Attic Theatre - A.E. Haigh

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THE ATTIC THEATRE

HAIGH
HENRY FROWDE
Oxford University Press Warehouse
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The Attic Theatre

A DESCRIPTION OF THE STAGE AND THEATRE
OF THE ATHENIANS, AND OF THE DRAMATIC
PERFORMANCES AT ATHENS
BY
A.
E.
HAIGH,
M.A.
LATE FELLOW OF HERTFORD, AND CLASSICAL LECTURER AT CORPUS

CHRISTI
AND WADHAM COLLEGES, OXFORD
WITH FA CSIMHE S AND ILLUSTRATIONS
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1889
\Âll rights reserved
"l
REPLACING
401Ll1
14IA-9
PREFACE.
My
purpose
book has been
this
in
to
and piece
collect
together
all
features
and surroundings of the old Athenian dramatic per-
formances
from the
The
the available information concerning the outward
words, to write a history of the Attic drama
in other
opposed
theatrical; as
subject
during the
to
the literary, point of view.
one which has been practically revolutionised
is
last
partly through
half century,
labours of
the
various scholars in interpreting the notices of the old gram-
marians, but
more
especially
owing
to the rich discoveries of
inscriptions relating to theatrical affairs, and the information
supplied by excavations in the old Greek theatres.
of the copious accession of fresh materials,

fifty
it
is
But
in spite
now more
than
years since any work has appeared in English, in which
this particular
department of Greek dramatic history has been
treated in a comprehensive manner.
more remarkable, as the

and importance, and
place
it
is
difficult
subject
this for
to
is
two
The
neglect
is
all
the
undeniably of great interest
distinct reasons.
In the
first
understand and appreciate the peculiar
Greek plays, without acquiring some

knowledge of the circumstances under which they were produced, and the limitations within which the ancient dramatic
qualities of the existing
poets had to work.
was
In the second place, as the Attic drama
essentially a public institution,
and formed one of the most
conspicuous elements in the national

connected with
its
management are
life,
the various details
incidentally
most
instructive,
because of the curious light which they throw upon the habits,
feelings,
and
tastes of the old Athenians.
M851088
Withdrawn
'mm
^
^3
It is
owing
to these
PREFACE.
vi
several considerations that the present
work has been under-
taken.
Unfortunately, with the exception of a

definitions in Pollux,
of names and
list
and a few observations upon the theatre
in
Vitruvius, none of the ancient treatises, which dealt with the
The
various portions of the subject, have been preserved.
materials have in consequence to be collected from the most

multifarious sources
from
from incidental references
and often
casual remarks in ancient authors,
Greek dramas, from obscure

the scholiasts and gramand the ruins of Greek theatres,
in the
contradictory notices
marians, from old inscriptions,
from vases,
in
and other works of
statuettes, wall-paintings,
art.
In the treatment of questions, which depend upon evidence of
and complex character,
this intricate
diversity of opinion should arise,

tunities
be
should
afforded
As
fanciful combinations.
the Attic
drama has been
is
inevitable that great
and that numberless oppor-
for
ingenious
and
conjectures
a matter of fact the whole history of
obscured by the
to a certain extent
mass of controversy and hypothesis
My
it
to
which
has given
it
purpose throughout the following pages has been
to
rise.
keep
close to the original sources of information, to restrict myself
unreservedly to such facts as seem
by the evidence, and
to
be
fairly well established
to clear the subject of all those fine-drawn
theories and conjectures, which have no definite foundation to
For every statement concerning the
depend upon.
I
have been careful
which
to
have adopted,
follows.
Where
mere matter of
But
drama
is
has been as
appealed to in support of some
about which there could be no particular
difference of opinion,
reference.
in the citation of evidence,
a passage
fact,
Attic
quote the ultimate authority, and the plan
have been content
in cases
to
where the inference
have quoted the original authorities
simply give the
is
more dubious,
in full, so as to
enable the
reader to judge for himself as to the validity of the views
adopted in the
text.
limits of a single
It
would have been impossible, within the
volume, to discuss in detail
all
cerning which controversies have been raised.

portant questions
have treated
the points con-
The more
at considerable length
im-
but as
PREFACE.
vii
regards matters of minute detail and
my own
merely given
interest,
trivial
have
opinion in the text, and appended a
complete statement of the evidence in the notes.
The
various books, articles, monographs, and dissertations,
which have been written on the subject of the Attic theatre and
dramatic performances, are sufficient in themselves to constitute
a considerable literature.
place to
Of
indebted.
be
It will
enumerate those
which
to
sufficient
writings in which the
whole the most important
is
subject
M tiller's
Albert
treated as a
is
Griechtschen Buhnenalterthiimer (Freiburg, 1886)

is
the present
in
have been principally
Lehrbuch der
a work which
conspicuous for the industry, learning, and sound judgment
displayed in
its
and
compilation,
paratively limited
compressed
is
contains of the bibliography of the subject
Schneider's
Das
refer
Schneider's
to
performances
own views and

the
work
is
will
full
in
of
all
Literaturgeschichte
The
in the third
(Berlin,
ceedingly useful and suggestive
anti-
be
sup-
most interesting
be
always
Greek dramatic performances
Griechische
now mostly
requires to
'
serviceable to students of the Attic drama.
the
and although
the theatre;
Quelle
is
It
1835).
the ancient passages
inferences are
of
it
especially valuable.
Theaterwesen (Weimar,
Attische
quated, and his collection
plemented,
com-
have found of the greatest help
consists mainly of a citation in
which
which
in
into a
The exhaustive account which
space.
Another book which
manner
for the lucid
an immense amount of information
and
description of
volume of Bergk's
has been ex-
1884)
and considerable assistance
has been derived from the similar
account in
vol.
ii.
pt.
of Bernhardy's Griindriss der Griechtschen Litterahir (Halle,

1880).
As
I
far as the separate portions of the subject are concerned,
have been greatly indebted,
Dionysiac
festivals, to
for information
Bockh's dissertation,
der Lenderif Anthesterien,
und
Unterschiede
Idndlichen Dionysien (Abhandi.
der Akad. der Wissensch. zu Berlin,
Mommsen's
regarding the
Vom
1816-1817),
Heortologie (Leipzig, 1864).
and
The account
regulations relating to the dramatic contests
is
to
A.
of the
based largely
PREFACE.
viii
upon the evidence supplied by the recently discovered inscriptions, which have been collected and carefully edited by Kohler
in the second volume of the Corpus Inscriptiommi Atticarum.
These inscriptions have, among other
things,
plain that the dramatic competitions
had nothing
made
it
perfectly
to
do with
the tribes, but were merely contests between individuals.
the subject of the Proagon
valuable article in Rhein.
die
xxxviii,
and on the subject of
have been greatly assisted by
Wahl
der Richter,
etc.
(Sachs. Gesell-
schaft der Wissensch, zu Leipzig^ phil.-hist, Classe, 1855),
Petersen's Preisrichter der grossen
and by
Dionysien (Progr. Dorpat.
For various points connected with the production of
1878).
a play
On
have followed mainly Rohde's
Museum
the selection of the judges
Sauppe's paper, Ueher
have consulted the dissertation by Lipsius, Ueher
dramatische
Choregie {Sachs. Gesell.
Classe, 1885), with advantage.
To
der Wissensch.,
die
phil.-hist.
turn next to the question of
the construction and arrangement of the Greek theatre.
My
principal authority, as far as regards the theatre of Dionysus

at
Athens, has been Kawerau's article Theatergehdude, in
vol.
iii.
of Baumeister's Denkmdler des klassischen Alterthums (Munich
This
and Leipzig, 1888).
contains the results of Dr.
article
new plan of
some respects superseded all the
Dorpfeld's recent investigations, together with a

the
theatre,
and
has
previous accounts.
in
may
also
mention Vischer's Die Ent-
deckungen im Dionysostheater {Neues Schweizerisches Museum,

1863), Julius' article.
(Papers of
vol.
Das
Kunst, 1878), and
bild.
the
The
i).
J.
Theater des Dionysos {Zeitschrift fur
R. Wheeler's Theatre of Dionysus
American School of
Classical Studies at Athens,
description of the theatre at Epidaurus has been
derived from the papers by Kabbadias in

dpxatoXoyiK^s iraiplas,
i88i and 1883.
theatre in general
Wieseler
pddie
in vol.
(Leipzig,
rrjs
iv
"AB^vms
would mention the exhaustive account by

I
have obtained many
The plans and illustrations in Wieseund Denkmdler des Buhnenwesens bei
1866),
Theatergehdude
Grtechen
UpaKTiKo.
the subject of the Greek
83 of Ersch and Gruber's Allgemeine Encyklo-
interesting particulars.
ler's
On
und Romern
from which
(Gottingen, 1851) have also been of the
PREFACE.
greatest service
Das
and
ix
have obtained some help from Strack,

(Potsdam,
Theatergebdude
altgriechische
ceeding next to the question of the scenery
my
ledge
to
acknow-
Niejahr's Quaestiones Artstophaneae
obligations to
Scaenicae (Greifswald, 1877), and Sommerbrodt's

re scenica (in Scenica,
^vo-
1843).
have
Berlin,
On
1876).
De
Aeschyli
the subject of the
Greek drama much information is

to be derived from Grysar, De Graecorum tragoedia^ etc. (Coin,
K. F. Hermann, De distrihutione personarum inter his1830)
acting and the actors in the
triones in tragoediis graecis
Zahl der Schauspieler
Sommerbrodt's two
articles
trionum, in his Scenica.

actors
(Marburg, 1840)
Beer, Ueher die
bei Aristophanes (Leipzig, 1844)
De
Histrionibus and
and from
De
Ai^te His-
Concerning the costume of the Greek
have learned much from Dierk's two dissertations,
De
tragicortim histrionum habitu scaenico apiid Graecos (Gottingen,

1883),
Ueber das CostUm der griechischen Schauspieler
alten
Komodie [ArchaeoL Zeitung
xliii)
Das
Satyrspiel (Gottingen, 1848).
in
der
and from Wieseler's
should also mention the
valuable illustrations of theatrical masks and costumes to be
und Denkmdler, etc. and

those given by Maass in Monumenti Inediti, xi. 30-32, and by
Robert in ArchaeoL Zeitung for 1878, and in Monum. Inedit. xi.
found
13.
in
Wieseler's Theatergebdude
In discussing the question of the relative proportion of
speech, song, and recitative in the Greek drama
quently consulted
Christ's
Metrik der
Griechen
have
fre-
und Ronier
(Leipzig, 1879).
Among works dealing with the chorus I
would mention K. O. M tiller's Dissertations on the Eumenides
(Engl, transl., London, 1853), G. Hermann's De choro Eumenidum (Opusc. ii. p. 129 foil.), Schultze's De chori Graecorum
tragici habitu externo (Berlin,
tragici principibus, in Scenica^
Die Chorpartieen
In conclusion
Gardner
Sommerbrodt's
1857),
p.
foil.,
and
De
chori
lastly Arnoldt's
bei Aristophanes (Leipzig, 1873).

I
wish
to express
my
obligations to Professor
for his assistance in various questions connected with
archaeology,
and
to
Mr. Evelyn Abbott
suggestions and criticisms.
have
to
for
many
valuable
thank the Council of the
Hellenic Society for their permission to reproduce the two
PREFACE.
photographs of the theatre

a chorus of birds.
at
Athens, and the illustration of
desire at the
same time
to
acknowledge
the great courtesy with which Dr. Dorpfeld, of the
Archaeological Institute, has supplied
me
German
with the latest inform-
ation concerning his excavations in the theatre of Dionysus,
and his views on Greek theatres
Oxford, June, 1889.
in general.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Chap.
Dramatic Contests at Athens
I.
I.
General Characteristics of the Attic drama
2.
First institution of dramatic competitions
3.
The
4.
Tragedy
Dionysia in the
at the City
fifth
10
century
and Tetralogies
15
21
6.
Tragedy
at the City
Dionysia in later times
27
7.
Comedy
at the City
Dionysia
30
8.
Order of Contests
9.
The Lenaea
Dionysia
at the City
33
36
lo.
The Rural Dionysia and Anthesteria
42
II.
The Judges
44
12.
The
52
13.
Contests between actors
55
14.
Records of dramatic contests
59
II,
Chap.
....
City Dionysia
5. Trilogies
Chap.
Prizes
The Production of a Play

I.
The Poets
....
2.
Appointment of the Choregi
3.
Selection of the Actors
4.
The
5.
Expenses of the Choregia
6.
The Performances
7.
Reproduction
training of the
I.
in the
65
65
71
75
Chorus
of. Old
The Theatre
III.
Theatre
Plays
79
82
....
General character of a Greek theatre
86
92
lOI
lOI
2.
The
theatres at Athens
103
3.
History of the Theatre of Dionysus
107
old
wooden
CONTENTS.
xii
PAGE
no
4. Site of the Theatre of Dionysus

5. The Auditorium
6.
The Orchestra
7.
The
8.
The Stage
113
125
136
Stage-buildings
....
9. Relative position of Actors and Chorus

Various details
10.
Chap. IV.
164
General character of the Scenery
164
Mechanical arrangements for the Scenery
2.
150
158
The Scenery
I.
141
.170
3. The entrances to the Stage
173
4. Changes of Scene
178
5.
Stage Properties,
6.
The Ekkyklema
185
7.
The Mechane
189
8.
Other Mechanical Contrivances
192
etc.
183
The Actors
Chap. V.
197
1. Rise of the Actor's Profession

2.
The
3.
Extra Performers
distribution of the Parts
197
among
the Actors
207
212
4. Costume of the Tragic Actors
216
5. Costume of Satyric Actors
231
6. Costume of Comic Actors
233
7.
Speech, Song, and Recitative
8.
Importance of the Voice
9.
Style of Greek Acting
ID.
The
Chap. VI.
Greek Acting
.241
....
'
of Actors
Celebrated Athenian Actors
255
259
History of the Chorus
2.
Size of the Chorus
3.
Costume of the Chorus
4.
Arrangement of the Chorus
5. The Delivery of the
249
254
The Chorus
I.
245
251
Actors' Guild
II. Social position

12.
in
259
.
262
263
choral part
268
276
6.
The Dancing
283
7.
The Music
291
CONTENTS.
xiii
PAGE
Chap. VII.
The Audience
295
1. Composition of the Audience

2.
295
Price of Admission
3.
The
4.
Various arrangements in connection with the Audience
302
Distribution of the Seats
5. Character of Attic Audiences
304
,
311
313
Appendix
319
Appendix
321
Greek Index
329
General Index
333
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
View
of the theatre of Dionysus from the east
View
of the theatre of Dionysus from the south
Ground-plan of the theatre of Dionysus
....
....
.....
Part of the auditorium in the theatre of Dionysus
Coin with view of the theatre of Dionysus

Ground-plan of the theatre
Gates
in the theatre at
at
Epidaurus
Epidaurus
Part of the hyposkenion in the theatre at Epidaurus
Scene from a comedy, showing the steps up
...
to the stage
Frontispiece.
to face p. loi
page
112
,,
118
,,
121
,,
130
,,
134
,,
147
,,
148
A tragic actor
218
Tragic masks
222
Scene from a tragedy, showing the
Two
size of the cothurni
tragic scenes
Actors in a satyric drama
Scene from a comedy of the Phlyakes
,,
224
230
232
234
Comic masks
238
A comic scene
240
,,
265
267
Members
A chorus
Diagram
of a satyric chorus
of Birds
illustrating the
Throne of the
priest of
entrance of the chorus
Dionysus
....
,,
270
308
THE ATTIC THEATRE.

CHAPTER
I.
DRAMATIC CONTESTS AT ATHENS.
I.
General Characteristics of the Attic drama.
The ancient Athenian drama was in many respects unlike

any kind of dramatic performance that we are accustomed to
The difference extended not only to the
in modern times.
character of the plays themselves, and the manner in which
they were presented upon the stage, but also to the circumstances under which the production took place.
In order to
form an accurate conception of the external features of the old
Greek drama
many
it
will
be necessary to dismiss from the mind
of the associations with which the
nected.
In the
entertainments
first
at
place,
modern
every season
of
the
year was a
never heard of among the ancient Athenians.
performances
at
stage
is
con-
the luxury of having theatrical
The
thing
dramatic
Athens, instead of being spread over the
whole year, were confined within very limited p eriods. They

were restricted to the two_great festivals of Dionysus, the
Lenaea and the City Dionysia. It is true that at these festivals the number of plays exhibited was large enough to
Several days in sucsatisfy the most enthusiastic playgoer.
cession were devoted entirely to the drama, and on each day
B
tragedies and comedies followed
mission from morning
one another without
inter-
But with the exception
evening.
till
[Ch.
of the two festivals of Dionysus there was no other occasion
on which plays were acted
were dramatic exhibitions
during the Rural Dionysia
was
as far as regards the time
the ancient drama had
musical
which
festival, in
townships of Attica
but in Athens itself the drama
two periods already mentioned.
restricted to the
There
Athenian theatre.
in the
in the various
In
fact,
and duration of the performances,
much
in
common
at certain fixed
with the modern
seasons several days
in succession are devoted entirely to music.
Another
vital point
of difference
lay in
the
fact that the
managed wholly by the state.

amusement of the people was considered
ancient drama was

for the
To
to
provide
be one of
In England theatres are
the regular duties of the government.
In some foreign countries certain
simply private enterprises.
theatres receive subventions from the state, and are subject to
a code of rules
the state
is
but for practical purposes their connexion with
only a slight one.
But
in
Athens the superin-
tendence of the annual dramatic performances was just as
much
a part of the public administration of affairs as was the repair

of the dockyards, the equipment of
The
fleets,
or the despatch of
Poets and actors were both selected by the
armies.
cost of the performance
Every wealthy
citizen
had
was a tax upon the richer
in his turn to defray the
state.
classes.
expenses of
a tragedy or a comedy, just as he had to pay for one of the

fleet, or perform any other of the state burdens.
was a public institution for the benefit of the whole
Every Athenian citizen of whatever degree was en-
ships of the
The
theatre
people.
titled to
if
be present
he was too poor
to
at the
of admission from the
The
people.
annual dramatic performances
pay the entrance
fee,
and
he received the price
state.
audience consisted practically of the whole body of the

In a modern theatre, owing to
its
limited dimensions,
the spectators are few in number, and have no representative
character about them.

But the theatre of Dionysus at Athens
was capable of containing nearly thirty thousand people. Every
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.
I.]
Athenian attended the performances

of course.
The
at the
Dionysia as a matter
audience therefore to which the Athenian dramatic
poet addressed himself was in reality a gathering of the whole
body of
In those days books were not

was confined to a limited class. The
ordinary Athenian depended for his literary pleasures upon the
various public performances and recitations of poetical compositions.
The drama was therefore much more to him than to
At the present day, when continual
a modern playgoer.
his fellow-countrymen.
plentiful,
and
their use
supplies of fresh literature are accessible to every one,
hard
to realise the
it
is
excitement and expectancy with which an
Athenian looked forward
to the
annual exhibition of dramas
at
was here that his taste for novelty in literature

was here that he found an equivalent for
the books, magazines, and newspapers of modern civilization.
Hence he was able to sit day after day, from morning to
evening, listening to tragedy and comedy, without any feeling
The enthusiasm with which the drama was geneof satiety.
rally regarded, and the direct manner in which the author was
brought into contact with the whole body of his countrymen,
contributed to make the vocation of the dramatic writer one
the Dionysia.
was
It
gratified.
It
of the very greatest importance.

especially are
fluence
known
to
The
leading tragic poets
have exercised a most profound
upon the national mind and
character.
spoken of as the teachers of the people.

invested with a sort of
authorities
Homeric
sanctity,
upon questions of science and
in-
They were
Their writings were
and appealed
to as
Maxims
morality.
and quotations from their plays were upon every one's lips.
Many passages in Plato and Aristophanes prove the enormous
influence for good and evil which
tragic poets,
and there
is
was exercised by the Greek
probably no other instance in history
of a drama which was so thoroughly popular, and formed such
an essential part of the national
Another prominent
distinguishes
it
life
characteristic of the Attic stage,
from that of modern times, was the
which
fact that
almost every dramatic performance took the form of a contest.

^
See especially Plat. Rep. 598
D,E;
B 2
Aristoph. Ran, 1008
ff.,
1054
ff.
[Ch.
In the best period of the Greek drama the production of a play
by
itself,
as a
mere
exhibition,
was a thing unknown.
In later
times celebrated plays by the great dramatists were sometimes

exhibited alone.
But
in the period
covered by the names of
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, the only
mode
of exhibiting plays was by competing in the dramatic

Prizes were offered by
contests at the festivals of Dionysus.
A limited
the state.
number of poets,
after careful selection
the state, were allowed to take part in the competition.
by
The
was decided by a jury publicly appointed. It is curious

notice how strongly implanted in the Greek nature was this
result
to
passion for anything in the shape of a contest.

the case of most branches of poetry and music.
It is
seen in
Dithyrambs were
generally produced in competitions at festivals between rival

poets and choruses.
Recitations of the old epic
the form of contests between rhapsodists.
on
flute
poems took
Public performances
and harp were mostly of the same character.
There
can be no doubt that the stimulus of rivalr y and competition had

a considerable effect
markable
in
retained the
upon the genius of the
how many
full
poets.
It is re-
instances the Athenian dramatic writers
vigour of their intellect even in extreme old
age.
For example, the tragedies composed in their latest years
by the three great tragic poets show not the slightest symptoms
of decaying power. The Agamemnon of Aeschylus, one of the
most splendid products of the Greek drama, was brought out
shortly before the poet's
death.
The Oedipus Coloneus
of
Sophocles and the Bacchae of Euripides were both written very

late in
The reason
life.
of this extraordinary vitaHty was no
doubt partly due to the excitement caused by the public competitions in the theatre,
which acted as a stimulus
to the
mind,
and prevented that decay of power which usually accompanies

old age.
But the most conspicuous difference between the ancient and
modern drama
former.
lay in the essentially religious character of the
The Athenian drama was
the people
Throughout
it
its
was
not only an amusement for
also part of a great religious celebration.
history
it
never ceased to be closely connected
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.
I.]
It was developed original.ly

honour of Dionysus, the god of
range was widened, and its tone se-
with the rehgion of the state.
hymns
out of the songs and
In later times
wine.
cularised
but
it
continued to be
festivals of
Dionysus.
ceremonials
it
god.
The
its
in
spectator
solely at
the
Together with the other contests and
was regarded as a celebration
who
was not merely providing
in
honour of the
watching a tragedy or a comedy
sat
for his
own amusement,
Many
joining in an act of worship.
sacred
performed
facts
but was also
tend to show the
character of the festivals of Dionysus, and the per-
formances which accompanied them.
The
were not mere human
but were established in
institutions,
fes tivals_
obedience to the direct commands of the oracle.

occasions the whole city gave
itself
up
to pleasure,
themselves
On
these
and
to the
For the time being there

worship of the genial wine-god.
was an end of business and litigation. Peace and harmony
were supposed to prevail universally, and nothing was allowed
Distraints for debt were
to disturb the general enjoyment.
forbidden by law during the continuance of the festival.
Prisoners were temporarily released from gaol, to enable them
to join in the worship of the god.
Assaults and outrages, if
committed during the Dionysia, were regarded as offences
against religion, and were punished with the utmost severity.
The ordinary course of law was not considered sufficient, and
they were dealt with under an exceptional process at a special
As
meeting of the Assembly.
proof of the
indignation
which was aroused by such violations of the harmony of the

festival
was put
it
is
to
recorded that on one occasion a certain Ctesicles

death for merely striking a personal
the procession.
To
enemy during
preserve the sanctity of the festival from
contamination, no person suffering from
civil
disability
was
allowed to take part in a chorus at the Dionysia, or even to
superintend the training of

theatre, being the
at
it.
The performances
the
most conspicuous part of the proceedings
the festival, were equally sacred in
Dionysus was supposed

enjoy them.
in
to
character.
The god
be present in person to witness and
This belief was symbolised by a curious old
On
custom.
the evening before the dramatic contests began,
the Ephebi used to take the statue of the god out of
and carry
place
it
it
until the
end of the
The
of the god.
formances
shrine,
There
view of the stage.
festival, in
it
token of the presence
character of the dramatic per-
religious
further
is still
shown by the
were given up
seats in the theatre
fact that
most of the front
to the priests of the different
In the centre of the front row, and in the best seat of
deities.
all,
its
in procession by torchhght to the theatre, and
in the orchestra in full
remained
[Ch.
sat the priest of Dionysus, presiding over the celebrations in
The
honour of the god.
theatre itself
of Dionysus, and possessed
Any form
place.
was doubly
all
was regarded as a temple
the sanctity attaching to such a
of insult committed there during the Dionysia
Merely
criminal.
man from
to eject a
a seat he had
taken wrongfully was a piece of sacrilege punishable with death.
The people who

choregi, actors,
god Dionysus.
strike a
thenes,
took part in the different contests, the poets,
and
singers,
were regarded as ministers of the
Their persons and dresses were sacred.
choregus
in
the theatre, as Meidias struck
was an offence against
and the gods.
religion
To
DemosIn
order to understand the outward character and surroundings

of the old Greek drama
is
it
most essential
to realise the fact
whole proceedings were part of a religious celebration,

and were intended to be an act of homage to the god, as well
that the
as an
amusement
2.
The
for the people \
First institution of dramatic competitions.
date^ of the first
of dramatic contests
institution
in
Athens may be determined approximately, though the exact

year cannot be fixed.
During the earlier stages of the development of tragedy and comedy there was nothing in the
'
Most of
the details concerning the
religious character
of the proceedings
and
schol.
ad
loc.
For the practice of
placing the statue of Dionysus in the
Dionysia are derived from Demosth. Meid. 8-10, 16, 51-53, 55,
58-60, 178-180. As to the release of
theatre see Corp. Inscr. Att.
prisoners see Demosth.
Hesych.
at the
Androt.
68,
Most of the
priests
ii.
470, 471.
were given up to
see Corp. Inscr. Att. iii. 240-384;
front seats
v. vefi-qaas Oias.
THEIR FIRST INSTITUTION.
I.]
The
shape of a contest.
old
hymns
rude innovations upon the
first
Dionysus were mere tentative experiments by
to
upon
individuals, exhibited
their
own
ThesjMS
responsibility.
has the credit of having introduced tragedy into Athens.

first
he was without a
of the
new form
As Solon
One
of art merely as a private enterprise.
these performances
is
said to have been witnessed
died not later than 558
must have begun
B.C.,
At
and gave exhibitions
rival or competitor,
of
by Solon.
follows that Thespis
it
The progress
to exhibit before that date \
tragedy in popular favour was so rapid, that
of
was speedily
it
accepted as a regular form of entertainment, and public contests
were established even during the
lifetime of Thespis.
tophanes says distinctly that Thespis
The Parian Marble
tragedies.
which Thespis took
'
competed
puts the date of the
and
Aris-
with his
contest
first
which the prize was a goat,

between the years 542 and 520 B.C. Suidas gives 535 as the
date of the first appearance of Thespis.
He is doubtless
in
part,
for
new form
referring, not to his early exhibitions of the
but to his
first
appearance
in a regular public contest.
dates are to be relied upon,
innovations during the
it
of
art,
If these
follows that Thespis began his
half of the sixth century, and that
first
public competitions in tragedy were established early in the
second
Thespis
Everything connected with the
half^.
wrapped
is
and
in great obscurity,
tain
how far the above
any
rate there
life
and
art of
therefore uncer-
it is
traditions can be accepted as true.
But at
no doubt that long before the end of the sixth
century contests in tragedy were flourishing in full vigour.
The names
is
of three tragic poets,
and Pratinas.
contests'
in
Choerilus
nepl
is
the year 523.
Plut. Solon p. 95 B dpxoiJt.iva}V 5e tSjv

eamv rjdi] TTjv Tpayq)diav KLveTv, Koi
5ia TTjv KaivoTTjTa tovj ttoXXovs
Tov TTpayfiaTos,
ov-noj b\ els
dyovros
dfxiWav ha-
ydiviov ^rjyfxevov, cpvau (piX-qKoos Sjv koX

(pi\ofjt.adfjs
SoAcuj/
said
lived in the generation
(deaaaTO tov
have
to
'engaged in
first
Phrynichus won the prize for
In 499 Aeschylus
tragedy in 511.
who
These were Choerilus, Phrynichus,
after Thespis, are recorded.
made
Oiffiriv
*
Par.
his first public appear-
avrbv vvoicpivo/xevov
Aristoph.
ep. 43
[e^dj/?;],
k.t.X.
1479;
d^' ov icrins 6
iroiTjTTjs
6 [r^payos [dÂor],
'\T9r]
Suidas
Marmor
kSidaê [Sp]d[yua kv
irpa/ros 6s
a\aT[ii, koI
err] k.t,\.
Vesp.
v.
Qiams.
DRAMATIC CONTESTS AT ATHENS,
His competitors on
ance.
By
Pratinas.
this time
for the tragic contests
it
were Choerilus and
this occasion
probable that the arrangements
is
had been reduced
During the greater part of the
was
fifth
to a regular system.
century the ordinary rule
for three poets to take part in the competition,
each poet
to
[Ch.
and
for
exhibit three tragedies and one satyric drama,
making four plays
in all.
already been established
An
ance in public.
It
is
probable that this rule had
when Aeschylus made
arrangement of
this
his first appear-
kind would of course
be the growth of time, and during the earlier tragic contests

there
was no doubt much
irregularity in regard to the
of poets competing, and the

instance, Pratinas
is
number of plays
said to have brought out
two of which were satyric dramas.
been accustomed
to
On
satyric drama.
He
number
exhibited.
fifty
For
plays, thirty-
cannot therefore have
exhibit three tragedies along with each
hand the number of plays aswas one hundred and sixty. It follows
the other
cribed to Choerilus
that during the greater part of his career
he must have been
accustomed to exhibit as many as four plays annually, else

he could not have found occasions for producing so large
a number.
Hence
it
is
probable that by the time of Aeschylus
the system of tragic contests had

that
-^tvT
already been reduced to
shape which afterwards prevailed, and that each poet
was expected to produce four plays \

Comedy, as we learn from Aristotle, was much later than
tragedy in being recognised by the state.
For a long time it
was kept up by voluntary enterprise, and not much importance
was attached to it. The first Athenian comic poets of note
were Chionides and Magnes. Chionides began to exhibit in
487 B.C. It is hardly likely that the date of his first appearance
would have been preserved with such accuracy, if comedy had
still
been merely a private undertaking, without any connexion
with the
There seems therefore
state.
to
be good ground for
assuming that the
institution of public contests in
not later than 487
b.c.^
At any
rate
it
cannot have been later
Suidas vv, XoipiXos, ^pvvixos, TlpaTivas.
Aristot. Poet. cc. 3, 5
Suidas
comedy was
v. YuouvidTjs.
THEIR FIRST INSTITUTION,
I.]
than 459
the
B.C.
This
names of the
gives the
name
is
proved by an inscription which records
victors at the City Dionysia,
which the inscription refers

to
which the
is
unknown, but
It follows that
459
and among them
The
of the victor in comedy.
anterior to 458 b.c.
is
at
exact year to
any rate
it
was
the very latest date
institution of public contests in
comedy can be
assigned ^
Speaking roughly then the recognition of tragedy by the

state,
and the
institution of
latter half of the sixth
comedy dates from
the
annual competitions, date from the
The
century.
first
half of the
similar recognition of
fifth
These
century.
contests took place at the festivals of Dionysus.
The Greek
drama was essentially an offshoot of the worship of Dionysus,

and throughout its history, as far as Athens was concerned, it
continued to retain
its
close connexion with that worship.
when
In
drama had been fully estabwere occasionally

introduced into festivals with which originally they had no
connexion. Thus they were introduced in later times into the
Pythian games. But the Athenians were more conservative,
and confined the drama to the festivals of Dionysus^. In
Athens there were three of these festivals, the Anthesteria, the
Great or City Dionysia, and the Lenaea. There were also the
Rural Dionysia, celebrated in the various demes of Attica. Of
the Athenian festivals the Anthesteria was the oldest ^
But
it had little, if any, connexion with the drama.
The important
festivals in the history of Greek drama were the City Dionysia
and the Lenaea. They were themselves of late origin, and
other parts of Greece,
the
lished as a form of art, dramatic exhibitions

~
The
inscription in Corp, Inscr. Att.
971 a records the fact that at the

City Dionysia Magnes won the prize for
comedy, Aeschylus for tragedy. There
is another inscription (given in the 'E(})r]fx.
ii.
4) which records that

in 458 B.C. Euphronius won the prize for
comedy, Aeschylus for tragedy. As this
'ApxaioX. 1886,
pt.
was the
last appearance of Aeschylus as

a tragic poet, it follows that the first
Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 311;
Symp.
^
674 D.
Thucyd. ii. 15
Plut.
p,
calls the Anthesteria
the dpxaiorepa Aiovvaia, as opposed to

the City Dionysia. That the Lenaea was
a later institution than the Anthesteria
seems to follow from the statement in

v. rd etc rwv d/xaâiv aKojixfiara'
'A9r]vr}(n ydp kv rf) tSjv Xowv eoprrj ol KctiSuidas
p.diôvT(s kvl tSjv dp,a^wv tovs
aTravTwvTas
inscription cannot refer to a later year
eaKoovTov re /ml \oiS6povv rb
than 459 B.C.
KoX rois Arjvaiois varepov k-noiovv.
8'
avrb
lO
therefore offered a
new form
of a
velopment
is
of
more
art.
wrapt
suitable occasion for the introduction
The
date of their institution and de-
Various theories have been
in obscurity.
absence of definite
started as to their early history, but in the

facts
it
[Ch.
seems hardly worth while
hazard conjectures on such
to
required in an account of the Greek
a subject.
All that
drama
describe as fully as possible the character of these
is to
festivals
during the
is
fifth
and succeeding centuries, and thus
enable the reader to picture to himself the circumstances and
surroundings which accompanied an Athenian theatrical performance.
3.
By
far the
The City Dionysia.
most splendid of the
the Great or City Dionysia \
It
festivals of
was
Dionysus was
called the City Dionysia
The signific ance of the names

The Lenaea was so called because it
in opposition to the Lenaea.
not perfectly clear.
is
was held
in the
Lenaeum, or sacred enclosure of Dionysus on
The
the south side of the Acropolis.
were
called 'contests at the
contests at this festival
Lenaeum.*
On
the other hand,
contests at the Great Dionysia were called 'contests in the
But as the Lenaeum was from the

difficult to
it is
this,
see the reason of the distinction
we
as follows.
The Lenaea was
The most
it
all
Atoi/yo'taTa/x7(i\aCorp.Inscr.Attii.
Plut.
festivities
orat.
839 D.
City Dionysia was
341, 402, 404, ^lovvaia ra aoriKo.

Thucyd. v. 20. To produce plays at the
Laert.
City Dionysia was iv darei diSdaKciv

Schol. Aristoph. Ran.67,or cisd'cTytfa^ttVai Arg. ii. Aristoph. Aves. The play or
plays so produced were di5a<TKa\ia daTiKrj
and the whole
were on a larger
3i2,33i,Atoi/u(rtaTdj/acrTetCorp.Inscr.
ii.
the
same
took place in or near the
Lenaeum. At the Great Dionysia the
Att.
besides
plausible explanation
a small festival
of the celebrations connected with
'
And
are acquainted, held in the very
place as those at the Lenaea.

is
'^.
the contests at the Great Dionysia were, during
period with which
city.*
earliest times a part of the city,
viii.
A victory
at the
aaTiid}
Diog.
vikti
90.
Aristoph. Acharn. 504 oxjttI Arjvaiqi

That the Lenaeum was from
a-^wv.
early times inside the city
Thucyd.
ii.
15.
is
plain from
THE CITY DIONYSIA,
I.]
scale
and
II
in addition to the contests in the
sacred enclosure
of Dionysus there were also other ceremonies in various parts
of the
more
city,
especially the chorus in the market-place before
the statues of the twelve gods.
probable therefore that
It is
the festival was called the City Dionysia to denote the wider
The
area over which the various celebrations were spread.
amount
of certainty.
It took place 2P_Elaphebolion, a month which
answers to the last half of March and the first half of April. It
must have terminated on the 15th, and begun on the loth or
date of the City Dionysia can be fixed with
iith\
It
a fair
The
could hardly have lasted less than five days.
long series of performances and celebrations which had to be
gone through could not have been packed

of time.
Whether
it
extended
to six
days
into a smaller space

is
a point that cannot
be determined.
Before proceeding to describe the dramatic part of the per-
formances
at the
collect together
City Dionysia
may be
it
such information as
is
the gêneral character of the festival.
of year
when
the spring
was
again become navigable.

fered
just
as well
first
of
It
was held
a time
at
commencing, and the sea had
Occasionally stormy weather inter-
with the proceedings.
In the time of Demetrius the
procession through the city was prevented by a heavy
snow.
full
But the winter was generally
of visitors from
all
Athenian supremacy
allies
came
to
Athens
it
at
an end ^
was
at this
The
fall
city
of
was
During the period of
parts of Greece.
to
all to
attainable concerning
season of the year that the
pay the annual
tribute.
Ambassadors
frequently chose this time for the transaction of public business.
There were
also the
crowds of
This is proved by certain passages

Aeschines and Demosthenes. After
the City Dionysia came the Pandia;
next day was the l/fA77(Tta li/ Atovvcoi;
then followed the i8th of Elaphebolion,
the day of the first assembly mentioned
^
in
by Aeschines and Demosthenes. Hence

the City Dionysia must have terminatedon the 15th. See Aeschin. Ctesiph.
68, Fals. Leg. 6i ; Demosth. Meid.
visitors
8.
The
who were
Ctesiph. 67.
'a
and the
on the 8th, Aeschin.
But the Proagon took
days* before the City
feast of Asclepius
Proagon were
place
attracted
few
Dionysia, Schol. Aeschin. Ctesiph. 67.

The City Dionysia cannot therefore
have begun before the loth.

^ Theophrast. Char.
3 j Plut. Demetr.
p.
894 B.
12
to
Athens merely from a desire
festival.
The consequence was
[Ch.
to see the splendours of the
that the streets
were thronged
with strangers, and the city presented an animated appear-
ance in marked contrast to the quietness of the winter

of the Lenaea\
The Athenians were
festival
glad of the opportunity
of displaying the magnificence of their city before such a vast
concourse of foreign Greeks.
The
streets, the sacrifices to the gods, the
and the comedies were
all
procession through the

dithyrambs, the tragedies,
calculated to impress strangers with
the wealth and public spirit and literary taste of the Athenians.
In addition to the ordinary proceedings of the festival one or
two ceremonies of a striking character were introduced
for the
express purpose of emphasising the power of Athens in the eyes

of the visitors.
At the commencement of the performances
in the theatre the tribute collected
from the
allies
was solemnly
deposited in the orchestra in the presence of the assembled

multitude. On the same occasion the herald made an announcement concerning the crowns which had been bestowed by foreign
states upon Athens or upon Athenian citizens, and the crowns
themselves were brought forward and laid in the orchestra
By
beside the tribute I
made an
occasion
foreign Greeks.
to
Athens
in
the
presence of
In the fourth century, after the
Athenian Empire, the
came
scenes of this kind the festival was
for glorifying
political
fall
of the
splendour of the City Dionysia
But the magnificence of the spectacle and
an end.
seem to have been in

any way diminished. Visitors were attracted from all parts
of Greece, not by political business, but by the celebrity of
the dramatic exhibitions.
Demosthenes speaks of the 'multitudes of strangers who were present, and Aeschines describes
the vastness of the gathering do not
'
the audience at the City Dionysia as consisting of 'the whole
Greek nation ^' Though Athens was shorn of her pohtical

power, the crowds which continued to attend the festival
testified to her unimpaired supremacy in art and literature.
^
Aristoph. Achar. 505, 506
Thucyd.
Ctesiph. 32-48.
Aeschin.
43.
V. 23.
2
Isocrat. Orat.
viii.
82
Ugi^^
yitxdi.
74
Aeschin. Ctesiph.
THE CITY DIONYSIA.
I.]
One
13
of the most brilliant spectacles at the City Dionysia
was
the great procession Jnhonour of Dionysus^ which was probably
held upon the
first
day of the
men, women, and even
class,
Athenians of every
festival.
girls,
made
a point of being
it.
Vast crowds filled the
and the casual encounters which took place on these
present to witness or take part in

streets
occasions often served as a foundation to the plots of the
The members
Comedy \
Many
coloured garments and ornaments of gold.

their faces
Some were
Among the people who
masks.
covered with
others walked on foot.
New
of the procession wore brilliantly-
of-them had
in
chariots
took part in
the procession were the choregi to the different choruses.
when Demosthenes was

crown and mantle made specially
instance,
For
choregus, he had a golden

for use at the procession.
Alcibiades on a similar occasion was dressed in purple, and
much admiration by
excited
that the performers in

also joined
petitions
in
his beauty ^
It is
not improbable
the various lyric and dramatic comthe procession.
Part of the
show
consisted of the trains of victims which were afterwards to be
Dionysus.
sacrificed to
Ephebi offered a
taking
first
it
bull to
round
An
old inscription records
Dionysus
in the
by
Many
procession.
many
publicly provided by the state, and
how
the
at the City Dionysia, after
victims were
others were doubtless
All these
individuals, or by different classes of the population.

would be conducted round in the procession. Con-
spicuous
among
offered
virgins bearing
sacrificial
the train of people were the canephori, or
upon
implements.
their
heads the baskets containing the
The
procession, in the course of
its
march, halted in the market-place, and a chorus danced and
sung
in front of the statues of the
twelve gods ^
Further details
concerning the order of the proceedings are nowhere recorded,

but
it
is
cession
easy to imagine that the brilliant colours of the pro-
itself,
the vast crowds of spectators, and the splendid
Demosth. Meid.
10; Menand.
Frag. Incert. 32.

2
Dem. Meid. 22
Plut. Cupid.
E; Athen. 543 C.
Divit. 527
'Ecfirjfxepls
'ApxaioXoyiKî, i860,
No.
4098, 1862, No. 180; Corp. Inscr. Gr.

i. 157 ; Xen. Hipparch. iii. 2.
14
[Ch.
public buildings of Athens in the background, combined to form
an
effective spectacle.
entertainments provided in the theatre during the City

In the first place there were the
The
Dionysia were of two kinds.
dramatic competitions, at which tragedies, comedies, and satyric

dramas were exhibited. In the second place there were the
choral competitions, which consisted of performances of dithy-
rambs
accompaniment of the
to the
most important
It is
flute.
not to confuse together the details of these two classes of
Even
contest.
in the
most recent works upon the Greek drama
many mistakes have been caused by

of the dramatic performances with
which had
really nothing to
filling
out the description
facts
and circumstances
do with them, but applied solely
to
At the City Dionysia there were two

of these choral competitions, one between choruses of boys, and
The choruses were called
the other between choruses of men \
cyclic choruses, because of the circular form in which they
Each of them was composed of fifty members. There
stood.
the choral competitions.
were
five
choruses of boys and
five
choruses of men, and each
chorus was supplied by one of the ten tribes of Attica.
way
all
The important
petitions^.
^
Demosth. Meid.
[ai oi dVSpes]
lo koX
point to
rois kv
TroyLin]
koL ol vaiSes
/cal 6 KU/fios
Kal ol koj/xcvSoI
aarei Aiovvoiois
rj
Kol ol TpaywSoi. The words koI ol dvbpfs

have obviously fallen out. There is
abundant evidence to prove that there
were chorusesof men, as wellas of boys,
at the City Dionysia.
213 contains a
torious iTcuaiv
On
Dionysia.
rj
Corp. Inscr. Gr.
of all
list
members of
who had been
the tribe Pandionis
dvdpdcriv at
vie-
the City
the lists of victors at the
City Dionysia (Corp. Inscr. Att. ii. 971

a-e) the contests enumerated are always
the same, viz. choruses of boys, choruses
of men, comedy, tragedy.
Cp. Lysias
Orat. xxi. 2 dvSpdcxi xopr)ya)v ds Atovvaia.

^
There
chjpruses
In this
ten tribes took part in one or other of the two com-
is
of boys
Aeschin. Tijinarch.
full
account
and men
1 1
in
of the
Schol.
If 'iOovs 'AOijvaioi
remember
in regard
to
Kara (pvX^v niVT-qKovra

iraiSoJu x^pov fj avSpcuv, ware yeueaOai
Sena xopovs, kireidri (Se) Kal 8ea cpvXai.
SiayoovtôvTai Se dWT}\ois SiOypdn^co,
(pyXarrovTos (MS. (l)v\dTTovTes)Tovxop'r]yovvros iKaora) xppwv rd ktriTqdiia. 6 S'
[KariaTrâav]
oZv
viK-fjaas
diOvpajxôi
kukXios.
x^P^? Tpinoda Xafx^dvei, bv

Aiovvao). Xiyovrai h\ ol
tw
dvariOrâi
kvkXioi,
x^pot
chorus of
men
rather loosely avXT)ral dv8ps
koi
x^P^^
is
called
by Demo-
156), not because
it
consisted of flute-players, but because
it
sthenes (Meid.
sang dithyrambs to the accompaniment

of the flute. This is made clear by other
passages in the speech, e.g. 15, 17.
See Wieseler das Satyrspiel pp. 46-48.
Misled by the phrase the author of the
first argument to the Meid ias erroneously
asserts that there
were
the City Dionysia.
avXrjru/v x^'P"' ^^
TRAGEDY AT THE CITY DIONYSIA.
I.]
15
these dithyrambic choruses is that the contest in which they

were engaged was essentially a tribaL one. In the dramatic
competitions the rivalry was confined to the individual poets and
The choruses were
choregi.
whole population.
one of the ten
The
selected indiscriminately from the
But each dithyrambic chorus represented
tribes.
Its
choregus was a
member
victory of the chorus
The
belonged.
to the choregus,
was regarded
was a
of that tribe.
same
singers were exclusively chosen from the
tribe
The
^.
victory for the tribe to which
it
prize of victory, the tripod, though presented
and erected
some public place
at his
expense,
as appertaining equally to the tribe ^
In the
in
records of victories with dithyrambic choruses, preserved on

inscriptions
and elsewhere, the name of the
chorus belonged
is
always given
tribe to
which the
On
prominent position.
in a
the other hand the records of dramatic victories give merely
names of the choregus, the poet, and the principal actor.

There is no mention of any tribe ^ It follows that the tribes
had nothing to do with the dramatic contests. In order to
avoid error it is most important to keep this fact clearly in view,
that in the dithyrambic contests the competitors were really the
ten tribes of Attica, while the drama was a matter with which
only individual citizens were concerned.
the
Tragedy at
4.
We
the City
Dionysia in the
fifth century.
come now to the dramatic performances at the City

These were of two kinds, tragic and comic. The
Dionysia.
^
Demosth. Meid.
13;
Antiphon
2 Lysias orat.
Meid. 5 rris
Be'KTtjs
to
be choregus to one's tribe
is
con-
trasted with being choregus to a tragic
orat. vi. 12, 13.

xxi.
(pvXfjs
Demosth.
dS'iKOJS
dfaipe-
The choregus
Tov TpiiToSa.
to
Bentley's emendation (Phalaris

360 t^ fxev (pvXrj ets Aiovvaia x^PV'
yqaas rfrapros iyivcTO rpaywdois, nal
chorus.
p.
a dithyrambic chorus was said x^PV'

yetv rri (pv\TJ, since he represented his
iruppixLOTois varaTos)
dramatic
choregus represented no one but him-
making Dicaeogenes/(?wr//^ in the tragic

contest, though the number of com-
tribe in the contest, while the
self;
cp.
Plut.
yrjae kvkXiw
x^PV
rfj /xev
error of
^ Corp. Inscr. Gr. vol. i.

pp. 342-348
Corp. Inscr. Att. ii. 971. Cp. the record
of victors at the City Dionysia quoted
Isaeus orat. v. 36
({>v\y (is Aiovvaia x^PV'
varaTos.
fatal
petitors in tragedy never exceeded three.
yrjaas Terapros kyiv^ro, rpaywSois Si

irvppixiOTTais
quite unneces-
exPV-
835
viCofievrj Si9vpaiJt.l3a>:
oItos yap
is
and contains the
o.vtov (pvXrj dy<u-
orat.
"^V
sary,
real
In this passage
on
p. 59.
l6
first
point to be considered
poets,
the
is
number of
and the number of the plays produced,
of the
festival.
The most
difficult
at
[Ch.
the competing
each celebration
part of the enquiry
is
that
which concerns tragedy during the fifth century. In the fourth

century various changes and innovations were introduced, which
call
The
fifth
century stands by
number of
tragedies produced
for separate consideration.
and the question as
itself,
to the
during that period at each celebration of the City Dionysia
one of considerable
in detail, as
it is
of
But
intricacy.
much more
numbers, and practically
The
it
is
deserves to be considered
mere question of
interest than a
involves the whole subject of
trilogies
and
upon the art of
Aeschylus. Any enquiry therefore into the origin and character
of this practice will throw light upon one of the most interesting
It will be best in the
parts in the history of the Greek drama.
first place to enumerate all the records which bear upon the
subject. Fortunately a sufficient number have been preserved to
and
tetralogies.
tetralogies
practice of writing plays in trilogies
produced the most profound
effect
enable us to determine with moderate certainty the regulations

as to the
number of
Dionysia during the
tragic
fifth
poets and tragedies at the City
century.
The earliest,^ record is for the year 499 b. c, when Aeschylus

made his first public appearance, and his competitors were
Choerilus and Pratinas.
Nothing is known as to the plays
produced on this occasion \ The next record refers to the
year 472.
Persae,
In
this
Glaucus,
winning the
first
year Aeschylus produced the
and
prize.
Prometheus,
Phineus,
and was successful
in
The Prometheus here mentioned
was of course not the Prometheus Vinctus, but a satyric play

in which the same myth was treated humorously, and of
which two or three fragments are preserved ^. For the year 467
there is a very complete record of the tragic competition.
Aeschylus was again first, and his plays were the Laius,
Oedipus, Septem versus Thebas,
and satyric play Sphinx.

was second with the Perseus, Tantalus, and satyric
play Palaestae written by his father Pratinas.
Polyphradmon
Aristias
Suidas
V. Upar'ivas.
^yg^
j-q
Aesch. Persae.
TRAGEDY AT THE CITY DIONYSIA.
I.]
was
Lycurgean tetralogy \
third with the
17
According
to this
notice Aristias only exhibited three plays, while his competitors
But there can be
each exhibited four.
little
doubt that the name
of one of his plays has dropped out accidentally, and that he
produced four
This
like the rest.
is
proved by a comparison
with the records of other tragic contests, of which a large
number
exist,
referring to very different periods.
records varieties are found both in the
number of plays exhibited by each poet.

With the
peting,
and
But
one respect complete uniformity prevails.
in
in the
exception of the case before us there
competing
plays.
in
same
the
There can
festival
is
no instance of poets
number of
with a different
hardly then be any doubt that in the
present instance the three poets each exhibited
The next
record
for the year 458.
is
which Aeschylus made his
He
In these
number of poets com-
last
four plays.
This was the year
in
appearance as a dramatic poet.
produced the Orestean tetralogy, consisting of the Aga-
memnon, Choephori, Eumenides, and satyric drama Proteus.

The names of the other poets are not mentioned ^ In addition
to the above notices it is also known that on one occasion
Aeschylus competed with the four plays composing his Lycur-
gean tetralogy.
The
king of the Edoni,
tetralogy dealt with the fate of Lycurgus,
and consisted of the Edoni, Bassarides,
Neanisci, and satyric play Lycurgus.
On
another occasion
he exhibited a trilogy dealing with the legend of Prometheus.

This trilogy, of which the Prometheus Vinctus was the central
play,
no doubt concluded with a
satyric
drama
but there
After the death

no record of it among ancient writers ^
of Aeschylus there is a gap in our information till the year 438,
when Sophocles and Euripides were competitors. Sophocles
is
was
first;
Euripides second with the Cressae, Alcmaeon in
Psophis, Telephus, and Alcestis.
In 431 they were again com-
petitors, but this time the first place
Sophocles was second

^
^
*
Euripides
Arg. to Aesch. Theb.

Arg. to Aesch. Agam.
Schol. Aristoph. Thesm. 142
was taken by Euphorion.

third with the Medea,
to Aesch.
94.
;
Arg.
Prom.
Schol. Aesch. Prom.
and
Dictys,
Philoctetes,
In 428 the
play Theristae.
satyric
Hippolytus of Euripides was produced
[Ch.
but for this year only
Euripides was
the names of the poets have been preserved.
lophon second, Ion third \ The year 415 was memorable

for the defeat of Euripides by an obscure poet called Xenocles.
On this occasion Xenocles was first with the Oedipus, Lycaon,
first,
Euripides was second
Bacchae, and satyric play Athamas.

with
the Alexander,
Palamedes, Troades, and satyric play
The only
other record which bears upon the pre-
Sisyphus.
sent subject
is to
the effect that after the death of Euripides,
and therefore after 406 b.c, his Iphigeneia in Aulis, Alcmaeon,

and Bacchae were produced by his son at the City Dionysia I
In the above notices and records the
which the contest took
place,
is
usually not mentioned.
An
expressly stated that
It is
was
it
name of
the festival
and the plays were produced,

exception is made in one case.
at
at the City
Dionysia that the
three posthumous tragedies of Euripides were exhibited.
wise nothing
slightest
doubt that
An
positive proof of the fact.
is
inscription recently discovered in the Acropolis

at the City
Othernot the
is
the above notices refer to the City Dio-
all
In one instance there
nysia.
But there
said about the festival.
is
shows
that
it
was
Dionysia that the Orestean tetralogy was produced ^
Various considerations make
practically
it
certain
that
the
other notices refer to the same
festival.
At the Lenaea the
performances
of tragedy were
always
comparatively unim-
portant.
doubtful whether they existed at
It is
earlier half of the fifth century.
all
during the
In the fourth century they
the 'E077^6pts 'Apxc'0^07'^'7 for 1886, pt.

It runs as follows: 'Yarl îKok\ovs
4.
iSiSac/ffi/.
The combination of four
kinds of contests, with boys' choruses,
choruses ofmen,comedies,and tragedies,
proves that the festival was the City
Dionysia. That the plays exhibited on
this occasion by Aeschylus were the
Orestean tetralogy is proved by the
Arg. to the Agamemnon: kdiSdxOrj to
Olvrjh
Spafxa ewl apxovros <îkoK\4ovs oXvfjLTridSi
^ Args.
to Euripid. Alcest., Med.,
Hippol.
^ Aelian Var.
Hist. ii. 8; Schol.
Aristoph. Ran. 6'j.
^ This inscription was discovered in
the Acropolis in 1886, and published in
iraiScov,
ArjfxoSoKOS kxopri'^n'
'Imro9a}VTlsa.v5pS>v,\'EvKTTjfj.0Jv''E\evaivios
kxop'qyd'
KQjjxwhoJv
EvpvK\d5r]s
yei,
'EvcppovLos
ISiSatrArf
^X'^P'h'
dySoijKoar^ erei devrtpof.

^^s
'Ayafxefivovt,
rpayqidvbv
UpcoreT
A.laxv\os
'A(pi5vevs.
aarvpiKo),
BevoK\TJs*A(pi5vaiosix^PVy^h
I
trpojTos
Xor)(p6pois,
kxoprjyei
Alaxv-
'Evfievici,
B^voKKfjs
TRAGEDY AT THE CITY DIONYSIA,
I.]
19
came
to
It
impossible to suppose that the three great masters of
is
be confined to mere reproductions of old tragedies.
tragedy, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides,
during
the
height of their reputation, produced their plays at this relatively insignificant festival.
festival in the notices
The omission
of
about their tragedies
all
mention of the
is in itself
a con-
clusive proof that there could be
and that
no doubt upon the subject,

was a matter of general knowledge that they were
it
brought out
in
Come dy
comedy.
Hence
festivals.
care
The
case was very different
flourished with
equal vigour at both
in the records
about the plays of Aristophanes
generally taken to notify the festival at which they
is
were produced.
In the case of tragedy it was felt that any such

was unnecessary.
From the notices and records enumerated above two conclusions may be drawn concerning the tragic contests at the
specification
City
Dionysia
poets
who
during the
fifth
The numb er _of
century.
took part in the competition was limited to three,
and each poet was expected to exhibit four plays, consisting of three tragedies and a satyric drama. As regards the
number of
poets,
it
might perhaps be suggested that the
records give, not the names of
all
the competitors, but merely
those of the three most successful ones.
But the evidence
of the comic didascaliae proves that this was not the case.
It is
known
for a fact that after the beginning of the fourth
century the number of competitors in comedy was
five.
But
the comic didascaliae of the period invariably give the names
of
all five
When
competitors, together with the plays they produced \
therefore only three poets are mentioned,
it
follows
number of competitors was limited to three. The

of recording the names of all the competing
poets need cause no surprise. As a matter of fact it was a
that
the
practice
considerable distinction for a poet to be allowêd to exhibit

at
all
at
one of the annual
festivals.
In
addition
to
the
^ Arg. to Aristoph. Plutus hdihaxOr] lirl

dpxovTos 'AvTiTrcLTpov, dvTaycoviôfj.vov
fievovs Se 'ASfi-qro!, Nt/co^cuvTOS Se 'ASwvi5i,
'A\Kaiov 8e
avT^ 'NiKoxapovs
Att.
ii.
filv Adfcuaiv, Âpiffro-
C 2
TlaffKpd'p.
972, 975.
Corp. Inscr.
20
there
didascaliae
testimony of the
following
the
is
[Ch.
direct
evidence concerning the number of the tragic poets.

expressly stated that
499 the competitors
in
in
It
is
the tragic
contest were the three poets Aeschylus, Choerilus, and Pra-
Then
tinas.
again
it
recorded of Sophocles that he 'won
is
twenty victories, was often second, never
third.*
of statement seems clearly to imply that the

petitors in tragedy never
grounds
it
is
number could hardly have been
had been four or
If there
greater.
exceeded three \
evident that the
This form
number of comEven on general
five poets,
it
would have
implied the production of sixteen or twenty tragedies.

difficult
is
it
how such
to see
a large
number of
But
tragedies
could have been compressed within the limited period of the
along with the comedies and dithyrambs, and various
festival,
other festivities and entertainments.
The
fact
then that each poet exhibited three tragedies and a
satyric play is clearly demonstrated
confirmed by a statement
by the records, and also
Diogenes Laertius ^ The practice of
in
terminating the tragic pieces with the boisterous licence of the

satyric
fifth
drama suggested
Ion of Chios, the tragic poet of the
to
century, his well-known remark that virtue, like a tragic
poet's group of plays, should always contain a satyric element ^

It is
noticeable that on one occasion Euripides substituted the
Alcestis, a short tragedy with a tinge of
case, especially
comedy about
it,
for the
This may have been not infrequently the
usual satyric drama.
during the
latter half of the fifth century.
The
^
Suidas
V. Tiparivas
vita Sophoclis
(p. 3 Dindf.).
Diog. Laert. iii. 56 GpaavWos 54

<pT](n Kot Kara Tr)v TpayiK^v TerpaXoyiav
SiaXoyovs' olov
kKdovvat avTov rovs
*
kKfivoi
Terpacri
Aiovvffiois,
^ycuviôvTo,
Spafiacriv
hrjvaiois,
IlavaOrjvaioLS
Xv-
TO TiTaprov rjv aarvpiKov ra

Sf TTTapa hpajxara eKaKcTro TerpaXoyia.
Tpois, S)v
fieri
losopher
who
TerpaXoyia
is
apparently
an explanatory interpolation by DiogeThe statement that the

four plays of a tetralogy were performed at four different festivals is
manifestly absurd in itself, and abundantly disproved by the inscriptions.
Moreover, it is expressly recorded that
nes himself.
the Iphigeneia in Aulis, Alcmaeon, and
avrZ yv-qaioi
Bacchae of Euripides were brought out
Thrasyllus was a phiflourished in the time of
together at the City Dionysia (Schol.
Toivvv, (prjaiv, ot vavT^s
hiaXoyoi, K.T.X.
oTov ckhvoi
the emperor Tiberius.
The passage
Aristoph. Ran. 67).

^ See note on next page.
AND TETRALOGIES,
TRILOGIES
I.]
ai
statement in the last notice, that the Iphigeneia, Alcmaeon, and
Bacchae of Euripides were brought out by his son at the City

Dionysia, does not necessarily imply that they were brought
out by themselves, without any satyric play to make up the
number
four.
possible indeed that at this late period the
It is
had begun
satyric play
on the other hand
it
be occasionally dispensed with.
to
case was supplied by the younger Euripides.
of
is
it
made
in the
above statement
the writer does not profess

contest
the
for
But
very likely that the satyric play in this
is
That no mention
easily intelligible, since
to give a
but
year,
is
record of the tragic
merely concerned with
is
the
biography of the elder Euripides.
The
and
Trilogies
5.
Tetralogies*
four plays exhibited by each poet might either be inde-
pendent works of
unconnected
totally
art,
in subject, or they
might deal with the same legend, and be fused together into a
single artistic whole.
community
When
the four plays were connected by
were
of subject, they
called tetralogies.
Similarly
the three tragedies, regarded apart from the satyric drama,
when connected
were
called trilogies
The
practice of exhibiting trilogies
The
general
word
for a
play or
group of plays produced by one poet at

the same festival was 8ida<TKa\ia. Thus
Ion remarked (Plut. Peric. p. 154 E) that
virtue, like
a rpayiK^ di5aaKa\ia, should
contain a satyric element.

diSaffKoXia in Ion's time
sisted of three tragedies
drama.
97
S'
The
rpayiKri
usually con-
and a
satyric
Cp. also Anthol. Pal.
kvl x^P^î-^
diSaaKaXiijs
vii.
37
Kovpifjios, Ik ttoitjs i]5e
Plut.
iripas 5vo ATjva'iKas.
839
orat,
diSaaKaXias dcrriKas KaOrJKev t^
The word
Kal
rerpa-
\oyia was not applied to all groups of

four plays, but only to those groups in
which the separate plays were connected
This is
together by unity of subject.
proved by the words of Suidas in his
account of Sophocles Kal avrbs ^p^
:
together in this
and
manner \
tetralogies is insepar-
rov Spapia vpbs Spd/xa dyon'l^fcrOai, dWd

TerpaXoyiav. These words can only
firj
mean that Sophocles exhibited the same

number of plays as his rivals, but that
form a tetralogy, that
were not connected together
by unity of subject. Another proof is
afforded by the use of the word nrpaKoyia in Greek writers. There are four
places in which it is applied to particular groups of plays.
It is applied to
the Oresteia of Aeschylus (Schol. Aristoph. Ran. 1155), the Pandionis of
Philocles (Schol, Aristoph. Av. 282),
theLycurgeia of Aeschylus (Schol. Aristoph. Thesm. 135), and the Lycurgeia
of Polyphradmon(Arg.toAesch.Theb.).
All these were groups of plays upon a
his plays did not
is
to say,
single subject.
21
name
ably connected with the

there
is
no
of Aeschylus.
information as to the origin
[Ch.
Unfortunately
and development of the
known whether he invented it, or inherited it

from his predecessors. But we know that before the time of
Aeschylus tragedy as a form of art had made but little progress.
custom.
It
It is
was he
not
that inspired
with dignity and splendour.
it
It is far
from likely that the rough and unfinished productions of his

predecessors should have been cast an the elaborate mould of
And
the tetralogy.
the
same
the largeness of design involved in tracing
tragic story
through three successive dramas
a con-
is
ception peculiarly akin to the grandeur of Aeschylus* genius.
Hence
it
is
exceedingly probable, though not certain, that the
He
system was his invention.
he
is
did not employ
it
on
all
occa-
In one of the records quoted above the four plays which
sions.
said to have exhibited together are apparently quite un-
connected
in subject.
These are the Phineus, Persae, Glaucus,
and Prometheus, produced
in 472.
As
a matter of fact the
only tetralogies of Aeschylus for which there
is
direct evidence
are the four already mentioned, dealing with the legends of
Lycurgus, Prometheus, and Orestes.

How many
more he wrote is a matter of uncertainty.
If the system of
tetralogies was invented by him, it could hardly have been deOedipus,
veloped in
that
its
full
completeness
all at
once.
It
is
probable
he began his career by exhibiting groups of isolated
plays.
Even
in
later
times
the
record
just
referred
to
proves that he did not invariably employ the form of the

tetralogy.
Fortunately for our knowledge of the Greek drama, a spe-
cimen of the Aeschylean trilogy has been preserved in the

Oresteia.
This was the latest work of its author, and in it
the trilogic form of composition is brought to the highest per-
A great
fection.
crime
is
committed, and
its
consequences are
traced through successive plays, until finally tKe guilt

piated,
and the ministers of vengeance
forms a magnificent work of art
complete
in themselves,
satisfied.
and the separate
is
ex-
The whole
plays,
though
gain additional significance and impres-
siveness from their position in the trilogy.
The
general effect
AND TETRALOGIES.
TRILOGIES
I.]
23
can be appreciated even by a modern reader, but must have
been
still
more
striking to an ancient audience, before
whom
the three plays were performed in succession in the course of
the
all
same morning.
But
would be a mistake to suppose that

of Aeschylus were equally perfect in construc-
the trilogies
it
Probably in some cases they treated of one subject
tion.
much
without possessing
The
real artistic unity.
three plays,
while depicting successive stages in some great national legend,
may have been

or
history,
This seems
strung together after the fashion of a chronicle
have been
to
Oedipodeia.
welded
than
rather
The
to
one
into
some extent the case with the

Seven against
third play of this trilogy, the
Thebes, certainly did not bring the legend

the
same
artistic
and satisfying manner
concluded by the Eumenides.
Thebes
against
is
compact whole.
like the
The
final
prelude to a
Antigone proclaims her resolve
to
to a conclusion in
which the Oresteia
in
is
scene of the Seven
new play.
In this scene
bury the corpse of her
brother in spite of Creon's prohibition, and the herald warns
her of the risk she will incur by setting the authorities at de-
Here then
fiance ^^
in the
is
an instance of a trilogy which breaks off
middle of a legend,
necessity for
it
to
do
so.
at
a point where there
The concluding
is
no
artistic
play of the three,
instead of bringing matters to a final settlement, ends with a
suggestion of future difficulties and crimes.
trilogy of this
kind resembles the poems of the Epic Cycle, in which legends
were linked together in chronological order, and the point at

which the story began and ended was determined by purely
Other trilogies of Aeschylus may
accidental considerations.
1
The
didascalia to the
Septem
v.
brought to light by
Franz in 1848 (Didasc. zu Aesch. Sept.,
Berl. 1848). Previously to the discovery
of this didascalia there was hardly any
Thebas was
first
point upon which the critics were more

unanimous than that the Septem must
have been the middle play of a trilogy.

The concluding scene, in which Antigone proclaims her resolve to bury the
corpse of her brother, was supposed to
obviously pave the way to the final play
of the three, in which the same subject
was
cles.
treated as in the Antigone of Sopho-
The
publication of the didascalia
revealed the fact that the Septem
was
concluding play of the

group, and that the trilogy consisted of
the Laius, the Oedipus, and the Septem.
after all
the
Nothing could have more clearly

demonstrated the futility of endeavouring, by mere conjecture, to arrange the
lost plays of
Aeschylus in tetralogies,
24
have approximated
likely that they
to the
were
all
same
At any
type.
rate
[Ch.
it is
most un-
as perfect and harmonious in construc-
Attempts have been made, especially by
tion as the Oresteia.
Hermann and Welcker,
to take the titles of the lost plays of
Aeschylus, and group them together into tetralogies.

is
conjectural
that
clear
the very
received with
be
two reasons.
arrangements
In the
greatest
place
first
of this
caution,
and
uncertain
is
it
But
it
kind must
this
for
how many
of the tetralogies of Aeschylus conformed to the perfect model

of the Oresteia.
number of
large
at
In the second place

his plays
it
-probable that a
is
were not composed
in tetralogies
all.
The
relation of the satyric play to the three tragedies
preceded
it is
which
a question of some importance in connexion with
The
the composition of tetralogies.
usual theory seems to have
been that the satyric play should deal with the same subject as
the trilogy, but from a
humorous point of view
and that some
of the personages out of the trilogy should appear in
The
it.
king or hero whose sufferings had already been depicted was
now
to
be exhibited in a different aspect, amid the wij^ sur-
roundings of a satyr's existence*
was necessary
It
give
to
a certain tinge of poetry and romance to the composition,
and not jar the feelings with a sense of incongruity, by
intro-
ducing the tragic personage into scenes of ordinary comedy.
This
is
well expressed in the lines of
Verum
commendare
ita risores, ita
Conveniet Satyros,
Ne quicumque
Horace
dicaces
deus, quicumque adhibebitur heros,

et ostro,
sermone tabernas,
nubes et inania captet^.
in obscuras humili
Aut dum
The
ita vertere seria ludo,
Regali conspectus in auro nuper
Migret
satyric plays of
vitet
humum
Aeschylus seem, when they formed part of
The Oedipodeia
con-
cluded with the Sphinx, the Lycurgeia with the Lycurgus.
In
a tetralogy, to
have been of
this type.
both these plays some of the personages out of the preceding

trilogy
must have appeared.

^
The
Oresteia
Hor. Ars Poet. 225
foil.
is
called a tetralogy,
TRILOGIES
I.]
AND TETRALOGIES,
25
and therefore the Proteus, the
satyric play with which it conwas probably connected with the other three plays in
But in the absence of information it is impossible to
subject.
say what that connexion was, and what personages took the
leading part in the play.
Curiously enough the satyric play
Prometheus did not conclude the Promethean trilogy, as we
should have expected, but was performed along with the
Persae, and two other independent plays.
The practice of
terminating a trilogy with a satyric play upon the same subject
may seem questionable to modern taste, and can hardly be
cluded,
defended on
the
in
Like many other customs of
grounds.
artistic
Greek drama, it was an accident due to the circumstances

which tragedy originated. Tragedy was developed out of
the odes to Dionysus sung by choruses of satyrs
departed more and more from
and as
it
original character, a regard for
its
antiquity required that the satyric element should be retained in
some form or another.
Hence
the practice of concluding every
performance with a satyric play of the old-fashioned
tragic
type.
Sopho cles
to
have been the
system of writing plays
in tetralogies ^
said
is
formed an independent work of

that
It
art.
to aban don, the

Each of his dramas
first
appears to be implied
before his time the practice of writing tetralogies had
been very generally adopted
and
it
is
only natural to suppose
that the
commanding genius of Aeschylus would cause
ample
be widely followed.
to
But the fashion
was adopted by the younger

year after the
first
set
his ex-
by Sophocles
In 467, the very next
poets.
tragic victory of Sophocles,
when Aeschylus
produced his Theban tetralogy, and Polyphradmon his Lycurgeia, the third poet Aristias
of independent plays
tice
appears to have exhibited a group
After the death of Aeschylus the prac-
of composing tetralogies rapidly went into disuse.
records
fact,
^.
show
that
during the
tetralogies
are
Philocles, the
^
Suidas
V.
Euripides
latter
abandoned
half of the
mentioned.
fifth
Soô/tA^s.
"^
system.
In
century only three
Pandionis
nephew of Aeschylus, who
the
The
was written
by
naturally continued
Arg. to Aeschyl. Theb.
26
the
of the Aeschylean
traditions
in
Plato
of Socrates.
is
said to have written a tetralogy
his youth, but to
have abandoned poetry
was
In the course
before
it
Oedipodeia,
was composed by Meletus, the prose-
apparently a tetralogy,
cutor
An
system.
[Ch.
exhibited.
for
philosophy
of the
succeeding
century the practice of writing tetralogies came to be so
regarded
that
never
Aristotle
mentions
even
it
little
in
his
Poetics \
Some
words
has been made as
difficulty
trilogy
and
As
tetralogy^
the derivation of the
to
far as their
etymology goes
they ought to denote groups of speeches rather than groups of

plays.
In their dramatic sense the words do not occur
and were of comparatively
quently,
time of Aristotle
word
the
phanes the grammarian-.
The word
origin.
late
tetralogy, as applied to the drama,
fre-
not found before the
is
trilogy not before that of AristoIt
is
quite possible that the dra-
matic meaning of a tetralogy may have been a secondary

one, and that the word was used at first in reference to
It was the custom of the Greek orators to write
oratory.
groups of four speeches, two for the prosecution and two for
the defence, about fictitious cases, to serve as models for their
Three groups of this kind, composed by Antiphon,
pupils.
It is
have come down to us, and are called tetralogies.
very likely that this was the original meaning of the word,
and that
it
came
it
to
was only
in the course of the fourth
be applied by analogy
to
century that
the drama.
be convenient to have a generic term
to
It
would
denote groups of
composed about a single subject in the AeschyWhen the word tetralogy had [once acquired
it would be an easy step to form by analogy the
four plays
lean fashion.
this sense,
^
Schol. Aristoph. Av.
Plat.
282
Apol. p. 330, ed. Bekk.
Var. Hist,
^
ii,
Schol.
Aelian
55 rerpa\oyiav <pepovai t^v Ôpfareiav at AtSa-
The
other passages in which the word

T(Tpa\oyia occurs in a dramatic sense
are Diog. Laert.
30.
Schol. Aristoph, Ran.
The
Plat.
Ran.
iii. 56, ix. 45

Schol.
Apol. p. 330; Schol. Aristoph.
Av.
1155,
282,
Thesm,
142;
de, u)v kari Kal'AptffTotpdvTjs 6 ypafi/jjari-
Arg. to Aeschyl. Theb. The word rpikoyia only occurs in three places, viz.
Schol. Aristoph. Ran. I155; Diog.
Kos, (is rpikoyias i\Kov(Tt rous dia\6yovs.
Laert.
ffKoXiai.
of Aristotle.
Didascaliae
Diog. Laert.
is
the
iii.
61
work
evioi
iii.
61
',
Suidas
v. NiK6ft.axos.
I.]
word
trilogy,
satyric
play.
27
denote the three tragedies apart from the
to
Satyric
plays were
with comparative
treated
and were easily separable from the

tragedies which preceded them.
Possibly also in many cases
neglect in
later
times,
may have been connected in subject ^with

one another, but independent of the satyric play.
Hence
the three tragedies
the convenience of a term to denote the three tragedies by
themselves.
It is said that
the grammarians Aristarchus and
Apollonius preferred to disregard the satyric plays altogether,
and
speak only of
to
trilogy
But although the generic terms
trilogies.
and tetralogy were of
tomary
at
much
relatively late origin,
earlier period
groups of plays composed on the tetralogic

Aristophanes
the
title
cites the
it
was
cus-
common name to
system. The poet
to give a
group of plays about Lycurgus under
of the Lycurgeia
and
in the
same way he cites the

These and
group of plays about Orestes as the Oresteia^

similar
titles
no doubt dated from the time of Aeschylus
himself.
6.
It
Tragedy at
the City
has been worth while to discuss in some
question as to the
interest of the subject.
as far as tragedy
is
is
detail
the
number of traged ies produced each year aL
the City Dipnysja during the
there
Dionysia in later times.
The
fifth
century,
fourth century
concerned.
For the
is
first
because of the
a period of decay
half of the century
a complete blank in our information as to the system
of tragic competitions at the City Dionysia.

latter half of the
had been made.
century
An
it
is
inscription
gives a copious record
of
On coming
to the
found that considerable changes
the
discovered in recent years

contests at the
tragic
City
From this record it

satyric
drama had now been completely
appears that the
separated from tragedy. The proceedings commenced with
Then followed a
the performance of a single satyric play.
Dionysia for the years 341 and 340 1
Aristoph. Thesm. 135, Ran. 11 24.
Corp. Inscr. Att.
ii.
973.
a8
[Ch.
representation of an old tragedy by one of the great tragic
In 341 the old tragedy was the Iphigeneia' of Euripides
poets.
in
'
340
Then
was the Orestes of Euripides.
at length
after
the satyric play and the old tragedy had been performed,
came
it
the competition with
new and
competing poets was
The number of
original tragedies.
it had been from the earliest

But the number of tragedies varied from year to year.
times.
still
three, as
In 341 each poet exhibited three tragedies; in 340 each poet
Here
exhibited two.
that
by the
the information ends.
latter half of the fourth
had receded
appears then
It
century the satyric drama
further into the background.
still
In the
fifth
century each poet had exhibited one satyric play at the end
of his three tragedies.
commencement of
The poet who was
But now a single satyric play
at the
was considered sufficient.

to have the honour of performing this play
would be selected beforehand by the archon. There is no
evidence to show when the new system came into existence
but it must have been in the course of the first half of the
fourth century. Another point to be noticed is the gradual
decrease in the number of new tragedies produced each year.
In 341 it was nine
in 340 it was only six.
It is impossible
to say with certainty what was the practice during the first
the proceedings
half of the fourth century.
the
drama was
satyric
When
first
the change in regard to
made,
the
may
poets
tragic
have continued to produce four plays apiece, substituting a

tragedy for the old satyric play, just as Euripides had done
in 438,
when he
hand the
tinuing
the
Or on
exhibited the Alcestis.
change
satyric
may have
play,
and
compete with three tragedies
consisted
leaving the
only.
the other
simply
in
There
is
discon-
poets to
tragic
very
evidence which bears upon the subject, but such as

rather points to the conclusion that at
was
'fifty
in
the
it
is,
number
it
four
Theodectes, the rhetorician and tragic poet,
retained.
flourished
first
little
the middle of the fourth century.
tragedies,*
numbers seem
He
wrote
These
and engaged
in
thirteen
imply that
in
most of the contests
to
contests.
in
I.]
29
which he was engaged he exhibited four tragedies*.

Aphareus, the tragic poet, wrote
tragedies,
368
and engaged
Here
to 341.
Again,
genuine
thirty-five confessedly
in eight contests
ranging in date from
too the inference seems to be that he must
The
have exhibited four tragedies on most of these occasions ^.

only
way
to
escape such an inference would be to suppose that
both Aphareus and Theodectes wrote a considerable number

of plays jw hich were never intended fo r the stage.
Such a
was not unknown at this time.
The tragic poet
Chaeremon, the contemporary of Aphareus and Theodectes,
wrote tragedies which were simply intended to be read ^ But
as yet the practice was unusual, and nothing of the kind is
related of Theodectes and Aphareus.
Hence the probability
practice
is
that during the earlier part of the fourth century each poet
at the City
But owing
Dionysia exhibited four tragedies.
the scantiness of the evidence

certain conclusion
on the
it
is
come
impossible to
to
to
any
subject.
has been seen that in 340 the total number of new

tragedies produced at the City Dionysia was only six.
The
It
decrease in numbers points to the gradual decay of traged y at
With
Athens.
the close of the fourth century the productive
period of Attic tragedy came to an end.
The
centre of literary
was transferred from Athens to Alexandria, and to this

city the more creative poetical minds were attracted.
During
the third century we meet with the names of many celebrated
activity
On
tragic poets at Alexandria.
the other hand, after the fourth
century hardly a single Athenian tragic poet
is
mentioned.
Competitions in tragedy continued to be held in Athens at the
down
City Dionysia even
to
Roman
But
times.
in
the tragedies exhibited must have been old ones.
It is
in public decrees recording the proclamation of
City Dionysia the phrase
'
at the
continues to occur as late as
have been no significance
Plut.
Suidas
X orat.
true that
crowns
at the
performance of new tragedies
Roman
times.
in the phrase.
V. coSc/ctt;?;
839 D.
most cases
Steph. Byzant.
^
It
But there can
was merely an
v. âo-j/Xt?.
Aristot. Rhet.
iii.
11,
30
when
instance of the retention of an old formula
[Ch.
meaning
its
was obsolete \
Comedy
7.
The history of the tragic contests at the City Dionysia having

now been traced down to the latest times, the contests in
comedy have next to be considered. This is a subject of much
less difficulty.
has already been pointed out that
It
in the course of the earlier half
was
first
recognised by the
of the
state.
fifth
it
was
century that comedy
The performances of comedy,
mere voluntary undertakings,

were now superintended by the archon, and regular public
contests were instituted.
It is impossible to determine the
exact date of their institution.
Nor is there any certain
evidence to show whether it was at the Lenaea or the
City Dionysia that comedy was first officially recognised.
had
which
As
been
previously
City Dionysia
far as the
is
concerned the only
can be established with certainty
were
fully
fact
that contests in
that
comedy
at any rate as early as the year

proved by the inscriptions already referred
elaborated
This
B.C.
is
is
459
to on a previous page^
years previously
is
Whether they had
a question which there
existed for
is
many
no evidence
to
determine.
The number
comic contests
of poets
at the
who were
allowed to take part in the
City Dionysia differed at different periods.
was limited to three, as in tragedy.

The Clouds, the Peace, and the Birds of Aristophanes were
During the
all
brought out
of the
'*
fifth
fifth
at the
it
City Dionysia during the latter part
century; and on each of these occasions
Dio Chrysost.
KaiToi
century
rpaywdovs
xiii. p.
246 (Dindf.).
eKacTTOTe
6pa.T
roTs
Corp, Inscr. Att. ii. 334,

341, 402, 444-446, 465-471, 479, 481.
These inscriptions range in date from
Aiovvaiois.
about 270 B.C. to 50 B.C.

slight differences in
Aiovvaiojv
jwv
There are
the formula,
jiiydXctiv
rpayaiZujv
e.
g.
rw
a-yajvi
tZ Kaivw,
Aristo-
Atovvaiojy tcuv kv
ciffrei
rpaywSoTs, Aiovvaicju tu)v ev darei

rpayaiSuv ra> Kaivai dyuvi, Aiovvaioov
Kaivoi^'
Tuiv ev darei to) Kaiva>
twu
aywvi, Aiovvaioju
fxeydXojv rip Kaivw dywvi.
^ Corp. Inscr. Att. ii.

971 compared
with the inscription in 'Ecprjfj,. 'ApxaioK.
1 886, pt. 4.
See above
p. 9.
COMEDY AT THE CITY DIONYSIA.
I.]
phanes was opposed by two competitors \

during the
fifth
31
At the Lenaea
century the number of the competing poets
was also three. In the beginning of the fourth century the

number was raised to five at both festivals, and appears to
have continued unchanged throughout the subsequent history
of the Attic drama ^ The reason of the increase was probably
due
to the
disappearance of the
take less time to perform.

therefore provided, and the
to
chorus from comed y.
comedy without a chorus would be
less expensive,
larger
and would
number of comedies was
number of poets had consequently
be increased.
does not appear however that comedy was ever exhibited

Athens on the same large scale as tragedy. It has already
been shown that during the most flourishing period of Attic
tragedy each poet was accustomed to produce no less than
It
at
four plays at the annual festival.

invariable practice
all
to
c ompete
the notices of comic
number
comedy
in
single
it
plays
was the
more than one
In
only.
contests which remain there
instance of a poet competing with

total
But
with
is
play.
no
The
of comedies produced each year at the City
Dionysia would be three during the
during the succeeding centuries.
fifth
These
century,
and
five
figures appear small
compared with the number of tragedies produced each year

But although each poet competed
the same festival.
with a single play, it was not impossible for a man to
exhibit two comedies at the same contest.
However in
order to do so he had to appear really as two poets, and to
The total number of
compete as it were against himself.
comedies remained the same, but the poet was allowed to
appear twice over, and to run a double chance of success.
Instances of such an occurrence are occasionally found.
In
422 Philonides took the place of two poets, and exhibited
He was first with the
both the Prelude and the Wasps.
at
Args.to Aristoph.Nubes,Pax, Aves.

