when certain alterations were made in the front row; others had been accidentally displaced. Most of them have now been restored to their original sites. That the thrones were erected at the latest by the time of Lycurgus appears to be proved by the excellence of the workmanship. Each of them has an inscription in the front, recording the title of the priest or official for whom the seat was reserved. These inscriptions are all of the Hellenistic or Roman period; but behind them are faint traces of older inscriptions, which may possibly go back to the fourth century. The practice of erecting superior seats in the first row for people of distinction was a common one in Greek theatres. At Megalopolis, for example, the front bench was provided with a back, though it was not divided into separate seats, as at Athens. In the theatre of Epidaurus there were three rows of superior workmanship, one at the bottom of the auditorium and two others half-way up the slope, one on each side of the longitudinal passage. But the most peculiar arrangement was that adopted at Oropus and Priene. At Oropus five magnificent thrones were placed inside the ring of the orchestra itself, and well in front of the lowest tier of seats, each throne standing a few yards distant from the other. At Priene a long stone bench with a back was erected in the same position, and in this bench five thrones were inserted at regular intervals.[340] Immediately behind the line of thrones there was a vacant space about 33 inches wide. Then came what appears to be a small step. But Dörpfeld has shown that this step is merely the back part of an ordinary seat, of which the front portion has been removed. In the original theatre there was a regular tier of seats following closely on the thrones. But in later times the front half of this tier was taken away. The object of the change, as Dörpfeld thinks, was to open out a wide space for the reception of a row of wooden thrones, which might serve as a supplement to the marble ones.[341] After the step, which we have just described, began the first of the ordinary tiers of seats, which were continued in exactly the same style from this point up to the top of the building. The shape of the seats is very much the same as in other Greek theatres. Their dimensions are as follows. Each seat was 13 inches high, and was hollowed out slightly in front, so that the person sitting on it might have more freedom for his legs. The surface of the seat was 33 inches across, and was divided into three distinct portions. The first part was for sitting upon, and was 13 inches deep. The second part was 2 inches lower, and was intended to receive the feet of the persons upon the seat above. It was 16 inches across. The third part was merely a narrow edge, of the same level as the first part, and 4 inches deep. The height of the tiers, as we have seen, was 13 inches. If we add to this the 2 inches