Aspendus

The theater of Aspendus, one of the main tourist attractions in southern Turkey, was a gift to the city by two men, Crispius Crispinus and Crispius Auspicatus, brothers, during the reign of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180).

The building was designed by an architect named Zeno. Its forty rows of seats were made of marble. The capacity was about 15,000 people, who could watch a tragedy, comedy, or a gladiatorial contest. That the gift of the Crispius brothers was rather exceptional, becomes obvious when we take into account that 15,000 people was also the capacity of the theater of Miletus, which was a metropole.