Corp.
Arg. to Aristoph. Plutus
Inscr. Att. ii. 972, 975. It is not always
every case the number of the
known
to five at both festivals after the fifth
these
to
which of the two
various,
notices
refer.
festivals
But
in
appears as
five.
cally certain that the
century.
poets
It is therefore practi-
number was
raised
32
[Ch.
Prelude, and second with the Wasps, and his antagonist

Leucon was third with the Ambassadors \ Both the Prelude
and the Wasps were really plays of Aristophanes, but were
brought out in the name of the poet Philonides. Again
iri
353 Diodorus made a double appearance, and was
second with the Corpse, and third with the Madman'^. Such
poet taking
of a
instances
and
place
the
two
of
competitors,
running a double chance of obtaining the
thus
position, cannot
have been of
when they
dearth of new comedies,
probably due,
common
first
They were
occurrence.
did occur, either to an exceptional
or to very marked inferiority on
the part of the other poets
who had
applied for permission to
compete.
much
has already been pointed out that comedy was
It
than tragedy in being

also lasted
much
officially
recognised by the
One of the most
longer.
later
state.
brilliant
It
periods
when tragedy had practically

symptom of decay, both in tragedy
and comedy, was the tendency to fall back upon the past, and
of Attic comedy
come
to
an end.
falls at
a time
sure
reproduce old plays, instead of striking out
As regards tragedy
this
practice
had already become pre-
valent by the middle of the fourth century.

creative impulse
direction
the
New
was
still
at that
new developments.
But
in
comedy the
time predominant.
fresh
was being given to the art by the development of

Co medy,^ or comedy of manners. There was not
as yet any tendency to have recourse to the past.
In the
record of the exhibitions of comedy for the year 353 there is

no trace of any reproduction of old plays. When the practice
commenced it is impossible to say. Probably it was

not until the more productive period of the New Comedy
had come to an end, and the creative instinct had begun to
flag.
There is a complete break in our information from the
first
middle of the fourth century to the beginning of the second.
When we come
ducing old
occurrence.
*
to the
comedies
second century, the practice of reprois
found
to
have become a regular
This appears from the series of inscriptions
Arg. to Aristoph. Vespae.
Corp. Inscr. Att.
ii.
972.
ORDER OF CONTESTS AT THE CITY DIONYSIA.
I.]
'>^'>,
recording the comic exhibitions at the City Dionysia during

the earlier half of the second century.
new comedies were
five
as
just
regularly preceded by an
hundred and
tragedy,
in
seen that the
It is
old
one,
years before, the
fifty
proceedings had commenced with the performance of an old
Among
play.
the old comedies reproduced in
this
manner
appear Menander's Ghost and Misogynist, Philemon's PhoPosidippus'
cians,
Athenians.
the
It
is
noticeable that
New Comedy,
dency
and
Outcast,
Philippides'
and that there are no traces of any
back upon the Middle or the Old Comedy.
to fall
records just referred to prove that the

its
Lover of the
these plays belong to
all
New Comedy
ten-
The
retained
and productiveness much longer than had been
vitality
and
previously suspected,
comedies were
that original
fre-
quently exhibited at the City Dionysia as late as the second
On
century.
lasted
it
is
when
every occasion
complement of
new
five
there
was a contest the
plays was produced.
impossible to determine.
Even
How
full
long this
in these records
of the second century there are symptoms of approaching decay

in the productiveness of the
year,
and sometimes
the ominous words,
comedies.*
for
'
Almost every other
comic drama.
two or three years
in succession, occur
This year there was no exhibition of
Probably by the end of the second century the
performances of new and original comedies had become a

very exceptional occurrence.
Order of Contests
8.
The
regulations concerning the dramatic contests at the City
Dionysia have
on
to the
now been
Lenaea
it
will
described in detail.
Before passing
be well to take a general survey of the
various competitions at the City Dionysia.
There were two
dithyrambic contests, one between five choruses of boys, and

the other between five choruses of men.
contest in which three poets took part.
There was a tragic

During the fifth and
earlier part of the fourth century each of these poets exhibited
four plays.
Later on the number of original plays began to
be diminished, and the competition was preceded by an old
34
There was
tragedy.
comedy
also a contest in
ginally three poets took part
in
[Ch.
which
ori-
but in the course of the fourth
century the number of poets was raised to
Each poet
five.
exhibited a single comedy.
As
o rder in which the various performances took
to the
place,
and the method
there
is
very
and
as certain,
were
little
which they were grouped together,
in
that
is
that
on three
performed
One
evidence.
thing
may be regarded
three groups of tragedies
the
successive
days.
It
see what other arrangement would have been
as
two groups, consisting of eight
As
to
possible,
would
tragedies,
been too much for a single day\
difficult
is
to
have
the relative ar-
rangement of dithyrambs, comedies, and tragedies not much
down
can be laid
to
the
enumerated
In
for certain.
in the
same
order.
the records which refer
all
Dionysia the various
City
competitions
come
First
the
are
always
choruses of
boys, then the choruses of men, then comedy, then tragedy.
Also
law of Evegorus the same order
in the
is
observed in
recounting the different performances at the City Dionysia ^

It
has been argued that this was the order in which the
contests took place
that the dithyrambs
comedies, and the tragedies last of
be very
little
justification for
all.
came
first,
such an inference.
as likely that the order followed in these
then the
But there seems

lists
It is
to
quite
was based upon
the relative importance of the different contests.
In
fact,
the
only piece of evidence in regard to the subject which has any
appearance of certainty about

during the
fifth
Aristotle
in
the
This evidence
Poetics
(c.
24),
speaking of the proper size of an epic

poem, says that it should be shorter than
the old epics, and about equal in length
to the tragedies performed on a single
day (7r/)os Se to ir\^0os -rpaywSiwv twv
eis
ixiav dupoaffiv rtOffievcov iraprjKoiev).
It has already
seems
to
show
that at
any rate
century the comedies followed the tragedies
it
been shown that
it is
not
quite clear what the practice was at the

time to which Aristotle refers. But to
is
contained in a passage
suppose a performance of four tragedies

on one day would harmonise very well
with the statement of Aristotle. Four
tragedies would contain about 6000
lines, and the
Iliad contains about
15,000 lines, the Odyssey about 12,000.
^ Corp.
Inscr. Att. ii, 971
'Ecpijfi.
'ApxaioX. 1886, pt. 4; Demosth. Meid,
;
10.
ORDER OF CONTESTS AT THE CITY DIONYSIA.
I.]
The
in the Birds of Aristophanes.
City Dionysia.
'>^^
Birds was performed at the
In that play the chorus, in the course of a
how dehghtful it would be to have wings.

one of the spectators was tired with the tragic
choruses, he might fly away home, and have his dinner, and
short ode, remark
They say
then
that if
back again to the comic choruses \
fly
comedies were performed
that time the
the
fifth
It
follows that at
after the tragedies.
In
century there were three comedies performed at the
City Dionysia, and three groups of tragedies.
Most likely
was performed in the mornings of three successive days, and was followed in the afternoon
by a comedy.
In the fourth century, when the number of
comedies was raised to five, a new arrangement would be
necessary.
Possibly the comedies were then transferred to
a single day by themselves.
But on these and other points
of the same kind there is really no available evidence.
One
thing is certain, that the whole series of performances, consisttherefore each group of tragedies
ing of ten dithyrambs,

tragedies, cannot
Even
performance ^
three days,
'
three to five
if
they could have been compressed into
would have exceeded the
it
Aristoph. Av. 785-789 ovZkv kffr

fj (pvaai irrfpa.
avrix
dfiuvov ov8' '^diov

vtiojv Tojv
Tpa70f;5cDi/,
is
OearSjv et tis û vironrepos,
o'lKaSe,
Tjixas
av9is
(Griech.
<{)'
Kar
av (fxirXTjaOeh
KaTtnTaro.
av
k(p'
Miiller
Biihnen. p. 322) and others

mean generally * to us
ruids to
in the theatre
and deny that
it
refers
to the comic chorus in particular.
But
'
in that case there
the sentence.
would be no point
There
is
in
obviously a con-
between vp.Hs, the spectators, and

the comic chorus.
The same
contrast is strongly emphasised throughout the previous group of trochaics, vv.
trast
^/xefs,
753-768.
Lipsius (Berichte der K. S.
Gesellschaft derWissenschaften zuLeipzig, philol.-histor, Classe,
1885, p. 417)
adopts the old conjecture rpvy^dwv for
Hence he
limits of
and supposes
fjfxus,
ol rpvyatdoi,
take
between
etra ireivSiv toTs x^P'^^^'- '^^^ rpaycvhwv

(KrrTofXfvos av ovtos TjpicrTTjffev
Tjx'îTo,
ckOcijv
and twelve
comedies,
have taken up less than four days in the
human
en-
that the contrast
the chorus of Birds, and
the oi/ier comic choruses.
Dionysia
comedies were performed on a
single day by themselves.
But Tpvy<u5oi
is a perfectly gratuitous emendation, and
makes the whole passage both feeble
infers that at the City
all the
and obscure.
^
Polus
is
tragedies in
said to have acted eight
four days
when he was
An seni &c.
785 C). If it was at the City Dionysia, he
might have done so, supposing that the
old tragedy was performed on the first
day, and the new tragedies on the three
following days. But as there is nothing
to show whether the feat of Polus was
performed at Athens or elsewhere, it is
impossible to base any conclusions upon
seventy years old (Plut.
the statement.
D 2
^6
durance
The
[Ch.
have sat out performances of such enormous length.
to
a whole, with the procession and other minor
festival as
amusements, lasted probably either
five
or six days, as was
previously pointed out.

9.
We
now come
Dionysus
name of
at
to
the
The Lenaea,
great Athenian
other
which dramatic performances took
this festival
was the Lenaea.
from the Lenaeum, an
It
festival
place.
der ived
its
of
The
name
enclosure on the south-east of the
god of the wine-press. It

Lenaeum,' or 'the festival
A victor at this festival was
Acropolis, sacred to Dionysus, the
was
also called 'the contest at the
of Dionysus at the Lenaeum.*
'won a prize at the Lenaeum \* On the other

hand, the Great Dionysia was called 'the festival of Dionysus
in the City.*
It has already been remarked that the Lenaeum
was itself within the city, and that the contests at the
Lenaea and the City Dionysia were held in the very same
place.
The distinction of names was probably due to the
fact that while the Lenaea was a small festival, and took place
entirely within the sacred enclosure, the City Dionysia was
altogether on a grander scale, and many of the ceremonies
which accompanied it were celebrated in different parts of the
The Lenaea was held in^he month ^f Gamelion, corcity.
responding to the last half of January and the first half of FebIt was still winter, and the sea was dangerous for
ruary.
voyagers.
H ence there were few strangers or visitors in Athens.
The Lenaea was in fact a domestic sort of festival, confined to
said to have
the Athenians themselves.

insignificant,
Dionysia,
in
The proceedings were
when Athens was crowded with
of Greece.
quiet and
comparison with the splendour of the City

visitors
from
all
parts
In the Acharnians, which was exhibited at the
Lenaea, Aristophanes remarks that he can abuse Athens as
much
^
as he likes, without incurring the imputation of lowering
Heysch.
v. Itti Arjvaio)
toph. Acharn. 504

714 Aiovvaia ra
dyuv; Aris-
Corp. Inscr. Att.
km
Ar]vaia);
ii.
Schol.
Aeschin. Fals, Leg. 15 viKciv Itti Atjvaiw Diog. Laert. viii. 90 vikij Aijval'Kri
;
Plut.
orat.
839
5i5ao-/fa\ta Ajyi/attfTj.
THE LENAEA.
I.]
The proceedings
her in the eyes of foreigners ^

of a
consisted
and
comedy.
and
procession,
The
^^
of
at the
was not Hke
procession
Lenaea
of tragedy
exhibitions
that
the
at
City Dionysia, but was more in imitation of the proceedings

at the Anthesteria, and was accompanied by the rough jesting
and ribald abuse which were characteristic of the worship of
Dionysus and Demeter.
There were no dithyramb ic contests
during the period with which
we
are concerned.
The
fes-
whole was much shorter than the City Dionysia ^

Tragedy at the Lenaea seems to have been at all times
tival as a
The law
subordinate Jp_ comedy.
of Evegorus, in enumerating
the proceedings at the City Dionysia and the Dionysiac

tival in the Peiraeeus, places
the most important.
Lenaea
it
places
But
tragedy
in the list of the
comedy
last,
proceedings
obviously because
the principal feature of the festival.
It
fes-
each case, as being
last in
at the
comedy was
when
uncertain
is
the Lenaea were first ins titute An

argument has been founded on the didascaliae prefixed to the
tragic competi tions at
plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

caliae there is
were produced.
In these didas-
no mention of the festival at which the plays

Hence it has been argued that during that
period there can only have been one festival at which tragic
competitions took place.
it is
said, the didascaliae
particular festival at
exhibited.
If there had been two festivals, then,

would have recorded the name of the
which the tragedies they refer
As they do
not do
so,
it
would follow
to
were
that during
the lifetime of the three great tragic poets the only tragic
contests in existence were those at the City Dionysia, and that
Lenaea was unknown before the very end of the

But the argument is unsound. The omission
century.
tragedy
fifth
at the
6; Plat.
quotation from the Meidias, and also by
Symp. 223 C; Theophrast. Char. 3;
Corp. Inscr. Gr. no. 213, which contains

list of the festivals at which dithyrambic choruses competed, viz. the City
Dionysia, Thargelia, Prometheia, and
'
Bekk.
Anecd.
p.
Aristoph. Acharn. 501

2
Demosth. Meid.
235,
foil.
10 kcu
57 Iit\
A77-
vaio) iTOfxir^ nal ol rpaycfidol fcal 01 KUfuv-
SoL
Suidas
v. to. kn rSJv afxa^wv cr/fw/*-
That there were no dithyrambs

at the Lenaea during the period we are
dealing with is proved by the above
fiara.
Hephaesteia.
The
'ApxaioK. 1862,
i.
inscription in
'E(pT)fi.
219, recording a vic-
tory at the Lenaea with a dithyramb,
must
refer to late times.
38
name of the festival

much as is supposed. It
of the
in the didascaliae
so
is
does not prove
for a fact that there
Lenaea
Agathon won a tragic victory
were
as early as the year 416, for in
tragic contests at the
that year
known
[Ch.
But
Lenaea.
at the
there are two notices about plays of Sophocles subsequent to
no mention of the festival. It is

was produced in 409, and the Oedibut in neither case is the name of the
which there
this date, in
is
stated that the Philoctetes
pus Coloneus in 401

festival mentioned \
cannot therefore be contended that the
It
omission of the festival in the tragic didascaliae proves that
during that time there was only one festival at which tragedies
were exhibited. All it proves is that the City Dionysia was
of much more importance than the Lenaea, and that every one
was supposed to know that this was the festival at which the
great tragic poets were competitors.
As
the date of the institution of tragic contests at the
to
Lenaea, there
is
evidence to prove that they were
positive
An
of regular occurrence before the year 416.
inscription
which was previously given in a very mutilated condition

in Bockh's collection has been recently published in a more
form^
complete
It
record
is
of tragic
competitions
in
In both these years the number of
the years 419 and 418.
competing poets was two, and each of them exhibited three

tragedies.
There
is
certain that the record
shown
no mention of a satyric play.

must refer to the Lenaea, since
that at the City Dionysia the
It
it
seems
has been
number of competitors was
regularly three, and that each of them exhibited four plays.

If then the
that
Lenaea
is
the festival referred
to, it
would appear
Lenaea were a regular
institution
For how many years they had existed

previously is uncertain.
There is a dubious notice about
Euripides which may perhaps bear upon the subject ^
It is
as early as 419 b.c.
Athen. p. 217 A; Args. to Soph.

and Oed. Col.
Phil.
'
Aix(pi\6x(i>, 'liiovi,
drjs'
vneKpcveTo KaXKini-
vitoKpiT^s KaWiiriSrjs i'iKa.
Corp.Inscr. Att.ii. 972. The record

year 418 runs as follows
kirl
'Apxiov ... Hvpoi, T ...,...,
vireKpi-
5i5daKiv
kwl
oXvfimdSa
ira
vero AvffiKpdrrjs.
rds IIcAtdSas, 6t koi rpiros kyiveTO.
for the
'
Vita Eurip.
(p. 4 Dindf.) Tjpâro Se

KaAXiou apxovros KaroL
erei a, vpwTov dl kSiSaê
KaXXiarpaTos
,
|
THE LENAEA,
I.]
39
said that Euripides began to exhibit tragedies in the year 455,

that 'the first play he brought out was the Daughters of
and
Pehas, on which occasion he was third/
be depended upon, and
to
is
If the statement
on the part of the grammarian,
implies that Euripides com-
it
peted on this occasion with a single play.
been
Lenaea, and
at the
it
would follow
Lenaea as early as
contests at the
If so
it
455, but
must have
were
tragic
on a small
scale,
that there
three poets competing with a single tragedy apiece.
during the
rate,
last
quarter of the
new
the middle of the fourth century
Syracuse,
at the
Lenaea.
Until
tragedies continued to
In 367 Dionysius, the tyrant of

Aphareus,
at this festival.
won
At any
century tragedy had
fifth
become a regular part of the proceedings

be performed
is
not a mere looseness of expression
the prize for tragedy at the Lenaea.
whose dramatic career extended from 368 to 341, exhibited at

the Lenaea on two occasions. Theodectes, the pupil and friend
of Aristotle, was victorious on one occasion at the Lenaea ^
As to the details of the contest, and the number of poets and
plays, there is not enough evidence to form any conclusion.
In 419 and 418 there were two poets, each exhibiting three
tragedies.
If the inference
is reliable, it
a single play.
from time
from the notice about Euripides
would follow that
Very
to time ^
By
each poet only exhibited
at first
likely the
arrangements were changed
the middle of the fourth century the
There were
tragedies were not so
career of Attic tragedy began to draw to a close.

signs of decay in productive power.
New
and henceforward they were

the City Dionysia.
Tragedy at the Lenaea came
plentiful as in previous times;
given only at
Diod. Sic. XV, 74

Plut.
orat.
Theodectes is known to have
'
839 D.
won
eight
Byzant.
tragic
victories
(Steph.
From
Corp. Inscr.
Att. ii. 977 frag, b it appears that he
won seven victories at the City DionyIt follows that one of his victories
sia.
must have been at the Lenaea.
No inference can be drawn from the
v. ^darjXts).
"^
expression in Plat. Symp. 173
{oTi
irpwrri Tpaya^bia kviKijffev 'AydOcuv),
in
rfj
and
Diod. Sic. xv. 74 (Aiovvaiov roivvv
SeSiSaxoTOs'AOrivrjcnArjvaioisTpaycuSiav),
to the effect that

sius
Agathon and DionyPro-
exhibited single tragedies.
bably
rrj Trpdrrr)
expression for
victory';
and
generally
'
tests.'
It
'
TpayqjSia vlkolv
winning one's
is
a loose
first
StSatr/feij' T/)a7a;S/ai/
tragic
means
to exhibit in the tragic con-
seems certain that in Agait was customary for each
thon's time
poet to exhibit three tragedies at the
Lenaea
not
and the number was probably
less in the
time of Dionysius.
40
be confined to the reproduction of old plays.
to
[Ch.
It is
about
the middle of the fourth century that the phrase 'at the City
new
Dionysia, at the performance of the
tragedies
begins to
'
appear, in public documents and elsewhere, implying that at
Lenaea only old tragedies were exhibited
the
For how
long a period afterwards tragedy in this shape continued to
form a part of the Lenaea
Comedy, as we have
Lenaea.
is
a point which cannot be determined.
seen,
Public contests in
was the principal feature of the

comedy were instituted by the
state in the course of the earlier half of the fifth century.
the very
From
they no doubt formed part of the proceedings at
first
But there
no actual evidence on the subject till

Four of his plays the Acharnians,
the time of Aristophanes.
Knights, Wasps, and Frogs are known to have been brought
the Lenaea.
is
out at the Lenaea.

it
From
appears that during the
the arguments prefixed to these plays

fifth
century
it
was the custom
at the
Lenaea, as well as at the City Dionysia, for three comic poets to

take part in the competition, each exhibiting a single play.
In
was previously shown, the number of poets

and this continued to be the number in sub-
the fourth century, as
was raised
to five,
Comedy continued
sequent times.
to flourish at the
Lenaea, as
well as at the City Dionysia, until the third century.
Eudoxus,
New Comedy,
a poet of the
victories at the City Dionysia,
said to have obtained three
is
and
Lenaea
five at the
^.
It is
therefore clear that during the third century the comic competitions
kept up with
were
full
vigour
at
both
festivals.
number of plays which were

Indeed,
written by the poets of the Middle and New Comedy, and the
considering the vast
fact that
only five plays could be produced at one
would require not
less than
two
festivals in the
festival,
it
year to give an
opportunity for the production of the plays that were written.

Plut. deexil. 603B 7rA^j//iaj/57)W(/3ai',
^ BevoKpcLTTjs Kad' (KaoTov 6T0S ets d(TTv
kv
KaTT^H
Aiovvaiajv
Aeschin. Ctesiph.
ôfxivQjv
Koi
Kaivuv.
dvayopevcxai
OiaTpCf}
Kaivois
rov
Aiovvoiois,
Corp. Inscr. Att.
Tpajabois.
34 Tpaywdwv dyouviDem. de Cor. 84
ii.
<TTi(pavov
TpayqiSoTs
kv
ry
Kaivois.
331, 341, 402, &c.
has been suggested that the new

at the City Dionysia were
opposed, not to old tragedies at the
Lenaea, but to the one old tragedy
which was performed each year at the
But the old interpretaCity Dionysia.
It
'
tragedies
tion
^
is
'
much
the most probable.
Diog. Laert.
viii.
90.
THE LENAEA.
I.]
After the third century there
performances of comedy
is
at the
41
no further evidence as
to the
Lenaea.
Before leaving this part of the subject a few observations
may
be made concerning the comparative importance of the dramatic

at the two festivals.
The City Dionysia was of
much grander and more splendid gathering than the
Lenaea. Its superiority is shown by the fact that at the City
performances
course a
Dionysia aliens were not allowed to take part in the choruses,
and metics were forbidden to serve as choregi \ At the Lenaea

It must have been a much
there were no such prohibitions.
greater honour for a poet to produce his plays at the City
Dionysia, before the crowds of visitors and natives, than at the
This was especially the case
comparatively quiet Lenaea.
The
gard to tragedy.
was
and
the
would confine themselves
established,
it is
slight evidence
Agathon won
who
as
poets,
we
to the City
Dionysia
Lenaea were mostly

or of young and untried ones. Such
probable that the tragedies
work of inferior
in re-
great tragic poets, after their reputation
possess
at the
in
is
favour of this opinion.
his first victory at the Lenaea.
The
poet Callis-
Lenaea in 418, is absolutely

unknown, except for the inscription which records his name^
Probably also foreign poets were in most cases confined to the
Lenaea. Thus it was at the Lenaea that Dionysius, the tyrant
of Syracuse, won his victory ^ The case was not quite the same
tratus,
exhibited
at
comedy.
It
in respect to
his
plays indifferently at
Dionysia \
It
the
appears that Aristophanes produced

the Lenaea as well as
the
City
must be remembered that comedy was the great

was an appendage. Also
feature of the Lenaea, while tragedy
Comedy, with its local and personal allusions, would be

by a purely Athenian audience. It is not
therefore remarkable that the leading poets of the Old Comedy
should have been as anxious to exhibit at the Lenaea as at the
the Old
best appreciated
There
greater festival.
is
also the fact that comic poets only
exhibited one play at a time.
ii.
Schol. Aristoph. Plut. 954.
Athen.
972.
p.
217
Corp. Inscr. Att.
Even
^
if
they competed at both
Diod. Sic. xv. 74.

Args. to Aristoph.'s Comedies,
42
festivals in the
same
year,
it
[Cli.
would only involve the composition
of two comedies, as opposed to the three or four tragedies of
Consequently a comic poet of a productive

would be bound to exhibit at both the festivals. But
when the New Comedy, with its plots of general interest, had
taken the place of the Old Comedy of personal allusion and
satire, it can hardly be doubt-ed that it was a much greater
the tragic poet.
intellect
honour to exhibit at the City Dionysia than at the Lenaea.

There would no longer be any advantage in the small and
purely Athenian audience.
lo.
The Rural Dionysia and Anthesteria.
drama had been thoroughly established at Athens,

demes proceeded to institute dramatic performances at their own Rural Dionysia. These festivals were
held in the month of Poseidon, corresponding to the modern
December. The Dionysiac festival at the Peiraeeus was celebrated on a large scale, and was a gathering of some importance. There was a procession, followed by competitions
On one occasion Euripides brought
in comedy and tragedy.
out a new tragedy at the Peiraeeus, and we are told that
Socrates came to see it. There were performances of tragedy
and comedy at Collytus; and it was here that Aeschines acted
After the
the different Attic
the part of
styled
Oenomaus
in the play of Sophocles,
by Demosthenes 'the
rustic
Oenomaus.'
whence he
is
Exhibitions
of tragedy were of regular occurrence at Salamis and Eleusis,
and
it
was customary on these occasions
to
make
public procla-
mation of the crowns which had been bestowed upon deserving

citizens.
At Aixone there were performances of comedies,
but no mention
is
made
of tragedies.
At Phlya there were
dramatic performances, probably of both kinds.

of a theatre have been discovered at Thoricus.
few indications
it
is
plain that the
drama was
The remains
From these
cultivated with
great energy throughout the country districts of Attica \

^
Demosth. Meid.
TO) Aiovva<i>
lo orav
kv Ilcipaiei Kal
17
irofxir^
01 KOJfi^dol
Prob-
Aelian Var. Hist. ii.

13; Aeschin. Timarch. 157 kv rots
Kal ol rpaycuôL
THE ANTHESTERIA.
I.]
43
was only on very rare occasions, and at the more

new and original plays were brought
out.
The performances would generally be confined to the
reproduction of plays which had been successful in the comably
it
important demes, that
petitions at Athens.
between troupes of
reputation.
The proceedings took the form of contests

who exhibited plays of established
actors,
Prizes were offered by the different demes, and
companies seem
to
have been formed
Athens
in
for the
purpose
of travelling about the country, and taking part in these provincial

in a
competitions.
company of
tour by Simylus and

called \
Aeschines was
this kind,
Socrates,
in
tritagonist
'the Ranters,' as they
The number and frequency
ances exhibit
one time
at
having been hired for a provincial
very clear light the vigorous
spread popularity of the old drama.
were
of these rustic performlife
and wide-
Even the country
districts
of Attica, in the course of their annual festivals, must have
become familiar with the masterpieces of Attic tragedy.

In Athens itself the only festivals at which dramatic performances took place were the Lenaea and the City Dionysia.
At the Anthesteria, the oldest of the Athenian festivals of
Dionysus, there were competitions between comic actors, but
no regular performances of dramas. Our knowledge of these
competitions
is
derived from a rather obscure statement about
Lycurgus the Orator.
It is said that
he re-introduced an old
custom, which had latterly fallen into disuse.
appears to have been as follows.
This custom
At the Chytri, the
last
day
of the Anthesteria, a contest between comic protagonists was

held in the theatre, and the protagonist
who was
victorious
was
allowed the undisputed right of acting at the forthcoming City
Dionysia ^
The
Chytri took place about a month before the
Kar dypovs Aiovvaiois KwpKuScuv ovtcov kv

KoWvTa>. Dem. de Cor. 180; Corp.
Inscr. Att. ii. 469, 470, 585, 594; 'E<^77^.
'ApxaioX. 1884, p. 71
Isaeus orat.
viii.
Wieseler Denkmaler &c. p. 7.

^ Dem. de Cor.
262.
2 This appears to be the meaning of
the passage in Plut.
orat. 841 F
eicTjviyKe 5c Kal v6/*ovs, tov nepl tcDi'
15
dyuva tois Xvrpois kTnTC\(Tv

tw OeaTpo), koi tov vi/cfjaavra eh darv KaraXeyeaOai, irporepov
ovk kôv, dva\a^0dvcov tov dywva c/cKafxaiduv
((pdfiiWov kv
XeXotnoTa.
The
same as the
contest
is
plainly the
quoted
from Philochorus by the Scholiast on
Aristoph. Ran. 220.
dyaives
Xvrpivoi
44
City Dionysia.
Of course
were only
five
the privilege of acting as protagonist
was a very considerable
the City Dionysia
at
[Ch.
There
one.
comedies performed, and consequently only
protagonists would be required.
keen competition among the comic actors of the time

themselves selected
among
the
five
There would naturally be a

five.
The
to get
victor in this con-
was selected as a matter of course. There

show what the nature of the contest was; but
test at the Chytri
nothing to
is
most
likely
consisted in the recitation of selected portions
it
of a comedy.
Anthesteria
This competition between comic actors
is
the only trace to be found, as far
at the
as Athens
is
concerned, of anything connected with the drama taking place
any
at
festival other
than the Lenaea and City Dionysia.
II.
The
The Judges,
institution of the dramatic contests at the different Attic
festivals
has
now been
described in
be considered,
viz,
As regards
detail.
management of the competition many
points
still
the
remain to
the selection of the judges, the
mode
of
giving the verdict, the prizes for poets and actors, and the
public records of the results.
First as to the judges.
The
number of the judges in the comic contests was five^ The

number in the tragic contests was probably the same, but there
is no direct evidence upon the subject.
The s election of the
judges was a most elaborate affair, and consisted of a combination of two principles, that of election by vote, and that of
appointment by lot.
A large preliminary list of judges was
first elected by vote.
At the beginning of the contest a second
list of ten judges was chosen by lot from the first one.
At
the end of the contest a third list of five judges was selected
by
lot
from the second
list,
result of the competition.
and these
The
five
object o f
arrajigements and precautions was to
judges decided the

?11
make
these elaborate
the
names of the
and
actual judges a matter of uncertainty as long as possible,

to prevent
^
them from being tampered with by the partisans
Schol. Aristoph.
Aves 445
Suidas
v. Iv
irivn Kpiruy y6vaffi.
THE JUDGES.
I.]
The
of the different competitors.
45
details of the
whole process
Several days before the actual commence-
were as follows \
ment of the festival the Council, assisted by the choregi, drew

up the preliminary list of judges. A certain number of names
were selected from each of the ten tribes of Attica. The different
choregi; as was natural, endeavoured to get their own partisans
upon the list. The names of the persons chosen were then
inscribed upon tablets, and the tablets were placed in ten
urns, each urn containing the names belonging to a single
tribe.
The urns were then carefully locked up and sealed
in the presence of the prytanes and choregi, handed over to
the custody of the treasurers, and deposited in the Acropolis.
The preliminary list of judges was kept a secret from every one
^ There is no consecutive account in
any ancient writer of the mode of selecting the judges and of voting. Our know-
ledge of the subject has to be pieced together from the three following passages
Cim.
Plut.
(i)
aiiTov
jivrifJt.T]v
Kpiaiv
p.
Kal
dvofj.a(TTi)v
483
r^v
8'
lOiVTO
eis
Tpayq)Swv
tSjv
npwTTjv
yevofjieuTjv.
yap diBacTKaXiav rod So0o/cA.6Ovs
Ti veov
KaOevTos, 'Aipeipioov 6 dpxo^v, (piKoveiKias

ov(TT]s
KOI Trapardêcus tSjv Oearuiv, Kpirds
ovK kKK-qpoiOe tov dycuvos,
filv
Kipicov
fxerd
tuv
TO Oearpov eiroirjaaro
eis
direXOeTv, dAA.'
rds vevo-
to; êo)
ovk dfpfjKiv avrovs

opKuaas qvdyKacre Kadiaai
Sea
Kpivai
tKaarov.
yap
Sojpov
Se
jnovdds,
fufffxevas
Kal
ojs
avaTparrjyctJV npoeKOuiv
dnb
oj/tos,
(pv\r]s
fiids
(2) Isocrat. xvii. 33 livOoTOV aKtjviTTjv KaXovfievov, 6s
iirep Tlaaiajvos diravra Kal Kcyci Kal irpdr-
Teiov, direXax^ 8c.
on
Kal
dXijOr]
ravra
Xiyco <îXivos Kal AiokXtjs toaatV
OVK
'iar
avToTs frnprvpâai
fiivois TTfpl
T^s alrias
Ga(pCi)s eyvcor'
KpirrfV
dv
on
cfiâXovres,
rjs
fir}
eyw
(pevyou, cird
tjixhs -qfi^v
Kal
dXX'
Siofioaa-
qp.wv
avrbv
ol
d'veKa
The first of these passages

dramatic contest, the third to
a dithyrambic one. It is uncertain to
which the second refers. But there is
no reason to suppose that the mode of
selecting the judges was different in the
dramatic and the dithyrambic contests.
That a second list of judges was appointed by lot from the larger list de/ore
the commencement of each contest, and
that this second list consisted of ten persons, one from each of the ten tribes, seems
eKadeêro.
refers to a
to
be proved by the words of Plutarch,
Kpirds fiev ovk kKX'qpooae rod dyaivos
fUKpojv evKa Kal nepl rod (TufxaTOS KivSv-
That there was

another selection of judges by lot after
the contest, and that the number of judges
who actually decided the result was
vevoov ra'uras vnavoiyeiv eToXfii^ffev, at
smaller than the
Ti, Tis
OVK oldev vfiwv vkpvGiv dvoiâvTa
rds vSpias Kal rovs Kpirds eêXovra tovs vtto

TTJs
(iovXTJs
d(rl3Xr]9(VTas
a(ar}iJ.aafj,vai p.\v
((pvXaTTOVTO
(KeiVTO
S'
ei
K.T.X.
8'
dv^
aiois,
vvb
tuv
X'^PV'
tSjv rajxicuv,
ev dKpoiroXei, ri Set 6avp.d^Hv
vpav (pavepbs tyivero
Xay fxevos,
vvv 5e
5'
S' virb
(3) Lysias iv. 3 kôvKofxrjv

diToXax^tv avrbv KpirrjV Aiovv-
fxi)
'iv'
Kairoi oaris
^crav virb tSjv irpvrd-
Viuv, Kareacppayia/xevai
yojv,
Kpivas rTjv
'eypa\p fxkv
kfiol SirjK-
jxt)v cpvX'tjv
ravTa ds to
viKav.
ypapLfxa-
dirb (pvXrjs fiids eKaarov.
number of those who
sat through the performance
and voted,
proved by two expressions in the

above passages (l) eypaipe ixlv ravra
ds rb ypapLfiareTov, direXax^ 5e, i. e. he
voted in my favour, but his vote was
is
not drawn; (2) ^piojv e'iveKa iKaOiîro.

Kaeiêiv and KaOiîaBaL were the regular
words used of a judge
at a contest.
It
is
clear therefore that
the person
46
[Ch.
The penalty for tampering

The reason for all the secrecy was
except the Council and the choregi.

with the urns was death.
obviously to prevent undue influence being brought to bear
upon the persons nominated.
It is
not
known from what
class
the nominees were selected, or whether any property qualification
was necessary.
It
is
plain
the judges in the
that
dramatic and dithyrambic contests had a very delicate

to perform.
that they should be
most
was
If their verdict
men
be of value,
it
office
was necessary
of culture and discernment.
likely therefore that there
number of persons
to
was some
limitation
It
is
upon the
qualified to act in this capacity.
Until the time of the festival the preliminary
list
On
remained sealed up in urns in the Acropolis.
of citizens
the
day
first
of the competitions the ten urns were produced in the theatre,

and placed in some prominent position. The persons whose
names were contained in the urns were all present in the theatre.
Probably they received a special summons from the archon
At the commencement of the

contest the archon proceeded to draw a single name from all the
urns in succession. The ten persons, whose names were drawn,
constituted the second list of judges, and each of them represhortly before
the
festival.
sented one of the ten tribes of Attica.
by
lot in
the manner
After being selected
described, they were called forward by the
archon, and took a solemn oath that they would give an impartial verdict \
They were then
condXicted to seats specially
appointed for them, and the contest began.
At the end of the
performances each of them gave his vote, writing upon a tablet

the
names of the competitors
in order of merit ^
here referred to sat through the perform-
ance as a judge, but that after the performance was over his vote was not
drawn by lot. It may be remarked
that any doubt as to the truth of the
story in Plutarch does not destroy its
value as an example of the mode of
judging in the Athenian theatre.
^ Dem. Meid.
17 dfivvovffi irapeffTT]Kus ToTs KpiraTs. Aristoph. Eccles. 1160
fjL^
'iTiopKeTy,
dWd
fcpiveiv
tovs x^po^^
These
tablets.
bpOoj^ del.
The judges addressed by
Aristophanes here and elsewhere were
of course the second body of judges,
whom the third body of five was

chosen at the end of the contest,
^ Special seats were assigned to the
judges at Alexandria, and no doubt the
Attic custom was followed there
cp.
from
Vitruv.
vii.
iudicibus
practice
praef. 5
cum
secretae sedes
essent distributae.
For the
of recording the votes on a
THE JUDGES.
I.]
47
were then placed in an urn, and the archon

draw forth five of them at random. The majority
of these five votes decided the competition, and the persons
whose votes were drawn from the urn constituted the ultimate
body of five judges. It thus appears that up to the very last
the judges who recorded their votes were not sure whether
the votes would eventually have effect, or turn out to be so
m.uch waste paper. This uncertainty was of course a great
obstacle to intimidation and bribery. After the competition was
over, and the verdict announced, the names of the five judges,
whose votes had decided the day, were not kept secret. It was
known how each of them had voted. But the other votes,
which had been recorded but not drawn from the urn, were
It was of course
destroyed without being made public \
considered a much greater honour to win a victory by the
unanimous vote of all five judges, than by a mere majority
of one^ But it is very doubtful whether any public record
was kept of the number of votes by which a victory was gained.
Whether the decision of the judges was generally given
ten in number,
proceeded
to
with discernment, and
how far
verdict of posterity,
is
it
corresponded with the ultimate
some
a question of
Both
interest.
Aeschylus and Sophocles were usually successful, and
this
Aeschylus
won
speaks highly for the taste of the judges.

thirteen victories;
occasion,
follows that no
it
obtained the
plays
and as he produced four plays on each
first
prize.
was seventy or
equally
fortunate.
eighteen victories at the City Dionysia.

plays, as given
by
3 'dypaipe fiev ravra ks to ypapma1
This follows from Lysias

8'
dv
pr)
iv. 3
diroKax^Tv avrbv Kpi-
kyevero
rfjv Aiovvciois, tv
vp.iv (pavipbs
(fiol 5ir]\\ayp.ivos,
Kpivas r^v kfi^v (j)v\^v
of his
from a hundred-
vvv 8e eypa^pe fxev ravra
els
to
ypafi/xaTeiov, direXax^ Se.

*
km
Aristoph. Aves 445-447 XO.
ofivvfi
tovtois, ndcri vikov toTs Kpirais
XO.
koI
IIE. earai Tavrayi.
Tois Oearcus Tidaiv.
Ttiov.
kPov\6fir]v
vikov'
his
was
He won
The number
different authorities, varies
tablet cp. Aelian Var. Hist, ii, 13 kcH

vpocreraTTOV toTs KpnaTs dvcuOev ÂpiffroLysias
(l>dvi]v dwd n^ dWov ypdcpdv.
iv.
of his plays
number of
the total
ninety, the proportion of victories
Sophocles was
very large ^
fifty- two
than
less
Whether
5^ napapairjv, kvl KpiT^ vixdv
fxovov.
^
Vita Aeschyli
Suidas
v.
AtVxvAos.
48
Thus on
and-four to a hundred-and-thirty.
the lowest estimate
considerably more than half his plays gained the
He
Euripides was not so successful.
[Ch.
first
won
only
position
five victories;
The
though he wrote between ninety and a hundred plays.

cause of his failure was partly due to the
he often
that
fact
^.
had the misfortune to contend against Sophocles. He was

beaten by Sophocles in 439 and 432, and probably on many
But
other occasions of which no record has been preserved.
he was defeated by very inferior poets. In 415
he was beaten by Xenocles, and on another occasion by the
at other times
obscure poet Nicomachus ^
which there
is
any record
But the most surprising verdict of

the defeat of the Oedipus Tyrannus
is
nephew
of Sophocles by Philocles the
of Aeschylus ^
Of
course the other three plays, along with which the Oedipus
Tyrannus was produced, may not have been of equal merit. Still
it must always seem an extraordinary fact, and a proof of the
uncertainty of Athenian judges, that a play which is generally
allowed to be one of the greatest dramas of antiquity should
have been defeated by a third-rate poet such as Philocles.
Verdicts of this indefensible character might be due to various
The j udges might be corrupt or might be intimidated.

causes.
The spirit of emulation ran very high at these contests, and
men were often not very particular as to the means by which
they obtained the victory.
speeches of Lysias.
There
an instance in one of the
is
The defendant
showing that the prose-
is
cutor had been on very friendly terms with
The proof he
before.
choregus
brings forward
at the City Dionysia,
on the preliminary
voting for his
own
list
is
him a short time

when he was
that
he got the prosecutor appointed
of judges for the express purpose of
chorus.
The
prosecutor was pledged to
vote for the chorus of the defendant, whether

^
The
as 18
victories of Sophocles are given
by Diod.
20 in
the Vita Soph., and as 24 by Suidas v.
Sic. (xiii. 103), as
That he won 18
victories
at the City Dionysia is proved
by Corp.
'2o(poK\7]s.
Inscr. Att. ii. 977, frag. a. It is possible

that he won other victories at the Lenaea,
though
it is
not probable that he exhi-
it
was good or
at that festival during the later
bited
part of his career.
The number
of his
given as 123 by Suidas, and as

104 or 130 in the Life,
^ vita Eurip., Args. to Alcestis and
plays
is
Medea
Aelian Var. Hist.
ii.
v. Nt/<ro/xaxos.
^
Arg. to Soph. Oed. Tyr.
Suidas
THE JUDGES.
I.]
He
bad.
49
appears to have actually done so
name was not
but unfortunately,
and his vote

was therefore of no valued Another example of the use of
corruption is afforded by the case of Meidias, who is said to
at the final drawing, his
selected,
have won the victory with his chorus of men
by bribing or intimidating the judges ^
City Dionysia
at the
Similarly at a contest of
boys' choruses, Alcibiades, in spite of his outrageous conduct
on the occasion, won the

were
public.
be afraid
^.
to incur the hostility of rich
by voting against them.

dithyrambic contests.
tribe
and others had been bought
The verdict of each individual judge was

Hence it is easy to see that judges might often
over to his side
made
because some of the judges
first prize,
afraid to vote against him,
No
and unscrupulous
The above
doubt
was concerned with the
instances
citizens
refer to
all
whole
in these cases, as the
result,
party feeling ran excep-
In the dramatic competitions only individuals
tionally high.
were engaged, and there was less general excitement about

the result. Yet even here corrupt influences were sometimes
employed.
Menander, the greatest comic poet of his
time,
was
defeated by Philemon owing to jobbery and intrigue
often
similar to that described above ^
One
not unfrequent cause then of unfair
have been corruption and intimidation.

point to be
kept
decisions of the
and
Euripides
in
view,
doubt
The
plays
must
verdicts
is
also another
estimating the value
in
ancient judges.
were no
There
of the
of Sophocles
immeasurably superior,
literary works, to the plays of Philocles, Xenocles,
machus, by which they were defeated.
And
as
and Nico-
yet
in
these
and similar instances the verdicts of the judges may perOne is apt to forget
haps have had some justification.
the importance of the manner in which the play was presented upon the stage. Even in modern times an inferior
play, if well mounted and acted, is more impressive than a good
play badly performed. This must have been still more the
^
Lysias
Dem. Meid.
Kpiruv
iv. 3.
5, 17, 65.
Andocid. Alcibiad. 20
oi
ijl\v
(po$ovfivoi
ôfxevoi vikSlv Kpivav avrov.
aWa
tS>v
Aul. Gell. N. A. 17. 4.
ol
Sc
x/""
50
[Ch.
case in the ancient drama, where the singing and dancing of

the chorus formed such an important element in the success
that, however well
was ill-mounted, and if the chorus
was badly trained, this would greatly diminish the chances of
Now the ancient poet was dependent upon his
success.
choregus for the mounting of the piece and for the selection
If the choregus was rich and generous, the
of the chorus.
play was put upon the stage in the very best manner, with all
the advantages of fine dresses and a well-trained chorus. An
ambitious choregus spared no pains to do his part of the work
But if the choregus was a miserly man, he tried
thoroughly.
He hired inferior
to do the thing as cheaply as possible.
singers, and cut down the prices of the dresses and other
Hence the success of a play d.e pended nearly aa
accessories.
much upon the choregus as upon the poet Several examples
of the performance.
was
a play
can easily be seen
It
written, if
it
illustrate
this
Demosthenes, shortly before his death,
fact.
said to have dreamt that he
is
contest with Archias
was acting
tragedy in a
in a
but although he was highly successful,
and produced a great impression upon the audience, he was

defeated in the contest because of the wretched manner
was mounted upon the stage. Then

He was a man of great wealth,
but not of commanding talents. Accordingly he tried to win
popularity by the magnificence with which he performed
his duties as choregus.
The result was that although he
which the
in
there
play
the case of Nicias.
is
took part in
Antisthenes
although he
many
is
competitions, he
another instance
was always
of a
rich
knew nothing about music and
victorious.
choregus who,
poetry,
was always
successful in his contests, because he spared no expense in
There
the preparations ^
is
an example of a different kind
of choregus in one of the speeches of Isaeus.
genes regarded his

tried to
was
^
Kai
perform
that
Plut.
it
office
in the
most economical manner.
He
he was always unsuccessful.
Demosth. 859 D
A certain
Dicaeo-
of choregus merely as a burden, and
(vrjufpujv Se
KUTtxcuv TO Oiarpov hSiiq. napa-
engaged
The
result
in a dithy-
cKevrjs koI xoprjyias KpaTia6ai,id.l!îcia.s,
524
Xen. Memor.
iii.
4. 3.
1;
THE JUDGES.
I.l
rambic and tragic contest, and in a contest of pyrrhic dancers.
On
the
first
occasion he was last but one, on the other two
occasions he was last^
Obviously the tragic poet who had
the misfortune to be associated with Dicaeogenes would have
The above examples show
a very small chance of success.
very clearly that the
money
of the choregus was almost as
important towards securing victory as the genius of the poet.

It is
necessary therefore, in criticising the verdicts of the
Athenian judges,
remember
to
we know nothing
that
of the
circumstances of the different performances, and of the extent

to
which the choregus may have been responsible

Possibly
failure.
if all
known
the facts were
in
for success or
regard to the
when Sophocles and Euripides were defeated, it would

be found that there was some justification. The best critics^
occasions
would attend mainly to the merits of the piece in itself, apart

from the splendour of the accompaniments. But the mass of the
spectators would be dazzled by gorgeous dresses and effective
And
mass of the spectators had a

great deal to do with the verdict.
If they were strongly in
favour of a particular poet, it was difficult for the judges to act in
opposition to their wishes. The judges were liable to prosecution and imprisonment, if their verdict was supposed to be unjust
and the case would of course be tried before a jury chosen from
the very audience they had thwarted ^ It was hardly therefore
to be expected that they would venture to give a verdict in
opposition to the loudly pronounced opinion of the multitude.
That the multitude on occasions made their wishes known
most emphatically, and brought great pressure to bear upon
the judges, is shown by Aelian's account of the first performsinging and dancing.
ance of the Clouds.
The
the
story
is
a fable, but
is
interesting
as an illustration of the occasional behaviour of an Athenian
audience.
It is
said that the people
were so delighted with the
Clouds, that they applauded the poet more than they had ever
and insisted on the judges placing the name of

Aristophanes first upon the list ^ Such unanimous expressions
done
before,
Isaeus
Aeschin. Ctesiph.
V. 36.
232.
Aelian Var. Hist.
ii.
13.
S^
[Ch.
of opinion on the part of the spectators could hardly be

sisted
eyes.
re-
by judges who had the fear of prosecution before their

Plato laments on several occasions the despotism
exercised by the audience in the theatre.
In former times,
was not decided by hisses and unmusical

the
present
day, nor by applause and clapping
shouts, as at
of hands,* but the rabble were compelled by the attendants to
he
says, the verdict
keep
'
In another place he says that the judge should
quiet.
be the instructor, not the pupil, of the audience, and should

refuse to be intimidated by their shouts into giving a false
verdict.
But
at the
present day, he adds, the decision rests
with the multitude, and
and the result
is
is
practically decided
by pubhc
vote,
the degeneracy of the poets and spectators
alike \
These passages of Plato prove how much the judges
were under the dominion of the audience and a general
audience would be especially likely to be carried away by the
splendour of the choregic part of the exhibition, by the music,
;
dancing, and scenery.
But on the whole,
in spite of occasional
cases of corruption, and in spite of the despotism of the multitude,
one would be inclined
to say,
arguing from
judges performed their duties well.

ness
lies in
results, that the
best proof of their fair-
the continued success of Aeschylus and Sophocles,
12.
When
The
The Prizes.
was ended, and the decision of the judges

had been announced, the names of the victorious poet and of
the contest
his choregus
were publicly proclaimed by the herald, and they
were crowned with garlands of ivy in the presence of the specThe crowning probably took place upon the stage, and
tators.
was performed by the archon ^.
There
is
no mention of any
special prize for the choregus, in addition to the honour of the
crown and the public proclamation of his
victory.
It is
usually
stated that the successful choregus received a tripod from the

^
p.
Plato, Legg.
700C-701 A,659 A-C.
Alciphron ii. 3 ; Plut. An seni &c.

785 B; Athen. p. 217 A arecpavovTai
"^
hrivaxois
tovtov
Aristid. vol.
ii.
p. 2
(Dindf.)
(XT(l)avovv koi irpurov dvayopeveiv.
The
I.]
state,
prizes.
^^^
which he erected upon a monument
some
in
with an inscription recording his victory.
public place,
was only
There is no mention or
record of a tripod being bestowed upon the choregus of a
But
this
the case in the dithyrambic contests.
dramatic chorus.
victory refer
All the notices of tripods as the prize of
by the choregi
have taken the form of
to
liness according
For
The memorials
dithyrambic contests \
to
victory erected
to
to the
and
tablets, differing in style
the wealth and
instance, Themistocles
cost-
taste of the individuals.
victory with
his
after
of
dramatic choruses appear
a tragic
chorus erected a 'tablet* in honour of the event, as also did
Thrasippus
after his victory in the
in the character of the
comic contests.
mean man
in
It is
Theophrastus, that
trait
when
he has been successful with a tragic chorus, he erects merely

a wooden scroll in commemoration of his victory^.
then that the only prize or symbol of victory which
upon the choregus
As
to the
to a dramatic
It
appears
was bestowed
chorus was the crown of ivy.
rewards for the poets^ the tradition was that
was a
the earliest times the prize for tragedy
in
goat, the prize
comedy a basket of figs and a jar of wine ^ After the

dramatic contests had been regularly organised, each of the
competing poets received a payment of money from the state,
for
differing
no doubt
in the competition
prizes, but
it
Dem. Meid,
in
*.
amount, according
Nothing
Lysias xxi. 2
Isaeus
;
2nd Arg. to Dem. Meid. p.

The monuments of Lysicrates
40
510.
and Thrasyllus, which were surmounted

with tripods (Stuart and Revett, Antiquities of Athens, vol.
i.
chap.
iv. pt. 3,
were in honour of vietories with dithyrambic choruses; cp.

Corp. Inscr. Gr. 221, 224.
^ Plut.Themist.il 4C 7rtVaaT^s'ttf77s
Aristot. Pol, viii. 6 ! rod
dv6j]K.
vol.
ii.
irivaKos
p.
31),
bv dvidrjKe &pd(ninros.
phrast. Char.
Lysias xxi.
known
to the place
he gained
as to the value of these
must have been something considerable, as the
Schol. Aeschin. Timarch. 11

vii.
is
22 raivia ^vXivrf.
TheoCp.
4 KOjfxwSoTs xopr)l<^v 'K.rj(piooZwp<f) kviicwv, Kal dyr)\ojaa aiiv tjj t^s
c/fcv^s dvaOeffei
last case
some
eKmiScKa
fivas.
In this
article of theatrical cos-
tume seems to have been dedicated as a

memorial of the victory. It is known
that masks were occasionally dedicated
in this way by successful actors,
Marmor Par. epp. 39, 43.

Schol. Aristoph. Ran. 367 Toj//it(r0oj/
ruv Kojfiqjduv kfieicuaav Eccles. 102 rdv
^
-,
fiia9dv
rwv
y. fxiaOos'
efxixiaOoi
-noirjTwv avverefie
to tnaOXov tSjv
Se ttcVtc âav.
petitors in
comedy were
Hesych.
Kai/iiKu/v
As
the
com-
five, this last
passage proves that all the competing

poets received a reward of money.
54
[Ch.
demands upon the time and energy of the ancient dramatist

were very great. He had not merely to write his plays, but
Hence
also to superintend their production.
was
the dramatic poet
distinctly
the profession of
an arduous one, and the
The
unknown, but some idea of the scale
re-
amount is
on which the sums were
wards would be correspondingly large.
exact
graduated, according to the place of each poet in the competi-
may be
tion,
gathered from the analogy of the dithyrambic
contests instituted
by Lycurgus
In these con-
in the Peiraeeus.
tests not less than three choruses were to take part, and the
prizes
were
to
be ten minae for the
second, and six for the third \
chorus, eight for the
first
The payment
of the dramatic
poets was probably arranged in a somewhat similar proportion.
Towards the end of the fifth century the prizes were reduced
in amount by certain commissioners of the Treasury, named
Archinus and Agyrrhius.
Accordingly in the Frogs of Aristo-
phanes these two statesmen are placed
who
in the list of
bad men
are not allowed to join the chorus of the initiated ^
fact that all of the
need cause no surprise.
They were
the poets chosen, after
annual
selection, to provide the entertainment at the
They were
festivals.
not selected until their plays had been carefully
examined by the archon, and found
To be
merit.
The
competing poets received a reward of money
allowed to exhibit at
to
be of the requisite
all
was a considerable
There was nothing dishonourable
distinction.
for
an ordinary
Of
poet in being placed last in the competition.
course, for
one of the great dramatic writers such a position was regarded

as a disgrace.
When
creditable.
It is
Aristophanes was
But
as a distinct rebuff.
to obtain the
third,
it
spoken of
is
second place was always
mentioned as a proof of the greatness of
Sophocles that he 'obtained twenty victories and was often

second.*
When
he was defeated for the
locles, the disgrace consisted,
his being beaten
Plut.
Aristoph.
ad
loc.
by such an
842 A.
Ran. 367,
inferior poet ^
^
orat.
and
Schol.
first
place by Phi-
not in his being second, but in
At the same time
Arg. Aristoph. Nub.
Aristid. vol.
ii.
p.
Vit. Soph.
344 (Dindf.)
CONTESTS BETWEEN ACTORS.
I.]
be second was never regarded as a
to
was reserved
victor
for the first poet.
^^
The
'victory.*
This
is
passage about Sophocles just quoted, and also by the

in the list of victors in the contests at the City
names of the
the
first
of
title
proved by the
fact that
Dionysia only
poets in the tragic and comic contests are
enumerated.
poet
It is clearly owing to an error that the second

sometimes spoken of as a victor \
is
13.
Contests between actors.
In addition to the rewards just mentioned, prizes for acting
were
instituted in later times.
titors in the
Upon
their
At
first
the principal compe-
dramatic contests were the choregus and the poet.

the success of a play mainly depended.
efforts
was to them that the rewards of victory were assigned, and it

was their names which were recorded in the public monuments.
But as time went on the profession of the actor gradually inIt
creased in importance.
Eventually the success of a play came

depend principally upon the actors. The competition was
extended to them. A prize was offered for the most successful
actor as well as for the most successful poet.
The names of
the actors began to be recorded in the public monuments.
to
The
exact date of these innovations
scriptions prove that the competition
is
unknown
but the
in-
between the tragic actors
had become a regular institution by the year 420 b. c. There

no record of a competition between comic actors before the
is
year 354
b.c.^
It is
therefore probable that the actors' contest
was established in tragedy much sooner than in comedy. At

any rate the importance of the tragic actor began to be recognised at an earlier period than that of the comic actor,
as
is
proved by the
lists
of the victors at the City Dionysia.
Arg. Aristoph. Vesp. kviKa rrpuTos

Arg, Nub. ore Kparivos jxkv
Arg.
eviKa HvTivri, 'Afxei^pias S^ Kovvqi.
^
îXwvidris.
Pax
.
eviKTjae
di
tw
hpapLari
divTpos 'ApiarocpdvTjs
6 iroirjr^s
'EXprqvri.
The conCorp. Inscr. Att. ii. 972.

elusion of the 2nd Arg. to the Pax {to
8i dpaiM vneKpivaro 'AiroWodcopos, ^v'lKa
^
kp/xrjv XoioKporrjs)
is
emended by Rose
into hv'iKa "Eppicuv 6 vTroKpiT'^s.
were
correct,
it
ence of contests
If this
would prove the existbetween comic actors as
early as 421 B. C.
But the emendation
is
exceedingly doubtful. Dindorf suggests

ÂiroWodoipos, ^v'tKa It* ^v vvoKpiT'rjs.
5(5
In the earlier
no
actors'
lists
belonging to the
fifth
fifth
But
after the
On
even
the other hand, there
as late as the
is
are
middle of
name
century, in every record of a tragic contest, the
name
of the actor begins to be appended, as well as the

poet.
century
The only names given
names are recorded.
those of the choregus and the poet.

the
half of the
first
[Ch.
of the
no mention of a comic actor
middle of the fourth century.
It
follows
comic actors were thought much less
that at this period the
tragic actors
and it is probable that
was only adopted in comedy after it had
already existed for some time in tragedy. After the middle of
the fourth century competitions in acting became a regular
accompaniment of all dramatic performances whether tragic
worthy of record than the
the contest in acting
or comic \
These contests were
limited to the principal actors or prot-
agonists in each play.
The
subordinate actors, the deuter-
had nothing to do with them. The

agonist and
principal actor in a Greek play was a much more important
personage than even the star in a modern company. The
actors in a Greek play were limited to three in number, and
each of them had to play several parts in succession, by means
Hence the protagonist had to
of changes in dress and mask.
tritagonist,
'
perform not only the principal
part, but also
several of the
Besides this the composition of a Greek
subordinate ones.
tragedy was designed almost solely with the view of bringing

out into strong relief the character of the principal personage.
The
incidents
tions
The
were intended
to
draw
forth his different
the subordinate characters were so
many
foils to
emohim.
success of a Greek play depended almost wholly upon the
protagonist.
In the ordinary language of the times he was said
to 'act the play,* as
portance.
To
if
the other performers were of no im-
take an example from existing inscriptions,
it
recorded that in 341 'Astydamas was victorious with the

Parthenopaeus, acted by Thessalus, and the Lycaon, acted by
is
Neoptolemus.'
This
is
the regular form of the old records
both in tragedy and comedy.

1
Corp. Inscr. Att.
Demosthenes uses
ii.
971-973, 975.
similar lan-
CONTESTS BETWEEN ACTORS.
I.]
^j
Referring to the Phoenix of Euripides, he says that

Theodorus and Aristodemus never acted this play.* The form
of the language is proof of the overwhelming importance of the
protagonist ^ These considerations will remove any surprise
which might have been felt at the fact of the contest in acting
guage.
*
being confined solely to the principal actor in each play.
As
to the nature of the contest, the only other point to
noticed
is
be
was quite independent

which he was performing. Thus
that the success of the actor
of the success of the play in
in one of the comic contests of the second century the prize for
was won by Onesimus. But the play in which he acted,

the Shipwrecked Mariner, only won the second place. The
successful comedy, the Ephesians, was acted by Sophilus. Simiacting
larly in the tragic contests of the
was won by Callippides
year 418 the prize for acting
but the poet Callistratus, whose three
was only second. The tragedies of the

successful poet were acted by Lysicrates.
It will be seen that
in this contest each of the tragic poets had one protagonist all
to himself, and his three plays were performed by the same
actor.
This was the usual practice in the tragic contests during
tragedies he performed,
the
fifth
century.
was made.
But
in the fourth century a
new arrangement
All the protagonists acted in turn for
If a tragic poet exhibited three plays, each play
by a
different protagonist,
all
the poets.
was performed
and the same protagonists appeared
Under
in the plays of his rivals.
this
system the competition
between the actors was necessarily quite independent of that

between the poets.
But even
in the earlier period of tragedy,
when one actor and one poet were closely associated together,
we have seen that the success of the poet did not imply the
success of the actor. The two competitions were quite separate*
The same was always the case in comedy
The actors' contests which we have hitherto been describing
took place at the performance of new tragedies and comedies,
^.
and existed side by side with contests between poets and

But there were other occasions in which actors met
choregi.
^
2
Corp. Inscr. Att.

Corp. Inscr, Att.
ii.
ii.
973
975
^,
Dem.
Fals. Leg. 246.
972, 973.
58
The
in competition.
reproduction of old plays generally took
These contests were of
the form of contests between actors.
two kinds.
In the
[Ch.
first
kind each actor performed a different
At the same time the victory was decided, not by the

skill of the actor.
There are
several references to competitions of this sort.
For instance,
play.
merits of the play, but by the
have
before the battle of Arginusae,
Thrasyllus
dreamt that he was engaged
a contest in the theatre at
in
is
said
to
Athens, and that he and his fellow-generals were acting the
Phoenissae of Euripides, while their opponents were acting the
The most
Supplices\
old plays in this
frequent occasion for reproductions of
manner must have been
afforded by the Rural
At most of these
Dionysia in the different townships of Attica.

festivals there
were dramatic performances, which were gene-
rally confined to the exhibition of old tragedies
The town
offered a prize for acting,
came down with
actors
and the leading Athenian
companies and took part
their
competition, each performing a different play.
gedy
is
Lenaea
in
later times,
festival
had come
But
to
after the
be confined
in the case of
comedy was so great

duction of new and
to the reproduction of old
comedy there are no
that there
The
traces of such
fertility
was no deficiency
of Attic
in the pro-
original comedies within the period
we
then of the two kinds of competitions with old
first
was of the character
formed a different play.

play.
at this
to deal with.
The
first
in the
far as tra-
performances
tragic
contests at the great Athenian festivals.
plays
As
concerned, similar contests must have existed at the
plays.
have
and comedies.
in
this
For
respect,
instance,
that
just
described.
The second
Each actor
each actor performed
Licymnius,
per-
kind differed from the
the
tragic
same
the
actor,
is
said
have defeated Critias and Hippasus in the Propompi of
to
Aeschylus.
Andronicus, another tragic actor, was successful in
the Epigoni on one occasion
Diod. Sic. xiii. 97. Of course the

is an anachronism, as competitions
with old tragedies did not exist at
*
story
and
it
is
implied that his oppo-
Athens
in the
time of the Peloponnesian
War.
But
illustrates the practice of
it
later centuries.
RECORDS OF DRAMATIC CONTESTS.
J.]
nents acted the same play\
59
In contests of this description
it
not probable that the whole play was acted by each of the
is
but only special
competitors,
would be useful
of
portions
purposes of selection.
for
that in later times
all
The
it.
It
contest
has been shown
performances of new tragedies and new
comedies were preceded by the reproduction of a single play by
one of the old
The
poets.
actor
who was
to
have the privilege
of performing the play would have to be selected by the

It is
petition of the kind
we
are describing, in which a portion of an
was performed by each of the candidates.
old play
tests
state.
very probable that the selection was determined by a com-
between comic actors
referred
Most
to.
at
likely they
14.
Records of dramatic
contests.
to fully realise the
the interest with which the various dramatic
regarded by the old Athenians, and
to
The
It
ficence.
The
were
was
greatest states-
be successful with a chorus in tragedy or
was a proof both of
comedy.
keenness of
contests
the value which
attached to victories obtained in them.
man was proud
con-
were of the same description.
modern times
It is difficult in
The
the Chytri have already been
his taste
and of his muni-
tragic poet held as high a place in the popular
estimation as the orator or the general.
Victorious competitors
were not content with the mere temporary glory they obtained.
Every care was taken to perpetuate the memory of their success
in a
permanent form.
Elaborate records were also erected by
A description
the state.
of the various kinds of memorials, of
which fragments have been preserved, will be a convincing

proof of the enthusiasm with which the drama was regarded in
ancient times.
It
may be assumed
that
from the
earliest period records
of the results of the different contests were preserved by the

*
Alciphron
iii.
48 KaKos KaKws
\oiTO Kal dcpojvos uij AiKVfxvios
dir6TTJs
\ov
UpoirofjiiToiis k.t.\.
rpayqjdias v-noKpnrjS. ws yap kviKa tovs
tivos, kv
avTir^xvovs Kpniav tov KKeoovaiov Kal
iriveiv
"Iniraaov rbv Aixfipajtiwriju tovs Alax^'
Athen.
'AvdpoviKov Si Tov rpaycpSov
p.
Ait'
584
ayu/vos
rovs ''Eniyovovs evrjiiep^Kti,
{xiWovTOS nap' airy k.t.\.
6o
In addition to
state in the public archives.

in
the
were
competitions
dramatic
monuments of some
this,
[Ch.
the choregi
accustomed
erect
to
commemoration of their
victory.
The inscriptions upon these monuments were of the
briefest character, and consisted merely of the names of the
poet and choregus, and of the archon for the year. Probably in
The following
later times the name of the actor was appended.
notice is from the monument erected by Themistocles in honour
sort or another in
of his victory with a tragic chorus in the year 476

Choregus, Themistocles of Phrearria
b.c.^
Poet, Phrynichus
Archon, Adeimantus.
monuments of
In addition to these choregic records, elaborate

various kinds were erected by the state in
or near to the
Considerable fragments of these monu-
theatre of Dionysus.
They may
ments have been discovered by recent excavations.
The
be divided into three classes.

records of
all
some one
the contests at
class consisted of
first
Such
particular festival.
records were of the most general description, and consisted
merely of a
list
Fragments have been
of victors' names.
covered of the records of the contests

during the
fifth
The
and fourth centuries I
The
throughout.
style is the
boys' choruses are mentioned
choruses of men, then comedy, and tragedy
last
dis-
City Dionysia
at the
first,
of
same
then the
all.
In the
dithyrambic contests the names of the victorious tribe and
choregus are given
victorious choregus
in the dramatic contests the
and
The only
poet.
the earlier and later portions of the record
end of the
fifth
be appended.
458,
is
century the
The
name
names
of the
difference between
is
that towards the
of the tragic actor begins to
following specimen, which refers to the year
of especial interest, since
it
was
lus brought out his Orestean tetralogy

Archonship of Philocles
in this
year that Aeschy-
Boys' chorus, tribe Oeneis
Choregus, Demodocus
Chorus
01
men,
tribe
Hippothontis
Choregus, Euctemon of Eleusis
114C.
Phit. Themist.
Corp. Inscr. Att.
ii.
971
'E^jy/i.
'ApxaioX. 1886, pt.
4.
RECORDS OF DRAMATIC CONTESTS.
I.]
6l
Comedy
Choregus, Eurycleides
Poet, Euphronius
Tragedy
Choregus, Xenocles of Aphidna
Poet, Aeschylus.
The second
class of public
monuments was devoted
record of one particular kind of contest at a particular

It
went
much
into
to the
festival.
greater detail than the class already
men-
Fragments of several monuments of this class have

There is part of a record of the tragic
contests at the Lenaea towards the end of the fifth century,
tioned.
been
preserved.
and of the
tragic contests at the City Dionysia in the fourth
There are fragments of a record of comic contests

the fourth century, and very considerable remains of a
century.
in
record of comic contests in the second century \

the names of
the
titles
all
lists
of the plays they produced, and the names of the actors
At the end comes the name of the actor

If there was any reproduction of
who performed them.

who won the prize for
acting.
an old tragedy or comedy, the name of the play

with the
In these
the competing poets are given, together with
name
of the actor.
The
is
given, together
following specimen
is
a record
of the tragic contests at the City Dionysia in the year 340
b. c.
Archonship of Nicomachus Satyric Play,

The Lycurgus of Timocles
Old Tragedy, actor Neoptolemus
:
Play, the Orestes of Euripides
Poets
With
Astydamas
first
the Parthenopaeus, actor Thessalus,
The Lycaon, actor Neoptolemus

Timocles second with the Phrixus,
Actor Thessalus,
The Oedipus, actor Neoptolemus:
Evaretus third
actor Thessalus,
,
actor Neoptolemus
Prize for acting, Thessalus.
The
records of the comic contests are numerous, but in no case
do they extend over a whole year. The general style of them

will be best exemplified by giving the first part of one year's
list,
and the
last part
1
of another
Corp. Inscr. Att.
ii.
972, 973, 975.
::
63
[Ch.
Archonship of Xenocles Old Comedy,

Actor Monimus
Play, Menander's Ghost
Poets Paranomus first with
:
Damon
Actor,
Criton second with the Aetolian,
Monimus
Actor,
Biottus third with the Poet,
Actor
Damon
&c., &c.
The
following
the termination of another
is
list
Sogenes fourth with the Devoted Slave,

Actor Hecataeus
Philemon the Younger fifth with the Girl of Miletus
Actor, Crates:
Prize for acting, Onesimus.
The
third class of
gether.
It
and comic
tragic
monument was of
consisted of
lists
poets,
a different kind alto-
of tragic and comic actors, and
with numerals after each of them,
denoting the number of victories they had
won
in the course
There were separate lists for the City

Dionysia and the Lenaea. There were consequently eight lists
their
of
in
all,
career.
Numerous fragments have been
four for each festival.
discovered, but unfortunately the most interesting parts are not
always the best preserved \
Still
they throw light upon several
One fragment
small points in connexion with the drama.
was eighteen. At any rate that is proved

number of his victories at the City Dionysia.
victories
the
won
represented as having
and
six at the
Suidas,
The
who
gives the total
following specimen
is
tallies
list
Cratinus
his victories as
of comic poets, with the
is
Phrynichus
Myrtilus
II.
Cratinus III.
nine^
number
Hermippus
I.
Telecleides V.
Aristomenes
have been
exactly with the account of
number of
of their victories at the City Dionysia

Xenophilus
to
three victories at the City Dionysia
This
Lenaea.
con-
number of Sophocles'
firms the account of Diodorus, that the
IIII.
II.
I,
Eupolis III.
Pherecrates II.
None
*
of the public monuments, of which fragments have been
Corp. Inscr. Att.
ii.
977.
Diod.
Sic. xiii,
103
Suidas
v.
Kparivos.
RECORDS OF DRAMATIC CONTESTS,
I.]
6^
recovered, appear to have been erected before the third century
But there can be no doubt that similar monuments had

existed at a much earHer period. These records, together with the
choregic inscriptions and the documents in the pubHc archives,
must have been the source from which Aristotle derived the
B.C.
information contained in his two books about the contests at the
Of
Dionysia.
Victories,'
these two books the
and though
is
it
first
was
called
'
Dionysiac
never quoted by ancient writers,
it
probably contained the same sort of information as the first and

third classes of public monuments.
The other book was called
the
'
Didascaliae,*
and
is
very frequently referred
from ^
It
festival,
together with the
It
contained
lists
was therefore similar
The
origin of the
title
names of
to
and quoted
who competed
of the poets
at
each
the plays they produced.
the second class of monuments.
to
of the book
is
as follows.
'
Didascalia,'
meant originally the teaching and training

then came to denote the play or group of plays
in its dramatic sense,
of a chorus.
It
produced by a poet
at
a single festival
^.
Lastly,
it
was used
to
denote a record of the circumstances of the production of a

play or group of plays.
as the
it
pilation
title
The work would
from existing records
For
his plays brought out vicariously,
name of
the nominal author
and not
that of the real poet.
sometimes brought out
instance,
it
must have
when
a poet
that the
in the public records,
Aristophanes usually brought
Then
again a poet's plays were
after his death in the
In these and similar cases
It
we cannot doubt
was entered
out his plays in this manner.
not be a mere com-
and monuments.
required some care and research.
had
sense that Aristotle used
It is in this
of his book.
name of
his son.
would be the duty of the compiler
of a work like Aristotle's to correct the mistakes of the public

records,
and
to substitute
poet of the play.
where necessary the name of the
Corrections of this kind were no doubt
by Aristotle and his successors.
The
real
made
Didascaliae of Aristotle
the ultimate source of our information as to the production
is
^
list
Diog. Laert.
v. i. 26.
complete
of the quotations from Aristotle's

is given in Bekker's Aris-
Ai8aaKa\iai
totle, vol. v. p. 1572.

^
80.
See above,
p. 21 note; chap.
ii.
p.
64
and the success of the plays of the great Athenian dramatists*

Callimachus, the grammarian of Alexandria, wrote a book of
a similar kind, based upon Aristotle's work.
It was from Calli-
machus
that Aristophanes,
the grammarian, derived the in-
formation which he incorporated in his Arguments to the Greek
The existing Arguments are mainly fragments of the

work of Aristophanes. The facts about the production of the
plays.
The
plays are thus ultimately derived from Aristotle \

ticity
strikingly proved
a year or two ago,
tallies
in
Suidas
V.
KaXXifiaxos
;
Schol. Aris-
Etym. Mag. v. irtVo^;

Grammat. Graec. de
list
of victors at
was dug up
at
Athens
every particular with the facts
recorded in the Argument to the
toph. Nub. 552

Trendelenberg,
The
by a recent discovery.
the City Dionysia for the year 458, which
authen-
of the information contained in these Arguments has been
Agamemnon
of Aeschylus ^.
Arte Trag. Judic. p. 3

^
'Ecprjfi.
foil,
'ApxaioK. i886, pt. 4.
above, p. 18.
See
CHAPTER
II.
THE PRODUCTION OF A
I,
PLAY.
The Poets,
It has already been pointed out that the dramatic perform-
ances at Athens were managed entirely by the

thing was
known
state.
No
such
as for an individual citizen to give an ex-
hibition of plays as a private speculation.
The drama was one
of the principal ornaments of the great festivals of Dionysus,
and the regulation of the drama was as much the duty of the
government as the management of a public sacrifice or other
religious ceremonial.
Of
the two festivals to which dramatic
performances were confined, the Lenaea was superintended
by the archon
fore to
archon eponymus was reThese two archons had there-
basileus, while the
sponsible for the City Dionysia ^
undertake the general arrangement of the dramatic
They had
exhibitions at their respective festivals.
do with the
details of preparation.
not
much
to
Their functions mainly
consisted in selecting the proper persons, and setting them to
work, and seeing that they performed their duties
At Athens
this
satisfactorily.
was a matter of some complexity.
Several
persons had to co-operate in the production of a play.
The
who
expenses of the chorus were defrayed by the choregus,

fulfilled this duty as one of the public burdens to which the
richer citizens
were
liable.
chorus trained, by the poet.
The
The
play was written, and the

principal actor, at
poet by
lot.
any rate
was chosen by the state, and assigned to the

It was the duty of the archon to bring together
in later times,
Pollux
viii.
89, 90,
THE PRODUCTION OF A PLAY.
^fi
[Ch.
these three persons, the choregus, the poet, and
and
It
to see that they did not neglect the
is
the object of the present chapter to explain
the system on which
the actor,
work of preparation.
in
detail
these preliminary arrangements were
conducted, as well as the other circumstances which attended

the production of a play at Athens.
When
a poet wished to bring out a play, he sent in his
application to the archon.
he was a young
If
probably be content to exhibit
at
apply to the archon basileus.
The
exhibition were carefully examined
for
to
select,
he would
City Dionysia was re-
The
served for the more distinguished poets.
proceeded
poet,
Lenaea, and would
the
plays offered
by the archon, who
from among the various applicants, the
number of poets required by the particular festival \

If it
was tragedy at the City Dionysia that he was superintending,
three poets would be chosen.
If it was comedy, the number
of poets would be three, or in later times five.
When a
poet applied for permission to exhibit, he was said to
ask
for a chorus,* because the first step taken by the archon
was to assign him a choregus, who defrayed the expenses of
^
his chorus.
Similarly,
when
the archon acceded to a poet's
him a chorus ^.' The number

of applicants must often have been very large, especially for
the City Dionysia; and to decide between their rival claims
would be a task of great delicacy. It appears that the whole
responsibility was thrown upon the archon.
It was he who
selected the poets, and assigned the choruses ^
It was inevitable that functions of this kind should sometimes have been
performed with partiality and unfairness. An author who had
interest with the archon for the year would have a better
chance of obtaining a chorus than a mere stranger. Mention
application,
Suidas
V.
he was said
x^poi/
SiSojfii'
to 'grant
ev taw
t&
(vSoKificTv Kal vikSlv irapa ycip rots Â9t]j/atots
xopoO
TpayaiBias
v8oKifJi.ovuTs
To
eTvyx^^(>^
iToirjTai
KOI
ov
KwpxuZlas
iravres
d\ka
doKifiadOfVTfs
Kal
ol
aîoi.
be allowed to compete was an

honour, but was not regarded as a vietory, as Suidas asserts.
The title of
was reserved for the poet who

obtained the first place in the competition.
See chap. I, p. 55.
^ Athen. p. 638 F
Suidas 1. c.
^ Aristot. Poet. c.
Cratinus, Bov5
victor
KiXoi^ frag.
Gr.
ii.
I,
(Meineke Frag. Com.
p. 27),
THE POETS,
'
II.]
6T
made of an archon who
refused a chorus to the great comic

Another archon is said to have given a chorus
to one Cleomachus in preference to Sophocles \
The only
check upon such favouritism was public opinion. In a place
is
poet Cratinus.
like Athens,
where the magistrates were
entirely at the
mercy
of the people, and were subjected to severe scrutiny at the end
of their year of
office,
it
would be impossible
to disregard public opinion in a very flagrant
therefore probable that in most cases the
an archon
for
manner.
best poets
It is
were
chosen.
It is
often stated erroneously that there
was a law regulating
One
the age at which poets were permitted to compete.
of the
on the Clouds says that no poet was allowed
scholiasts
exhibit until
he had reached the age of
to
Another
thirty.
These are the only

any such law^ Their state-
scholiast puts the age at forty or thirty.
authorities for the existence of
ments upon the point appear

to explain the fact that
his plays in his
own
be mere conjectures, invented
to
Aristophanes did not
confused recollection of the law that no

to a
at first
produce
Possibly they were misled by a
person.
man
could be choregus
chorus of boys until he had reached the age of
forty.
In
regard to poets, there cannot have been any law of the kind
they mention. Take the case of Aristophanes. His first play

was the Banqueters, which he brought out in another man's
name in 427, while he was still almost a boy.* Three years
If he was
later he brought out the Knights in his own name.
'
almost a boy in 427, he cannot have been anything like thirty

exhibited the Knights I The other great poets began
when he
to exhibit at a
Aeschylus was only twenty-five
very early age.
Sophocles won his
at the time of his first dramatic contest.

first tragic
Euripides began
victory at the age of twenty-eight.
contend when he was twenty-six

been required was that the poet should have reached the age of
twenty, passed his docimasia, and been enrolled in the list of
to
All that appears to have
*.
Cratinus
"^
Schol. Aristoph.
1.
Aristoph. Equites.
c.
Nub. 510, 530.

Schol. Aristoph. Ran. 504 Arg.
;
to
F 2
Suidas
ep. 56
Aio-xuAoj
v.
Vita
Eurip.
Mannor
Par.
68
Before this
citizens.
it
[Ch,
not likely that he would be allowed
is
Eupolis
to take part in the contests.
seventeen when he began
to
is
said to have been only
produce comedies.
But
if this
was really the case, probably his earlier plays were brought out
by friends, and not in his own name ^
It seems to have been not an uncommon practice for a poet
to have his plays produced by a friend, instead of coming
forward in his own person. Various reasons might induce him
In the first place a young poet might feel diffident
to do so.
of his powers, and might wish to conceal his identity until he
had tested them by experience. This seems to have been the
reason
why
the
three plays of Aristophanes, the Ban-
first
and the Acharnians, were produced
queters, the Babylonians,
by
Callistratus ^
own name
till
Aristophanes did not come forward in his
when he brought
the year 424,
out his Knights.
In the parabasis of this play he explains at some length the
reasons which induced him to keep in the background at
His reasons were partly the
difficulty
first.
of writing comedies,
partly the fickleness of the Athenians, partly a feeling that
one ought
to
proceed warily in the business, and advance by
slow degrees, just as the steersman of a ship begins by serving

as a
He
common oarsman.
says nothing about any law which
would have prevented him producing
own
name, but
modesty.
ascribes
his
his early plays in his
conduct
entirely to
youthful
Referring to the same subject in the Clouds he
expresses similar ideas in a metaphorical way, by saying that at

the time
virgin,
when
the Banqueters
and too young
to
came out
his
Muse was
have a child of her
still
own^
One
reason then for this vicarious production of plays was merely

the diffidence of youth, and a desire to
anonymously.
A second
which actuated old
make
and quite a
poets,
the
first
experiments
different motive
when they allowed
their
was
that
sons to
bring out their plays, and have the credit of the authorship, in
^
2
de
Suidas
S^/zos
V. EuTroXts.
Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 531; Anon.

Comoed. (Dindorf, Prolegom. de
Comoed.
p. 24)
Suidas
v.
Xa/juuv 6
Arg. Aristoph. Acharn.
Aristoph.
528-531.
Equit.
512-544,
Nub.
THE POETS.
11.]
69
order to give them a successful start in their dramatic career,
Aristophanes for this reason entrusted to his son Araros the

production of his two latest comedies.
own name
pected of exhibiting in his
Sophocles \
who had
was
third case
lophon also was
sus-
the tragedies of his father
which wealthy
that in
citizens,
a wish for poetical distinction, bought plays from
needy authors, and exhibited them as their own. Plato, the

is said to have been compelled by
poverty to sell his comedies in this manner \
A fourth
poet of the Old Comedy,
reason was probably the desire to avoid the labour and the
The
trouble of bringing out a play.
earlier dramatic poets
were stage-managers as well as authors, and the superintendence of the production of a play was part of the business
of their profession.
But in later times when play-writing had
a tendency to become more entirely a literary pursuit, authors
appear to have entrusted their plays to friends who had more
experience in theatrical
trainer might
affairs.
It is
true that a professional
who thoroughly understood
be procured,
the
amount of
upon the person
in whose name the play was brought out, and to whom the
archon granted the chorus. It was most likely some reason of
this kind which induced the tragic poet Aphareus never to
bring out his plays in his own name^ He was quite as much a
rhetorician as a dramatist, and probably knew nothing at all
about the details of stage-management. Though he exhibited
tragedies on eight occasions, they were always entrusted for
business of producing a play.
But
still
a certain
trouble and responsibility must have devolved
production to a friend.
similar reason
may have induced
Aristophanes, during the middle of his career, to entrust so
many
stance,
of his plays to Callistratus and Philonides.

the
Callistratus,
Birds
and
the Wasps,
For
in-
were exhibited by
Frogs, and the
In addition to the examples
the
Lysistrata
the
Proagon, the
Amphiaraus by Philonides*.
already mentioned there are other instances of vicarious pro^
1
Arg. to Aristoph. Plutus
Schol.
Aristoph. Ran. 73.

