The Theatre

The Theatre of Stobi is one of the most impressive monuments ever built in the ancient city. Located on its southern edge, it differs from most other ancient theatres in the wider region of Macedonia in that it was not carved into a steep natural slope. Instead, it was built on gently sloping and partly flat terrain, with the seating supported by a massive system of radial and circular walls.

The theatre has three main phases. Construction began towards the end of the 1st century AD, when an ambitious multifunctional building was planned according to western Roman models, combining features of both theatres and amphitheatres. The original design was never completed, and work ceased for several years. Archaeological research has preserved remarkable evidence of this first building phase, including construction techniques, changes in the original plan, and even masons’ marks painted in red.

Work resumed in the first half of the 2nd century AD, when the theatre was completed following the model of the Roman theatres of Asia Minor, which combined the architectural tradition of Hellenistic theatres with the superior building techniques and engineering of the Roman world. Elements derived from amphitheatre architecture that had already formed part of the original design were retained in the new concept, including the podium surrounding the orchestra, the central box, and the central radial corridor running beneath it. Because of the multifunctional character of the building, no permanent stage was constructed, unlike in most Roman theatres. 

The theatre hosted a wide variety of spectacles. Alongside theatrical performances, mime and choral presentations, audiences could watch gladiatorial contests, fights with wild animals and other public entertainments. Visitors entered through entrances around the exterior and moved through corridors beneath the seating before reaching the marble seats.

The auditorium could accommodate around 7,000 spectators. The seats were arranged in more than thirty rows and divided into upper and lower sections by a broad passageway, or diazoma. Names of individuals and families were carved into some of the seats, showing that prominent citizens of Stobi had reserved places. Spectators seated closest to the orchestra were protected during dangerous spectacles by a safety net, traces of whose supports can still be seen in the marble seating.

Opposite the auditorium stood the monumental stage building, originally rising to about 13 metres. Its richly decorated façade was arranged on two levels and adorned with white marble architectural elements, as well as columns and doorframes of pinkish marble, creating an impressive architectural backdrop for performances. One of the rooms within the scene building functioned as a sanctuary dedicated to Nemesis, the goddess closely associated with gladiators and arena games.

Towards the end of the 3rd century, the theatre was damaged by a powerful earthquake and subsequently repaired. During this final phase, its adaptation for arena spectacles became even more pronounced. The protective net was replaced by a solid barrier, the side entrances to the orchestra were closed with gates, and a high wall separated the arena from the skene. The shrine of Nemesis and the interior of the scene building were repaired.

By the end of the 4th century, the theatre had gone out of use, and from the middle of the 5th century onward it began to serve as a source of building material. Most of its marble seats were reused in the construction of the new city wall and the Christian basilicas. The theatre corridors were gradually occupied by informal settlers and adapted as living spaces, with partition walls dividing the original passages into smaller units.

Following the earthquake around AD 520, large parts of the theatre were used as a dumping ground for debris generated during repair works on the Episcopal Basilica. In the second half of the 6th and during the 7th century, the walls and corridors of the theatre were incorporated into newly built houses, whose layout followed the former semicircular plan of the auditorium. The walls of these later houses were, in turn, reused during the medieval period as part of dwellings dating from the 11th to the 14th century.

The theatre remained largely forgotten until the first major excavations, conducted by the National Museum in Belgrade between 1924 and 1934. In the late 1960s, the orchestra was mechanically cleared by the local authorities, followed by further investigations between 1970 and 1980 as part of the Yugoslav-American project, which revised several earlier interpretations. Since 2009, NI Stobi has conducted systematic archaeological excavations at the theatre, accompanied since 2013 by conservation work aimed at its comprehensive investigation, protection, partial reconstruction, and presentation as one of Stobi’s most remarkable monuments.

Archaeological Lexicon