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Ancient Theatre

Theatre of Miletus

THEE-uh-ter of my-LEE-tus · Modern Balat (Milet), Aydın Province, Turkey · 37.5302° N, 27.2784° E

This massive Greco-Roman theatre, seating roughly 15,000, stood at the heart of Miletus when Paul summoned the elders of the Ephesian church to meet him there rather than travel to Ephesus himself, delivering his emotional farewell address before sailing for Jerusalem (Acts 20:17-38). The book of Acts does not name the theatre specifically as the meeting site, but it remains the most prominent surviving structure from the Miletus Paul would have known.

Archaeology

First excavated in 1873 by French archaeologist Olivier Rayet, with systematic German-led excavations beginning in 1899. The earliest phase of the cavea dates to the Hellenistic period (4th-3rd century BC), with major Roman-era rebuilding under Trajan giving the stage building its three-story, 22-meter-high facade; the structure was later converted into a Byzantine fortress. No inscription or artifact ties the theatre directly to Paul's visit — its NT association is topographical and traditional.