^ Suidas V, 'ApKaSas itifiovîvoi,
Pliit.
X orat.
Args. to
Vesp., Ran.
*
839 D.
Aristoph.
Av.,
Lysist.,
70
duction,
where
really were.
it
very
is
Philip,
difficult to
[Ch.
discover what the motives
one of the sons of Aristophanes,
is
said to
have frequently competed with plays of Eubulus.* The Autolycus of Eupolis was brought out by an obscure poet called
'
Demostratus\
may have been
In these cases there
circumstances which are
unknown
But as
to us.
special
our
far as
information goes, the only plausible reasons for having plays
brought out vicariously appear
to
be the four already men-
tioned, the timidity of youth, the stress of poverty, kindness
towards a
or the desire
relative,
escape
to
responsibility.
For instance
Other reasons have been suggested.
has been
it
conjectured that on certain occasions a poet's friend might
have a better chance than the poet himself of obtaining a
But there does not seem
chorus from the archon.
plausibility in the suggestion.

to
obtain
The
only ones which stand the
be much
a poet
likely
of well-
reasons already given are the
test of
examination.
between the poet and the friend who

him a few points require to be noticed.
to the relationship
produced his plays

It
to
one would be more
a chorus from the archon than
established reputation.
As
No
for
was the nominal poet who made the
application to the archon,
received the chorus, and undertook the whole responsibility
At the same time
often perfectly well

this
appears that the name of the real poet was
it
would not be
Of course
known.
so.
When
if
secrecy was an object,
a father gave his plays to his son,
he kept his own name concealed.
The
real authorship
was
lophon was merely suspected of

having competed with the plays of his father Sophocles, and
only revealed in later times.
was not known
But in other
to have done so.
was known from the very first. Aristothe Knights says that many people had been asking
for certain
instances the real poet
phanes
in
him why he gave

a chorus in his
and did not ask
his plays to Callistratus,
own name.
Again
in the
brought out by Philonides, the chorus refer

^
Vit. Aristoph. (Dindf.
Comoed.
Prolegom. de
39); Athen. p. 216 D.

Âristoph. Equit. 512, 513 d
BaviiAûv
TrpoaiovTas,
p.
5^
vfiwv
\
for
Wasps, which was

to the
(prjffiv
author of
iroWovs
avrw
KalPaaavlêiVfWsovxlrrdXcu
x^poj' aiTot?/ /cad' lavroj' tf.T.A.
APPOINTMENT OF CHOREGL
11.]
71
the play in terms which are only applicable to Aristophanes \

It
follows that from the very
plays of Aristophanes was
most
is
it
likely that
prosecuted by Cleon,
when
less
Hence
was
an open secret.
the author of the Babylonians
was the
it
the real authorship q{ the
first
more or
and
At the
real author Aristophanes,
not the nominal author Callistratus,
who was
attacked.
same time the nominal author was the one officially recognised
by the state. There can be no doubt that it was his name
which was entered as victor in the public archives, and that he
received the prize and the other rewards of victory, such as
The
the public proclamation and the crown.
existing dida-
scaliae in cascb of vicarious production give the
name
real author, with a note to the effect that the play
was
brought out by such and such a person.
been the form adopted originally
must be due
To
return
Appointment of
actually
This can hardly have
in the public records,
to the corrections of Aristotle
2.
of the
but
and his successors.
the Choregt.
the preliminary arrangements in connexion
to
with the dramatic exhibitions.
For every play or group of
plays a choregus was required to provide and pay for the
The appointment
chorus.
archon was
of the choregi was a matter for
For the dithyrambic

contests each tribe was bound to provide one choregus.
These contests, as was pointed out in the last chapter, were
which
the
responsible'''.
There were five choruses of boys

and each of the ten tribes took part
and provided one choregus and one chorus.
essentially a tribal affair.
and
five
choruses of men
in the contest,
But
it is
a mistake to apply the
comic choruses, and
same system
each
supply a choregus for tragedy and comedy as well.
tribe
had
The
dramatic contests had nothing to do with the
to
and
to the tragic
to suppose, as is usually done, that
were contests between
individuals.
tribes,
but
Consequently the choregi
were chosen without distinction from the whole body of the

citizens, and were not specially appointed by the tribes.
^
Aristoph. Equites
I.e.,
Vespae 1016-1022.
Demosth. Meid.
13.
7a
Whenever a man
is
said to have been choregus for his tribe,
a chorus of boys or
is
it
dramatic chorus \
[Ch.
men
that
referred
is
If each of the ten tribes
to,
and not a
had suppHed a
choregus for the dramatic choruses, there would have been
more of them than was necessary, since the number of tragic

and comic choruses at any one festival was never more than
As far then as
eight, and in early times was only six or five.
the
choregi
are
concerned,
were chosen,
tragedy and comedy
without any distinction of tribe, from the general body of
citizens.
The dramatic choregia was a burden, which, like the
other public burdens, had to be undertaken in turn by the
members of the wealthier Classes. The order was fixed by
But a man of more than usual ambition or generosity
law.
might volunteer
for the office of
The defendant
turn.
in
choregus out of his proper
one of the speeches of Lysias points
out that he had been choregus to no less than eight choruses

in a space of nine years, in addition to such
He
war-tax and the trierarchy.
adds that
expenses as the
if
undertaken such burdens as he was compelled

law,
he had only
to
perform by
he would not have spent a quarter of the money^
A man was liable to be selected as choregus as soon as he

had reached the age of twenty, and been enrolled as a full
The defendant
citizen.
in the
speech of Lysias just referred
to passed his docimasia in the archonship of

in that
Theopompus, and
very same year he acted as choregus to a tragic chorus,
and to a chorus of men ^ There was a law that no one should

be choregus to a boys' chorus till he had reached the age of
But this law had nothing to do with the choruses of men,
forty.
There was occasionnumber of rich men to

In the time of Demosthenes the tribe Pandionis
Or the choruses in tragedy or comedy*.

ally
some
the
fill
was
difficulty in finding
office.
for three years unable to supply a
At a much
rambic contests.
^
a sufficient
Demosth. Meid.
13;
Plut.
Isaeus orat. v. 36,

835 B
where to be choregus to one's tribe is
contrasted with being choregus to a
tragic chorus. Corp. Inscr. Gr. 2 24, &c.
orat.
choregus for the dithy-
earlier period,
towards the end of
Lysias orat. xxi. 1-5.
Lysias
Aeschin. Timarch. 11, 12
1.
c.
pocrat. v. oti vofios.
Har-
APPOINTMENT OF CHOREGf,
II.]
War, when
the Peloponnesian
there had been long and heavy
drains upon the resources of the state,

to lighten the
T^
it
burden of the choregia.
was found necessary
Accordingly in 406 a
law was passed enacting that each dramatic chorus
at the City
Dionysia should be provided by two choregi instead of one.

the cost to individuals was diminished by half\ The
same law was probably passed in reference to the choruses at
the Lenaea.
It was only a temporary expedient, due to the
distress caused by the Peloponnesian War.
At any rate there
Thus
are several instances in later times of single individuals acting
For example, a certain AristO'
as choregi to tragic choruses.
phanes was
tragic
choregus twice, Meidias once^.
Towards
the end of the fourth century, or the beginning of the third,

the choregia
introduced in
was abolished
its
altogether.
The
stead.
new system was
providing and the training of
was undertaken by the state, and an officer

called the Agonothetes was elected annually to carry out the
arrangements. His duties would mainly consist in providing
the choruses
all
the
dithyrambic
choruses.
By
the beginning of the third
century the chorus had practically disappeared from comedy.
Athens was in most cases confined to the reprO'

duction of old plays, and it is very doubtful whether in these
reproductions the chorus was retained in its integrity. Such
Tragedy
at
dramatic choruses as were
still
required in this late period were
provided by the Agonothetes, acting as the representative of

the people ^
When
the archon had selected the poets
be performed
made up
at the
approaching
festivâl,
who were
of the choregi
whose plays were to

list had been
and the
to supply the choruses, the
next thing to be done was to arrange the choregi and poets
Each choregus had one poet assigned to

him, for whose chorus he was responsible. There is no definite information as to the manner in which this arrangement
together in pairs.
Demosth. Meid.
13; Schol. Aris-
toph. Ran. 406.
Lysias orat. xix. 29, 42

Meid. 156.
^
Corp. Inscr. Gr. 225, 226; Corp.
Att. ii. 302, 307, 314, 331 ;

Kohler's article in Mittheil, des deut.
Inscr.
Dem.
arch, Inst.
iii.
p.
231
ff.
74
was carried out

of the
will
it
in the case
But
of tragic and comic choruses.
of the dithyrambic choruses there are
in the case
[Ch.
full
accounts
which similar arrangements were made ; and

not be difficult, from the analogy of these proceedings, to
manner
form a
in
conception of the proceedings in regard to
fairly clear
Every dithyrambic chorus required a
tragedy and comedy.

flute-player.
These
flute-players
were
first
selected
by the
and then distributed among the different choregi.
Some
time before the festival a meeting of the ecclesia was
held, at
state,
which the distribution took place under the superintendence of

the archon.
The proceedings were quite public, and any
Athenian citizen who wished could be present.
was
The system
There were of course ten choregi and ten

The choregi first drew lots for order of choice,
as follows.
flute-players.
and then each chose
his
own
flute-player.
The choregus who
had obtained the privilege of choosing first selected the fluteplayer whom he considered to be the best of the ten. So they
went on till all the flute-players were chosen. The scene was
a lively one.
The
success of the choregus, and in consequence
the success of his tribe, depended to a certain extent upon his
luck in getting a good or bad flute-player.
Hence
the whole
process was followed with the greatest interest by the crowds
As each
of spectators present.
lot
was drawn, the
result
was
greeted with expressions of triumph or disappointment by the

partisans of the different choregi ^
The above
information
is
derived from the account given by Demosthenes, in the speech

against Meidias, of the preliminary arrangements for the dithy-
Nothing
rambic contests.
assignation of the poets.
is
there said about the choice or
Probably in
this contest
only old dithy-
rambs were reproduced, and there were no poets to be assigned.

That such was often the case is proved by inscriptions ^ But
* Demosth.
Meid.
Arg. to Meidias, p. 510.
^
13,
14;
2nd
Mittheil. desdeut. arch.Inst. x.p. 231
IHiKias NtKoSrjfjLov3unTaiojvdv0i]KviKri-
aas
Kiaiv
xop-q-yoji/
Ke/epoTriSi
îKvuvios r}v\f
iraiSuv Tlavraaafia
TifioOfov Niaixfios ^px^v-
'E\irrjvup
In this case
was the Elpenor of the celebrated poet Timotheus.

When old dithyrambs were performed,
and no poet was necessary, a professional trainer was hired to look after
Such was the SiMcKaXos
the chorus.
mentioned by Demosthenes (Meid. 17)1.
the dithyramb performed
THE SELECTION OF THE ACTORS.
II.]
when
75
was with original dithyrambs, and poets were

required, they seem to have been allotted to the choregi in much
the same manner as the flute-players.
The defendant in one
the contest
of the speeches of Antiphon says
chorus of boys
to a
assigned to him by
that,
when he was choregus
at the Thargelia, the
poet Pantacles was
The system then
lot \
in the case of the
dithyrambic choruses was that at a meeting of the ecclesia, held
under the superintendence of the archon, the choregi drew lots

for the flute-players, and (where necessary) for the poets.
Probably much the same system was adopted in tragedy and
Some
comedy.
time before the festival the choregi would
meet, and after the order of choice had been determined by
each choregus would choose his poet.
lot,
depended upon
comedy, as
who
allotment,
this
in the case of the
much
dithyrambic contests.
choregus
obtained an inferior poet would be heavily handicapped in
the competition
unambitious
and a poet who was joined
individual will,
was
mean and
to
If a
be decided by
to
left
would have given endless opportunities
it
unfairness and favouritism.

evil
to a
choregus would be equally unfortunate.
matter of such importance had been
an
Quite as
the case of tragedy and
in
The
for
best precaution against such
arrange the matter by
lot.
Selection of the Actors.
3.
Poets and choregi having been associated together in pairs,

there
still
remained the selection and appointment of the
The manner
in
derably at different periods.

first.
To
consi-
take the case of tragic actors
Before the time of Aeschylus, when tragedy was more
Antiphon
orat.
Xoprjybs KaTTTa6r]v
vi.
fls
11
t-nn'bri
(dapyrjXia Kal
hiSjvrfruvrpaycfhiojv.'AvTiipojvlv Tunrtpl
tov xop^vrov'
eXaxov,
on yap
HavraKXea diSdcKaXov k.t.K.

Pantacles was a poet, and not a mere
SiddcrKaKov
trainer of choruses, like the 8i8d<TKaKos
\iais.
hired by Demosthenes.
fessional trainer
fkaxov
by a passage
in
This
Etym. Mag.
is
v.
proved
SiddaKa-
\os' iSiusSidaaKoKovsKeyovaivoiÂTriKol
TOVS
actors.
which they were appointed differed very
irOlTJTCLS
TUV dlOvjMfiÔJV Tj
TOIV KMfM^-
<prj<n,
5(5tiXo}Kv 'ApiaroreXrjs kv
The
When
HavraKXia
6 IlavTaK\7Js
rah
iroirjTrjs,
AiSaffna-
was a poet, a prowas not usually required,
there
poet undertook the training of the
chorus.
THE PRODUCTION OF A PLA F.
^6
[Ch.
a lyrical than a dramatic performance, consisting of long choral
odes interspersed with
recitatives,
actors did not exist as a
Only one actor was required in each play, and

was taken by the poet\ But when Aeschylus increased
the number of actors to two, and converted tragedy from a
separate class.
his part
lyrical into a
in their
own
dramatic form of
plays,
and the
art,
the poets ceased to perform
came
actor's profession
into exist-
For the next fifty years or so it does not appear that the
any part in the selection of the actors. It left the
matter in the hands of the poets.
Particular actors are found
to have been permanently connected with particular poets.
ence.
state took
Aeschylus
and
to
in the
is said to have first employed Cleander as his actor,

have afterwards associated a second actor with him
person of Mynniscus.
for Sophocles.
It
is
Tlepolemus acted continuously
stated,
on the authority of
Ister,
that
Sophocles was accustomed to write his plays with a view to
This
the capacities of his actors ^

not,
shows
that
grew
in
The
any
rate during
As
the
left
system was altogether changed.
to the choice of individual poets, but

state.
at
importance their selection was no longer
century the
actors
whether true or
But long before the end of the
the earlier part of his career.

fifth
story,
he chose his actors himself,
actors chosen by the state
was undertaken by the

were distributed among
lot.
Towards the end of the fifth century we
no longer hear of particular poets and actors being perma-
the poets by
nently connected together.
The
statement of
Thomas
Magister,
Cephisophon was the actor of Euripides, appears

be a mere conjecture, as Cephisophon is nowhere else
that
Under
scribed in that way.
the
new arrangement
the
to
de-
mode
of
was as follows. Three protagonists were first of

all selected by the archon.
There is no information as to the
way in which they were selected. They may have been chosen
by means of a small competition, similar to that between comic
distribution
actors at the Chytri.
by the
*
state,
Aristot. Rhet.
^ Vit.
The
subordinate actors were not chosen
but each protagonist was allowed to provide his
Aeschyl.
iii.
;
i.
Schol. Aristoph. Clouds 1267
Vit. Soph,
and Eurip.
THE SELECTION OF THE ACTORS.
II.]
own
When
deuteragonist and tritagonist.
77
the three leading
actors had been chosen they were assigned to the three com-
peting tragic poets by
Probably the system was the same
lot.
as in the assignation of the flute-players to the dithyrambic
The poets would first draw lots for order of choice,

and then each poet would choose his actor. The actor performed all the tragedies of the poet to whom he was allotted.^
choruses.
Thus
418 the three tragedies of Callistratus were acted by
in
Callippides
the three tragedies of his rival were acted
The
Lysicrates.
actor
who won
the prize for acting
by
was per-
mitted to compete as a matter of course at the next festival
without having to submit to the process of selection by the
Such was the system adopted during the
archon.
of the
mined
century \
fifth
;
How
when we come
but
a further alteration
this time the
is
long
to the
latter half
lasted cannot be
it
deter-
middle of the fourth century,
By
found to have been introduced.
importance of the actors had increased to a
greater extent.
In
Aristotle says that in
fact,
success of a play depended
much more upon
his
still
day the
the actor than
was probably felt that under the old arrangement

the poet who obtained by lot the greatest actor had an unfair
advantage over his rivals. A new system was therefore introduced, by which the talents of the actors were divided with
perfect equality among the poets. Each tragedy was performed
the poet^
Suidas
It
vîxrjaus
V.
vnoKpiTwv'
01
iroiijTal kXdfifiavov rpeis viroKpiras KX-qpcp
ve/xr]9evTas,
vnoKpivofiifovs
S)v 6 viKTjaas els
pdverai.
The
ra dpafmra'
Tovniov dfcpiTos irapaXafiinterpretation
of
this
passage had long been a mystery ; but

the discovery of the existence of an
actors' contest, side by side with that
between the poets, has made the matter
comparatively
d-as
clear.
Obviously
6 vlkt]-
denotes, not the victorious poet,
nor yet the actor who acted for him,

but the actor who won the prize for
ToviTiov apparently means ' the
acting.
next
festival.'
The victorious actor was
allowed to act at the next festival as a

matter of course. The ' three actors
'
are the three protagonists required at
each tragic contest, and not the three

by each poet. This is
proved by the words cSf oviKrjcas, which
imply that the three actors mentioned
all took part in the actors' contest.
But
actors required
the actors' contest
protagonists
the
was limited
to the
subordinate
actors
had nothing to do with it. See chapter

Moreover, it is known that in
I, p. 56.
the time of Demosthenes the subordinate actors were hired by the protagoand this was probably the case
nists
Cp. Demosth.
at a much earlier period.
;
Fals.
Leg.
NioiTToXifiov
10
cx'"*'
"lax^^^pov rbv
SevTepaycovKXTrjv,
246 de Cor. 262.

^ Aristot Rhet. iii.
;
Ibid,
THE PRODUCTION OF A PLAY,
78
by a separate
[Ch.
All the actors appeared in turn in the
actor.
Thus in 341 Astydamas exhibited

His Achilles was acted by Thessalus, his
service of each of the poets.
three tragedies.
Athamas by Neoptolemus,
his
Antigone by Athenodorus.
The
three tragedies of each of his competitors were performed by

the
same three
actors
By
actors \
advantage over his
rivals,
was concerned
all
this
arrangement no poet had any
but as far as the excellence of the
were on exactly the same
system just described appears
to
The
level.
have been retained without
alteration during the remaining period of Attic tragedy.
The mode
same as
of distributing the actors in comed}^ was
that in tragedy.
century the poets were
comic poet Crates

Cratinus.
But
is
During the
left to
much
the
earlier part of the fifth
choose their own actors. Thus the
said to have
in later times
begun his career as actor
no instances are
to
to
be found of
comic actors being permanently connected with particular poets.
The
story that Philonides and Callistratus were actors of Aristo-
is a mere fiction of one of the old commentators, based

upon a misunderstanding ^ It is evident, therefore, that the
state began to undertake the selection and appointment of the
comic actors about the same time that a corresponding change
phanes
was made in regard to tragedy. No doubt the mode of distribution was identical. The actors were first appointed by the
state, and the poets then drew lots for them.
As the comic
poets competed with single plays, only one method of distribution was possible, and there was no need of the further alteration which was afterwards made in tragedy.
The number of
poets in the comic contests was originally three, and in later
times five. A corresponding number of actors would be required.
Sometimes however a smaller number was selected,
and one actor appeared in two comedies. In 353 Aristomachus
was the actor assigned both to Simylus and Diodorus. In later
times
^
Damon
is
Corp. Inscr, Att.

Schol.
found occasionally acting in two comedies

ii.
Aristoph.
973.
Equit.
at
certain plays of Aristophanes were

brought out by Philonides and Callis-
534
Vita Aristoph. (Dindf. Prolegom. de
Comoed. p. 36). The commentator,
concluded
misunderstanding the expression that
actors.
tratus (ISiSdx^'? Sta
that
^CK(avihov
these
persons
k.t.\.),
were
THE TRAINING OF THE CHORUS.
II.]
same competition \
the
not likely that such a course was
It is
adopted except on occasions when

five
comic actors of
it
was impossible
to obtain
fairly equal merit.
The training of
4.
79
The archon had now
the
Chorus.
for the present finished his part of the
He had seen that the proper number of poets, actors,

business.
and choregi had been chosen. He had seen that each choregus
was provided with his own poet and actor. It was now the
duty of choregus and poet to attend to the subsequent preThe choregus was
parations.
responsible for the selection and
payment of the chorus. He had also to provide a room for

them to rehearse in ^ Very little is known concerning the
Such few
relations between the choregus and his chorus.
details as
have been recorded refer rather
contests between the tribes,
selected exclusively from the tribe which
competition.
Each
tribe
to the dithyrambic,
The dithyrambic
were
and each dithyrambic chorus was
than to the dramatic, choruses.
contests
represented in the
it
had a specially appointed agent, who
was employed by the choregus to collect his chorus for him'.

But the drama had nothing to do with the tribes, and there was
no limitation upon the selection of the dramatic choruses.
Aristotle happens in one place to remark that a tragic and
a comic chorus often consisted of much the same individual
the dramatic
It is quite clear, therefore, that
members \
choruses were chosen from the general body of citizens, and
not from particular tribes, and that a man might serve in two
There was probably
of these choruses at the same time.
a class of professional singers who made their livelihood by
serving in the dramatic choruses. A rich choregus would have
a great advantage over his rivals by offering higher pay, and so
securing better singers. The stories about the boarding and
1
Corp. Inscr. Att.
Xen. Hiero
13.
The
ix.
training
ii.
4,
972, 975 c and^T.

Resp. Athen. i.
room was
bi^cKaKuov (Antiphon
called
orat. vi. 11),
or xPni^^^^ (Bekk. Anecd. p. 72, 17
Pollux
^
iv.io6.
*
iv.
106,
Antiphon
ix.
42).
orat. vi.
11-13
Pollux
The agent was called xo/JoA-c/fTT/s.
Aristot. Pol.
iii.
3.
Hq
[Ch.
lodging of the choreutae also refer mainly to the dithyrambic

choruses.
chorus
in
The choregus in Antiphon's speech lodged his

his own house, and gave special directions that every
delicacy which
But
for them.
who
was ordered by the trainer should be provided

this was a chorus of boys.
The professionals
served in the dramatic choruses are not likely to have been
lodged in the house of the choregus, especially as they were
same time. However,

was well attended to, so
often in the service of two choregi at the
seems that the
it
diet of the choruses
members should appear
that the
in the best possible condition
on the day of the contests. Plutarch mentions eels, lettuce,

garlic, and cheese as delicacies provided for the choruses. The
appetite of the Attic choreutae passed into a proverb \
During the
earlier period of the
Athenian drama the principal
part in the training and instruction of the chorus
taken by the poet himself
poem
the regular
fact,
was underat Athens
name
or dithyrambic poet was didaskalos, or *the
for a dramatic
owing
teacher,*
In
to the part
he took
teaching his play or
in
when
In the same way,
to the chorus.
a poet brought
out a tragedy or a comedy, the technical expression was that
he 'taught* such and such a play.

The play, or group
of plays, exhibited by a single poet was called a teaching ^'
'
In
addition
sions,
the
to
there
is
also
evidence
by these
supplied
no lack of
expres-
testimony as to the
direct
important part taken by the older poets in the production of

In
their plays.
The
poets.
fact,
much stage-managers
they were quite as
as
older dramatic writers, such as Thespis, Pratinas,
and Phrynichus, were called Mancers,' not only

prominent part which the chorus and the
Cratinus,
because of the
dancing
filled
struction
in
Antiphon
Athen. 349 A
in their plays,
choric
I.e.
dancing.
Plutarch
Glor.
ws
dpiaTivSrjv OKwirrovTis yap r^v yaarpifiapyiav
jSiV
Suidas
v. (papvyyivSrjv
xop^vraiv
'Attikoi
ovtoj
but also because they gave
Aeschylus
Anthol. Pal.
vii.
said
(TKaKiTjs
Plut. Pericles
fikv uffirep
dper^v
to
in-
have
37 (of a mask of An-
tigone or Electra) l
voirjs
154
ijSe
Sida-
d\\' "Icova
rpayiK^v SidacKaXiav dîovvra

cx^ti' Ti iravTcos Koi ffarvpiKov
Kiyovai.
rfjv
Suidas V. SiSdffKaXos ; Aristoph.

Ran, 1026 fJra diSdâs Utpaas k.t.\.
fxepos Iwficv,
'
is
THE TRAINING OF THE CHORUS,
II,]
8r
superintended personally the whole of the training of his

choruses, and to have invented
ments
many new dances and move-
His innovations
for them.
in
regard to the scenery and
the dresses of the actors entirely transformed the outward
appearance of the drama \
This intimate connexion between
the poet and the stage, between the literary and the theatrical
part of dramatic production, continued to exist during the great
period of Athenian drama.
some of
the Nausicaa he
Sophocles appeared personally in
In the Thamyris he played the harp.
his plays.
won
great applause by the
played ball in the scene where Nausicaa
maidens ^
skill
is
In
with which he
sporting with her
Euripides also seems to have superintended the
training of his
choruses in person, as there
a story in
is
Plutarch which represents him as singing over one of his odes

to the choreutae ^
Originally then the principal part of the training was done
He was
assisted in his task
by a subor-
after the routine part of the
work, and
by the poet himself
who looked
dinate,
was
called a hypodidaskalos, or âssistant teacher.'
This was
the proper term to denote the professional trainer, as opposed to
But towards the end of the
the didaskalos, or poet ^
fifth
and
the beginning of the fourth century the practice in these matters
Poetry and stage-management began to
underwent a change.
A class
be sharply discriminated from one another.
of literary
dramatic writers arose, such as Theodectes and Aphareus,
were quite as much rhetoricians as
who
They knew nothing
poets.
about the details of training a chorus, or preparing a play for
Under these circumstances the greater part of

management was undertaken by the professional trainer.
representation.
the
The term
didaskalos, which had originally been confined to the
poet,
was now applied
came
into existence
to these hired trainers ^
who made
One
instruction of choruses.
^
Athen. pp. 21 C, 22
schyli;
(vol.
i.
A;
Vit.
Philostrat. Vit. Apol.

p. 220, ed.
Eustath. Odyss. p. 1553.
Plut.
their business to look after the
of these,
Ae-
named Sannio,
Photius
536 A.
11
p.
Kayser).
"
De
vi.
it
v. i/rroSiSd<raAos
Thus the
trainer hired
sthenesfor his chorus
Dem. Meid.
Andiendo, 46 B.
A class of men
17.
is
is
;
men-
Plat.
Ion
by Demo-
called 5tSa(ryfa\os,
Hz
[Ch.
by Demosthenes, and was celebrated for his skill in

These professional trainers were
tragic choruses.
tioned
training
hired and paid by the choregus.
rich choregus
advantage in being able to secure the most
had a great
trainer.
skilful
Socrates mentions the case of a certain choregus called Antisthenes,
who knew
himself, but
or nothing about music and choruses
little
was always successful
he took care
procurable \
in his competitions,
because
provide himself with the very best trainers
to
obvious that in these later times,
It is
when
the
poets ceased to attend to the details of stage-management, the
importance of the professional trainers must have very much
The
increased.
good trainer would be one of the
hiring of a
conditions of success.
first
Expenses of
5.
It
will
now be
possible to
the Choregia.
form some conception of the
expenses which the choregus had to meet.
The
principal
item was the hire of the chorus during the whole period of
training.
This part of the expenditure was borne entirely by
the choregus without any assistance from the stated

again,
he had
to
provide an instructor for his chorus.
Then
As the
competition between rich choregi was of the keenest character,

the services of a really good instructor must have been expensive.
In the third place, a flute-player was required.
In
the dithyrambic choruses the flute-players were selected by the

Dem. Meid.
^
iii.
4.
58, 59
Xen.
Mem.
Xen. Resp. Athen.
13 xop'/Touo't
i.
xopr)yHTai Se 6 Brj/xos
ovv dpyvpiov Xajxfiavnv 6 drjfios koi
{ikv ot irXovaioi,
aîoi
aSojv Kal rpixojv koX dpxovfjLfvos
avTus T6 (XV
'^-'-
0*'
i'va
TrXovcnoi Trevearcpoi
First Arg. to Demosth.

Meidias, p. 509 x^pvyos
ora dvaKwfxara nap^xajv to. inpl rbv xopov.
Plut.
Glor. Athen. 349 B.
The statement of
the Scholiast on
Dionysius Thrax
yiyvojVTai.
(Bekk, Anecd. p. 746), that every comic

tragic poet was supplied with a
chorus supported by the state,' appears
and
to be merely a loose
way
of saying that
the dramatic choruses were provided
3.
choregi appointed by the state.
by
The
author of the 2nd Arg. to the Meidias

says that the choregus 'received sums of
money for the support of the chorus.'
But his authority is of the v^'eakest
description.
He is utterly mistaken as
to the Dionysiac festivals, imagining
that the Great Dionysia was a triennial
affair, as opposed to the Small or annual
celebration.
Hence his testimony is of
no value in the face of other authorities,
'
THE EXPENSES OF THE CHOREGIA.
il,l
and assigned by
state,
show whether the
to
There
lot to the choregi.
no evidence
flute-player of a dramatic chorus
chosen by the choregus or by the state

choregus would have to pay his salary.
mute characters
is
83
was
but in any case the

Fourthly, the various
upon the stage, such as the attendants upon kings and queens, were supplied by the choregus.
This is proved by the story in Plutarch of a tragedian at Athens
who was going to act the part of a queen, and who refused to
perform unless the choregus would provide him with a train of
female attendants dressed in expensive fashion \ The number
and splendour of the mute characters would add greatly to
the magnificence of the spectacle, and form a considerable item
in the
that appeared
expenses of a wealthy choregus.
when
in early times,
It is
also probable that
the actors were chosen by the poets, their
was paid by the choregus. But later the selection

and payment of the actors were undertaken entirely by the
salary
The
stated
principal part then
choregus consisted
in
sons just mentioned.
of the expenditure of the
paying the salaries of the various perIn addition to
this,
he had
to
provide
the dresses of the chorus, which were often very magnificent.
For example, the comic poet Antiphanes mentions the case of

who ruined himself by dressing his chorus in gold.
Demosthenes supplied his chorus of men with golden crowns ^
Sometimes the love of splendour degenerated into mere vulgar
ostentation.
Unnecessary magnificence in the appointments of
a comic chorus is mentioned by Aristotle as a proof of vul-
a choregus
On
garity.
the other hand, economical choregi saved expense
by hiring second-hand dresses from the dealers in theatrical

costumes *. Another item in the expenses of the choregia was
the supply of dresses for the various mute characters and
subordinate personages.
With
the dresses of the actors them-
selves the choregus had probably nothing to do.

^
Plut. Phocion. p.
The
state
to
choregi
750 C.
were assigned by the
poets, and jjot to the
actors
the
hence
it
is
quite clear that in
later times the choregi did not
them.
See Suidas
pay
for
v. ve^rfaeis vnoKpiruiv.
G2
As
Antiphanes apud Athen.

Meid. 16.
for the
p.
103 E;
Dem
*
78
Aristot. Eth. Nic. iv. 6
rom
5c ra.^ kaOrJTas
Pollux
vii.
d-nofMaOovvras
roTi x'^PVf'^^^ ot fêv vioi IfuiTiofxiaOas

IkoXovv, ol h\ naXaiol ifxaTiofJuadcuTas.
84
[Ch.
ordinary kinds of scenery, they were part of the permanent
and would be provided by the lessee.

But when anything very special in the way of scenery was
fixtures of the theatre,
required by the necessities of a particular play,
it
most
is
probable that the expenses in such cases were borne by the

choregus.
As
be gathered
from ancient
notices, the
expenses of the choregia consisted
in the hire of
far,
as can
then,
the chorus, the instructor, the flute-player, and the mute characters
in providing dresses
characters
and
in supplying
the chorus and the mute
for
such exceptional scenery as the
theatre did not possess.
who was anxious
choregus
ready to
would
spend money
be
easily
put
and who was
for victory,
over the production
to
of the
play,
very considerable expense.
The
defendant in one of the speeches of Lysias gives some

teresting
details
of choruses.
He
in-
about the expenses of the different kinds

is
enumerating the various public burdens
which he undertook since he was
enrolled
as
citizen,
and the amount of money which he spent upon each of them.

tragic chorus cost him thirty minae. He spent sixteen minae
upon a comic chorus, and
fifteen upon a chorus of boys.

It
was only about half as expensive as
about the same as a chorus of boys. On
follows that a comic chorus
a tragic one, and cost
the other hand, a chorus of
minae.
These
men
at the City
Dionysia cost
fifty
figures bear out the statement of Demosthenes,
men was much more expensive than a tragic

The chorus of men consisted of fifty members and
that a chorus of
chorus.
the payment of so large a number, together with the dresses
and crowns which the choregi used

easily account for the expense.
to provide
them
with,
would
tragic chorus consisted of
only fifteen members, and yet it cost about twice as much as

a comic chorus, which consisted of twenty-four. But we must
remember that the tragic chorus had to perform in several
Also it does not appear
plays, the comic chorus in only one.
to
have been customary
comedy.
is
to
spend very much money upon a
In another speech of Lysias, a certain Aristophanes
said to have
expended
fifty
minae over two
tragic choruses.
THE EXPENSES OF THE CHOREGIA.
II.]
He was
85
more economical than the person

mentioned above, who spent thirty minae over one ^ It would
be very interesting to be able to form some conception of the
therefore rather
amount which these sums would represent

But of course
which
to
it
measure the comparative value of money
different civilizations as that of ancient
modern England.
It
the daily wages for
oboist
If
we
agricultural
shilling
at the present day.
exceedingly hard to find a standard by
is
appears that in the time of Aristophanes
common and
take as a
labourer
who
unskilled labour were three
modern equivalent
the case of the
gets ten shillings a week, or one
and eight-pence per day,
in ancient Attica
in two such
Athens and that of
it
were equivalent
eight-pence at the present time.
follows that three obols
to
about one shilling and
If this
calculation is any-
where near the mark, then a choregus who spent thirty minae
on a tragic chorus would be spending a sum equivalent to
about 500 of our money. The sixteen minae paid for a
comic chorus would represent about 266. Comparisons of
this kind are
very conjectural
but they enable one to form
immense sums of money which must have

been spent at Athens in the course of a single year upon
dramatic and choral performances. There were eight dramatic
and ten dithyrambic choruses at the City Dionysia. There were
some
idea of the
seven or eight dramatic choruses
at the
Lenaea.
Besides this
there were dithyrambic choruses at the Thargelia, Prometheia,
and Hephaesteia; and dithyrambic and pyrrhic choruses at the

Panathenaea. The expenses of all these choruses were drawn
from a single small state, about the size of an English county,
which wealth was by no means abundant.
in
see that there was not
much exaggeration
It
is
easy to
complaint
in the
of Demosthenes, that the Athenians spent more upon their

festivals
than they ever spent upon a naval expedition ^
If the choregi neglected their duties,
the efficiency of their choruses,

Lysias orat. xxi. 1-5, xix. 29,
42
Dem. Meid.
was the duty of the archon

Economy
of Athens,
i.
p.
Bockh,Pnblic
Demosth. Philipp.
i.
to
157 (Engl.
transl.).
156.
Aristoph.Eccles.307
it
and were careless about
35.
86
'
[Cb.
But such interference was

the contrary the rivalry between the
bring pressure to bear upon them \
On
not often necessary.
choregi was so keen, and their desire for victory so great, that
often led them into expenses which they could not afford.
Demosthenes says that men frequently spent all their property
upon these competitions^ The choregus in Antiphanes has
already been referred to, who reduced himself to beggary by
it
his extravagance in providing golden dresses for his chorus.
Besides the mere
ment
emulation there was another inducesums upon these choregic displays. For a
it was an easy means of gaining popularity,
spirit of
to lavish vast
wealthy politician
and increasing his influence

choruses,
Nicias
in the state.
have owed a great deal of his power
to the
is
said to
splendour of his
upon which he spent more money than any of
With
contemporaries or predecessors ^
his
the double motives of
was natural that considerable

jealousy should be excited between the rival choregi, the
Sometimes this hostility
'anti-choregi,' as they were called.
ended in blows. When Taureas and Alcibiades were comambition and emulation at work,
it
petitors with choruses of boys, a dispute having arisen as to
the parentage of one of the boys in Alcibiades' chorus, the
matter ended in a personal conflict in the orchestra.

sthenes, in his speech against Meidias, cites
Demo-
many examples
of
the bitterness and animosity with which choregi regarded one
He
another.
adds that there would have been some excuse
for the assault of Meidias
upon himself
the jealousy of a rival choregus
6.
When
the
if it
had been caused by
^,
The Performances
preparations were
in the Theatre,
all
completed,
a few days
before the actual festival there was a preliminary ceremony

^
Xen. Hiero
ix.
4 Koi
yap
orav
kvSeus
iroiovaiv.
dyojvi^faOai,
Dem. Meid.
a.6\a fiev 6 dpxojv irpoTi$T]aiv,a.9poiiêtv dk
Plutarch Nicias p. 524 D.
Dem. Meid.
Xopovs
rjpiv
ôvXcjfjifOa
avToiis TTpoaTfTaKTat xopvy^'^^

8i8d<TK(iv,
f^^^''
aWois
Kal dvdyKTjv irpoaTiOivai rots
Alcibiad. 20,
61.
58-66;
Andocid.
II.]
THE PERFORMANCES IN THE THEATRE.
87
called the Proagon.

It took place in the Odeum, a sort of
smaller theatre to the south of the Acropolis, not far from the
The Proagon was a kind of show or

and served as an introduction to the actual per-
spectacle,
formances
Each of the
at the festival.
about to compete
tragic poets
who were
the approaching contest appeared upon
in
the stage in the presence of the people, accompanied by his
choregus, his actors, and the members of the chorus. All of

them wore crowns upon their heads
but the actors were
without their masks and their stage dresses. As they paraded
upon the stage some announcement was made to the people, of
which the exact nature is not known. But it is very likely that
this occasion was taken for making known to the people the
names of the poet and his actors, together with the titles of the
tragedies shortly to be performed, and other information of a
similar character.
At the same time the people would have an
opportunity of becoming acquainted with poets and actors who
were making their first appearance. The splendour of the
dresses of choruses and choregi, upon which great sums of
money were spent, would make a spectacle of some magnificence, and appeal to the popular taste.
At the Proagon which
;
followed shortly after the death of Euripides
Sophocles appeared upon the stage
is
it
said that
in a dark-coloured dress,
and
introduced his actors and chorus without the usual crowns.
It
nowhere definitely stated

poets and choruses took part
is
that the comic

in the
Proagon.
of our information about the ceremony
two brief and casual

given.
It
is
notices, in
is
which very few
The magnificence
very much increased by the

choruses of boys and
details are
of the spectacle would be
large
and gorgeously-dressed
men \
the evening before the festival the statue of the
Dionysus was taken out of his temple by the

^
But the whole
derived from one or
hardly probable that only tragedy should have
been represented.
On
and dithyrambic
Our knowledge of
the
Proagon
derived from the following passages

Schol. Aeschin. Ctesiph.
is
:
67 kyiyvovTO
ttpo rojv
Ephebi,
god
and
fieydKwv Aiowaioju qfitpais oAt-
tw (jJSeio; KaXovfiivcu
twv rpayc^lwv uyuv koL kniSuîs uv
yais efxirpoaOcv Iv
88
conveyed by torchlight
to the theatre.
[Ch.
was there placed
It
view of the stage, so that the god might
in the orchestra, in full
enjoy the approaching exhibitions as well as his worshippers ^
This curious ceremony, of which the existence has only
lately
been discovered from inscriptions, gives additional appropriateness to the selection of Dionysus in the Frogs as the repre-
He
sentative of dramatic criticism at Athens.
was the one
who had been present at every dramatic performance

from first to last. The ceremony is often referred to by later
spectator
writers in the course of their denunciations of the gladiatorial
shows with which the theatre
The blood
polluted.
of
human
very orchestra which the god
and he
implored not
is
Athens had come
at
beings, they say,
is
to
shed
Dionysus occasionally
be
in the
visits
come near the scene of such
to
defilement ^
During the period of the actual contests the audience met
in
p.\v IjxaTLCO (pai^ tjtoi iropcpvpo) trpo-
must denote some announcement about

the plays, and not an actual performance of them.
That there was a Proagon before the Lenaea as well as the
City Dionysia seems natural in itself,
and is implied by the use of the plural
\6(iv, Tov 8e xopbv Kal rovs vtroKpirds
in such inscriptions as Corp. Inscr. Att.
doT((pav6jT0vs flaayayuv Iv ra) Trpodyut'i,
ii.
fieWovai SpafiaTCUv dyojviêaOai hv

Oedrpar-
5l'
tSj
6 ervfius Trpodycou Ka\tTai.
iloiaci Se S'X'* irpocruTTcvv
vnoKpiTot
ol
Vita Euripid. Xeyovai 5e Kal

ô({)OKXia, aKovaavra on (TeXcvrrjcrf,
yvfxvoi
avTOV
tov
SaKpvaai
fcal
Aeschin.
drj/xov.
Ctesiph. 66, 67 6 yap pii(TaXiâv5pos

vvvi
(pdaKOJV
eKK\T](Tiav
iv
a>
irplv
kv
ypdcpei
rovs
tjV tSi
rov
flcjOaai
T^s
(Is
rd
TO
tt)
eXacprjôXiuivos
AckXtjitiSi
Schol. Aristoph.
cfScicp-
iprjipiffpia
irpvrdvHs
'
or
vpodycuv.
5'
iroiftv
larapL^vov
07S0T7
fjirfv6s,
01
iivai
77
Ovaia Kal
307 kitiTeXecn 8e Kot rovs Trpodycuvat

The passage
Tovs kv rots Upois K.r.X.
Symposium 194
(kmXTja/xojv
dv ciTjv, w 'AydOojv,
et WcJv rf]v
dvdpuav Kal p.eyaXocppoavvqv dva-
in Plato's
fjifvr'
afjv
rov oKpiffavra pifrd rwv
fiaivovTOS knl
vTTOKpiruiv Kal ^Xixpavros kvavria roaovrco
Wasps 1104
eari tottos OcarpoeiSrjs,

Troirjixara
dirayyeXXciv
Oearpov
dnayyeXias,
That the Proagon was a contest is out

of the question. The contest was to
follow some days later.
Nor can it
Oedrpcp,
fieXXovros
kmSdêaOai
aavrov
Xoyovs, Kal ov5' oTtooariovv eK-irXayevroi

K.r.X.)
probably
refers to the
'
Corp. Inscr. Att.
Philostrat. vit.
p. 142, ed.
xxxi.
1 2 1
Proagon.
470, 471.
Apoll. iv. 22 (vol.
ii.
i.,
Dio Chrysostom.
(63 1 R). The discovery of the
Kayser)
have been a dress rehearsal, as part of

one day would not have sufficed for the
rehearsal of twelve tragedies and five
in the orchestra explains the passage in
comedies.
TTportpas viKas
Tlpodyouv denotes
'
the cere-
practice of placing the statue of Dionysus
Aristoph. Equit. 535, 536 (bv
wivdv kv
ra>
xpw^^^
'^"^
itpvravHCf,
\
mony
fios
before the contest,' just as irpoya-
means
marriage.'
the
ceremony before the
The word
dirayyiXXfiv
in
the note of the Scholiast on the Wasps,
Koi
rq>
fiT)
Xrjpeiv,
Atovvao})
some
dXXd OiaaOai Xivapbv irapcL

which previously caused
difficulty.
THE PERFORMANCES IN THE THEATRE,
II.]
the theatre every morning soon after daybreak.
number of plays which had
the
Considering
be produced,
to
89
it
was neces-
The
sary that the proceedings should begin at an early hour^

vast gathering of spectators, like
was
first
libations
of
all
by the
purified
were poured
all
public meetings at Athens,
Then
offer of a small sacrifice.
in front
of the statue of the god Dio-
was the City Dionysia, before the

was taken to proclaim the
names of citizens upon whom crowns had been bestowed,
together with the services for which they had been granted.
The proclamation before such a vast multitude of citizens was
naturally considered a very great honour.
During the period
of Athenian supremacy another striking ceremony preceded
nysus ^
If the
festival
tragedies began
the opportunity
The
the tragedies at the City Dionysia.
tribute collected
from
the dependent states was divided into talents, and solemnly
Then the orphans whose fathers

and who had been educated by the
deposited in the orchestra.
had been
killed in battle,
and had now reached the age of manhood, were brought

forward upon the stage equipped in complete armour. The
herald made a proclamation, recounting what the state had
state,
done
for them,
and they were then publicly discharged from
state control to take their place as ordinary citizens ^
had
these preliminaries
been
performances commenced.
gone
The order
through
in
which the
to
have been
'
lot.
The phrase
herald and ordered to produce his play.
seems
different
Each
was summoned by name by the public
plays were to be performed was determined by

poet, as his turn came,
After
dramatic
the
lead in your chorus.*
that the poet appeared in person at the
But
it
is
emplo3êd
not likely
head of his chorus.
And
in fact most plays began with speeches from the stage,

and the chorus only came in later on. The phrase was an old
formula, applicable to the times when tragedy and comedy
were mainly lyrical, and the poet was the chief actor and led in
Aeschin.
Ctesiph.
"fjulpa -qyiiTO Tois
Tpov.
2
Demosth. Meid.
Suidas
V.
76
a\ia
rrj
vpeaPecriv fls to 6ed-
74.
Kadapciov
Pollux
104; Plut.
Apoll.
vit.
viii.
Cimon
p.
483E
Philostrat,
iv. 22.
Aeschin. Ctesiph. 48, 153, 154,
230, 231
Isocrates
ircpt iipfqvris
82.
90
his chorus in person.
was retained
It
after its hteral signi-
The summons
had become obsolete \
ficance
[Ch.
to
each poet
was accompanied in later times by the blowing of a trumpet.

The object was to ensure that the performers should be ready
at the
had
was a
one occasion an actor called Hermon

comedy would come on
the building, expecting that his
But as
late.
On
proper time.
left
it
was
called for sooner than
owing
hitch in the proceedings
he expected, there
The
his absence.
to
blowing of the trumpet was therefore instituted to mark the
commencement of each new performance, and let people in the

neighbourhood of the theatre know at what rate the contest
was progressing^ The order in which the poets competed was
determined by
lot,
as
stated above.
advantage to be drawn
It
was considered an
as the latest performance
last,
left
most vivid impression upon the minds of the judges.
would be especially the case

over three
drawn
days.
first for
in
such competitions as lasted
Ecclesiazusae of Aristophanes was
The
The
performance.
poet therefore, in the course
of this play, implores the judges not to

his chances, but to
the courtesans,
who
the
This
let
the ballot
damage
judge the choruses on their merits, unlike

forget
except their latest lovers ^
all
At the end of each competition the judges wrote their

Five of these tablets were drawn by
verdicts upon tablets.
The names of the victorious poet
lot, and decided the result.
and choregus were then proclaimed by the herald, and they
were crowned with a chaplet of ivy in the presence of the
spectators.
At the conclusion of the festival the successful
poet celebrated his victory by a solemn sacrifice, followed by a
grand banquet, at which most of his friends were present.
The members of the chorus were also there, and probably the
The
choregus and the actors.

^
Aristid.
(Dindf.).
ittpi
pr^ropiKris
vol.
ii.
Aristoph. Acharn. ii
p. 2
6
S*
f'iaa-y, w &oyvi, rbv x^P^^'

passage from Philochorus (Athen.
avf:Tirv,
The
p.
464
iriveiv
E Kal
Kal
Tois xopoTs daiovffiv kvexô^
Sirjyojviafievois
or'
kêrropfv-
ovTo (Vixôv rrdkiv) affords no warrant
scene of Plato's Symposium
is
assuming, with Miiller (Griech.

BUhnen. p. 373), that before the commencement of each play the poet and
his chorus entered the orchestra and
offered a libation to Dionysus.
^ Pollux iv. 88.
for
Aristoph. Eccles. 1154^".
THE PERFORMANCES IN THE THEATRE,
IL]
laid in
his
Agathon's house the day after the banquet
first
itself,
more
tragic
91
honour of
in
Socrates had avoided the banquet
victory.
because of the crush of people, but came next day

private
gathering.
victory,
especially at the
On
Dionysia, was regarded as a splendid distinction.
occasion Ion of Chios, after winning the
first
to a
City
one
prize in both
the tragic and the dithyrambic contests at the
showed the extent of

Chian wine
to
same festival,
by making a present of a jar of
his joy
every Athenian citizen \
The next day
but one after the conclusion
of the
Dionysia a special assembly of the people was convened
City
in the
theatre of Dionysus to discuss matters connected with the
No
festival.
doubt a similar assembly was held after the
Lenaea, though the
fact is
nowhere
actually stated.
At
this
assembly the conduct of the archon, who had had the manage-
ment of the
sideration.
festival
Any
which was just over, was taken
into con-
neglect of his duties, or any unfairness in the
choice of poets and actors, would be punished.
At the same
time crowns and other distinctions were voted in honour of

officials
who had performed
festival satisfactorily.
in the dramatic
It
and decided
connexion with the
and dithyrambic contests were
cution and punishment

their verdicts.
their duties in
has been pointed out that the judges
if
liable to prose-
they were suspected of dishonesty in
Probably such charges were brought forward
at this
assembly
in the theatre.
Then came
the
hearing of complaints as to any violation of the sanctity of the
was illegal during the days of the festival to make

upon debtors. All assaults and offences against the
person, however trifling in themselves, were regarded as sacriComplaints
lege if they were committed during the festival.
of this kind were brought forward at the assembly in the
theatre, and a special procedure called the Probole was adopted
festival.
It
distraints
in regard to them.
The
aggrieved person stated his charges
before the assembled people
the defendant
the people then proceeded to vote.
Plat.
Symp. 173 A, 174
Athen.
p. 3
made
his reply
If they acquitted
Schol. Aristoph.
Pax 835.
the
92
defendant there was an end of the matter.
But
[Ch,
if
they voted
him the prosecutor then carried the case before the
against
ordinary law-courts, where of course the previous verdict of
much
the people weighed very
7.
The
in his favour \
Reproduction of Old Plays.
process of bringing out a play at Athens has
traced from
archon
first to
to the
last,
now been
from the selection of the poet by the
meeting of the people
in the theatre at the con-
Hitherto only the production of
clusion of the festival.
new
and original plays has been discussed. The reproduction of

old plays is a matter of some interest in connexion with the
history of the drama. At Athens, during the great period of
the Attic drama, plays were exhibited once, and once only. A
same play was a most exceptional occurrence.

large enough to contain the whole body of the
citizens
every man had a chance of seeing a play when it was
first brought out
and there was not therefore any need for it
repetition of the
The
theatre
was
be repeated in order to give a fresh audience a chance of
to
witnessing
it.
The Athenians were
fond of novelty.
Aristo-
phanes, in the Clouds, takes credit to himself for his originality,
and
for his cleverness in
over ^
never introducing the same plot twice
This love of novelty prevented the repetition or repro-
duction of old plays at Athens, as long as there was an unfailing
supply of
new
And
ones.
during the flourishing period of the
drama there was never any lack of productive talent. The

number of poets, both in tragedy and comedy, was more than
sufficient to supply the demand for new dramas.
Hence, after
a play had been once performed, unless it was of very exceptional merit, it was never seen again, as far as the Athenian
the authority of
stage was concerned.
It is stated on
Dicaearchus that the Frogs of Aristophanes ^was so much ad-
mired on account of
*
parabasis that
Demosth. Meid. 8-10;
Inscr. Att.
^
its
ii.
114, 307, 420.
Aristoph. Nub. 545-548.
Corp.
it
was
actually repeated ^'
Ârg.Aristoph. Ran, ovrcyS^lâv/iao-^?;

rb Spafxa
Sia
ttiv
kv
wore koi dvididdx0Ti,&s
avrw
irapdfiafftv
(prjai
AtKaiapxos,
REPRODUCTION OF OLD PLAYS.
II.]
The language here used
93
was a
implies that such a repetition
very unusual occurrence.
when
true that
It is
the Capture of
Miletus, the historical play of Phrynichus, caused such a com-
motion
that
in the theatre, the
for the future
Athenians are said
no one should exhibit
law must have referred to

It
its
have passed a law
to
drama ^*
this
But the
reproduction at the Rural Dionysia.
has already been pointed out that
it
was customary
to bring
out in the rural demes plays which had been successful in
Athens
many
and by the time of Phrynichus
of the
more important demes,
is
it
probable that
especially those
in
the
immediate neighbourhood of Athens, had their dramatic con-
The decree about
tests.
the Capture of Miletus must have
referred to these rural festivals.
The
makes
Athens
perfectly plain that in
it
statement of Dicaearchus
itself,
century, a play was never repeated, unless

jnerit,
and the people specially demanded
Even
successful plays then
its
it
during the
fifth
was of unusual
reproduction.
were only exhibited once.
But
if
a play was unsuccessful, the poet was allowed to revise and

rewrite
The
it,
and
to
compete with
it
again in
its
improved shape ^,
revision of unsuccessful plays seems to have been a
practice with the Athenian dramatic writers.
rather a
as
that
peculiarity
when one of
destroy
it
comic
the
was
common
mentioned
poet Anaxandrides,
unsuccessful, he used to
without taking the trouble to revise
at once,
fortunes with
try his
in
his comedies
It is
it
a second time^.
Many
it,
and
plays were
revised and re-exhibited in this manner, and in consequence
many
plays existed in ancient times in a double form.
Thyestes, the Phineus, the Tyro, and the Lemnian
of Sophocles were
exhibited a second time in an improved
The Hippolytus
shape.
possess
all
is
The
Women
of Euripides which
a revised edition pruned of
its
we
at
present
original defects.
The
Autolycus and Phrixus of Euripides also existed in a double

form. The Clouds of Aristophanes in its original shape was
very unsuccessful, and was altered in
'
Herod,
'^
called Staa/cefT?, Athen. p.
vi. 21.
revised
edition
many important particulars
of
a play ^vas
Athen.
p.
374 A.
10 C.
94
before
it
reached the form in which
[Ch.
we now possess
Among
it.
the other plays of Aristophanes, the Peace, the Plutus, and the
Thesmophoriazusae were brought out a second time

vised form.
common among
Sometimes the
title
New Comedy.
was retained in the revised version,
Sometimes a
the Heiress of Menander.
the writers of the Middle and
original
as for instance in
new
was adopted.
title
Thus
appeared subsequently as the

It
in a re-
Instances of the revision of plays are not un-
the Braggart Captain of Diphilus
Eunuch \
seems then that during the fifth century the dramatic comAthens were limited to new plays, or to plays which
petitions at
had been so
ones.
far altered
The one
Aeschylus.
and revised as
exception
to the
In the Life of Aeschylus
to
be equivalent
was
rule
it is
in
to
new
case of
the
said that the Athenians
such an admiration for him, that they passed a decree after

his death that any one who offered to exhibit his plays should
felt
receive a chorus from the archon.
This does not mean that his
mere isolated exhibition, apart

from the regular contests. Such a reproduction of old plays
appears to have been unknown at Athens during the fifth cenThe meaning is that any person might be allowed to
tury.
compete at the ordinary tragic contests with plays of Aeschylus
instead of new plays of his own.
If any one offered to do so,
the archon was bound to give him a chorus.
He would then
plays were to be performed as a
take his place as one of the three competing poets
fine himself to
the
new and
but while
would con-
reproducing tragedies of Aeschylus.
Probably
men who undertook
brated actors.
original tragedies, he
his rivals exhibited
In this
these revivals were in most cases cele-
way
the plays of Aeschylus were often
brought into competition with the plays of later writers, and
appear
^
to
have been generally successful.
Arg. to Aristoph. Nub., Pax
Eurip. Hippolytus.
the other plays see
Arg.
For the facts about

Nauck's Frag. Trag.
Graec. pp. 146, 170, 217, 226, 350, 492 ;

and Meineke's Frag. Com.
Graec.
1074, 1 1 30, iv. 116, 377. Additional
instances of revision of plays are to be
ii.
found
the
in
Philostratus refers
Autolycus
of Eupolis,
the Synoris of Diphilus, and the Phryx
The Demetrius of Alexis

appeared subsequently as the Philetaerus, the "AypoiKoi. of Antiphanes as the
Butalion.
See Meineke's Frag. Com.
of Alexis.
Graec.
ii.
440,
iii.
36, 403, 500, iv. 412.
II.]
He
custom\
to the
95
says that the Athenians invited Aeschylus
after his death to the festivals of Dionysus,
were acted over

passage makes
were exhibited
and that his plays

and were victorious a second time. This
again,
it
quite clear that the tragedies of Aeschylus
in the ordinary contests,
performance by themselves.
There
is
and not as a separate
a reference in the begin-
ning of the Acharnians to a competition of this kind.
had come
opolis
was expecting
of Aeschylus
in
which the
titor
who
It is to
He
would commence with plays

his disgust the frigid Theognis was the
that the performance
but to
Here then
be called upon.
to
first
Dicae-
to the theatre to see the tragic contests.
is
a picture of a contest
Theognis was opposed by a compe-
tragic poet
exhibited, not plays of his own, but plays of Aeschylus^
the practice of reproducing his plays after his death that
Aeschylus alludes
the
in
when he remarks
Frogs,
that his
poetry has not died with him, like that of Euripides.

tilian refers to the
quite accurate.
same custom, though
He
Quin-
his language is not
says that the tragedies of Aeschylus were
sublime, but rough and unfinished; and therefore the Athenians
permitted subsequent poets to polish and revise them, and

exhibit
in
this
them
at the competitions in their
way many of
of the revision
poets
is it
is
his plays
won
amended form
and
This story
the prize.
by subsequent
of the plays of Aeschylus
not confirmed by anything in the Greek authorities, nor
probable in
In the fourth century a law was passed
itself.
providing for the preservation of the exact original text of the

plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
It is
hardly likely
that the Athenians of the fifth century should have been less con-
servative about the text of Aeschylus than the Athenians of the

fourth, to
It is
whose
taste
Aeschylus had begun
correction of the plays
From
is
those
Philostrat. vit. Apoll. vi. 11 (vol.
p. 220, ed.
2
seem antiquated.
a mistake of Quintilian's\
this reproduction of old plays of
carefully distinguished
*
to
most probable therefore that the story of the subsequent
Kayser).
Aristoph.
Acham. 9-12.
i.
Aeschylus must be
instances where
^
plays,
which
Aristoph. Ran. 868, 869; Quintil.

orat. 841 F.
i. 66; Plut,
Inst. x.
THE PRODUCTION OF A PLA V.
g6
Aeschylus had
for the
unpublished at his death, were produced
left
time by his son Euphorion.
first
Euphorion won four victories with his

In a similar
tragedies.
Euripides, his Iphigeneia in Aulis,
by a
when
said
is
that
unpublished
father's
time by his grandson
first
And
four years after the poet's death.
brought out by his son
It
manner the Oedipus Coloneus of
Sophocles was produced for the
sions as these,
[Ch.
the death of
after
Alcmaeon, and Bacchae were
On
such occa-
a poet's unpublished plays were exhibited
no doubt the
relative after his death, although
known
ship of the plays was perfectly well
relative appeared as the nominal author.
real author-
at the
He
time, the
asked for a
chorus from the archon in his own name. The plays he produced were new ones. There is therefore no similarity between
instances of this kind, and those occasions when a man asked
for a chorus, not in his
own name,
but in order to produce old
plays of Aeschylus^
At Athens then during the
fifth
century the reproduction of
old plays was confined to tragedies of Aeschylus, and remark-
ably successful dramas such as the
Frogs of Aristophanes.
Otherwise when
once exhibited on the
Athenian
It
stage,
was not
old plays
till
a
it
play had
was relegated
the fourth
developed
been
into
to
the
Rural
Dionysia.
century that the reproduction of

a
regular
custom.
The
practice
This branch of the drama
was
had passed beyond the period of healthy growth, and already
showed symptoms of decay. The three great tragic poets
of the fifth century had in their several lines exhausted the
Their successors were mostly
capabilities of Attic tragedy.
at first confined to tragedy.
feeble imitators of Euripides.
Under such circumstances
the
fall back upon the old tragedies naturally became

The reproductions were of two
more and more frequent.
Sometimes
kinds, as was pointed out in the last chapter.
an old tragedy was exhibited by itself, as a prelude to the new
This was the case at the City Dionysia in the latter
tragedies.
tendency to
Suidas
V. Ev<popicuv;
Arg. Soph. Oed. Col.; Schol. Aristoph. Ran. 67.
II.]
part of
fourth
the
97
Sometimes a number of old
century.
tragedies were performed in competition by different actors.
In such cases the prize was given to the best actor, and not to
The
the best tragedy.
Very few
times were probably of this kind.
Lenaea
management of these reproductions.
as to the
leading actors applied to the archon, and
if
in later
known
details are
Probably the
selected by
him they
received a chorus, and undertook the general superintendence
The middle of the fourth

The principal
of the revival.
age of Athenian acting.

filled
century was the great

actors of the period
a more important place in the history of tragedy than did
The
the tragic poets themselves.
different interpretations of
the old tragedies by the celebrated actors excited more
interest
than the feeble productions of the contemporary dramatists.
Apparently the actors were sometimes inclined
to
tamper with
the old plays, and to introduce what they considered improve-
ments, just as the plays of Shakespeare were adapted for the
A law was passed
stage by Garrick in the last century.
orator Lycurgus to put a stop to this practice.

that a public
It
by the
was enacted
copy should be made of the works of Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides, and deposited in the state archives
and that the actors, in their performances, should not be allowed

It is very probable that
to deviate from the text of the copy^
this authorised version eventually
found
its
way
to Alexandria.
Ptolemy the Third was a great collector of manuscripts. He

borrowed from the Athenians an old copy of the works of
Sophocles, and
Aeschylus,
after
he had made a
The
security.
Euripides, promising to return
transcript,
transcript
and depositing
was made
it
fifteen talents as
in the best possible style.
Ptolemy then proceeded to keep the original manuscript for

and sent back merely the transcript to Athens. The
himself,
Plut.
Kal vofxovs
X
.
orat.
.
rov
841
d<TTjveyK
5^
x^*^^^ etKovas
Aiaxvôv, Xo(})o-
8e, ihs
vaiyapavTasviroKpiv(o$ai.
dvaOdvai t5jv troirjrwv,

K\eovs, EvpimSoVy ual ras Tpaycudias avTuiv kv KOLV^ ypaipafxevovs (pvXaTreiv,
Kal Tov T^s ir(5X<us ypafifiaria vapava-
the text
yiyvuCKfiv TOis viroKpivofiivois'
inoKplvfaOai, Diibner.
ovk
l^cf-
is
The general
though
Various emendaproposed, e. g. wap*
meaning of the passage
is clear,
corrupt.
tions have been

avras vTroKpiveaOat, Wyttenbach
aXkas
inroKpivfoOai, Grysar; ycip
aiiras
aWois
98
Athenians had
which were
to
[Ch.
console themselves with the fifteen talents
This old copy of the tragic writers was
forfeited.
made
most probably that
accordance
in
with
law
the
of
Lycurgus\
Athenian comedy, as was pointed out
in the last chapter, con-
tinued to grow and develop long after tragedy had

end.
Reproductions of old comedies
have become prevalent
As
far as
till
an
to
to
our information goes such reproductions were confined
In
all
comedy
new
as a prelude to the
the instances recorded the plays are taken from the
New Comedy. The
Old Comedy, with
allusions,
would have been unsuited
in a later
age^
To
come
Athens do not seem
towards the end of the third century.
to the exhibition of a single old
ones.
at
return once
more
its
special
The
to tragedy.
The
was
fourth century
especially the age of great actors, just as the
been the age of great poets.
and personal
for popular representation
fifth
century had
leading actors of the fourth
century were chiefly celebrated for their impersonations of
From
characters out of the great tragedies of the past.
frequent references to the subject
it is
possible to collect
the
some
interesting details as to the popular taste in regard to these
The
revivals.
three
great masters of tragedy,
Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides, occupied a position by themselves

in
popular estimation, and quite overshadowed
This
is
all
other poets.
proved by the law of Lycurgus providing for the
strict
preservation of the text of their works, and prohibiting the
But though the existence of the
interpolations of the actors.
law shows that the tragedies of Aeschylus were occasionally

reproduced, and were therefore liable to corruption,
it
does
not appear that in this later age Aeschylus was very popular
upon the
stage.
his plays is that
where the
The only
which occurs
allusion to a particular revival of

in
one of the
Licymnius
Propompi of Aeschylus ^
tragic actor
rious in the
is
letters of Alciphron,
said to have been victo-
On
the other
hand the
reproductions of plays of Sophocles and Euripides are very

^ Galen
Comm. ii. on Hippocrat.
Epidem. iii. (p. 607 Kiihn).
"^
See chap. I, p. 32.

Alciphron Epist. iii. 48.
II.]"
99
to.
And it is a significant fact that when the
was consoling Demosthenes for the ill-success of
his first speech before the assembly, and wished to point out to
him the defectiveness of his elocution, he asked him to repeat a
frequently referred
actor Satyrus
'
speech out of Sophocles or Euripides,' implying that these were

the two poets
whom
everyone knew\ In the Poetics of Aristotle

drama are based upon the plays of Sophocles
the laws of the
and Euripides, while Aeschylus
The
simplicity of his plots,
is
comparatively disregarded.
and the elevation and occasional
obscurity of his language were distasteful to an
age which
looked for ingenuity in the management of the incidents, and
These
rhetorical facility in the style.
Euripides
perfection in
were found
qualities
hence his great popularity.
to
There
can be no doubt that Euripides was the favourite poet of the
fourth century.
striking proof of the fact
is
supplied by the
records of the tragic performances at the City Dionysia for the
years 341-339
In each of these years the old tragedy
b.c.
was one by Euripides. In 341 it was

was the Orestes. The title of the play
produced in 339 is lost, but the author was Euripides ^ Other
plays of his which were favourites upon the stage at this time
were the Cresphontes, the Oenomaus, and the Hecuba, in all
selected for exhibition
the Iphigeneia, in 340
of which Aeschines
is
The Oenomaus and
it
said to have played the part of tritagonist.
the
Hecuba
are also mentioned as plays in
which the great actor Theodorus was especially

the
dream of Thrasyllus before the
battle of
effective.
In
Arginusae the plays
which were being acted were the Phoenissae and the Supplices
of Euripides ^
Though
the story of the
dream
is
apocryphal,
these two tragedies were doubtless popular ones during the

fourth century.
Polus,
the
As
to the plays of
Sophocles,
it
is
said that
and the greatest

performance of the
contemporary of Demosthenes,
actor of his time,
was celebrated
for his
leading parts in the Oedipus Tyrannus, the Oedipus Coloneus,
and the Electra.

^
The Antigone
Demosth. p. 849 A.
Corp. Inscr. Att. ii. 973.
Demosth. de Cor. 180, 267
of Sophocles was often acted

Plut. Fort.
Aelian Var. Hist. xiv. 40
Alexand. 333 F ; Diod. Sic. xiii. 97.
Plut.
H 2
lOO
by Theodorus and by Aristodemus.

to
make a
Epigoni of Sophocles
cLis,
certain
Timotheus used
great impression in the part of Ajax.

is
mentioned
in
Lastly, the
connexion with Androni-
another contemporary of Demosthenes \
It is
interesting
observe that of the plays which the popular taste of the fourth
to
century had begun to select for revival by far the greater number are
^
28
among
Aul. Gell.
(ii.
p.
211
vii.
those which are

5; Stob.
Meineke)
Flor. 97,
Demosth.
still
extant.
Fals.
Leg. 246; Schol. Soph. Ajax
865
Athen.
p.
584 D.
Collotype.
Oxford University Press,
Theatre of Dionysus, from the South.

a photograph
Copied by permission of the Council of the Hellenic Society from
published for the Hellenic Society by the Autotype Company.
CHAPTER
III.
THE THEATRE.
I.
The
General character of a Greek
regulations concerning the
Athens have now been described
theatre.
dramatic competitions
circumstances attending the production of a play.

is
ment of the
It
theatre.
al
in detail, together with the
The next
the construction and general arrange-
would be beyond the scope of the

all the Greek
present work to attempt to give any account of

theatres of which remains are in existence.
pages our attention
will
be confined mainly
In the following
to the theatre of
Dionysus at Athens, which will serve as a specimen of the

Greek type of theatre in general. The theatre at Athens,
whether regarded from" the historical or the architectural
point of view, is one of the most interesting buildings in
It was the prototype of all other ancient theatres,
the world.
both Greek and Roman. It was the theatre in which the plays
of the great Athenian dramatists, from Aeschylus to Menander,
were produced. In connexion with a building of such importance the smallest details are not without
of the chapter will be, in
the
first
interest.
place, to give
The
object
an account
of the existing remains and present condition of this theatre

and, in the second
place,
to
endeavour
to
determine what
and appearance during the

great days of the Attic drama, before the primitive design had
been obscured by later alterations. At the same time it will be
must have been
necessary to
its
make
original form
occasional references to other Greek theatres,
THE THEATRE,
102
[Ch.
both for the purpose of illustration and comparison, and also in
up the gaps in our information caused by the ruinous

Of the other theatres, the
condition of the Athenian theatre.
most interesting is that of Epidaurus. It is by far the best
preserved of all theatres of purely Greek origin. It has lately
order to
fill
been excavated
in a
thorough and systematic manner, and the
result of the excavations has
been
to
throw an altogether new
light upon various questions connected with the Greek stage.
The
construction and general arrangement of a Greek theatre
differed widely
from any form of theatre
be found
to
at the
In this respect, as in most others, a comparison
present day.
between the ancient and modern drama reveals as many points

of contrast as of similarity.
exposed
kind.
theatre
was of course
and had no roof or covering of any

was generally built upon the slope of a hill in or near
to the
It
The Greek
open
air,
was of enormous magnitude, compared with a

one and the same
theatre-going
population of the city. The
time the whole
the
It
city.
modern
theatre, being intended to contain at
largest part of
it
consisted of the auditorium, or tiers of stone
seats for the spectators.

like a flight of steps,
These
seats rose
and were arranged
with the two ends prolonged.
circle
one above the other
in the
The
form of a semi-
flat
space
at
the
bottom of the auditorium, corresponding to the stalls and pit in

a
modern
theatre,
and was used
was
"by the
called the orchestra, or 'dancing-place,'
chorus only, the spectators being entirely
At the further end of the orchestra, facing

rose the stage and the stage-buildings.
The stage was a long and narrow platform, much higher than
a modern stage, and only a few feet in depth.
It was reserved
for the actors, as opposed to the chorus.
Thus it is obvious
that the general spectacle presented by the interior of a
Greek theatre during the representation of a drama must have
been quite unlike anything we are accustomed to in modern
excluded from
it.
the tiers of seats,
The
times.
light,
open-air building, the performance in broad day-
the vast crowds of spectators, the chorus grouped together
in the centre,
them
all
the actors standing on the lofty stage behind
these characteristics of a Greek theatrical exhibition
THE OLD WOODEN THEATRES.
ITL]
combined
must have
is
no exact parallel
kept clearly in view,
in
discussing
difficulties
2.
The
fact
there
should be
questions connected
all
errors have been caused, and
have been raised, owing
failure to realise the essential difference
features of the ancient
which
to
This
present day.
Many
with the Greek stage.
many unnecessary
produce a scene
to
at the
103
to the
between the external
and the modern drama.
The old wooden
theatres at Athens.
type of theatre described above was of course only
developed very gradually by the Athenians.
It
came
into ex-
by side with the growth of their drama. At first

there was no permanent theatre.
At tic tragedy and co medy
istence side
grew out of the dithyrambs and phallic songs w hich were performed by choruses in honour of Dionysus. For such exhibitions all that was required was an orchestra, or circular dancing-
The chorus performed
place.
ranged themselves
was the
in the middle,
round the
all
ring.
The
the
spectators
first
innovation
upon which the leader of the

while he carried on a dialogue with the
introducti on of tke tab le
chorus took his stand,
rest of the choreutae in the intervals
between the choral odes \
As the dialogue between the leader and the chorus was the
germ out of which the drama was subsequently developed, in
the same way the table on which the leader took his stand was
The
the prototype of the stage in the later Greek theatre.
next step was the mtroduction_ of a single actor by Thespis.
The
actor had to play
many
parts in succession, and
it
was
necessary that he should have some room or covered place to
change his dress and mask

for the
performed.
their origin
tent or boothL-Was erected
at the
the stage-buildings of the
times,
in.
back of the small platform on which he

Out of this tent or booth were gradually developed
purpose
was preserved
Greek
theatre.
in their
The
recollection of
Even
name.
in the latest
when the stage-buildings of a Greek theatre had come
Poll.
iv.
123 lAfoy
Tois xo/>ci'Tars dveKpivaTo.
8*
^1/
rpaitiâ dpxaia,
k<p' f]V
itpb
Qiamhos
(is
to
Tis dvafids
THE THEATRE.
104
[Ch.
be elaborate structures of stone, they were
name
platform and dressing-room for the actor, having
by the
called
still
The
now become a
which means properly a booth or
'skene,'
tent.
regular accompaniment of a dramatic performance, occupied
The
one end of the original orchestra.

all round the
formerly been ranged
was performing, had

At
to confine
The remaining
that circle.
who had
spectators,
which the chorus
circle in
themselves to two-thirds of
portion was taken up by the stage.
provided for the spectators were
this early period the seats
They were
only temporary erections.
called
ikria,'
and con-
wooden benches rising in tiers one above the other,

and resting on wooden supports \ The stage and the dressingrooms were also mere temporary constructions of wood. But
sisted of
in these
rude erections, hastily put up each year for the annual
performances, were already to be found

of the later Greek theatres.
than to change the material

introduce
all
the essential parts
Nothing more was required
greater elaboration
from 'wood
the
into
to
stone,
and
to
In course
design.
of time the booth and platform of the Thespian period were
developed into imposing stage-buildiiggs
became permanent amphitheatres of
the
wooden benches
stone.
In this sketch of the early history of the Greek theatre one
The mostJinpor tant part of the

whole building, and that which formed the starting-point in the
point deserves especial notice.
process of development,
was_the orchestra, or place for the
The auditorium and
chorus.
additions.
In
all
the stage-buildings were only later
theatres of purely
continued to maintain
parts were subordinated to
Greek theatre was
Greek
origin the orchestra
prominent position.
its
it.
The
All the other
general conception of a
that of a building with a circular dancing-
place in the centre, and with tiers of seats arranged round twothirds of the ring, while the remaining side
stage.
The
Hesych. v. Trap' aly4tpov Olato.

a kariv opOd ^v\a, exovra aaviSas
.
iKpia,
Trpoadide/xivas,
oiov
Padfxovs,
was occupied by the
arrangement was that
result of this
l(p'
ah
iKaOiôvTO vpb Tov KaraaKfvaaGrjvai rb
all
the spec-
Cp. also Bekk. Anecd. p.

Hesych. and Suidas v. Upia
Eustath. Od. p. 1472,
Olarpov.
354
THE OLD WOODEN THEATRES,
III.]
tators
105
had an equally good view of the orchestra, and the
chorus performing in
it
while
poor view of the stage.

fluence this
was not so much the
The
considerably modified.
many
of them had only a very
Roman
In theatres built under

case.
in-
The arrangements were
orchestra and auditorium were re-
The consequence was that the

became a much more prominent object, and all the specBut in purely Greek
tators had a fairly good view of it.
theatres, which were built as much for choral performances as
for dramatic ones, the orchestra was always the principal
The primary purpose of the whole design
object of attention.
was to give every member of the audience a clear and direct
view of the orchestra. The view on to the stage was a matter
stricted in size to a semicircle \
stage
of secondary importance.
It
was not
till
the
century that the Athenians
fifth
need of a permanent stone theatre.

content with the
wooden
As
erections just described.
place in which the ârjy dramatic performances

distinct traditions
felt
the
Before that time they were
have been preserved.
we re
According
of notices they were held in the market-place
to the
held,
to
one
two
set
according to the
other set they were held in the Lenaeum, the sacred enclosure
of Dionysus to the south-east of the Acropolis
It
'^.
necessary to choose between these two statements.
seems unIt is most
probable that both of them are true, and that dramatic perform-
ances were held in each of the places mentioned. The Lenaeum

would of course be the most appropriate scene for such performances, being sacred to Dionysus, in whose worship the
It was in fact in the Lenaeum that the stone
was subsequently built. But the market-place was also
any Greek city a natural place for exhibitions of various
drama
originated.
theatre
in
kinds.
Plato, referring to his ideal city, lays
tragic poets shall not
All theatres, in which the orchestra
consists
either
of an
Roman,
exact
semicircle,
or built under
are
Roman
See Vitruv. v. 6, 7.
They were held in the market-
influence.
^
be allowed
down
the law that
to 'erect their stages in the
place according to
Eustath. Od. p. 1472
according
dyojv, Phot.
p. 278.
to
v.
Phot.
in the
Hesych.
Arjvaiov,
v.
v.
Xnpia,
Lenaeum
\-n\
Arjvaio}
Bekk. Anecd,
THE THEATRE.
106
[Ch.
There seems therefore to be no reason to

doubt that in early times at Athens dramatic representations were
given in the market-place as well as in the Lenaeum. The exact
\'
market-place
site
Lenaeum has probably
of the primitive performances in the
been discovered by Dr. Dorpfeld.
In the course of his recent
excavations in the theatre of Dionysus he has

the remains of an old orchestra
some yards
come across
to the south-east of
This old orchestra was
the orchestra of the existing theatre ^
doubtless the scene of the exhibitions of Thespis and his
immediate successors.
there
It
appears also that in early times
was a regular orchestra
course of the
in the market-place.
century this orchestra disappeared, but the
fifth
portion of the market-place in which
tinued to be called
Plato's time
In the
The Orchestra
it
had originally stood con-
much
at a
books were sold there.
In
later period.
Socrates, in his Apology,
remarks that any one could buy the works of Anaxagoras
The Orchestra
for a
drachma I
early times, while the orchestra
representations were
proverb in use
at
was here no doubt
It
was
in existence,
occasionally given.
that in
dramatic
There was an old
Athens, which the commentators explained by
a reference to the primitive drama.
was
still
in
bad seat
at
any spectacle
called 'the view from the poplar.*
old dramatic exhibitions the
It was said that at the

wooden benches for the spectators
who
reached as far as a certain poplar, and that the people
could not get seats on the benches used to scramble up the
Whether
poplar*.
Lenaeum
the
poplar
or the market-place
was supposed
is
be
in
The whole
uncertain.
The
to
the
story
Plat. Legg. 817 C.

Dr. Dorpfeld, in a letter of Nov. 7th,
1888, writes to me as follows: ' Von der
alten Orchestra ist ein Stlick, aus polygonalen Kalk-Steinen erbaut, erhalten.
Der Mittelpunkt dieser alten Kreisrunden Orchestra liegt von dem Mittelpunkt der Lykurgischen Orchestra
Kovis.
Aristogeiton were in the market-place
Meter weiter nach Siidost.'

Phot. V. opxTjarpa, irpu/rov k\t}0t]
ev T^ dyopa.
Timaeus Lex. Plat. v.
not to that in the theatre.
einige
'
dpxr](TTpa-
Tonos
eirKpavrjs (Is navrjyvpiv,
evda 'ApfJLodiov Kal 'ApiaToyuTovos
ii-
statues of
Harmodius and
:
Rangabe, ii. 565 iiKova oTTJaai

kv dyopa irXijv nap' 'Ap/jioSiov koX 'Apiaroydrova.
See Wachsmuth die Stadt
Athen, p. 170. The passage in Plato's
cp.
Apology
(p.
26
D)
doubtless refers to
the orchestra in the market-place, and

*
Eustath. Od. p. 1472
dw' aiyelpov Oia;
Suidas v.
Hesych. vv. alydpov
;
64a, irap' aiyelpov Ota, $ia -nap' aiydpqi.
HISTORY OF THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS.
III.]
has a rather suspicious
appearance,
mere guesswork, invented
to
107
and was very
likel}^
account for a current proverbial
expression.
History of the Theatre of Dionysus.
3.
The determination of the Athenians to build a stone theatre

wa s due to an acc ident at one of their dramatic performances.
In the year 499 the competitors in the tragic contest were
Pratinas, Choerilus, and Aeschylus.
While Pratinas was exhibiting, the
wooden benches
for the spectators collapsed.
order to avoid such dangers in the future

build
Some doubt
permanent theatre \
upon the
theatre^.
Hence
phanes the seats
it
'
benches
'
(ikria) in
In
was resolved
to
has been thrown
because of the
credibility of this tradition
Aristophanes speaks of
it
fact that
connexion with the
has been argued that in the time of Aristo-
in the theatre
must have been of wood, and
that consequently the construction of a stone theatre cannot
have been anterior
word
But the use of the
to the fourth century.
by Aristophanes was merely the survival of an old

Such
term, after it had become no longer literally correct.
survivals are common enough in all languages, and might be
'
ikria
illustrated
'
by numerous examples.
argue that during the
to
fifth
It
would be
just as plausible
century the seats in the Pnyx
were of wood, because Aristophanes, in the Acharnians, speaks

of the presidents jostling one another for the 'front benchl'
But there is another passage in Aristophanes which proves that
they were of stone. In the well-known scene in the Knights, where
Demos
is
represented as sitting in the Pnyx, the sausage-seller
comes forward and presents him with a cushion to alleviate the

discomfort of sitting on the hard rock *.' This example shows
'
Suidas V. nparivas.
Aristoph. Thesm. 395, 6
elaiovTfs drro
Tjfias.
tuv
The word
'iKpicvv
to tov Qtov Trpoarajfia.

wo-t' 'îs
viroPXiirova'
Inpia is also used of
the seats in the theatre by Cratinus,
Frag. Incert. 51 iKpiwv \p6<prjais, and by

Dio Chrysost. Or. 33, p. 3 Dindf. k-nfl
5k :$a}Kpdrr]s dvev aKrjvrjs Kal 'iKpioiv irroUi
Koiai
*
8'
Aristoph. Acharn.
wcrriovvTai
ire pi
raiffi
24, 25 (Ira
f\$6vT(s dWr}-
Equit. 754 orav
KaOrjrai
irhpais ov
KaO^fXivov
vpojrov ^vXov.
Aristoph.
ravrrjol
8oK(ts
irws
ovtws,
rrjs
irirpas,
(ppovriêi
5*
783
km
k-nl
OK\r)pws ae
and Schol. ad
loc.
THE THEATRE.
lo8
[Ch.
the danger of arguing from a single phrase in Aristophanes.
There can be no doubt

word ikria in reference
an instance of the survival
which had originated
doubtless at a
formation
on
in
of a term
therefore conclude that the stone
after the accident in
499 \
It
was not
the latter part of the fourth century, but
till
much
common language
the
merely
earlier period
enough was done to make it

There is very little in-
for all practical purposes.
sufficient
known
may
was commenced
completed
finally
in
it is
connexion with the wooden theatres of
in
We
the sixth century.

theatre
when Aristophanes employs
that
to the theatre of his time,
'
concerning
progress
the
of the building.
It
is
year 330 b.c. works were being carried

connexion with it. A decree of the people has been
that in the
preserved, belonging to that year, in which a vote of thanks
passed
is
to
Eudemus
certain
thousand yoke of oxen for

thenaic race-course and the
was due
lending a
for
construction of the
'the
The
theatre I'
final
Pana-
completion
As Lycurgus died about 325 b.c,

work must have been brought to a
Lycurgus.
to
follows
it
of Plataea,
the
that
termination sometime between the years 330 and 325. Considerable doubt exists as to the condition of the theatre before
the time of Lycurgus, and as to the exact character of the works
yap avTa>
Se'iKwai
em
fi^
^
ipiKoTs tois
iTpo(TK(pdkaiov
I'm
âdpois kmKaBi^rjTai.
Wilamowitz-Mollendorf, in Hermes
1886, p. 597 ff., argues in favour

of the view that there was no stone
for
theatre
tury.
(i)
Athens
at
His
in
reasons
the
are
as
fifth
cen-
follows:
The use of the word 'Upia by

Aristophanes and Cratinus. (2) The
passage in Bekk. Anecd. p. 354 at7t-
banishment to
This
Sicily.
is
said to
contradict the tradition that the collapse
took place in 499 B. C.

