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Abstract
Multi-story aedicular façades, featuring rows of statue-bearing niches and aediculae, transformed the theaters of Roman Anatolia (modern-day Türkiye) into carefully curated multimedia environments. This dissertation investigates the stages façades (scaenae frontes) of five such theaters—Aphrodisias, Miletus, Ephesus, Hierapolis, and Perge—constructed between the Augustan and Severan periods. By examining the interplay of statues, inscriptions, and reliefs within the façades’ architectural syntax, this study reconstructs how scaenae frontes functioned as hypermediated environments, or spaces designed to draw attention to the act of representation itself. It approaches the display of statuary as both a curatorial and interpretive enterprise, considering interventions as staged acts that constitute cultural performances. Each chapter examines curatorial intervention through a site-specific lens, highlighting the adaptability of the aedicular façade format to different cultural and historical contexts. At Aphrodisias, sculptural display is revealed as an ongoing process, with inscriptions on the logeion terrace documenting the strategic placement of both new and restored statues, underscoring restoration as an active curatorial choice. Miletus incorporates true antiquities, statues predating the façade’s construction by centuries, creating a deliberate dialogue between past and present and reinforcing local identity. The scaenae frons at Ephesus accommodates a broad spectrum of statue sizes, demonstrating how scale and typological variety shaped curatorial strategy. Hierapolis presents an intermedial approach, orchestrating freestanding statues and reliefs to reinforce thematic connections across media, with inscriptions providing crucial contextual information. Perge showcases the high degree of curatorial planning required to integrate statues of varied compositions as thematic pendants, with an extraordinarily high degree of coordination between architectural positions and individual statues. These findings demonstrate that aedicular façades were not merely decorative backdrops but dynamic, interpretive spaces, where curatorial decisions operated as acts of cultural performance, shaping evolving dialogues about identity, power, and memory. By reframing scaenae frontes as hypermediated environments, this study redefines their role within Roman sculptural display practices, demonstrating that these sculptural programs were not only curated but also staged, engaging audiences in a process of interpretation that paralleled the theatrical and civic performances unfolding before them. This approach offers new perspectives on the communicative potential of aedicular façades across various civic contexts in Roman Anatolia and beyond.