It is evident, from the above description, that the theatre of the fifth century was a far less imposing structure than was once supposed. The result of recent excavations has been to modify largely all our previous notions as to the great period of the Athenian drama. In place of the majestic stone theatre, in which it was once thought that the plays of Sophocles and Euripides were produced, we have now to picture to ourselves a simple wooden building, resting on earth foundations, and devoid of all architectural ornament. The difference is no doubt a great one. Still, it is not perhaps so great as might appear at first sight. The impressiveness of the old Greek drama, regarded as a spectacle, depended on other considerations than the magnificence of the building in which it was exhibited. When the vast roofless amphitheatre was filled from end to end with the concourse of citizens and strangers, it would make little difference in the significance of the scene whether the benches were of wood or stone. The orchestra of a Greek theatre was always much the same in character, in the grandest as well as in the simplest theatres; and the graceful evolutions of the chorus under the open sky would be equally effective in both. The long scenic background, with its painted decorations, cannot have varied much in appearance, whether it rested on a wall of stone or on a wall of timber. Although, therefore, the theatre of the great Athenian dramatists was an unpretentious structure, as compared with those which were erected in after times, it is unnecessary to suppose that there was any corresponding inferiority in the outward splendour of the performances. § 3. _The Stone Theatre._