Definition and Purpose

• The diazoma of the Greek theater is a long, semicircular passage from one end of the theatron (auditorium) to the other. It separates the upper and lower levels of seats to create easier access to the aisles for both. By adding the diazoma, Greek architects were able to increase the number of entry points to the theatron, which prevented overcrowding and enabled audience members to more easily reach their seats.
  
  

Other Uses and Misuses

• While the diazoma generally splits the house into two sections, some larger theaters, such as the Great Theater at Ephesus, possess more than one diazoma. In this case, archaeologists designate the lower diazoma as the "first" diazoma and the upper diazoma as the "second." These theaters gave rise to the notion that there might be more than one area of a Greek theater called a diazoma, depending on the construction. Occasionally, people use the word diazoma to describe the seating sections themselves. This is a misuse of the word. While the seating tiers are intrinsically related to the diazoma, the two areas are distinct. The seating tiers are separated by diazoma but are not diazoma, or walkways, in and of themselves.
  
  

Features

• The diazoma generally has a number of entrances along its length. One entrance at either end leads from a doorway near the parados to the walkway. Other doorways are placed at intervals along its path. These doorways lead down passageways beneath the seats, and eventually to the outside of the theater. Each diazoma is the width of two or more seats, in order to provide ample room for walking.
  
  

Significance

• The diazoma is an element of later theater designs. As theater became an increasingly popular form of entertainment in Greece, the structure of theaters became larger and more elaborate. The diazoma suggests a need to provide easy access for large numbers of people. Some of the theaters possessing diazoma seated tens of thousands of spectators. Theaters with diazoma point to the development of public performance as entertainment. The descendants of diazoma can be seen in many modern settings. Very large auditoriums still use the strategy of allowing audiences to enter from below the upper seats to make their way along a passage between the upper and lower sections. Likewise, sports stadiums make prodigious use of this strategy in order to manage massive numbers of sports fans.