An abandoned amphitheater in Armenia

An amphitheatre (American English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue designed for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term comes from the ancient Greek ἀμφιθέατρον (amphitheatron), formed from ἀμφί (“around” or “on both sides”) and θέατρον (“place for viewing”).

Armenian theatre is among the oldest in the world. Along with the Greek tradition, it belonged to the European theatrical type and emerged in the 1st millennium BC. Even then, it was divided into familiar genres such as tragedy and comedy.

According to Plutarch, in 69 BC King Tigran II the Great built a Hellenistic-style amphitheatre in Tigranakert, the capital of Greater Armenia. Historian Gevorg Goyan believed this structure was large, richly decorated, and comparable to the grandest Greek amphitheatres of the period.

Later, during the reign of Artavazd (55–34 BC), the son of Tigran the Great, the Artashat Theatre was established in Armenia’s northern capital. Artavazd himself earned a reputation as a playwright and director and once staged Euripides’ tragedy The Bacchae.

After Christianity became the state religion in 301 AD, the Armenian Church began opposing theatrical arts. One example is the sermons of Catholicos Hovhannes Mandakuni (5th century), who sharply criticized theatrical performances and the gusans. This complicated the development of theatre but did not bring it to an end.

The earliest amphitheatres of antiquity were built entirely without roofs. Over the centuries, as architectural needs and acoustic expectations changed—especially for concerts and modern performances—open-air theatres began to evolve. By the 20th century many venues adopted permanent or semi-permanent roofs to provide weather protection and improve sound quality. Today, it’s common to see hybrid amphitheatres that combine classical open-air layouts with modern roofing systems.

However, even in Soviet times architects often followed older traditions. Many cinemas and amphitheatres were built completely open to the sky, preserving the historical aesthetic. One famous example is the open-air hall of Moscow Cinema in Yerevan, constructed between 1964 and 1966 by architects Spartak Kndeghtsyan and Telman Gevorgyan — a topic I’ll cover in a separate article.

For now, here’s another example: a little-known abandoned open-air amphitheatre that almost no one today is aware of. Information about it is practically nonexistent online. We discovered it by accident during one of our urban exploration trips — a genuinely pleasant surprise. Once I gather more historical data, I’ll share it. Until then, let the photos speak for this once-glorious place.