But the connexion of Aeschylus' retirement to Sicily
with the fall of the benches is obviously
a foolish conjecture of some
tator.
commen-
Aeschylus, as poet, would be in
os ^v, ^s ttXtj-
no way responsible for the safety of the

Other equally impossible conjectures were invented to account for the
same circumstance.
Aeschylus' first
aiov ra 'Upia kirqyvvvTo eh t^v 6eav npb
retirement to Sicily took place before
pov Oia'
'A6r}vr)ffiv a'lye
Tov Oearpov
He
says this
yevecrOar
ovtqj
proves that
Kparivos.
the
stone
was not commenced in the time

of Cratinus.
But all it proves is that
theatre
Cratinus used the proverbial expression

aiyeipov Oka.
(3)
The
story in Suid. v.
AtVxuAos that the collapse of the wooden

benches was the cause of Aeschylus'
benches.
476, the date of the foundation of Aetna.

it was due to
by Sophocles in
468 according to another it was due
to the terror caused by his chorus of
Eumenides in 458.
Yet according
to one story
disgust at his defeat

;
Corp. Inscr. Att.
ii.
176.
HISTORY OF THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS.
III.]
which he carried on
mainly
sisted
there.
new
in
It is
109
uncertain whether they con-
erections, or in restorations of the old
Unfortunately the various notices upon the subject
building.
are too vague and general in their language to admit of any

definite inference ^
All that
is
certain is that the theatre
was
completed by about 325 b. c.

After the fourth century there is no further record concerning
finally
the history of the building for
many
new
times, probably in the third century a.d., a
Roman
fact
the effect that
'
Phaedrus, son of
the history of the theatre are
ruler of life-giving
Zo'ilus,
At this point all traces of

During the Middle Ages
Attica, erected this beautiful stage.*

lost.
disappeared so completely from view, that
forgotten.
upon the
Chandler.
For a long time modern
The
subject.
it
were found
discoveries were
in
The
acting
the
for
site
was
out by
commenced by
to view,
for
three
the
years.
and large portions
preserved.
Lastly,
1877.
very
knew nothing
pointed
first
continued
have been
to
made
cavations have been carried
Dorpfeld,
was
true site
its
travellers
excavations were
1862
In
German architect Strack, and

The theatre was again exposed
of
Roman
stage in the
was erected by a certain Phaedrus, who comby an inscription upon one of the steps, to
fashion
memorated the
it
In late
centuries.
in
Some
further
new
1886,
ex-
on under the direction of Dr.
German
Archaeological
result of these latest investigations
Institute.
has been to throw
considerable additional light upon the original arrangement
of the orchestra and stage-buildings ^
^ Plut.
to ev
orat. 841 C koX
Aiovvaov Oiarpov kiriaraTaiv (TfXevTijaf,
ibid. Psephism. iii, irpbs 8k tovtois
^fiiepya irapaXafiuv
rovs re veuaoiKovs
ml
r^v (TKevo0rjKrjv Kal to OiaTpov to

AiopvaiaKov kêipyAcraTo Kal kireTiXeae.
Paus.
\fffe
i.
29. 16 olKoSofiTjpaTa Si
itT-
pXv TO 64aTpov iTtpoov virapâixivotv
Hyperid. apud Apsines, Rhet. Gr.

p.
387 (Spengel)
SioiKrjffei
(^Ko86nr]<T
Toiv
TaxOih
xp-qpuaToiv
i.
b\
km t^
fZpf
iropovs,
8e TO Qiarpov, rb (fhdov, to.
vewpia, rpirqpeis hrroiijaaTO, \ifi4vas.
The
statement of Hyperides, that the theatre

was ' built by Lycurgus, is obviously
'
rhetorical
exaggeration.
AH
the
other authorities, including the Pseph-
completed.'
it was merely
Wheeler's Theatre of Dionysus,
in Papers of the American School at
ism, say that
'
Athens, vol.
i.
Baumeister's Denk-
maler des Klassischen Alterthums, vol.

iii., V. Theatergebaude.
THE THEATRE.
no
4.
Such
is
[Ch.
Site of the Theatre of Dionysus.
the history of the theatre, as far as
from ancient notices and records.

form and construction
be convenient
will
it
portions in succession.
it
can be collected
In proceeding to describe
its
to take the different
Greek the atre
naturally divided
is
into three parts, the auditorium, the orchestra,
and the
stage-
buildings.
In the following description the auditorium will be
considered
first,
the orchestra next.
forming the most

reserved for the
difficult
The
last.
The
stage-buildings,
as
part of the whole subject, will be

object of the chapter, as already
stated, is partly to describe the present condition of the theatre,
partly to determine
its
as the latter object
original shape
and appearance.
sources of inform ation.
The most important evidence
Where
course that afforded by the existing ruins.

defective, or
by
where the
later alterations, the
As
far
concerned there are three principal
is
original construction has
is
of
these are
been obliterated
gaps in our knowledge can occasionally
be supplied by the evidence from the ruins of other theatres,
more
especially the theatre of Epidaurus.
third great source
of information consists in the notices scattered up and

*
down
the
works of the ancient grammarians and commentators. These

notices, though often confused and contradictory, and though
sometimes hardly applicable to the theatre at Athens in the fifth
ancl fourth centuries, are nevertheless of the greatest value in
and supplementing the evidence supplied by the
illustrating
actual ruins.
The
new
theatre was on the south-eastern

There was here an enclosure called
the Lenaeum, sacred to Dionysus, the god of the 'lenos/ or
wine-press.
The spot was also called the Marshes. Within
this enclosure were two temples of Dionysus, of which the
site
chosen
for the
slopes of the Acropolis.
foundations have recently been discovered.
The
oldest
of
was the nearest to the Acropolis, and is that marked D in

the accompanying plan.
It contained the statue of Dionysus
Eleuthereus.
It was probably this statue which was taken into
these
SITE OF THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS.
III.]
iii
the theatre every year during the dramatic performances, and
deposited in the orchestra.
few yards
letter
The more
to the south of the old one,
in the plan.
certain Alcamenes,
recent temple stood a
and
made
of ivory and gold.
more ancient temple of Dionysus stood
the
is
indicated by the
contained a statue of Dionysus by a
It
Nearly
in front of
the old orches tra in
which Thespis and his successors had performed. The site

chosen for the new theatr e was a few yards to the north-west of
The
the old orchestral
In the
as
first
sort
place
it
reasons^ for the choic e are obvious.
was natural
of temple
that the theatre, being regarded
of Dionysus,
and being designed
celebrations in his honour, should be erected in
his
for
sacred
In the second place the slopes of the Acropolis
enclosure.
afforded an excellent foundation for the tiers of seats, and the

necessity of erecting costly substructures
was avoided.
In one
respect the position of the theatre differed from that usu ally
adopted^ in
ater
The auditorium
t ijpes.
faced almost directly
This arrangement was generally avoided
towards the south.
by the Greeks, and Vitruvius expressly warns architects against

the danger of adopting
it,
because of the terrible heat caused by
midday sun glaring into the concavity of the theatre'^. But

If
at Athens there were special reason s on the other side.
the theatre was to be built in the Lenaeum at all, the only
natural position for the auditorium was along the slopes of the
Acropolis, and facing towards the south. We must also remember that at Athens the competitions for which the theatre
the
was
principally designed
early spring,
heat.
when
were held in the late winter or the

was more to be dreaded than the
the cold
For performances
at this
period of the year the theatre
was admirably adapted. It not only received the full warmth

of the sun, but was also protected from the north wind by the
rocks of the Acropolis behind it. At Athens therefore there
were special reasons
for preferring the southern aspect.
^ Hesych.
dycuv;
AtjvoIo)
v.
Itti
Thucyd. ii. 15 Pausan. i. 20. 3; Bau;
meister's
Denkmaler des Klassischen
Alterthums, vol.
^
Vitruv. v.
3.
iii.
2.
p. 1736.
The
THE THEATRE.
113
tiie
ASCLEPIEION
AcropoJis ^'--
[Ch.
THE AUDITORIUM,
IIL]
name of
official
was
also
the building
was The Theatre of Dionysus.
The Auditorium.
Following the arrangement previously mentioned
of all to the auditorium.
the theatre
is
here inserted
Together with the two views of
'^.
commencement of the present
the frontispiece and at the
chapter,
it
enable the reader
will
understand the following details without much
The
we come
plan of the existing remains of
the theatre, which are given in
to
It
sometimes called The Lenaic Theatre \
5.
first
13
difficulty.
auditorium, or the portion of the theatre containing the
seats for the spectators,
was
called the
cavea
'
'
in Latin
but
was no technical terrn for it in Greek. In almost all

Greek theatres it was built upon the side of a hill, so that the
natural slope of the ground might serve as a foundation for the
tiers of seats.
At Athens the rising ground at the foot of the
Acropolis was utilised for this purpose. It was only at the
extremities of the two wings, on the east and the west, that
artificial substructures were necessary, in order to bring the
back seats up to the proper height. In the other parts of the
building the rising ground served as a foundation, after being
there
altered
the
to
requisite
The
shape.
walls
by which
the
auditorium was bounded on the outside have been preserved

to a
certain extent,
and
from a
to
Z>,
outer one.
suffice
On
shape of the building.
inner wall
Corp. Inscr. Att. ii. 240 to Oearpov

Cp. Phot, and Hesych.
TO AiovvffiaKov.
TO kv Aiovvciov Otarpov
'.
Poll.
121 TO AijvuiKov (Oiarpov).

The plan is taken from Baumeister's
Denkmaler, v. Theatergebiude, and,
iv.
as
Dr.
tains
recent
mark
clearly the
is
built
existing
of conglomerate,
been Vischer's
article
Schweizerisches
Museum,
the results of his

Dr. Dorpfeld's
excavations.
schrift
fUr bildende
substantially
nately not
authorities
elaborate plan has unfortuyet

for
been published.
My
the description of the
the
Neues
1863, Bd. 3:
by Julius and
me,
in
Wheeler's Theatre of Dionysus, in

Papers of the American School at
Athens, vol. i.
Das Theater des Dionysus,
informs
and
remains of the theatre have
con-
Dorpfeld
own more
original
there are two boundary walls, an inner and an
The
(v. iKpia)
to
the western side of the theatre,
Ziller,
in
Zeit-
Kunst, vol. xiii.

to Greece, vol. i.
Murray's Handbook
Baumeister's Denkmaler
228 ff.
p.
des Klassischen Alterthums, vol. iii. v.
Theatergebaude.
;
THE THEATRE.
114
[Ch.
formed the real supporting wall of the auditorium in this part.

The outer wall is built of Peiraic limestone, and merely served
and protection
as a cover
The two
to the inner one.
walls are
connected at intervals by lateral arms, which are also continued
some distance beyond the inner

the building almost
all
On
wall.
the eastern side of
boundary walls have
traces of the
same
the
At the
as that on the western side just described.
marked
point h a wall of Peiraic limestone,
and
c in the plan,
The
closely connected with the wall a-b, runs off westwards.
small piece of wall stretching northwards from c
construction.
made
little
is
dis-
much
appeared, but probably the general construction was very
of mediaeval
to the north of wall c another wall
d,
of conglomerate, also runs off westwards in a nearly
Between these two walls the boundary wall
parallel direction.
of the theatre
discontinued.
is
obvious therefore that at
It is
was an entrance into the auditorium. Very

possibly there was a similar entrance on the opposite side but
this point there
the remains there are not sufficiently well preserved to deter-
From
mine the question.
the point
the boundary wall pro-
ceeds in a curve towards the north-east.
There
is
no inner
The
wall in this part, as in the lower half of the western side.

single wall
which here forms the boundary of the theatre
conglomerate faced with Peiraic limestone, and
built of
tinued in the
point e
same
some extra
line with the outer wall
from a
to
h.
is
is
con-
At the
upon the rocky slopes of the
seats are built
Acropolis, outside the boundary wall of the theatre, and sup-
ported by a special wall marked
Further eastwards the
e,
rock of the Acropolis abutted upon the theatre, and has been
This
hollowed out into a regular curve.
is
without doubt the
portion of the~theatre referred to by the ancients as Katatome,
or 'The Cutting \'
by
^
artificial
Harp.
to)
KaTOL
V.
In the rock
means, and 34
KaTaroix-q-
At] fJioaOh'ovs'
'Tirepeidrjs
real
ft.
iv
KaOrjfievos
is
a natural grotto enlarged
long by 20
x^PVl^''
Trato-t,
p. 270. 21
KTr}
aiyna,
^tAoxopos 6e kv
'AvayvpaaL09
dviOrjKf rbv virfp Ofdrpov rpiiroha Karapyvpojffas,
AlfTXpaios
veviKTjKws
to)
nporepov
erti
Kal
fj
Karaioix^
Here
broad.
kneypaipev
Kararofxriv ttjs irerpas.
K<XTO} vTrb rrj KaTaTOjJLrj.
ovTcvs'
ft.
77
Itti
rr/v
Bekk, Anec'l.
upxrârpa
ij
vvv
fieposri rov Oedrpov Karerfirfdr],
eird kv 6pi KareCKevaaTai k.t.X.
THE AUDITORIUM,
III.]
monument
Thrasyllus erected an elaborate

his victor3^ with a chorus of
men
in
319
commemorate
to
B.C.
15
In the front of
the grotto stood three columns supporting an entablature, and
surmounted by a statue of Dionysus. On the architrave was

an inscription recording the victory of Thrasyllus. Inside the
grotto were statues of Apollo and Artemis, destroying the
modern times the grotto has been

Our Lady. The columns and entablature were in excellent preservation when Stuart visited
Athens, but they were shattered by a mine during the Greek
revolution.
Above the grotto are two columns, which were
erected to commemorate victories with dithyrambic choruses.
On the capitals can still be seen the holes made to receive the
legs of the tripods ^
After the Katatome there are very few
remains of the boundary of the theatre upon the eastern side.
But enough is left to show the general outline, as may be
children of Niobe.
In
converted into a chapel of
The two wings
seen from the plan.
of the auditorium are
terminated on the south by the walls marked a-a and f-f.

The walls are of unequal length, the eastern wall being about
III
the western only 88
ft.,
The
ft.
eastern wing was there-
fore considerably wider than the western.
The two walls are

They are^not in
of conglomerate faced with Peiraic limestone.

the same^ stcaightjine, but
if
continued inwards would meet in
an obtuse angle in the orchestra. A comparison of the various

Greek theatres shows that two different plans were adopted in
regard to the position of these walls.
Sometimes, as in the
theatre at Athens, they were so arranged as to form an angle
prolonged.
if
Asia
This
is
the case with most of the theatres of
and the same plan has been adopted
Minor,
theatres at Epidaurus, Mantineia, and the Peiraeeus.
Pans.
i.
Antiquities
21. 5.
of
inscription on
Stuart
Athens,
the
and Revett's
ii.
8.
view of the theatre given
The
monument was
at the corn-
as
choregic columns,
ywv
of Cimon, covered over with a
Above
viKTjaas dvSpdffiv 'iTnToOcuvTidi (pvXfj,
casing.
Evios Xa\Kidvs r)v\t, N^'atxAtos ripx^v,
Swrtos edlSaffKfv.
the
Some-
mencement of the chapter the katatome,

together with the grotto and the two
follows (Corp. Inscr. Gr. 224), @p:i<yvK\os SpaavWov AeKeXeevs dviOrjKev x^PV-
KapKidafios
in
In the
I
the grotto
are clearly visible.

is
seen the. old wall
modern
THE THEATRE,
Il6
[Ch.
on the other hand, the walls were arranged in one and

same straight line, so as to be exactly parallel with the
times,
the
The
stage.
theatres of Sicily are mostly of this pattern, as
is
also the theatre at Megalopolis ^
The above
description, together with the plan, will give a fair
idea of the general outline of the auditorium.
It will
readily be
seen that the Athenian theatre had none of tha t sym nietry and
harmonious beauty of design which

of the later Greek theatres.
Its
is
conspicuous in so
shape was
many
from regular.
far
glance at the plan of the theatre of Epidaurus, which was
built
by the younger Polycleitus in the middle of the fourth

show at once the great inferiority of the Athenian
century, will
theatre in point of grace and
symmetry of outlined In most

Greek theatres the auditorium was of the same width from one
end to the other, and was shaped in a symmetrical curve. In
the theatre at Athens the two wings of the auditorium are
narrowed so considerably towards the south, as to be less than
half the depth of the central part.
The outside boundary does
not run in a regular curve, but is very much flattened where it
encounters the rock of the Acropolis, and terminates in a
straight line at each of the southern corners.
But the
strangest point of
tion, is several
ment
all
that the eastern wing, at
is
yards wider than the western wing
utterly destructive
of symmetry of design.
disregard for mere appearance
is
termina-
its
an arrange-
shown by the
similar
erection of
extra seats on the slopes of the Acropolis outside the north-
western boundary wall.
The
use rather than for show.
theatre at Athens
It
was
was
not, like the
Epidaurus, designed on one symmetrical plan.
Its
built for
theatre
at
shape was
determined by the conformation of the ground and by the

situation of the adjoining rocks.
outline.
Although therefore
theatres on
account of
its
it
is
Hence
the irregularity of
the most interesting of
its
Greek
historical associations, in point of
mere beauty it cannot take the highest rank.

We now come to the interior of the auditorium.
^
Mliller's Griech. Biihnenalterthumer, p. 29.
See the plan of the theatre of Epidaurus on
The boundary
p. 1 30.
THE AUDITORIUM.
III.]
117
between the auditorium and the orchestra

dark Hne
in the plan.
It will
is
denoted by the
be observed that in the theatre of
Dionysus the inside boundary of the au djtorium consists of a

semicircle with
the
two ends prolonged
in parallel
This was not the plan usually adopted
lines.
in
Greek
straight
theatres.
In most of the later theatres the two ends of the semicircle
were prolonged
in the
same curve as
before, so that the inside ^
boundary of the auditorium formed about two-thirds of a regular

The effect of this arrangement was that the spectators
circle.
sitting at the extremities of the
two wings faced towards the
away from the stage. This need

not surprise us when we remember that in purely Greek theatres
the orchestra was always the most important part of the whole
centre of the orchestra, and
building.
But the arrangement adopted
at
Athens, of prolong-
ing the two ends of the semicircle in a straight
line,
had the
advantage of giving the spectators on the wings a much better
view of the stage.
The same
plan was also adopted in the
theatre of the Peiraeeus, and in the theatres at Acrae in Sicily,
and Termessus
in
Asia Minor.
At Epidaurus a
pursued, differing from both the above.
third plan
The two ends
was
of the
semicircle were prolonged, not in a straight line, nor yet in the

same curve as before, but in the shape of an ellipse, so that
while they converged to a certain extent, they did not converge

so
much
as in the ordinary
Greek theatres \
This arrangement
perhaps the most beautiful of the three. But as far as the

view of the stage is concerned the design adopted in the theatre
is
of Dionysus has decidedly the advantage.
The
interior of the auditorium consisted of a series of stone
seats rising tier above tier in a gentle slope from the
boundary
of the orchestra to the outside extremities of the building.
Immediately under the
cliff
carved out of the living rock.
made
of Peiraic Hmestone.
of the Acropolis the seats were
With
this exception they
were
In some of the upper portions of the
upon conglomerate foundations. But in

most parts they were placed directly upon the bare earth, and
theatre they were fixed
Muller's Biihnenalterthumer, p. 29.
THE THEATRE.
were therefore
easily capable of being
[Cb.
For this reason
removed.
number of them have disappeared, having been

taken away during the Middle Ages for building purposes. All
the greater
that
remain are from twenty
to thirty
rows
bottom of the
in the
auditorium, and portions of a few rows at the top.
From
these
however it is possible to obtain a clear conception of the style

In order to make the
and arrangement of the auditorium.
following description clearer, an illustration
here inserted,
is
consisting of a restoration of the extremity of the eastern
In this illustration a
is
wing\
the orchestra, h the eastern entrance
into the orchestra, c the southern
boundary wall of the east wing
of the auditorium.
To proceed
with the description of the seats
The
lowest
step of the auditorium rose a few inches above the level
of
the orchestra, and then sloped gently upwards towards the

first row of seats.
It was built of large slabs of stone.
It
was wider at the sides than in the centre, the width at the sides
being nine feet ten inches, the width
seven inches.
The
line of seats
at the centre
therefore did
only six feet

not coincide
exactly with the boundary line of the auditorium and orchestra,

^
The
illustration is copied,
bildende Kunst,
xiii. p.-
197.
with a few alterations, from the Zeitschrift
fiir
THE AUDITORIUM.
III.]
The
but receded slightly on the two wings.
first
consisted of marble thrones with backs to them.
each throne was an inscription recording the

or
whom
official for
seats
In the front of
title
The
was reserved.
the seat
row of
19
of the priest
thrones were
25 inches wide, and 23^ inches deep. In the centre was the
throne of the priest of Dionysus, slightly larger than the others,
and elaborately and beautifully carved.
Behind the
line of
thrones was a passage 33 inches wide. Then came a small

step, 7 inches high, and 17I inches deep, for the people on the
seat above to rest their feet upon.
Then began
the
first
of the
ordinary tiers of seats, which were continued in exactly the
same
from
style
this point
up
to the top
of the building.
shape and dimensions were as follows.
Each
seat
Their
was I2|
inches high, and was hollowed out slightly in front, so that the
person
divided
sitting
on
sitting
The depth
could put his heels back as far as he liked.
it
of the seat was 33 inches, and
its
surface
was
The first part was for

deep. The second part was
into three distinct portions.
upon, and was 12 1 inches
several inches lower, and was intended to receive the feet of the
The
It was \6\ inches across.
was merely a narrow edge, of the same level as the
and 4 inches in depth. Thus the whole surface came
persons upon the seat above.

third part
first part,
All the seats throughout the building, with
33 inches.
the exception
to
same
row of thrones, were of exactly the

Along the front of each tier of seats were
of the
construction.
vertical lines
engraved
in the stone at intervals of
about 13
were doubtless intended to help in discrimin- " ^" *

xt*^^^^^ 2 aL<r-CfLttr
ating each person's seat from his neighbour's.
For the purpose of giving access to the different parts of the
inches.
The
lines
auditorium a series of passages ran in divergent
spokes of a wheel, from the orchestra up
The passages were

extreme south
boundary
at
walls.
the
boundary.
each side adjoined immediately upon the

In a theatre like that at Athens, where an
to
be accommodated with seats
in tolerable proximity to the orchestra

to
lines, like
to the outside
fourteen in number, and the two upon the
immense number of people had
economy had
be observed
in the
and
stage, the greatest
use of space.
These
vertical
THE THEATRE.
120
[Ch.
made only 27 1
passages were therefore
inches wide, so that
The
not more than one person could ascend at a time.
arrange-
ment of the steps along the passages was altogether exceptional.

In every Greek theatre, except that at Athens, each tier of seats
had two steps corresponding to it in the vertical passages. But
and as
at Athens there was only one step for each tier of seats
the seats were 12 J inches high, while the steps were only
8 1 inches, it was necessary to make up the difference by
;
The surface was

The fourteen
building the steps with a sloping surface.
furrowed over, to render the ascent more easy.
passages divided the auditorium into thirteen blocks
Such
blocks were called 'cunei' or 'wedges* in Latin, because of

their shape.
In Greek they were called 'kerkides,' from their
resemblance to the 'kerkis,' or tapering rod used in weaving\
The
front
row
in
each
'
kerkis
with the exception of the two
'
'
contained
kerkides
'
five
marble thrones,
on the extreme south
of each wing, which contained six thrones each
so that the
number of marble thrones was sixty-seven. In addition

the vertical passages all Greek theatres of any size were also
total
to
intersected by one or two longitudinal pas sages, called 'pra ecincti ones* in Latin.
into
sections, called
terminology".
These passages divided the auditorium

girdles
in Greek technical
or
belts
'
'
'
In the theatre of Dionysus no traces of such
passages can be discovered, owing to the
total destruction
of
But we have seen that there
the upper part of the auditorium.
was an entrance into the building on the western side at the

point marked c in the plan.
There was in all probability a
corresponding entrance on the opposite
side,
and a longitudinal
passage ran from entrance to entrance, following the direction

of the tiers of seats in the
in the plan.
British
manner
This supposition
is
indicated by the dotted lines
confirmed by a coin
Museum, which contains on one
tion of the
Theatre
at
Athens.
in
the
side a rude representa-
In spite of the roughness and
inaccuracy of the design, there are clear traces of a longitudinal
passage intersecting the upper portion of the auditorium.

^
Pollux,
Sto^fw/xara,
iv.
123.
Corp. Inscr. Gr. 4283; ^wvat, Malal.
p. 222.
copy
THE AUDITORIUM.
III.]
of the coin
in the
ance.
is
here inserted \
The
121
position of the 'praecinctio
'
Athenian theatre has not a very symmetrical appearBut symmetry of design was not the characteristic of the
In most Greek theatres the auditorium
was of the same width from end to end, and was divided by the
longitudinal
passages into equal and symmetrical portions.

of the theatre of Epidaurus will serve as a specimen'.
But in the theatre at Athens it was impossible to arrange the
longitudinal passage in this manner, owing to the narrowness of
The plan
the wings of the auditorium.
As
Athenian theatre they appear
to
to the vertical passages, in the
have run
the bottom to the top of the auditorium.
in a straight line
from
In some theatres, as at
Epidaurus, extra passages were inserted in the upper belt of the

auditorium.
belt
In other theatres the vertical passages in the upper
were arranged alternately with those in the lower belt, and

line.
But the ordinary practice was to
not in the same straight
construct single passages in the
This
to top^.
is
same
especially likely to
straight line from bottom
have been the case
at
Athens, as the theatre was not divided into symmetrical belts or

sections,
and would not therefore naturally lend
kinds of arrangement.
It
was the fashion
in
itself to the
Roman
other
theatres to
erect a portico along the top of the auditorium, following the

line of the
uppermost
tier
But there are no traces of
of seats.
^ The copy is taken from Wieseler's

Denkmaler des Biihnenwesens, i. i.
^
^
See the plan on p. 130.

Miiller's Buhnenalt. p. 33.
THE THEATRE.
122
such a portico in the theatre
at
[Ch.
Athens, or in any other theatre
of purely Greek origin \
The
following facts and measurements will give
the siz e an d capacity of t he Athenian theatre
some idea of
The
distance
between the inside corners of the auditorium was 72 feet. The

distance between the outside corners was 288 feet.
In the
centre of the auditorium, from north to south,
Of
is
calculated
tiers
of seats'.
it
by Strack that there must have been about 100
course on each of the two wings the number of tiers would
be considerably less than half that amount.
The arrangements
throughout were designed with the view of bringing together
number of people within the smallest

The passages were little over two feet in
the largest possible

possible compass.
The
were of the simplest construction, so that the

spectators could be packed tightly together, without any space
width.
seats
As the theatre was in the open air the close

crowding of the audience was of course much less intolerable
being wasted.
than
it
would have been
in a
At the same
covered building.
time the situation of the spectator cannot have been a very comfortable one.
He
had
to
remain cramped up
with no back to lean against, and with very
moving
his limbs.
in
little
one position,
opportunity of
That the Athenians were willing
put up
to
with such inconveniences for several days in succession
proof of their enthusiastic devotion
The
to
is
music and the drama.
number of people which could be accommodated in

the theatre at Athens is said by Plato to have been more than
thirty thousand.'
Modern investigations, based on the existing
remains, lead to the conclusion that the number was 27,500.
In any case the theatre was not so capacious as that of
total
'
Megalopolis, which
is
calculated to have held 44,000 people.
was however one of the four largest theatres in Greece

proper. Tiie other three were those of Megalopolis, Epidaurus,
and Sparta^.
It
Vitruv. V. 6.
4; Miiller's Biihnen-
alt. p. 36.
'^
Strack's Altgriech. Theatergebaude,
P- 2.
Symp. 175 E; Zeitschrift fUr

Kunst, xiii. p. 202
Strack's Altgriech. Theatergebaude, p. 2 Miiller's
'
Plat.
bild.
Biihnenalt. p. 47.
THE AUDITORIUM.
lil.]
There
still
remains the question as
tion of the au dito rium.
I2<5
to the date of the.construc;
All the authorities are agreed that the
existing remains belong to the original building,
and that there
has been no reconstruction in later times in this part of the

theatre, as there
The
of opinion.
referred
was due
was
But as
buildings.
tradition recorded
It states that
to.
and the stage-
in the case of the orchestra
to the date there is considerable difference
by Suidas has already been
the construction of a stone theatre
to the collapse of the
wooden benches
in
499
B.C.,
when
Pratinas was exhibiting in the tragic contest, and his competitors
were Aeschylus and Choerilus.

details of this tradition
ticity
and
We
credibility.
There
which gives
it
is
a precision about the
an appearance of authen-
are probably therefore justified
iii
concluding that the construction of the auditorium was com-
menced
early in the
fifth
Nothing
century.
progress of the work, or the extent to which

Persian invasion.
the
middle of the
They
is
fifth
Julius assigns
Others put
century.
refer to a certain slab with
its
it
suffered during
it
completion to the
about
as to the
fifty
years
an inscription upon
it,
'C-.
later, c.
which
built into the south-western wall of the auditorium with the
inscription inverted \
If the date of the inscription could
determined with certainty,
it
would
fix
But unfortunately
this point there is a difference of opinion.
from the style of the inscription, ascribes

fifth
it
Julius,
to the
b.c.
It is
is
kind, consisting simply of "tiers
Of
upon
not by any means necessary that

at the
same
It
time.
is
It
The
it
All that can fairly
course in
tiers
was finished
a work of this
of stone seats,
should have been
may have been added
inscription
it
is
all built
to at different
was not fully completed

But the probability seems to be that
quite possible that
until the fourth century.
to the
that the greater part of the auditorium
in the course of the fifth century.
-periods.
it
impossible therefore to base any exact con-
clusions on this particular piece of evidence.
be inferred
judging
is
it
given in Corp. Inscr. Att.
i.
Ji.
middle of the
century; Kirchhofif on the same grounds assigns
year 408
be
the time before which the
auditorium could not have been completed.
on
known
is
499.
<-
THE THEATRE.
124
by
far the larger portion of
the
fifth
it
[Ch.
was constructed
in the course of
century.
A totallydifibreiitLQfiinion concerning the date of the auditorium

He
has lately been propounded ^3r^n^Dorp^feld.
whole building
to the latter part _oflJhe_jQUjth
was no such thing
asserts that before this time there
as a permanent stone theatre.
ascribes the
century, and
Athens
at
Until the end of the fourth
century the seats of the spectators consisted, according to his
The
stone theatre
time of Lycurgus.
His reasons
account, merely of rows of
wooden benches.
was begun and completed
in the
however by any means conclusive^,

and are more than counterbalanced by the arguments o n the other
There is the precise statement in Suidas that the stone
side.
for this novel theory are not
theatre
was commenced
Epidaurus and
at
at the
in
499
Then
b.c.
again
it is
known
that
Peiraeeus stone theatres had been erected
as early as the middle of the fourth century ^
It is
impossible to
drama was
believe that Athens, the city in which the
originally
developed, and whose theatrical representations continued to
be the admiration of
all
the rest of Greece, should have been
later than Epidaurus, and later than her
own
sea-port the
Peiraeeus, in providing herself with a permanent theatre.

also difficult to suppose that
built
C.
after
inferior in
^
that
if
of Epidaurus,
symmetry of design.
Dr. Dorpfeld, in a letter of Nov.
would have been so much
it
The
to,thedateof which is assigned variously

450 or 408 B. c. Here again there is
nothing to carry us beyond the fifth
to
of the auditorium to the latter part p f

The material.
century.
the fourth cent ury (il
But Julius, Wheeler, and others make

the style and general character of the
work one of their reasons for assigning
it
to the fifth century.
Where
there
is
such difference of opinion, it

difficult
to
is obviously
place reliance upon argu-
ments of this kind. (2) Certain stonemason's marks, among which the letter
n appears. But the letter H was formally adopted at Athens in 403 B. c, so
that even if the evidence of these marks
is to be relied on, it only brings us down
to the end of the fifth century.
(3) The
theatre at Athens, with
inscription on the slab already referred
1888, gives the following as his

reasons for assigning the , constru ction
7th,
It is
the Athenian theatre had been
(4) The use of the word i'/fpta

This
by Cratinus and Aristophanes.
argument has already been discussed on
(5) The notices concerning the
carried out in the theatre by
p. 107.
work
These notices, as was

Lycurgus.
pointed out on p. 109, are far too vague
and general to lead to any definite conThere is nothing in them
elusion.
which
tion
is
inconsistent with the supposi-
that
the
stantially the
^
573.
Paus.
ii.
auditorium
work of
27. 5
the
was
fifth
sub-
century,
Corp. Inscr. Att.
ii.
THE ORCHESTRA.
III.]
its irregularity,
and
of the ground,
its
25
adaptation to the natural conformation
has distinctly the appearance
work of the
earliest
On
kind.
of being the
every ground therefore
it
is
difficult to resist
the conclusion that the auditorium of which
the remains
exist
pletion
still
was
It
the
fifth
work as a whole belonged

century
One
work of
substantially the
may have been added to by Lycurgus the comof every detail may have been due to him
but that the
century.
is
a suggestion which
point has
to
still
The
marWe^ thrones.
to
it
the latter half of the fourth

is
hardly possible to accept.
be noticed, and that
general opinion
origin than the rest of the auditorium.
them mostly belong
is
is
the date o f the
that they are of later
The
inscriptions
to the Christian era, but in
many
upon
cases half
obliterated traces of older inscriptions are to be discovered
underneath.
Some
of the inscriptions, however, are thought to
be as early as the Macedonian period.
The
probability
is
that
the marble thrones were erected by Lycurgus in the course of

his
completion of the theatre.
Whether
before the time of
Lycurgus the front row of seats was in any way superior to

the rest is uncertain. At Epidaurus the seats in the front row
were
all
provided with backs, but otherwise were quite simple
and
in design,
far less
Athenian theatre ^
imposing than the marble thrones in the
It
is
possible that at Athens, before the
row was distinguished in

some way from the other rows behind it, without displaying
any very great magnificence.
alterations of Lycurgus, the front
6.
The Orchestra.
After the auditorium the next great division of the theatre

the orchestra.
This was the name given
is
to the flat surface
enclosed between the stage-buildings and the inside boundary
was called the orchestra, or ^dancingplace,' because in Greek theatres it was reserved for the
performances of the chorus. In later times it was also called
the Sigma^ because its shape resembled the semicircular figure
of the auditorium.
UpaKTiKoL
It
TTJs kv
'AO^vats dpxaio\. haipias 1883, p. 46
ff.
THE THEATRE.
126
which was adopted

letter
early period of the
On
soil.
pavement, but consisted merely of the
the other
applied
as
to-
Greek drama, when the orchestras were not
as yet covered with
origin,
used
is
possible therefore that the term originated in the
It is
ordinary
'konistra,'
Konistra means a surface of earth or
denote the orchestra.

sand.
century as the symbol of th^
in the fourth
In one place the word
sigma\
[Ch,
the
to
hand the word may be of
Roman
In
theatre.
late
times
the
orchestras of Greek theatres were occasionally the scene of
and were probably strewn with sand
gladiatorial combats,
the purpose.
It
may
for
be the case that the use of the word
'konistra,' as applied to the orchestra, arose in later times in
consequence of
place,
Roman
In
subject^
As
this practice.
the term only occurs in one
impossible to speak with any certainty on the
is
it
theatres the orchestra
was given up
to
the spectators, and the performances of singers and dancers
took place upon the stage.

adopted, under the
Hence
the later
Roman
The same
Greek commentators and grammarians
use the word
'
in their time
was the
orchestra
much
scholiast speaks of the orchestra,
carefully to the context, to see
the orchestra in
its
often
improperly to denote the stage, which
This
actual dancing-place.
cation of the term has given rise to
Greek
was gradually
practice
Empire, in the Greek theatres also.
it
later signifi-
When
confusion.
is
necessary to look
whether he means the
stage, or
proper sensed
In the early Greek theatres, as already pointed out, the

orchestra was the most important part.
Phot.
TO
bpxqc^Tpa
V.
eKkrjOrj kv rrj
(i),
rrpwrov
dyopa' eJra Kal rod Oedrpov
KOLTOJ fjpiK'iKXiov,
ov Kol ol x^pot p5ov
Bekk. Anecd. p. 286

opxrjCfTpa Tov O^cnpov rb vvv Xeyo/xevov
Giyixa' oovopidaOr] 5e ovtws kvel (kKei)
Kat
wpxovvTo.
The
stage-buildings
appears; in the latter
6px'70"'"/3a is
sub-
stituted.
^
E. g, Schol. Arlstoph.
(of the chorus) eardcrL
Equit.
piXv
yap
505
fcaTcL
Snidas v. aKrjvrj ... 97 Koviarpa,

TovTeaTiTbKdTa}'e5a(posTov9(dTpov. The
otoixov ol irpos t^v opxtJOTpav dnol3\evovrer orav hi irapa^waiv, ecp^^TJi karojTfs Kal Trpus tovs Oeards fiXenovres rbv
Xoyov voiovvTai. Here bpx'rj(T'rpa obCp. also Suidas s. v.
xionsly = Xoyeiov.
same scholium
Schol.
cktjvt)
stra
wpXOVVTO
01
X^po'-
is
repeated in
Gregor. Nazianz. laud. patr. 355
Hermes,
vi. p.
490), and in Etym.
(see
Mag.
In the former the word Koviorpa again
Isidor. Origg. xviii.
autem pulpitus
saltator agere posset, aut

disputare.'
44
'
orche-
erat scaenae, ubi
duo
inter se
ni.]
THE ORCHESTRA.
were a mere appendage
I27
The
to the orchestra.
seats of the
were so arranged, that while everyone had an

excellent view of the orchestra, the view of the stage was in
many cases a very poor one. When the Romans gave up the
spectators
orchestra to the spectators, and transferred

to the stage, they
made
the performances
all
considerable alterations in the arrange-
ment and proportions of the theatre. They largely diminished

the size of the orchestra, by bringing the stage several yards
forward; and at the same time they cut off considerable
portions from the two ends of the auditorium.
In this way they
were enabled to make the stage much deeper, so as to accommodate a larger number of performers. By shortening the
wings of the auditorium they abolished those seats which looked
away from
some
Vitruvius gives
the stage.
interesting direc-
tions for determining the proper proportions of a
Gree k and
Ro man
Roman
The
According
theatre \
theatre
constituted
to his figures the orchestra in a
an
exact
semicircle.
line of the stage coincided precisely with the
orchestra.
In a Greek theatre the stage was placed
further back.
The
front
diameter of the
much
distance between the central point of the
front line of the stage,
and the central point
in the opposite
circumference of the orchestra, was six-sevenths of the diameter
of the orchestra.
In a Greek theatre therefore, according to
this statement, if the circumference of the orchestra
longed so as to form a complete
circle,
it
was prowould be found that
the front line of the stage only intersected a very small portion
of that
circle.
None
of the existing Greek theatres coincide
exactly with the rules laid
cases
they
approximate
down
b}^
daurus and the Peiraeeus the stage

back than Vitruvius
case.
directs.
to
is
the
step
form a complete
circle,
but in most
theatres
placed a
At Athens
If the curve of the lowest
prolonged so as
Vitruvius;
In
closely.
this is
at
little
still
Epi-
further
more
of the auditorium
the
is
the circumference of
that circle does not touch the front line of the oldest existing
stage.
These
facts
enable
one
to
realise
position occupied by the stage in early times.

'
Vitruv. V. 6,
7.
the
subordinate
In the old Greek
THE THEATRE.
28
[Ch.
theatres the original circle of the orchestra
was
preserved
still
or was only encroached upon to a very small extent by
intact,
the line of the stage-buildings.
The
question as to the character_and appearânceof the
orchestra in the Athenian theatre during the great period of
drama
the Attic
one of the highest
is
The
the subject.
late date,
central part of the building
and only
be discovered.
Unfortunately
interest.
the present state of the theatre does not throw
much
is
upon
light
mostly of very
slight traces of the original orchestra are to
It will
be convenient
first
of
all
to give a brief
description of the present orchestra, and then to see whether

the deficiency in our information can be supplied from other
In the Athenian theatre the front of the auditorium
sources.
consists of a broad
and gently-sloping
step,
which
rises a
few
inches above the level of the orchestra, and varies in width from
about seven feet in the centre to about ten feet
at the
two
sides.
Along the edge of this step runs a marble balustrade, marked

It consists of large slabs of
by the dark fine in the plan.
marble, bound together by iron clamps, and 43 inches in
On the southern side the orchestra is bounded by the
height.
stage of Phaedrus, a work of the third century a. d., which has
already been referred to. About half of it is preserved, and is
marked
g in
The two ends
the plan.
of this stage, as originally
constructed, joined on to the two ends of the balustrade, so as

to
block up the entrances into the orchestra.
trade there
An
is
a gutter
made
Inside the balus-
of limestone, 35I inches in width.
outlet for the water runs off in a south-easterly direction.
The
was
where
originally open, except opposite the vertical
gutter
passages,
In later
stone.
was bridged over with coverings of

times it was covered over entirely with
it
of marble, with rosette-shaped openings at intervals.

these openings are
Inside the gutter
plan.
Within
In the centre
of
is
Some
of
preserved, and are indicated in the

is
this the orchestra is
of marble, arranged
strips
still
lime-
slabs
a narrow strip of Pentelic marble.
paved with slabs of different kinds
in lines parallel to the stage of
Phaedrus.
a large rhombus-shaped figure, bounded by two
marble.
The
interior
of the
figure
is
paved with
THE ORCHESTRA.
III.]
129
small slabs of marble, also rhombus-shaped, and of different
In the middle of the figure
colours.
a block of Pentelic
is
The
marble, 41 inches long, and 17^ inches broad.
centre of
may
the block contains a shallow circular depression, which
have been intended

south-west corner
cistern.
Of
It is
to receive
an
altar of Dionysus.
In the
of the orchestra there formerly stood a
marked
in the plan, but
has lately been removed.
the various portions of the orchestra which have just been
described, the only one which belongs to the original building
the gutter. This was made of limestone, like the auditorium,

and had no covering at first, with the exception of the bridges
It was intended to drain off the water
opposite the passages.
is
With
from the auditorium.
usefulness in this respect
its
the orchestra
is
the construction of the balustrade
The pavement
was destroyed.
of
of excellent workmanship, and probably belongs
The
to the time of the early Caesars.
balustrade, the stage of
Phaedrus, and the marble covering of the gutter, are of later

date,
and are
ascribed by Dorpfeld to one period, probably
all
the beginning of the third century a.d.
encroaches on the orchestra

trade
entirely
is
a Roman
in the
idea.
The
Roman
stage of Phaedrus
The
fashion.
balus-
In Greek theatres there was
never any obstacle between the orchestra and the auditorium.
As
one can
far as
been due
see, the erection of the balustrade
to the practice of
As
orchestra.
was
rhombus-shaped
for the
must have
holding gladiatorial combats in the

figure,
it
is
uncertain
mere ornament, or was intended

for any particular purpose. At any rate, it throws no light upon
the question of the style and appearance of the old Greek
whether
it
The whole
orchestras.
in time,
inserted, as a
and
far too
of the existing orchestra
Roman
in its character, to
is far
too late
be of any use in
this respect.
Fortunately for our knowledge of the orchestras of the early

Greek theatres the recent excavations at Epidaurus have
brought to
light a theatre in
has been preserved

^
Paus.
ii.
27.
in its
'YLniZavpiois
Oearpov kv tw Upcv, fidXiara
which
The
theatr e,^
Okas dîov ra fxlv yap 'Poofiaicov iroXv
5e hari
kiiol
this portion of the building
original condition ^
ri
dofcfiv
tirepTJpKe
twv iravTaxov
to)
St;
K6<Tutp,
THE THEATRE.
130
Eîdaurus was, according

theatre in
to
the whole world.
[Ch.
most beautiful
Pausanias, the
It
was
by the younger
built
Polycleitus in the middle of the fourth century.
from subsequent reconstructions,
suffer
Athens
did not-
It
the
like
theatre
at
and consequently the present remains are of the very
greatest interest.
auditorium,
The
and the foundations
greater
the
orchestra,
of the
part
of the stage-buildings are
!f^l,:iOO\
well preserved.
A plan
of the whole building
The beauty of the general

glance.
The arrangement
Immediately
there
in
front
design
of the
is
here inserted.
conspicuous
is
orchestra
of the lowest step
is
at
the
as
first
follows.
of the auditorium
a channel 6 feet 10 inches in width, and 8 inches
is
The channel is paved

half way round
deeper than the rest of the orchestra.

with limestone, and reaches a
little
more than
lieyfOd 5e 'ApKdSa>v to (v MfyaXr) iroXd'
The account
^ kclWovs eVewa dpxiTeKTOJV

iroios h d/xiX\av YloXvKXfiTW yevoir' av
TIo\vK\eiT09 yap koX Oearpov
dî6xp(<^s
theatre
rovTO Kcu o'lKTjfjux T^ iTepifpcpes 6
maler, vol.
apfxovias 5e
iroirjoas^v.
is
of the present state of the
derived from the UpaKTiKcL
(V 'AOrjvais dpxaioX.
The
plan
is
kraipias
rrjs
for 1883.
from Baumeister's DenkTheatergebaude.
iii., v.
THE ORCHESTRA.
TIL]
the orchestra, so as to be rather larger than a semicircle.
each end of
it
there are two holes, with outlets for water.
was obviously constructed
for the
31
At
It
purpose of draining off the
water which descended from the auditorium. Inside the channel

is
a large circle, 66 feet in diameter.
marked by a border of
circle is
the
same
circumference of the
The
level as the rest of the orchestra.
circle is not
paved
In the very centre of the orchestra
flat.
a circular stone, 28 inches in diameter,

so as to be on the
and on
interior of the
any way, but consists merely of earth
in
down hard and
beaten
The
stone, 15 inches wide,
same
the middle of the stone
is
sunk
into the ground,
level as the surface round about

is
a circular hole.
The purpose
it.
In
of the
stone cannot be determined with certainty, but the most probable conjecture
small stone
is
that
altar.
it
was intended
The
outer
for the reception
border
of
of the circle ap-
proaches within about a yard of the front line of the stagebuildings.
From
the evidence afforded by these interesting remains the
In the first place it

may be drawn
would appear that in the early Greek orchestras a complete
circle was marked off for the performances of the chorus, slightly
This was probably
less in diameter than the orchestra itself.
following conclusions
the case at Athens.

theatre
a circle.
it
will
On
looking at the plan of the Athenian
be found that there was ample room for such
The curved border
of the orchestra,
if
prolonged so
as to form an entire circle, would not reach as far as the front
of the oldest proscenium, indicated in the plan by the letter B.
Most probably, therefore, the orchestra at Athens, as at Epidauhad a circular dancing-place marked out for the chorus,
and surrounded with a stone border. The border would run.
rus,
immediately inside the old limestone gutter already referred

In the second place, the evidence of the
to\
^ Dr. Dorpfeld writes to me as folIn Lykurgs Zeit war die Orlows

chestra ein voller Kreis, weil das
Skenengebaude soweit von dem Mittelpunkt des Kreises entfernt ist, dass man
den ganzen Kreis zeichnen kann
:
Auch das
Epidaurian
jiingere Proskenion mit den

Saulen (auf dem Plane B) soweit von
dem Mittelpunkt des Kreises entfernt
liegt, dass die Orchestra einen ganzen
K 2
Kreis bildet.
THE THEATRE.
132
theatre
seems
show
to
that in the fifth
surface of the orchestra
[Ch.
and fourth centuries the
was not paved^with stone, but consisted

There is no reason to suppose
merely of earth beaten down.

that a different plan
used
to
was adopted
at
The
Athens.
statement which
be frequently met with, that the orchestra was covered
with planks, was due to ignorance of the fact that later Greek
writers often used the
word orchestra
*
denote the stage \
to
In the existing Greek theatres the orchestras are, almost with-
But these pavements are of
out exception, paved with stone.
comparatively late date, and do not affect the value of the
evidence afforded by the theatre of Epidaurus as to the practice

Lastly, as to the
and preceding centuries.
That there was an
altar of Dionysus.
the fourth
in
positi on
of
altar
some
in
the
part of the
orchestra
is
proved by the ex-
press testimony of ancient writers, and by the circumstance

that the dramatic performances
The
were preceded by a
sacrifice ^
altar probably stood in the very centre of the orchestra.
in the earliest times, when the drama

was still a purely lyrical performance and it is not likely that
any alteration was made afterwards ^ The evidence supplied
by the theatres of Epidaurus and the Peiraeeus is distinctly in
In each of these theatres there is
favour of the same view.
This was the arrangement
a circular hole in the centre of the orchestra.
The
only plaus-
were intended for the

the above grounds therefore
ible explanation of the holes is that they
reception of small stone altars.

it
seems reasonable
The
propriate place.
Suidas
V. CKr^v^y
in fact,
77
ffKrj-
rrfv
opx'rjO'Tpa.
avTT] Se k(TTiu 6 ToTTOs o eK (Tavidojv ex<^v

eSacpos, d<p' ov Ofarpiôvrnv
r()
ot
fiipLoi.
Here the word dpxr](^Tpa, as was first

pointed out by Wieseler, and as the
context proves,
^
Suidas
is
= Xo7erov.
used
V. OKrjv^y
be the most natural and ap-
altar of a theatre
nera
v$vi KOL ra irapaaKrjvia
On
conclude that the position of the altar was
This would,
in the centre.
V'^v
to
dra
fi^ra
bpxqOTpav
(i.e.
the stage) Pcofibs
Aiovvaov.
Poll.
iv.
ri ovcra
was
('ire
called the
)3cu//oy.
For the
12397 5e upx-qcrTpa
sacrifices
on p. 89.
^ Evanthius
de trag. et comoed.
(Gronov, Thesaur. viii. 1681), Comoedia fere vetus, ut ipsa quoque olim
tragoedia, simplex carmen, quemadmodum iam diximus, fuit quod chorus
circa aras fumantes nunc spatiatus,
nunc consistens, nunc revolvens gyros,
in the theatre see
t^v
rod
T hymele
cum
tibicine concinebat.
THE ORCHESTRA,
III.]
because of the sacrifices offered upon
name
fragment of Pratinas^
in a
term was extended, so as

the space round about
name
an orchestra ^
for
'
By an
meaning the sacred enclosure

called a 'thymele,' though the
by
this
In later times the use of the
and
called
It is
it'.
to denote, not
it
133
only the
thymele
altar,
but also
became a regular
'
exactly similar extension of
in front of a
word
temple came to be
originally denoted merely
was erected there ^

Greek theatres the front of the stage-buildings was
separated from the wings of the auditorium by a vacant space
several feet in width.
Tw o^ open passag es, one on the right
and one on the left, led into the orchestra. The passages were
closed on the outside by large gates, and these gates formed
the only architectural connexion between the auditorium and
the stage-buildings ^.
The passages answered a double pu rthe altar which
In
all
In the
pqse.
place they formed the principal entrances to
first
were the only entrances.
theatres
they
In Athens there were two others at
the upper end of the auditorium

all
many
In
the theatre for the general public.
but the main approaches in
theatres were those between the auditorium and the stage-
The
buildings.
spectators
came
ascended the vertical passages
in
by the orchestra, and then
to their
proper
seats.
In the
was by these passages that the chorus entered

In the
the orchestra at the commencement of each play.
the
orchestra
theatre at Epidaurus the gates which led into
second_place
Suidas
it
V. aKrjvq'
(ha
fxera ttjv
opxTjcrrpav Pojfios TovAiovv(rov,bs Ka\(trat 6vp,i\r] -napd to $viv.

V. Ovfiekr],
TTJs
Etym. Mag.
^ Tov Ocdrpov f^(XP^ ^^^ "^^

wvop-aarai, vapd to Itt'
TpancCrjs
avT^s
TO.
nepi^tadai, rovriaTi
OvT)
to.
dWoi rivh
jxlv
Xoydov
temple in Aesch. Suppl. 666 koI yepaTrpea^vrobSKOc
^Pratinas ap. Athen. p. 617 B rts 6

Tt raSe rd xopfvH-ara
66pv&os ohi
(pkeyovrcuv.
Taya Ovp-eXav
cp.
Aiovvmdda
Hesych. v.
Tovro
ol
fxev
6vfi(\rj
dpxdioi dvrl tov Ovaiav
OeaTpof, iv
k-nl
tov tottov (v
yfpovrojv
OufxiXai
used of the sacred

enclosure before the temple in Eur. Ion
It is
-noKvird-
Schol. Lucian. Salt. 76.

3 Phrynich.
p. 163 (Lob.) 6vp.iKr]v'
(TiOovv, ol Sk vvv
Tpaycudol dycoviôvrai
X^pot opxh^^Tpav, fi^ Xeye 8e 6vp,Kr)u.

* 6vfxeXrj denotes the altar before a
poTcri
Kal
Ipus, ev9a Se ol auAj/rat Kal 01
6v6fi(va tcpeia.
Tis vfipis efio\ev enl
dyoiviôvTai- av fiivroi (v6a
Kcu/jicvôl
t<
avXijTat Kal Ki6apa)8ol Kal
46 vrrlp hi dvfieKas Siopiaai irpudvp-os TfV.

Cp. ibid. 114, 159, 229.
^ Remains
of such gateways are
found in the theatres of Epidaurus and
Pergamon,
maler, vol.
See
iii.
Baumeister's Denk-
p. I74''
THE THEATRE,
134
[Ch.
stood side by side with other gates leading into the stage-
remains of the gates have been preserved
Sufficient
buildings.
to admit of a complete restoration of them.

illustration represents the
The
theatre.
at
present
two gates on the eastern side of the
gate to the right leads into the orchestra; that
In the theatre of
to the left leads into the stage-buildings \
Dionysus
The
Athens the passages
nine feet across on the outside.
into the orchestra
Of course
measured
they grew gradually
wider, as one approached the orchestra, owing to the oblique

position of the
The
boundary walls of the auditorium^.
illustration
is
taken
from
TlpaKTiKO. Trjs kv 'A6r]v, dpxatoX. kTaipias
on
The
p.
building marked
112
is
in the
plan
the oldest of the stage-
From
the outside corner of
the wings to the boundary wall of the
auditorium
for 1883.
^
buildings.
They were
feet.
is
a distance of about nine
THE ORCHESTRA.
III.]
135
probably closed on the outside with gates as
These passages or side-entrances

technically called
the
into
parodoi' or *eisodoi
\'
at
Epidaurus.
orchestra were
Roman theatres
Roman stage was
In
they were of course done away with, as the
brought much more forward than the Greek, and the two ends
coalesced with the wings of the auditorium.
In place of the
old open passages the
neath
Romans
auditorium,
the
and
built vaulted
parallel
entrances under-
with the stage.
Later
by the analogy of the Roman theatres,

sometimes apply the terms 'vault' and 'archway' to the open
side-entrances of the Greek theatre.
But such language is
Greek
writers, misled
inaccurate ^
may
Before concluding this description one or two points
be mentioned concerning Greek orchestras
in
general.
It
appears from existing remains that the level of the orchestra
was mostly, as at Athens, very little below the level of the front
row of seats. The intermediate space was usually occupied by
The
a single low step.

orchestra, to drain
from the
tiers
gutter running round the edge of the
away
the
rain-water which flowed
down
of seats, was a regular feature of Greek theatres,
and can be traced
in
most of the existing ruins
that the surface of the orchestra
^.
It is
recorded
was marked out with
lines
to assist the chorus in their evolutions^
Similar lines are used
upon the modern stage when complicated
ballets are produced.
Aristotle mentions cases of orchestras being strewed with chaff,
and remarks that when this was done the choruses were not
heard so well. But it is uncertain to what theatres or to what
occasions he
is
referring
^.
napoSot in Schol. Aristoph. Equit.
126; ^Xaohoi in ArisThe word

toph. Nub. 326, Av. 296.
7ra/)o5os was also used to denote the
entrances on to the stage, e. g. in Plut.
Denietr, p. 905B; Poll. iv. 128; Athen.
149;
p.
Poll.
iv.
622 D.
^
Vitruv.
V.
6.
The
side entrances
are called âX/s in Poll.

in Vit. Aristoph. (Dindf.
Comoed.
^
*
iv. 123; axlÛ

Prolegom. de
p. 36).
Miiller's Biihnenalt. pp. 35, 37.
Hesych.
v. ypafifiai.
xi. 25 Sia li, orav

dxvpojOwaiv al opxôrpai, ^ttov ol x^pot
^
Aristot. Prob.
ytydvaaiv
THE THEATRE,
136
The Stage-buildings.
7.
The
third
and
stage-buildings.
last
[Ch.
division of the theatre consists of the
Unfortunately this
In
all
the remaining theatres of purely
upon which
a subject
is
the information supplied by the existing ruins
Greek
very defective.
is
origin merely the
foundations of the stage-buildings have been preserved, and

is
it
impossible,
such
from
evidence,
much more
Our
do
to
than determine the original shape of the ground-plan.
knowledge of the upper part of the structure has

mainly from casual notices
in the old
be derived
to
grammarians.
be
It will
convenient, before proceeding to the consideration of the stagebuildings in general, to give a brief account of the present
state of the ruins in the
Theatre of Dionysus
at
Athens.
The
stage-buildings at Athens were very frequently altered and re-
constructed in the course of their history, and the task of distinguishing between the
remains
confused
of the
The
periods has been by no means an easy one.
different
recent inves-
tigations of Dr. Dorpfeld in 1886
have
for the first time placed
the matter in a fairly clear light.
The
results of his discoveries
are indicated in the plan of the theatre already given \

possible to trace out with
It is
now
some degree of accuracy the foundations

These foundations are denoted in
of the oldest stone building.
the plan by the letter A, and by the darker shading.
observed,
on consulting the plan, that the
first
It will
be
permanent
stage-buildings at Athens consisted of a rectangular structure,
very narrow
in
comparison with
its
In the front,
length.
towards each end, were two projecting side-wings.

the side-wings, and
at the
back of the stage.
be found in
to
some distance
According
The
description of this portion of
the theatre of Dionysus
is
mainly deDenkmaler,
which the
from Baumeister's
Theatergebaude, in
results of Dorpfeld's excavations are
rived
art.
to
this early building of a
ing on a stone foundation.
The
Between
to the rear, stood the wall
line
Dorpfeld no traces are
permanent stage
marked
incorporated.
rest-
denotes a
Previous descriptions of
more or
the stage-buildings have been

less
superseded
coveries.
by
Dorpfeld's
dis-
THE STAGE-BUILDINGS,
III.]
belonging to a much
stage
later
137
Of
period.
course
it
is
obviously impossible, in the case of buildings which have under-
gone so many alterations
in later centuries as the old
buildings of the Athenian

certainty about
clusions are
theatre,
the original design.
correct,
stage-buildings were
it
speak with
to
But
if
stage-
absolute
Dorpfeld's con-
would follow that when permanent
there was no
was permanent was the rectangular
building with the projecting side- wings. The stage must have
been at that time a temporary wooden erection, put up between
stone proscenium.
first
erected at Athens,
All that
the wings for the annual
performances.
stage would no doubt coincide
with the later stage marked
The
is
more or
B in
dat^_pf the erection of the
first
and construction \
we should have
correct,
to
permanent stage-buildings
assume
permanent stage-building
Dorpfeld ascribes
time of Lycurgus, on the ground that

in material
less closely in position
the plan.
a matter of some uncertainty.
torium
This old wooden
it
is
to the
If this supposition
that the Athenians
until the
it
similar to the audi-
latter part
were
had no
of the fourth
were contented with mere temporary

erections of wood during the whole of the great period of the
Attic drama.
This is in itself a most niiprQ bable hvpo th_gis.
century,
It is
and
that they
obvious that in the time of the great Attic dramatists stage-(
buildings of
some strength and
such was the case
is
solidity
were required.
Thatl
proved by the constant use of the mechane,
an appliance by which gods and heroes were exhibited floating through the air, and were lowered down from heaven
on
to the
stage,
and
vice
versa.
Contrivances of this kind
would have been impossible unless the wings and back.part of

It
the stage had been firm and substantial in construction.
seems therefore most unlikely that during this period the
Athenians should have been contented with a wooden building,
which would be in constant need of repair, and would never be
^
In a letter of Nov. 7, 1888, Dr.
Dorpfeld states that the oldest stage-
building,
marked^ in the plan, stammt

dem 4. Jahrhundert, denn
sicher aus
'
dem Zuschauerraum, wie Material und Construction
es ist gleichzeitig mit
beweisen.'
THE THEATRE.
13H
[Ch.
as safe and convenient as one of stone.
shown
that there
belongs to the
is
fifth
similar in style
As
century.
and construction
ascribed to this date also.

stage-building
has already been
It
every reason to beUeve that the auditorium
It is
the earliest stage-building

it
should in
all
is
likelihood be
very probable that the whole
was renovated or reconstructed by Lycurgus
in
But nothing short
the course of his completion of the theatre.
of overwhelming evidence would induce one to believe that

before his time there
was no
permanent stage-building
at
Athens.
As
subsequent history of this part of the building,
to the
it
ap-
was the erection of a permanent

sta^, adorned with columns in front. At the same time the sidewings were brought further back, and also adorned with columns
in the same manner as the stage.
The line of the stage and
pears that the
first
side-wings in the
The
great alteration
new arrangement
exact date of these
is
denoted by the
innovations
is
of which the precise nature
alterations,
uncertain.
is
carried out in the time of the early Caesars, as
letter
B.
Further
unknown, were
proved by the
is
existence of certain fragments of columns and arches obviously
belonging to that period.

century a.
d.,
the
certain Phaedrus.
new
stage
was completely Romanised by a

The old stage was done away with, and a
was erected about
This stage was only 4

fashion.
Lastly, in the course of the third
theatre
The
feet
front part of
it,
eight yards further to the front.
facing the orchestra,
with groups of figures carved in bold

flight
of five stone steps
The two ends
orchestra.
after the
7 inches high,
led
relief.
down from
Roman
was adorned
In the centre a
the stage into the
of the stage, as already mentioned,
joined on to the two ends of the balustrade, so as to block up

the side entrances into the orchestra.
of Phaedrus has been preserved, and
is
About half of the stage

denoted by the letter g
in the plan.
Such
theatre,
is
the history of the stage-buildings in the Athenian
from the wooden erection
Phaedrus nearly eight
in
which Aeschylus brought
Romanised proscenium built by

hundred years afterwards. Our infor-
out his earliest tragedies to the
THE STAGE-BUILDINGS,
III.]
mation concerning the construction of

theatre
is
Greek
this portion of a
derived partly from existing remains, partly from the
notices in the
name
139
The
grammarians and commentators.
for the stage-buildings in
As
properly means a booth \
Greek was
'skene,' a
to their shape, they
general
word which
formed a long
For
and narrow rectangular building facing the auditorium.
instance the oldest stage-buildings' at Athens were about 55

yards in length, and only 11 yards in depth.
In this re-
spect the difference between an ancient and a
very
is
striking.
buildings
is
modern
theatre
In a modern theatre the depth of the stage-
The
usually greater than their width.
from the front of the stage
to the
distance
back of the stage-buildings
is
as great as the distance from the front of the stage to the
The reason
furthest seats of the auditorium.

is
easy to discover.
In a modern theatre
all
of the difference
the performers are
upon the stage, which must therefore be of considerable depth.

But in a Greek theatre, as the majority of the performers stood
in the orchestra, and the only occupants of the stage were the
three actors, with occasional supernumeraries, a narrow stage was
Then again, in a modern theatre the frequent changes
sufficient.
of scene, and the elaborate spectacular
cated mechanical appliances, for
effects,
require compli-
which room has
to
be found
at
But as changes of scene were almost

Greek drama, the scenic appliances were of the
Further than
simplest character, and took up very little room.
this, a deep stage would have been inconsistent with the general
arrangement of a Greek theatre. The auditorium of a Greek
the back of the buildings.
unknown
The
in the
word
OK-qvi],
from
having
which
the actor used to retire between his
performances, came to have the followoriginally denoted the booth to
ing various meanings, as applied to the

(i) The stage-baildings as a
theatre:
whole
e.g. Hesych. v. AoYefoi'' ot^so-*?;-
vrjsT6iioii(l>'
ovolv-noKpiTaiXiyovaiv. (2)
The
wall at the back of the stage e. g.

Suidas V. irpoaKrjviov to vpb rrjs (rKT)v^s
irapaniTafffxa.
(3) The decoration or
;
painted scenery in front of the back- wall;

i\y vvv
e. g. Plut. Demetr. p. 900
npwTov eojpaKcvai nopvrjv
vpofpxofJtiyrjv
Ik rfMyiK^s
Xen.
aKrfvrjs.
(4)
The
stage
54 rod Se nvp701;, uairep rpayiKTJs aKijvrj^ rwv ^v\o)v

When the Schol.
-naxos kxovTwv k.t.X.
on Soph. Ajax 330, 719 speaks of the
chorus 'leaving the CKrjvri,' he is probably confusing the ancient orchestra
with the stage of Roman times. (5)
e. g.
'
The
Inst. Cyr, vi. i.
theatre
'
in a general sense, as
we
speak of the stage in English e. g.

Dem. de Cor. 180 firjd" ijpa} tov
rvx^vra, aXXa tovtuv tivo. ruv diro rfji
oktjv^^, a stage hero.'
'
'
'
THE THEATRE.
140
[Ch.
theatre consisted of a semicircle with the two ends produced.
The
was that every one had an excellent view of the

orchestra, and the performers there
but a large proportion
of the audience had only a side view upon the stage.
If
therefore the stage had been of any great depth, as in modern
times, the back part would have been invisible to the spectators
result
the wings
For these various

reasons the stage-buildings of a Greek theatre were very long
and very narrow. In Roman theatres the arrangement was less
sitting
in
of the auditorium.
modern
unlike that in
times.
When
the
Romans
abolished
the choral performances in the orchestra, and transferred the
whole spectacle
add
to the
to the stage,
they were necessarily compelled to
depth of the stage, and
in
consequence
to the
depth
of the stage-buildings.
The back
of the stage-buildings was probably adorned with
architectural
embellishments, so as to form a beautiful and
striking fa9ade.
theatres, as is
Such decorations were common
Roman
in
proved by the existing remains of the theatre
at
Orange and the Greeks would naturally beautify their buildings

in the same way.
At the back would also be the principal entrances into the stage-buildings for the actors and other performers.
Thus there are three large doors at the back of the
stage-buildings at Orange'.
There must also have been doors
;
leading from the stage-buildings, into the side-entrances to the

orchestra, to enable the chorus to enter the orchestra.
These
doors are clearly visible in the ground-plan of the theatre at

Epidaurus, and are placed immediately beyond the slight projections which
mark
the termination of the stage at each side.
In one respect the theatre at Epidaurus

three doors leading from beneath the
orchestra.
One
of them
others are at each end.
found
in the
is
No
exactly in
is
stage
peculiar.
itself
the centre
Wieseler's
has
to the
the two
traces of similar doors are to be
remains of other theatres.

*
It
on
Denkmaler des Buhnenwesens,
iii.
3.
THE STAGE.
TIL]
The Stage,
8.
The
&=.
different portions of the stage-buildings
considered in
name
usual
141
detail.
To
have next
begin with the stage
for the stage in
to
be
The
itself.
Greek was the Mogeion/ or 'speak-
because the actors stood there and carried on the
ing-place,'
was opposed to the orchestra, or dancing-place, in

which the chorus went through their performances. The stage
was also called the 'groskenion^' from its position in front of
dialogue.
It
the 'skene,' or back- wall

consisted of a
and the
'
okribas.
The
wooden platform \
'
because
the Greek theatre was, according to Vitruvius,
twelve feet
above the level of the orchestra ^
though often called
from ten
to
This statement,
It
has been found that the stage
Epidaurus was almost exactly twelve
in the theatre at
surface
has lately been confirmed by
in question,
E pidau rus.
the excavati ons at
its
height of the logeion in
feet
high
and the h*les or sockets in the wall, which were intended to

receive the wooden beams of the stage, are still distinctly
visible.
As the proscenium at Epidaurus is probably of the
same date as the rest of the theatre, it would appear that the
height of the Greek stage had already been fixed at about twelve
feet as early as the fourth
The question
century ^
as to
its
height
during the period from Aeschylus to Aristophanes will be
The Greek
cussed later on.

^
'4v$a
Tat,
Phryn.
Xoyfiov
ov
(Lob.)
163
p.
fjiiv Kcvfta}5oi
fxevroi,
Kal Tpaywdol dyojviôv-
Phot.
kpcis.
v.
dis-
stage, as already pointed out, con-
rpiros
Oiarpov
^
^
crKrjvqv.
Vitruvius, v. 7UpaKriKa rris Iv 'AO^vais dpxaioX.
ov ol rpa-ycoZol -qyajviCovro.
Kawerau, in Bau1883.
Denkmaler, vol. iii. p. 1739,
suggests that perhaps the proscenium
in the theatre at Epidaurus was built
stage were (i)
later than the rest of the stage-buildings.
(2) j8^//a,cp.
But there do not appear to be any
the inscription on the stage of Phaedrus,
grounds for the supposition. On the

contrary, the relative arrangement of
orchestra and proscenium seems to show
that both were constructed at the same
See Kabbadias' article in the
time.
dpiarfpov'
(JLiv
dpKTTfpos (TTOixos 6
irpbs TO) eedrpo) ^v, 6 Sk Sc^toj rrpos to)
Hesych.
npooK'qviw.
\oyeiov,
(p'
Other names
(T/cTyvf/,
for
the
v.
see above, p. 139.
oKpiPar
ro
Corp. Inscr. Att. iii. 239 firjfjia eerjTpov.

of the
(3) opxn(TTpa, an improper sense
word, only found in later writers, e. g.
Suidas v. (XKrivri.
(4) OvfjiiKr}, also a
e. g. Bekk. Anecd.
late use of the word
p. 42 vvv ixkv 6vfj,e\r)V KaKov/xev ttjv tov
;
kraipias for
meister's
UpafCTiKa for 1881.
THE THEATRE.
142
[Ch.
and narrow platform, bounded at the back and

walls of the stage-buildings. Vitruvius gives
the
by
on each side
sisted of a long
some interesting rules for determining the _size_of_the_stage in

Greek and Roman theatres respectively. According to his statements the depth of a
Roman
of the orchestra,
length should be twice the diameter.
its
Greek stage ought

narrower.
orchestra,
Its
its
to
stage should be |th of the diameter
be
shorter and
rather
considerably
depth should be ith of the diameter of the
length ifth of the diameter ^
These
rules are
more or
less
confirmed by the remains of the later Greek
theatres,
but
hardly apply to the earlier ones,
stages
the
of which are a great deal shorter, and rather less deep, than
Vitruvius requires.
For
instance, the original stage at
was hardly so long as one diameter of the
Athens
orchestra,
in-
The depth of the original

stage cannot be determined, since it was made entirely of
wood, and the foundations have disappeared. Then again,
stead of being nearly equal to two.
Epidaurus was about 78 feet long by 8 feet

deep. According to Vitruvius it should have been about 137
The stage in the theatre at the Peiraeeus was about
feet by II.
the stage
97
feet
at
long by 10 feet deep.
From
13^.
these figures
It
should have been 146 feet by
appears that in the earliest times
it
Greek stage was not usually greater than the

diameter of the orchestra. It was only in later times that the
stage was extended on each side so as to project beyond the
the length of the
inside corners of the auditorium.
early
Greek stage seems
to
The average depth
This extreme narrowness, which appears surprising
modern
the
that
the
majority of the performers were
orchestra, partly to the shape of the
made
to
feet.
our
been explained as due, partly
notions, has already
fact
of the
have been not more than ten
in
to
the
Greek auditorium, which
a deep stage impossible.
Within the
pounded
last
few years a novel theory has been prologeion or stage.
in reference to the
It
has been
suggested that during the early period of the Attic drama the
stage
was never intended

^
Vitruv. V.
6, 7.
for the actors to

2
perform on.
Muller's Buhnenalt. pp. 16, 19, 23.
The
THE STAGE.
III.]
actors stood in the orchestra on the
The background
143
same
level as the chorus.
consisted of the wall, ten or twelve feet high,
on which the stage was supported. The stage itself was merely
used to hold various theatrical contrivances and pieces of
machinery. Such is the theory put forward by Hopken and
Dorpfeld ^
Now
is
it
certain that at
any rate as early as the
third century b.c. the actors
were accustomed
an elevated platform, and not
in the orchestra.
appear upon
to
This
proved
by the numerous vase-paintings from Magna Graecia, belonging
to the third century, in which comic actors are frequently repreis
sented as standing on a raised platform, with a flight of steps

leading up from the orchestra^.
Also the various notices of
the grammarians, which describe the logeion as the place for

the actors, were doubtless derived ultimately from Alexandrine
See Hopken's De Theatro Atlico,
bases his theory on certain passages
in the extant dramas. But his arguments
^
been eleven
feet
deep
and Vitruvius
He
was of course describing a
are of no value, and their worthlessness
tended for actors to perform on. It is

obvious that if the stage was twelve feet
high, it must have been very shallow,
has been clearly demonstrated by Albert

MUller in Philol. Anzeig. xv. p. 525 ff.
One specimen will suffice. Hopken argues that when Dionysus in the Frogs
(v. 297) appeals to the priest of Dionysus to save him, this proves that the
actor and the priest must have been
standing on the same level
Dr. Dorp feld has adopted the same theory, but
on altogether different grounds.
See
Miiller's Biihnenalt. p. 109
Baumeister's
Denkmaler, v. Theatergebaude.
His reasons are (1) the great height of
!
the logeion or stage.

is
The
plain answer
that in the time of Vitruvius a height
of twelve feet was not considered excessive.
Yet
in the time of Vitruvius
it is
a matter of certainty that the actors

occupied the stage, the chorus standing
in the orchestra (Vitruv. v. 7).
is
therefore
no reason
There
for asserting that
a stage twelve feet high was an impossibility at an earlier period.

(2) The
s hall owness of the stage, that at Epidaurus being only about eight feet deep.
But there is nothing very abnormal in
this. Even according to Vitruvius' rules
the stage at Epidaurus would only have
stage in-
or else the spectators in the front rows

see down
The absence
would have been unable to
to
the end
of
of
it.
(3)
connexion be tween logeion and orchesFor example, at Epidaurus there

tra.
are no traces of stone steps leading up
But when a connexion
to the stage.
was effected by means of

temporary wooden steps placed against
was
required,
the front
p. 148.
it
of the proscenium.
See on
For a discussion of the whole
question of the connexion between the

stage and the orchestra see below pp.
150-158. As far as the oldest stage-
buildings at Athens are concerned, there

is nothing to decide the question about
logeion one way or the other.

Dorpfeld supposes that a temporary
wooden background was put up between
the
the side-wings.
It
to suppose that
is just
as plausible
wooden
stage
was
erected there.
^ See
article.
Die
Heydemann's
Phlyakendarstellungen auf bemaiten
Vasen, in Jahrb. des Kais. Deutsch.
Archaol.
Inst.
i886, p. 260
ff.
and may be considered
sources,
the third century
concerned.
is
[Ch.
to settle the matter as far as
But
it
may
be contended that
they prove nothing as to the practice which prevailed at Athens
during the fourth and
centuries.
fifth
to consider the question,
necessary therefore
It is
whether there
any positive proof
is
drama the
that during the great period of the Attic
actors were
raised above the level of the chorus, and occupied an elevated
In a matter of this kind no evidence could be more
stage.
convincing than that supplied by the extant jramas them selves.

