In the theatre of ancient Greece, the skene was the structure at the back of a stage. The word means 'tent' or 'hut', and it is thought that the original structure for these purposes was a tent or light building of wood and was a temporary structure. It was initially a very light structure or just cloth hanging from a rope, but over the course of time the skene underwent fundamental changes. First, it became a permanent building, whose roof could sometimes be used to make speeches, and as time passed it was raised up from the level of the orchestra, creating a , or "space in front of the ". The facade of the was behind the orchestra and provided a space for supporting stage scenery. During the Roman Period, the had become a large and complex, elaborately decorated, stone building on several levels. Actors emerged from the parodoi and could use its steps and balconies to speak from. It was also where costumes were stored and to which the periaktoi (painted panels serving as the background) were connected. Classical Greece Ancient Greek theatre began in the 6th century BC and traces its origins to religious rituals such as the Festival of Dionysus and choral odes to the gods known as dithyrambs. Early Greek theatres were simple open air structures built on the slope of a hill. The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens is thought to have been the first purpose-built theatre. Around the middle of the 5th century BC, the began to appear in Greek theatre. Placing a behind the orchestra – where the performers acted, played, and danced – broke what is thought to have been the original theatre in the round nature of Greek theatre. The also served as another "hidden stage". At times some of the action went on inside, in which case it was up to the audience to decide what was happening based on the noises coming from the inside. It was a convention of the dramas of the classic period that characters never died on stage, instead usually retreating into the to do so. At some point at Athens in the Classical period a small stoa colonnade was constructed behind the scene-building with its back to the theatre and would have provided a permanent backdrop for the action." Hellenistic period The Hellenistic period started around the time of Alexander the Great's death