Scattered around the Mediterranean lie the remains of the ancient theaters of the Greek and Roman world. The Greek theaters were large, open-air structures constructed on the slope of a hill. Roman theaters, although heavily influenced by the Greeks, have specific differences, such as being built upon their own foundations.

The theater originates from the city-state of Athens where it was used for festivals honoring the god Dionysus and the famous Athenian tragedy, comedy, and satyr plays. The Romans, being a little bit less philosophical in spirit than the Greek, wanted more pure entertainment with lots of laughs and excitement. Popular entertainments in Roman times included mime plays, acrobatics, jugglers, animal fights and gladiator fights although the later two were more common in the Roman amphitheater.

Below is a list of some of the best preserved and most amazing ancient theatres of Greek and Roman antiquity. 

Taormina was a Greek colony on the east coast of the island of Sicily. The theater of Taormina was built by the Greeks in the 2nd century BC and restructured and widened by the Romans. The ancient theatre is beautiful situated, overlooking the bay of Naxos and mount Etna. Today it is the center of the Taormina’s international film festival.

Jerash is a popular archaeological site in Jordan, second only to Petra. The city’s golden age came under Roman rule and the site is now generally acknowledged as one of the best preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. Jerash contains not one but two Roman theatres. The north theatre, with a capacity of 1600, was built in 165 AD and was mainly used as the city council chamber. The larger south theatre was built between 90-92 AD and could seat more than 3000 spectators.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, cut into the southern slope of the Athenian Acropolis, was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife. The structure was used as a theatre in ancient Athens for various plays and music concerts. It originally had a wooden roof and could seat up to 5,000 people.

According to an inscription, the Roman Theatre of Merida in present-day Spain was built in 16 BC by order of Agrippa, a general and friend of emperor Augustus. The ancient theatre could house up to 6,000 spectators. In later centuries the theater underwent several restorations which introduced new architectonic elements and decorations. The structure was restored to the current state in the 1960s-1970s.

The Roman Theatre of Amman in Jordan was built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius in the 2nd century AD. The large and steeply raked theatre could seat about 6,000 people. It is cut into the hillside and oriented north to keep the sun off the spectators. The theatre was built on three tiers: the rulers, sat closest to the action, the military had the middle section, and the general public sat on the highest section. Although far from the stage, even there the actors could be clearly heard, owing to the steepness of the theatre.

Pergamum was an ancient city founded by Greek colonists on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Although Pergamum is one of Turkey’s lesser known archaeological sites it contains a number of notable structures, including the theater. The Pergamon theater was built in the 3rd century and could seat 10,000 spectators. It is one of the steepest ancient theaters in the world.

Side is a popular resort town on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. The city was founded by Greek settlers in the 7th century BC and was one of most important trade centers in the region. In 25 BC Side became part of the Roman province Galatia and prospered through its trade in olive oil and slaves. The roman ruins of Side that are in fairly good condition today include a temple, city gate and an ancient theatre which could seat about 15,000 to 20,000 people.

Located in Libya, Sabratha’s was established around 500 BC as a Phoenician trading-post and reched its peak under Roman rules as a coastal outlet for the products of the African hinterland. The Theatre of Sabratha was built in the 2n century AD. The structure appears largely intact owing to its reconstruction by Italian archaeologists in the 1930s. The theatre had 25 entrances and could seat approximately 5,000 spectators.

The Roman Theater of Orange in France is a well preserved theatre build in the 1st century AD for watching theatrical performances. After the Roman Empire declined the theatre was closed by official edict in 391 AD as the Church opposed what it regarded as uncivilized spectacles. The ancient theatre was restored in the 19th century and today it is home of the summer opera festival, the Chorégies d’Oran.

The ruins of Ephesus are a popular tourist attraction on the west coast of Turkey. The city of Ephesus was once famed for the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which was destroyed by a mob led by the archbishop of Constantinople in 401 AD. Some of the structures can still be seen however including the impressive Great Theater. This large theatre, which was capable of holding 25,000 spectators, was used initially for drama, but during later Roman times it was also used for gladiator fights.

Aspendos boasts one of the best preserved ancient theatres of antiquity. Located in south-west Turkey, the theatre of Aspendos was build in 155 AD during the rule of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and could seat between 15,000 and 20,000 spectators. Because the stage area was later used as a caravanserai (a roadside inn) in Seljuk times, it was continuously repaired and maintained. Thus, the Aspendos Theatre has been able to survive to this days without losing almost any of its original qualities.

In ancient times Delphi was the most important site in ancient Greek religion, home to the sanctuary and oracle of Apollo. The ancient theatre of Delphi in Greece was built on a hill giving spectators a view of the entire sanctuary and the spectacular landscape below. It was originally built in the 4th and could seat 5,000 spectators.

Situated 140 Km south of Damascus in Syria, Bosra is an ancient city that was already mentioned in the 14th century BC by Egyptians hieroglyphs. The city was conquered by the Romans in 106 AD who made it the capital of their Arabia province. The theatre of Bosra was built in the 2nd century AD and could seat up to 15,000 people. Because a fortress was built around the theatre by the Ayyubids it is now one of the best preserved Roman theatres in the world.

The theatre of Epidaurus, located on the northeastern corner of the Peloponnesus in Greece, was constructed in the 4th century BC. It is still one of the most beautiful Greek theatres in the world. Unlike Roman theatres the view on a lush landscape behind the scene is an integral part of the theater itself. The theatre of Epidaurus is famous for its exceptional acoustics. Actors on stage can be perfectly heard by all 14,000 spectators, regardless of their seating.