.
Now we
are told by one of the scholiasts that in old theatrical
phraseology,
.>Cvv^^-
a/sjt
THE THEATRE.
144
'ascend
when an
made
actor
and when he made
; '
was
his entrance he
his exit he
was
said to
said to 'descend.'
ciî^^t^The two words are actually used in this sense by Aristophanes.
A^^
how the usage can
see
It is difficult to
be accounted
except on
for,
the supposition that the actors had been accustomed to stand
Then
on an elevated platform \
again in the Wasps,
when
Philocleon comes out of his house in a drunken condition, and

sees the sons of Carcinus dancing in the orchestra, he exclaims,
'I
must go down
them,' and forthwith proceeds into the
to
orchestra to compete with them In the dance I

Birds,
when
aerial
kingdom of the
Also
in the
Peisthetaerus wishes to point out to the Epops the
he
birds,
him
tells
down,' then to
to 'look
'look up,' then to look 'round about him.'
If the
Epops had
been standing on the floor of the orchestra, the request
down would have been meaningless,
look
shown him nothing but
âivuv TO dndWaTreadai hrevOev

rov
iraXaiov
Aristoph.
iOovs.
diru
Equit.
148, 149 devpo Seup', (L (piKraTf, dvdâive

aojTfjp TTj iToKei KOI vwv (povds, Vesp.
|
1342 dvdâive Sfvpo

Eccles.
II5I-II53
ex^^v, d\\' ovK dyeis
oaw
raaSi
In
KaPwv
kv
knaaofiai fieXos
all
these pas-
nothing in the particular

circumstances of the drama to account
sages there
is
15 14
avTOvs.
Itt'
ara/)
Korra-
It
'
probable.
^
Aristoph. Vesp.
might be
suggested that KaraPareov here means
simply
I must contend with them.'
But the literal meaning is much the more
xf/ov
8e Ka7O0aiveis, eyuj
Ti ficXXoSuirviKuv .
fiariov
SiaTpipeis
SrJTa
appears,
It
^.
for the usage of the words.
xpv(ôfj.T)\o\6v9iov,
Ti
to
would have
it
the ground at his feet
^ Schol.
Aristoph. Equit. 149 Ae/crkov ovv oTiavaâxviiv iKk-^fiTO ro kmTo
kfyerai yap KaraXoycTov flaiivai
.
as
Aristoph. Av. 175-178

Kol
EII.
KaTOJ.
PXcire vvv dvoj.
EET.
piaye tuv rpdxrjXov.
Xavaofmi
eTSes
ri
ovpavov.
ri
8r)
HE. BAeTIE. rre-
^Xiiro}.
EFI.
IIE.
jSAcTroj.
vrj
Ala,
S', et 5iaaTpa(p:':<Tofiai.
EII. ras vecp^Xas ye
aTro-
IIE.
koi tuv
THE STAGE.
TIT.
145
therefore, that the testimony of Aristophanes points decisively

to the existence of a stage for the actors in the fifth century.
we are told that even before the time of Thespis

choreutes who carried on the dialogue with the rest of the
Besides this
the
chorus used
The
to
practice
mount upon a
shows
sort of platform for the purpose.
that from the earliest times the necessity of
raising the speaker above the level of the chorus had been felt^
Again, in the Symposium, Agathon, the tragic poet,
have 'mounted the stage along with his

the audience without flinching.
Odeum was
that there
built
was a
said to
The passage no doubt
Proagon, which took place in the Odeum.
to the
is
and confronted
actors,'
Mike a theatre,'
it
is
refers
But as the
only natural to conclude
similar stage in the theatre,
and that
it
used by the actors during the dramatic performances^.
was
But
apart from the various positive proofs which might be alleged,

there are intrinsic improbabilities in Dorpfeld's theory which
make
is
it
very
it
In
of acceptance.
difficult
the
first
place,
hardly credible that a platform, which was erected
ginally to
ori-
serve as a background and hold the machinery,
should have been converted into a stage for the actors in later
and yet that not a single reference
times,
should be found in any ancient writer.

theatre at Epidaurus
consulted,
is
it
to the transformation
Again,
will
border of the circular orchestra reaches
if
the plan of the
be found that the stone

to within
two or three
If the actors had stood in

would have been sometimes inside
the stone border and sometimes outside of it and the whole
arrangement strikes one as awkward and unsymmetrical. But
feet of the front of the
proscenium.
front of the proscenium, they
the most fatal objection
row
the front
orchestra,
of seats
and the
Poll. iv.
(<!>'
/3as ToTs
2
dv
of seats behind ascended in a very
5'
riv
rpdweâ
0<T7ri5os efs Tis dva-
e'irjV, S)
Symp. ig^
kmX'fjapiQjv /xivr'
'AydOouv, iiireiv rbv
T^v
arjv
dvSpuav Kal
had stood on the
'S.ojKpdirj,
ix'fa\o(ppo-
floor
avvqv dvafiaivovTos (tti ruv oKpiBavra

twv vrroKpiTwv koX PXt^pavros
furd
kvavria rocrovrc^ Oedrpt^ K.r.\.
xop^vrais dirfKpivaro.
Plat.
fi iSoJv
123 lAeos
"^v irpo
tiers
If therefore the actors
gradual incline.
dpxo-'iO',
is the following.
In a Greek theatre
was nearly on the same level as the
Aristoph. Vesp.
Schol.
1104 (of the cySuov)
eari tottos 6eaTpO(i5rjS k.t.\.
THE THEATRE.
146
[Gh.
of the orchestra, with the chorus in front of them, they would

visible to the majority of the audience.
have been hardly
An
occasional glimpse of them might have been caught, as the
chorus in the foreground moved
been
is difficult
It
all.
to
and
fro,
but that would have
to believe that the
Athenians should
have been contented with this arrangement for more than two
hundred years, and should not have resorted to the simple
device of raising the actors upon an elevated platform. This
difficulty
becomes
all
the
more
striking,
the principal tendency of the
and fourth centuries was
to
when we remember
Greek drama during the
increase
the
importance of the
actors, and to diminish the importance of the chorus.
these various reasons
The
theory.
it
is
that
fifth
impossible to accept
For
Dorpfeld's
inherent improbabilities of the suggestion are
extremely great; and the passages in Aristophanes appear to
prove decisively that in the
century the actors stood on
fifth
a considerably higher level than the chorus.
The
wall which supported the stage in front
was
called the
In the original stage-buildings at Athens there
hyposkenioji.
was no permanent hyposkenion of stone, but a temporary

wooden stage was erected each year. In later times the hyposkenion was always built of stone. According to Pollux it was
decorated with pillars and small statues \ This statement is confirmed by existing remains. The front of the stage of Phaedrus
The
at Athens is ornamented with a series of bas-reliefs.
hyposkenion at Epidaurus, which is very well preserved, consimple wall, twelve feet high, with eighteen pilasters
sists of a
supporting an entablature.
storation of one
The
illustration represents a re-
end of this hyposkenion I
The
letter
a denotes
the door leading from the end of the hyposkenion into the
orchestra.
Poll. iv.
has been remarked already that the presence of
It
124 TO
Sc vTTocKrjviov Kioai
Kal dyaX/jLariois KfKofffjirjro rrpbs to 6ea-
rpov TTpafijxVois,
When
fievov.
viTo
TO Xoyciov Kfi-
Athenaeus
(631
E)
speaks of a flute-player ' waiting in the

hyposkenion,' till his turn came to perform,
it
is
uncertain whether the
word
there denotes a
or
is
room under
the stage,
used generally for the whole of the
stage-buildings.
^
The
meister's
gebaude.
illustration is taken
Denkmaler,
vol.
iii.
from Bauv.
Theater-
THE STAGE,
III.l
147
doors leading through the hyposkenion into the orchestra appears to have been a peculiarity of the theatre at Epidaurus.
The door marked

side-entrance.
one
It
b stands further back,
would be by
at the other end, that the
and opens
this door, or the
into the
corresponding
chorus made their entrance into
the orchestra.
Usually the actors stood on the stage, and the chorus in

the orchestra.
But sometimes the actors descended
orchestra; and
still
stage.
It
more frequently
was therefore necessary
into the
the chorus ascended the
have a means of com-
to
munication between tho se two parts of the theatre
For
this
purpose steps were erected against the centre of the hyposkenion \
No
traces of such steps have been preserved in any
of the Greek theatres.
met
is
with.
entirely
For
Roman
centre leading
In
Roman
theatres they are occasionally
instance, the stage of

in style,
down
has a
Phaedrus
flight
at
But though there are

any of the Greek theatres,
into the orchestra.
no actual remains of these steps
in
wr iters, and
they are expressly mentioned by ancient
occur in the v ase:paintings of the t hird century
b. c.
Graecia, in which comic scenes are represented.
of the scenes
is
made
vovoi bia KKifLCLKCDV
rris
It is
probable that
b\ K\ip.aKos oi
KKijMKTTJpis KaXovvToi.
de Mach.
p.
copy of one
show the style and

iiijhe Greek theatres
of wood, and did not form a permanent part of
^ Poll, iv. 127

ilaiXQovT^s Se Kajo.
7^v bpxfiOTpav tTTt r^v ffKTjvfjv dvafiai-
Pa9/jLol
frequently
from Magna
inserted on the next page, to
formation of the steps I
they were
Athens, which
of five stone steps in the
ky
Tiv(s
Se
iroXiopKia
KXifxdfcoJv
'îvrj
irapanXrjffia toTs riOefievois kv rois 6ed-
rpois irpos
Athen.
The
rd
irpoaKrjvia toTs viroKpirah.
illustration is
from Wieseler's
Denkmaler des Biihnenwesens,
29 (Wesch.) KareoKivaaav
L 2
ix.
14.
7^-:
THE THEATRE.
148
the hyposkenion, but were merely set up
[Ch.
when
required.
In
no traces of such steps at

Epidaurus, but the architectural character of the hyposkenion
makes it clear that permanent stone steps could never have
the
first
place, there are not only
been affixed
to
paintings from
steps, attached.
In the second place, several of the vase-
it.
Magna Graecia
depict stages with no
In the third place, there
is
such
a wall painting at
Herculaneum representing one of these flights of steps standing

itself, with an actor's mask at the top \
For these reasons
by
seems fairly certain that the steps in the Greek theatres were
not permanently affixed to the stage, but could be placed there
it
or removed at pleasure.
Usually in Greek theatres the stage was terminated
at
each
end by projecting portions of the stage-buildings, called side

wings. A door led from the stage into each of these side-wings
When
this
arrangement was adopted the stage practically con
narrow strip cut out of the stage-buildings

Such was the case in the theatres at Athens and the Peiraeeus
But side-wings were not an invariable feature of Greek theatres
In some cases the stage was erected in front of the stage
buildings, and was merely terminated by a wall at each end
sisted of a long
Wieseler Denkmal.
ix. 15, iv. 5.
THE STAGE,
III.]
An
149
examination of the ground-plan of the theatre
will illustrate this statement.
The
at
Epidaurus
small projections at each
end of the stage there are not side-wings, but form part of the
stage itself.
The stage is terminated at each side by a wall,
and beyond this wall there is merely a flight of steps leading
down to the ground outside. These flights of steps were probably covered over, so that persons ascending them would not be
Where
seen by the spectators in the auditorium.

existed,
it
side-wings
probable that they were denoted by the word j)ara

^
is
skenia,* being so called because they lay
on each side of the
skene or stage \
In the later Greek theatres the wall at the back o f the stage
was
an elaborate architectural design, and ornamented
built in
with pillars and statues.

character are
to
still
Specimens of back walls of
be seen in the theatres
at
this
Tauromenion
and elsewhere, and Vitruvius gives minute directions for their

^.
Of course, when dramas were being performed
construction
was covered with painted

was concealed from the
times were regularly used for
the wall at the back of the stage

scenery, and
architectural beauty
its
But theatres
spectators.
in later
meetings of the people, as well as for dramatic performances.
On
such occasions, when the stage was without scenic decor-
would add
ations, the architectural elegance of the back-wall
greatly to the beauty of the stage-buildings, and form a pleasing
Speaking of the height of the back- wall,
object to the eye.
Vitruvius directs that
its
top should be exactly on a level with
the uppermost part of the auditorium, as
it
was found
that if this
proportion was observed, the acoustic properties of the audi^ The word naâajcJivi O' is explained in
two ways by the commentators.jVi) as
place
beside
the
used for
Theophrastus
stage,
storing stage-properties.
is
mentioned as the authority for
explanation.
(2)
As the
this
side-entrances
See Harp.,
leading on toHFhe stage.
and Etym. Mag. s.v.77apao')7J'ta;

Ulpian on
Anecd. p. 292
Demosth. Meid. 17. Demosthenes
accuses Meidias of nailing up
(1. c.)
the paraskenia,' and so hindering his
Phot.,
Bekk.
'
chorus from making its appearance.
we do not know
in
what way the
As
dithy-
rambic choruses entered the orchestra,

it is difficult to decide
on the exact
meaning of the word paraskenia. Most
likely they entered in the
same way as
dramatic choruses ; and Meidias

nailed up the doors in the side-wings
which led out into the parodoi. See
the
MeinekeFrag. Com. Gr.

^
Vitruv.
miiler,
iii.
6.
v.
vol. iv. p. 722.
Wieseler
Denk-
THE THEATRE.
I50
torium were
much improved \
It
[Ch.
not
is
known
for certain
Greek theatres was covered with

a roof or not. At the Roman theatres of Aspendos and Orange
the existing remains prove that the theatre- was originally
roofed over but there is no sufficient ground for concluding that
the same was the case in Greek theatres of the early period ^.
Both Vitruvius and Pollux, in describing the scenery used in
a Greek theatre, speak of three doors at the back of the stage.
As a matter of fact, in all the later Greek theatres, the wall at
whether the stage
in the early
the back of the stage invariably has five doors ^

therefore, that
obvious,
It is
these doors cannot have been used during
all
When
dramatic representations.
was prepared
the stage
for
the performance of a play, the two doors on the outside must
have been covered up by the scenery; or

suggests, temporary side-wings
This
of them.
M tiller
as Albert
else,
must have been erected
in front
more probable, as
Greek theatres were of enormous length,
latter supposition is all the
the stages of the later
The
and might have been slightly shortened with advantage.
rooms
at the
back of the stage, as already pointed
out,
were not
of any great depth, owing to the simplicity of the scenic appli-
ances used in the Greek drama.
At Athens the distance from
the back of the stage to the back of the stage-buildings
more than twenty-four
feet
Epidaurus
at
is
it
is
little
rather less than
twenty.
9.
The
different portions of the theatre
There
in detail.
which
is
and that
and Chorus.
Relative position of Actors
is still
have
now been
an important question
to
be considered,
closely connected with the construction of the theatre,

is
the question as to the relative position occupied by
actors and chorus during a dramatic performance.

authorities are perfectly clear
upon the
them the actors stood upon the

'
Vitruv, V. 6.
Miiller's
meister's
discussed
Denkmaler,
iii.
p.
28;
p. 1747.
Eau-
ancient
to
stage, the chorus performed
in
Biihnenalt.
The
According
subject.
Vitruv. v, 6
Biihnenalt.
Poll. iv.
p. 120, 121.
124
Miiller's
RELATIVE POSITION OF ACTORS AND CHORUS,
III.]
the orchestra underneath.
If
it
was necessary
iî
ascend from
to
the orchestra to the stage, there were steps erected for that very
While the
purpose.
actors
were upon the
stage,
and the
dialogue was proceeding, the chorus stood with their backs
towards the audience, and their faces towards the stage \
This
places prominently before us the radical difference
last fact
between the Greek chorus, and that of a mode rn opera. It

proves conclusively that in the grouping of the actors and
chorus in a Greek theatre there could be none of that realistic
imitation of ordinary
the
life
which
is
sometimes
absolutely
be seen upon
to
To produce effects of this

impossible, when the chorus were
modern
kind would be
stage.
standing some
distance below the actors, and with their backs towards the
audience.
It
most necessary therefore,
is
in discussing
the
external features of a Greek dramatic performance, not to judge
them by a modern standard, but to remember that the whole

arrangement was entirely different. The position of the chorus
in a Greek theatre was not due to any abstract considerations of
propriety, but was merely the result of the peculiar circumstances under which the Greek drama was developed. Originally
the performance was almost entirely lyrical, and the stage and
the actors were a mere appendage. The chorus, being the
principal performers, and the most prominent object of attention,
occupied the central position in the orchestra.
The
actors
were placed on a stage behind them, so as to be visible to the

Eventually the dialogue between the actors comspectators.
pletely
overshadowed the songs of the chorus, and the lyrical

But the
in the performance faded into insignificance.
element
^
Pollux
rwv Uiov,
123 Kol (TKTjVrj fJiV vnOKpiopxharpa rov x^P'^^'

ampliorem habent orches-
iv.
Tf
Vitruv. V. 7
Se
tram Graeci et scaenam recessiorem,

minoreque latitudine pulpitum, quod
\oyeiov appellant, ideo quod eo tragici
comici actores in scaena peragunt,
autem artifices suas per orchestram praestant actiones. Dindorf Proet
reliqui
legom, de Comoed.
p.
29 Kal ore
Toh vnoKpirds SieXeyero
piev jrpoj
(o x^f^^ 6 KQjfii-
K6s),TTpOS
Oovrav
Sif^rjei,
T^V
(TKTjV^V d(p(JlJpa, 0T Sc dlT\-
tSjv vno/cpiTuv tovs ayairaiaTovs

irpbs
rov
drjixov
dneaTpecpeTO.
Ibid. p. 36 ftVjfet (o xopos o KajfiiKos) Iv
TfTpayduvcv
axvtô-'ri,
dcpopwv
eh
rots
de
Prolegom.
Diibner
Comoed. p. 20 uaiXeihv ovv 6 xopos eh
t^v opxhorpav /xerpois Tial diekeyero
vnofcpiTdt.
ewpa
Cp. Schol. Arist. Equit.
Dindf. Prolegom. de Com. p. 21.
rofj vnoKpirah, koi irpos t^v<tkt]v^v

ttjs KcopqjSlas.
505
THE THEATRE.
15^
chorus
still
[Ch.
continued to occupy that prominent position in the
theatre which
its
original importance
Nevertheless, great
with this subject.
It
difficultie_s^
had assigned
have been raised
has been urged that
if
to
it.
connexion
in
was from
the stage
ten to twelve feet high, and the chorus stood in the orchestra
underneath, any intercourse between the actors and the chorus
would have been out of the question.

point
it
will
be useful
by the extant
and chorus
first
to collect the
Greek dramas as
Before considering this
evidence which
is
dramatic performance.
in the course of a
supplied
between actors
to the relations
In the
place in every Greek play conversations are frequent between
the actors and the chorus, or between the actors and the leader
of the chorus.
in
Then
again actors and chorus often join together
the performance of musical passages, each singing alternate
Besides this there are a few aj]imated__sceneSj^ in
portions.
which thej:horus, or the leader of Jhe^horusâscends the
and comes
instance, in the
For
Helen of Euripides, when Theoclymenus is
rushing back to the palace to
his sister, the leader of the
attempting to carry off Antigone, he
is
the chorus.
is
when
held back by
In the Knights of Aristophanes the coryphaeus
hands the sausage-seller an
him
kill
In the Oedipus Coloneus,
chorus forcibly detains him.
Creon
stage,
into actual physical contact with the actors.
in his contest with
oil-flask
Cleon\
and some
garlic, to assist
In addition to these momentary
appearances of the chorus upon the stage, there are occasional

scenes in which the cJiQr us occ upies the stage for some length
In the Prometheus Vinctus the Oceanidae enter by
of tim^.
the stage, and only descend into the orchestra
wards.
The opening scene
some time
after-
of the Eumenides represents the
Erinyes as sleeping in the temple of Apollo, from whence they

are subsequently driven.
The
Supplices of Euripides opens
with Aethra standing in front of the temple of Demeter, and the
chorus of matrons kneeling round her, and encircling her with

suppliant boughs.
It is
not
till
Soph. O. C.
Arist.
Equit. 490-494.
857
Other examples of the same sort of thing
^
856,
Eur. Hel. 1621-1641

;
the end of the
first
scene that
occur in Arist. Acharn. 324-327, Av.

353-400.
RELATIVE POSITION OF ACTORS AND CHORUS.
IIT.]
153
they descend into the orchestra.
In the Peace of Aristophanes

comes on the stage to help in hauHng up
the statue of Peace, and remains there for a considerable time'.
the chorus of farmers
Still
upon the
the instances of the chorus appearing
stage, either
momentarily, or for a length of time, are comparatively rare.
Greek plays which have come down
the forty-four
all
On
hardly fifteen certain examples are to be found.
hand the cases are not
infrequent, in
In
to us
the other
which the chorus might
naturally be expected to ascend the stage, and take part in the

action
but while they are hesitating about doing
attention
some unforeseen
diverted by
is
advent of some
new personage ^
which the poet seems

sity of bringing the
to
be
their
so,
by the
incident, or
Instances of this kind, in
at especial pains to avoid the neces-
chorus on the stage, appear to show that
there were certain obstacles in the
way of a
course between the actors and the chorus.
then of these investigations
is
as follows.
free
The
The
and easy
inter-
general result
actors
chorus were able to converse together without
and the
difficulty.
If
necessary the chorus could ascend the stage, and join in the
But they very seldom do
action.
so,
even when
it
might natur-
There must therefore have

been some difficulty about the appearance of the chorus upon
the stage. Their presence there must have been felt to be an
ally
be expected that they would.
anomaly.
This conclusion
tallies
exactly with the facts already stated,
that the chorus stood in the orchestra underneath the stage,
with their faces towards the actors, and that the communication
between orchestra and stage was by means of

such circumstances
possible for the
it
is
obvious that
Greek chorus
it
to take a
proceedings upon the stage.
Under
steps.
must have been im-
prominent part in the
further question
still
arises,
whether, granting that the actors stood on the stage, and the
chorus
^
in the orchestra,
Aesch.'
Prom. Vinct.
it
128,
is
possible that the stage should have
279;
Orest.
Eur. Suppl. 8, 359;

Eum. 179 ff.
Cp. also Aesch.
Arist. Pax 426-550.
456.
Suppl. 222-506; Eur. Hel. 327-515
1042
''
132-206;
E. g. Soph. Ajax 328

ff.,
Vesp.
Arist.
Androm. 817
ff.,
ff.
&c.
403-
Eur. Hec.
THE THEATRE.
154
been as high as ten or twelve
abnormal height, how,
is
it
[CK
was of
If the stage
feet.
this
asked, could actors and chorus
even converse together with any appearance of fidelity

In order to meet this difficulty
it
nature ?
to
has been suggested that the
chorus did not stand upon the level of the orchestra, but upon a
platform erected immediately in front of the stage.
form,
is said,
it
This platmust have been some distance lower than the
would have been concealed from view by the chorus standing in front of them. At
the same time it must have been high enough to bring the
chorus into moderate proximity to the actors, so as to enable
stage, or else the persons of the actors
them
converse together without any great violation of proba-
to
This platform for the chorus, has been rather a favourite
bility.
conception with the writers upon the subject of the Greek drama.
Its existence is
an appeal
defended partly upon general grounds, partly by
ancient authorities
was
called
in Suidas,
'
first.
orchestra
G.
Hermann supposed
where the orchestra

But
is
take the
that the platform
He
narrower sense.
in a
'
Skene, and as being a
formed.
To
passages in ancient authors.
to certain
cited a passage
described as coming after the
wooden platform on which mimes
per-
passage the context clearly proves that the
in this
word orchestra is used in its later sense as the stage.'

Hermann's view has therefore been very generally discarded
'
'
'
G. Hermann Opusc. vi. 2, p. 152 ff.

The passage occurs in Suidas and Etym.
reliance can be placed
Mag.
derived from
V. aKt]vi],
and also
in Schol.
Greg.
Nazianz. 355 B (see Hermes for 1872, p.

In all three places it is corrupt
490).
and mutilated, but the last version of
the three
is
as follows
the most complete, and runs

aKr]vi]
\ariv
yikar]
77
Ovpa
Tov Oearpov, TrapaaKrjvia Ee ra evOeu Kai

u9eu T^j
u)v
Bvpas
fieaijs
rd evTos
/cat
(xacpfffTepov uTToo,
v^v
<t/ct]vi].
eSa</)os,
ura perd
e</)'
rr^v
Ovpas ^ iva
/xfTo, tt)j/ (xkt]-
Koi rd irapaaiajvia
evOiis
avTT] E4 kcTTiv o TOTTOs
TO
xaAa KayKeXXa-
ttjs fxcarjs
fj
dpx'']<^Tpa-
K (Tavidoov exojJ^
cv Oearpiôvffiv ol
opxqaTpav
ôjfxds
fii/ôi.
^v rod
Aiovvcrov, TCTpdycuvov olKod6pi.T]p.a Kevov,

67ri
TOV
fiiffov,
b KaXiiTai
$vfx,\r)
-napd
TOV 6v(iv, pLfrd T^v OvpeXijv fj Koviarpa,

TovrioTi TO Karoj iZa<poi rod Ofarpov.
The passage
aKr]vr]
is
as the
very corrupt, and
The
it.
liltle
on any inferences
description
of
middle door,' the xa^f
and the statement that the

comes after the thymele, are
Koj^KfXKa^
konistra
all astonishing.
But
it is
clear that op-
here means the stage.
This
appears not only from the context, but
x''70"rpa
also from the fact that
it is
been the place
/xifioi.
for the
said to have
Wieseler
bases upon the above passage his peculiar theory that the thymele was the
platform for the chorus, and not an altar
at all.
He
relies
on the words Terpd-
yccvov olKoS6p.r]jxa kcvuv.
It is true that
But if
it proves
one thing more than another, it proves
that the thymele was the altar of Diony-
the passage
sus,
is
and stood
obscure.
in the orchestra.
III.]
Wieseler has endeavoured
prove that
to
chorus was denoted by the word
this platform for the
Now
thymele.'
'
155
thymele^
'
was a word which had a great many meanings in ancient times.

At present we are only concerned with those which had reference to the theatre. As applied to the theatre it meant originally
the altar of Dionysus in the centre of the orchestra.
quently
it
was extended
surrounding the
In later times,
altar.
Subse-
denote the orchestra, or space
to
when
the
Roman
fashion
all
performances to the stage very generally
prevailed, the two
words orchestra and thymele were both
of transferring
'
'
'
and recognised meanings
distinct
'
Hence we have three

word 'thymele' as
of them used to denote 'the stage.'
for the
firstly,
the altar of Dionysus,
secondly, the orchestra, thirdly, the stage.
If the passages are
applied to the theatre.
carefully examined, in
It
denoted,
which
it is
asserted that 'thymele' denotes

will
be found
much more
naturally
a platform for the chorus in front of the stage,

that in the majority of
them the word
explained as meaning the stage

or two cases the language used
itself,
is
it
or the orchestra.
In one
apparently due to a confusion
is
between the different meanings of the term.
In no case
is
there
a clear and definite description of a platform standing halfway
up between the orchestra and the staged

really existed,
For
^yftc'A?;
it
= the
on
had
seems incredible that there should have been

altar of
Dionysus
passages quoted
in the orchestra see the
For 9vni\r) = dpxq(TTpa see

For 9vfjLi\j] = \oyeLov seeBekk.
p. 133.
p. 133.
If such a platform
Ov/jiiKais.
(3) Schol. Aristid. iii. p. 536

ela^pei kv rrj opxh-
(Dindf.) 6 xopos ore
arpa ^ (MS. ^) eon dvfiiKrj. (4) Poll,

iv. 123 at (tktjvt) /xkv v-noKpiTwv idiov, fj
p. 292 aK-qv^ S' larlv fj vvv \eyoHivq dvpLiXq, Schol. Arist. Equit. 149
us S' 6v OvuiXr) dl to dvdâive. In
5e bpxh<yrpa rov x.opov, Iv
addition to the Scholium quoted in the

preceding note, the followirg passages
quod olim in orchestra stantescantabant

super pulpitum quod thymele vocabatur.
In the first and second passages
In the
OvpLkKr} obviously = 6/)X77<^Tpa.
Anecd.
are
cited
to prove that BvpLiXr)
some-
platform for the

chorus, betvireen the orchestra and the
stage, (i) Anth. Pal. vii. 21 iroKKa-
times
Kis kv
the
special
aKTjvfiai redijXws
evueXyai Kal ev
I3\aiaus 'Axapvhrjs
Kicabs k.t.K.
fiujxois,
dra
xopofat
ttoWolkis
^Tjpd
ti
ovaa
Isidor. Origg. xviii.
third
passage
--=
it
47
eiVc
fcal
-q
$vixe\rj,
^cv/xos.
(5)
et dicti thymelici,
opxharpa or
ôj/xo?
Aiovvaov, according as ^ or ^ is read.

In the fourth passage there is apparently
(2)
Corp. Inscr. Gr. 6750 Zoâv cpavrjeaaav

hi OKTjvaiai Xapovaav vavroirjs opeTrjs
(V
eiVe
Iv
a confusion of the two meanings of

'a stage' and ' an altar.' In
the fifth passage the two meanings of
6vp.e\r) as
orchestra
'
and
stage
'
are confused.
THE THEATRE.
15^
no mention of
The language
it.
[Ch.
of Vitruvius in particular
is
hardly explicable on the supposition that such a platform was in

use.
He
Roman
says that in a
theatre the stage
deeper than among the Greeks, because

performers, chorus as well as actors.
in
was much
had to contain all the

was only five feet high,
it
It
order that the senators sitting in the orchestra might be able
down to the end of it. In a Greek theatre on the other

hand the chorus performed in the orchestra, the actors upon the
stage.
The stage was therefore much narrower, and *was from
to see
ten to twelve feet high\
hardly credible that Vitruvius
It is
would have expressed himself in this way, if the Greek chorus

had occupied a platform five or six feet below the level of the
As
stage.
far
then as ancient authorities are concerned, the
theory as to the existence of a platform for the chorus finds

absolutely no support.
On
general grounds there are several
theory.
In the
first place, if it
beheve that the Greeks
first
the chorus to perform in

then, finding they
of
were
all
fatal objections to the
correct,
we should have
to
constructed an orchestra for
then built a stage twelve feet high
had made
their stage a great deal too lofty,
got out of the difficulty by erecting a platform each year, to bring
To suppose that the

way would be to suppose that they were
in common sense.
In the second place it
the chorus within reach of the actors.
Greeks acted
in this
altogether deficient
must not be forgotten that the performances
at the City
choruses contained
tion.
They must
fifty
Dionysia
The dithyrambic
consisted of dithyrambs as well as dramas.
members, and stood
in a circular posi-
therefore have required a very considerable
space for their performances.
The oblong
the stage would not have been large
platform in front of
enough
to
accommodate
them, but would have been large enough to encroach very

extensively
upon the
orchestra,
choruses into one end of

improbable.
In the third
and
to drive the
dithyrambic
That such was the case is most

place, in the theatre at Epidaurus
it.
there are no traces of any appliances for the erection of the

^
Vitruv,
V. 6, 7.
III.]
We
supposed platform.
should have expected
157
to find holes in
the floor of the orchestra, and sockets in the hyposkenion, for
the reception of the beams by which the platform was supported.
But neither
at
be found.
Fourthly on the floor of the orchestra
Epidaurus nor elsewhere are any such traces

,
a large circle
for the
in
the conclusion that
It is difficult to resist
was intended
to
Epidaurus
marked out with a stone border immediately
is
front of the stage.

this circle
at
performances of the chorus.
end of the Wasps the chorus make their
exit
dancing, headed by Philocleon and the sons of Carcinus.
If
Fifthly,
at the
they had occupied an elevated platform in the orchestra, this
form of exit would have been impossible. For these reasons,

combined with the silence of ancient writers, there appears to
be no doubt that the platform for the chorus in front of the stage
must be regarded as a fiction of modern times.
As to the enormous height of the Greek stage and the
difference in altitude between the position of the chorus and
,
that of the actors, perhaps
we
will not
it
carefully dismiss from our
from the modern
stage,
ancient theatres.
We
ground, with
and
if
appear so incongruous,
minds
all
associations derived
we remember
the vast size of the
should regard the chorus in the fore-
carefully arranged groups, as the prominent
its
feature in the spectacle
while the actors on the long and
narrow stage behind formed a picturesque background,

the fashion of a frieze or bas-relief.
some
if
difficulty in
Still
there
is
after
no doubt
imagining a conversation between persons in
the orchestra and persons on a stage twelve feet above them.
Perhap s during the

at a
fifth
century the stage was not so high as
subsequent period, and
this
may
be the solution of the
It was
was any very close connexion and intercourse between
chorus and actors, orchestra and stage. In the fourth century
the chorus disappeared almost entirely from comedy, and in
tragedy its functions came to be confined to the duty of merely
It is true that there were frequent revivals
singing interludes.
difficulty.
only in the plays of the fifth century that
there
of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. But the
number of such
revivals
was
small;
compared with the number
THE THEATRE.
158
[Ch.
Later on, even in the
of original plays produced at that time.
plays of the great tragedians, the choral parts were curtailed or
Speaking roughly therefore
omitted \
was only
in the
drama of the
fifth
it
may be
said that
it
century that the chorus took
a prominent part in the progress of each piece,
and
it
was only
period that a close connexion between the orchestra
at that
and the stage was desirable. Now the evidence as to the

height of the Greek stage depends upon two sources, the state-
ment of Vitruvius, and the remains of the theatre at Epidaurus.

This evidence, at the earliest, does not bring us any further back
we know
than the middle of the fourth century I
All
stage in the Athenian theatre during the
fifth
century
as to the
that
is
it
was not a permanent erection at all, but merely a temporary

There is no need to suppose that its height
structure of wood.
was
definitely fixed at that time.
periods,
It
may have
varied at different
and the average height may have been
feet instead
The subsequent
of ten or twelve.
may have been

chorus.
Of course all
six or seven
raising of the
connected with the curtailment of the
stage
this is
mere conjecture.
At any rate the
suggestion that there was a special platform for the chorus has
been shown
to
be utterly improbable and unsupported.
other theory, that during the
were both
in the orchestra
fifth
The
century actors and chorus
and on the same
level,
appears to be
conclusively disproved by certain passages in Aristophanes, as

well as by other considerations.
fairly well established is that
All that can be regarded as
from the
earliest period the
chorus
performed in the orchestra, and the actors upon an elevated
From
stage.
stage
the
the middle of the fourth
was from ten
fifth
to twelve feet high.
century, this
is
century onwards this
As
to its height
a point upon which
it is
during
impossible to
speak with certainty.

10.
To
Various
details.
return to the subject of the construction of the theatre in
general.
^
It is
obvious
Dio Chrysost.
that,
or. xix. p. 288,
considering the enormous size of

Dindf.
See above,
p. 142.
VARIOUS DETAILS,
III.]
the building, and the
was intended
to
59
immense number of spectators which
it
accommodate, the greatest attention must have
been bestowed upon
its
Vitruvius
acoustic properties.
most
is
emphatic upon the necessity of keeping
this
when choosing
situation against the
side of a
hill,
The
a site for a theatre.
object in view,
and the gentle and symmetrical upward slope of
the tiers of seats, are mentioned as qualities by which acoustic
excellence was ensured.
The
height of the stage-buildings was
was found that the best results

were obtained by making them exactly the same height as the
uppermost parts of the auditorium \ The wooden stage also
also of great importance.
make
contributed to
When
It
the voices of the
more
actors
Alexander the Great wished
to
have a stage
was pointed out
to
him
tirely of bronze,
would be
fatal
it
that this material
from the acoustic point of view^
mentions a peculiar practice which was adopted

of adding
audible.
built en-
Vitruvius
for the
resonance to the voices of the actors.
purpose
Hollow
vessels of bronze^ of different tones, were suspended in niches
When
in various parts of the auditorium.
a sound
of the same tone as that of any of the vessels,
was increased.
He
states that this custom,
was uttered
its
resonance
though not adopted
Rome, existed in many Greek and Italian theatres and

Mummius, after his capture of Corinth, brought back
in
that
several of these vessels from the theatre there.
In the remains
of the existing theatres no traces are to be found of the niches
he describes ^ It is probable that the whole plan was merely an

experiment adopted in a few special cases. As far as Athens
was concerned, no such extraneous assistance to the voice was

Experiments at the present day have shown that
necessary.
the acoustic properties of the theatre of Dionysus are excellent
and
this
must have been
buildings were standing.
still
more the case when the
stage-
Probably therefore, in spite of the
numbers of the audience, the persons in the back rows

could hear the words spoken in the orchestra and upon the
vast
^.Vitruv.
2
Plut.
1096 C.
V. 6.
Non
posse
suaviter
&c.,
Vitruv. v.
maler, vol.
iii.
5";
p.
Baumeister's Denk-
1741.
THE THEATRE.
l6o
stage
much more
[Ch.
clearly than might at first sight have been
supposed.
Another point mentioned by Vitruvius

theatre
in
connexion with the
the advantage of erecting porticoes.jn the rear of the
is
stage-buildings, to serve as a shelter for the people in case of a
sudden shower of
He
choregi.
rain,
adds that
and also
at
for the
convenience of the
Athens there were three buildings
close to the theatre, which served admirably for this purpose.
These were the Odeum, the temple of Dionysus, and the

Portico of Eumenes ^
The Odeum here referred to must be
that built by Pericles, since the only other one existing in the
time of Vitruvius was close to the spring called Enneakrounos ^
The exact position of the Odeum of Pericles has not been
determined with certainty.
by Vitruvius
D in
is
the plan,
The temple
of Dionysus mentioned
apparently the older of the two temples, marked
and lying
The Portico
by Eumenes II in
to the south-west of the original stage-
Eumenes
supposed
have been
buildings.
of
built
the beginning of the second century
c,
B.
and
it
is
thought that traces
is
of
stretching westwards from the theatre ^
it
to
are to be found
Immediately
to
the
south of the stage-buildings are the foundations of a hall of late

date,
marked C
some
in
the
plan.
may have been
Possibly this
erection in connexion with
purposes described by Vitruvius.
the theatre, built for the
In the theatre
itself
there
was no pro tection foi^Jhe_p<Qj^le^ either from the sun or from

The huge canvass awnings, suspended upon masts,
the rain.
which the Latin writers refer to, were an invention of the
Italians, and were only adopted in Greek theatres at a very
late period*.
The
interior of the theatre at
Athens was decorated with the
some
statues of various public persons,

not.
distinguished, others
In the time of Lycurgus bronze statues were erected in
honour of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides ^

School at Athens, vol.
Vitruv.
"^
Plut. Pericles, p. 160
V. 9.
Pausan.
i.
Wheeler,
Val.
Max.
ii,
4.
p. 127.
i.
Corp. Inscr.
Gr. 4283.
14. I^
Pausanias
in
Papers of the American
Plut.
orat. p.
841 F.
VARIOUS DETAILS.
ni.]
mentions that
in his
l6l
time there were several statues of dramatic
poets in the theatre, but, with the exception of Sophocles,
and Menander, they were all very obscure inAstydamas, the tragic poet, was voted a statue in
the theatre on account of the excellence of his tragedy called
Euripides,
dividuals \
He
Parthenopaeus.
wrote an epigram to be inscribed upon
the base, regretting that he had not been born in the time of
the great tragic writers, so as to be able to compete with worthy
The Athenians were
antagonists.
ceit, that
so disgusted with his con-
they refused to allow the epigram to be inscribed, and
the expression
a proverb'^.
to praise one's self like
Astydamas passed
*
into
In addition to the statues of the dramatic poets
there were also statues of Themistocles and Miltiades, each
with a captured Persian standing beside him

is
In later times
^.
it
was erected
during the reign of Hadrian
stated that a statue of Eurycleides the conjuror
in the theatre ^
It is
thirteen statues of
probable that
him were placed
The
blocks of the auditorium.
in
the thirteen different
on the bases of
inscriptions
four of these statues have been found in the existing remains
Besides the statues there were also various
of the theatre ^
inscriptions
and
tablets connected with theatrical affairs.
copy of the decree of the Amphictyonic Council, conferring

certain privileges upon the Athenian actors, was inscribed in
Numerous records of
stone and put up in the theatre ^
dra-
matic and dithyrambic contests were erected either in the theatre,
There were lists of the victors

There
in all the competitions at the Lenaea and City Dionysia.
were lists of all the tragedies and comedies ever produced in
There were lists of all the poets and
the theatre at Athens.
or the immediate neighbourhood.
actors
who had competed

appended
victories
to
with the
there,
number of
A complete
each name.
their
account of these
various records has already been given at the end of the
first
chapter ^
^
Pausan.
Suidas
Schol. Aristid.
i.
21.
i.
V. aavrrjv kiraiviis.
iii.
p. 535, ed.
Din-
'
dorf.
Athen. p. 19 E.
Corp. Inscr, Att.
iii.
464, 46-4668,

See chap. i. pp. 59-62.
THE THEATRE.
l62
[Ch.
Before concluding this description of the theatre of Dionysus

it
may be
some account of the various other
interesting to give
purposes for which
it
was used
at different times, in addition
to its
primary object as a place for dramatic representations.
From
the earliest period the contests between the dithyrambic
The
choruses were held in the theatre.
recitations
of the
rhapsodists and the competitions between the harp-players were
same place from the Odeum
also transferred to the
which
in
Besides this various cere^
they had been held previously ^
monies unconnected with
art took place in the theatre
during
the festivals of Dionysus.
The
by the
large audiences attracted
made
dramatic performances at the City Dionysia

occasion for displays of various kinds.
It
was
it
a suitable
in the theatre
the City Dionysia that the orphan sons of soldiers, after
at
being educated by the
state,
were publicly paraded, before

On the same occasion
being dismissed from state control.

tri bute
the
from the
collected
was exhibited
allies
the
in
orchestra, as a proof of the power and magnificence of the
Athenian empire.
ing citizens,
it
When
was a
crowns were bestowed upon deserv-
special
mark of honour
at the City
proclaimed in the theatre
for the fact to
be
The annual
Dionysia ^
commemoration of the Persian invasion was

But the most important of the nonheld in the theatre ^
dramatic purposes for which the theatre came to be used was
cock-fight
in
that of meeting-place fox the, assemblies j)f the_ people.

fifth
In the
and fourth centuries the regular place of assembly was the
Pnyx.
But already
used
be held
to
discuss
at a
very early period special assemblies
in the theatre after
matters
connected with
religious meetings probably
each
the festival.
paved the way
of holding ordinary meetings there.
Dionysus, to
festival of
As
These semi*
to the later practice
early as
the
year
411, on the occasion of the overthrow of the Four Hundred,

^
"^
depicted in the act of setting cocks to

figlit.
The significance of the reliefs is
Hesych. v. wZuov.
See chap. ii. p. 89.
Aelian. Var. Hist.
ii.
28,
On
the
outside of the arms, in the throne of the
two haswhich kneeling Cupids are
priest of Dionysus, there are

reliefs,
in
explained by the fact that the annual

cock-fight was held in the theatre. vSee
Julius in Zeitschrift
vol.
xiii.
p. 198.
fiir
bildende Kunst,
VARIOUS DETAILS.
in.]
163
Thucydides mentions that an assembly of the people was held

in the theatre.
It was in the theatre that the meeting was
convened which condemned Phocion and his friends to death
in
317
In 295
B. c.
summoned
B. c.
Demetrius, after capturing the
a gathering of the people in the theatre ^
meetings were
all
of a special character, and were not regular
assemblies of the people
use of the theatre for
political,
artistic,
purposes.
Aristotle that the
city,
These
but they served as precedents for the
Similarly
as opposed to religious and
we
are told on the authority of
Ephebi received their shields and spears from
the state at assemblies of the people in the theatre
After the
^.
middle of the third century the theatre became the regular

meeting-place.
The Pnyx henceforward was
assemblies for the election of magistrates
^.
only used for
In this later period
the theatre was also used for various exhibitions which seemed
unworthy of its character as a temple of Dionysus. Swordswallowers, conjurors, and exhibitors of pupp et-shows are
mentioned among the entertainers who occupied the stage which
had formerly been dignified by Euripides ^ But the greatest
degradation which the theatre at Athens ever suffered was when,

under the influence of Roman custom, it was given up to
gladiatorial combats.
This was a pollution which called forth
indignant protests from writers such as Philostratus and Dio
Chrysostom
^.
Demosth. Meid. 9 Thucyd. viii.

93,94; Plut. Phoc. p. 757D, Demetr. p.
905 A Mliller (Biihnenalt. p. 74) is mistaken in stating, on the authority of
Diod. xvi. 84, that on the news of the
capture of Elatea in 339, the Athenians
hastily assembled in the theatre.
The
description in Diodorus is merely a
paraphrase of the celebrated description
Demosin Demosth. de Cor. 169.
their seats in the
thenes says that at daybreak, before the

Senate had transacted the preliminary
Dindf.
business, the people
Pnyx
(avo}
KaOrjTo).
When
Diodorus says that they met in

the theatre, he is merely using the Ianguage of his own time, the theatre being
then the regular meeting-place,
^ Harpocrat. v. irfpiiroXos.
19
Poll. viii. 132.
Plut.
E
^
(vol.
had already taken
M2
Lycurg. p. 51 E; Athen. p.
Alciphron iii. 20.
Dio
i.
Chrysost.
or.
Philostrat. vit.
xxxi.
p.
ApoU.
p. 142, ed. Kayser).
386,
iv.
22
CHAPTER
IV.
THE SCENERY.
I.
The
General character of the Scenery.
scenery in use upon the Attic stage was simple in
character and Hmited in amount, compared with that employed

in a
modern
theatre.
tacular effects
Elaborate set pieces and gorgeous spec-
were entirely unknown.
in the production of a play
was the
The
principal expense
training of the chorus, the
and the supply of suitable dresses. The

scenery was never made the prominent feature of the exhibition.
All that was desired was an appropriate background to show off
payment of the
to
actors,
advantage the figures of the performers.
The
simplicity in
the character of the ancient scenery was a necessary result of

the peculiar construction of the stage.
The
Attic stage
was
and
strip, little more than ten feet in depth,

bounded in the rear by an immovable wall, which could neither
be drawn asunder, nor pushed backwards or forwards. Under
these circumstances any representation of the interior of a
building was quite out of the question.
All those elaborate
spectacular illusions, which are rendered practicable by the
great depth of the modern stage, were impossible in an ancient
theatre.
Nothing more was required than to cover over the
permanent wall at the back with a suitable view. Then again,
a long and narrow
in addition to the simplicity of the mechanical arrangements,
number of scenes in use upon the Attic stage was very

Not only was a change of scene in the
course of the same play practically unknown, but there was
the
limited in amount.
often very
little
difference between one play
and another as
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SCENERY.
1.65
regards the character of the scenery required.
Each of the
drama had a background of a con-
three great branches of the
ventional type specially appropriated to
and
this typical
When
therefore a
itself,
background was the one usually adopted.
was being exhibited, or a series of comedies,

have happened that the same scenery would do
series of tragedies
it
must often
Thus
duty for two or three plays in succession.
of the scenery was one of the smallest of the
stage-manager had
the Attic
variety
to
the question
difficulties
Very
contend with.
which
little
was necessary, and the mechanical arrangements were
simple in the extreme.
At the same time it would be a mistake to suppose that there

was anything poor or mean in the scenery of the Athenian
theatre.
The greatest period of the Attic drama corresponded
with the greatest period of Attic art.
Poets like Aeschylus and
Sophocles personally superintended the mounting of their plays.
It is safe
in
therefore to conclude that the scenery
harmony with the
rest of the performance,
rate as the nature of the
been alien
was thoroughly
and was as elabo-
Greek drama required.
to the simplicity of the Attic taste to
It
would have
have allowed
the poetry and the acting to be overshadowed by gorgeous spectacles
The prominent
and magnificent decorations.
an Athenian dramatic performance was the chorus

ground, with
its
graceful arrangement and picturesque dresses.
Above the chorus, on

mute figures, arranged
The
feature in
in the fore-
the narrow stage, stood the actors and

in line,
and dressed
in brilliant colours.
long scene in the rear formed a pleasing background, and
showed
off*
the persons of the actors to advantage.
a broad expanse to the eye
but not
much
convey the ideas of depth and of distance.
It
presented
attempt was
In
its
made
to
general effect
the scene upon the stage resembled a long frieze or bas-relief
painted in brilliant colours, rather than a picture with a distant

perspective.
It
that
was only by a process of very gradual development

the scenic arrangements and general mounting of a
play were brought to that pitch of excellence which they dis-
played during the latter part of the
fifth
century and afterwards.
THE SCENERY,
l66
The
art of stage decoration
background
among
grew out of very

drama the
platform consisted merely of some
During the
small beginnings.
to the actor*s
[Ch.
the Greeks
earliest period of the
booth or covered erection for the performer to change his dress

in.
Out of
this
booth and platform were developed the stage
and stage-buildings of a later period. At first the whole structure was of wood, and the background to the stage consisted of
a bare hoarding, with doors for the actors to enter by. There
was no
actual
supposed
to
be taking place.
to give
stage resembled our

practically
own
Everything was
left
an
was
the
to
In this respect the early Attic
imagination of the spectators.
was
made
painted scenery, and no attempt was
representation of the scene in which the action
Elizabethan drama, in which scenery
unknown, and the back of the stage consisted
merely of a bare
wall.
When
Aeschylus
appearance as a tragic writer things were
The pro gress
tive condition.
made
still
his
first
in this primi-
of tjie_ar t of sta ge dec oratioj}
can be distinctly traced in the extant plays of Aeschylus.

the Supplices, the earliest of his tragedies, there
is
In
no mention
of any scenery in the background, no clear definition of the

exact spot where the action
that
is
is
The only
taking place.
distinctly referred to is the altar of the
gods
In this respect, in the
suppliants take shelter.
at
total
thing
which the
absence of
local colouring, the Supplices differs from all the other
Greek
may therefore be concluded with certainty that at the time when the Supplices was
produced the scenic art was still in its infancy. The back of
plays which have been preserved.
the stage
was merely a bare
wall,
It
and the only attempt
at
decoration consisted in placing upon the stage such properties
as were required by the particular play.
was an
altar,
and that was
scene of the action

Caucasus.
is
But
is
all
In the Supplices there
In the Prometheus Vinctus the
clearly defined as a rocky region of the
in all probability the
rock to which Prometheus
chained was merely built up upon the stage, and no attempt
was made
to give
an elaborate representation of the view.
scene of the Persae
is
before the palace of

^
Aesch. Suppl. 189.
The
King Xerxes, and the
IV.]
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SCENERY.
palace
is
distinctly referred to in the course of the play ^
the Seven against Thebes, which
was produced
the Persae, there
little
vague and
is
again very
The scene
indistinct.
the Acropolis at Thebes,
In jthe
local colouring.
of the play
but there
O resteia,
Aeschylus, a great advance
is
But
is
is
in
years after
five
All
is
not far from
no mention of any
make
palace or other building from which the actors
entranced
167
their
the last dramatic production of

noticeable in the art of scenic
In all the three plays of which the trilogy is

composed the scene of the action is very clearly defined,
and very frequently referred to. The first two tragedies take
decoration.
place in front of the palace of
scene of the third
is
Agamemnon
at
Argos; the
partly before the temple of Apollo
Delphi, partly before
By
of Athene at Athens ^
that
at
this
time painted^ceêry had been invented, and was doubtless
used
in the Oresteia.
The
contrast between the earliest and
the latest of the tragedies of Aeschylus, as regards local colour-
ing and allusions to the scene of action,
conspicuous, and
made
in the
is
very marked and
clearly denotes the advance
manner of mounting a
play.
which had been
It is
that in all the three tragedies of the Oresteia the
the ekkjklemajs employed ^
It is
also noticeable
machine called
obvious, therefore, that
by
had reached a certain degree of

elaboration, else such an appliance could hardly have been
used. Whether they were still of wood, or had already been
this time the stage-buildings
of stone, in any case they probably resembled in their
built
general character and arrangement the stage-buildings of a later

period.
By
had
the middle of the
fifth
fully established itself.
century the use of painted scenery

After this period no great change
was made in the general system of mounting a play. There

was still, no doubt, much room for improvement in the manner in
which the work was carried out. The art of scene-painting was
brought to greater perfection by succeeding generations, and
1
2
3
35. 242.
Aesch. Pers. 159, 160.

Aesch. Theb. 240.
Aesch. Agam.
3,
Choeph.
22,
Eum.
973
Agam. 1373
Eum. 40 ff.
Aesch.
if.,
ff.,
Choeph.
THE SCENERY.
l68
[Ch.
various mechanical appliances and devices were introduced.
But by the middle of the
century the general method of
fifth
was only modified
stage decoration had been finally settled, and

in details at a
subsequent period.
starting-point,
will
to the
Attic
still
it
Taking
our
this date as
be interesting to consider the question as
number and character of the scenes most in use upon the

Our principal authority will be the Greek plays
stage.
in existence.
Vitruvius_ divides scenery into three
and
According
satyric.
g lasses tragic,
comic,
to his description the salient features
scene were columns, pediments, statues, and other
in a tragic
signs of regal magnificence.
In cornedy the scene represented
a private house, with projecting balconies, and windows looking

out upon the stage.
The scenery
in the satyric
drama
con-
and
sisted of a rustic region, with trees, caverns, mountains,
other objects of the
The above
same kind^
tended to be an exhaustive one.

outline the type of scene which
It
merely describes
was most
more exhaustive than might at first

extant Greek dramas are examined,
not
At the same time
sight be supposed.
it
in-
in general
characteristic of each
of the three great branches of the drama.

is
is
list
will
it
If the
be found that
in
the great majority of cases the scenery conforms to the general
To
type described by Vitruvius.
take the tragic poets
first.
Twenty-five tragedies by Sophocles and Euripides have been

preserved.
In no less than seventeen out of the twenty- five
the scene
laid in front of a palace or a temple^.
is
In
all
these
cases the general character of the scenery would be exactly
The prominent
such as Vitruvius describes.
feature
would
be a magnificent building, with columns, pediments, and
Of the remaining
tues.
eight tragedies, there are four in
sta-
which
the scene consists of an encampment, with tents in the back-
ground ^
The
other four
Philoctetes the scene

^
Vitruv.
=*
Viz. Soph. O. R.,
Trach.
require special scenery.
all
is laid
in front of a
Iph. Taur., Andr., Suppl., Heraclid.
V. 6.
Antig., Electr.,
Eur. Ale, Med., Hipp., Here.

Fur., Phoen., Hel., Orest., Bacch., Ion,
;
In the
cavern in a desert
Viz. Eur.
Rhesus.
Hec,
Troad., Iph. Aul.,
GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SCENERY,
IV.]
In the Ajax
island.
partly before the tent of Ajax,
is laid
it
The background
partly in a solitary quarter by the sea-shore.

in the
169
Oedipus Coloneus consists of a country region, with the
sacred enclosure of the Eumenides in the centre.

Electra of Euripides
is
Finally, the
altogether exceptional in having
On
scene laid before a humble country cottage.
its
the whole the
evidence of the extant tragedies tends to confirm the statement

of Vitruvius, and
exemplifies the conventional character of
Greek tragic scenery. In the great majority of instances the

background would be an imposing pile of buildings, adorned
with various architectural embellishments.
drama, the Cyclops of Euripides

class
is
As
to the satyric
the only specimen of this
of composition which has been preserved.
The scene
there corresponds exactly to the description of Vitruvius, and
Polyphemus in
all satyric dramas
consists of a country region, with the cave of
There can be little doubt that in

was of much the same character. As the
chorus always consisted of satyrs, whose dwelling was in the
forest, the scene of the play would naturally be laid in some
the centre.
the background
deserted country
to distinguish
district.
In regard to comedy,
necessary
The
almost invariably laid in front
of an ordinary private house, as
of Plautus and Terence.
is
proved by the adaptations
In the Old Comedy, to judge from
the extant plays of Aristophanes, the

case.
is
between the Old Comedy and the New.
New Comedy was
scene in the
it
same was generally the
In six out of the eleven comedies of Aristophanes, the
background consists merely of a house, or of houses standing

side by side^
In four others the principal part of the action
In the Thesmophoriazusae the
takes place before a house.
scene consists of a house and a temple standing side by side.

In the Lysistrata there
is
a private house, and near
entrance to the Acropolis.
it
the
In the Acharnians the opening
scene takes place in the Pnyx
the rest of the action
is
carried on before the houses of Dicaeopolis, Euripides, and
Lamachus.
The scene
Viz. the
in the
Knights
is laid
partly before the
Wasps, Peace, Clouds, Frogs, Ecclesiazusae, Plutus.
THE SCENERY.
t70
house of Demos, and partly
which the scenery
in
is
[Cfi,
The only comedy
Pnyx.
in the
of an altogether exceptional character
is
the Birds, in which the background consists of a wild country

region, filled with rocks,
therefore, that
even
and
trees, and bushes.

It appears,
Old Comedy there was not much
in the
variety in the scenery.
The
result of this examination of the extant plays is to
number of scenes required on the
that the
prove
was not
Attic stage
In most plays the action took place before a
very large.
In such cases
palace, or a temple, or a private house.
it
is
probable that the same scenes were used over and over again
and
if it
was necessary
make any
to
between the
distinction
scenes in different plays, a rearrangement of the ornaments
and properties upon the stage would suffice for all practical
purposes.
On the Athenian stage the scenery was entirely
subordinated to the music and the acting. It helped to carry
was never allowed
out the illusion, but
make
to
predominate.
To
spectacular effects the prominent feature in a dramatic
performance would have been utterly foreign
to the taste of the
Athenians.
Mechanical arrangements for
2.
The scenery
were
consisted of painted curtains or boards,
affixed to the wall at the
name
the Scenery.
which
The ordinary
back of the stage.
was skene or proskenion \ According to

Aristotle the invention of scene-painting was due to Sophocles.
His
Vitruvius on the other hand assigns it to Aeschylus ^
^
for a scen e
Poll. iv. 131 KaTa0\rifj.aTa Se
fiara
XP^'ô,
fj
tS)v
^dWcTo
vvvra
rj
bpafxarcav irpoacfyupovr
5' (irl
Suid.
i)
v.
TrorafAou
aKr]vri
= the
irpodKrjviov
Trjs aKTjVTJs TTapaireTacr/jLa.
rrj
Kan-
opos Scik-
Tci9 irepioLKTOvs
OdXanav
roiovTov.
of
vfda-
nivaKes âav X<"'7'6J ypacpas
dXKo
to
rt
itpb
For the use
painted scenery at the
back of the stage, see chap. iii. p. 139.

Nannio the courtesan was called pro*
skenion
'
because of the deceptive char-
acter of her beauty (Athen. p. 5.S7 B).

^
Aristol. Poet.
VTTOKpnwv
Kal
4 nal to tc tojv
rbv
irapeffKevacrev.
(piav ô(f>oK\7Js.
ds 8vo
irpajros
to.
tov x^pov ijKdr'
\uyov
irpcoTa-yaiviGTfjV
AtVx'^ôs ijyaye Kal

roJOi
c.
ir^rjOos ! kvos
Tpfis Sc
Vitruv.
Kal GKT]t'oypa~
vii.
praef. 11.
supported by the
statement in the Life of Aeschylus that
ypa(pai were first introduced by him.
Vitruvius' account
is
IV.]
MECHANICAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR SCENERY.
171
He
says
account of the matter
is
precise and
full
that the first tragic scene ever painted
of
detail.
was made by a
certain
Agatharchus under the superintendence of Aeschylus, and that

Agatharchus wrote a book upon the
subject.
His example was
who composed similar

down the rules of per-
followed by Democritus and Anaxagoras,

treatises.
the
flat
In these works they laid
and pointed out the proper method of producing upon
spective,
surface of a scene the effect of gradations of distance*
The account
and
it
is
in Vitruvius
has a great appearance of accuracy,
probable that he
correct in ascribing the intro-
is
duction of scene-painting to Aeschylus.

it
much
cannot have come into use
it
is
clear that
otherwise there would have been no grounds
century;
fifth
But
before the middle of the
for assigning the invention to
The
exhibit in 468.
Sophocles,
who
only began to
statements of Vitruvius prove that the art
was rapidly brought by the Greeks
to
a very considerable
degree of perfection.
As
the mechanical arrangements for fixing up the scenery
have not been described by any of the ancient writers, a

detailed account of the matter
is
impossible.
But several
facts
of a general character can be deduced from the testimony of the

existing plays.
It
is
therefore not difficult to form a rough
conception of the arrangements which must have been adopted

in
preparing the back of the stage for a dramatic representation.
Greek plays the action was supposed to take place in the

open
The scene was generally laid before some building
In
all
air.
or
tent,
or in a country district with a rock or cavern in the
background.
The upper
sented merely the sky,
dramas.
on
The lower
portion of the painted scene repre-
and was probably the same
was delineated the building or landscape which the
it
ticular play required.
all
par-
This lower portion of the scene must
have stood some small distance

It is
in
portion was separable from the upper, and
in front of the
upper portion.
impossible that the whole scene should have been in one
piece,
and have ascended
the top of the stage.
in a straight line
If this
from the bottom to
had been the case there would have
been no room for the narrow ledge or platform, which Pollux
THE SCENERY.
172
the Mistegia^*
calls
The
[Ch.
was a contrivance which
distegia
enabled actors to take their stand upon the roof of a palace or

Several instances of
private house.
its
use are to be found in
For example, the Agamemnon of

Aeschylus opens with the watchman sitting upon the roof of
the palace at Argos, and waiting for the beacon's signal.
In
Greek
the existing
plays.
the Phoenissae of Euripides Antigone and the attendant
upon the roof

the
to get a
view of the army encamped outside
In the concluding scene of the Orestes
city.
mount
Hermione
and Orestes are seen standing upon the roof of the palace.
Examples are also not infrequent in comedy. In the Acharnians the wife of Dicaeopolis views the procession from the
At the commencement of the Wasps

roof, and his father
Philocleon tries to escape through the chimney. At the end of
the Clouds Strepsiades climbs up by a ladder to the roof of
the phrontisterion, in order to set it on fire. The distegia must
also have been used in such scenes as that in which Evadne
appears upon the summit of a cliff, and that in which Lysistrata
and Myrrhina are seen upon the battlements of the Acropolis '\
It follows from these examples that there must have been room
enough between the top of the palace or other building, and
roof of the house.
Bdelycleon
seen sleeping upon the
is
the surface of the scene behind
pose could hardly have been carried out

than
that
sisted of
described
two portions, the
the
same
in all
at the
in
for the pur-
any other way
The scene must have conupper and the lower. The upper
above.
portion, representing the sky,
permanent wall
a narrow ledge
to allow
it,
The arrangements
or platform to be inserted.
must have been
affixed to the
back of the stage, and probably remained
dramas.
The lower
portion, representing the
building or landscape, would be fastened to a
wooden frame a
There
short distance in front of the permanent back-wall.

*
Poll, iv,
129
J7
56 biOTi'îa ttotI fi\v
kv oiKw Paaikfiq) dirjpes doj/jidTiov, olov

a<p*
ov kv ^0Lvi(T(Tais
Tov orparov,
fiaWovcri
tw
'^
'Avriyovij
/3A.67rt
ttot Se Kal Kepafios, dcp' ov

KfpdpLcu'
iv Se KCUfMuSiq. dird
T^s diareyias iropvofioaKoi ri Karoimv-
ovaiv
^
193,
rj
ypqSia
Aesch.
rj
yvuaia KaraPKeirei.
Agam.
Orestes
Eur. Phoen. 89,

Aristoph.
1567-15 75;
Acharn. 262, Vesp. 68, 144, Nub.

I485-I503, Lysist. 864, 874, 883.
THE ENTRANCES TO THE STAGE,
IV.]
173
would thus be room for the erection of the ledge or distegia

between the wooden frame and the wall at the back.
were windows
upper storey, out of which the characters could peer upon
If the scene represented a dwelling-housC; there

in the
Such windows are mentioned by
the stage.
Vitruvius, and in-
stances of their use occur in the extant comedies.
Philocleon
in
the
Wasps
tries
to
For example
escape out of an upper
woman and the

young girl are seen looking out of one ^ It need hardly be
remarked that the doors of the building represented by the
painted scenery would correspond more or less closely with
window, and
in
Ecclesiazusae the old
the
the permanent doors in the back-wall, so as to admit of easy

ingress and
In the same
egress to the actors.
way
the
if
scene was a cavern in a country region, the entrance to the

cavern would be
made
the wall at the back.
to
correspond with the central door in
Concerning the manner
in
which the
scenery was finished off at the top nothing can be laid

certain.
It
is
covered with a
the stage in
known whether
roof or not. The fact that
not even
Roman
theatres
down
the stage itself
there
for
was
was a roof
to
hardly sufficient ground for
is
forming any definite conclusion as to the Athenian theatre of

the earliest period ^
3.
The
The entrances
question as to the
to the
number and
entrances leading upon the stage
is
distinguish
the character of the
one of some importance
connexion with the Greek drama.

fusion in dealing with this subject
Stage.
in
In order to avoid conit
is
necessary to carefully
between the permanent doors
in the walls sur-
rounding the stage, and the temporary doors or entrances

which were left when the scenery had been put up. First, as
permanent door^ It will be evident from what follows

Greek theatre must have had at least five such
There must have been three doors in the stone wall
doors.
to the
that every
Vitruv.
V.
Arist.
Eccles. 924, 930, 961-963.
Vesp.
379,
See chap.
iii.
p. 150.
THE SCENERY.
174
[Ch.
back of the stage, and two doors at the sides, one

Probably this was the plan
at the
leading from each of the wings.
adopted
in the earliest stage-buildings at
Athens.
In the later
theatres the stage was much longer than at Athens, and there
were always five doors in the wall at the back. But it has been
pointed out in the last chapter that in
all
probability only three of
these doors were used in the course of the actual performances,
and
two outer ones were either covered over by the
that the
scenery or concealed by temporary side-wings of
The
next point to be considered
which had
is
the
wood \
number of the entrances
be provided when the scenery was erected, and
to
the stage was
made ready
and Vitruvius,
in
for a dramatic performance.
Pollux
speaking of the scenery and stage-decorations,
agree in saying that there were three doors at the back of
But
the staged
statement
this
is
much
too universal.
In
the majority of cases no doubt there were three such doors.
When
the scene represented a palace, or temple, or dwelling-r
house, three doors appear to have been always used.
when
the scene
was
of an exceptional character, the
But
number of
the entrances from the back of the stage would vary according
to the requirements of the play.
For instance
in the Philoctetes
there would only be a single entrance, that from the cavern.
In the
first
part of the Ajax the only entrance would be that
leading out of the tent
entrance at
all,
in the
second part there would be no
the background consisting merely of a solitary
region by the sea-shore.
In the Cyclops the only opening at
was the mouth of Polyphemus' cave. In

of Aeschylus, and the AndroPrometheus
such plays as the
meda of Euripides, the background consisted of rocks and
the back of the stage
cliffs,
and there was no entrance from that quarter. It is clear

Greek scene was provided
therefore that the statement that a
with three doors or entrances at the back
is
not universally
true, but only applies to the majority of cases.
Some
details concerning the charact er of thej hree_dqors
may
be gathered from the statements in Pollux and Vitruvius ^

^
See chap.
^ Poll. iv.
iii.
p. 150.
124, 126
Vitruv. v. 6.
^ Vitruv. v. 6 ipsae autem scaenae

suas habent rationes explicatas ita uti
THE ENTRANCES TO THE STAGE.
IV.]
When
was a
the scene
door was decorated
palace, the central
The
with regal grandeur.
175
side-doors were supposed to lead to
Occasionally one of the side-doors led to
the guest-chambers.
In comedy
a guest-chamber, the other to a slaves' prison.
the character and arrangement of the doors would vary con-
according as the scene was laid in front of one,
siderably,
In the last case, of which an
or two, or three dwelling-houses.
example
door
supplied by the Acharnians, there would be one
is
Sometimes one of the
for each of the three houses.
side-
doors represented the way into an outhouse, or workshop, or
Sometimes
stable.
it
led
into
Thesmo-
a temple, as in the
In comedy, no doubt, there was
phoriazusae.
much
greater
diversity as to scenic details than in tragedy.
In addition to the entrances
at the
back of the stage, which
number and character according
varied in
to
circumstances,
there were also, according to Pollux and Vitruvius, two side-
entrances on to the stage in every Greek play.
entrance from each of the side- wings \

the case
is
That
proved by the evidence of the existing plays, apart
from the statements of ancient writers.

Philoctetes
it is
For instance
in the
obvious that Odysseus and Neoptolemus cannot
have entered from the back of the
was the cave of
who
this
There was one

must have been
Philoctetes.
stage.
The only opening here
Odysseus and
his companion,
are supposed to have just landed on the island, could not
have entered from any other direction but the side of the
stage.
Similarly in the Cyclops, where the scene represents the cave
of Polyphemus, Odysseus and his mariners could only make

habeant aulae
jnediae valvae ornatus
dextra ac
regiae,
PoU.
iv.
124, 125 TpiMv 8e Tuv KaraTi^v
UKr]vrjv Ovpojv
CTT-qkaiov
hospitalia.
sinistra
f]
fj
fiev
fiiat]
oiKos tvdoôs
PaaiXeiov
fj
^ ndv rod npooT-q

Se Zeîa rov
ii\v araO/xos
dpiarepd to evrfKearaTov
ij
Upov
l^rjp-qpojpkvov,
Se rpaycphiq.
eipKTT)
Se
77
77
rj
p-lv Seîd
\aia.
fcojpwUa irapaKdrat
vapaistTaa [lari
97
Se
e'xei irpSacvirov
doiKos kariv kv
6vpa îvcjv
ecTTiv,
ro 5e KXiaiov kv
irapd
ttjv
SijKooiJiiVOV.
olKiav,
Koi
ian
Throughout
viv.
is
kv 5i 'Avti-
this passage Pollux
guilty of his usual fault of converting
particular cases into general rules.
nycuviOTov tov Zpap-aTos,
SevTepaycoi'iarovvTos /carayajyiov
v-rro^vyicov
(pavovs 'AKearpia Kal (pyaarrjpiov yeyo-
Poll. iv. I26irap' (KdrepaSe
6vpS)v
tcDi/
twv hvo
inpl 7t)v fiearjv dkXai dvo (lev
dv, p.ia knarfpojOev, npos as at vfpiaKTot

cvpLTTiir-qyaaiv.
Vitruv. v. 6
secundum
ea loca versurae sunt procurrentes, quae

efhciunt una a foro, altera a peregre,
aditus in scaenam.
al
daqSoi al
Phot.
v. rrapaCKi^Pta'
eis ttjv (jKrjvrjVt
THE SCENERY,
176
Then
entrance from the side.
their
[Ch.
again there are such
scenes as that at the end of the Seven against Thebes, where

the corpses of the two brothers are borne
away
to burial,
Antigone and Ismene follow slowly
It is
impossible to
after.
suppose that the procession retired into the palace.
and
must
It
therefore have made its exit by a side-entrance.

The mode of using the different entrances was
regulated by
were common among the
certain conventional rules such as
The openings
Athenians.
at the
back of the stage always led
out of some building, or tent, or cavern, or other dwellingplace.
They could only
used by persons
therefore be
who
were supposed to be inside the dwelling-place. People coming

from the immediate neighbourhood, as well as people coming
from a distance, had to enter the stage by one of the sideThis arrangement was an obvious one, and could
approaches.
hardly have been otherwise.
But as regards the use of the
side-entrances the Athenians had a special regulation which
was due
entirely to local causes.
The
theatre at Athens
was
situated in such a position that the western side looked towards
the city and the harbour, the eastern side towards the open
In consequence of this fact the side-entrances upon
country.
the Athenian stage
man
came
was coming from the

laid,
to acquire a peculiar significance.
entered by the western side,

city
it
was understood
If
that
he
where the scene of the action was

or else that he had
or from the immediate neighbourhood
arrived from distant parts by sea, and
was coming from the
The eastern entrance was reserved for people who

had journeyed from a distance by land. The same regulation
harbour.
If a chorus
was applied to the entrances to the orchestra.
came from the city, or the harbour, or the suburbs, it used the
if it came by land from a distance, it used
western parodos
the eastern
It is obvious that at Athens, where play-bills
;
'.
Vitruv.
V.
6 secundum ea loca ver-
aito ttjs iroXeas rjpx^ro
km to
Oearpov,
surae sunt procurrentes, quae efficiunt
hia rrjs apiarepcis diptdos uayfi,
una a
and dypov,
twv fiivroi
a peregre, aditus in
Vit. Aristoph. (Dindf. Pro-
foro, altera
scaenam.
legom. de Com. p. 36) 6
avvicfTqKiv k^ dvbpwv k5'.
/cajfiiKos
kuI
x^pos
el filv
us
^ Ik
bid t^s bcîds.

irapodajv
\i/xivos
dWaxoOtv
tj
fj
/xev
be dis
Poll. iv. 126
deîd dypuOev
k iroXeoos dyer
inôl d<piKvovfxivoi
ol
bk
Kara t^k
'
THE ENTRANCES TO THE STAGE.
IV.]
177
were unknown, a conventional arrangement of this kind would

be of great assistance to the audience, and would enable them
to follow the action of the piece with greater ease and intelli-
The custom
gence than they could otherwise have done.

originated
the
in
topographical
of the Athenian
situation
was afterwards adopted in all other Greek theatres,

and became a conventional rule of the Greek stage. The
entrances to the right of the audience were used by persons
from the neighbourhood ; the entrances to the left by persons
theatre, but
from a distance.
is
Another regulation concerning the entrances upon the stage

mentioned by Pollux. It refers to the three doors at the
back of the stage.
According to Pollux the central door was
reserved for the principal character, the door to the right

for the
secondary characters, the door to the
least significance^.
It is plain that this
with very considerable deductions.
left
for those of
statement must be taken
In the
place
first
it
only
applies to tragedy, and only to those plays in which the back-
ground represented a palace or similar building. Even then it

cannot have been by any means universal. Pollux has here
been following his favourite practice of making a general rule
His statement in fact only

dramas of the type of the Oedipus Tyrannus, in
which the principal character is at the same time a person of
out of an occasional occurrence.
applies to
the highest rank.
In such cases
about the doors was observed.
it
It
is
very likely that his rule
would be
in
harmony with
the statuesque and conventional character of Greek tragedy.
But there are many plays in which it would be absurd

that any such regulation was adopted.
For
suppose
In the Life
I'rom a
dypov denote
In Pollux dyp6d(v means
country in the suburbs.' As
the words
krkpav elaiaaiv.
dirb
'
the sâge the words
'
right
'
'
audience.
Hence the
to
in-
eastern parodos"^
distance.'
might be called the right or the
from the
parodos, according to the point of view

from which it was regarded. This is
applied to
and
'
left
the reason of the apparent discrepancy

between the statements in the Life and
in Pollux.
The author of the Life is
left
were always used from the point of

view of the actors cp. the account of
But as
the periaktoi in Poll. iv. 126.
applied to the orchestra they were sometimes used from the point of view of
Jthe actors, sometimes from that of the
:
looking at the orchestra from the point

of view of the actors, Pollux from the
^
point of view of the audience.
^
Poll. iv.
24.
THE SCENERY.
178
stance, in
the Antigone
it
[Ch.
can hardly be imagined that the
tyrant Creon entered only by a side-door, while the central

door, with
its
regal splendour,
was reserved
Similarly in the Electra
heroine Antigone.
oppressed
for the
it
ridiculous to
is
suppose that Clytaemnestra entered from the inferior part of the

palace, Electra from the
more magnificent.
There can be no
doubt that Pollux, in his statement about the doors, has converted a few special instances into a general law.
The
entrances to the stage were of course intended for
They were
the actors.
For instance
in the
also sometimes used by the chorus.

Helena the chorus ascends the stage, and
disappears within the palace-doors.
After a time
it
reappears
from the palace, and descends once more into the orchestra \
The
But such cases are of very rare occurrence.

been raised whether
their exits
same way the
in the
and entrances by the passages
The only example
question has
actors ever
of an a ctor en tering by t he__orch,es_tra
When
the Plutus of Aristophanes.
Carion
made
into the orchestra.
is
is
in
sent to fetch the
chorus of farmers, the language of the play certainly seems to
imply that he returns into the orchestra
and afterwards ascends on
to the
at the
staged
head of them,
But as
this is the
only example of such a proceeding, the matter must be con-
On
hand there is no doubt that

by the orch estra. In
the Eumenides Athene and the Propompi descend into the
orchestra, and retire at the head of the procession. At the end
of the Wasps Philocleon comes down into the orchestra, and
dances off followed by the chorus ^ Such instances are however
only rarely to be met with.
sidered doubtful.
the other
the actors occasionally
4.
A change
classical period.
their exit
Changes of Scene.
of scene during the actual progress of a play was
a practice almost
made
unknown upon
the Greek stage during the
In the extant tragedies only
Eur. Hel. 327, 515.

Aristoph. Plut. 223-318.
wo
s
Aesch. Eum. 1003
Vesp. I5i4ff.
ff.
instances^
Aristoph.
CHANGES OF SCENE,
IV.]
79
are to be found, one in the Eumenides of Aeschylus, the other
Ajax of Sophocles.
in the
case very
much
Eumenides the
does not appear that in either
It
alteration in the scenery
was required.
In the
earlier part of the action takes place in front of
the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the latter part before the temple
of Athene at Athens.
change the statue
All that
was here necessary was to

The background
in front of the temple.
doubtless remained the same during both portions of the play.
There
is
made
to depict the
not the least reason to suppose that any attempt was

actual
scenery of Delphi or of Athens.
Such a supposition would be
inconsistent with the rude and
undeveloped state of scenic decoration during the Aeschylean

period,
and moreover minute accuracy of that kind was utterly
The
foreign to the Athenian taste.
of scene
is in
other example of a change
the Ajax of Sophocles.
The
play begins in front
of the tent of Ajax, but ends in a solitary region by the seashore.
Here again a very
would have been
sufficient.
slight
alteration
in
the scenery
Probably the opening scene repre-
sented a coast view, with the tent of Ajax in the centre.
During the
latter part of the play the tent
appear, and only the coast view

this kind could
was
have been easily carried
mechanical elaboration.
It
is
to
was made
behind.
left
out,
to dis-
change of
without
much
be noticed that in each of
the above cases, while the scenery
was being changed, both
orchestra and stage were deserted by the performers.
In the
Eumenides it was not until Apollo had retired into the temple,
and the Erinyes had set out in pursuit oi Orestes, that the
change from Delphi to Athens took place. Similarly in the
Ajax both Tecmessa and the chorus had disappeared in search
of Ajax before the scene was transferred to the sea-shore. It
appears then that as far as tragedy
is
concerned changes of
scene were very rarely resorted to during the
fifth
century,
and even then were of the slightest possible description.

The Old Comedy
In comedy they were equally unusual.
was a creation of the wildest fancy, utterly unfettered by
any
limitations
of fact or probability.
Old Comedy the scene of the action

N 2
In the plays of the

shifts
about from one
THE SCENERY,
l8o
[Ch.
place to another in the most irregular fashion.
All consider-
But
ations of time and space are disregarded.
may be
it
taken for certain that on the actual stage no attempt was
made
The scenery was no doubt
unpretending
manner
changes of scene in
represent these
to
manner.
in
corresponding
character,
realistic
of the simplest and most
economical
the
to
which comedies were put upon the
In
stage.
all
the extant plays of Aristophanes a single background would
have been
For instance
sufficient.
in the
Frogs the action
takes place partly before the house of Hercules,
Hades
before the house of Pluto.
partly in
The background probably
represented the houses standing side by side, or a single house
may have done duty for that

turn.
The opening scene of
Pnyx
the rest of the play
Dicaeopolis, Euripides, and
of Hercules and that of Pluto in

the Acharnians takes place in the
carried on before the houses of
Lamachus. Most likely the three
is
houses stood in a row, the Pnyx being sufficiently represented
by a few benches upon the
stage.
The
house of
fact that the
Dicaeopolis was supposed to be sometimes in the town, and
sometimes
in the country,
a performance
like
would be of very
existence were totally disregarded.

is
little
moment
in
the Old Comedy, where the realities of
In the Lysistrata the action
rapidly transferred from the front of a house to the front
In the Thesmophoriazusae
of the Acropolis.
it
takes place
partly before a house, partly before the temple of

It is
change
one
Demeter.
not necessary, in either of these plays, to suppose any

in the scenery.
case,
The house and
and the house and temple
depicted as standing side by side.
the Acropolis in the
in the other,
would be
In the Knights the back-
ground throughout the play consisted of the house of Demos

and the Pnyx, as in the Acharnians, was represented by
a
few benches.
cerned
it
is
As
far
then as the Old
of a play were seldom or never resorted
Comedy,
to
Comedy
judge
from
the
adaptations
to.
of
it
con-^
In the
New
Plautus
and
Terence, they appear to have been equally infrequent.
whole
is
probable that changes of scenery in the course
may be
On
the
said that elaborate changes of scene during
CHANGES OF SCENE.
IV.]
play were
i8l
unknown throughout
practically
the
classical
period.
The only appliances for changing scenery that are mentioned

by the ancient Greek writers are the periak toi \* These were
huge triangular prisms, revolving upon a socket at their base.
*
Each of the three

shaped
surface,
each end of the stage,
at
in exactly with the
fit
One
an upright parallelogram.
like
prisms was placed

to
sides of the prism consisted of a large flat
in
of these
such a manner as
scene at the back, and continue
it
in
Each of the three sides was

view, but care was taken that in
the direction of the side-wings.
painted to represent a different
every case the painting coincided exactly with the painting in
As
the back-scene.
it
the periaktos or prism
was turned round,
presented a different surface to the spectators.
was
it
by revolving both the
possible,
change
The
at
to
make a
each end of the stage,
background remained the same as
while the scene in the

before.
scenery
Accordingly
periaktoi,
periaktos to the right of the audience depicted
views in the immediate neighbourhood of the city where the
was taking
action
The
place.
a more remote country.
This
regulation already referred
to,
periaktos to the
fact
represented
left
corresponds exactly with the
that the entrances to the right of
the audience were reserved for people from the immediate
neighbourhood, while
the
^
126
Poll. iv.
trap'
t^v
eKarepa 8e
Svo Ovpojv Tuiv
irepl
eUv
eKaripojOev,
av,
fi'ia
iTfpiaKToi avfineirrjyaa-iv,
^<u
SrjKovffa,
TToAecws
TToXfoJs,
tiraxOiaTepa
ddwarer.
17
-q
fxiarjv
came
distance
vpos
5vo
hs
at
rj
fikv 5eta
toL
S'
trtpa rd
l/c
el
kndyei,
ovra
5'
rj
Kal
cum
in
by
V. 6 secundum autem spatia ad

omatus comparata, quae loca Graeci
iTfpidKTovs dicunt, ab eo quod machinae
Vitruv.
his
erat.
kniffTpacpiifv at irepiaK-
t^
locis
versatiles
habentes singulae tres
trigonoe
species
orna-
aut fabularum muta-
tonitribus
deorum adventus
repentinis,
versentur
mutentque speciem ornationis in fronte,

&c. Serv. on Verg. Georg. iii. 24 scaena
quae fiebat aut versilis erat aut ductilis
(f>epiv
1.
cum
tiones sunt futurae, seu
oaa
irdvd'
firjxav^
deîd fxev dfieifici toitov (a.
in
tionis, quae,
tcDj/
dWai
Trdv),dfi({>6T(pai 51 x^P-^ viraXXdrTovaiv.
sunt
from a
fidXiora rd eK Xifxevos- nal 6(ov5
re OaXaTTiovs
roi,
people
left.
Versilis turn erat
cum
subito tota
machinis quibusdam convertebatur, et

aliam picturae faciem ostendebat. How
the periaktoi introduced seagods, and
other objects too heavy for the mechane,
is as
yet an unsolved problem.
A
change of tSitos means a change from
one part of the same district to another
a change of x^/^ means an entire change
of district.
THE SCENERY.
l82
[Ch.
must have been to produce

a change of scene in cases where the prominent feature of the
background remained the same. For instance, if the action had
been taking place in front of a temple or palace, and was to be
The
principal use_of Jhe periaktoi
transferred to a temple or palace in a different country, the

requisite alteration might easily be carried out
periaktoi.
The
by means of the
building in the background would remain the
same, but the scenery on each side would be altered.

for using the periaktoi
might occur, either
in the
Occasions
course of the
same play, or between different plays. Most Greek tragedies

and comedies took place before a temple, a palace, or a private
If therefore a series of plays was being exhibited, it
house.
might be convenient to retain the same scene in the background,
and produce the necessary
distinction
between the different
plays by altering the scenery at each side.
The usage
of the
was regulated by a curious conventional custom. If

only one periaktos was turned round, the alteration in the
scenery was of course confined to one end of the stage. This
was done when the change of scene was supposed to be a slight
one, and was merely from one part of the same district to
But when the action was transferred to an entirely
another.
new district, then both the periaktoi were turned round, and
Besides their use in
the scenery was changed at each end.
producing a change of scene, the periaktoi were also employed
to_ introduce gods upon tjie_stage in the midst of a thunderIt is not said how this was managed
storm.
but the most
probable explanation seems to be that when the god appeared
at one end of the stage, the periaktos was turned round so
as to change the blue sky into a dark and gloomy atmosphere.
The sound of thunder would be imitated from within.
It is difficult to say when the periaktoi were first introduced.
or whether they were used at all during the classical period of
the Greek drama.
They are mentioned by one grammarian
among a list of stage appliances which might be ascribed to
Aeschylus ^
But it is most unlikely that contrivances of
periaktoi
^ Cramer, Anecd. Par. i.

19 ei [ikv 6?)
ndvTa Tis Aiax^^V ôvAerai toL irepl ttjv
(Tkijv^v
ivpquara
/uiTa> koi
irpocrvcfxeiv,
irepiaKTOvs
Kal
cKKVKk-q-
nrjxo-vds
STAGE PROPERTIES,
IV.]
such complexity existed
183
at that early period.
It
is
true that
they might have been used in producing the change of scene
Eumenides from the temple
in the
Delphi
to the
But they could have been perfectly
Athens.
In
with.
at
fact,
as far as the extant
there are no occasions on which
vêll
temple at
dispensed
Greek dramas are concerned,

necessary to suppose that
it is
they were used, and there are no passages in which they are
referred
It
to.
they existed at
and whether
may
all
therefore reasonably be doubted whether
during the great period of the Attic drama,
their invention is not rather to be ascribed to
much later period.

The periaktoi, as stated
above, are the only appliances for
changing scenery that are mentioned in Greek writings. Servius
means of which the

the middle, and then drawn aside
describes another ld nj_of.cQntriyance^ by
scene was parted asunder in
new scene
both directions, so as to disclose a
in
But
is
it
behind-.
probable that this invention dated from comparatively
late times.
There
is
nothing in the existing Greek dramas to
suggest that such a contrivance was in use during the classical

period.
Stage Properties,
5.
etc.
In addition to the scenery in the background the stage was of
course decorated with such objects

required by the particular play.
the
first
and properties as were
Aeschylus
is
to adorn the stage in this manner^.
said to have been

If the scene
was a
palace or a temple, statues o f the gods were generally placed in
and are frequently referred to in the course of the

For instance there was the statue of Athene in front of
her temple in the Eumenides, and the statues of the tutelary
front of
it,
drama.
before the palace of the Atreidae in the Electra of
deities
^ Kcl
:$o<poK\rjs tcTTiv
XavrjffaTO
Kot
d Tovrojv
irpocreêvpev,
npoacfirj-
eari
tois
Pov\ofievoisvirpTovTOJV epiêiv Kai'iKKdV
tov \6yov.
Serv. on Verg. Georg. iii. 24 scaena
Itt' dfjL({)Oj
1
T^v
(prjfirjv
quae fiebat aut

erat
versilis erat aut ductilis
ductilis turn
cum
tractis tabu-
hue atque illuc species picturae

nudabatur interior.
latis
6 Dindf.
Kal tî/
tcuv efcofxevajv KaTitrKrjê
t^ Xafi-
Vit.
otpiv
Aesch.
p.
re
aaXmyîv, ddwXois, 'Epivvci
irpoTTjri, ypacpais koi fujxavais, fiaifiois
ml
TCKpois,
k.t.X.
THE SCENERY.
i84
[Ch.
In the Hippolytus there were two statues
Sophocles.
in front
of the palace of Theseus, one of Artemis the huntress, and the
When
other of Cypris the goddess of love.
Hippolytus returns
from the hunt, he offers a garland of flowers

Artemis, but refuses to pay the slightest
C3rpris, in spite of the
in the
to the statue of
homage
to the statue
remonstrances of his attendant.
of
Again,
country region depicted in the Oedipus Coloneus the
statue of the hero Colonus stood in a conspicuous position \
Other examples of the practice of decorating the stage with

met with both in tragedy and in
statues are frequently to be
Greek
common
Altars again were very
comedy.
stage.
In the
maidens take refuge round an
objects
upon the
of Aeschylus the
Supplices
fugitive
The Oedipus Tyrannus
altar.
opens with the spectacle of a group of Thebans kneeling

supplication before the altar of Apollo
in
Another very ordinary
was the stone obelisk in honour

was an ordinary practice among
feature in the stage-decoration
of Apollo of the Highways.
^.
It
the Greeks to place such obeHsks in front of their houses.
Their presence upon the stage

tragedy and in comedy ^.
ally
is
frequently referred to both in
Various other objects were occasion-
required by particular plays.
There was the tomb of
Darius in front of the palace of Xerxes in the Persae, and the
tomb of Agamemnon
the Choephori.
in front of the palace of the Atreidae in
In the Oedipus Coloneus a rocky ledge was
required for Oedipus to rest himself upon. In the Acharnians

and the Knights a few benches must have been erected upon
the stage to serve as a rude imitation of the Pnyx.
Walls,
watch-towers, and beacon-towers are mentioned by Pollux
and
the presence of other similar decorations and erections can be
and comedies *.
There was one piece of realism which the Greeks were not
averse to, and that was the presence ^ fjiprses and charigj^
upon the stage. There are many instances in tragedy of per-
inferred from the extant tragedies
Aesch.
Eum. 242; Soph.
Electr.
Eur. Hipp. 70-106.

