that the STADIUM of Nicopolis is located in the suburb of the town, a few meters SW of the Theatre? It hosted the athletic competitions of Actian Games, sacred games in honor of Apollo.
It is ellipsoid in plan, with an E-W orientation. Its main parts are the cavea with the seats (for the spectators), the two “sphendonai” (semi-circular part of the cavea) and the track (Konistra, for the games).
Regarding the CAVEA, only the earthen embankments and remains of the infrastructure of its stone seats, which were probably removed in early Christian times, are preserved.
It has two SPHENDONAI, deviating from the canon of the Greek stadiums that had only one. Under them, the entranceways of the stadium are formed. Two more passageways were in the center of the two long sides of the cavea.
The cavea to the west is a later adition. The form of the Stadium during the Augustan era recalls the architectural composition of Greek stadiums with one cavea, as it had developed in Hellenistic times.
TRACK, the ancient surface of which lies about 2.5m. below today’ s, is 200m long and 24m wide.
It was built before 27 BC, but it was renovated around early 2nd cenrury AD.
