Greek and Roman art gave Western art its classical foundation in form, line, structure, and meaning. These two periods gave a great deal of impact and inspiration to our arts and our lives. Many of our structures and sculptures have at least some form of influence from these classical periods. Some of the examples are Epidaurus Theater, The Colosseum, The Parthenon, Temple of Fortuna Virilis, The Panthenon, and the Discus Thrower. .
Epidaurus Theater and Colosseum exemplifies the classic artistic inheritance in many ways. Epidaurus Theater and Colosseum were both made for entertainment just like our amphitheaters today. Epiduarus Theater was built for performing plays. The middle center is called orchestra and most action took place within here (Janson 138). The seats were curved around the orchestra and went up like a staircase. Hundreds of people could be seated and play can be seen without much difficulty. People also had no trouble hearing what the actors and actresses were saying. They had seats in the front made out of marble for the upper class people, and the top rows were made out of stone for lower class people. .
The Colosseum was built for gladiatorial games. It was a massive structure that could fit more than 50,000 spectators (182). It usually had three floors with eighty-five entrances, which let people exit and enter into the arena very quickly. The doors were decorated with classical Doric columns on the ground floor followed by Ionic and Corinthian (182). The stage can be adjusted to the environment it needed to be in for the performance. It also had seats for higher class at the bottom made of marble and stone seats on top for lower class citizens. .
Epidaurus Theater looks just like our amphitheaters today where plays and concerts are performed. They also have places in the back of the stage for actors and actresses to stand by and change. The Colosseum looks like our sports arena and Olympic stadiums.