Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Anabathrum

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

ANABATH'RUM (ἀνἀβαθρον). Generally any row of seats rising one above another like a flight of stairs, as was the usual arrangement in all buildings constructed for the accommodation of a numerous company, such as the theatres, Circus, &c. (See the illustrations under AMPHITHEATRUM.) But the more accurate and strict meaning of the word implies something more definite; viz. a temporary set of wooden seats, constructed upon the same principle, but which were hired for any special occasion, as a concert, recitation, &c., and placed round the sides of the room for the accommodation of a numerous audience, in the same manner as is still common at the present day for a similar purpose. Juv. Sat. vii. 46.