1373? O- C. 59
^ Aesch. Suppl. 188-200; Soph. O. R.
;
1-3, 142.
Poll. iv. 123;
Aesch.Agam. 1080 fF.;
Schol. Eur. Phoen.631
Arist. Vesp.875.
Aesch. Pers. 684, Choeph. 4 ; Soph.
O, C. 19; Poll. iv. 127.
*
THE EKKYKLtMA,
IV.]
185
sons from a distance arriving in a chariot drawn by horses or
The
mules.
vast size of the
and narrowness of the
Greek
stage,
made
In the
displays of this character.
and the length
theatre,
it
peculiarly suitable for
Agamemnon
of Aeschylus
Agamemnon and Cassandra approach the palace in a chariot

Agamemnon remains seated there for a considerable time,
while he converses with Clytaemnestra
and enters the
palace, leaving
he then dismounts
Cassandra
still
in the chariot.
In the Prometheus the chorus of the Oceanidae enter the

stage in a car.
when Clytaem-
In the Electra of Euripides,
nestra comes to visit her daughter at the country cottage, she

arrives in a chariot, accompanied
Animals
by Trojan maidens, who
assist
Several other instances might be mentioned.
her to dismount.
for riding
were
the Prometheus there
also introduced
upon the
In
stage.
the winged steed upon which Pro-
is
metheus makes his entrance and finally in the Frogs of Aristophanes Xanthias rides in upon a donkey ^
;
The Ekkyklema.
6.
Several mechanical contrivances are mentioned in connexion
The most
with the Greek stage.
most
alien to all our
ekkyklema ^
^
Aesch.
Agam.
Ran.
Arist.
^
782-1054, Prom.
Eur. Electr. 998, 999;
27.
The ekkyklema
To
fiadpov,
vnd
eKKVK\T)fia
fxv
described in the
is
following passages:
Poll,
i v.
^vKotv
knl
K\r]txa,
viprjXbv
(V rats oittiais dTToppijTavpax-
Kal rb pTJfM tov epyov
iKKVK\(xv.
128 koI
iTTiKeiTai 6p6vos' SeiKwcri Se tcL
ffKrjvriv
Ofvra.
k<p'
KaKurai
ov de eladyTai to (kkvovondêrai, Kal
(iffKVKXrjfxa
XP^
rovTO vouiaOai KaO' kKaarrjv 6vpav,olovil
(The Opovos men-
KaO' (KaaTTjv o'lKiav.
tioned by Pollux must be derived from
some
particular instance of the use of
The
the ekkyklema.
may
be corrupt
correct.)
Schol.
it
illusion,
has already been pointed out
It
I35> 279, 284;
peculiar of these, and the one
modern notions of stage
epithet
is
Arist.
vi//r)\6v
t/ctcvKXtjua SI
that,
was the
owing
to
keycrai fiTjxavrjua îXivov
rpoxovs ix'^'"^ orrep vfpiffTpetpo/xfvov tcL

doKovvra fvSnv uis iv oiKia irpdrTeoOai
Kal
tois
kXtj/jui,
kSdKvve,
^<u
Eustath.
OfaraTs.
8^ roTs
X67<
976.15 to
II.
eyicv-
b Kal kyKvfcXrjOpov KiycTai,
fXTj-
x'^^Vf^^ ^^ vnorpoxov, v(p' ov kSeiKvvro

^d ev rrj OKivij fj aKijvfj. Schol. Aesch.
Choeph. 973 dvoiyerai
-q
oktjv^ Kal knl
eKKVKK-QfiaTos opdrai rd aw/xara.
Schol.
Aesch. Eum. 64 Kal SevTepd Se yiyverai

(pavraaia' arpaKpivra yap fn]xo.vr)fxaTa
ev5r)\a noiu rd Kard rb fiavreiov ws
Schol. Soph. Aj. 346 kvravOa
Ix^'KKVK\r]fid ri yivfrai,
6 Aias iroifiviois.
'iva <pavf}
ws cpiKoaocpovs
certainly not
184 dpa
Acham. 408
CTpa<pivros tov iyKVK\rj{xaTOs.
Se
v /xiffois
Schol. Aristoph.
Nub.
KOfiuvras,
THE SCENERY,
86
the arrangement of the auditorium,
it
[Ch.
was impossible upon the
If the
Greek stage to represent the interior of a building.
back-scene had been drawn apart, and an attempt made to
exhibit the inside of a palace, the great majority of the spec-
would have been unable
tators
Under these circumstances,
if
to
see what
was going
on.
a dramatist wished to bring
before the eyes of the audience a deed which had been per-
petrated inside a house or palace, he had recourse to the ekky-
klema.
It
was a small wooden platform,
and was kept inside the stage-buildings.

to
upon wheels,
rolling
When
it
was required
be used, one of the doors in the background was thrown
open, and
it
was
rolled forward
arranged a group of
on
Upon
to the stage.
it
was
figures, representing in a sort of tableau
the deed or occurrence which had just taken place inside the
building.
It
was
been com mitted
m ostly
used Jn cas^s_jwiLere^
The ekkyklema was rolled
a murder had
out upon the
were seen the corpses of the murdered persons,

with the murderers standing beside them with the bloody
weapons in their hands. It might be rolled through any of the
The contrivance was of
three doors at the back of the stage.
stage,
and on
it
course a purely conventional one, and had to be adopted owing

to the peculiar construction of the
Greek
of realism and illusion was abandoned.
But
upon which the Greeks did not lay very
when they had once

it
is
this
much
was a point
stress.
And
habituated themselves to the use of the
ekkyklema as a conventional contrivance

teriors,
All pretence
theatre.
for
exhibiting in-
obvious that the scene must have been a very
impressive one.
The sudden
spectacle of the murderer stand-
ing beside his victim's body, with the instrument of death in his
hand, must have formed a most effective tableau.

In the extant Greek tragedies there are several instances of
the use of the ekkyklema.
is
rolled out,
In the Hercules Furens the platform
and exhibits Hercules lying prostrate between the
bodies of his wife and children, with his limbs in chains, and his
Amphitryon then comes out of the palace and

Later on Theseus comes out and uncovers
and helps him to rise. He then descends to the stage,
face covered up.
loosens his chains.

his face,
IV.]
THE EKKYKLMA.
and the ekkyklema
is
187
In the Hip-
rolled back into the palace.
dead body is displayed

upon the ekkyklema, and Theseus takes from it the letter in
which she makes her charge against Hippolytus. In the Agapolytus, after the suicide of Phaedra, her
memnon
the platform rolls out and
reveals
the
person
of
Clytaemnestra standing beside the dead bodies of Agamemnon
and Cassandra. In a similar manner in the Choephori Orestes

is brought to view standing over the bodies of Aegisthus and
Clytaemnestra, and pointing to the net with which his father
had been murdered many years ago. After a time he is seized
with frenzy, and descends from the ekkyklema, and hastens
away
to the
temple of Apollo
rolled back into the palace.
door
thrown open
is
at the
The
at Delphi.
platform
is
then
In the Electra of Sophocles the
command
of Aegisthus, and the
platform rolls out and exhibits Orestes and Pylades standing

beside the corpse of Clytaemnestra, which
Aegisthus himself removes the
cloth.
and Pylades descend

back again.
to the stage,
The same
body of Eurydice
at the
contrivance
is
cloth,
covered with a
and then Orestes
and the platform

is
used
end of the Antigone, and
Eumenides the
drawn
for revealing
the interior of the tent of Ajax in the play of the

Finally in the
is
for exhibiting the
same name.
interior of the Pythian temple is
displayed, with Orestes crouching beside the altar, and the
Erinyes asleep on seats round about him.
mand
Orestes, at the com-
way to
Soon afterwards the Erinyes are awakened by the
of Apollo, leaves the platform, and starts on his
Athens.
ghost of Clytaemnestra, and descend to the stage, and so into

the orchestra ^
ekkyklema
Besides the above instances from tragedy the
is als o
parodied on two occasions by Aristophanes.
In the Thes mophoriaz usae Euripides and Mnesilochus
call at
Agathon
is 'rolled out* on the ekkyklema, hands them some articles
which are brought to him from inside the house, and then, when
the house of Agathon to borrow
he
is
Eur.
;
clothing.
tired of their importunity, orders himself to
again as fast as possible.'
865
some female
H.
Agam.
'
rolled in
In the Acharnians Dicaeopolis goes
F. 1029-1402, Hipp. 806-
Aesch.
be
1379, 1404, 1440,
Choeph. 973, 981, Eum. 64-180 Soph.

ff., Ant, 1293, Ajax 346 fF.
;
El. 1458
THE SCENERY.
88
house of Euripides
borrow a
tragic dress.
Euripides
upstairs in his study writing tragedies, and cannot
come down,
to the
is
[Ch.
to
but allows himself to be 'rolled out,* and supplies the necessary
dresses \
The two passages in Aristophanes, where the
mechanism of the apparatus is carefully emphasised in order
to add to the ridicule, are very valuable as evidence.
They
confirm the statements of the scholiasts, and prove that the

description of the ekkyklema previously given
From
is
a correct one.
the examples of the use of the ekkyklema in tragedy
the following further particulars as to
may be
struction
ekkyklema could
inferred.
easily
It
character and con-
its
appears that persons upon the
descend
to the stage,
and persons on
the stage could easily touch those on the ekkyklema.

therefore, that the
It follows,
ekkyklema must have been a low platform,
much above the level of the stage. In the Acharnians,

when Euripides is rolled out, he is represented as still sitting
in his room upstairs.
Probably in this case a tall erection,
not
something
crous
like
a pedestal, was employed, to produce a ludi-
As
effect.
dimensions of the ekkyklema,
to the
great size.
Its
doors
in the
them.
Its
width must have been less than the width of the
background, to permit of
being rolled through
its
depth cannot have been very great, because of the
narrowness of the Greek stage.

its
is
it
persons.
as to
it
must have been large enough to support several

At the same time it cannot have been of any very
plain that
use in the Eumenides.
have been large enough
to
Hence
there
is
some
hard to see
how
difficulty
it
could
support the twelve or fifteen
mem-
It is
bers of the chorus of the Eumenides, together with Orestes in
There can scarcely be any doubt that the ekkyklema was used on this occasion. The supposition that the
the centre.
back-scene was rolled apart, and disclosed the interior of the

*
Acharn. 408, 409 AI. dA\'

ET.
ddvvaToy.
AI.
ET. dA\' (KKVKXrjaofiar
ofuus.
Arist.
dW
KKVK\rj0T}T\
aX\'
Karafiaiviiv
h'
ov axoX-q. Id.
95, 96 ET. aiya.

a-^jdOctiv
(^(px^rai.
ET. ovTos
MN. ti S'
MN. Koi
ovKKvK\ovfJi.evoSf
Thesmoph.
ET.
tariv
iroios
kariv;
238 heyKdraj
5a8' ^ Xiyyov, 265
rts IvZoQiv
ws raxLOTO,
klema
185
is
if.)
fi
iiaKVKXrjadTu.
also used in the
to
show the
phrontisterion,
Clouds
interior
with the
Socrates at work.
daca rts
The ekky(v.
of the
disciples
of
THE MECHANE,
IV.]
1 89
Greek stage, and

Greek theatre.
possible
that
only a few of the Eumenides were displayed
It is
upon the ekkyklema, and that the rest of them came out of the
temple afterwards. But the question is one of some difficulty,
and has not yet been satisfactorily solved.
temple,
inconsistent with the practice of the
is
quite incompatible with the construction of the
contrivance called the exostra
The name
is
occasionally referred
to.
was something which was 'pushed

The metaphorical use of the word in
out' upon the stage.
Polybius and Cicero proves it to have been a platform on which
objects were exhibited in a conspicuous manner. It is probable
therefore that the statement of the grammarians is correct,
and that the exostra was merely the ekkyklema under another
implies that
it
name^
7.
The Mechanic
Another appliance of even greater importance than the ekkyklema, and one very frequently employed upon the Greek stage,
was the mechane or Machine \ It consisted of a sort of crane

with a pulley attached, by which weights could be raised or
lowered.
It was placed in the left or western corner of the
stage, up at the very top of the back-wall.
It was used in case
the characters in a play had to appear or disappear in a supernatural manner.
By its means a god or hero could be lowered
^
Ty
Poll. iv.
129 r^v h\
i^warpa- knl
tt^s
ravrbv
Hesych. v.
irapevOv, ufftrep
(KfcvKXrjfjia.
XP^ dmareTv
kôjffTpav
eKKVKXrjfiari vofiiôvaiv.
(Tktjv^s
to
Polyb. xi. 6. 8 rfjs tvxtjs ojffirep lirtTT/Ses

T^v l^warpav dvaîâôvarjs t^v
6jrt
X'^'-^^^ 'f*
Kvmv
tovtov
(pipovras t5)V
irapaStjKov/Jievov,
rois
Trapfari rcf epyw.
dpcofiivois,
dfir)-
ws ov
Oeds
kirel
Aristoph. Daedal,
fr.
vpiiTfpav dyvoiav.
9 (Meineke) 6 firjxO'VOTroios, dnure Pov\ci

t6v rpoxov
kXdv dve/cds, \4y, X'^^P^
cpeyyos fjXiav.
The
called
Suidas
Cic. de Prov. Cons.

14 iam in exostra helluatur, antea post
sipaiium solebat.
'
Poll.
iv.
128 ^ At'/X""^
SfiKVViTi KOI ijpojs Tovs depi,
(povras
fj
Ilfpaeas, koi
dpiarepdv vdpoSov, virep

vipos.
TrjV
Schol. Luc. Philops.
Lehmann
T^5
Keirai
fxearjs
irpbs r'i)v
^^ Ofovs
BcWfpoKara r^v
(TKT]vr)v
vii. p.
to
357
avcuOev vncp rds nap' eKartpa
rov Oedrpov Ovpas {avTai Se

Oedrpov irXivpav
evOeiav rod
dvf(uyaav, ov
/cal
tj
(tktjv^ Kal
to
irpoaKi}-
viov \ari) fiTixcvaiv 5vo fierecupiôfiivajv
1)
If dpiartpSw Qiovs koX rjpoxis kvecpdviê
edupijfjia,
n-qxcv-q
s.
v.
was also
The
ropes
by which the actor was suspended were

called alaipai;
dv einois
vipovs
roiis
Poll. iv.
dvix^v tovs
SoKovvras ijpws
anpa
131 alwpas
S'
KaXcos ot KarripTrjVTai f
fj
knl tov depos (pfpeaOai
Ocovs.
The word
dpi-
and the Scholiast, being

applied to the stage, means the left from
In the
the point of view of the actors.
Athenian theatre this would be the
in Pollux
western side.
THE SCENERY,
IQO
[Ch.
from heaven down to earth, or raised up from earth
to heaven,
In most cases a car was
or exhibited motionless in mid-air.
used for the purpose, and was attached to the pulley by a rope
In this car the god or hero took his stand.
or chain.
But any
other form of vehicle might be substituted for the car, according

to the requirements of the particular play.
far as to exhibit his
Euripides went so
hero Bellerophon ascending up to heaven
on the winged steed Pegasus.
Trygaeus,
in
the
Peace of
Aristophanes, was represented as riding through the air upon a
As
beetle.
to the strength of the
have been powerful enough
same
time.
Thus
in the
descend from heaven by

of Euripides both
borne through the
to
mechane,
it
must
at
any rate
support two or three people at the
Helen of Euripides the twin Dioscuri

this contrivance.
Medea and her
Again, in the
Medea
slaughtered children are
But the old notion that the
air in a chariot.
mechane was capable of lowering a whole tragic chorus of

twelve or fifteen members down from the sky is absurd on the
The notion was derived from the Prometheus of
face of it.
Aeschylus. It was supposed that the winged car in which the
Oceanidae made their appearance was gently lowered through
the
air,
and suspended
hundred and
fifty
the supposition
is
in front of
Prometheus, while about a
lines of the play
were being spoken.
ridiculous and quite unnecessary.
But
The
car
of the Oceanidae was simply drawn on to the stage, and the
maidens
sat there for "a
then dismounted from

to the
way
in
it
time conversing with Prometheus, and
and descended
into the orchestra.
As
which the mechane was worked, and the manner
which the gods and heroes were made to disappear from

view at the top of the stage, there is no information. Unin
fortunately the
buildings
is
is
construction of the upper part of the stage-
a subject about which
we
are entirely ignorant.
It
useless therefore to hazard conjectures concerning the exact
nature of the arrangements adopted.
The mechane was used under various circumstances ; but the

most ordinary occasion for its employment was to introduce
the *deus ex machina' at the end of a play,
when
affairs
reached such a complicated condition that only divine
had
inter-
THE MECHANA.
IV.]
ference could put them right again.
191
Under ordinary
circum-
stances the gods and goddesses of the Greek stage walked
about like mortal beings \

the
manner
But when they were introduced,
in
described, to untie the knots at the conclusion of a
play, the supernatural character of their intervention
was em-
The god
so intro-
phasised by their appearance in the sky.
duced was called the 'deus ex machina,' or 'god from the
machine
'
and the phrase became a proverbial one
avourite device with Euripides
of the Philoctetes.
to
all
at the
who
end
Helena,
brought to a con-
The
clusion by the appearance of a god from heaven.
strongly censured^by Ari stotle
on several
it
Orestes, Electra, Ion,
Supplices, and Iphigenia in Tauris are
is
denote
never used by Aeschyl us
But Euripides has recourse
The Andromache,
occasions.
It is
and only once by Sophocles^
in his extant tragedies,
to
The 'deus ex machina* was
an unexpected benefactor '^
practice
points out that in a well-
constructed plot there should be no need of supernatural agencies,
and the conclusion should be the inevitable
preceding
He
incidents.
considers
occasion for the employment of the
god
to be
is
that
deus ex machina
to
'
is
proper
when a
brought down from heaven to give information
about the past or future, which no mere
supposed
result of the
only
the
be acquainted with ^
the uses of the
'
It will
human being
could be
be found that some of
deus ex machina in Euripides answer to this

'
description of Aristotle, and would not incur his censure.

several cases the god
right, as to
them
is
introduced, not so
much
In
to set matters
inform the characters of the destiny which awaits
in the future.
In the Andromache, the Electra, and the
Supplices the plot has already been brought to a conclusion before the
god appears.
His function
the future course of events.
would
The
*
call
943.
Eur. Hipp. 53 ^Q} TwvSe firiaoixou

(of Aphrodite, who is speaking
Cp. Aesch. Prom. 941-
Aristotle
deus ex machina.*
purpose then of the mechane was
r6ir<av
the prologue).
confined to announcing
These therefore are what
permissible uses of the
principal
is
Suid. v. diro
29 Oiov and
;*j;XO''^^-
firjxo-vrjs.
425 D.
2
Aristot. Poet.
c.
15.
to
bring
Luc. Philops,
Plat. Cratyl. p.
THE SCENERY.
192
down
[Ch.
a god from heaven at the conclusion of a play.
But
employed under various other circumstances, when a god or hero had to be lowered from heaven, or
For example Medea, in the play of
lifted up from earth.
was
it
also occasionally
Euripides, escapes from Jason with her slaughtered children
In the Hercules Furens
upon an
aerial car.
are sent
down by Hera
to drive
Hercules
appear for a time suspended in the

then
Iris
her purpose.
down through
down
Other instances are
the lost plays of Euripides.
Iris
and Lyssa
They
madness.
above the palace
air
reascends to heaven, Lyssa goes
to execute
to
and
into the palace
to
be met with in
Perseus was exhibited as gliding
the air in front of the
cliff
where Andromeda had
Bellerophon made his ascent to heaven on the
been chained.
winged Pegasus\ The ascent of Trygaeus upon the beetle was

intended by Aristophanes as a parody on the Bellerophon of
His speech
Euripides.
sists
in the course of his aerial
journey con-
of a ludicrous mixture of phrases from the Bellerophon,
shouts to the beetle to keep his head straight, and terrified

appeals to the stage-manager to look after the security of the
pulley ^
8.
Two
Other Mechanical Contrivances,
other contrivances for moving people through the air
are mentioned by the ancient writers
cerning them
is
very defective.
The
but the information conFig- Branch
was a
sort of
hook, from which the actors were suspended by means of ropes
The Crane was an instrument by which
and bands.
the bodies
of dead heroes were caught up and conveyed into the sky.

It
was used by Aeschylus in the Psychostasia, when Dawn carried
away the body of her son Memnon. The notices about the
Crane and Fig-Branch are too brief and contradictory to enable
their exact character,
^
ff.
their relationship with the
Eur. Med. 131 7 ff., Here. Fur. 815

Nauck, Trag. Grsec. Frag. pp. 316,
358; Poll.
^
and
Arist.
\oipii
iv.
128.
Pax 154
x^'/xw*
ipaXioov
Trotefs
ZiaKivrjaas (paidpoTs tbaiv.
ti nouis', iroT TrapaK\ivis
pLVKTrjpas irpus ras \avpas;

ff.
dW'
dye, Uriyaae,
^vaoxo-KiVOV
irdrayov
mechane,
;)âj'07rote,
npoaexe tov vqvv
l/xe.
Si
ri
tovs
fii]-'
OTHER MECHANICAL CONTRIVANCES.
IV.]
Another appliance
be defined with accuracy \
to
ing gods in a supernatural
made
for exhibit-
was
upon which
manner was the theo logeion
a narrow platform high up at the back of the stage,

the gods
193
when they were
their appearance
Probably
sented as actually in heaven.
was
it
to
It
be repre-
similar in con-
and was usually invisible, but was

pushed forward through an opening at the back when required.
The most celebrated instance of its employment was in the Psy-
struction to the ekkyklema,
Zeus was there represented as sitting

which were placed the
chostasia of Aeschylus.
in heaven, holding scales in his hands, in
and
destinies of Achilles
Memnon
On
respectively.
each side
of him stood Thetis and Dawn, supplicating for the lives of
The scene was
their sons.
where Zeus weighs the
in imitation of that in the Iliad,
fates of Achilles
and Hector ^
possible that the scene in the Peace between
It is
Hermes and Try-
gaeus took place upon the theologeion.
Sometimes the conwas used in place of the ordinary mechane to introduce

the deus ex machina at the end of a play. The god, instead
of being lowered from heaven, was displayed suddenly upon
the platform high up in the background \
Several other devices in use upon the Attic stage are briefly
mentioned by Pollux, but his descriptions are so meagre and
trivance
'
'
obscure that
character.
or nothing can be inferred as to their exact
little
Charon^s Steps was a
contrivance for
bringing
ghosts and spectres upon the stage, such as the ghost of Darius
Persae, and the ghost of Clytaemnestra in the Aga-
in the
Poll. iv. 130
kariv
Se yipavos
?7
fierewpov
kie
dpvayrj GwyuiTos,
fii]xo.VT]fjid
Karacpfpofjievov
k(p'
KexpiJTai 'Hus dpird-
rb 'M.kp.vovos. Plut. Prov.

116 (Paroemiogr. Getting, i. p. 338)
Kpdbrjs payeioTjs' vvv ovx b avKivos K\dôvffa rb ffufxa
d\X'
tos,
Oeov
Tj
dyKvpis,
rpayiKais
rais
kv
fiifi,ovfivoi
Kpddt]
Pollux
the
firjxo.y'n
^
kâpTwvrai
kmcpdviiav (ojarrjpai Kal
raiviais KaTfiXrjfifxivoi.
\. fcpdSt].
^s ol viroKpiral
d({>'
aKrjvais
(iv.
So also Hesych.
makes the
128)
comic counterpart
but this
Poll. iv. 130
is
of
the
utterly improbable.
dnb be rod deokoyeiov
ovTOs virep r^v aKtjv^v kv
vi/zei
kincpaivov-
rat Oeoi, ws 6 Ztus koI ol vepl avrbv kv
Plut. Aud. Poet. p. 17 A.

Luc. Philops. 29 Oedu drrd firjxavrjs
kneiaKVKXijOijvai fioi.
Bekker, Anecd.
p. 208. g dnb firjx^^vrjs' ixrjxo.v-q kormapd
roTs KtafxiKois kyKVKX-qpLarbs ri eidos dvb
'VvxoffTaaia.
^
ovvOrjKrjs
-npbs
<peperai
(o)
ts
ttjv
V dWov rivos
rjpojos.
Trygaeus probably mounted to
the theologeion.
But Niejahr (Quaest.
Scaen. p. 20 ff.) suggests that he only
CKrjvriv deiêojs
x^P"'
^^^'^
rose a short distance
upon the
beetle,
then descended to earth again, and that

his own house then did duty as the
house of Zeus.
THE SCENERY.
194
memnon.
It
[Ch.
can hardly have been anything else than a
flight
of steps leading out upon the stage from underneath. The

'anapiesma* was used by river-gods, Furies, and other sub-
terranean beings for the purpose of appearing above ground.
The word 'anapiesma' seems

pushed back.
It is
to
mean something which was
probable therefore that the contrivance was
merely the ordinary trap-door of the modern theatre, through

which the spectral being was raised on to the staged The
'bronteion* was a device for imitating the noise of thunder
behind the scenes, and was of a very simple character.
Pebbles
were poured out of a jar into a large brazen vessel, or else bags
were filled with stones and flung against a metal surface. The
'
keraunoskopeion
'
was obviously intended
but the description in Pollux
was some
to imitate lightning,
The
is unintelligible.
sort of revolving machinery,
'stropheion'
by which heroes were
exhibited in heaven, or deaths at sea and in battle were repre-
was semicircular in shape, and

gave a distant view of a city, or of a person swimming in the
sea.
The 'hemistroghion' is merely mentioned byname, and
no description of it is appended ^
The question whether a drop-scene was used in the Athenian
theatre during the great period of the drama is one which has
The ^hem ikyklion
sented.
'
not yet been satisfactorily settled.
scene was invariably used
In
Roman
theatres a drop-
between the different
plays, the
mechanism being exactly the reverse of that employed in

modern times. When the play was going to begin, the curtain
was let down into a narrow crevice in the front of the stage,
and at the end of the performance was drawn up again ^
There can be no doubt that similar curtains were used in Greek
theatres at a later period;
were used
at
but the question
Athens during the
fifth
is
whether they
and fourth centuries.
There are no references to anything of the kind in the extant

Greek dramas, and there are no passages in ancient writers
^
Poll, iv. 132 at Se xapwvioi KXi/iaKes,
KOTci TOLS
6/c
Tojv kZojKioJV KaOodovs Kfifie-
ri npoaojirov,
acp' S/v
rb Se vepl
127-132
vai, rd. iiZcoKa air' avrabv dvaTrifnrovcriv.
Poll. iv.
rd
Ovid. Met.
h\ dvameffixara, to fxev (gtiv ev rrj
fffcrjvy
us rroTafiov dvcXOiiv ^ toiovtSv
189.
roiis
dvaâOfiovs,
dvePaivov 'Epivvfs.
iii.
Suid. v. fipovrq.
Her. Ep.
ii.
i.
OTHER MECHANICAL CONTRIVANCES,
IV.]
which can be held

the early Athenian
195
prove the existence of a drop-scene in
to
The question must therefore be

To our modern notions a drop'
theatre*.
discussed on general grounds.
scene appears to be almost a necessity in the case of plays
which commence with the actors already
For
upon
position
in
In the Greek drama such plays are not infrequent.
the stage.
the opening scene of the Oedipus Tyran-
instance, in
nus the Thebans are discovered kneeling

In the Troades,
palace of the king.
at the altar before the
when Poseidon comes forHecuba stretched upon the

The Orestes of Euripides
ward to speak the prologue, he sees

ground in an attitude of despair.
opens with Orestes stretched upon a bed
and his
Electra watching
sister
in front of the palace,
beside
him.
Many
other
examples might be cited of plays which begin with the actors

Unless therefore a drop-scene was
already in a fixed position.
used between the plays,

actors
it
came on the stage
would have
in full
to
be supposed that the
view of the people, took up the
required position, and then began the dialogue.
be a great sacrifice of illusion in such a
mode
There would
of commencement.
Besides this the drop-scene would of course be the natural and

obvious
mode
of concealing the stage from view while the
For
scenery was being altered between the different plays.

The following passages are cited in
proof of the existence of a drop-scene
(speaking of the theatre) e^fan Se koI

to traparriraa fia avKaiav KaXeTv, 'Tirepei-
Sou elirovros kv rai Kara UarpoKXiovs-
Athen.
(l)
536
p.
yevoixhcov Sc
rojv ATjp.riTpi.ojv 'Adrjvrjcnv eypd(j)TO
Tov TrpoOK-qviov (o
A-qpL-qrpios)
oiKovfievrjs oxovfifvos.
Here
stage.
at the
(2) Suid. v.
Suid.
TVXV
8^
KnOdiTfp
km
irpo-
t^v
irapeXfcofJiivr]
irpScpaaiv
TTpocTK'qviov rraptyv p-vojae
rds
Suidas has here mistaken the meaning of the passage he
d\r]6eTs kmvoias.
quotes,
stage.'
A. D.),
in
which
(3)
Synesius
Aegypt.
Kvvo<p6a\fJLiôiTO
Even
scene
in this
the
about 400
(flor.
128 C
did rod
p.
Se tis
irpoaKrjviov.
means the droppassage, it would be no
if irpooK-qviov
'
irpoaK-qviov
v.
avXaia,
to
avkaia
aK-qvioV TO Ttpb T^s a/ajvrjs trapairiTaafxa'

17
Ti
ircpicppaâfxevoi
irpoCKrjviov
more probably denotes the scene

back of the
t^s
kifl
dpxovTes etffTiwpro kv
Se kvv4a
eiri
'
proof of the existence of a drop-scene

in classical times.
(4) Poll. iv. 122
O 2
exp?7Tat Se
piepos
rfj
avTTJs
avKaia.
and Bekk. Anecd.
Trjs
ot
OToq,
p.
463
TrapankTafffia'
(Tktjvtjs
avT^ "TvepeiSrjs ev tZ KaTOL

Hesych. v. avKaia ... to
TlaTpoKXeov:.
ttjs
aKijvrjs
irapa-rrkTaafxa.
Et.
Mag.
70 XeyovTai 5k aiXaiat Kal Tci trapaittTaapLaTa t^j CKrjvrjs, ws irapcL rZ Ocop. 1
obvious that the grammawere thinking of a dropscene.

But the passage they refer to in
Hypereides has nothing to do with a
\6y<f>.
It is
rians here cited
doubtful, therefore,
drop-scene.
It
whether
testimony
this
is
is
of any value
except for the practice of their

times.
It
own
can hardly be considered
decisive for the classical period.
THE SCENERY.
196
these reasons
it
has been inferred that the Athenians cannot
But on the other hand
have done without one.
been pointed out that
it is
it
has already
a great mistake to apply our modern
notions of propriety to an ancient dramatic performance.
The
Athenian drama was quite unlike any modern exhibition, and

one point of difference may have been the absence of the drop-
On
scene.
the Athenian stage, where the changes of scenery
required between the different plays were usually of the slightest

character,
it
was not nearly so necessary as
in
modern
times.
advantage would have been in the case of plays which
Its chief
open with the actors already arranged in a sort of tableau. To

judge by our modern ideas, the effect in such cases would have
been greatly heightened, and the illusion much more fully
But the Greeks did
upon realism and illusion in their
scenic arrangements.
They were satisfied with simple and
conventional methods of representing events upon the stage.
Such devices as the ekkyklema and the periaktoi would never
have been tolerated, if the object had been to produce an
illusion by the accurate imitation of real objects. It is therefore
very likely that in the dramas just referred to the Athenians
were quite content for the actors to come forward and take up
carried out, by the use of a drop-scene.
not lay very
their position
stress
view of the audience, before the play
in full
Custom
commenced.
actually
What
much
in
such cases
unnoticed to an audience that was used to

this fact
in
is
everything.
might appear ludicrous to a modern audience would pass
may be found
which there was
it.
An
illustration of
in the early history of the English
little
drama,
or no attempt at scenery, and the illusion
was spoiled by the presence of spectators sitting upon the

Yet the audience of those days was not dissatisfied. It is
stage.
there-
fore easy to imagine that the Athenians did perfectly well without
At the same time there is no evidence to prove

was the case. And the drop-scene is a very convenient
and one that would naturally suggest itself from the very
On the whole therefore it seems safest, until further
a drop-scene.
that such
device,
first.
evidence
is
forthcoming, to regard the question as an open one.
CHAPTER
V.
THE ACTORS.
I.
Rise of
the Actor's Profession,
Before proceeding to give an account of the actors in the

Greek drama, there are one or two points which ought
be made clear, in order to avoid possible misconceptions. In
ancient
to
the
place the actors and the chorus were entirely distinct
first
from one another.
The chorus was chosen and

The
choregus, and performed in the orchestra.
paid by the
actors
were
hired by the state, and their proper place was upon the stage.
The "term 'hypokrites,'

members of the chorus.
or 'actor,* was never applied to the

It
was not even applied
to all the per-
formers upon the stage, but only to such of them as took a
prominent part
in the dialogue.
The
various mute characters,
such as the soldiers and attendants, and also the subordinate

characters
with the
who had
title
membered
only a few words to say, were not dignified
of 'actor.'
that
the
In the second place
it
should be
re-
Greek actors invariably wore masks, and
were consequently able to appear in several parts in the course

of the same performance. When, therefore, it is said that in
the early history of Greek tragedy only a single actor was
employed
in each play, this
does not imply that the number
of characters was limited to one.
All
character could appear at a time.
it
implies
is
The number
that only
one
of actors in
a Greek play never exceeded three, even in the latest period.
upon the capacities of the Greek

drama was less cramping and restrictive than might have
been supposed.
There was no limitation to the number
of mute and subordinate characters which might be introduced
But the
effect of this regulation
THE ACTORS,
198
'
[Ch.
any time upon the stage. There was no restriction upon the
number of the more prominent characters, provided they were
not brought upon the stage simultaneously. The only limitation
was this that not more than three of the more prominent
at
characters could take part in the dialogue in the course of the
same
scene.
The
principal function of the actors
was
to
dialogue and work out the action of the play.
carry on the
The
function of the chorus was to sing the odes which
pauses in the action.
Of course very frequently
principal
filled
up the
the chorus took
part in the dialogue; but, speaking in general terms, the dia-
Such was the condition of

But in former
different.
At first the whole
times the case had been very
performance was a choral one, and consisted simply of the
songs and hymns chanted at the festivals of Dionysus. There
were no actors and there was no dialogue. The history of the
early development of the drama is in other words the history of
the gradual introduction of actors and dialogue into a choral
entertainment, and the gradual increase in the importance of
the dialogue, until eventually it overshadowed the choral part
The first step in the process by which a lyrical
altogether.
performance was converted into a dramatic one was as follows.
The custom arose of filling up the intervals between the different
portions of the choral songs with recitations by the leader of the
chorus, and dialogues between him and the other members.
For this purpose the leader of the chorus used to mount upon
The subject of the recitations and the diaa small table.
logues would be the same as the subject of the ode, and
would in most cases refer to the adventures of the god Dionysus.
In these interludes by the leader of the chorus lay the germ
of the drama.
The performance as a whole was still essentially lyrical, but the practice of inserting dialogue had been
logue was the business of the actors.
things during the best period of the Attic drama.
established \
^
123 kXibs 5' -^v Tpdireâ

vpb &(crmSos (h tis dvatqT$ xopivrais direKpivaTO.
Arist.
Poll. iv.
apxaia, e^'
;3ds
In the case of tragedy the next step forward
fjv
Poet.
c.
fcal
77
/xev (rpayajdia
eyiuero)
and twv kâpxdvrojv rbv diOvpafiôv,

(^Kufi^bia) and rwv rd <paWif(d,
ff
5c
RISE OF THE ACTOR'S PROFESSION.
v.]
199
was taken by Thespis. He introduced a single actor^ who took

the part which had previously been taken by the leader of the
chorus, and filled up the pauses in the choral odes either with
monologues or with dialogues between himself and the leader'.
Not much is known about the drama of Thespis except that it

was still essentially lyrical. But as he is said to have employed
masks,
is
it
clear that the single actor might appear in different
characters in successive scenes, and in this
might be made
was due
decisive innovation
second
and
actor,
He
to Aeschylus.
effected a total
change
Henceforward
the performance.
way some approach

The
dramatic representation of a story ^.
to a
in
introduced a
the character of
the intervals between the
choral odes were filled with dialogues between the two actors
upon the stage, instead of dialogues between the single actor

and the leader of the chorus. At the same time Aeschylus cut
down the length of the choral odes, and made the dialogue the
The re-^
and prominent feature of the performance ^
was a radical change in the nature of tragedy it became a
dramatic instead of a lyrical form of art. During the greater part
of his career Aeschylus was contented with two actors. Three
essential
suit
seven extant plays are written for performance
at least out of his
This limitation upon the number of the
by two actors only *.
performers necessitated great simplicity in the construction of

play, since
the
was impossible
it
sonages to take part in the dialogue
for
at
more than two per-^

Hence
the same time.
the earlier plays of Aeschylus, though essentially dramatic in
comparison with anything which preceded them, are simple

plot
^
and
lyrical in
tone
when compared with
Diog. Laert. iii. 56 ojairep Se to

rfj rpaywdia vpoTepov fxlv
iraXaibv iv
x^P^^ 5idpafjt.aTi^v , vcTTcpov 8e

eanis eva viro/cpiTTjv (êvpev vnkp tov
diavairaveaOai. tov x^pov.
fxovos 6
Suidas
Aristot.
eeams.
V.
Poet.
c.
4 unl to t
twi'
vTTOKpiTcjv nXijeos 1^ vbs els dvo Trpwros
AicrxvXo?
Tojffe,
Kot
Tjya'ye, Kal to.
tov x^pov rjkaT-
koyov
TrpcoTayoJviaTfjv
TOV
Viz.
the
Seven against Thebes. In the concluding scene of the Seven the part of
Ismene would not be taken by a regular
Apparently the opening scene
actor.
of the Prometheus requires three actors,
unless we are to adopt the very improbable supposition that the person of
Prometheus was represented by a
figure, which was nailed to the
and from behind which the prot-
wooden
rock,
agonist spoke the part.
napeaKevaaev.
Supplices,
Persae,
and
in
the tragedies of his
THE ACTORS.
200
The
successors.
[Ch.
different scenes rather serve to unfold a series
of pictures than to develop a complicated plot.

the place of animated
take
speeches
added greatly to the capacities of the
He was
a third actor \
Descriptive
Sophocles
dialogue.
drama by introducing
much
thus enabled to give
greater
In his hands for the
variety and spirit to the dialogue.
first
time tragedy became essentially dramatic, and the lyrical
ment was
thrust
still
Sophocles was adopted by Aeschylus
tion of
and the Orestean trilogy the

works requires three actors.
ceived
its full
The
further into the background.
development.
ele-
innova-
in his later years,
and most elaborate of his
last
Under Sophocles tragedy reThe number of actors in tragedy
was henceforward limited to three.

The satyric drama was intimately connected with tragedy,
Thus
and the number of actors was apparently the same.
the Cyclops of Euripides, the only extant satyric play, requires
In an ancient vase-painting, which represents the
three actors.
performers in a satyric play, three actors are depicted^.

true that the Alcestis of Euripides,
is
It
which was performed
in
of the usual satyric drama, only requires two actors.

But the number in this case was probably due to the choice
In regard to
of the poet, and not to any official regulation.
place
comedy, very
developed.
is
little
The
known
as to the steps by which
it
was
source of comedy lay in the phallic songs per-
The dramatic element

The
process of development must have been much the same as in
tragedy but the names of the persons who introduced actors
formed
at
the festivals of Dionysus.
originated in the interludes by the leader of the chorus.
and dialogue into comedy were forgotten even

4 Diog. Laert.
Soph. Suidas v. ô<poKXrjs.
The Life of Aeschylus assigns the introduction of the third actor to Aeschylus,
but adds that Dicaearchus ascribed it to
The passage in ThemisSophocles.
^
iii.
Aristot. Poet. c.
56
tius
fjLfv
vit.
(xxvi.
p.
316
Kal ov irpoaexo-
'ApioTOTeKft oTi TO fiv rrpwTov 6
Xopos elaiwv ySev ds tovs 6eovs,
Qeams
5 6 Trp6\oy6v t Kal pâiv (êvpty,
Aiaxv-
in Aristotle's
Xos 5e rpirov viroKpir^v

Kpcras) is doubtful,
(a.
1.
rpirov vvo-
and cannot weigh
against Aristotle's definite statement in
the Poetics.
The balance of evidence
is distinctly in
favour of the conclusion
that the third actor
was
first
introduced
by Sophocles.
^
Wieseler, Denkmaler,
Cyclops
1 97 foil.
vi.
Eur.
RISE OF
v.]
The only
THE ACTOR\S PROFESSION.
20T
upon the subject is to

number of
regulation
three,
and
no
actors to
that before his time there was
as to the number of persons introduced upon the stage. After
the time of Cratinus there were no further innovations, and the
number of the actors in comedy was permanently fixed at
time.
piece of information
the effect that Cratinus was the
first
to limit the
three \
This number was never exceeded either

tragedy.
All the extant
three actors.
It is
in
comedy or
in
Greek plays could be performed by
sometimes said that the Oedipus Coloneus
of Sophocles requires four actors
but this
is
not the case.
Although there are several occasions on which Ismene appears
upon the stage simultaneously with three other personages, still

on each of these occasions she does not say a word, but is
merely a mute figure. It is evident therefore that during this
portion of the play her part was taken by a 'super,' while at
the beginning and end of the play, where she had speeches to
make, the part was acted by the tritagonist^ It might at first
sight appear that the comedies of Aristophanes require more
than three actors; but investigations have shown that there
is
not one of his plays which could not be performed by this
number, assisted by a supply of
The
supers
the capacities of the Greek drama.

life
^*
smallness in the number of the actors necessarily limited
to
It
made
it
impossible for
be represented upon the stage with the realism of a
modern
play.
servants
might
Mute personages
such as
officers, soldiers,
and
be introduced in any number; but the char-
any one time

produced by a promiscuous
acters taking part in the dialogue could never at
exceed three.
The
realistic effect
conversation between a large group of persons was impossible
upon the Greek stage. Sometimes a certain awkwardness was

caused by the limitation in the number of the performers. In
the extant Greek dramas occasions are not infrequent where
a fourth actor might have been a great advantage. For instance,
^ Arist.
Poet. cc. 4, 5; Anon, de
Comoed. (Dindf. Prolegom.de Comoed.
Diomedes, p. 490 K.
p. 27)
;
gQpj^ q. C.iii7ff.,i249 ff.,i50off.
Cp. Beer,
liber die
Zahl der Schau-
spieler bei Aristophanes, Leipz. 1844.
202
THE ACTORS,
there
is
the exciting scene at the end of the Orestes of Euri-
Orestes
pides.
is
seen upon the roof of the palace threatening
Hermione, and Pylades
to kill
[Ch.
laus from below
is
Mene-
standing beside him.
makes a piteous appeal
to Pylades, but
Pylades
says not a single word in reply, but leaves Orestes to answer
His silence
for him.
is
very unnatural, and
is
only to be ac-
was no actor to spare, and

Two
therefore the poet could not put any words in his mouth.
of the actors were already employed in playing the parts of
Orestes and Menelaus, and the third was required for Apollo,
who comes on the scene immediately afterwards. Consequently
the part of Pylades had to be taken by a mute personage. Then
counted for by the
again there
is
fact that there
the scene at the end of the Electra of Euripides.
Orestes has heard his
fate,
and as he leaves the stage he bids
farewell to Pylades, and urges
him
to
marry
his sister Electra.
Pylades maintains a stolid silence, and the Dioscuri reply on his
Here again his silence is due to the necessities of the

case.
The three actors with whom the poet was supplied were
Similar
all employed, and Pylades was merely a dumb figure.
instances of awkward and almost ludicrous silence on the part of
behalf.
certain characters will occur to all readers of the
Greek drama.
But they are not so numerous as might have been expected, and
it is
how successfully the Greek drama, keepown peculiar limits, was able to accomplish its ends
astonishing to find
ing within
its
with three actors only.
There were several advantages

In the
ber.
simplicity,
it.
first
owing
in the smallness of the
to the fewness of the persons taking part in
This simplicity was especially well suited
and
rapid
statuesque
num-
place the dialogue gained in clearness and
character
of Greek
tragedy,
movement of a dialogue between a
large
sons would have been altogether inappropriate.
to the
severe
which
the
number of
per-
in
In the extant
Greek tragedies even the three actors permitted by custom are

used with considerable reserve. They are never allowed
promiscuously in the dialogue for any length of time.
ever three characters are upon the stage,
that in
most cases one of them stands by
it
in
will
to join
When-
be found
silence, while.
y.]
the other two carry on the dialogue.

to time, but
is
it
203
The two change from time
only on rare occasions and for brief periods,
that all three converse promiscuously together.
appears,
It
Greek tragic writers, so far from feeling the

restriction upon the number of the actors as an impediment, did
not even employ the number allowed by custom with as much
freedom as they might have done. There was another obvious
advantage in the restriction. As only three actors were needed,
it was easy to ensure that they should all be performers of firstrate excellence.
In modern times the large number of actors
therefore, that the
required constitutes a great
difficulty.
It
rare to see the
is
subordinate characters in a play of Shakespeare even tolerably
The
performed.
effect of the piece is spoiled
of the princes, dukes, lords, and ladies
by the feebleness
who crowd
the stage.
In the Greek drama, owing to the limitation upon the number of
was avoided, and a high standard

It was all the
more necessary, among the Greeks, to take some precaution
of this kind, since the size of the theatre demanded unusual
powers in the actor. In a modern theatre an actor, however
poor, can at any rate usually be heard.
But in the vast openthe performers, this difficulty
of excellence maintained throughout the play.
Athens
air theatre at
clear
multitude of spectators.
find actors
to
man with an exceptionally

make himself audible to the vast
It
cannot have been an easy task to
required a
it
and powerful voice
who combined
histrionic talent with voices of suffi-
and if a large number had been required, there

would have been great difficulty in meeting the demand. This
cient power,
consideration doubtless helped to ensure the continued observ-
ance of the rule as to the number of the actors.
The
Greek word for an actor was hypokrites.* Ety*

mologically the word seems to have meant one who answers \'
According to the old grammarians the origin of the term was
due to the fact that in the early drama, when the chorus played
original
'
'
Phot.
vcaOai
01
V.
vnofcpivecrOai'
ira\aioi
Oev, 6 diTOKpiv6fjLvos to)
Hesych.
v.
to
dnoKpi-
Kal 6 viroKpiTrjs evrev-
X^PV'
So also
and
Poll. iv.
v-noKpivono,
123.
vairo'
Apollon. Lex. Horn.

TTpcoraycoviaTovvros
v.
v-noKpi-
y^p tov xo-
pod t6 -naKaibv ovroi cjcmep diroicpiTai
âav,
diroKpivofjievoi trpos
t6v x^pov..
THE ACTORS.
204
[Ch.
the principal part, the main function of the actor
This derivation of the word
to the chorus.*
is
only one actor,
the dialogue
all
to
reply
very likely the
when
there was
was necessarily carried on
In the times before Aeschylus,
correct one.
was
between the actor and the chorus.
It
is
therefore not im-
probable that the duty of replying to the questions and remarks
may have been regarded
of the chorus
as the salient feature in
the performance of the actor, and have given rise to his name.
In the course of the fourth century the old Attic word for an
actor went out of use, and a
new one was
forward actors were generally called
Dionysus
As
tragedy
far as
did not
come
single
the poet.
acting,
is
commenced
artists
It
concerned the art of acting
of
Before
period
was required,
actor
is
the
his
until
of Aeschylus,
part
to
ancient
custom/
at
many
when
was taken by
expressly said that Thespis was
according
may be
But actors
in the time of Thespis.
into existence as a separate class
afterwards.
only a
or
\*
said to have
years
Hence-
substituted.
'artists,*
that
'himself
performance
But when a second

was introduced by Aeschylus, then the actor's profession
became of necessity distinct from that of the poet. For some
which excited the disapproval of Solon ^.

actor
time afterwards the poets continued to act occasionally in their
own
tragedies, side
by side with the professional
But
actors.
the practice went gradually out of fashion in the course of the

earlier part of the fifth century.
Aeschylus appears, from the
statement in his Life, to have abandoned the stage even before

the introduction of a second actor ^
Sophocles was prevented

from appearing as an actor by the weakness of his voice. It is
true that he sometimes performed in public.
In the Thamyris
*
Demostli. Fals. Leg. 192
rovs TCx^'tTas avv-qyayev
Ttkvro.'i
Aristot. Prob.
XXX. 10
01 Trept TOV Aiovvaov nxîTai ;

Polyb. xvi. 21.
^ Plut. Solon p.
95 C Aristot. Rhet.
iii. I imcKpivovTo yap avTol ras Tpayadias
;
ol noirjToi
3
TO
irpufTov.
The words
in the Life are kxprôaro
8' viroKpir'g Ttp6}T<^
Îv K\dv5p<^, cVeiTa
avrZ irpoarjipe Mvvvickov tov XakKcdca- rbv 5e rpirov vnoKpiTrjv avros eêvpev, ws Se AiKaiapxos
Kal rbv devrcpov
These words
imply that he employed Mynniscus for
the first time on the occasion of his
and
introduction of a second actor
d Mcacrrjvios, ô(poK\rji.
that previously to this innovation,
when
only one actor was required, he had
v.]
205
he played the harp, and in the Nausicaa he dehghted the spectators by his skill with the ball.
But it is not likely that on
He
either of these occasions he took a regular actor's part.
probably appeared upon the scene merely as a mute character,
show
in order to
and the
his skill with the harp
ball
After the
^.
time of Sophocles there are no further instances of tragic poets
performing in their
own plays ^. As
acting very
known.
old poets
little is
who were
that he acted in his
comic
to the early history of
Cratinus
is
mentioned as one of the
and
called 'dancers,'
own comedies ^
therefore probable
it is
But
after his time there is
no certain instance of a comic poet appearing upon the
The
professional actor
ment
is
that Aristophanes acted the part of
due
It
to a
appears then that it was
occupation.
in the
It
have given up acting before

the production of the Supplices, and
considerably before the first appearance
therefore,
Sophocles.
The
statement
that
Sophocles was the Jirst dramatic poet

to abandon acting in person can only be
true to the extent that he was the first
poet who never acted at all.
^ Vit. Soph. irpSiTov fikv KaraXvaas
T^v vrtSKpiaiv Tov ttoiijtov dia rrjv idiav
Athen. p. 20 F Eustath.
lxiKpo<po)VLav
;
Od.
p. 1533.
Miiller (die Griech. Biihnen. p. 184)
states, on the authority of Zenob. Prov.
2
in his
own
Astydamas the Elder acted

tragedy, the Parthenopaeus.
The words in Zenobius are fVTjfxeprjaas

iv ry vnoKpifffi UapOevoiraiov. But this
is merely a carelessness of expression,
on which no stress can be laid. In the
account given by Suidas (v. aavTrjv
kiraiveis)
of the same
expression
occurrence the
is evrjfieprjaavTi knl
diScujKaXia
story about
beginning of the
came
grew very rapidly
been accustomed to employ Cleander,

He must,
instead of acting himself.
v. 100, that
in the
state-
Knights
misconception on the part of the scholiast *.
that the profession of the actor
of
Cleon
stage.
The
was universally employed.
Uapdevoiraiov.
TpayqiSias
The whole
Astydamas the Elder
receiv-
fifth
century
into existence as a distinct
At
in importance.
the
first
ing a statue on account of the success of

his
Parthenopaeus
rather dubious,
is
Corp. Inscr.
973 shows that Astydamas the
Younger produced a Parthenopaeus in
340 B. c. It is possible that in the story
about the Parthenopaeus the elder and
the younger Astydamas have been conthe
since
Att.
inscription
in
ii.
fused.
^
Athen.
The story about Aristophanes acting
p. 22
A.
was due
the part of Cleon in the Knights
a misunderstanding of the phrase

KadUvai TO Spdfia Si' eavrov. The Knights
to
was
the
first
play Aristophanes produced

See Meineke, Frag.
in his
own name.
Com.
Gr.
(Miiller,
ii.
928
Griech.
ff.
Antiphanes
Biihnen.
have acted one of his own

evidence being the inscription
Inscr. Att.
is
said
184) to
comedies, the
p.
in
Corp.
972
[ÂvTicpavrjIs it4p.{tttos)
'Ava(Ta)ô(fj.Vois)'
[yneKpiveTo 'Avrycpd-
vr]s.
the
But
name
ii.
it is
by no means certain that
of the poet
as Antiphanes.
is
Even
rightly filled in
if it is,
it
does
not follow that the actor Antiphanes
was the same person.
THE ACTORS.
2o6
actors
were so
little
worthy of a place
[Cb.
regarded that their names were not thought
the records of the latter half of the century a change

able,
is
in
observ-
and the names of the actors regularly appear side by side
About the same time a
with those of the poets and choregi.
was
prize
instituted for the best actor at the different contests,
as well as for the best poet^.
sprang into
still
In the fourth century the actors
The
greater prominence.
to outshine the art of
not
uncommon
art of acting
An
dramatic writing.
tended
age of great actors
The same phenomenon
succeeded to an age of great poets.

is
But
dramatic victories.
in the notices of
in the theatrical history of other nations.
In
England, for instance, a period of dramatic productiveness was

followed by a period of sterility and insignificance, and from the
time of Garrick downwards the names of the great actors,
who
have made themselves famous by interpreting the masterpieces of

Shakespeare, are more conspicuous than the names of dramatic
In Athens the fourth century was the period
authors.
was brought to the greatest
perfection.
To such an
when acting
extent had the
importance of the actor's profession increased, that in Aristotle's

time a play depended more for
its success upon the skill of the

upon the genius of the poet. The effect upon dramatic
writing was most pernicious. The poets began to write their plays
actor than
with a view to exhibiting the capacities of the actors.
Scenes
which had no connexion with the plot were introduced for the
sole purpose of enabling an actor to make a display of his talents I
Sophocles
is
guilty of the
said
same
by one of the old grammarians

But
sort of practice.
if
there
have been
any truth in
to
is
the statement, the evil effects are not very apparent in the extant
The charge might be brought with more plausibility
tragedies ^
against the monodies of Euripides, which are feeble from a

literary point of view, but
voice to
fourth
^
make a
century that the influence of the actors
See chap. i. p. 54,

Aristot. Poet. c. 9 Xeyoj
SiujBt]
would enable an actor with a fine

However it was not until the
great impression.
fivOov
dXXijXa out'
kv
(S
e'lKos
ttoitjtSjv Si'
kireiffo-
S*
TO,
kireiffodia
ovr
dvay/cr]
TOiavrai 5k iroiovvTai vno jxkv
rwv
fifr'
dvai.
(pavKojv
rovs
avrovs, vird Se ra>v
viroKpiras
SvvavTai vvv t5)v

^
Vit.
became so
Soph.
Rhet.
iii.
dyaOwv
i
Sict,
fJ-fiôv
irocrjToiv 01 viroKpirai,
p. 3 Dindf,
RISE OF THE ACTOR'S PROFESSION,
VJ
universal as to
inflict distinct
207
upon the
art of dramatic
number of
actors for each
injury
writing.
The
selection of the necessary
dramatic performance was, except in very early times, under-
The
taken by the state.
details in
connexion with
ment have already been

main points may be recapitulated here.
this arrange-
The
discussed in a previous chapter \
of the
fifth
During the early part
century the poets chose their
own
Certain
actors.
poets and certain actors were permanently associated together.

in importance, they were placed on
same footing as the poets and choregi, and were appointed
by the state. They were then distributed among the poets by
But as the actors increased
the
In the course of the fourth century the use of the
lot.
discontinued in the case of tragedy, and a
lot
was
new arrangement was
adopted, which was rendered possible by the fact that each
same time. Under

the new system each tragedy was performed by a different actor,
and in this way all the competing poets enjoyed in turn the ser-
tragic poet exhibited several tragedies at the
vices of
In comedy, as each poet exhibited only
the actors.
all
a single play, the old system of distribution by

If
was
retained.
an actor was engaged for one of the great Athenian
festivals,
and
On
to
failed to put in
lot
an appearance, he was fined by the
one occasion Athenodorus, the great tragic

perform
But he
City Dionysia.
at the
actor,
state.
was hired
failed to
keep his
.engagement, as he preferred to be present and perform at the

held by Alexander the Great in Phoenicia, after his
festivities
return from Egypt.
heavy
fine
was
inflicted
upon him
in
consequence, but the fine was paid by Alexander ^
77?^ distribution
2.
It
of the Parts
the Actors.
has already been shown that the n umber of the actors in
a Greek play was limited to three.

distinctive
in
These three actors had
names, according to the prominence of the parts
which they took.

next
among
The
principal actor
was
called the protagonist;
importance came the deuteragonist

*
See chap.
ii.
pp. 74-77.
the tritagonist
Plut. Alex. p. 681 E.
THE ACTORS,
2o8
played the inferior characters ^
The importance
Greek stage has been pointed out
agonist on the
chapters
[Cb.
of the protin previous
In the ordinary theatrical language of the time a play
^.
was said to be acted by the protagonist/ as if the other actors

were of no account. The protagonist was publicly appointed by
the state, but was allowed to choose the second and third actor
In the same way the prize for acting at
at his own discretion.
each festival was confined to the protagonists. The other performers had nothing to do with it. In tragedy more especially
the protagonist was a person of the greatest importance
the deuteragonist and tritagonist were placed in a very subordinate position. The whole structure of a Greek tragedy was
designed with the object of fixing the interest upon some
'
grand central
The
figure.
significance of the other characters
consisted simply in their capacity to excite the passions and
draw
forth
the sentiments of the leading personage.
being
so,
was
it
This
essential that the protagonist should concen-
upon himself; otherwise the harmony and

balance of the play would have been destroyed. Hence the
subordinate actors were strictly forbidden to attempt to outshine the protagonist. They were called upon to exercise the
Even if they had finer voices than the
greatest self-denial.
protagonist, they were made to moderate and restrain their
trate the
interest
powers, so as to allow the protagonist to retain the superiority,
and
the
rivet
The
figure ^
actors
is
attention
of the spectators upon the central
jealousy of protagonists towards their fellow-
well exemplified by the story about Theodorus,
had a theory that the
first
who
speaker in a play always attracted
the sympathies of the audience, and
therefore would
never
allow any other actor, however inferior, to appear upon the

stage before himself \
Rep. Ger. 817 A Dem.Fals.
lo Suidas v. ôcpoKXrjs.
^ See chap. i.
p. 55, ch. ii. p. 75.
^ Cic.
Div. in Caecil. 48 ut in
actoribus Graecis fieri videmus saepe
^
Plut.
\jt%.
ilium, qui est
secundarum aut tertiarum
quum possit aliquanto clarius

quam ipse primarum, multum
summittere,
maxime
*
ut
excellat,
Aristot.
Pol.
ille
princeps
quara
&c.
vii.
17.
The
story
about Theodorus has caused some difficulty.

Does it mean that Theodorus,
besides taking the principal character,
partium,
also played the part of the person
dicere,
made
the
first
who
speech in the tragedy
DISTRIBUTION OF THE PARTS.
v.]
The
209
among the actors was

was a new one \ But if an
old play was being reproduced, the matter would be arranged
by the protagonist who had the management of the performance.
The three actors between them filled all the parts in
a play, appearing in various characters successively.
Such a
practice was rendered possible by the use of masks.
An actor
had only to change his mask and his dress, and he could then
re-appear in a new character.
Changes of this kind could be
effected in a very few moments, as is shown by the one or
two traditions on the subject which have been preserved by
the ancient scholiasts.
For example, in the opening scene
distribution of the different parts
undertaken by the poet
of the
if
the play
Phoenissae Jocasta speaks the
prologue, and then

Thereupon Antigone and an old attendant
mount by a staircase on to the roof of the palace, in order to
view the Argive army encamped outside the walls. The scholeaves the stage.
liast
us that the protagonist played the parts both of
tells
Jocasta and of Antigone.
Jocasta had
left
It
was necessary,
therefore, after
the stage, that there should be a slight interval
before Antigone appeared upon the palace roof, to give the
mask and dress. Euripides managed

by making the attendant come out alone upon the roof at
first, and look about him to see that the coast is clear, while he
actor time to change his
this
addresses a few words to Antigone,

If so, he would have been debarred
from acting some of the most popular
tragedies of the time.
For instance,
who
took the part of Electra

in the play of Sophocles could not act
the part of the paedagogus, since
Electra comes on the stage as soon as
the actor
the paedagogus leaves
it.
There would
be the same difficulty about the Orestes,
the Medea, and many other plays.
It
has been suggested that the reference is
to some preliminary announcement of
the title of the play, which Theodorus
preferred to
leaving
it
make
to
announcements
theatres
in
himself, instead
subordinate.
were made
later
times
in
(cp.
of
Such
Greek
Lucian,
who
is
Pseudolog. 19
inside the
Heliod. Aethiop. viii.

irpoi/oias p. 128 D),
have been customary in Athens,
17; Synesius,
and may
still
Tre/jt
or in other parts of Greece, in the time
of Theodoras.
But it is extremely improbable that the reference is to any

such practice.
The audience would
hardly pay much attention to the voice
of the person
who announced
of the coming play.
the name
The meaning is
probably that Theodoras used to take

the part of the character which spoke
first,
whenever
it
was possible to do so.

it would be
In such plays as the Electra

impossible,
^
Alciphron, Epist.
iii.
71,
THE ACTORS.
2IO
When
palace.
he sees that
all is safe,
[Ch.
he
calls
on Antigone
to
follow after him, and she thereupon mounts the staircase, and
appears
he
is
The speech
to the spectators.
of the attendant, while
looking about upon the roof, consists of only fifteen iambic
Thus
lines.
the space of time required to speak fifteen lines
was enough to enable an actor to change from one character to

There is a further instance which shows that even
In the Choephori, when Aegisthus is
less time was necessary.
murdered, a servant rushes out upon the stage and calls to
Clytaemnestra.
As Clytaemnestra comes out, he apparently
another \
runs back into the palace.
Clytaemnestra speaks
and
five lines,
then Orestes hastens out of the palace, followed by Pylades.

In
the
speak
which
scene
Pylades
ensues
has
three
lines
to
and the scholiast says that his part was taken by the
who had just left the stage, so as to avoid the necessity

of four actors. The servant must therefore have changed his
mask in a very few moments ^ As such rapid changes were
servant
possible, a great variety of characters
might be introduced
the course of a play, in spite of the restriction that
in
more than
three characters could not take part in the dialogue at the
same
time.
In the distribution of parts the protagonist took the principal character.
The
parts of Oedipus, Electra, and Antigone,

same name by Sophocles, are specially
having been acted by celebrated protagonists.
the plays of the
in
mentioned as
Orestes
in the
play of Euripides
the protagonist ^
cipal character
gave the name
always the case.
also described as the part of
is
Usually, as in the above instances, the prin-
In the
Oenomaus was played by
But
to the piece.
Oenomaus
this
was not
of Sophocles the part of
the tritagonist Aeschines.
In the
Cresphontes of Euripides the principal character was Merope,
The
and was taken by Theodorus.

Aeschines as tritagonist^.
to
the character which gave the

^
^
^
28
Schol. Eur. Phoen. 93.

Schol. Aesch. Choeph. 906.
Aul. Gel), vii. 5 ; Stob. Flor. 97,
Dem. Fals. Leg. 246 Strattis ap.
;
It
part of Cresphontes
fell
does not therefore follow that
name
to a play
was necessarily
Meineke, Frag. Com.
Hesych.
Dera.de Cor.
*
xiv. 40.
v.
Gr.
ii.
dpovpaws
p. 763.
Olv6[jLaos
180; Aelian, Var. Hist.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE PARTS.
v.]
the leading one.
In the
Agamemnon
21
of Aeschylus most likely
the protagonist played the part of Clytaemnestra, as this

certainly the
most impressive character
in the play,
is
though not
the one with which the spectators are in sympathy.
Besides
playing the leading part the protagonist had also to take his
share of the subordinate characters
when he
could be spared.
has already been mentioned that in the Phoenissae of Euri-
It
pides the protagonist appeared in the part of Antigone, as well
At times he took even the smallest

characters if the necessities of the play demanded it.
Plutarch
states that the protagonist, in the part of a messenger or
an attendant, often gained more applause than the actor who
It was, in fact, the chief
bore the sceptre and the crown \
advantage of the Greek system that even the subordinate characters were played with as much excellence as the more
important ones. The tritagonist took what in modern times
It was his special priwould be called the heavy' parts.
vilege, as Demosthenes remarks, to play the tyrant and the
Aeschines, in his career as tritagonist,
sceptred monarch ^
often had to act gloomy tyrants of this kind, such as Creon,
Cresphontes, and Oenomaus. Such characters did not require
There was no pathos to be excited,
great powers in the actor.
as in that of Jocasta.
no play of
conflicting emotions to be exhibited.
All that
was
necessary was a powerful voice, and a capacity for declaiming
Most
verses.
likely for the
same reason the
tritagonist usually
spoke the prologues, which also did not require much more
in
Thus the ghost of

Polydorus, which speaks the prologue in the Hecuba of Euripides, was acted by Aeschines as tritagonist ^
The deuterthe actor than good powers of elocution.
agonist took the parts which, in point of interest, were inter-
mediate between the leading characters, and the heavy parts
which
fell
tions as
to the tritagonist.
to
deuteragonist.
not,
Attempts have been made
assign the characters in

^
Plut. Lysand. p.
Dem.
There are
however, any
particular characters having been played
tradi-
by the
modern times to
the extant Greek dramas to the prot-
446 D.
'
Fals. Leg. 247.
P 2
Dem.
1.
in
c, de Cor. 180, 267.
THE ACTORS,
212
deuteragonist,
agonist,
and
[Ch.
Such
respectively.
tritagonist
show
speculations are interesting, in so far as they
that
all
the existing plays could be perfectly well performed by three
Otherwise they are not of very great value.
actors.
generally no
But it
ter.
difficulty in
is
obvious that the subordinate parts might be
is
distributed in various
ways
and no doubt the arrangement
There are no
differed at different periods.
traditions
Any
subject in addition to those already mentioned.
reproduce the exact arrangement
therefore, to
There
deciding which was the leading charac-
particular period
must depend more or
3.
less
on the
attempt,
upon
adopted
at a
conjecture.
Extra Performers.
For every Greek play a chorus was provided by the choregus,

and three actors were supplied by the state. But in most plays
a certain number of additional performers were required.
The
parts
which these extra performers had
to
may
fill
be divided, roughly speaking, into three classes.
In the
place there were the various mute personages,
who simply
The second
appeared upon the stage, and did nothing more.

class consisted of
minor characters with only a few words
In these cases extra performers were
say.
first
to
required, either
because the regular actors were already occupied, or because

the part
was
that of a
be unable to take.
boy or
girl,
Thirdly, in
which the regular actor would
many
cases a small subordinate
The
chorus was required, in addition to the ordinary one.
name
general
*
for the
parachoregemata ^'
persons
They
occurs.
Prom.
12
kv
are (i) Schol. Aesch.

vapaxoprjyfjixaTi
dSctiXoTroirjOeiffaBta.
Eum. 573
ol
(3)
'
Schol.
KaKurat
aura)
(2) Schol. Aesch.
kv Trapaxoprjyq/xaTi auTo) daiv
ApeonayiTai
fXTjâ/jLov
SiaXeyojxevoi.
Aristoph. Ran. 211 ravra
irapaxopijyqfJLaTa,
was
This word obviously means something
^ As there is some doubt about the

meaning of the word vapaxoprjyijfia, it
will be well to quote the passages where
it
who
undertook these parts
kireiS^
ovx
dpSjvrai kv to) Oedrpq) ol pdrpaxoi, ouSe
x^pos, d\X' effooOev /xi/xovvrai rovs

ârpdxovs 6 be dXrjOuj^ x^pos l twv
evffe^cbv vcKpwv avveffTrjKev.
(4) Schol.
Aristoph. Pax 113 ra TOiavra irapaxopTjyrjuara KaXovcriv, ola vvv rd naidia
iroiu Kokovvra rbv irarkpa' etra vpos
o
ovSev
iv.
en
tovtois
log ovore
xPV^^''''^'-
jx^v dvri
(5) Poll.
nrdpTOv
vvoKpi-
tou Scot rivd tuv x^P^^t^^ direiv kv
EXTRA PERFORMERS,
v.]
which
suppHed by the choregus
is
expenditure.
in addition to his
responsible for the chorus
Plutarch's
but
if
story of a certain
to
him with a
who was going
had
songs
train of female attendants \
or words
be sung,
to
to
part, unless
Old Comedy,
in the
which a great number of characters appear upon the

If
required,
confirmed by
is
proceed with the
Extra performers were especially necessary

in
men were
tragic actor
appear as a queen, but refused

the choregus provided
Properly he was only
additional
This conclusion
supply them.
to
ordinary
follows therefore that the cost of the extra
It
performers was borne by the choregus.
he had
213
spoken,
stage.
behind
the
scenes, by persons out of sight of the audience, these persons
were called 'paraskenia.'
members
taken by
many
In
cases their part could be
of the chorus, and
this
in
way no
extra
upon the choregus.

It remains to consider more in detail the three classes of parachoregemata'. The mute personages appeared most frequently
in the shape of attendants, body-guards, crowds of people, and
The Oedipus Rex opens with a number of suppliants
so on.
expense would
fall
'
kneeling
the altar before the palace of the king.
at
In the
Choephori Orestes and Pylades are accompanied by attendants.
The judgment scene

(^5?),
in
ev 'Aya/xe/xvovi
AtaxvAov
et
vTTOKpLTrjs Ti TTapacpOi'fâiTo,
ovofid^frai,
Xopi]yr]iJ.a
5e
nal
and second instances
Eumenides requires twelve

els
Terapros
tovto
irapa-
TreirpdxOai
(paaiv avTo ev M4fx,vovi Aiaxvôv.

first
the
irapaaKr]viov KaXeirai to irpdy/xa,
refer to
eluded
all
It
word
is
therefore quite
wapaxopriyrjfjia in-
classes of extra performers,
distinct
TrapaxoprjyijiJLa
lie
former sang, the
in the fact
latter
that the
spoke.
The word
irapaaKrjviov, in its
judge from the etyword, it most likely

denoted performers behind the scenes,
The words ku 'Ayafiifxvovi Aiax^ôv in
the passage of Pollux are corrupt, the
corruption arising from the words (v
from the actors and the

There are no grounds for exchorus.
eluding the mute personages from the
class of 7ra/)axop?;7-/7/xaTa, as Midler (die
Griech. Biihnen. p. 179) and others
have done. Pollux appears to make
the distinction between -napaaK-qviov and
as
stance.
of
in-
mute
an extra chorus, the fourth to extra

who say only a few words
stage.
due to Pollux's habit

from one particular
generalising
present sense, only occurs in the passage
performers
upon the
probably
per-
a foolish one, and was
is
The
personages, the third instance refers to
clear that the
distinction
The
of Pollux.
mology
of
To
the
AiaxvXov which follow. There

no napaaKrjviov in the Agamemnon,
Me/xvovi
is
The
reference cannot be to the speech
of Pylades in the Choephori (vv. 900902), because (i) the Choephori could
not be called the Agamemnon, (2) the
part of Pylades
was taken by one of the
regular actors, as the scholiast ad loc. in-
forms
'
us.
Plut.
Phocion
p.
750 C.
THE ACTORS.
214
[Ch.
formers to play the parts of the members of the Areopagus.

the
Agamemnon, when
the king and Cassandra arrive in the
ready to spread carpets beneath their
chariot, servants stand

feet \
Probably
many
in
In
other instances great personages were
accompanied by attendants, although there
is
no special reference
Not unfrequently more prominent chato them

Pylades says
racters appeared upon the stage as mute figures.
nothing throughout the Electra of Sophocles and the Electra
in the play.
In the latter play one of the Dioscuri must also
of Euripides.
dumb
when the
have been a
figure, since
the stage
Dioscuri
son of Force
two actors were already upon
make
Promethus Vinctus
in the
The
their appearance.
is
per-
another example.
very frequent occasion for the employment of mute cha-
was
racters
parents.
casion
his
in
and
children
their
children appear as silent figures, but give oc-
touching speeches by their parents.
for
example
scenes between
pathetic
in
The
the
There
is
an
Ajax of Sophocles, where Ajax addresses
But the instances
son Eurysaces.
in
Euripides are
much
more frequent. There is the celebrated scene in the Medea,

where Medea half relents at the sight of her children. There
is the address of Megara to her children in the Hercules
Furens.
Other examples are
to be
found in the introduction of
Manto, the daughter of Teiresias,

Polymestor's children
in
the Phoenissae, and
Hecuba".
the
in
Mute
figures
of
were
also very useful in occasionally personating one of the regular
characters of the play,

porarily required
for
when
the actor of the character was tem-
another purpose.
It
has already been
pointed out that in the middle of the Oedipus Coloneus the part
of Ismene
is
played by a
dumb
personage, to enable the previous
actor of the part to appear in another character.

best instances of this practice
is
in the final
One
of the
scene of the Orestes,
which most of the prominent characters are brought upon the
in
stage together, after the fashion of a
three of them can speak

'
Aesch. Choepli. 713,

908.
fc'oph. Aj. 544;
Eur.
Eum. 678
ff.,
Agam.
^
modern drama.
But only
Helen, Hermione, Electra, and PyHere. Fur. 454, Phoen.

97S.
Med. 102 1,
834,
Hecub.
EXTRA PERFORMERS.
v.]
lades are
all
unnatural.
mute
figures.
The
215
silence of Pylades
In cases of this kind an attempt
especially
is
made
produce
which were hardly compatible with the limited resources
of Greek tragedy.
is
to
effects
The second
class of extra performers took all those
minor
parts in which a certain
amount of speaking or singing was

was impossible for the regular actors to
In tragedy they were generally required for the boys'
which were unsuitable for grown up actors. Euripides
required^ but which

take.
parts,
it
was especially fond of introducing boys upon the stage. In

the Alcestis Eumelus bewails his mother's death in a short
ode.
Another example is the mournful dialogue between
Andromache and her
little
son Molossus\
In the Old Comed}^
these additional actors were frequently needed to perform small
when the three regular actors were already on

Examples are very numerous.
There are the
daughters of Trygaeus in the Peace, and the daughters of the
Megarian in the Acharnians. The herald and Pseudartabas
are additional examples from the Acharnians I
parts at times
the
stage.
In the third place an extra chorus was sometimes required.
The Propompi
Eumenides, and the chorus of boys in the

Wasps, both appear side by side with the regular chorus, and
must therefore have been personated by extra performers.
An
in the
additional chorus,
was also reSometimes the extra
consisting of shepherds,
quired in the Alexander of Euripides ^
chorus was not visible to the spectators, but sang behind the
scenes.
In such cases the singing might be done by
of the regular chorus,
Examples are
to
if
members
they had not yet entered the orchestra.
be found
in the
chorus of frogs in the Frogs
of Aristophanes, and Agathon's chorus in the Thesmophoria-
zusae\
Both these choruses were behind the scenes, and

therefore come under the class called
paraskenia.*
would
Their part would be taken by members of the regular chorus.
'
In the opening scene of the Hippolytus a band of

^
Eur. Ale. 393, Androm. 504.

Aristoph. Pax 11^, Acharn.
94, 729.
43,
huntsmen
^ Aesch. Eum.
1032; Aristoph. Vesp.
248; Schol. Eur, Hipp. 58.
* Aristoph. Ran.
209, Thesm. 104.
THE ACTORS.
2i6
[Ch.
sing a short ode to Artemis upon the stage.
Immediately
Troezen,
enters the
have
cannot
chorus
but
personated
been
this
of
case the huntsmen
by members of the regular
possible that the singing
is
it
In
orchestra.
after
women
their disappearance the regular chorus, consisting of
was done by the
chorus behind the scenes, while the huntsmen were represented
by mute figures \
Costume of the Tragic Actors.
4.
To
be discussed
the stage.
First,
as. to
the tragic
modern notions upon the
to all
minuteness
archaeological
The
actors.
was
practice
totally
they never
made
the
of
opposed
subject.
Historical accuracy
the
mounting of a play
in
were matters of supreme indifference to the Greeks.

the scenes of most of their tragedies were laid
times,
point to
costume, and general appearance upon
their
is
the Greeks in regard to tragic costume
and
The next
return to the subject of the actors.
slightest
Though
in
heroic
attempt to reproduce
upon the stage an accurate representation of the costume

of the Homeric period.
On the other hand they were not
content that the heroes and gods of their tragedy should
appear upon the scene in the costume of ordinary life, as was
formerly the case in our modern theatres.
essentially ideal
level of
everyday
the existence
it
Even when the
life.
Greek tragedy was
depicted was far above the

subject of a tragedy
was
taken from contemporary history, as in the case of the Persae

of Aeschylus, the treatment was ideal.
In the Persae of
Aeschylus no Greek statesmen or generals are introduced upon

the stage, or even mentioned by name. The scene is laid far
away
in
Persia
common and
the characters are
all
Persian
everything
Such being the

tone of Greek tragedy, the costume of ordinary life would have
been out of keeping. A special dress was invented, similar to
that of common life, but more flowing and dignified.
The
garments were dyed with every variety of brilliant colour. The
familiar
is
banished out of sight.
Eur. Hipp. 61.
COSTUME OF THE TRAGIC ACTORS.
V.l
217
bulk of the actor was increased by padding his chest and limbs,
and placing huge wooden soles under
employed
in
Masks were
his feet.
which every feature was exaggerated,
superhuman dignity and
terror to the expression.
a conventional costume
was
to
In this
give
way
elaborated, which continued for
centuries to be the regular dress of the tragic actors.
All the
leading characters in a Greek tragedy were dressed in this
and additions, such as par-
fashion, with only slight variations

ticular circumstances required.
fairly accurate
conception of
the appearance presented by one of these tragic figures of the
Greek stage ma}^
still
ledge on the subject
be obtained
is
in
modern
Pollux and others, partly from works of

it is
true, are in
Our know-
times.
derived partly from the descriptions of
most cases
Italian
art.
The works
of
art,
but Greek tragedies were
commonly performed in Italy even in imperial times, and

Roman tragedy was in all respects a mere reproduction of the
Greek. Hence works of art depicting tragic scenes and figures,
though
Greek
origin,
in
Italian
stage.
It
present
would be unsafe
points of minute detail.
the
fairly
Greek
actor
is
to
characteristics
it
is
of the
depend upon them
But they correspond
the descriptions of Pollux, and
them a
the
in the
for
main with
possible to obtain from
trustworthy picture of the general appearance of
actors.
The accompanying
representation of a tragic
copied from an ivory statuette which was found in the
ruins of a villa near Rieti \

In no respect
is
the difference between the ancient
and the
more conspicuous than in the use of masks. The

mask was ascribed to Thespis. At the
commencement of his career as an actor Thespis is said to have
modern
actor
invention of the tragic
merely painted his face with white lead or purslane.
he employed masks
consisting simply of linen, without paint or colouring.

lus introduced certain
Phrynichus
was the
^
The
improvements which are not
Choerispecified.
example of using female masks ^. Aeschylus

employ painted masks, and to pourtray features
set the
first to
menti Inediti,
Later on
but these were of a very simple character,
xi.
13.
from Monu-
X^s-
Suidas vv.
effn-ty,
Xotpi\os, ^pvvi-
21
THE ACTORS.
[Ch.
v.]
By
of a dreadful and awe-inspiring character.
Aeschylus
is
several writers
regarded as the inventor of the tragic mask, and to
a certain extent this view

first
219
is
correct, since
it
was Aeschylus who
gave the tragic mask that distinctive character, from which
in later times
it
never varied except
of Aeschylus there
After the time
in detaiP.
no further mention of any radical
is
alter-
ations or improvements in the manufacture of masks.
The use
of masks
and character of Greek

been impossible
tragedy.
one actor
for
to play the parts of
indissolubly connected with the style
is
Without masks
Of course
women.
it
would have
to play several parts, or for
the
men
Greek actor had no
opportunity of displaying those powers of facial expression
which are one of the chief excellencies
in
modern
acting.
It
was only by his gestures that he could emphasise the meaning

of what he had to say: his features remained immovable.
niceties of facial expression
the vast expanse of a
which were depicted
would have been entirely
But
lost in
Greek theatre. The tragic mask, on

and striking lines the main traits
in bold
was
in the character represented,
really
much more effective,

Then again it
and could be seen by the most distant spectator.
must have been

delineate
finely
difficult, if
not impossible, for a Greek actor to
drawn shades of individual
masks necessarily ran
in
brutal tyrant, the crafty statesman, the suffering maiden,

on.
The
cult to
acting
would have
to correspond.
It
individuals.
and there was
of character-painting.
diffi-
But the
tragedy were mostly types rather than
The heroes and heroines were drawn
general outlines,
and so
would be
imagine the part of Hamlet acted in a mask.
characters of Greek
The
character.
general types, such as that of the
The use
in
broad
attempt at delicate strokes
little
of masks no doubt helped to
Greek tragedy.
Masks were generally made of linen. Cork and wood were
The mask covered the whole of the head,
occasionally used ^
give this particular bent to
both in front and behind.
The white
1
Suidasv. AjVxvAos; Hon A. P. 278;
Evanth. de trag. et com. (Gronov. The-
saur.
viii.
p. 1683).
of the eye was painted on
Poll. x. 167
Siiidas v. ka-ni^
Prudent,
c.
Isidor. Orig. x.
119
Verg. Georg.
387
Symmach.
ii.
646,
ii.
THE ACTORS.
220
was
the mask, but the place for the pupil
The
the actor to see\
gloomy and
often fierce
left
hollow, to enable
mask was
mouth was opened wide, to give a
expression of the tragic

the
clear outlet to the actor's voice.
features of the tragic
[Ch.
One
of the most characteristic
mask was the onkos
^.
This was a cone-
shaped prolongation of the upper part of the mask above the

forehead, intended to give size and impressiveness to the face.
The onkos was

was
to
not used in every case, but only where dignity
be imparted.
that of
It
varied in size according to the character
The onkos
of the personage.
women was
of the tyrant was especially large
less than that of
necessarily represented by the
The
effects
men.
character was not
same mask throughout the
piece.
of misfortune or of accident had often to be de-
For instance, in the Helen of Euripides

Helen returns upon the stage with her hair shorn off, and her
cheeks pale with weeping. Oedipus, at the end of the Oedipus
picted by a fresh mask.
Tyrannus of Sophocles,
is
seen with blinded eyes and blood-
In such cases a change of
stained face.
mask must have been
necessary.
The number and variety of

may be seen from the accounts
tragic
personages
were
masks used in tragedy

For the ordinary
regular
masks of a
stereo-
Pollux enumerates twenty-eight kinds l
typed character.
information was
list
there
the
in Pollux.
derived
His
from Alexandrian sources, and his
number of masks which were employed on

Greek stage for the ordinary characters of tragedy.
represents the
the later
It is
not likely that in the time of Sophocles or Euripides the
use of masks was reduced so completely to a system as in the

later period
but the descriptions in Pollux will give a fairly
accurate idea of the style of the masks used in earlier- times.
Of
masks described by Pollux six are for old

men, eight for young men, three for attendants, and eleven for
women. The principal features by which the different masks
the twenty-eight
are discriminated from one another are the style of the hair, the
colour of the complexion, the height of the onkos, and the

^
Aul, Gell.
maler, p. 42.
V.
Wieseler,
Denk-
^
-''
Poll. iv. 133-135, 139.

