The North Theatre is smaller than the South Theatre, but it tells more about how the citizens of Gerasa organised themselves. Built in the mid-2nd century, perhaps first as a council hall, it later became an odeon for music, poetry and speeches — and its seats still carry the Greek names of the city’s civic tribes.
Where Is the North Theatre?
The theatre stands in the northern part of the ancient city, about 70 metres west of the Cardo Maximus, beside the North Decumanus. The North Tetrapylon marks the junction of the two streets, and the Church of Bishop Isaiah is right next door.
It belonged to a civic district of colonnaded streets, open spaces and public buildings — a setting that supports the idea that it had a governmental as well as a cultural role.
Historical Context and Origin
In the mid-2nd century AD a small building with 14 rows of seats for about 800 people was built here, possibly as the meeting place of the city council. By AD 165–166 an inscription calls it an odeon — a hall for music, poetry and speeches. Inscribed seats reserved places for Gerasa’s civic tribes and its council.
Around AD 235 an upper tier raised the capacity to about 1,600. The theatre stayed in use and was altered in the 5th and 6th centuries; in later centuries earthquakes and stone robbing reduced it to ruins.
Architectural Design
Visitors entered through a rectangular court framed by Corinthian columns. The lower seats were cut into the natural slope and divided into wedges by stairways; the later upper tier rested on vaults. The seating is about 58.6 metres across. Below lay the semicircular orchestra and, facing it, the stage building. Greek labels on the lower seats named twelve civic tribes — most named after gods such as Zeus, Apollo and Artemis, one after Hadrian — while a larger section was probably reserved for the council.
The Entrance Court
A rectangular court framed by Corinthian columns led from the street into the theatre.
Two Tiers of Seats
The first theatre had 14 rows; around AD 235 an upper tier on vaults doubled it to about 1,600 seats.
The Tribe Inscriptions
Greek labels on the lower seats reserved places for Gerasa’s twelve civic tribes and the city council.
The Stage Building
A raised stage and its decorated back wall faced the audience across the orchestra.
Civic Tribe Seat Inscriptions in the North Theatre
The most remarkable inscriptions in the North Theatre are not long dedications on a wall, but short Greek labels carved directly onto the marble seats of the lower cavea. They allocated seating to Gerasa’s twelve civic tribes, or phylai, and to the city council.
The surviving texts are often abbreviated and weathered. Editors therefore present them in normalised form below; square brackets indicate a restored or uncertain reading.
The Council Section
Τόπο[ς] βουλῆς
Translation: “Place of the council.”
This larger seating area was probably reserved for the boule, Gerasa’s city council. Its prominent location supports the view that the North Theatre functioned not only as an odeon for music and recitals, but also as a council chamber or civic assembly space.
The Twelve Civic Tribes
αʹ φυλῆς Διός
βʹ φυλῆς Ἀπόλλωνος
γʹ φυλῆς Λητοῦς
δʹ φυλῆς Ἀφροδίτης
εʹ φυλῆς Ἀρτέμιδος
ϛʹ φυλῆς Ἡρακλέους
ζʹ φυλῆς Ἀθηνᾶς
ηʹ φυλῆς Ἀδριαν[ῆς] [Ἡλ]ίου
θʹ φυλῆς Ποσειδῶνος
ιʹ φυλῆς Δημήτρος
ιαʹ φυλῆς Ἀσκληπιοῦ
ιβʹ φυλῆς Ἥρας
English Translation
Tribe of Zeus
Tribe of Apollo
Tribe of Leto
Tribe of Aphrodite
Tribe of Artemis
Tribe of Herakles
Tribe of Athena
Hadrianic Tribe of Helios/Sun — the reading is uncertain
Tribe of Poseidon
Tribe of Demeter
Tribe of Asklepios
Tribe of Hera
On the actual seats, φυλῆς (“of the tribe”) was frequently written in abbreviated form, often represented by letters such as ΦΥΛ or ΦΓΛ, rather than fully spelled out.
Later Inscription for the Linen Workers
Λινουργῶν ὁ τόπος
Translation: “The place of the linen workers.”
This inscription was cut later over earlier tribal labels in part of the seating. It reserved an area for the linourgoi, people involved in producing or working linen. Its addition suggests that the professional group later received formal recognition within the theatre’s seating system.
What These Inscriptions Mean
The tribe inscriptions reveal that the North Theatre was organised according to Gerasa’s political structure. A phyle was more than a social group; it was part of the civic body through which citizens were represented and public life was ordered. The labels ensured that members or representatives of each tribe sat in their assigned section during meetings and ceremonies.
The divine names are also important. They show the range of gods honoured in Gerasa’s civic identity: Artemis, the city’s patron goddess, appears beside Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Hera, Demeter, Asklepios, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Leto, and Herakles. The Hadrianic tribal name probably reflects the city’s loyalty to Emperor Hadrian or an imperial reorganization of its civic divisions.
Together, these short inscriptions make the North Theatre one of the most valuable monuments in Jerash. They preserve an unusually direct record of how a Roman city arranged its council, citizens, and civic groups in a public building. The full scholarly publication identifies twelve tribal sections, a council section, and the later linen-workers’ designation. Seat inscriptions publication, epigraphic summary
Destruction, Rediscovery, and Restoration
The visible remains were stabilised in the 1920s. From the 1980s excavation revealed the lower seats, the orchestra and the tribe inscriptions, and the theatre was restored.
Visiting the North Theatre Today
Enter through the colonnaded court, then look closely at the lower seats for the weathered Greek labels of the tribes. Sit in the upper rows to feel how close the audience was to the stage — a much more intimate space than the South Theatre.
Allow about 30 minutes, and combine it with the North Tetrapylon and the Church of Bishop Isaiah.
