The Performances at the Theatre of the Pythion in Gortyna, Crete. Virtual Acoustics Analysis as a Support for Interpretation

Abstract

The location of the so-called “small” Roman theatre of Gortyna (Crete), precisely at the back of the temple dedicated to Apollo Pythios, suggests a clear correlation of this monument with religious rituals. We may suppose that the theatre was used in particular during the Ludi Apollinares (Pythia), namely games and a festival dedicated to the God Apollo (held for the first time in Rome in 212 BC) or during the iso-Olympic agones as witnessed by the epigraphic sources of the imperial age. However, we have to consider also the possibility that the “small” theatre of Gortyna could have housed civic ceremonies or other activities related to the life of the Koinon ton Kreton, the federal assembly of all the Cretan cities which had its seat during the imperial times right in the space of the sanctuary. This paper aims to verify the typology of performances and activities that could take place in the theatre of the Pythion (namely if it was more suitable for music or speech) through virtual acoustics analysis. The study of the acoustics’ quality has provided significant support to formulate hypotheses about the primary function of the theatre of the Pythion at Gortyna.

4 The past 15 years of archaeological work on Roman and Byzantine Crete

“…A group of 34 bronze coins above a threshold in the skene indicate a destruction date that likely coincides with the AD 365 earthquake. These excavations of the Roman theatre and the subsequent study have been conducted to understand the connection between the theatre and the Apollo sanctuary (Bonetto et al 2017; Manzetti 2019).…”

Towards a Digital Approach to the Listening to Ancient Places

“…In order to address these issues, she carried out a virtual acoustic analysis, taking into account some limitations that she might encounter: first of all, the state of preservation of the theatre, which made the assessment and acoustic analysis on the site complex. Therefore, it was necessary to build a 3D model of the monument (Figure 1) [14] using software suitable to calculate the acoustic features and to evaluate the behaviour of sound in a virtual environment.…”

“…In order to address these issues, she carried out a virtual acoustic analysis, taking into account some limitations that she might encounter: first of all, the state of preservation of the theatre, which made the assessment and acoustic analysis on the site complex. Therefore, it was necessary to build a 3D model of the monument (Figure 1) [14] using software suitable to calculate the acoustic features and to evaluate the behaviour of sound in a virtual environment. For this phase of her work-on which the reliability of the data depended-, she used Odeon Room Acoustics, a software package widely used in the field of architecture and acoustic engineering, which proved useful both in this research and in other research projects devoted to ancient theatres [13,14].…”

“…Therefore, it was necessary to build a 3D model of the monument (Figure 1) [14] using software suitable to calculate the acoustic features and to evaluate the behaviour of sound in a virtual environment. For this phase of her work-on which the reliability of the data depended-, she used Odeon Room Acoustics, a software package widely used in the field of architecture and acoustic engineering, which proved useful both in this research and in other research projects devoted to ancient theatres [13,14]. In this regard, it is worth remembering that until a few years ago, the acoustic analysis of ancient theatres was limited to measuring and evaluating the physical qualities of sound and its propagation in theatrical spaces.…”

“…This qualitative leap in research was possible thanks to the use of software in the field of cultural heritage which, like Odeon Room Acoustics, allows us to consider a series of parameters and also to calculate variations due to weather conditions, the ancient landscape, materials, and the presence (or absence) of an audience. For this phase of her work-on which the reliability of the data depended-, she used Odeon Room Acoustics, a software package widely used in the field of architecture and acoustic engineering, which proved useful both in this research and in other research projects devoted to ancient theatres [13,14]. In this regard, it is worth remembering that until a few years ago, the acoustic analysis of ancient theatres was limited to measuring and evaluating the physical qualities of sound and its propagation in theatrical spaces.…”