Poll. iv. 133-141.
v.]
To
expression of the eyes.
take a few examples.
and powerful man, such as the

beard, a
tall
The
fair hair,
strong
tyrant, has thick black hair
and
The man
onkos, and a frown upon his brow.
wasted by disease has
221
a pale complexion, and a smaller
The handsome youth has fair ringlets, a light complexion, and bright eyes.
The lover is distinguished by black
hair and a pale complexion.
The maiden in misfortune has her
hair cut short in token of sorrow.
The aged lady has white
onkos.
hair
and a small onkos, and her complexion
is
rather pale.
Attendants and messengers are marked by special character-
One
istics.
of them wears a cap, another has a peaked beard,
drawn back. One sees from

these examples how completely Greek tragedy was dominated
by conventional rules, in this as in all other respects. As soon
a third has a snub nose and hair
as a personage entered the stage, his
mask alone was enough
to
give the spectators a very fair conception of his character and

position.
The
twenty-eight tragic masks enumerated by Pollux were
used for the ordinary characters of tragedy, and formed a

regular part of the stock of the Greek stage-manager.
But
masks were required when any unusual character was
introduced.
Pollux gives a long list of such masks \ In the
first place there were numbers of mythological beings with
strange attributes. Actaeon had to be represented with horns,
Argo with a multitude of eyes. Evippe in the play of Euripides
had the head of a mare. A special mask of this kind must have
been required to depict lo with the ox-horns in the Prometheus
Vinctus of Aeschylus. A second class of special masks was
special
needed
to represent allegorical
Deceit,
suasion,
Death
Jealousy.
Of
figures such as Justice,

this
in the Alcestis of Euripides,
Per-
kind are the figures of
and Frenzy
in the
Hercules
Furens. Lastly there were personifications of cities, rivers,

Five specimens of ancient tragic masks are
and mountains.
The first is the mask of a youth,

man; the second and third are probably
The fourth is an example of one of the
given on the next page.

the
fifth
that of a
masks of women.
^
Poll. iv. 141, 142,
Special masks were called
e/ccr/feua irpoffojna.
THE ACTORS.
222
special masks,
upon
his
We
known
and depicts Perseus with the cap of darkness
head \
now come
to the dress of the tragic actors.
Nothing
is
as to the style of dress adopted by Thespis and his im-
mediate successors.
^
[Ch.
The
tragic
Figs. 1-3 are copied from Wieseler,
Denkmaler,
v.
20, 24, 26.
The
first is
a marble, the second and third are from

wall-paintings at Herculaneum.
Figs.
costume which eventually pre5 are copied from the Archaeol.

Zeitung for 1878. They are from wallpaintings at Pompeii.
4 and
V.l
223
upon the Greek stage dates from the time of Aeschylus.

His creative spirit revolutionised every department of Greek
tragedy.
It was he who transformed it into an essentially dravailed
matic species of
and gave
art,
the characteristics of grandeur
it
It was necessary to make a corresponding change

masks and dresses of the actors and this improvement
also was effected by Aeschylus.
The invention of the Greek
tragic costume, both in its main features and in most of its sub-
and
terror.
in the
ordinate details,
invariably ascribed
is
to
Aeschylus \
dress which he introduced was so well adapted to

that
unchanged
continued
it
in
principal
its
its
The
purpose,
characteristics
throughout the remaining history of Greek tragedy.
Subse-
quent generations, while making various small additions and

never altogether abandoned the original design.
alterations,
the
later representations of tragic
actors,
All
whether found
in
Etruscan mosaics, or wall-paintings of Gyrene and Pompeii, obviously belong to one
common
In spite of considerable
type.
differences in point of detail, they
show
a distinct general resem-
The tragic costume, as finally settled

by Aeschylus, was in many respects not unlike that worn by the
hierophants and torch-bearers who officiated at the Eleusinian
blance to one another I
According
mysteries.
to
one tradition the similarity was due
to
the priests having copied the dress of the tragic actors in later
But
times.
much more probable
it is
that the very reverse
was
the case, and that Aeschylus, in the course of his innovations,
borrowed some hints from the dress of the priests I
The
of Aeschylus
object
was
to
devise
costume that
should be suitable to the heroes and gods and supernatural

beings with which his stage was peopled.
'
For
Athen.
this
21
p.
Philostrat. vit.
Kayser)
purpose he employed various devices.
ApoU.
vi.
Aesch.
vit.
11 (p. 220, ed
Cramer, Anecd. Par.
Wieseler,
Denkmakr
i.
p. 19
vii., viii.,
ix
I, xiii. 2.
^
Athen.
/j-ovov
was necessary
something more splendid than the dress of ordinary
to invent
life.
It
p. 21
/cal
Ato-xvA-os Se ov
e^(vp TrjVTTJs aToXijs evTrpeiTfiavKal
cefjiVOT-qTa, ijv
^-qKuaavres
oi
IfpocpavTui
Kot SaSovxoi d/x(f>iivyvvTai.
dation, (rjKojaas
rjv,
Among
An emen-
has been proposed.
But probably the text
is
quite correct,
and the author of the statement was

mistaken in the inference which he drew
from the resemblance between the dress
of the tragic actors and that of the
Eleusinian priests.
'
THE ACTORS.
224
[Ch.
them was the cothurnus, or tragic boot, the aim of which

was to increase the stature of the actors, and to give them
an appearance of superhuman grandeur. It was a boot with
The
a wooden sole of enormous thickness attached to it.
wooden sole was painted in various

to some accounts Aeschylus invented
colours.
boot
the
According
altogether
according to other accounts his innovation consisted in giving

increased
thickness
of the actors.
to
feature in tragic
costume down
and Roman tragedy \
and so raising the
the sole,
After his time
it
height
continued to be a regular
to the latest period of
The cothurnus
Greek
varied in height accord-
ing to the dignity and position of the wearers, a king, for
in-
mere at
upon
persons
of
the
physical
stature
way the
stance, being provided with a larger cothurnus than a
tendant.
In this
the stage
was made
to
correspond to their social position.
In
the accompanying illustration, representing a tragic scene, the

^
The name
Greek was
oKpiâs (Lucian,
(vit.
for the tragic boot in
kfiâTrjs (Suid. v. Ato-xyôs),
Aesch.).
Nero
c. 9),
Cothurnus
or KoOopvos
was
the
regular
name
in
Latin.
Pollux
(iv.
115) appears to be mistaken in calling

kfxPdTijs the comic boot, in opposition
to
the notices in other grammarians.
v.]
225
difference between the cothurnus of the servant and that of the
hero
by
Whether
very conspicuous \
is
all
was worn
more important
the cothurnus
the characters in a tragedy, or only by the
There was another tragic boot called the

'krepis/ of a white colour, which was introduced by Sophocles,
and worn by the chorus as well as by the actors. Very possibly
this may have been a boot more like those of ordinar}'^ life than
the cothurnus, and may have been worn by the subordinate characters ^
The illustrations show that the cothurnus was rather
ones,
uncertain.
is
a clumsy contrivance, and that
must have been somewhat
it
convenient to walk with.
The
careful to avoid stumbling
upon the
actor had
tragic
accidents were not infrequent.
CoUytus.
In the scene where

fell,
and had
Lucian says that
stage.
Oenomaus
The use of
trainer Sannio ^
at
Oenomaus pursues Pelops he
be
to
in-
be very
Aeschines met with a misfor-
tune of this kind as he was acting the part of

tripped up and
to
up again by the chorus-
lifted
the cothurnus, combined with the
onkos, or prolongation of the crown of the mask, added greatly
To
to the stature of the tragic actor.
prevent his seeming thin
it was found necessary

His figure was thus made
comparison with his height,
in
crease his bulk by padding.
to into ap-
pear of uniformly large proportions *.
The garments
of the tragic actor were the same as the ordin-
ary Greek dress, but their style and colour were more magni-
They
ficent.
consisted of an under-garment or tunic, and an
The
over-garment or mantle.
colour.
in
The
Sometimes
sole of the cothurnus
it
tunic was brilliantly variegated

was adorned with stripes, at other
was of wood,
Nero
c.
9,
Necyom.
as appears from Schol. Lucian, Epist.
41, de Salt.
Works of art show that

19.
itwaspainted: seeWieseler.Denkmaler,
&c., &c.
Saturn.
and cp. Ovid. Am. ii. 18. 13

risit Amor pallamque meam pictosque
cothurnos.
According to Suidas (v.
vii., viii.
AtVxvAos), Aristot.
(ap.
Themist.
ApoU.
220 Kayser) the cothurnus was
or.
1 1,
in-
vit.
vented by Aeschylus the Life says that

it was only enlarged by him. For the use
27.
of the cothurnus in late times see Lucian,
c.
16, lup. Trag.
Martial,
viii,
3.
c.
13,
illustration is
ix.
i.
The
"^
vi.
27;
from Wieseler,
original is a
wall-painting from Pompeii or Herculaneum.
Vit. Soph. p. 2 Dindf.
^
Denkmaler,
xxvi. p. 316), Philostrat. (vit.

p.
The
c.
Lucian,
Somnium
vel
Callus 26
Aeschin.
Phot.
v.
awimna
Lucian, de Salt.
THE ACTORS.
226
[Ch.
times with the figures of animals and flowers, or similar orna-
mentation.
The ordinary
special
worn by queens.
of purple was
tunic
tragic tunic reached
down
ance with the old Athenian custom,

having been generally adopted
at
to the feet, in accord-
not
shorter tunic
the
Athens
until after the time
worn by females upon the stage were

sometimes longer than those worn by men, and trailed upon
The
tunics
the ground, as the
name
of Pericles.
On
'syrtos' implies.
the other hand,
appears from various illustrations that shorter ones were
it
occasionally provided for attendants and other minor characters.
The
was fastened with a broad girdle

down in long and graceful
It was also
giving an appearance of height and dignity.
tunic of the tragic actor
high up under the breast, and flowed

folds,
supplied with long sleeves reaching to the waist.

life
sleeves
In ordinary
of this kind were considered effeminate by the
European Greeks, and were mostly confined to the Greeks of

The general character and appearance of the tragic tunic
Asia.
is
well exemplified in the illustrations already given \
The over-garments were the same in shape as those worn

stage, and consisted of two varieties. The 'himation' was
off the
a long
mantle passing round the right shoulder, and covering the greater
part of the body.
the
left
shoulder.
The chlamys was a short cloak

As far as shape was concerned
flung across
all
the tragic
mantles belonged to one or the other of these two classes, but

they differed in colour and material.
Pollux gives a
list
of
append any description ^ The

mere names prove that they were very gorgeous in colour.
There were mantles of saffron, of frog-green, of gold, and of
purple.
Queens wore a white mantle with purple borders.
several of them, but does not
These were the colours worn by tragic personages under ordinary circumstances. But if they were in misfortune or in exile,
^
For the general account
of the
&c. For the ornamentation see Wieseler,
XiTwi' or tunic see Pollux iv. 115-118.
Denkmal.
The name
is
ttoik'lXov
brilliantly coloured.
shows that
As
it
was
to the length
of the tunic see Lucian, lup. Trag.
c.
954. 47, and the

illustrations in Wieseler's Denkmaler,
41,
Eustath.
II.
p.
clearly
of art.
(vit.
^
vi.
2,
shown
The
Aesch.
vii., viii.
in
many
The
girdle
of the works
sleeves were called xft/>'5es
Lucian, lup. Trag.
Poll. iv. 11 6-1 18.
c.
41).
v.]
the fact
was
signified to the spectators
227
from the very
dressing them in the garb of mourning.
In such
first
by
cases the
colours used were black, dun, grey, yellow, or dirty white.
Coverings for the head were not usually worn by the Greeks
except
when they were on a journey. The same practice was

Thus in the Oedipus Coloneus Ismene
observed upon the stage.
Thebes wearing a 'Thessalian hat.' Ladies also

wore a mitra, or band for binding the hair. In the scene in the
Bacchae, where Pentheus is dressed up as a female, one of the
arrives from
articles
mentioned
Such was the
is
universally adopted
upon
the hair-band \
tragic
costume invented by Aeschylus, and
upon the Greek
historical accuracy
stage.
No
no attempt was made
one rank from another by marked variety
in the
stress
was
laid
to discriminate
costume.
The
main features was worn by nearly all the

In some instances special coscharacters of a Greek tragedy.
tumes were invented for particular classes of men. Soothsayers
same dress
in
its
such as Teiresias always wore a woollen garment of network,
which covered the whole of the body.

in great misfortune,
dressed
costume, with slight additions and varia-
regular tragic
the
tions
such as Telephus and Philoctetes, were
But the majority of the characters wore
rags^
in
Shepherds were pro-
Occasionally also heroes
vided with a short leathern tunic.
onty means by which the spectators were
and the
enabled to identify the well-known personages of mythology,
and
to discriminate
racters,
For
instance, the
the particular
names were
his
between the different ranks of the cha-
was by the presence of small conventional emblems.

gods and goddesses always appeared with
weapon or
associated.
of dress with which
article
In the same way the
Athene wore the aegis ^
magic wand.
their
Apollo carried his bow, and Hermes
well-known heroes of antiquity had generally some speciality in

their
costume which enabled the spectators
soon as they came upon the stage.

1
Poll.
iv.
116; Soph. O. C. 314;
Eur. Bacch. 833.

^
Poll.
iv.
116, 117
Varro, Res Rust.
Q2
them as
11.
ii.
^
to recognise
Hercules was always con-
Aesch.
Eum. 181,404;
Poll. iv. 117.
THE ACTORS,
2 28
_spicuous by means of his club and

cap
[Ch.
Iion*s skin
Perseus wore the
of darkness, as depicted in the illustration already given \
Kings in a similar manner were distinguished by the crown

upon their head, and the sceptre in their hand. They also
had a special article of dress, consisting of a short tunic with
Foreigners
a swelling bosom, worn over the ordinary tunic ^
rather
than
attribute,
particular
were discriminated by some one
by a complete variety in their costume. For example, Darius
wore the Persian turban otherwise he was probably dressed in
Warriors were equipped with comthe ordinary tragic style ^
;
plete armour,
and occasionally had a short cloak of
scarlet or
purple wrapped round the hand and elbow for protection \
Old men usually carried a
staff in their
of
art,
was
with a
works
Crowns of
'\
were worn by messengers who brought good
crowns of myrtle were a sign of
examples
staff
said to be an invention of Sophocles
olive or laurel
tidings
The
in ancient
hands.
curved handle, which occurs not infrequently
illustrate the
mode
in
festivity
which the
The above
".
different characters
and classes were discriminated upon the Greek stage by small

varieties in their equipment.
But
in its
main features the dress
of the majority of the characters was the same, and consisted

of the elaborate costume designed by Aeschylus.
Concerning the tragic costume as a whole a few observations
The
may be made.
devotion to conventional rules
spicuous here as in Greek art generally.
Persons
as con-
is
in misfortune
wear clothes of a particular colour. Soothsayers have garments

of network. Gods and heroes are denoted by special symbols.
The
for
tragic dress, after
having been once elaborated,
centuries without any important
is
retained
As
innovation.
to
the
appearance which the tragic actor presented upon the stage,
it
obvious that he must have been an impressive, though rather
is
unnatural, figure.
His large stature and bulky
See above,
p. 222.
Poll. iv. 117.
Lucian, Somn. vel Gall. 26

116.
iv.
The
special tunic
was
called ((panrh.
Aesch. Pers. 661.
Poll. iv. 116, 117.
Aesch.
83
The cloak was
Ion
743
Vit.
Soph.
p.
Dindf.
KokTrojfm.
3
Eur.
Poll.
called
limbs, his harsh
Agam. 493
Eur. Ale. 759.
Soph. O. R.
v.]
and strongly-marked
colours,
features, his tunic with its long folds
variegated
brilliantly
229
his
pattern,
must have combined
to
mantle with
its
and
gorgeous
produce a spectacle of some
we must always
was intended to be seen in theatres of vast
dimensions, in which even the front rows of spectators were
a considerable distance from the stage, while the more distant
part of the audience could only discern general effects.
For
such theatres the tragic costume of the Greeks was admirably
adapted, however unwieldy and unnatural it may have appeared
magnificence.
remember
In criticising his appearance
that he
on a closer inspection.
Its
magnificence and dignity were
especially appropriate to the ideal figures which
move
in the
dramas of Aeschylus and Sophocles. In the Frogs of Aristophanes Aeschylus is humorously made to declare that it was
only right that the demigods of tragedy should wear finer clothes,
and use longer words, than ordinary mortals.
more human
The tragedy
of
and a more
ordinary costume would have been better suited to it.
But
Euripides was altogether
in
tone,
the Greeks, with their strong feeling of conservatism in matters
of
art,
clung to the form of dress already established.
The
was not altogether satisfactory. The attempt to exhibit

human nature pure and simple upon the Greek stage was bound
It often happened that the
to appear somewhat incongruous.
result
speeches and actions of the heroes in Euripides were highly

inconsistent with the
appearance.
ridiculous
superhuman grandeur of
their personal
In any case the step from the sublime to the
was a very short one in the case of the Greek

The play had to be elevated in tone, and the
tragic actor.
performance of a high standard,

of the actor's appearance.
gloomy
is
features excited
to carry off the magnificence
Otherwise his unwieldy bulk and

laughter rather than tears.
Lucian
especially fond of ridiculing the tragic actors of the time.
He
laughs at their 'chest-paddings and stomach-paddings,' 'their
cavernous mouths that look as
if
they were going to swallow up
the spectators,' and the 'huge boots on which they are mounted.'
He
wonders how they can walk across the stage

^
Lucian, de Salt. 27, Anachar. 23.
in safety \
In
THE ACTORS.
230
Philostratus there
effect
is
[Ch.
an amusing story of the extraordinary
produced upon a country audience
in
Spain by the appear-
ance of a tragic actor before them for the 'first time.
as soon as he
at his
It is
said that
came upon the stage they began to be rather alarmed

strides, his huge figure, and his un-
wide mouth, his long
COSTUME OF SATYRIC ACTORS.
v.]
But when he
earthly dress.
his speech in the loud
lifted
231
up his voice and commenced
and sonorous clang of the
tragic stage,
was a general panic, and they all fled out of the theatre
if
he
had been a demon \ Such stories and criticisms bring
as
there
clearly before us the unnatural character of the
costume.
was well suited
It
enormous
Under other
size.
should appear ridiculous.
to
conditions
for consideration.
were
forms of
satyrs.
drama retained
As
children^.
all
satyric
drama
descended from the same originak
art,
in dignity
and magnificence, the
the wild licence and merriment which
had characterised the dithyrambic performances
honour of Dionysus.
in
which obviously repre-
Tragedy and the
But while tragedy advanced

in early times
it
of the actors in the satyric drama naturally
comes next
satyric
inevitable that
Costume of Satyric Actors.
5.
sister
was
murder of her
hesitating about the
The costume
it
two representations of
tragic acting,
tragic scenes are inserted, the first of
Medea
tragic
In order to give an idea of the style
and character of Greek

sents
Greek
an ideal drama and a theatre of
Its
to the characters
chorus invariably consisted of
upon the
stage, with
which we are
present concerned, one of them was always Silenus, the
at
drunken old follower of Dionysus
the rest were mainly, heroes
out of mythology, or other legendary beings.
Thus
in the
Cyclops of Euripides, the only extant specimen of a satyric play,

the characters upon the stage consist of Silenus on the one hand,
and Odysseus and the Cyclops on the other.
Concerning the
costume of the actors the notices of Pollux are exceedingly

But it is possible to obtain fairly clear conceptions on
brief.
the subject from several works of
art,
and more especially from
the well-known vase-painting at Naples, which depicts
all
the
persons concerned in the production of a satyric play, from the

poet
^
down
Philostrat.
to
vit.
the
flute-playerl
ApoU.
v.
(p.
171
The
Monumenti
this painting
Inediti,
xi.
31,
we
see
32.
The
originals are wall-paintings at Pompeii.
Kayser).
'
From
illustrations
are
taken
from
Wieseler, Denkmal.
vi.
i-io.
THE ACTORS.
233
[Ch.
that the characters in a satyric drama, with the exception of
Silenus,
Their masks exhibit
much
same way as in tragedy.

the same features, and their garments are
were dressed
in
the
of the same general description.
been rather shorter, to
facilitate
The
tunic appears to have
ease of movement, as the acting
play was no doubt less dignified and statuesque
in a satyric
For the same reason the tall cothurnus of

tragedy does not appear to have been worn. It is not depicted
in the works of art
and although this fact in itself is perhaps
than in tragedy.
hardly decisive, since even in representations of tragic scenes

the cothurnus
it
is
occasionally
left out, still
on general grounds
appears to be most improbable that the cothurnus should
have been worn
in the satyric
drama.
But on the whole the heroic
characters in satyric plays were dressed

fashion as in tragedy.
As
to Silenus, his
in much the same

mask always repre-
sents a drunken old man, with a half-bestial expression.

His
under-garments, as depicted in works of art, are of two kinds.
Sometimes he wears a tight-fitting dress, encasing the whole of
his
body with the exception of
oth-er times
he wears
to the knees.
and feet. At
and a tunic reaching
his head, hands,
close-fitting trousers,
All these garments are
made of shaggy
materials.
COSTUME OF COMIC ACTORS.
v.]
resemble the hide of animals \
to
also mentioned
233
Certain over-garments are
by Pollux as having been worn by Silenus, such
as fawn-skins, goat-skins, imitation panther-skins, mantles of

purple,
accompanying
illustration,
vase-painting already referred
The
a satyric drama.
cothurnus
is
taken from the
represent the three actors in
to,
is
unknown
rather short, and he has no
otherwise he exhibits the usual features of the tragic
The second
shorter,
still
is
which
playing the part of some
first is
His tunic
hero of mythology.
actor.
The
and mantles inwoven with flowers or animals^.
figures in the
His body
that of Silenus.
His tunic
figure represents Hercules.
and barely reaches

is
The
to the knees.
is
third figure
covered with a single close-fitting
garment, and he carries a panther-skin over his shoulders.
All
these figures are holding their masks in their hands.
Costume of Comic Actors.
6.
The inquiry into the costume of the actors in Athenian

comedy falls into two divisions. There is the Old Comedy
and the New.
The Middle Comedy was merely a state of
transition
between the two, and presented no very distinctive
characteristics of
The Old Comedy was essentially

With its local
own.
its
the product of a particular time and place.

allusions
and personal
or imitation
traditions
among
satire
it
was unsuited
were preserved concerning the
and dresses used
in
it.
The
for reproduction
Consequently very few
later generations.
style of the
masks
information on the subject to
among later writers is extremely scanty. Attempts

have been made to illustrate the costumes of the Old Attic
comedy by the light of certain vase-paintings from Magna
be found
Graecia, which depict scenes out of the comedies of the PhlySpecimens of the
first
kind of dress
are to be found in Wieseler,

vi.
2.6,
kind
7,
10; specimens of the second
in vi. 8, 9.
Xi-Tuiv
Denkmal.
x^P'^^'^^^>
The
tunic
was
called
fiaXXwros, dficpifxaXXos,
and was apparently made of wool cp.

Poll. iv. 118; Hesych. and Suid. v.
:
x^pTaros;
Dion. Hal.
Ael. Var, Hist.

-
Poll. iv.
iii.
118.
A. R.
vii.
72;
40.
These
articles are
part of the dress of Silenus.
The other
were dressed quite
differently,
actors
The
dress of the chorus
the next chapter.
is
described in
THE ACTORS.
234
akes,
and
Phlyakes
mostly to
belong
the
[Ch.
third
were the comedians of the
represented
branch
one
of
old
the
common
century
Doric comedy.
comedy had much
in
out of which
comedy was developed.
Attic
The
b.c.^
and
Greeks,
Italian
This
with the phallic exhibitions,

It
is
probable
was a considerable resemblance, as far as

was concerned, between the performances of the Phlyakes and the Old Comedy at Athens.
Hence the vase-paintings referred to, of which a specimen is
therefore that there
the costume
here inserted,
of the actors
may be
of assistance in helping us to form
AtfTEAt
OOOOOOOOOOOO OOO Q
OGQ
some
rrPAAOCO
aOJJOO^QO QQ*
1
general picture of the external features of the Old Comedy.
But the connexion

conclusions.
Our
is
too remote to lead to any very definite
principal
costumes of the actors
source of information as to the
in the
Old Comedy must be the extant
plays of Aristophanes, together with the few casual notices
of the Scholiasts upon the subject.

*
Heydemann's article, Die
See
Phlyakendarstellungen auf bemalten
Vasen, in Jahrb. d. Kais. Deutsch.
Archaol,
Inst. 1886, p.
260
foil.
Sped-
mens are given

iii.
in Wieseler's
i8, ix. 7-15, A. 25, 26.
tration is taken
Denkmal.
The
from Wieseler,
illus-
ix. 15.
v.]
The Old Comedy was
the direct descendant of the boisterous
phallic performances at the festivals of Dionysus.
and indecency were an
235
essential part of
it.
The
Coarseness
actors therefore
regularly wore the phallus, as appears to have been also the case
among
the Phlyakes. Aristophanes in the Clouds takes credit to
himself for having discarded this piece of indecency, and for
having introduced a more refined style of wit into his comedy.
But whatever
are
numerous passages
custom
Clouds may have been, there
his practice in the

to
show
that he reverted
to the old
Possibly in addition to wearing the
in his later plays \
phallus the actors were also stuffed and padded in the grotesque
fashion which
apparent in the representations of the Phlyakes.
is
Old Comedy
resembled those of ordinary life, as may be shown from
numerous passages in Aristophanes.
As far as the masks
were concerned, when particular individuals were introduced
upon the stage, such as Socrates or Euripides, the masks were
Before a word
portraits or caricatures of the actual persons.
was spoken the character was recognised by the audience.
Apart from these special features the dresses
When
Aristophanes brought out the Knights, the general terror
was so great
inspired by Cleon
to
make a
to
be worn.
is
said to have stood
the staged
no
that the
mask-makers refused
mask had
portrait-mask of him, and an ordinary
Socrates, during the performance of the Clouds,
up
As
to the
and extravagant
those depicted
in
in
him with the character upon
masks of the
definite information
enable
in his place in the theatre, to
the strangers present to identify
is
in the
fictitious
characters there
but they were doubtless grotesque
type, like those
worn by the chorus, and
the vase-paintings
from
Magna
Graecia.
Old Comedy figures of a fanciful and

extravagant character were introduced upon the stage. Thus
Pseudartabas, the King's Eye, had a mask with one huge eye
Not unfrequently
in the centre of
^
01
it.
in the
The
trochilus in the Birds created laughter
Schol. Arist. Nub. 538 eio-jêo-aj/ 7d/)

Sfpfxanva aiboia
KQjfUKol Sie^coafiivoi
yfXoiov x^pi'^- Arist. Nub. 537-539That the phallus was worn in the later
comedies of Aristophanes is proved by
su^h passages as Thesmoph. 62,643,

Lysist. 985, 1073, 1085, &c.
^
Poll. iv.
143; Platon.de Comoed.
(Dindf. Proll. de
Comoed.
p. 21)
Equit. 230; Ael. Var. Hist.
ii.
Arist.
13.
THE ACTORS.
236
by
The epops was provided with
immense beak.
its
[Ch.
ridi-
culously large crest, but seems otherwise to have been dressed
human
like
figure.
Iris
in
the Birds
came on the stage
with outspread wings, swelling tunic, and a head-covering of
enormous size, so as to cause Peisthetaerus to ask her whether

she was a ship or a hat.
Prometheus with his umbrella,
and Lamachus with his nodding crests, are further examples
of grotesque costume \
It
has already been shown that the
production of a comedy was a comparatively cheap

cost about the
probable that
and
affair,
same as a chorus of boys. It is not therefore

the costumes in the Old Comedy were very
expensive or elaborate.
The New Comedy was of much longer duration than the

Old Comedy, and was much more widely spread. It continued
to flourish at Athens itself as late as the second century, and
was transferred to Rome in the translations of Plautus and
Terence and the other comic writers.
There is no lack of
information as to the costumes generally in use.
place
all
the actors
wore masks,
of the Greek drama.
As
its
essentially a
In the
far as abstract fitness goes, the
might well have been dispensed with.
was
'
first
just as in the other branches
As
the
masks
New Comedy
comedy of manners and every-day
and
life,
chief excellence lay in the accurate delineation of ordinary
human
tion
character,
it
after the fashion
much more
probable that a style of representa-
is
of the modern stage would have been
appropriate to
it.
In a theatre of moderate
with actors untrammelled by the use of masks,
shades
in
the
character-painting might have been
But
clearly to the spectators.
was impossible.
all
To
in ancient times
size,
the finer
exhibited
such a thing
Greek mind the use of masks was

inseparably associated with the stage
and the Greeks were
the
such matters extremely tenacious of ancient custom.
in
very questionable whether
It is also
enormous theatres masks

could possibly have been dispensed with. At any rate they were
invariably retained in the New Comedy.
But it is a strange
1
Schol. Aristoph. Acharn. 97

Av. 62, 94, 104, 1203
toph.
in their
Aris-
(with
Schol. ad loc), 1508, Acharn. 575
ff.
v.]
thing that, although in
New Comedy was
other respects the
all
ordinary
faithful representation of
life
237
and manners, the masks
employed should have been of the most ludicrous and grotesque
The
character.
expressly stated by Platonius, and
fact is
borne out by the evidence of numerous works of
was a
The
disregard for realism and fidelity to nature.
total
is
There
art \
exaggerated eyebrows and distorted mouths gave an utterly un-
Such masks were
natural expression to the features.

in
keeping with the tone of the Old Comedy,

in the
But
it is
strange that they should have
which otherwise was praised
for holding the mirror
up
The
distance from
a great
at
excellence and
mask would have been
finely-drawn
seated
The reason probably lay

humour of a
to nature.
the size of the theatres.
in
perfectly
which parody and
New Comedy,
caricature predominated.
been adopted
in
lost
upon an audience
the stage.
Of
course the
statement of Platonius has to be taken with some qualification.
The masks were not invariably distorted. Some of the young

men and women were depicted with handsome, though stronglymarked, features, as
But the comic characters
tragedy.
in
always wore masks of the grotesque kind just referred
to.
Copies of four comic masks are given on the next page ^.

Pollux supplies a long
New Comedy,
of the masks in ordinary use in the
list
with accurate descriptions of each of them ^
comprises masks for nine old men, eleven young men, seven
list
women, and fourteen young women.
slaves, three old
are included
list
all
such as the harsh

son,
the stock characters of the
father, the
the rustic youth, the heiress, the bully, the pimp, the
Com.
Plat on. ap. Dindf. Proll. de

21
p.
\v St
T^
KOL vka
A*e<T77
/cy/za;5ta
fmrrjdes ra Trpoaanreia irpbs to yeXowre-
pov khrjfiiovpyqGav
irpoaojireTa rrjs
opwfifv yovv
ra
MevavSpov Kojpwdias ras

iêarpappeKaT avOpijjTTOJV
6(ppvs oiroias exf*, Kai otto;?
vov TO (TTopa KOI

(pvaiv.
ovdk
See Wieseler, Denkmal.
v.
27-
For
all
these characters there
represents the masks of a girl and a

slave.
The
original is a wall-painting
The second illustration,

taken from Monumenti Inediti,
xi. 32, contains two copies of terra
It will be
cottas found at Pompeii.
at Pompeii.
which
is
seen that the
unlike a tragic
mask of the girl is not

mask in general charac-
ter.
52.
^
In this
New Comedy,
benevolent old man, the prodigal
procuress, and the courtesan.

^
His
The
first
Archaeol. Zeitung, 1S78, Taf.
4,
from
and
Poll.
iv.
Inst. xi. 3. 74.
143-154.
Cp.
Quint.
238
THE ACTORS.
[Ch.
v.]
are regular masks with

the plays of the
strongly characteristic features.
New Comedy,
as each personage stepped
the stage, he must have been recognised at once
b}^
In
upon
the audience
Constant repetition must have rendered them
as an old friend.
familiar with
239
the
typical
features
of each sort of character.
Certain kinds of complexion, and certain styles of hair and eye-
brow, were appropriated to particular classes. White or grey hair
was of course the regular sign of old age. Red hair was the
mark of a roguish slave. Thick curly hair denoted strength
Miserly old men wore their hair close-cropped,
and vigour.
while soldiers were distinguished by great shaggy manes. The
hair of the courtesans was bound up with golden ornaments,
or brilliantly-coloured bands.
Beards were distinctive of manhood or middle age, and were not used in the masks of youths
or old men. The complexion was always a prominent feature
in the mask.
A dark sun-burnt complexion was the sign of
rude health, and was given to soldiers, country youths, or
young men who frequented the palaestra. A white complexion
denoted effeminacy
Red
pallor
was the
result of love or ill-health.
cheeks, as well as red hair, were given to rogues.
eye-brows
were
strongly-marked
and
highly
The
characteristic.
When
drawn up they denoted pride or impudence, and were

used in the masks of young men and of parasites. The hottempered old
fits
father,
who
of affection, had
in its natural position,
face to the audience

at the
type
moment.
but old
alternated between
fits
of passion and
one eye-brow drawn up and the other
and he used
which was best
to
in
turn that side of his
keeping with his temper
Noses were generally of the
men and
Greek
hook noses,
straight
parasites occasionally had
and the country youth was provided with a snub nose.
Some-
times the ears showed signs of bruises, to denote that the person
had
frequented the boxing-school.
The modern
equivalent
would be a broken nose, but among Greek boxers the ear was
the part principally aimed at.
The above abstract of thd
account in Pollux, together with the illustrations on the previous
page,
will
employed
give
some idea of the
in the later
comedy.
different
styles
of
mask
.
>
THE ACTORS.
240
The costume
sort of shoe,
in
any way \
used
in the
New Comedy was
of the actors in the
as that of ordinary hfe.
[Ch.
The covering
for the foot
which was merely drawn
the
was a
same
light
on, without being tied
Pollux gives a short account of the dresses
New Comedy,
from which
it
appears that particular
colours were appropriated to particular classes-.

White was
worn by old men and slaves, purple by young men, black or
grey by parasites. Pimps had a bright-coloured tunic, and a
variegated mantle.
Old women were dressed in yellow or
light blue, young women and priestesses in white.

Procuresses
wore a purple band round the head. The above statements
are to a certain extent corroborated by the testimony of the
works of
art,
but there are numerous exceptions.
They cannot
therefore be regarded as an exhaustive account of the subject.
Other details of dress and costume are mentioned by Pollux.

Old men carried a staff with a bent handle.
Rustics were
^ This
shoe was called lyiâs in
Greek, and soccus in Latin see Ammon.
:
dedifif.
^
vocab. p. 49; Aristoph. Nub. 85S,
Poll. iv. 119-120.
AND
SPEECH, SONG,
v.]
RECITATIVE.
241
dressed in a leather tunic, and bore a wallet and
carried an
oil
and a flesh-scraper.
flask
tinguished by fringes to their dress.
New Comedy
the costume of the
here
inserted,
7.
The
have been even more

colour of a person's
details in his equip-
scene from a wall-painting
as a specimen
of the style and outward
Speech, Song,
and
Recitative.
profession of acting in ancient times required a great
The words
of a play were partly

was necessary that the actor
should have a knowledge of music, and a carefully cultivated
voice.
He had to combine the qualities of a modern actor with
In fact the Greek drama was not
those of an operatic singer.
unlike a modern comic opera in this particular respect, that it
variety of accomplishments.
spoken and partly sung, and
'
to
New Comedy \
appearance of the
The
dis-
the spectators at once what sort of a character
he was intended to represent.

is
and
Heiresses were
and small
dress, the features of his mask,

tell
and
staff,
straight
Considered as a whole
seems
conventional than that of tragedy.
ment, would
staff,
Pimps had a
occasionally a hunting-net.
it
consisted of a mixture of speaking and of singing.

as to the
mode
in
which the
The
were delivered, and the proportion which speech bore

in the parts of the actors, is a matter of
place there can be
question
different portions of the dialogue
the
first
all
that portion of the dialogue
little
doubt
very great
that,
song
to
interest.
In
with few exceptions,
which was written
in the ordin-
ary iambic trimeter was merely spoken or declaimed, with no
musical accompaniment whatsoever.
by
far
the larger part of
Aristotle in the Poetics
ment.
This of course constituted
the dialogue.
may be
Some remarks
cited in proof of the
above
of
state-
Aristotle expressly says that in certain portions of the
drama there was no music at all. In another place he remarks

that when dialogue was introduced into tragedy, the iambic
trimeter was naturally adopted as the most suitable metre, since
^
The
illustration is
from Monumenti
Inediti, xi. 32.
THE ACTORS,
243
any other ^
'better adapted for being spoken' than
is
it
[Ch.
second argument
is to
be found in the practice of the
Roman
In two of the manuscripts of Plautus there are marks in
stage.
the margin to discriminate between the portions of the play

which were spoken, and the portions which were sung. The
result is to
show
that,
while the rest of the play was sung, the
iambic trimeters were always spoken
was a
close
and
faithful imitation of the
^.
As Roman comedy
Greek,
it
follows almost
as a matter of certainty that the iambic trimeters were spoken
Greek drama
in the
also.
It is
true that in one place Lucian
contemptuously remarks about the tragic

the iambic lines ^'
sionally even sings
actor, that
But
this
he 'occastatement,
very most, cannot be held to prove more than that in
at the
Lucian's time iambic passages were sometimes sung or chanted.

It is
no proof that such a practice ever existed
period.
when
very
It is
in the classical
quite possible that in the second century a.d.,
the chorus had either disappeared from tragedy, or been
much
some of the more emotional portions of
curtailed,
the iambic dialogue
may have been sung
or chanted as a sort
But Lucian himself speaks of the practice with

disapproval, as a sign of bad taste and degeneracy.
There can
of equivalent.
be
little
doubt that in the classical period the ordinary iambic
dialogue was spoken.
The only
exception was in cases where
iambic lines occurred in close connexion with lyrical metres.
For
instance, iambics are
lyrical passage.
with speeches in
Aristot. Poet.
c.
sometimes inserted
6 to Se \(uph roh
eiSeai to 5ia jxirpajv evia fiovov irepaive-
adai Koi
ttclKiv
erepa Sia fiiXovs,
re pLerpov Ik TTpapiTpov
vero-
c.
4 to
iapifiiTov eye-
TO pev yap irpojTov r(Tpap.Tpa)
kxpSjvTo dta TO oaTvpiKTjv koi opxTjOTKoj-
repav c7vai
tî/ TToirjaiv, Xe^cojs de yevo-
avT^ 17 (pvffis to oucfiov p.Tpov

eSpf, pdXiara yap Xcktikov twv piirpajv
TO iap.^Huv hariv aripiuov he tovtov,
irXeiara yap lapêia \eyopi,ev ev ttj dia\eKTO) Ty TTpbs dWrjKovs, eâfxerpa be dXiyd/cis
/xvr]s
in the
midst of a
At other times speeches in iambics alternate

a lyrical metre, and the pairs of speeches are
koX eKSaivovres
^
rrjs KeKTiKrjs apfiovlas.
The mark C
(canticum) denotes the
was sung, DV (diverbium)

the part which was spoken.
These
marks are found in cod. vetus (B), and
cod. decurtatus (C), and the plays in
which they occur are the Trinummus,
Paenolus, Pseudolus, Truculentus, and
part which
parts of others.
677
^
Suv
See Christ, Metrik
p.
ff.
Lucian, de Salt. 27 eviore koi nepiato, iajxPeia.
AND
SPEECH, SONG,
v.]
bound up
into
RECITATIVE,
one metrical system \
243
In such cases no doubt the
iambics were sung, or given in recitative.
But the ordinary
iambic dialogue, and in consequence the greater part of the
was spoken without musical accompaniment.

The only portions of a play which the actors had to sing
were the lyrical passages. In an actor's part the lyrical passages
consisted, in most cases, either of solos, or of joint performances
in which actors and chorus took part alternately.
These solos
and musical duets were in tragedy confined mainly to lamentaIn general it may be said that,
tions and outbursts of griefs.
both in tragedy and comedy, song was substituted for speech
in those scenes where the emotions were deeply roused, and
play,
found their
fittest
expression in music.
In addition to the declamation of the ordinary dialogue, and

the singing of the lyrical passages, there
was
also a third
of enunciation in use upon the Greek stage.

'
parakataloge,* and
was
It
mode
called
came half-way between speech on the one

Its name was due to the fact that
hand, and song on the other.

it
was
allied in character to 'kataloge,' or
corresponded closely to what
It
ordinary declamation.
called recitative in
is
modern
music, and consisted in delivering the words in a sort of chant,

to the
its
On
accompaniment of a musical instrument.
intermediate character
sometimes
'
song.*
It
it
was
was sometimes
called
'
account of
speech,*
and
invented by Archilochus, and
first
employed by him in the delivery of his iambics, which were

partly sung, and partly given in recitative. A special kind of
harp, called the klepsiambos, was originally employed for the
purpose of the accompaniment.
was subsequently
Recitative
introduced into the drama, as Plutarch expressly states^

^
It
Instances of iambics in the midst of
yw.iiovwîiv,ixova)Ua\ Aristot.Poet.c. 12.
be found in Aesch.
171, Aristoph. Acharn.
'ApxiôxosTr]VTwvTpifj.(Tpo:vpv9fj.oirouav
lyrical passages are to
Agam.
1160,
Plut.
Mus.
Iambic passages in strophic ar492.

rangement with lyrics appear in Aesch,
Theb. 203-244, Soph. O. C. 1448-1 504.
^ Songs by the actors were called rd
ruv
la/xPdcuv to
rr^v
Kpovaiv, ra
anbrrj^
ox {mtx2igG.dy) [xovcvhiai.
(paai
Kaiadeiâi,
Musical duets between actors and chorus

were in tragedy called KopLfioi. Suidas
tovs
rpayiKovs
OK-qviis,
irpoaeêvpc
1140P'
p.
aWa
636
kv
kcu
Koi Tr]v irapaKaTaXoyrjv,
kuI rrjv irepl ravra Kpovaiv
R2
fXTjv
ra
S'
fxev
eVt
hi
qSeaOai, 'Apxi-ôxov
elO'
ovtoj
TToirjrds.
oh yap
\ey(a6ai -napa
(cpTjal)
xpl^^^^^*-
Athen. p.
tovs Idfifiovs
THE ACTORS.
244
[Ch.
means of the slight and hazy

upon the subject, what were the particular portions
of a play in which recitative was employed. But there are
certain indications which seem to show that it was used in
the delivery of iambic, trochaic, and anapaestic tetrameters,
not easy to determine, by
is
notices
Thus
and of regular anapaestic dimeters.
distinctly
is
it
recorded of the actor Nicostratus that he gave trochaic
meters
in recitative to the
flute
tetra-
Then
two sets of trochaic tetrameters, which came at the

end of the parabasis, cannot have been sung, as their very
again, the
name
The
implies.
probability therefore
Thirdly, there
in recitative^.
is
is
that they
were given
a passage in the Peace where
the metre changes abruptly from lyrics to trochaic tetrameters
without any break in the sentence
to
mere speech.
It is difficult to
^.
But the transition from song
would have been quite
suppose
was made suddenly from song
that in such a case a transition
feasible.
Fourthly,
it
is
to recitative
asserted that
on those occasions when the speech of an actor was accompanied

by dancing on the part of the chorus, the metres employed
were mostly iambic and anapaestic tetrameters ^ But as it is
impossible, in the case of Greek performers, to imagine dancing
without a musical accompaniment, the verses must have been
given in recitative.
nightingale
and
is
Fifthly, in the parabasis to the Birds the
asked
to lead off the anapaests with the flute
the scholiast remarks that
to the
the parabasis
'
flute ^'
that the anapaestic tetrameters,
KoyiôvTO
TO.
ev
oh
Se irape-
ev rois jXiTpois, KXeipidfi-
fiovs.
Hesych.
^fffxara
fii)
v.
KaraXoyrj'
to
tcL
urro fieKei Xeyeiv.
Xen. Symp.
The two groups
6 cuawep lîKoarpaTos
6 VTTOKpiTî TTpd}iTpa Tipos TOV avXbv
KaTikfyev.
vi.
of trochaic tetra-
were called
and dvTi-nipprjpa.
See Platon.
Dindf. Prolegom. de Comoed. p. 21.
meters
in
parabasis
the
kirlpprjfia
in
Arist.
Pax
171, 11 72.
often spoken
which constitute the parabasis
proper, were given in recitative.

^ôv, la/jLPijKas (fcdkovv
was
This statement means
Lastly, there
*
irpbs
is
the fact that
Schol. Arist. Nub. 1355 ovTa;s\e7oi/

x^P^'^ Xeyeiv, ore tov viroKpiTov
SiariOe/xevov ttjv pTJaiv, 6 xopos ojpxîTO.

Sib koi (KXeyovrai
ws kiriTonXfiaTov kv
rd dvaTraiGTiKa, -q Td lafil3iKd, bid to paSicos
k^nr'nTTUv kv tovtois tov toiovtov pvdfxov.
^ Aristoph. Av. 682-684 dXX', & KaXavXbv (pOeyfxamv qpiXifioav KpeKova'
rois toiovtois rd Terpd/j-eTpa, ^
vols,
Schol.
dpxov
ad
tcDj/
loc.
dvairaiaTOJV,
voXXaKis
Xkyovai rds irapapdaeis.
npbs
and
avXbv
IMPORTANCE OF THE
v.]
the terms
'
speech
'
and
'
song
VOICE,
245
are both used of anapaests, im-
'
For these
plying that they occupied an intermediate position ^
and other similar reasons
employed
in
appears probable that recitative was
it
passages written in the metres already specified,
and anapaestic tetrameters,
that is to say, in iambic, trochaic,
and
regular anapaestic dimeters.
in
certain rare occasions
it
was used
It
seems too
in lyrical
on
that
The
passages ^
instrument employed, in dramatic performances, for the accom-
paniment of the
recitative, as well as for the
was the
the singing generally,
But
been used very frequently*.
The
flute ^
accompaniment of
was found
it
had formerly
l>arp
that the flute,
being a wind-instrument, harmonised better with the
human
However, the harp was occasionally introduced. In

the Frogs Aeschylus calls for the harp, when he is going to
voiced
give a specimen of the lyrics of Euripides.
Similarly, in the
parody of the choruses of Aeschylus, the recurrence of the

refrain
'
phlattothrat
8.
points to an accompaniment on the harp^
Importance of
the
Voice in Greek Acting.
In ancient acting the possession of a fine musical voipe
make
it
stage,
must have been
In the
evident that the voice of the actor, upon the Greek
first
far
more important than
Greek play were

to
The
to
In the
play several parts in succession,
is
it is
described as
called to
wmp
kirl
t^
Itti
reXci kfjofxevoy
far as
the anapaestic
xo/Joi!.
As
tetrameters
are
aSovras
Aristoph. Plut.
in
mark the
essential, therefore, to
kôSqi Tov dpcLfiaTos aSerai in Schol. Arist.

Vesp. 270, and as o eîovres i^Sov in Poll.
But in Dindf. Proll. de Com.
iv. 108.
Tov
at present.
either sung, or delivered in recitative.
exodos, mostly consisting of
anapaests,
p. 37
is
appear sometimes as a man, and sometimes as a woman.
would be
It
it
place a considerable portion of the words in every
second place each actor had
and
was
Several considerations will
a matter of absolute necessity.
concerned,
the
word
1209, and
difference between
that they were not merely spoken
the expression Xeôvras

Equit.
sung.
eirt]
508 proves that they were not

See Christ, Metrik p. 680 if.
^ Aristot. Probl. xix. 6 did ri

KaraXoyfj kv rais wSaTs rpayiKov
^
ij
irapa-
Schol. Arist. Nub. 312, Vesp. 580;
890-892.
Empir. p. 751, 21.
Arist. Eccles.
*
in Aristoph.
Sext.
tcL
Aristot. Probl. xix. 43.
x^P^^ âp-ara,
Aristoph. Ran. 1304, 1286.
Hesych.'s definition of dvaTraiara as

kv Tais irapa^daeai rSiv
show
THE ACTORS.
246
[Ch.
the various personages by a corresponding variety in the tone
and for this purpose an organ of great

In the third
flexibility and compass must have been required.
place the whole character of Greek acting was largely modified
by the costume of the performers. A modern actor adds force
of voice employed
and emphasis
to his speeches
facial expression.
by means of the variety of
his
movement of
the
single glance, a slight
But
to produce a very great effect.
Greek actor this mode of impressing the spectators was
His features bore the same
denied, owing to the use of masks.
Even his gestures, in
settled expression throughout the play.
the case of tragedy, must have been very much restricted, owing
features, is often
enough
to the
to the
cumbersome dress which he had
On
to wear.
account
of these limitations he was compelled to rely mainly upon his

voice for the purpose of expressing
all
Great
the character he represented.
the fleeting emotions of

skill
modulation of his tones were needed
to
and variety
in the
counterbalance the
facial movement.
Lastly, the Greek actor required
enormous power, in order to make himself heard.
When it is remembered that the theatre of Dionysus was in
the open air, and was capable of holding from twenty to
absence of
a voice of
thirty
thousand spectators,
it
will easily
be seen
that, in spite
of the excellence of the acoustic arrangements, the demands
upon the
must have been excessively
actor's voice
these various reasons the
first
and most
Greek actor was a powerful and expressive

As a matter of fact, whenever an actor
ancient author, he
referred
is
to
present day would seem
much more
an operatic singer.
is
which
is
emphasised,
plishments.
And
it
It
little
is
in
great.
For
essential requisite in a
voice.
is
mentioned by an
language which at the
appropriate to a notice of
always the excellence of the voice

regard being paid to other accom-
not so
much
the quality as the strength
is commended.
The highest merit, on the
was to have a voice that could fill the whole
Numberless passages from ancient authors might be
of the voice which
Greek
theatre.
stage,
quoted in proof of this assertion, but a few specimens

suffice.
Of Neoptolemus,
the great tragic actor,
it
is
will
said that
IMPORTANCE OF THE
v.]
had raised him
'his powerful voice'
fession
VOICE.
247
head of his pro-
to the
Licymnius, the actor mentioned in one of the letters
^.
won
of Alciphron,
the prize for acting at a tragic contest on
account of 'his clear and resonant utterance^.'
Dionysius, the
tyrant of Syracuse, on a certain occasion, being covetous of

distinction
as
actors
the
to
despatched a company of
dramatic writer,
Olympic
one of his tragedies.
give
to
festival,
As he wished
performance
was careful to
manner the
hibition should be of the highest excellence, he
choose 'actors with the best voices
emperor Nero prided himself on
^'
of
ensure that the ex-
to
In a similar
his talents as an actor.
He
instituted a tragic contest at the Isthmian festival, in order to
At
'was
were more magnificent than
he won the greatest applause *.' The above passages are
display his powers.

in splendid voice,
ever,
and as
this contest the actor Epeirotes
his tones
Remarks about
in reference to particular actors.
acting in
Demosthenes is reported to
have said that 'actors should be judged by their voices, poliAccording to Zeno an actor was
ticians by their wisdom.'
general are of the same type.
bound
have
to
'
a powerful voice and great strength.'
Aristotle
defines the science of acting as being 'concerned with the

voice,
and the mode of adapting
different
Lucian
passions.'
with their beautiful voices' from

is
expression of the
is
're-
Plato would expel 'the actors
sponsible for his voice only.'
there
to the
it
remarks that the actor

ideal
his
Finally
stated
the curious fact recorded by Cicero, that in the per-
formance of a Greek play, when the actors of the second and

third parts
'
had louder voices
'
than the protagonist, they used
moderate and restrain their tones,
to
'
Diod. Sic.
TpayqjSos,
Koi
^
T77
92 NeoTrroXf/ios o
xvi.
irpomvctiv
fifyaXocpcuvia
rrj
(p(iivri%
*
iii.
48
ropoj rivi koi 7670;-
voT(p<v ^cvvrjfJLaTi XPV^^H'^^^^'

^ Diod. Sic. XV.
7 eâireareiXe roiis ei-
{pcuvoTaTovsrajv vTTOKpiTav
ovToi 8 TO
iywv ^vhoKiyiwv
,
(xa^6fj.evos Xaf/.-npoTepa
So^rj.
Alciph.
order to leave him the
in
Plut.
Laert.
vii.
8vvapi.iv
iii.
I.
tovs viroKpi-
jxkv
Diog.
r^v
Aristot. Rhet,
<pojvTjv
koi
fiovrjs
lirevOvvov napex'^^ kavTov.
TOVS aKovovTas.
Legg. 817
Nero 90S' 'HTretpwTJ^s apiOTa
rijv
ttjs (pojvfjs.
pKydXrjv ex^"'.
cpcuvijs
Lucian,
20
848
Ik
avrr^ koX Qax-
cIojOotos.
Lucian, de Salt. 27
fiV rrpcoTov Sia t-^v (vcpojviau kîirXrjTTOV
orat. p.
rets ecpt] SeTv Kpiveiv
V i-n
rod
KaXXi<p(tivoi vTTOKpnai.
rrfs
Plat.
THE ACTORS,
248
[Ch.
These passages, and others of the same kind
pre-eminence \
which might be quoted, read like notices about operatic singers

and musical performances, and prove conclusively the supreme
importance of the voice among the ancient Greek actors.
The
principal reason was the immense size of the theatres, which

Hence in critical
could only be filled by voices of great power.
notices of actors the strength of the voice is more regarded
than
its quality.
Such being the requirements of the Greek
stage,
was
it
necessary that the actors should receive a musical education as

that of a
elaborate as
professional
modern
singer in
times.
Cicero informs us that the Greek tragic actors spent

.
many
years in the training of their voices, and used to test them,

before each performance, by running over
the highest to the lowest
stemious in their
found
good
They were ready
the voice.
taste
by intruding
to catch the
into their
the manipulation of
skill in
applause of the popu-
startling effects, such as imitations of the rushing of
streams, the roaring of seas, and the cries of animals \

over,
it
was
Actors were some-
beneficial in its results.
to violate
inclined
by
be careful and ab-
as excess in eating and drinking
performances mere exhibitions of

lace
from
their notes
all
to
attached to this particular quality in the actor's
was not always
times
They had
be inconsistent with the possession of a good voice ^
to
The importance
art
diet,
"^
common
v/as a
fault
among
More-
the ancient actors that, as
a result of excessive training, their voices sounded
artificial
and unnatural. There was a special term to denote the forced

tpne of voice which was caused by too much exercise. Aristotle
remarks that one of the principal excellencies of the tragic actor
Theodorus was the thoroughly natural character of his delivery.
Unlike other actors he seemed to speak with his own voice ^
^
mittere, ut ille
quum
Plut.
Aristot. Rhet.
veiv
iroiovuTas,
TreTrXao'/ieVcyy
excellat.
^
Cic. de Orat.
Aristot.
343 E.
Aud. Poet. 18
possit
multum sumprinceps quam maxime
Cic. div. in Caecil. 48
aliquanto clarius dicere
i.
Probl.
^ (deodwpov
251.
xi.
22;
Athen. p.
iii.
koi
dX\d
(po:vT)
B.
2
fxr)
bib
5h \av9d\eyav
SokcTv
irecpvKoTOJS
otov
iriTTovOe irpos rr)v tSjv
dWoJv vnoKpiTcuv ^
fiev
ros ioiKfv fJvai, at
dXKorpiai.
S'
yap tov Keyov-
STYLE OF GREEK ACTING,
v.]
Style of Greek Acting,
9.
Both
tragic
in
distinct utterance
comedy
249
and comic acting a loud and exceedingly

must have been a matter of necessity. But in
the tone of voice adopted appears, as
was only
natural,
have been much less sonorous than that of the tragic actors,
to
and
have approached much more closely to the style of
to
ordinary conversation
In tragedy on the other hand
^.
it
was
the conventional practice to declaim the verses with a loud and
ringing intonation, and to
fill
the theatre with a deep volume of
Ancient authors often refer to the sonorous utterances
sound.
With bad
of the tragic stage ^
actors the practice
degenerate into mere bombast.
such exaggeration.
whom
the tragic actors with
country districts
Ranters
of Attica,
from a
'
easily
and 'bellowing,' which were applied
epithets such as 'booming'

to actors guilty of
would
Pollux mentions a series of

Socrates and Simylus,
Aeschines went on tour in the

derived their
fault of this
nickname of 'the
kind ^
Another point which was required from ancient actors was

great distinctness in the articulation of the separate words, and
a careful observance of the rhythm and metre of the verses.
In this respect the Athenians were a most exacting audience.
Cicero
'
speaks
of their
taste \'
had a much keener ear

be
found
in
and a
poetry,
IX6V iKiivojv Kal iKôl Kal
fipaxvTepoi
dvOpojmvwTfpot
eTrei
Se i^dpas
vby hcpOkyâro
r^v
<pojvr]v
Alciphron,
iii.
their
general
is
recitation
fact
to
of
yeyoj-
48 rop^
that,
knew nothing about
rivi nal
/xevos
yeycovoTepcjj
Lucian,
1.
c.
the
(pcuvrj/MTi XPV^^See also the pas-
sages quoted on p, 247.

^
Pollux
acting, says
(iv. 1 1 4),
eiirois 5'
speaking of tragic
dv âpvarovos vtto-
KpiT7]s, ôfiPSiv, irepifiofxûiv,
Philostrat. vit. Apoll. v. 8 (p. 171
Kayser)
slovenly
remarks on the
people
Kol ?iTrov ffioouv.

^
Cicero
of the
ol be KcofxcvSoi
in
emphasise the metre, would not have
failure to
* Lucian, Anachar. c. 23 avroX h\ {ol

TpaywSol) jjieydXa t kneKpayfaav Kal
SiePaivou ovk old' oircos aaâkSjs kv toTs
.
ear,'
melody of verse than
theatre.
been tolerated by them.
vnoSrjixaai
Ancient audiences
for the
modern
though the mass
and scrupulous
'refined
sound and uncorrupted
Xapvyyi^cov, (papvyyi^cov.
262.
*
Cic. Orat. 25, 27.
XrjKvdiâv,
Dem. de
Cor.
THE ACTORS.
250
[Ch;
theory of versification, their instinctive feeling for rhythmical
He
utterance was wonderfully keen.
says that
if
an actor
should spoil the metre in the slightest degree, by making a

mistake about a quantity, or by dropping or inserting a syllable,
there would be a storm of disapproval from the audience
such sensitiveness
common enough
claimed as
if it
is
to
be found
at the present
were prose.
modern
in
day
to
theatres.
No
^.
It
is
hear blank verse de-^
But among the ancient Greeks
the feeling for correctness of rhythm in poetical recitations
was
just as instinctive as is the feeling for correctness of tune
among ordinary
actor in
musical audiences at the present time.
a Greek theatre
made a
slip
in
the metre
If
an
of his
was regarded in much the same way as a note out

of tune would be regarded in a modern concert-room. As a
verses,
it
consequence the mode of declamation practised on the ancient

stage must have been
are
now accustomed
much more rhythmical than anything we

to,
and the pauses and movements of the
metre must have been much more clearly emphasised.
The use of appropriate gesture, in the case of Greek acting,

was especially important, since facial expression was prevented
by the mask, and the actor had to depend solely on the tones of
In comedy,
his voice, and the effectiveness of his movements.
as might be expected, the gesticulation was of a free and unconstrained character, and is exemplified in numerous works
of
art.
In tragedy, on the other
made
hand,
the nature of the
movements impossible.
Even if they had been possible, they would have been inconThe world of Greek
sistent with the tone of the tragic stage.
tragedy was an ideal world of heroes and demigods, whose
nature was grander and nobler than that of human beings.
The realistic portrayal of ordinary human passions was foreign
to the purpose of Greek tragedy.
Scenes of physical violence,
such as the forcible seizure of Antigone by Creon, were of
To be in harmony with this elevation of
rare occurrence.
tone it was necessary that the acting should be dignified and
actor's dress
rapid and violent
Cic. de Orat.
iii.
195, 196, Parad. 26.
THE ACTORS'
v.]
of the
gestures
certain
gracefulness of pose accompanied
statuesque simplicity and

the
251
Violent movements were avoided.
self-restrained.
all
GUILD.
tragic
On
actor.
and
long
the
narrow stage the figures were arranged in picturesque and

striking groups, and the successive scenes in the play presented
The
to the eye of the spectator a series of artistic tableaux.
representations of tragic scenes and personages in ancient works
of art are characterised by a certain dignity and repose which

call to
mind the creations of the sculptor. This sober and rewas developed under the influence of
strained style of acting
Aeschylus and Sophocles during the great period of Attic tragedy.

In later times a certain tendency to realism and exaggeration in
the gestures and the
movements began
to
of the fourth century were censured by
degraded the
from
art of acting
its
show itself The
many
former high
level,
actors
having
critics for
and
for
having introduced a style which was unworthy of the dignity of

Callippides was called an ape by the old actor
the tragic stage.
Mynniscus
manner*.
because
exaggerated vehemence
of the
But as the
tragic costume, with
paniments, was retained with
little
of his
unwieldy accom-
its
alteration,
must have
it
prevented any great advance in the direction of realism and
freedom of movement.
on the whole
to
The
statuesque style of acting continued
be characteristic of the tragic stage, and was
indeed the only proper style for Greek tragedy.
10.
The Actors' Guild.
In the course of the fourth century the members of the

theatrical profession at
for the
importance.
of Dionysus.
musicians
^
Athens formed themselves
all
The members
of the guild were called
Poets, actors,
and chorus-singers,
When
belonged to the guild.
Aristot. Poet. c. 26
17
fiiv
ovv rpa-
ycuSia roiavr-q kariv, clj Koi ol irpuTepov

roi/s
into a guild,
purpose of protecting their interests and increasing their
varipovs avrujv wovto viroKpiras W9

,
86â Kal
rr(pl
it
The
Artists
trainers,
and
came
into
first
TlivSapov ^v
(ira ovde
Kivrjais diraca diroSoKi/xacrTea, direp
opxrjais, dAA.'
(pavXoJV,
ovep Kal
Xiav yap virfpfidWovra mO-qKov 6 Mvv-
niSri
vicKos Tov KaWnrniSrjv kKaKu, TOiavTt] di
kXfvdepas yvvaiKas /iifiov/xevwy.
kirerifidTo Kal
firjd'
KaWnr-
vvv dXKois ws ovk
THE ACTORS,
25a
existence
is
known
not
type of the guild
but
time of Aristotle, by
The
club,
whom
rate
it is
is
said to have
which may have been the proto-
possible that there
it is
At any
between the two.
Sophocles
for certain.
formed a sort of literary
[Ch.
was
it
was no connexion
fully established in the
mentioned ^
guild was of great value in maintaining and enforcing the
various privileges of the
members of
the theatrical profession.
These were of two kinds. In the first place actors were permitted
to travel through foreign and hostile states for the purpose of
giving dramatic performances. Even in time of war their persons
and property were ensured from violation. Owing to this custom
the actors Aristodemus and Neoptolemus were able to travel
frequently to and fro between Athens and Macedonia during
the height of the war, and to assist materially in the negotiation
of the peace ^
In the
second
place
actors
claimed
to
be
exempt from naval and military service, in order to pursue

their professional avocations in
Athens and elsewhere.
In the
time of Demosthenes this immunity from service was occa-
had not yet hardened into an invariable

Demosthenes mentions the cases of two members of
the theatrical profession who were severely punished for
avoiding military service. One of them was Sannio the chorussionally granted, but
custom.
trainer,
also
is
and the other was Aristides the chorus-singer. Meidias

most strenuous exertions to pre-
said to have used the
vent the chorus of Demosthenes from being exempted from

service
^.
At
this time therefore
it
seems that such immunity was
sometimes granted and sometimes

Artists of Dionysus
not.
Later on the Guild of
succeeded in getting the Amphictyonic
Council to pass a decree, by which the Athenians were bound

as a religious obligation to grant exemption from military service
to all
members
of the theatrical profession.
In the same decree
the duty of allowing them a safe passage through their territories

was enforced upon the Greek nation generally. This decree
was renewed towards the beginning of the third century at the
*
tK
Vit.
tSjv
Soph, rais 5^ Mouaats diaaov
Aristot. Probl.
nxv^Tî'
avvayaytiv.
xxx. lo oi AiovvaiaKot
'^
irfiraidfvixivMJ/
Dem. Fals. Leg.

Dem. Meid. 15,
3I5
58-60.
THE ACTORS'
v.]
request of the Guild.
GUILD.
253
copy of the decree was engraved on
stone and erected in the theatre at Athens, and has fortunately
been preserved \
will
be of
A translation
of the more important passages
throwing light upon the position of the
interest, as
profession at Athens.
theatrical
ran as follows
It
'
It
was
resolved by the Amphictyonic Council that security of person
and property, and exemption from arrest during peace and war,
be ensured to the artists of Dionysus at Athens
that
;
they enjoy that exemption from military service and that personal
security which has previously been granted to them by the
whole Greek nation; that the artists of Dionysus be exempt
from naval and military service, in order that they may hold the
appointed celebrations in honour of the gods at the proper

seasons, and be released from other business, and consecrated
to the service of the
an
due
gods
that
it
be unlawful to arrest or seize
of Dionysus in time of war or peace, unless for debt
artist
to a city or a private
person
that if an artist be arrested in
violation of these conditions, the person
who
arrests him,
and
the city in which the violation of the law occurs, be brought to
account before the Amphictyonic Council
Amphictyonic Council
perpetual
to the artists of
that the secretaries cause a
engraved on a stone
pillar
that the
from service and personal security which
immunity
granted by the
is
Dionysus
at
Athens be
copy of this decree
and erected
in
the temple,
to
be
and
another sealed copy of the same to be sent to Athens, in order

to
show
the Athenians that the Amphictyonic Council are deeply
concerned
in the
observance of religious duties
at
Athens, and
are ready to accede to the requests of the artists of Dionysus,
and
to ratify their present privileges,
benefits
upon them as may be
and confer such other
possible.'
In this decree
it
is
very noticeable that dramatic performances are treated throughout as religious observances in honour of the gods, and the
members of
the theatrical profession are regarded as ministers
consecrated to the service of the gods.
The maintenance
of
their privileges is therefore a religious obligation in
which the
The
religious
Amphictyonic
Council
^
is
deeply interested.
Corp. Inscr. Att.
ii.
551.
I^HE ACTORS.
ii54
drama has already been pointed
character of the old Greek
commencement
out at the
[Ch.
of the
first
chapter.
Another inscription has been preserved referring

Athenian Guild of Artists of Dionysus\
to
the
appears that the
It
Guild had a sacred enclosure and altar
were accustomed
at Eleusis, where they

Demeter and Kore at the
During the disturbances of
to offer libations to
time of the Eleusinian mysteries.
was dismantled, and the yearly
the Sullan campaigns the altar

celebrations discontinued.
The
inscription is a decree of the
Guild thanking a certain Philemon for his exertions in restoring

the altar and renewing the annual ceremonies.
From
the time of the fourth century onwards guilds of actors
similar to that at Athens
were rapidly formed
throughout the Greek-speaking world.
in various places
In this
way
the master-
Greek tragedy were made familiar to the most remote

But it is
districts to which Greek civilisation had penetrated.
beyond the scope of the present work to trace the progress of
pieces of
the Greek
drama outside the
limits of
Athens and
Attica.
Social position of Actors,
II.
In Greece the profession of the actor was an honourable one,
and there was no suspicion of degradation about
was
in
Rome^.
regarded as ministers of religion.

at
poets and choregi.
and
in
as there
In the dramatic exhibitions
Athens the actors were placed on the same
archives,
it,
Actors and other dramatic performers were
Their names were recorded
level as the
in the public
commemorative
acting were established side
between the poets.
It is
tablets; and competitions in

by side with the competitions
true that Aeschines
is
very frequently
taunted by Demosthenes with his theatrical career, but the

taunts are due to the
fact,
not that he was an actor, but that
he was an unsuccessful one.
Actors
at the
head of their pro-
tragic actor) huic genus et fortuna ho-
nesta erant

Corn. Nep. praef. 5 in scaenam
vero prodire et populo esse spectaculo
nemini in iisdem gentibus fuit turpidudini.
Livy xxiv. 24 (of Ariston the
nee
ars,
apud Graecos pudori

bat.
quia nihil tale

est,
ea deforma.-
SOCIAL POSITION OF ACTORS.
v.]
2^^
fession occupied a very distinguished position.
Aristodemus,
was on two occasions sent as ambassador

Macedon by the Athenians, and was largely instrumental
the tragic actor,
The
negotiating the peace \
Neoptolemus were frequently

Thessalus and Athenodorus
the
at
the
at
in
much
great Athenian actors were
sought after by the monarchs of the time.
to
Aristodemus and
and
court
of
Philip,
court
of
Alexander^.
Thessalus was a great favourite with Alexander, and was

employed by him on delicate missions I The leading actors
seem to have made large incomes. For instance, Polus told

Demosthenes that he was paid a talent for acting during two
days only'*. It is not stated whether the performance to which
he refers took place
probability
it
was
show what
to
Athenian
As
in
salaries
or elsewhere;
Athens,
at
some
There
foreign state.
were paid
but
is
in
all
no evidence
to the actors at the great
festivals.
for the lower ranks
of the profession, the tritagonists,
chorus-singers, musicians, and so on, though there
dishonourable about their
calling,
was nothing
their reputation
does not
seem to have been very high. Their strolling and uncertain

manner of life seems to have had a bad effect upon their
character.
Aristotle, in his Problems, asks the question
He
character?
why
Dionysus are generally men of bad
that the artists of
is
it
thinks the reason
is
partly due to the vicis-
situdes in their fortunes, and the rapid alternations between
luxury and poverty, partly to the

duties
left
them no time
fact that their professional
His remarks of
for general culture^.
course apply mainly to the lower grades of the profession.
12.
Celebrated Athenian Actors.
Before concluding this account of Greek acting some notice of

the principal
^
Aesch. Fals. Leg. 15-19
de Cor.
2
Greek actors may not be out of
Dem.
;
Dem.
21.
315, de Pace
Diod. Sic. xvi. 92 ; Plut. Alex.
681 D.
Fals. Leg.
place.
Plut. Alex. 669
Plut.
N. A.
xi, 9,
orat.
p.
gives the
848 B.
Gellius,
same story about
Aristodemus.
^
Unfortu-
D.
Aristot. Probl. xxx. 10.
THE ACTORS.
2^6
nately in most cases
little
more
[Ch.
known about them than
is
their
Several tragic actors of the fifth century are referred to
names.
writers, such as
by ancient
Cleander and Mynniscus, the actors
of Aeschylus, and Cleidemides and Tlepolemus, the actors of
But no
Sophocles \
and
characteristics
details are recorded as to their individual
different
One
styles.
known about Mynniscus, to the
interesting fact
is
he considered the
effect that
acting of his successors as deficient in dignity and over- realistic.
He was
especially severe
upon
Callippides, the representative
of the younger generation of actors ^

notorious for his conceit.
On
This Callippides was
one occasion, when he was giving
himself airs in the presence of Agesilaus the Spartan, he was

considerably disconcerted by being asked by the latter whether
Callippides the pantaloon ^'
Another tragic actor of

same period was Nicostratus, who was especially excellent
he was
the
in his delivery of the long narrative speeches of the messengers.
His
style
was so
perfect that to 'do a thing like Nicostratus'
came to be a proverbial expression for doing it rightly

But it was in the age of Demosthenes that the most celeAmong them was
brated group of tragic actors flourished.
Polus of Aegina, who was considered to be the greatest actor of
"*.
his time,
and whose name
He was
later writers.
having
taught
sevent}',
is
very frequently referred to by
one of the actors who had the credit of
elocution
he performed the
his death,
of acting eight tragedies in four days^
about him to the following
told
is
At the age of
Demosthenes ^
to
and shortly before
feat
well-known story
Soon
effect.
after
the
death of a favourite son, he happened to be acting the part of

Electra in
Electra
the play of Sophocles.
takes
her hands
in
In
scene in which
the
urn supposed
the
to
contain
the ashes of Orestes, and pours forth a lamentation over his
came upon the stage with the urn containing the
death, Polus
ashes of his
^
803,
Vit.
Aesch.
own
;
son,
and holding
Schol. Aristoph. Ran.
Nub. 1267.
Aristot. Poet.
Xen. Symp. iii. 11

Pint. Ages. p.
D dWd oil avye kaal KaWiinridas 6
c.
26.
;
hands proceeded
to
Macar. Cent.
607
in his
it
deiKijXifcras
iii.
46;
Prov. Coisl.
124.
Rhet. Graec.
vi. p.
Plut.
an
785 C.
sen.
35 (Walz).
CELEBRATED ATHENIAN ACTORS.
v.]
act the scene with such
profound depth of feeling as to produce
the greatest impression upon the audience.
As
Gellius remarks,
was no fiction, but a reality \

the great actors of this time was Theodorus, about
Another of
the acting in this case
The exceedingly
facts are recorded.

livery,
257
whom
a few
natural tone of his de-
and his habit of never permitting any of the subordinate
actors to appear
been referred
to.
difficult to act in
upon the stage before
He
himself, have already
considered that tragedy was
much more
than comedy, and once told the comic actor
was easy enough to make an audience laugh, but

to make them weep was the difficulty^.
His own powers in this
respect were very great.
Once when acting in Thessaly he
produced such an effect upon the brutal tyrant Alexander of
Pherae, that Alexander was compelled to leave the theatre,
because, as he afterwards told Theodorus, he was ashamed to
be seen weeping over the sufferings of an actor, while he was
perfectly callous about those of his countrymen ^.
The tomb of
Theodorus, close to the banks of the Cephisus, was still to be
Satyrus that
it
seen in the time of Pausanias ^.
The
other leading tragic actors of this period were Aristo-
demus, Neoptolemus, Thessalus, and Athenodorus.
The two
former were frequently at the court of Philip, and took a

large part in bringing about the peace of Philocrates.
They
are therefore denounced by Demosthenes as traitors to their
Neoptolemus
country,
and advocates of Philip's
was the
actor who, at the banquet held in Philip's palace on
interests^.
the day before his assassination, recited
a passage out of a
tragedy bearing upon the uncertainty of
human
fortune, and
power of death. The fact was afterwards remembered as an ominous coincidence ^ Thessalus and Athenodorus were often rivals.
At T^re, after the return of
Alexander from Egypt, they were the principal competitors in
the great tragic contest, in which the kings of Cyprus were the
choregi, and the chief generals of the army acted as judges.
the inexorable
N. A.
Gell.
Plut. de se laud. 545 F.

Ael. Var. Hist. xiv. 40.
vii. 5.
*
'
Pausan. i. 37. 3.
See above, p. 255.
Diod. Sic. xvi. 92.
THE ACTORS.
258
On
Athenodorus won,
this occasion
ander,
who
said he
to the great grief of Alex-
would have given a part of
his
kingdom
have ensured the victory of Thessalus \ The same two actors
to
were also competitors at the City Dionysia in the year 341, but
both of them were then beaten by Neoptolemus ^
Among
the Greeks the distinction between the tragic and the
comic actors was as complete as that between the tragic and

comic poets
There are no instances during the
^,
classical
period of an actor attempting both branches of the profession.

Still
less is
recorded about the great comic actors than about
the actors of tragedy.
few names are mentioned, but there
almost a total absence of details concerning their style and
is
We are told that one of Hermon's jests was to

knock the heads of his fellow-actors with a stick, and that
mannerisms.
Parmenon was celebrated for his skill in imitating the grunting

hog^ Interesting criticisms on the acting and the actors
in comedy are unfortunately nowhere to be found.
of a
D.
Plut. Alex. 681
Corp. Inscr. Att.

Plat. Rep. 395 B
ii.
KpiToi KO)fi(vdois TCKal rpayajSots otavroi.
973.
ov8i toi vrro-
dW
Schol. Aristoph.
Aud. Poet. 18 B.
Nub. 542
Plut.
CHAPTER VL
THE CHORUS.
The
History of
I.
history of the chorus in the
gradual decay.
still
the
a history of
continued for a time to play the leading part.
But from the beginning of the

in
is
when both tragedy and

members of the chorus were the
After the introduction of actors and dialogue
sole performers.
dwindle
Greek drama
In the earliest period,
comedy were mainly lyrical,

the chorus
Chorus.
the
century
fifth
importance, until at length
entirely from comedy,
and sank even
of the band in a modern theatre.
in
As
it
it
began slowly to
disappeared almost
tragedy to the position

far as
tragedy
is
con-
cerned the process of decline can be traced with clearness in

the existing dramas.
place there
is
assigned to the chorus

to
It
takes two distinct forms.
in the
withdraw the chorus from
second place there
all active
first
Greek
is
a tendency
participation in the plot.
First, as to the length of the choral part.
oldest of existing
no
In the
a gradual diminution in the length of the part
In the Supplices, the
tragedies, the part of the chorus forms
less than three-fifths of the
whole composition.
In the other
plays of Aeschylus, with the exception of the Prometheus, the
average length of the choral part

tragedies of Sophocles the size
is
is
nearly a half.
In the
very much reduced.
The
choral part in Sophocles varies from about a quarter of the
whole
in the
Ajax and the Antigone

S 2
to
about a seventh in the
THE CHORUS,
26o
[Ch.
In Euripides
Electra and Philoctetes.
varies from about
it
a quarter in such plays as the Bacchae and Alcestis to about a

ninth in the Orestes.
the
fifth
It
appears therefore that in the course of
century the part of the chorus was gradually but conIn the second place, side by side
tinuously reduced in size.
with the diminution in bulk, there was a constant tendency to
diminish the importance of the chorus by severing
nexion with the
con-
its
In the lyrical tragedies of the earliest
plot.
period the chorus was no doubt on most occasions the principal

object of interest,
This
the piece.
of the plot
is
It
some of
conduct of
the extant tragedies
the destiny of the fugitive maidens

their adventures
is
audience
the
who form
the
in
Eumenides the
little
signifi-
interest centres chiefly
round the conduct and feelings of the chorus of Erinyes.

in the other plays of
much
the
and the
same
Aeschylus the chorus begins
position as
it
was brought
to take
But
very
occupies in the plays of vSophocles,
earlier plays of Euripides.
Attic tragedy
the
which excite the sympathy of
the other characters are of very
Again
cance.
the case in
is still
in the
In the Supplices, for instance, the whole subject
of Aeschylus.
chorus.
and took the leading part
It
was
at this
period that
to its highest perfection,
and the
question as to the proper place of the chorus in the plot was
solved in the manner most consistent with the genius of the

In Sophocles, in most of the later plays of
Greek drama.
Aeschylus, and the earlier plays of Euripides, the chorus perDuring the progress of the
forms two distinct functions.
dialogue
it
plays the part of a sympathetic witness, following
the course of the action with the keenest interest, but seldom
actively interfering.
Its
general character
class of ordinary citizens.

fill
up the pauses
tone.
It
is
that of the better
But during the choral odes which
in the action
it
takes an altogether higher
then becomes the mouthpiece of the poet, uttering in
sublime language reflexions upon the events which have just

taken place, and expounding the hidden purposes of the gods.
Such
is
tragedy.
the position of the chorus in the best period of Greek

It
is
altogether subordinated
seldom takes a prominent part
in
to
the actors,
and
the incidents of the play.
HISTORY OF THE CHORUS,
VI.]
But
at the
same
whether
time,
acting the part of a sym-
is
it
261
pathetic spectator, or serving merely as the mouthpiece of the
have a distinct reference
poet, all its utterances
which
is
is
The
introduced.
fully
the plot
dialogue and the choral element are
But
interwoven into one harmonious whole.
tragedies of Euripides the position of the chorus
much
to
Nothing irrelevant
being worked out upon the stage.
for the worse.
tendency
is
skil-
in the later
altered very
observable to sever
is
all
connexion between the chorus and the action of the play.

Choral odes are introduced, which have no particular reference
tragedy, but
to the individual
tendency was carried
still
merely of picturesque
consist
of scenes from
descriptions
the
mythology.
ancient
further by Agathon,
This
whose choral
odes were professedly mere interludes, and might be transferred from one play to another.
His example was followed by
the later tragic poets, so that in the course of the fourth century
the tragic chorus
came
modern times \
Its
to
occupy the position of the band
functions were
limited
to
the
in
duty of
providing music and singing between the several acts of a
The
tragedy.
was very similar;
history of the comic chorus
but the steps of the process cannot be traced in detail, since the
works of only one comic poet have been preserved.
In the
Plutus, the last of the extant comedies of Aristophanes, the
chorus
is
already reduced to the very slightest proportions.
In the
Soon afterwards it practically disappeared.
Comedy, which was essentially a comedy of every-day
chorus would have been altogether out of place ^
Aristot. Poet.
Platonius ap. Dindf. Prolegom. de
Comoed.
p.
KcunaSias.
c. 18.
20 tu/v yap x^PVy^^
X'îpoTovoviiivojv Kal
twu
xopfV7"a)i'
f^V
ovK
ixovrcuj/ ras Tpo(pas vn^r)p46Tj rijs Kcopcvbias TO, xopiKo. p-iKr}, Kal
6 TpoTTOS p.TPkr)6r],
-p.
tmv
viroOeacoov
21 Kol ras irapa-
/Sacrets iraprjTriaavTO, 5ia
to tovs x^Rovs
Anon, de
(mXfiifai, xoprjytoy ovk ovtojv.
Comoed.
ap. Dindf.
I.e.
yap vnoOeaiv ovk
dX-qOi}
earepTjTai,
TrJ9
oirtp
p.
ex^h
27
7171'
''ôt
vecoripas
re
x^P^^
virrjpx^
in
position
Apparently, however, some
sort of a chorus
duced
New
life,
the
was occasionally
New Comedy,
intro-
but
its
was altogether subordinate and
See vit. Aristoph. (Dindf.

