cavea

plural caveae · plural caveas

1. The seating section of a Greek or Roman theatre or amphitheatre.

   Vitruvius, in writing that colonnades are desirable above theatres, is thinking of late Asiatic and Roman caveas; […]

   1895, The Annual of the British School at Athens, number 45, page 42

   5 more examples

   Between (1) and the foot of the Cavea (7), there was built a rectangular Podium (5), situated right in the middle of the orchestra, which effectively rules out any possibility that the Hellenistic and Roman caveas could have been used for theatrical performances.

   1986, Albert Schachter, Cults of Boiotia: Herakles to Poseidon, London: Institute of Classical Studies, →ISBN, page 82

   I have for a long time thought that a symbolic approach, tackling the issue of the correlation between the spatial composition of Greek caveae and the social structure of their communities would yield interesting and, it is hoped, fruitful results.

   1987, Sarah Macready, Frederick Hugh Thompson, editors, Roman Architecture in the Greek World, London: Society of Antiquaries of London, →ISBN, page 85

   No rib foundation appears ever to have been designed for subterranean vaulting like that commonly found elsewhere in Roman caveas to support seating.

   1989, Hesperia, volume 58, page 35

   The theatre, which is located parallel to the short, northern wall of the hippodrome, faces south. This at first seems surprising since in our area virtually all caveae face either north or northwest, but as the excavator of the site has pointed out, Jericho served as a winter resort—with its cavea facing southward, the theatre could offer spectators a welcome exposure to the rays of the winter sun.

   1995, Arthur Segal, Theatres in Roman Palestine and Provincia Arabia, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 88

   As the entrances near the caveas provide access to the theatres, such an additional arrangement seems to have been superfluous.

   2005, Orhan Bingöl, translated by Ayşe Çalık Ross, Theatron: Magnesia on the Meander, Homer Kitabevi, →ISBN, page 64