An architectural step, passage, or ascending structure in ancient buildings, particularly theaters, temples, or public structures.
From Greek 'ana-' (up) + 'bathmos' (step, threshold). This singular Greek architectural term was preserved in English scholarly texts describing classical structures.
Greek theaters were engineering marvels with precisely calculated 'anabathmoi' that allowed thousands of spectators to sit in circles without blocking each other's sightlines—an acoustic and spatial problem solved through mathematics and these stepping systems.
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