In front of it, and on a level with the lowest tier of seats, was the stage, to which flights of steps led from the orchestra, with others leading to chambers below, known as Charon's stairways; for they were used for the entrance of phantoms from the nether world and for the ghostly apparitions of the dead. The skené, or stage house, consisted usually of two stories, to which a third was sometimes added. They were divided by a continuous balcony, adorned with columns corresponding to the dimensions of the orchestra and stage, and contained five doors, through which the actors made their entrances. One popular Greek theatre called Epidauros is a good these hillside theatres (see figure 1). It is now the year 100 A.D. and we have exposed some of Greece's most wonderful theatres. It is now time to explore Rome; if we're lucky we can get a lift from local fisher.
The fisherman must have rowed backwards because we seem in be in Rome, but we are back in the year 600 B.C. No time to worry now, while we're here, we may as well discover the Roman theatre. Unlike the Greek theatres, the Roman theatres were freestanding structures. The stage house was built from stone and was connected to the seating area, now called the Cavea, which could hold up to 25, 000 spectators. The stage was as long and as wide as a football field, and the stage house, the sceana, was several stories high with elaborate facades. It was used for storage and dressing space and was also built with a roof to protect the actors from the nature's elements. Another difference between the Greeks and the Romans was the orchestra; the Romans took the Greek circle and turned it into a semicircle to cut down on excess space and create more room for the audiences. One of the best-preserved Roman stages can be found in Sabrata, Libya (see figure 2) . Note the semicircle orchestra, the large stage area and the permanent stage house at the back, which has ornate facing and niches for states and other adornments.
