a
bull and bear. Other subjects comprised candelabra, a distribution of
palms among the gladiators, winged genii, minstrels, and musicians;
but all disappeared soon after their exposure to the atmosphere. The
amphitheatre comprises twenty-four rows of seats, and about 20,000
feet of sitting-room.

It may be observed that the arena of the amphitheatre of Pompeii
appears to be formed of the natural surface of the earth, and has none
of those vast substructions observable at Pozzuoli and Capua. It does
not, therefore, appear capable of being turned into a Naumachia, nor
indeed would it have been easy to find there water enough for such a
purpose.

In the Roman theatre the construction of the orchestra and stage was
different from that of the Greeks. By the construction peculiar to the
Roman theatre, the stage was brought nearer to the audience (the arc
not exceeding a semi-circle), and made considerably deeper than in the
Greek theatre. The length of the stage was twice the diameter of the
orchestra. The Roman orchestra contained no thymele. The back of the
stage, or proscenium, was adorned with niches, and columns, and
friezes of great richness, as may be seen in some of the theatres of
Asia Minor, and in the larger theatre at Pompeii, which belong to the
Roman period.

On the whole, however, the construction of a Roman theatre resembled
that of a Greek one. The Senate, and other distinguished persons,
occupied circular ranges of seats within the orchestra; the praetor had
a somewhat higher seat. The space between the orchestra and the first
praecinctio, usually consisting of fourteen seats, was reserved for the
equestrian order, tribunes, etc. Above them were the seats of the
plebeians. Soldiers were separated from the citizens. Women were
appointed by Augustus to sit in the portico, which encompassed the
whole. Behind the scenes were the postscenium, or retiring-room, and
porticoes, to which, in case of sudden showers, the people retreated
from the theatre.

The earliest theatres at Rome were temporary buildings of wood. A
magnificent wooden theatre, built by M. AEmilius Scaurus, in his
edileship, B.C. 58, is described by Pliny. In 55 B.C., Cn. Pompey
built the first stone theatre at Rome, near the Campus Martius. A
temple of Venus Victrix, to whom he dedicated the whole building, was
erected at the highest part of the cavea.

The next permanent theatre was built by Augustus, and named after his
favorite, the yo