Why the Greeks could hear plays from the back row
Nature: Nico Declercq and Cindy Dekeyser of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta believe they have discovered why ancient Greek theaters have such wonderful acoustics: The key is the arrangement of the stepped rows of seats reports Philip Ball.
A performer in the ancient Greek theatre of Epidaurus for example, can be heard 60 meters away in the back row. The stepped rows of seats act as a low-frequency filter, suppressing background noise, while passing on the high frequency of the performers voice.
