Theatre of Thorikos
The Theatre of Thorikos (), situated north of Lavrio, was an ancient Greek theater in the demos of Thorikos in Attica, Greece. It is the oldest known theater in the world since it was built around 525–480 BC. The theater is unusual in its design, as it is elongated instead of the typical semicircle. History The Thorikos theatre was built in several stages. The first construction phase is dated to the end of the archaic period around 525–480 BC, the theatre can be considered a primitive Greek building, being the oldest still standing Greek theatre in the world. The unique shape of the theater is explained by the fact that it would have been built in its entirety when the shape of theaters was not yet established. More recently, the shape is considered to be explained by the fact that expansions have been made to the theater's stand in stages over the oldest part after its construction. The theater became elongated when it was expanded in the classical period of the 4th century BC, halfway between changes were made to it as early as 300 BC. Archaeological excavations of the theater were conducted by the American School of Classical Studies