Roman theater in Cartagena (southern Spain) was built in the late 1st century BCE. The facility is hidden among the modern buildings of the city.
Roman theater consisted of three main parts: the stage, the orchestra, and the cavea (seats). All these spaces complemented each other and formed a closed whole. The auditorium was built directly on the stone slope and could seat 6,000 people.
Behind the stage, there was a portico where the spectators could stay during the break or hide from the rain.
Preserved lintels from the entrances to the Roman theater in Cartagena prove that the building was built in honor of the grandsons of Octavian Augustus – Gaius and Lucius Caesar. On the stone, made of gray sandstone, which was located at the eastern entrance, there is an inscription honoring Lucius Caesar; when in the west – probably Gaius Caesar. The objects are dated to the 1st century BCE.
Objects of this type constituted an integral element of propaganda. In this case, they were aimed at promoting the grandsons of Octavian Augustus as future successors. Lucius and Gaius were the children of Marcus Agrippa and Julia, daughter of Octavian.
In the 3rd century CE, a market was built on the site of the theater, for which the building material found there was used.
