522 MERGE TO GYRENE.

just mentioned (on a level with the highest range of seats) from which the spectators descended to the lower ranges. There appears to have been a row of columns, inclosing the uppermost range of seats ; and as we found several statues in the orchestra, close under the subsellia, it may perhaps be supposed that the upper part of the theatre was decorated with these ornaments, the place of which was probably between the columns of the peristyle in question, since the statues appear to have fallen from some place above the level of the seats; and we know of no situation more appropriate for them than along the colonnade we have mentioned.

This theatre is placed by the side of the road leading down to the fountain, and must have been a beautiful object when perfect ; the richness of the materials of which the columns were formed, adding greatly to the effect of the building, if not in point of taste, at least in point of costliness and splendour. The style and execution of the remaining parts of this structure have not however been ne«--lected ; and we often stopped to admire the beauty of the Corinthian capitals, which were carved with great sharpness and freedom, and exhibited considerable taste of design. The position of this building will be seen in the ground plan of the city (p. 520) ; it is the most northern, and the largest of the two. The plan of the other theatre differs mateiially from that of the one which we have just described, and its proportions are also very different. The depth of the orchestra is much less in proportion to its width, and the space allotted to the seats is at the same time greater for the size of the building. Instead of being approached from above, as that which