A temple is roughly defined as a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities. Temples have been built throughout the ages and many new ones open their doors every year. The Akshardham Temple in New Delhi built in 2008 and the White Temple in Chiang Rai which is still under construction are just two recent examples. The ancient temples on this list however were built millenniums ago by people who’s religion and believe system are nog longer practiced. These buildings are among the oldest man made structures found on earth. They serve as a testimony to the gods and deities of cultures and civilizations long gone.

Located some 5 km (3 mi) south of Heraklion, the Palace of Knossos is the most important and best known Minoan palace complex in Crete. The great palace was built gradually between 1700 and 1400 BC, with periodic rebuildings after destruction until it was devastated once and for all by fire. The palace comprised living spaces, reception rooms, workshops, shrines and store rooms all built around a central square. The main function of the palace is still under debate. It could have been used primarily as an administrative center, a religious center—or both, in a theocratic manner. Knossos is also often associated with the legend of the Athenian hero Theseus killing the Minotaur.

Sometimes referred to as the first temple or oldest temple, Göbekli Tepe is a sanctuary built on a hilltop in southeastern Turkey. The houses or temples are round megalithic buildings while the walls are made of unworked dry stone and include numerous T-shaped monolithic pillars of limestone that are up to 3 meter (10 ft) high. The site, was erected by hunter-gatherers in the 10th millennium BC (!) making it by far the oldest human-made place of worship yet discovered. Göbekli Tepe not only predate pottery, and the invention of writing or the wheel but it was also built before the beginning of agriculture and animal husbandry.

The Temple of Amada is the oldest temple in Nubia and was first constructed by Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III in the 15th century BC. The temple was dedicated to Amun and Re-Horakhty. Alterations and decoration were carried out by later pharaohs. Akhenaten had the name Amun destroyed throughout the temple for example while Seti I had this restored again. Although the temple is quite small and has crumbling exterior, its interior features some of the most finely cut reliefs with bright and vibrant colors.

High on a hill on the island of Gozo, is the Stone Age Ggantija prehistoric temple complex. Constructed from 3,600-3,000 BC, the Ggantija temples are the earliest of a series of megalithic temples in Malta, pre-dating Egypt’s pyramids and Britain’s Stonehenge by over a 1,000 years. This megalithic monument is in fact two temples, built side by side and enclosed within a boundary wall. The numerous figurines and statues indicate that the temples were possibly the site of a Fertility cult. The temples on Malta are the oldest temples in Europe.

The megalithic complex of Hagar Qim is located atop a cliff on the southern edge of the island of Malta. The Mnajdra temples are about 600 meters further down further down the cliff . Hagar Qim consists of a main temple and three additional megalithic structures beside it. The largest megalith at Hagar Qim is some 7 meters (23 ft) high and weights around 20 tons. Mnajdra consists of three conjoined but not connected temples . The oldest temples were built between 3600 and 3200 BC. Many artifacts were recovered from within the temples suggesting that these old temples were used for religious purposes. These structures were not used as tombs since no human remains were found.

The Temple of Seti I is the mortuary temple of Pharaoh Seti I on the west bank of the Nile in Abydos. The ancient temple was constructed towards the end of the reign of Seti, and may have been completed by his son Ramesses the Great after his death in 1279 BC. The temple was not only dedicated to Seti I but also to a number of deities. The raised reliefs in this old temple are some of the finest and most detailed in all of Egypt. The temple also contains the Abydos King List. It is a chronological list of many dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes, the Egyptian king credited with founding the First dynasty, until Ramesses I, Seti’s father.

The Hypogeum in Malta is the only prehistoric underground temple in the world. The temple consists of halls, chambers and passages carved out of rock. Thought to be originally a sanctuary, it became a necropolis in prehistoric times. The complex is grouped in three levels – the upper level (3600-3300 BC), the middle level (3300-3000 BC), and the lower level (3150 -2500 BC). The deepest room in the lower level is 10.6 meters (35 ft) underground. Only a limited number of visitors are allowed entry and there can be a 2-3 weeks wait to get a ticket.

The Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt from around 1479 BC until her death in 1458 BC, is situated beneath the cliffs at Deir el Bahari on the west bank of the Nile. It is a colonnaded structure, which was designed and implemented by Senemut, the royal architect of Hatshepsut, to serve for her posthumous worship and to honor the glory of Amun. The temple is built into a cliff face that rises sharply above it and consists of three layered terraces reaching 30 meters (97 ft ) in height. These terraces are connected by long ramps which were once surrounded by gardens.

The Luxor Temple is located on the east bank of the River Nile in the ancient city of Thebes and was founded in 1400 BC during the New Kingdom. The temple was dedicated to the three Egyptian gods Amun, Mut, and Chons. This old temple was the center of the festival of Opet, Thebes’ most important festival. During the annual festival the statues of the three Gods were escorted from Karnak to the temple of Luxor along the avenue of sphinxes that connect the 2 temples. The festival lasted 11 days during the 18th Dynasty but had grown to 27 days by the reign of Ramesses III in the 20th Dynasty. No longer an active religious site, holidays to Luxor are extremely popular with tourists nowadays.

One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones in south west England. Stonehenge was produced by a culture that left no written records so many aspects of Stonehenge remain subject to debate. Evidence indicate that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC while the last known construction at Stonehenge was about 1600 BC. The gigantic stones may have come from a quarry, around 40 kilometers (25 mi) north of Stonehenge on the Marlborough Downs. It is not known for certain what purpose Stonehenge served, but many scholars believe the monument was used as a ceremonial or religious center. Today, it is a popular tourist destination in England and Stonehenge tours are available from several English cities.