Petra 2

The Roman Theater
25-125 AD: Although Petra’ s theater is Graeco-Roman in design, the complex originated with the Nabataeans. The theater may date to the early first century AD, during the reign of King Aretas IV, when Petra’s urban character took shape. It consisted of an auditorium with a semicircular orchestra and an ascending horseshoe-shaped seating area with vertical stairways divided into three levels by horizontal passageway s. It also featured a stage wall, added by the Romans which shielded the orchestra and served as a theatrical backdrop.

The theater is striking in that it is hewn directly from the rock in one piece. It seems the Nabataeans were in such great need of an assembly area that they had to destroy some facades that were there before, as the cliff face preserves the remains of earlier tomb complexes that had been carved away to create the auditorium’s rear wall. In the absence of documentation, we ca only guess the many kinds of events that may have been held there.

If Petra was a pilgrimage destination, the theater could have been used for pilgrims to assemble and conduct their rituals; there was an altar in the orchestra that may have been linked to this. Later during Roman times, it may have hosted theatrical and musical performances, poetry readings, athletic matches and public meetings. The theater seated 6000 people and it has been partially restored.Read more