Ruïne van het theater van Laodicea aan de Lycus before 1869

This photograph by A. Svoboda captures the ruins of the theater of Laodicea, a city in the ancient world. What strikes me is how the skeletal remains of this structure echo the stages of human drama itself. The theater, once a vibrant space for communal experience, now stands as a mute testament to the passage of time. Notice how the crumbling facade presents a face to the viewer, not unlike the masks worn by actors in ancient Greek theater. This iconography of the mask, present throughout the history of art, represents not only the individual roles we play but also the collective dramas of society. Even in ruins, this theater stirs within us a sense of the cyclical nature of history, reminding us of the dramas played out on similar stages across time.