater (Theatrum Pompeianum), the Marble Theatre (Theatrum Marmoreum), and simply the Theatre (Theatrum), as it was "always the most important theatre in Rome".
Pompey paid for this theatre to gain political popularity during his second consulship. According to Plutarch, Pompey was inspired by his visit in 62 BC to a Greek theatre in Mytilene. However, this is likely mistaken, as the theatre at Mytilene would have been built into a hill-side and, unlike Pompey's theatre, did not have a scaena. If any inspiration came from the theatre there, it must have been largely reworked or discarded, as Rome's urban geography made such a project unadaptable. Construction began around 61 BC.
Prior to its construction, permanent stone theatres had been forbidden, and so to side-step this issue, Pompey had the structure built in the Campus Martius, outside of the pomerium, or sacred boundary, that divided the city from the ager Romanus (the territory immediately outside the city).
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