ProU. de Com. p. 36) irdKiv 5e (k\\oittotos Kal tov x^PVY^^^ '''^^ n\ovTov
ypaxpas (h to diavairavcaOai rci (TKrjviKa
insignificant.
irpoacuira
Kal
peT((TKva(x9ai,
eiriypdcpfi
X^P^^> (pOiyyofxevos kv iKtivois a Kal

opwpev tovs veovs ovtok (inypd(povTas
Cv^V
'
ApicrTocpdvovs.
THE CHORUS,
262
Size of the Chorus,
2.
The
[Cfi.
tragic chorus, being a direct
descendant of the old dithy-
rambic choruses, originally consisted of
fifty
members \
After
connexion between tragedy and the dithyramb had been
all
severed, the
number of
reduced to twelve.
It
to the practice of
due
time.
It is
the choreutae in a tragic chorus
each poet exhibiting four tragedies
supposed that the original chorus of
as equally as possible
was
has been suggested that this number was
among
fifty
at a
was divided
the four tragedies, so that each
chorus came to consist of twelve members.
The
conjecture
is
a plausible one, but cannot be regarded as certain, owing to the

scantiness of our information concerning the early history of
The
tragedy.
until
size
of the tragic chorus remained
and
the time of Sophocles,
in
all
Aeschylus twelve choreutae are employed.

the number from twelve
to fifteen
unaltered
the earlier plays of
Sophocles raised
After his time there was
",
no further change, and during the remaining period of the Attic

tragic chorus was always composed of fifteen per-
drama the
The
sons.
various technical terms which refer to the arrange-
ment of the
that
it
is
tragic
chorus are
a chorus of
fifteen.
the innovation of Sophocles

later
plays.
The
ten years after the
Oresteia
first
But there
is
based on the supposition

not quite certain whether
was adopted by Aeschylus in his

of Aeschylus was brought out
appearance of Sophocles
been contended that the chorus
members.
all
It is
in this trilogy
hardly sufficient evidence
mine the matter with any certainty ^

^
no. Pollux further states

number continued to be fifty
the Eumenides of Aeschylus was
Poll. iv.
that the
until
and
produced; and that the people were

so alarmed at the sight of the fifty
Erinyes that they passed a law reducing the number ofthe tragic chorus.
The story is of course a fiction, on a
par with the statement in the Life, that
Aeschylus was banished to Sicily as a

punishment for terrifying the people
it
has
contained fifteen
to
However on
deter-
general
with his Eumenides.

^
Suid. v. ô(pofcXT}s
Vit.
Soph.
p. 2
Dindf.
^ The decision ofthe question
depends
on the passage in the Agamemnon, vv.
1344-1371. There is no doubt that the
twelve iambic couplets, 1348-1371, were
delivered by twelve choreutae.
The
difficulty is to decide whether the three
trochaic
tetrameters, 1344, 1346, and

1347, were delivered by three additional
SIZE OF THE CHORUS.
VI.]
grounds
it
seems probable that Aeschylus should have followed
example of Sophocles.
the
263
At any
number of
was of
that after the middle of the fifth century the
choreutae was fixed at fifteen
same
The
^.
no doubt
rate there is
satyric chorus
the
the
tragic a natural result of the intimate con-
size as the
The comic
nexion between tragedy and the satyric drama ^

chorus, throughout
all
the period with which
we
invariably consisted of twenty-four members.
are acquainted,
All the authorities
are unanimous on the subject \
The
Greek drama was regulated by

and no alteration was ever made to suit the
size of the chorus in the
invariable custom,
For
requirements of a particular play.

plices of
instance, in the Sup-
Aeschylus the number of the Danaides was
the chorus consisted of only twelve maidens,

the
fifty,
but
did duty for
Again, in the Eumenides the proper number of the
fifty.
chorus should have been three,
adhered
who
if
the legend had been accurately
But the number of Erinyes was raised from three
to.
to twelve or fifteen in order to
keep up the ordinary size of the
In this respect, as usual, the Greeks were careless
chorus.
about minute accuracy.
3.
The costume
information
is
Costume of
of the chorus
is
not very copious.
by the coryphaeus. Either

plausible, and it seems impos-
Chorus.
the
a subject in regard to which the
Masks were
585.
view
in Vit.
is
sible to
further
Schol.
determine the matter without

The statement of
evidence.
Arist.
chorus in the
in
number,
is
Equit,
586,
that
Agamemnon was
the
fifteen
merely an inference from
The statethe passage just referred to.

ment of Schol. Aesch. Eum. 585, that
rovs aarvpovs
de Com.
the
same
case
is
number was
as in later times.
In neither
the evidence of any independent
value.
1
Fifteen
is
the
number given
in Poll.
109; Suid. v. xopos; Schol. Arist. Av.

298, P:quit. 586 ; Schol. Aesch. Eum.
iv.
p. 746;
ad Lycophron, p.
254 M. The explanation of the discrepancy lies in the fact that when the
chorus is said to consist of fourteen
members the coryphaeus is not included,
^ Xzetzes 1.
c. r^v l\ rpaya^Siav koI
simply grounded on
is
worn by
given as fourteen
Aesch.; Bekk. Anecd.
la' (? 18').
of fifteen persons,
is
Tzetzes, Prolegom.
the chorus in the Eumenides consisted
the assumption that the
universally
The number
choreutae, or
Id.
fxev exîv
x^P^VTas
apud Dubner, Prolegom.
p. xxiv.
TpayofSias.
wrong
eiricrrjs
eKKaiSeKa 5e aaTvpcuv,
Though
the
in both passages,
numbers are
it is
plain that
the tragic and satyric choruses were of

the
same
size.
Poll.
iv.
298,
109
Acham. 210;
746, &c., &c.
Schol. Arist.
A v.
Bekk. Anecd.
p.
THE CHORUS,
264
the chorus, as well as by the actors
[Ch.
upon the stage ^
The
tragic
chorus was usually composed of old men, or women, or maidens.
wore the ordinary Greek dress, consisting of

No attempt was made to give them an
impressive appearance by the use of strange and magnificent
costumes, similar to those worn by the actors. Such costumes
In such cases they
a tunic and a mantle.
were perfectly appropriate to the heroes and gods upon the

stage, but would have been out of place in the chorus, which
was generally supposed to represent the ordinary public. The
masks of the tragic chorus would of course be suitable to the

age and sex of the persons represented. A special kind of
white shoe, said to be the invention of Sophocles, was worn by
the tragic chorus
little
^.
details in dress
Thus
circumstances.
to
Old men usually carried a staffs. Various

and equipment would be added according
the chorus of bereaved matrons in
the Supplices of Euripides were dressed in black garments,
and had
ried
their hair cut short, as a sign of mourning,
and
car-
branches twined with wool, the symbol of supplication,
in their
The chorus
hands.
who had come
to
offer
of maidens in
libations
Choephori,
tomb of Agamemsome cases the tragic
the
at
non, were also dressed in black*.
the
In
chorus was altogether of an exceptional character, and required

a special costume.
In the Supplices of Aeschylus the daugh-
ters of the
Aegyptian Danaus appear to have been dressed as
foreigners.
Probably the same was the case with the Persian
Elders in the Persae.
The Bacchantes
in the play of Euripides
carried tambourines in their hands, and
were doubtless also
provided with fawn-skins and wands of ivy^
But no tragic
chorus ever caused a greater sensation than
the chorus of
Erinyes in the Eumenides of Aeschylus.
Their costume was
designed by Aeschylus himself, and the snakes in the hair,

which afterwards became one of their regular attributes, were
As they rushed
specially invented for the occasion.

^ Pausan.
i.
28. 6; Schol. Arist.
Clouds 343 Wieseler, Denkmal. vi. 2.
^ Vit, Soph.
;
108.
Aesch.
Agam.
75
Eur. Here. Fur.
into the
Eur. Suppl. 10, 97; Aesch. Choeph.
10, 11.
5 Aesch. Suppl.
234-236 dveWrjva
aroXov ireirXoiai fiapfidpoiai Kal nvKvu\
fjuxoi
I
x^'o^'To
Eur. Bacch. 58.
COSTUME OF THE CHORUS.
VI.]
black dresses, distorted features, and snaky
orchestra, their
are
locks,
265
said to have inspired the spectators with terror ^
In most cases
was composed of ordinary men and women,
and their dress was that of every-day life.
The dress of the satyrs in the chorus of the satyric drama
was of a very simple character. It is depicted in several works
of art, and the accuracy of the delineation is confirmed by the
But
this
chorus was of a very exceptional kind.
the tragic chorus
descriptions in ancient writers.

sents three
members of a
The
present illustration repre-
satyric chorus,
and
vase-painting referred to in previous chapters
is
taken from the
The only
^.
dress
of the satyrs was a rough goat-skin round the loins, with a
hanging down behind.
The
phallus was invariably worn.
mask was provided with a shock of bushy

coarse and lascivious features ^
Aesch.
The
Denk.
Eum. 52
Poll. iv.
Aesch. p. 4
Pausan. i. 28. 6.
The
appended
chap. V. p. 231.
from Wieseler,
is a Greek
original
in
vit.
illustration is
vi. 2.
vase-painting, with
actors
no;
the
names of the
many
cases.
See
and exhibited
Apart from the goat-skin the
satyrs are represented as perfectly naked*.
Dindf.
hair,
tail
The
5^
has been sug-
It
Cp. Dion. Hal. A. R.

ârvpovs ((iKaadiiai)
6ts
KOI
dopal
rais
0/jt.oia
rpdyajv
Kf<pa\ais
:
Kal
(j>6fiai
vii.
72 roTs
Trfpi^w/j.ara
opOorpix^s
Kal
kvl
6aa tovtois
Eur. Cycl. 439.
Cp. Hor. A. P. 221
agrestes Satyros midavit.
mox
etiam
THE CHORUS.
266
[CH.
gested that in the theatre they wore sHppers and some sort of
But
flesh-coloured tights.
was the
this
it
is
not necessary to suppose that
In the illustration one of the choreutae
case.
wearing his mask upon his head, and
is fully
is
attired as a satyr
masks in their hands.

The chorus of the Old Comedy, when it consisted of men and
women, was dressed in the tunic and mantle of ordinary life.
the others are carrying their
The mantle was
purpose of dancing, as the
laid aside for the
Comedy were
dances of the Old
of a wild and energetic cha-
The masks were
and required freedom of action \
racter,
ludicrous type, with the features distorted
men and women

Old Comedy consisted
ordinary choruses of
choruses of the
a great
many
of fanciful
in Aristophanes, the
chorus of Seasons in Cratinus, the
chorus of Trifles in Pherecrates, and the chorus of

of Cities in Eupolis \
of the
personifi-
Such, for example, was the chorus of
cations of various kinds.
Clouds
of a
In addition to the
^.
In
all
Towns and
these cases the dress and general
make-up appear to have been of a grotesque character, and only

in a remote degree emblematic of the ideas and objects per-
For
sonified.
women
instance, the
Clouds of Aristophanes appeared as
dressed in gaily-coloured garments, and wore masks
of a ridiculous type, with long noses and other exaggerations.
The
only resemblance to clouds was in the colours of the
Probably
dresses ^
was carried out

large
class
animals.
in other similar cases the personification
in the
same rough and ready manner.
Another
of choruses was composed of various kinds of
Aristophanes had a chorus of Birds and of Wasps.
Magnes, a comic poet belonging
to the earlier part of the fifth
century, introduced choruses of Birds, of Insects, and of Frogs.
Eupolis had a chorus of Goats, and Archippus a chorus of

Fishes ^
^
rois
Arist.
would be highly interesting
Achar. 627
dW'
ova-naiaTois knicufKv
rwv 6
'^
It
dTroSwres
Thesm. 656
Ifiariojv a-wobvaas.
Schol. Arist.
ttoikiXt)
irepiKcijxevoi
ii.
pp.
162, 296, 455, 507.

* Schol,
Arist. Nub. 289 /xeAAct 5c
Tas HeipiXas yvvaiKopi.6p(ppvs dadyeiv,
know how
;(^pa>/xi/a9,
yap
01
tov
pieydKas
ra rwv
id.
343
X''^P^^ irpoaooireia
exovra
dWws
^
the cos-
iva
ovpavicav cl>v\dTTOjai axyjH-o-Ta

elcreXrjXvOacn
Nub. 343.
Meineke, Frag. Com. Gr.
<j$tjti
to
pTvas
Kcd
yeXoTa nal daxvpôva.

Aristoph. Equit. 522, 523; Meineke,
F. C. G.
ii.
pp. 426, 718.
COSTUME OF THE CHORUS.
VI.]
tume of the chorus was managed
267
such cases.
in
Fortunately
a contemporary vase-painting has been discovered which throws
The vase
inserted ^
is
copy of the painting is here

of Athenian workmanship, and belongs
great Hght upon the subject.
The scene
to the first half of the fifth century.
represents a
chorus of men dressed as birds, dancing to the accompaniment

of the flute. The bodies of the choreutae are covered with a
made in rough imitation of feathers. Two

long ends hang down from each side of the waist, and a bunch
of feathers is affixed to each knee. The arms are provided with
close-fitting dress,
wings.
row of upright
the head, and the
mask
is
feathers
advantage of being a piece

it
is
attached to the crown of
made with a long and pointed
suggestive of the beak of a bird.
Whether
is
nose,
This painting has the unique
of contemporary workmanship.
intended to represent one of the old comic
choruses, or merely
some mimetic dance unconnected with the
drama, there can be no doubt that
it
affords a very clear in-
manner in which animals were imitated in the

choruses of the Old Comedy.
There appears to have been
dication of the
The
illustration
is
taken, by per-
Studies, vol.
ii.
no.
2,
plate xiv. B.
mission of the Council of the Hellenic
Mr. Cecil Smith's interesting
Society, from the Journal of Hellenic
the subject*
article
See
on
THE CHORUS,
268
none of the realism one meets with
The
imitation
was only carried so
gestive of the animal intended.

unfettered, to allow of free
same
seem
time, to
[Oh.
in a
modern pantomime.
be generally sug-
far as to
The body and
movement
judge from the specimen before
humour, and
to
left
At the
us, the
costumes
have been designed with a great deal of
to
were
legs
dance.
in the
and
spirit
have been extremely well adapted to the pur-
pose for which they were intended.
4.
Arrangement of
the Chorus.
Except on rare occasions the dramatic choruses were drawn
up
in
on
formations of military regularity, both
their
a perfectly symmetrical appearance in the orchestra.

respect they oifer a contrast to the choruses in a
and
As
to the
crowds which are introduced upon the
made
a rule no attempt was
first
They presented
entrance, and during the progress of the play.
In this
modern opera,
modern stage.
to imitate the fluctuating
move-
ments and haphazard grouping of an ordinary crowd.
The
chorus marched into the orchestra, and took up
its
position
before the stage, with the regularity and precision of a body of
In
soldiers.
all
the
to
circular
tragic, comic, and satyric^

was invariably adopted, as opposed
dramatic choruses
the rectangular formation
arrangement
dithyrambic choruses \
of the
Every dramatic chorus, when drawn up
number of
a certain
For
instance, the tragic chorus, with
each.
way, consisted of
and a certain number of
'ranks,'
tained five ranks of three
in this
men
each,
its
members, con-
fifteen
and three
files
of five
men
Similarly the comic chorus, which was composed
twenty-four persons, contained six ranks of four

four
'files.'
files
of six
men
each.
a chorus was said to be
According
drawn up 'by
men
each,
of
and
to the Attic
phraseology
when
the different
ranks,'
members of the same rank stood one behind the other. It was
drawn up by files when the members of the same
said to be
^
p.
Kal
'
'
Tzetzes, Prolegom. ad Lycophron,
254 M,
rpa')iiKwv bi Koi
KcxjjxiKoJv TtoirjTaiv
pa'ifwvws
x**''
aarvpiKo/v
Koivbv /xkv to tt-
laTafxevov
rbv
xopov
Bekk. Anecd.
ycfiSia
de
vit.
Com.
p.
746
Et.
Mag.
v.
rpa-
Aristoph. (Dindf. Prolegom.
p. 36).
ARRANGEMENT OF THE CHORUS.
VI.]
were one behind the other.
file
Accordingly,
chorus was drawn up 'by ranks/ the
When
men
269
when
a tragic
stood five abreast
three abreast and five
was drawn up 'by files/ they stood

deep. The same regulations applied to
the comic chorus.
might be arranged 'by ranks/ with the
and three deep.
It
it
abreast and six deep \
or by files/ with the men four

The arrangements throughout were of
this military character.
In fact the training of a choreutes was
men
six abreast
and four deep
'
considered by many of the ancient writers to be an excellent preparation for warlike service ^
In the great majority of cases the chorus
from
consist of persons
was supposed
neighbourhood,
the
and
entered the orchestra by the western passage.
was towards
side
As
spectators.
much
the stage, and their
a consequence, the
left
left
to
therefore
Their right
side towards the
side of the chorus
was
the most conspicuous and important, and the best-trained
The
choreutae were placed there ^
tragic chorus
might enter
five abreast and three deep, or three abreast and five deep,
according as the formation was by ranks or by files. As a matter
files was the one almost invariably
There are several technical terms in connexion with
chorus, and they all refer to a chorus which is sup-
of fact the arrangement by

adopted.
the tragic
posed
to
be entering from the western side, and to be drawn up
three abreast and five deep. An oblong formation of this kind

would evidently be more convenient in the narrow side-entrances,
and would present a broader surface to the spectators and to the
stage.
diagram
is
here inserted, representing a tragic chorus
entering three abreast from the western parodos.
Poll. iv. 108, 109 K(u TpayiKov n\v
Xopov ^vya
TrivTf eK rpiojv Kal aroixoi
rpeis Ik Ttevre'
6 xopos.
1
enable
reader to follow the various technical phrases with less
the
It will
Kal
Kara ^vya
Kard.
irevTeKaibcKa yap r,aav
Kara rpeis
y'lvoiTO
cTToixovs,
fj
fiev
dcrijeaav,
irapohos-
ei
dva irevre elarjeaav
o Se KcofxiKos xopo? reTrapes Kol
ex^v iKaaros aroixos.
Athen. p. 628 F.
Schol.
Aristid.
iii.
p.
535 Dindf.
oTd d(Tr,crav ol X^pot Trkayioos liadiôvres
knoiovvTO
rovs
VfjLvovs
fcal
uxov rovs
Se
Oeards kv apiarfpa avruv Kal
tov
e'lKocriv
rjaav ol x'^P^^'^^h C^l^ ^'> eKoarov 8e

Quybv (K TCTTapoov, aroTxoi Se Terrapes,
l dvdpas
"^
ol
trpwroi
x^P^ dpicrrepov otoixov, p. 5^6

Tom ovv KaXovs rojv x^^P^^t^^ erarrov
daiovres Iv rots twv kavTwv dpianpoh,
'iva (vpeOu/crt irpbs tov drjfxov opwvTes.
THE CHORUS,
270
When
difficulty.
drawn up
in this
sisted of three files parallel to
way
[Ch.
^
the tragic chorus con-
As
one another.
already stated,
was the most important, because it was nearest

The members of this file were called aristerostatae,' or 'men on the left,' and consisted of the handsomest
The middle file was the
and most skilful of the choreutae.
most out of sight of the
of
the
three,
as
it
was
important
least
The worst choreutae were placed in this file, and
spectators.
the
first
file
to the spectators.
AUDIENCE
4T^
3RP
RANK
RANK
ST?*
RANK
RANK
RANK
(7)
1ST
FILE
C\ 'Mjnp-ii
\y] S^PFILE
rr
^*SSSJSJ5s
^^m^
w
^
..,,
(m) 3RPFILE
STAGE
were called
'laurostatae,' or
was the one nearest
file
'men
middle
file,
They were
The
Occasionally,
third
if
the
came in full view of the

It was therefore of more importance
than the
and a better class of choreutae were placed in it.
chorus wheeled completely round,

spectators.
in the passage.'
to the stage.
it
called the 'dexiostatae,' or
'
men on
the right \'
In
addition to ^the above technical terms there were also special
names
^
Poll.
for the six
ii.
l6l Taxa Z\ Koi 6 dpifftepo-
aTOLTTjs iv X'^PV
OJS
men who composed
'"'pocrrjfcoi
dfîoffTaTTjs
T^
av
rrj
Seîa.
the front and hindmost
XavpoaraTai'
jxiaov rod X'^pov'
dpiaTepa,
yap kv arevcunw
Phot.
ovtoi.
v.
elffiV
olovei
cpavKoTfpoi
be
VI.]
ranks
nos.
styled
'
11, 5, 10,
i, 6,
and 15
in the
kraspeditae/ or 'fringe- men
\'
271
They were
diagram.
Finally, the three files
different names, according to their relative proximity to the
had
The members of the left file were called front-line

members of the middle and right-hand files were
called 'second-line men' and 'third-line men' respectively^.
The first or left file, as already pointed out, was much the
most important, because the members of it were in full view of
the audience. The central position, no. 3 in the diagram, was
occupied by the coryphaeus, or leader of the chorus ^ The post
While the
of the leader was an extremely arduous one.
dialogue was in progress, he had to carry on conversations with
During the choral odes he had
the actors upon the stage.
spectators.
men
* ;
the
and superintend the dances

At the same time his own dancing and
mimetic gestures were supposed to be a conspicuous feature
in the performance.
It is plain, therefore, that his position must
to give the note to the choreutae,
and manoeuvres.
have been a
one
difficult
to
Demosthenes, speaking of
fill.
dithyrambic choruses, says that the loss of the coryphaeus means

the ruin of the chorus
and
case in a dramatic performance
more the
the other hand the pos-
must have been
this
On
^.
still
session of a skilful leader would contribute very largely to the
The choreutae on each
success of the chorus and of the drama.
were
side of the leader, nos. 2 and 4 in the diagram,

his 'parastatae,' or 'assistants,'
and were next
The two choreutae on
the leader himself.
in
importance to
the outside, nos.
As
5 in the diagram, were called the 'third men^'

^
Plut.
Conv.
p.
678
watrtp xopov,
Tov av/jnroaiov rbv KpaaireSiTT]!/ to; Kopv(paicp awrjKoov exovros.

The KpacrneStrai
V.
were also called
if/i\(vs'
Itt'
oLKpov
rpiXtis
xo/501)
cp. Suid.
laraiKvos
Hesych. V. îA-ffs* ol vcrraTOL xopevovrfs.

^ Hesych. v. apiaTepooraTrjr
6 irpojToaTaTrjs rov x^P^^Poll. iv. 106
ScîoffTCLTrjs,
dpiaTcpoaTaTTjs,
SevTcpo-
arar-qs, TpiTocrTaTrjs.
^
rov
rrjv
rpayiKois x^pots rpiuv ovtcov
kv roTs
oroixo^v
Hal vfvre ^vyaiv, 6 pXv dpiffrepbs irpbs Tip
rw npoaK7]vi<f.
and
already
rod dpiffrepov
fiecrov
hvriixoTarr}v kol
t'^v
olov
x^P^^ eirexî^ koX

araaiv. The coryphaeus was also called
x^PW^^ Athen. p. 633 A, x^po-yos Plut.
Apophth. Lac. p. 219 E, ^yîxouv and
irpcoToaraTov
^yepLOJv KopvcpaTos
Dem. Meid.
Dem. Meid.
Aristot. Met. iv.
60.
60.
1 1
ravra
S* effrlv
6<Ta rrpos ri ev upiffpivov SiiffrrjKe
Phot. V. rpiros dpiffrepov'
Oearpo) ^v, 6 dk Seîbs trpbs
ovvepaiviv ovv tov
aroixov
called
Kara
rbv \6yov, olov irapaffTarrjs rpiroffrdrov

irponpov, Kal irapav-qri]
yap
Kopv(paios, tvQa 5e
vrjrrjs'
fj
fxiffr]
tvOa pXv
dpx'Q-
THE CHORUS.
272
[Ch.
mem-
remarked, the coryphaeus, together with the other four

bers of the
constituted the pick of the whole chorus.
left file,
Concerning the formation

the orchestra there
chorus,
files
that is to say,
and four deep, or four abreast and
in six abreast
There can be no doubt
six deep.
Like the tragic
information.
might enter either by ranks or by
it
might come
it
which the comic chorus entered
in
much
not
is
that the oblong formation of
was the one usually adopted.
four abreast and six deep
It
would be more suitable from every point of view. Both the tragic
and the comic choruses were probably preceded into the orchestra
by the
On
flute-player ^
certain
occasions the formal
rare
entrance in a rectangular body was dispensed with, and an
mode
irregular
a dramatic
of entrance was adopted, in order to produce
The
effect.
When
Aeschylus.
example
best
the Erinyes
made
in the
is
Eumenides of
their second appearance,
they came rushing into the orchestra one by one, in hot pursuit
of Orestes, and created a profound sensation by their movements
There
and appearance I
by one.
cised
another instance
is
The chorus
Aristophanes.
in the
Birds of
of Birds begins by entering one
The flamingo comes
first,
and
its
appearance
is
criti-
by the actors upon the stage. The cock follows, and is

Then comes the hoopoe, and after it the
similarly criticised.
Finally the whole chorus of birds comes flutter-
glutton-bird.
ing in together, so as to block up the side-entrances ^

Lysistrata the chorus
ing of men, the other of

first
the
chorus
chorus of
been invited
a political
to
enter by twos
and
men
enters
follows after an interval.
The
The chorus
women.
women
Ecclesiazusae
in the
threes,
is
gathering by
in
Schul. Arist. Vesp. 580 iOos Se
Ttpoawnwv
avXovvra
Twv
TTJs
Tpaywbias
TrporiyeiaOai
vpovifiireLV.
avXrjTrjv,
As
the
player preceded the chorus on

it is
^1/
xopi-fcouv
cuare
its
2
But instances of
Usually the
this
chorus
PoU.
iy.
109;
Vit.
Aescli.
p.
Dindf.
flute-
Arist.
Arist.
at
They
entrance.
its exit,
most likely that he did the same
Praxagora.
a perfectly irregular fashion,
kind were very rare and exceptional.

*
of
composed of women who have
so as to imitate a real assemblage*.
(V rats kôSois
In the
divided into two halves, one consist-
is
41-60.
Av. 268-296.
Lysist.
254,
319,
Eccles.
VI.]
273
entered in a rectangular body, with the precision of a troop

of soldiers.
In most cases the entrance of the chorus took place at the

conclusion of the 'prologue/ or introductory scene upon the
was accompanied by a chant, which was

song^ However, in a considerable number of plays there was no parodos at all, but the
stage
and the march
in
called the 'parodos/ or entrance
chorus entered the orchestra in silence, while the
drama was
in progress,
first act
of the
and then commenced a musical dialogue
with the actors upon the stage.
Instances of this
mode
of
entrance are to be found in such tragedies as the Electra of
Sophocles and the Orestes of Euripides ^
In the vast majority
of Greek plays the entrance of the chorus
other of the two ways just
specified.
is
managed
and then proceeds
to sing
one or
parados
in at the termination of the prologue, chanting the
else the parados is omitted,
in
Either the chorus comes
and the chorus enters
or
in silence,
a musical duet with the actors.
few plays are exceptional, and do not conform to either of

these
there
two
is
conventional
types.
Occasionally,
for
instance,
no prologue, and the play commences with the paro-
and Persae of Aeschylus. Then again,

Eumenides the parodos is sung on the second entrance
dos, as in the Supplices

in the
of the Erinyes, after their arrival at Athens.
In the Supplices
of Euripides the chorus are seen kneeling upon the stage

supplication
in
mained
when
in silence
the play commences.
There they
re-
during the performance of the prologue, and
then proceeded to sing an ode, in place of the usual parodos,
from their position on the stage.

the chorus chant the
first
In the Clouds
it
appears that
two odes behind the scenes, and then
Arg. Aesch. Pers. ru>v 5e xopct'J' ra

lari irapoSiKo,, us ore \4yei Si' î'
alriav irdpeaTiv, us t^ " Tvpiov otbiia
XiTTovaa."
Schol. Eur. Phoen. irdpodos
\îs oX-q tov xopou, in order to
fikv
the
8( loTiv oJS^ xo/JOv âhiôvTos aSofxevr]
too wide.
afjLaTTJ elaoSu,
us TO "'Siya (Tiya XetTTov
ixvos dpfivXrjs TiOeTe." In Aristot. Poet.

c. 1 2 the TTcipoSos is described as 17 -npuTrj
oKov xopov, which Westphal (Prolegom. ad Aesch. p. 57) alters to ^ npuTrj
Xe'îs
make
word oKos bear the same meaning

throughout the chapter. Whichever
reading
^
is
adopted, the definition seems
examples
Other
Vinct. of Aeschylus
are
the
Prom.
the Philoctetes of
the Medea, Heracleidae,

Sophocles
Troades, and Electra of Euripides.
;
274
THE CHORUS.
[Ch.
The Rhesus commences with
enter the orchestra silently.
dialogue in anapaests between Hector and the chorus.
The women
no song of any kind.
in the Ecclesiazusae there is
Lastly,
of the chorus drop in by twos and threes, and proceed at once
an ordinary dialogue with the actors on the stage.
to take part in
The next
by the chorus
as already stated,
drawn up
in
the position taken up
is
On
after entering the orchestra.
the chorus
came
in
most occasions,
by the western
rectangular formation, with the stage on
side,
right
its
hand and the spectators on its left. It advanced halfway into

the orchestra, then came to a halt, and each member of the
chorus turned round to the
this
the stage, and the arrangement by
For
by ranks.
and
files
to look
towards
was converted into one

which had entered
instance, the tragic chorus,
three abreast and five deep,
abreast
By
right, so as to face the stage.
manoeuvre the whole chorus was made
three
deep.
now stood before the

The coryphaeus and
choreutae stood in the back
line,
and retained
nearest to the spectators, and furthest
stage five
principal
their position
away from
the stage.
This position they kept throughout the performance \
In a
manner the comic chorus, after entering the orchestra

four abreast and six deep, would halt in front of the stage,
similar
go through the manoeuvre just described, and convert

into a
body standing
and four deep.
six abreast
There
itself
is
no
information as to the position of the coryphaeus in the comic
But there can be no doubt
chorus.
that,
like
the
tragic
coryphaeus, he stood in the back row, as near as possible to

the spectators.
While
^
the actors were
upon the
Miiller (die Griech. Buhnen.p. 214),
following
and the dialogue was
in
p.
whole chorus to have
into the orchestra, to place the cory-
Hermann (Opusc.
144), supposes the
stage,
seems most improbable that care should

have been taken, during the entrance
vi.
2,
wheeled completely round, so that the

left file came to be nearest to the stage.
phaeus and best choreutae
He
for the cory-
that throughout the rest of the perform-
phaeus to have been immediately in

front of the stage, where he would be
in a position to converse with the actors.
But he could do so equally well from
the centre of the back row.
And it
ance they should have been stationed in

a position where the majority of the
spectators would hardly have been able
to see them,
thinks
it
more natural
most conspicuous
in the line
to the spectators, but
ARRANGEMENT OF THE CHORUS,
VI.]
275
progress, the chorus continued to stand with their backs towards
the spectators, and their faces towards the stage, so as to
fol-
This was their normal position
low the course of the action \
may seem
strange to our modern

was a necessary consequence of the peculiar circumstances under which the Greek drama was developed. When
the stage was empty, the pauses between the acts were filled
up by the choral odes called stasima. There is no reliable information as to the position and movements of the chorus during
during the play, and although
ideas,
it
it
As
the performance of the stasima.
the singing
was accom-
panied by dancing, the choreutae must have been moving to and
But
fro.
in the
absence of evidence
on conjectures as
thing
it
seems useless
to venture
to the exact nature of the evolutions.
may be regarded
One
as certain, that during the performance
of the stasima the chorus did not continue to face towards the
and turn their backs upon the audience. Such

would have been quite unnatural and unmeaning.
In the Old Comedy there was a peculiar sort of interlude called
the parabasis, which came during a pause in the action, and con-
empty
stage,
a position
sisted of a series of lyrics
and addresses, delivered by the chorus,
While
and dealing with ordinary topics of the day.

first
reciting the
part of the parabasis the chorus wheeled completely round
Hence the name 'parabasis,' which

The latter part was antistrophical in
so as to face the spectators.
means a turning
'
form, and during

sions,
aside.'
its
delivery the chorus separated into two divi-
which stood facing one another.
The
different portions
of the parabasis were then given by each division in turn ^

^
Anon.de Com.
de Com. p. 29)
36)
^
As
(Dindf. Prolegom.
p. i8off.
That the half-choruses stood
Vit. Aristoph. (ibid. p.
facing one another seems to be indicated
Schol. Arist. Equit. 505.

Schol. Arist. Equit. 505, Pax 733.
to the formation during the latter
by Hephaest. 14, p. 131 'iari Si tis kv

rah KaiixctiUais koI 1) Ka\ov[ihr) TrapdPacts, knaSav eiacXOovTes els to Oearpov
part of the parabasis,
it
is
almost cer-
was then divided

Two MSS. assign the
tain that the chorus
into -qixixopia.
kol
avrnTpSffooirov
d\Xri\ois
x^P^^^"-^ irapcâivov :
(Diibner, Prolegom.
aravTcs
ol
Anon, de Comoed,
de.
Com.
p.
xx)
strophe and antistrophe to -^/xixopia in
dTreXOovrojv Se tSjv viroKpiTojv wpbs dpLcpo-
Nubes 563, 595, Vespae 1060, 1091,

Aves 737, 769, and the epirrhema and
antepirrhema in Ranae 686, 717. See
rfpa rd
/xepij
fJierpov Se/cal^
rod
d-qpiov
bpwv K Tfrpa-
arixovs dvaTraiffrovs kfOiyyero, Kal tovto t/eaXeiTO crrpocpT}.
Arnoldt, die Chorpartieen bei Aristoph.
T 2
THE CHORUS,
276
Sometimes; though not

chorus
left
second entrance later
in the course of a play the
often,
orchestra
the
for
a short
The
on\
[Ch.
and
made a
of the
practice
period,
instances
Eumenides and the Ajax were necessitated

There is another
by the change of scene in those plays ^.
example in the Helena of Euripides. Helen and the chorus
retire into the palace, to enquire about the fate of Menelaus
from Theonoe. In their absence Menelaus enters the stage,
and recounts his adventures to the audience. Then Helen
which occur
in the
and the chorus return, and the recognition gradually takes

Similar temporary departures of the chorus are to be
place ^
found in the Alcestis and the Ecclesiazusae
but they seem
At the end of the

it
had
In the Seven
entered, and was preceded by the flute-player ^
against Thebes the chorus leave the orchestra in two divisions,
one following the body of Polyneices, the other that of Eteocles.
But in most cases they probably marched out in the same rectThe position
angular formation in which they had entered.
of the flute-player during the performance is unknown.
have been of very rare occurrence*.
to
play the chorus retired by the passage from which
5.
As
The Delivery of
the choral part.
regards the delivery of the words, the chorus, like the
actors,
speech,
was not confined to one manner only, but used song,

and recitative by turns, according to the varying
character of the metre.
The
lyrical
portions of the
drama
were almost invariably sung.

The ordinary iambic trimeters
were spoken.
The systems of anapaestic dimeters, and the
iambic, trochaic,
and anapaestic tetrameters were delivered
recitative to the
arises,
which
is
reader of a Greek play that

^
many
obvious to any
It is
of the speeches and songs
Poll. iv. 108.
The temporary depar-
Eur. Hel. 327
was called
/xcTdorao-t?, the return
Arist. Eccles. 310.

Eur. Ale. 746
Schol. Arist. Vesp. 580.
\-ni-napolos.
2
in
now
of great interest and importance in connexion
with the choral part of the performance.
ture
A question
flute ^
Aesch.
Eum. 235
Soph. Ajax 815.
foil,
;
See chap.
v. p.
241
foil.
DELIVERY OF THE CHORAL PART.
VI.]
277
assigned to the chorus were not intended to be delivered by

the whole of the chorus, but by individual
fact is
settle the
members.
But when any attempt
patent to every one.
is
This
made
exact character of the distribution, the greatest
versity of opinion prevails.
The
to
question as to the parts which
were delivered by the whole chorus, and the parts which were
delivered by sections or individuals, is one of the most intricate
which the Greek drama presents.
Unfortunately the ancient
writers supply hardly any information
upon the
whole matter has been discussed and investigated
The
subject.
recent
in
years with the greatest diligence, and attempts have been

to portion out the choral
di-
made
odes between different members and
sections of the chorus on the strength of indications supplied
by the metre, or by the sense of the words ^ But it is plain /

that inferences based on evidence of this kind must be very
uncertain in character.
As
a matter of fact different investi-
gators have arrived at the most contradictory conclusions.
It
impossible therefore to regard their suggestions otherwise
is
They have no
than in the light of interesting conjectures.

claim to absolute acceptance.
Hence
in
the present state of
our knowledge any detailed account of the matter

question.
It
will
be necessary to
is
out of the
be content with
certain
general conclusions, which are based on actual evidence, or are

so plausible in themselves as to be very widely accepted.
First then as to the part taken
by the chorus as a whole.
In
ordinary circumstances the parodos and the stasima appear to
have been sung by the whole chorus together.
The
parodos, as
already explained, was the song of the chorus on

entrance.
The
its
first
stasima were the long and important odes
in-
serted between the successive divisions of the play, in order to

fill
^
up the pauses
in the action.
See especially Amoldt, Die ChorAristophanes (Leipzig

bei
partieen
1873), Die chorische Technik des Euripides (Halle 1878), Der Chor im Agamemnon des Aeschylos (Halle 1881);
Christ, Theilung des Chors im attischen
Drama
1877) ; Muff, Die

chorische Technik des Sophokles (Halle
(Miinchen
It is
natural in itself to suppose
1877),
De
1878),
Der Chor
Persarum (Halle
den Sieben des
Aeschylos (Halle 1882); Hense, Der
Chor des Sophokles (Berlin 1877),
Ueber die Vortragsweise Soph. Stasima
Zielinski, Die
(Rhein. Museum, xxxii)
Gliederung der altattischen Komodie
choro
in
(Leipzig 1885).
\
'
THE CHORUS.
278
that these portions should have
[Ch.
been sung by the whole chorus,
and the supposition is borne out by the statements of Aristotle ^

Sometimes there were exceptions. For example, the chorus in
the Alcestis, on its first entrance, is divided into two halfchoruses, which sing successive passages of the parodos alter-
Ion the parodos
In the
nately.
by
divisions or
individuals,
obviously sung by sub-
is
and not by the whole chorus.
the Frogs a long speech by the coryphaeus
In the Lysistrata the chorus
middle of the parodos.
In
inserted in the
is
divided
is
throughout the play into two half-choruses, one of men, the

other of women
But
^.
in the majority of cases the
the stasima were given by the whole
parodos and
Not
body of the chorus.
unfrequently, in the middle of the dialogue, small odes were

inserted which resembled stasima in their general character, but
from them in point of brevity, and from the
differed
fact that
they came in the course of the dialogue, and not during a pause
They were
in the action.
often songs of triumph or exultation,
occasioned by sudden developments in the plot
in
which case
^hyporchemata,' and were
they appear to have been called
danced
These short odes were no

doubt sung by the whole chorus, in the same manner as the
It has been suggested that the strophes and antistasima.
strophes in the stasima were delivered by half-choruses in
succession, and that the epode was given by the whole chorus.
But there is no real evidence in support of this hypothesis, and
epodes are only rarely to be met with in dramatic choruses.
accompanied by a
Aristot.
TovTOv TO
KOivcL ixev
T^s
c.
12
xo/"o''
rb St
aTCLcrifjLOv,
dnavTcuv ravra, iSia Se ra aTru
fffcrjvrjs
irapoSos fxkv
(Westphal,
able, as
Poet.
fxiv TTcipoSos
lively
Kal Kofxfioi
17
-npuTi)
o\rj
tov x^^P^v^-
It is
cp. the expression Oprjvos Koivhs x^pov

aKTjvrjs,
which occurs a
little
same chapter. "1810 = sung

byindividuals or sections ;cp. ?Staa(r/*aTa
in the vit. Soph. (p. 8 Dindf.).
later in the
'êpovruv
8e
ds Suo
lines {vfitTs
p.
dnb
l/c
iii.
131) points out, that Koivd piev dnavrouv

{XopevTuii/) = sung by the whole chorus
Kal
Eur. Ale. 79
prob-
xopinov Se
Literat.
Schol.
That the anapaests in Ranae

354-371, which come in the middle of
the parodos, were spoken by the coryphaeus is proved by the concluding
Xeîs oXov xopov
Bergk (Griech.
êpalojv 6 x^pos, SiaipHrai

fjpuxopia.
in
5'
which the
manded
dveyeipete
rest
p,o\tit)v k.t.K.),
of the chorus
is
com-
to begin.
Cramer, Anecd. Paris, i. p. 19 t^s

iroirjGtoJS e'iSt] dal 5eKa, vpSA070S
viropxrjfiaTiKos.
Athen. p.
631 C ^ vTropxr]p.aTiK^ opxrjais eariv, kv
^
rpayiK^s
.
(fSojv
6 xopbs ppx^trai.
Examples are
DELIVERY OF THE CHORAL PART,
VI.]
279
In the second place some of the words assigned to the
There
chorus were actually delivered by the coryphaeus.
no direct testimony to this
On
of doubt.
many
a great
is
but the matter hardly admits
effect,
occasions the chorus drops the
tone of lyrical exaltation, and converses with the persons on

the stage in an easy and familiar manner.
In
of an ordinary actor.
such cases
all
plays the part
It
is
it
evident that the
chorus must have been represented by the coryphaeus alone.
The
dialogues between the actors and the coryphaeus were a
peculiar and distinctive feature of the old
were, in
there
They
when
and when the
Greek drama.
a direct survival from the early period,
fact,
was only a
single actor
upon the
stage,
dramatic element in a play was necessarily confined to conversations between the actor
and the chorus.
In addition to the
dialogues just mentioned, there are several other portions of

the chorus which
fair
amount of
may be
certainty.
assigned to the coryphaeus with a
Such are
the approach of a new personage
a choral ode in tragedy.

recitative,
announced
at the
end of
These anapaests, being delivered in

transition from the song of the
would make a gentle
Then
chorus to the speech of the actors.

that in
which
-the anapaests with
is
comedy
all
again,
it
is
probable
the anapaestic tetrameters were spoken by
the coryphaeus, including the speech to the people at the com-
mencement of the
is
parabasis,
and speeches such as that which
inserted in the parodos of the Frogs \
In comedy also the
coryphaeus had frequently to address words of exhortation

and remonstrance to the rest of the chorus ^ Finally, the anapaests with which most Greek plays conclude were in
all like-
lihood spoken by the coryphaeus as the chorus marched out of

the orchestra.
It
was the old fashion
song of the chorus

custom
is
to
in
commence with a
retained in the Persae, Supplices, and
Aeschylus, and the Ajax of Sophocles.

to be found in Aesch. Suppl. 418-437,
Soph. Trach. 205-225, Ajax 693-717.

Cp. Schol. Soph. Trach. 216 rd yap
(jLiKibapiov
tragedy for the entrance
ovK
kffTi
araainov,
dW'
inro
The
Agamemnon of
series of anapaests.
It
has been suggested
t^s ^Soi/^s dpxovvTat.

^
See above, p. 278.
g^,
Arist.
Ran. 382, Vesp. 1516,
Thesmoph. 655, &c.
THE CHORUS.
28o
that these introductory anapaests
coryphaeus
but the suggestion
[Ch.
were also delivered by the
is
hardly a plausible one.
If
chanted in combination by the whole body of the chorus they

would make the first entrance of the chorus infinitely more imIt need hardly be remarked that when the chorus
pressive.
was divided into half-choruses, the part generally taken by the
coryphaeus was in this case taken by the leaders of the two
For example^ throughout the Lysistrata the chorus of

the chorus of women were represented in the dialogue
In the Seven against Thebes
by their respective leaders.
the concluding anapaests would be spoken by the leaders of the
halves.
men and
hemichoria.
It
also highly probable that the two sets of
is
come at the end of the parabasis,

by the half-choruses, but by their leaders.
trochaic tetrameters, which
were
recited, not
Thirdly, certain portions of the
chorus were occasionally
The
spoken or sung by individual choreutae.
example
when
Agamemnon, during
in the
is
the
best
known
murder of the
king,
the chorus stands outside the palace, debating helplessly
as to what
it
ought to do, and each of the old
men pronounces
There is another instance in the lyrical ode

The Erinyes wake
at the commencement of the Eumenides.
Orestes
is
gone, and reproach Apollo in a series of
up, find that
brief, detached sentences, each being sung by one member of the
chorus \ The above examples admit of no doubt. Whether the
his opinion in turn.
practice
was a common
frequently distributed
great uncertainty.
done
in all cases
It
and whether the choral parts were
one,
among
is
individual choreutae,
a matter of
manifestly unsafe to infer that
where the choral passage
is full
hortations and addresses, and the language
disconnected sentences.
is
For example,
in the
is
was
it
of mutual ex-
broken up into
parodoi in Aristo-
phanes the members of the chorus often address one another by

name, and exhort one another to greater
^
Agam.
Aesch.
i4off., Schol.
ovK ddpoojs,
dKr]9iav,
kydpeToi
it
does
Eum.
in citing the passage in the Lysistrata,
727-780, as an example of the delivery
344
ff.,
efjLcpariKus
tt)v
ris irpuTrj, Sjare
xopbv (peiyâaOai. Miiller

(Griech. Biihnenalt. p. 218) is mistaken
firi
But
avaaTi]Oii avras
loc.
fxifxaifxcvoi
dW'
depoojs Tov
ad
activity.
of words by individual choreutae.

three
women who
take part in
The
the
dialogue are not members of the chorus,
but performers upon the stage.
DELIVERY OF THE CHORAL PART,
VI.]
281
not therefore follow, as has been suggested, that these passages
were delivered
by individuals. A chorus might be

by the whole body, though written in
in portions
perfectly well chanted
and dramatic
vivid
hardly safe therefore to distribute
It is
among individual choreutae except on very

The extent to which the practice prevailed in
choral passages
strong evidence.
the ancient
style ^
drama must be regarded
as an
open question.
Fourthly, the division into half-choruses was not infrequent
might be done
It
two ways.
in
In the
'^,
place the chorus
first
throughout the whole play might be composed of two separate

divisions, differing
from one another
The chorus
position.
of men, and one body of women,

place
the
might
chorus
in point of age, sex, or
in the Lysistrata, consisting of
be
is
an example.
temporarily
divided
one body
In the second
into
half-
choruses, either because of the special requirements of the

play, or
merely
for
purposes of singing and
are several certain examples in tragedy.
phocles the sailors hasten
some
off,
They
west, in search of Ajax.
to the east
word
In the Orestes, while Helen
palace, Electra keeps
There
and some
to the
return after a time from opposite
sides of the orchestra, bringing
him.
recitation.
In the Ajax of So-
is
that they
have not found
being attacked within the
watch outside, and posts the chorus
in
two
divisions at each end of the orchestra, to guard against sur-
The examples
prise ^
in the Alcestis
and the Seven against
Thebes have already been referred to. In comedy the practice

at all uncommon, if the testimony of certain manuscripts
was not
is to
Various choral passages in the comedies of
be accepted.
Aristophanes are distributed between half-choruses, including
Cp. the sensible remarks of the
Schol. on Arist. Ran. 375 evrevOfv 'Apt-
arapxos vnevorjae fifj oKov rod xopoG

dvai TO. irpwra' tovto 8( ovk dîowiffTov.
TToAAd/fts yap dXXrjXois ovtoj irapaKcXfvovToi
^
01
nepi rov x^pov.
Poll, iv,
107 Kal
eTvai
^fi.ixopiov
Se
nal
ravrbv
TavTi rd rpia 6v6p.aTa' oiroTav yap
Sixopia Kal dvrixopia.
xopoy
Trpdyfjia
els
8vo
fitpij
0iKe 8e
tutjO^,
to
fiev
KaXeirai dixopia, kKarepa S^
rj
\ioipa q/xixSpiov,
S"
dvrqSovffiv, avrixo-
The
Schol. on Arist. Equit. 589 has

a curious note to the effect that when the
pia.
chorus was divided into two halves of

different sex or age, the older or stronger
half was always slightly more numerous.
In a comic chorus there would be 13
to II women, 13 women to II
boys, and so on.
^ Soph.
Ajax 866 ff. ; Eur. Orest.
men
258
if.
THE CHORUS.
28^
[Ch.
the two odes at the end of the parabasis, and other lyrical pieces
of an antistrophic character \
The
general result then
The words
as follows.
is
assigned
were delivered, sometimes by the whole chorus,

sometimes by half choruses, sometimes by the coryphaeus, and
to the chorus
Whether
sometimes by individual choreutae.

further subdivisions
uncertain.
is
the divisions into ranks and
poses
files
were
utilised for musical pur-
and that the ranks and
same manner.
The
files
All this
not have been the case

the other.
pure conjecture.
is
no evidence
The
The
the stage.
assigned
portions
and spoke
like
the
in
coryphaeus were
the
to
which the chorus abandoned
in
of tone,
elevation
its
lyrical
one of the actors upon
various lyrical passages which occur in the
course of the actual dialogue have
still
be accounted
to
for.
consist chiefly of short odes not unlike stasima, or of
musical duets between the actors and the chorus.
As
were probably sung by the whole chorus.
known
or
portions of the choral part which were gener-
principally those
duets
may
one way or
may
It
and the stasima, or odes during the pauses
dialogue.
These
men
of five
of the comic chorus were used in
is
but there
files
by the whole chorus were the parodoi, or entrance-
ally given
songs,
were
that in tragedy, for instance, successive passages
delivered in turns by ranks of three men, or
the
there were any
has been suggested that
It
it
is
impossible to speak with certainty.
in regard to
the whole chorus
".
them
is
the fact that they
The odes
to the musical
All that
is
were not sung by
Whether they were mostly given by
half-
choruses, or smaller subdivisions, or by individual choreutae, or
by the coryphaeus,
is
varieties
in
is
no
indications as are supplied
by
a matter concerning which there
trustworthy information.
Such
metre, grammar, or subject, are too vague and
uncertain to lead to any definite conclusion.

further evidence of a distinct character
^
See Arnoldt, Die Chorpartieen bei
Aristophanes, p. 180 ff., where a list is

given of the passages which are assigned
to half-choruses by Rav. and Ven., e. g.
,
Acharn. 1150,
1162, Nub.
563,
595,
is
Unless, therefore,
discovered, this par-
Vesp. 1060, 1091, Av. 737, 769, 1058,

1088, Eccles. 290, 301, Thesmoph. 659,
Lysist. 321.
^
See above,
p. 278,
note
i.
THE DANCING.
VI.]
ticular
question will have
be
to
283
regarded as an unsettled
problem.
The Dancing,
6.
In the ancient Greek drama, as in modern opera, the three
and Dancing, were
sister arts of Music, Poetry,
But there was
requisition.
this difference
all
brought into
in the Greek drama
the poetry was the principal feature of the performance; the
music and the dancing were subordinate. Moreover dancing

was seldom introduced by itself as a mere spectacle it was
mainly used in combination with singing, to interpret and add
vividness to the words of the song. The music, the poetry,
and the dancing were blended together into one harmonious
whole, each part gaining an advantage by its combination with
the other two. The dancing of the chorus is the subject which
;
we have now
to consider.
was an element of great import-
It
ance in the old Greek drama.
Most,
if
not
all,
of the choral
songs were accompanied by dances of one sort or another.
To
Greek mind there was an inseparable connexion between

song and dance, and the notion of choral singing unaccompanied
by dancing would have appeared strange and unusual. The
two arts had grown and developed simultaneously, as appears
the
from the
fact
many
that
of the technical terms in metrical
phraseology referred originally to the movements of the dance.
For
instance, the smallest division
'foot.'
A verse
The words
of a verse was called a
of two feet was styled a 'basis,* or 'stepping.'
and
arsis
thesis,
which denoted the varying
stress
of the voice in singing, originally referred to the raising up
and placing down of the foot

terms show
how
closely the
in
marching and dancing.
ing were associated together in ancient Greece.
who was unable
to
These
two arts of dancing and sing-
choreutes
accompany a song with expressive dance-
movements, was looked down upon as an inferior performer \
Dancing
^
Athen.
therefore,
p.
opxÔiV) ovTos
628
ei
as might have been
Zk rts
5' riv ddoKifios.
expected,
played a
toX^ f^haxs kmrvyxo-vctiv fxrjZlv \eyoi
Karat,
r^v
THE CHORUS,
284
[Ch.
in tragedy, comedy, and the satyric drama.

was held among the Greeks in the greatest estimation, and
there was none of that feeling of degradation about it which was
common among the Romans. A man might dance in public
without any loss of dignity, provided the dance was of a graceful
and becoming character. Sophocles himself, the great tragic
poet and fellow general of Pericles, was not ashamed to appear
most important part

It
in a
dance
in
one of his own tragedies \
At the same time
it
should be remembered that dancing in
ancient Greece was a very different thing from dancing in
modern times. It included a great deal more. The word

Mancing' in English necessarily implies movement with the
It would be impossible in English to say that a man was
feet.
dancing, if he continued to stand in the same position.
But in
Greek dancing this was not necessarily the case. The word
ôrchesis ,^ which we translate as 'dancing,' had in reality a
much wider meaning. Greek dancing originated, according to
Plato, in the instinctive tendency of mankind to accompany
speech and song with explanatory movements of the body^
It was essentially a mimetic performance.
It included, not
only all such motions as are denoted by dancing in the
modern sense of the word, but also every kind of gesture and
posture by which various objects and events can be repre-
sented in
and
dumb
show.
illustrate the
could
Hence
be
in
Its principal function
words of poetry.
For
this
was
to interpret
purpose nothing
more important than appropriate gesticulation.

Greek dancing the movements of the hands and
arms played a larger part than the movements of the feet.

The same was the case in Roman dancing also. A few
quotations will illustrate this
fact.
Telestes, the
celebrated
dancer employed by Aeschylus, was said to be able to

events with his hands in the most skilful manner^'
Art of Love, when advising a lover
to
before his mistress, tells him to sing

^
Athen. p. 20 F.
Plat. Seqq. 816 A.
Athen. p. 21 P^ koX TeXeais 51 ^
show
if
eîvprj/ce
depict
off his best qualities
he has a good
TcXiar-qs, 6
'
Ovid, in his
voice, to
opxrjffToSiddcr/caXos,
noXXd
axiP-o-fo-, o-Kpoj? rais X^P^*-
Xeyoficva dtiKvvovaais,
'''^
THE DANCING.
VI.]
dance
'
arms are flexible ^' The flourishes and gesticuwhich a professional carver cut up a hare were
if his
lations with
called
285
dancing
by the ancients ^
'
Quintilian, speaking of the
gestures used in oratory, gravely says that there ought to be
a considerable difference between the orator and the dancer;

that the gestures of the orator should represent the general
sense of the words, rather than the particular objects men-
The
tioned'.
dancer
bare fact of his comparing an orator with a
a proof of the
is
modern dancing, and
vital
difference between ancient
the importance of
mere
and
gesticulation in
the former.
The
purpose,
then,
of ancient dancing was
various objects and events by
and attitudes.
Europe are particularly
means of
represent
to
gestures,
postures,
In this kind of mimicry the nations of southern
The
skilful,
may be
as
seen at the present
was carried by the Greeks to the highest perfection, and a good dancer was able to accompany a song with
such expressive pantomime as to create a visible picture of the
day.
art
things described.
'actions,
Aristotle defines dancing as an imitation of
characters,
and passions by means of postures and
rhythmical movements*/
unlimited
the
character will
His language indicates very clearly

of Greek dancing.
Its general
be well exemplified by the following account from
capabilities
Plutarch's Symposiaca.
Dancing,
is
it
there stated, might be
divided into Motions, ôstures^ and Indications.

Motions
were of the greatest use in depicting actions and passions.
Postures were the attitudes in which each motion terminated.
For example, a dancer might halt in such a posture as to
suggest Apollo, or Pan, or a

not mi metic at
objects,
such
all,
si
Indications__were
but consisted in merely pointing out certain

the
as
heaven,
Am. i. 595 si vox

mollia brachia, salta.
Ovid, Ars
canta
Bacchante.
est,
2 Juv. V. 120 structorem interea, ne

qua indignatio desit, saltan tem spectes
cultello,
et chironomunta volanti
^ Quint. Inst. xi. 3. 89 abesse enim
plurimum a saltatore debet orator, ut
|
the
the
earth,
bystanders.
gestus ad sensum magis
sit
quam ad
verba accommodatus, &c.

*
Arist. Poet.
c.
uai -yap ovtoi
(ol
dpxrjcXTai) dia tuiv axqi^Tiôîvojv pv9fjujjv
fiifiovvTai
Trpd^ns.
koi
tjOtj
Kal
itclOt]
Kal
THE CHORUS.
2S6
[Ch.
Dancing might be defined as poetry without words. The

combination of poetry and dancing, of words and gestures,
In the above account from
produced a perfect imitation \
we have
Plutarch
Greek conception
function was to
a clear exposition of the
of dancing as the handmaid of poetry.
Its
This
delineate and to emphasise the creations of the poet.
was the part which
played
it
Greek drama.
in the
when speaking
important therefore,
It is
most
of dancing in connexion
with the old dramatic performances,
remember the
to
vital
between the ancient and modern meaning of the
difference
words.
Some few
t^
have been recorded concerning the history of
facts
dancing in connexion with the drama.

consisted main ly of
hands and arms
In the earliest times
movements with the
in dancing,
The use
feet.
it
of the
and the introduction of elaborate
was a development due to a later period ^ In the

old-fashioned dramas of Thespis and his immediate successors
dancing necessarily played a very important part. Both tragedy
gesticulation,
and comedy were at that time mainly lyrical, and the long
The
choral odes were accompanied throughout by dances.
early dramatists, such as Thespis, Phrynichus, Pratinas, and
Cratinus, were called
'
dancers
'
as well as poets, because one of
their principal duties consisted in training their choruses in the

art of
are
Phrynichus, in an epigram of which two verses
dancing ^.
preserved, boasts of having discovered
still
more
figures
The
dancing than there are waves in a stormy sea ^,
in
tragic
dance of the sixth century, to judge from the specimens given
by Philocleon
character^.
at the
The
distinguished,
probably
in
end of the Wasps, was of a wild and
was due
the time
Symp. 747 B
to
The
three
^
*
Plut.
fol.
77
Athen. p. 630
Trepi
Xîp^v.
Athen. p. 22 A.
Symp. 732
Plut.
vixos,
Setfet?.
^
rtpwrrj Se evprjTai
rwv
fidWov
rovs iroas Kivrjais t^s Sia

ol
yap TTaXaiol Tovs
kyvjxvaôvTo ev tois
dySjcri.
it
of Aeschylus that dancing in tragedy
divisions of dancing are ôpai, o'xi7;*aTa,
lively
was afterwards
It was
the innovations of Aeschylus.
tone of solemnity, by which
TTodas
avrov
fxoi
(prjaiv
vopev,
irouiTai
^
tcDv
on
oaff'
kvl
Vesp.
naX^pv-
Ka'iroi
'Sx^fâra
x^'-t^^'^'- ''^^^
Arist.
Tpayq^Siaiv
ttoiijt'^s,
5'
irovTO)
^^^"h-
1 474 ff-
irepl
opxqois roaa
\
KVfxara
THE DANCING.
VI.]
reached
zHy
His long choruses
highest pitch of excellence.
its
gave ample opportunities for the display of the dancer's
skill.
Moreover, the training of the chorus was personally superintended by Aeschylus, and he
said
is
have himself
to
in-
vented a great number of postures and attitudes to be used

in
To ward s
dancing ^
the end
of the
fifth
century the art
appears to have^declinelTin significance, along with the general

decrease in the importance oT~llYe~chDrus.
something of Its mimeHc~~chafacter.
who
flourished at the end of the
It
began
Plato, the
fifth
to lose
comic poet,
century, contrasts the
mediocrity of the choral dancing in his day with the excellence

In old times, he says, a good
of that of a former period.
dancer was a sight worth seeing;

present day stand in a row, like so
their songs, without
any attempt
but the choreutae of the
many
cripples,
and bawl out
at appropriate
motions and
This deterioration was a necessary consequence of
gestures ^.
the tendency to thrust the
chorus more and more into the
background.
The
general character of the dancing in the Greek drama has
As
already been described.

information
is
far _as deta i ls are
be obtained from the existing plays.
to
concerned ou r
very defective^ and only slight indications are

It
is
probable that
commenced with a series of anapaests, the

when
But all parodoi
chorus only marched in, without dancing.
the parodoi
written in lyrical metres were undoubtedly accompanied with
a dance.
The
iambic and trochaic tetrameters, in which
of the parodoi in Aristophanes are written,
generally intended
for
seem
to
many
have been
choruses which entered running)- and
with an appearance of great haste
^.
choral odes between the acts, are said by
The stasima, or long

many of the scholiasts
have been unaccompanied by dancing, and to have been de-
to
Athen. p. 21 E.
Athen. p. 628 E wcrr* et tis opxoTr'
dA.A'
ev, Oeajx ^v vvv 8e Spuxxiv ovhkv,
(ixrirep dLvSnXrjfCTOi (TTadrjv kcTTwres wpvov-
Schol. ad loc. yiypa-rrTaL Se t^ fxerpov
rax.
rpayiKoi, (TrdSdv dpofmiojs (ladycum tovs
^ Aristoph. Acharn. 204 rfySe irds 1tov,

StWc, KoX Tov avhpa irvvOdvov k.t.X.,
xopovs,
rfj twv diojKovTwv

ravra 5e ttohiv elojOa-
rpoxaiKov, npocrcpopov
yepovrcuv anovSfj.
oiv ol
ruv
dpafxarccv iroirjTai KajfiiKot Kal
'iva 6 \6yos avvrpixV "^V

Cp. Pax 301, 325, Plutus 257.
5/)a;taTt.
THE CHORUS.
288
[Ch.
by the chorus standing perfectly still \ The statement is

no doubt an error, due to false etymology. The stasima, or
stationary songs/ was so called, not because the chorus stood
still during their delivery, but because it remained all the time
livered
They were
in the orchestra.
therefore opposed to the parodoi,
which were delivered while the chorus was coming in, and to
the exodoi, which were delivered while it was going out. That
the stasima were accompanied by dancing
is
proved by several
references to dancing which they contain, and also by Aristotle's
of them, in which nothing
definition
is
said as to the absence
Only one piece of information has been preserved
of dancing ^.
concerning the manoeuvres of the chorus during the stasima.

It is
said that while singing the strophe they
moved
to the right,
and while singing the antistrophe they moved back again

and that during the epode they remained standing
left
;
same
position
as
at
pointed out, lively
first
Sometimes, as was previously
odes called hyporchemata were inserted in
the middle of the dialogue to
an unexpected turn of fortune.
were
were accompanied
mark the joy of the chorus at

The dances by which they
extremely brisk
The
tragedy as well as in comedy^.
were not
chorus,
of the
utterances
to the
in the
and energetic,
in
exodoi, or concluding
attended
usually
with
dancing, but were delivered in recitative as the chorus marched

out.
There
is
an exception
in the
Wasps and
But Aristophanes himself remarks
orchestra.
innovation
There
^.
is
the Ecclesia-
by the chorus dancing out of the
zusae, which are terminated
no reason
to
that this
suppose that
in
was an
tragedy the
kommoi, or musical dialogues between actors and chorus, were

^
Schol. Eur. Phoen. 202
Suidas
v.
araaifiov, &c.
^
xo/>o5
rpoxaiov.
Xopov
t6
c.
12
araffifiov
dvev dvairaiaTov
Aesch.
aipcufiev.
opfxa, x^P^'I
Poet.
Aristot.
fxiXos
Eum. 307 ayi
Arist,
5e
Kal
Si)
Thesmoph. 953
ay Is kvkXov,
fiovcpa Tioaiv,
Other passages
of the same kind are not infrequent.

*
'
Ajax 693
((Ppif epwTi, tiepiyjxpri^
S*
avi-
vrofiav.
'
it<u
Arist. Vesp.
irapos
1536 tovto yap
ovdels
opxovfxevov
octis
beSpaKev,
x^^P^ avvairre x^tpa.

^
such expressions as the following Eur.

Troad. 325 iraWi ttoS' aiOipiov, Electra
859 6es ks x^P^v, Sj <pi\a,'ix^^^ Soph.
Schol. Eur. Hec. 647.

liveliness of the hyporchematic
The
dances, even in tragedy,
is
proved by
dTrrjWa^cv x'^P^^ rpvycvbwv, Schol. ad

loc. ei<Tpx(Tai yap 6 xopos dpxovfievos,
ovda^ws bk
aipeaO' dv<u,
eêpx^rai:
iai, eucu.
Eccles.
1179
THE DANCING,
VI.]
unaccompanied with dancing.

case, the
289
But naturally,
if this
was the
dance would be of a quiet and sober kind, consisting
more of appropriate gestures and motions, than of dancing in the

modern sense of the word.
During a large part of every Greek play the chorus had
nothing to say or sing, but merely stood watching the actors,
and listening
to the dialogue.
remained
that they
stolid
would be absurd
It
and indifferent during
Chorus and actors were supposed
imagine
to
this period.
all
form oae harmonious
to
group, and no doubt the chorus followed the events upon the
stage with a keen appearance of interest, and expressed their
sympathy with the

and by-play.
different characters
by every kind of gesture
Occasionally the long descriptive speeches
deli-
vered from the stage were accompanied with a mimetic dance on

the part of the chorus \
were represented
it
was a regular
this sort, the
The
In
the choreutae.
comedy
practice to introduce descriptive speeches of
metres used being iambic or anapaestic tetrameters,
which were especially suitable
example
events described by the actor
dumb show by
in
in the Clouds,
dancing
for
There
to.
where Strepsiades describes
The various phases of the

represented in dumb show by the chorus, keeping
Again, we are told that
recitative of the actor ^
with Pheidippides.
is
an
his quarrel
quarrel were
time with the

Telestes, the
dancer employed by Aeschylus, 'danced the Seven against
Thebes' so successfully as
to bring the various events before
the very eyes of the spectators.

to the
dumb show
abound
in that
The
tragic dance
was grave and majestic

of the two dances approved of by
^
It
Schol. Arist. Ran. 924
57
Tfpos
rbs
prjaeis viropxrjois.
^
Schol.
IA.670J/ TTpo^
Nub,
KpiTov SiariOefievov ttjv prjaiv, 6 xo/>o5

wpxîTO.
was
drama had
called the
Plato,
and admitted
Athen.
on
p.
22
^v
ra irpayfiaTa
into his
yovv
Alffx^Xov
Ttxv'nrjs,
opx^TffOai Toiii 'EirTcL

iroifjaai
'
'ApicTTOKXrjs
TeXiarTjs,
x'7^^'?^ ovtojs
own
emme-
its
and was one
in its motions,
(f)T](riv
1355 ovtojs
x'^P^^ \eyeiv, ore rod vno-
Arist.
play^
different species of the
special kind of dance.

leia.'
refers
with which he accompanied the long de-
scriptive speeches that
Each of the three
The statement no doubt
eirt
5i'
ware
bp-
kv to)
Qrjfias (pavtpcL
opxrjcfojs.
THE CHORUS,
290
republic
ideal
Some
'.
them represented a man

another depicted a
The
man
rest are a
uncertain.
But
postures' or
of the
figures
it
in the act of thrusting with the

in
mere
of
sword
an attitude of menace, with clenched

list
of names, of which the meaning
plain from the existence of such
is
the
in
One
mentioned by the ancient writers.
tragic dance are
fist.
[Ch.
is
that
lists
was reduced to a regular system, and

that the various attitudes and postures were taught in a methodical manner I
We can hardly be mistaken in assuming that as
a rule the movements of the tragic dance were slow and deliberate, and more like walking than dancing in the modern sense.
The hyporchematic style, with its wild and lively motions, was
only adopted in tragedy on special occasions^ to show the excesthe art of tragic dancing
sive joy of the choreutae.
The kommos
conclusion of
at the
the Persae gives us a vivid picture of the general style of a

tragic
The Persian Elders
dance.
follow
Xerxes
the
into
palace, bewailing the ruin of the empire in mournful strains.
At each
posture,
fresh
first
exclamation of grief they
some new
into
fall
beating their breasts, then plucking their beards,
then rending their garments, then tearing their hair
and
in this
manner they move slowly on through the palace doors ^.

The comic dance was called the kordax. Its movements
were coarse and lascivious, and its general style was suggestive
of the phallic songs out of which comedy had been developed. It
was a dance for drunken people, and no one but a man without
any sense of shame would dance it when he was sober. It was
considered vulgar and disgraceful by Plato, and excluded from
commonwealth*.
his
Aristophanes, in the Clouds, takes credit
to himself for having
abandoned
in that play;
it
scholiast remarks, he frequently introduces
the comic dances the wildest

Plat.
Suid. V. ii(\>ian6s
Hesych.
v, î<pi-
C^tv; Poll. iv. 105 Koi
fji^v
Xricreojs crx'fjiJ.aTa aiyLi)
x^'P> KaXaOioKos,
X^tp KaTanprjvfjs, ^vXov
TrapaKrj^pis, dtirX^,
rpayiKrjs dp-
Oepfiavarpis, KvîGrrjOis, Trapafirjvai rer-
Tapa.
but,
as the
elsewhere ^
movements were admissible.
Legg. 8i6 A.
it
Aesch. Pers. 1038
Schol. Arist.
fitter],
^Tis
Kvaev,
Kop^
koj-
t^v d<T(pvv.
Plat.
Legg. p.
kivci
alcrxP^^
Arist.
foil.
Nub. 542
Hesych. v. KopSa^
816 A Theoph. Char.
^
In
The
Nub. 540
6.
oiiSe
Kophax
ciA-
VI.l
THE MUSIC.
chorus, at the end of the
Wasps, when encouraging the sons of
291
Carcinus to fresh exertions, bid them
and
fling their legs
up
sky/
into the
whirl round like tops,
Occasionally the circular
dance of the dithyrambic chorus was adopted
The dance used
drama was
in the satyric
in
comedy \
called the
'
sikinnis.*
was mainly a parody and caricature of noble and graceful
It
dances, and was very violent and rapid in
its
One
movements.
of the postures used in the satyric dance was called the owl,
and
is
variously explained by the old grammarians as having
consisted
shading the eyes with the hands, or
in
the head to and
fro like
7.
The music
of a Greek play was simple in
As
Any comparison
and a modern opera, as
character,
and
it
therefore between a
far as the
In the
entirely illusive.
its
Plutarch remarks,
words being the main

Greek play
sort of seasoning or relish, the
attraction ^
turning
The Music.
altogether subordinate to the poetry.
was a
in
an owl ^
is concerned, must be
Greek choral singing
music
place
first
all
was in unison. The use of harmony in musical compositions

was unknown to the Greeks. Even in modern times Greek
Church Music has retained the practice of chanting in unison.
Consequently the general style of the music in a Greek drama
must have been exceedingly simple and severe compared with
In the second
the intricate combinations of modern music.
place, the music was fitted to the words, instead of the words
Each note of the music
being subordinated to the music.
corresponded to a separate syllable of the verse, and the time
of the music was determined entirely by the metre of the verse.
The ode was chanted
in unison, syllable after syllable,
The modern
whole body of the choreutae.

^
Arist.
kvkXcv
Vesp. 1529 aTp60i,rrapaPaiv
KOI
ycKXTpiffov
pinre
(XeavTov,
/3e/i)3tfs
lyyeveffOcuv,
Thesm. 953
oppta, x^P^'-
ay' S kvkKov,
ovvanre x^^P-'
Athen. p. 629F99, 103
Poll. iv.
Dion. Hal. A. R.
vii.
72
Phot.
v. aKwirevfia.
aK\os ovpaviov
630
by the
practice of adapting
>ôv(pa irocriv,
x^'/^t
U 2
Plut.
Symp.
rbv pvdfibv
'f**^'
71 3
uffircp 6\pov
rb Se fiekos Kal
km
o-^to. TtpoacpipiaOai.
tS> \6ya}, koI
THE CHORUS,
29
[Ch.
making
the words to the exigencies of the music, and
words
different
same time, was

is
probable
that
Hence
it
the words of a
unknown.
altogether
Greek chorus were heard with considerable distinctness by the
whole audience. When all the singing was in unison, and the
parts of the chorus sing different
at the
notes of the music corresponded to the syllables of the verse,

there was no
why
reason
this
should not be the case.
modern choral singing the poetry
In
so far sacrificed to the
is
music, that even the general drift of the words cannot usually
much
be distinguished with
have been the case
in
clearness.
But
never
this could
drama, where the lyrical
the ancient
portions of the play often contained the finest poetry and the
profoundest thoughts of the whole composition.
were doubtless made

ness of utterance
this training,
make
character of the music, would
place,
the
distinct-
combined with the simple

it
possible for the
of an ancient chorus to be heard without

third
and
to sing with great precision
and
The choreutae
difficulty.
words
In the
instrumental accompaniment was limited in
The
amount, and was never allowed to predominate.
flute
or harp simply gave the note, but otherwise was kept quite
in the
background.
In
lyrical, as
opposed
to dramatic, poetry
there was a tendency for the flute to overpower the voices.

Pratinas, in a lyrical fragment
the flute play the second part
These words, which only
preserved, complains of this
Muse has made Poetry
practice, saying that 'the

let
still
it is
the mistress
but the servant of Poetry ^
*
!
refer to a tendency in the lyrical poets
of the time, are significant as showing the Greek conception

of the relative position of instrument and voice in choral singing.
In the Greek drama, as already remarked, the instrumental

portion of
the
music was altogether subordinate
music as a whole was made subservient
to the
and the
words and
;
the poetry.
The
Modes
scales in
which Greek music was written were called
or Harmonies, and differed from one another, not only
according to the intervals between the notes, but also in respect

^
Pratinas apud Athen. p. 617
doi5av KaTiffracre Tliepls fiaaiKtiav
rav
avXus
virrjptTas.
S'
varepov
xo/)CVtcu-
kox
yap kad'
THE
VI.]
MUSIC.
293
of the particular style of music with which they were respectively
This was a peculiar feature of the Greek musical
associated.
Every Mode had a special kind of metre and of melody
system.
in a
given
Mode was
necessarily of a certain well-defined character.
The
difference
appropriated to
and a composition
itself,
between the several Modes was very much the same as that
between various kinds of national music
relation to
one
in the
Lydian as a
Of
a plaintive Irish melody.
in
Mode
example, an air in the Phrygian
modern
For
times.
bore the same sort of
Swiss song bears to
lively
Modes used
the various
Greek
in
music the tragic poets selected those which were most suited
The Dorian and
to their purpose.
Mixolydian Modes
the
were the two most commonly employed
The Do-
in tragedy.
was majestic and dignified in style the Mixolydian was

pathetic.
The one was used in the solemn and profound
choral odes, the other in cases where deep emotion had to be
rian
Besides these two principal Modes, certain others
expressed \
The
were occasionally employed.
old Ionic
and sober, before the degeneracy of the

altered
and
gedy,
Phrygian
first
character.
its
was
It
used
Mode was
Mode was
was therefore well adapted
by Aeschylus ^
and
passionate
tra-
The music of
the
'.
and was
The Hypodorian
and the Hypophrygian Modes were only employed

songs of the actors upon the stage, and not
The reason was
that
the
of
style
had
to
enthusiastic,
introduced into tragedy by Sophocles
severe
Ionic nation
their
in
the
in choral odes.
music was better
Sometimes
suited to realistic acting, than to choral singing \
a few notes of instrumental music were inserted by themselves, at intervals in the choral songs, as a sort of refrain.
which recurs
'phlattothrat,'
in the Frogs, is
an instance of such a
The
used being the harp.

way.
Such
Plut.
Mus.
Heracleid.
refrains
1 1
36
ap.
flute
were called
D-F.
Athen,
was
'
625
Aristot. Prob. xix. 30. 48.
refrain, the
also
diaulia
5
p.
Aesch. Suppl. 69 'laovioiai vo/xoioi.

^ Vit. Soph.
p. 8 Dindf.
*
parody of Aeschylus*
in the
Arist.
'
employed
instrument
in the
same
^
Ran.
1286
ff.;
Siavkiov o-norav kv toTs

TrapaâXXri fxeXos tl 6
rr-qaavros
The
lyrics
tov x^f ov.
Hesych. v.
ficKeffi
iroirjTTjs
fiera^v
napacioj-
THE CHORUS.
294
During the
latter part
of the
century the character of
fifth
Greek music underwent a considerable change. The severity and

was succeeded
by a style in which softness, variety, and flexibility were the
prominent features. The author of the movement was the
His innovations were recelebrated musician Timotheus\
garded by the philosophers and old-fashioned critics as so
simplicity of the music of the Aeschylean period
many
corruptions of the art of music, and as a proof of the
growing effeminacy of the age^
In one of the comedies of
Pherecrates the person of Music
is
made
complain of the
to
treatment she has received at the hands of various composers,
and ends her complaint by charging Timotheus with having

outraged and insulted her more than any one else had done,
and compares his

ants in a nest
\'
florid
melodies to the
The new kind
intricate
movements of
of music was very generally
adopted by the later tragic poets, such as Euripides and Agathon,
and
is
frequently ridiculed by Aristophanes \
appears to have foreseen from the
soon become popular.
On
first
a certain
Euripides
new style would

occasion, when a novel
that the
composition by Timotheus was loudly hissed in the theatre, he

told
him not
to
be discouraged by his temporary want of
as in a few years he
success,
audience at his feet^
The
would be sure
was
prediction
to
have every
verified
by the
result.
^
Suid.v.Ti/i(5eeos. Plut.
Mus. 1135D.
T^v dpxaiay liovaiK^v lirl

TO ixaKaKWTfpov fxeTrjyayiv.
3 Pherecrat. Cheiron.
frag. I (Meineke, F. C. G. ii. p. 326) aSoJv iKxpa"^
Suid.
1.
c.
Ran. 1301
Arist.
fJLvpixrjKos
arpa-novs,
rj
foil.,
ri
Thesm. 100
dianivvpirai
Schol. ad loc. w? AcTrra Kal dynvKa dva-
tov 'Aydeojuos' Toiavrai
Kpovofievov
fiikr]
yap
pivppLrjKOJV 6801.
at
twv
CHAPTER
VII.
THE AUDIENCE.
I.
The
the
theatre of Dionysus
Lenaea
which
Composition of the Audience.
and
and significance has few parallels
modern world.
ancient or the
the law-courts were closed
deity in
them
On
in
the
these occasions the city
Business and politics were forgotten
kept universal holiday.
gaol, to enable
presented a spectacle
Dionysia,
City
the
for interest
during the period of
at Athens,
even prisoners were released from
The
to partake in the general rejoicings.
honour of whom the
festivals
had
beeji established
was
Dionysus, the god of wine, and the type of the productive power
The
of nature.
various proceedings were in reality so
many
But there was nothing of an austere

To give freedom
character about the worship of Dionysus.
religious
celebrations.
from care was his special
and the sincerest mode of
attribute,
paying homage to his power was by a genial enjoyment of the

various pleasures of
the
life.
At
this time of universal
dramatic performances formed
the
principal
merriment
attraction.
Each day soon after sunrise the great majority of the citizens
made
their
way
to the
southern slopes of the Acropolis, where
the theatre of Dionysus
up the side of the

thirty
hill
was
situated.
were speedily
thousand persons.
The
The
filled
tiers of seats rising
with a crowd of nearly
sight of such a vast multitude
of people, gathered together at daybreak in the huge open

amphitheatre, and dressed for the most part in white, or in red,
brown, yellow, and other rich colours, must have been exceed-
THE AUDIENCE,
296
ingly
and
striking
[Ch.
The performances which
picturesque.
brought them together were not unworthy of the occasion.
The
plays exhibited at the festivals of Dionysus rank
the very noblest achievements of
For beauty of
inspiration they have
of meaning, and poetical
form, depth
The
never been surpassed.
Greek drama
is
point of unique interest about the
the superlative excellence of
combined with the
fact that
among
Greek genius.
it
was
its
productions,
essentially a national amuse-
ment, designed for the entertainment of the great mass of the

citizens.
would be
It
difficult to
point to any similar example
of the whole population of a city meeting together each year to
enjoy works of the highest

art
artistic beauty.
and poetry have penetrated so deeply
ordinary citizens.
Our
curiosity
It is
seldom that
into the life of the
naturally excited in regard
is
and composition of the audiences before which a
to the tone
drama of such an exceptional character was
exhibited.
object of the following chapter will be to bring together
present in one view
the available
all
The
and
information upon this
subject.
At the Lenaea, which was held
was
difficult,
in the winter,
when
travelling
the audience consisted almost exclusively of natives
The City Dionysia came about two months later,

commencement of the spring, and attracted great crowds
of Athens.
at
the
of
strangers from various parts of Greece.
Representatives from
came to pay the annual tribute at this season of

was also a favourite time for the arrival of am-
the allied states

the year.
It
bassadors from foreign cities; and
it
was considered a mere
matter of politeness to provide them with front seats in the

theatre, if they
happened
of the City Dionysia \
to
sentative character, there
tions.
were also great numbers of private
Athens from
individuals, attracted to
magnificence of the
be in Athens during the celebration
In addition to these visitors of a repre-
festival,
all parts of Greece by the

and the fame of the dramatic exhibi-
Altogether the visitors formed a considerable portion of
the audience at the City Dionysia.

tions
of the offence of Meidias

1
Dem. de
Cor.
One
was
28.
of the great aggravathat
his
assault
upon
COMPOSITION OF THE AUDIENCE,
VIT.I
Defnosthenes was committed

\'
tudes of strangers
in the
297
presence of 'large multi-
Apparently the natives of foreign states
were not allowed to purchase tickets for the theatre in their

own name, but had to get them through an Athenian citizen ^
The composition of the purely Athenian part of the audience
is a subject upon which a great deal has been written, the principal difficulty being the question as to the admittance of
and
women
dramatic performances.
to the
this matter scholars
appear to have been unduly biassed by
Un-
a preconceived opinion as to what was right and proper.
doubtedly Athenian
Oriental seclusion.
boys
In the treatment of
women were kept in a state of almost

And the old Attic comedy was pervaded by
a coarseness which seems to
make
it
utterly unfit for boys
and
women.
For these reasons some writers have gone so far as

to assert that they were never present at any dramatic performances whatsoever ^
Others, while not excluding them from
tragedy, have declared that
it
was an
impossibility that they
should have been present at the performances of comedy'*.
But the attempt

comedy,
in
to
draw a
distinction
between tragedy and
regard to the admission of boys and
theatre, will
women
to the
were present at
The tragic and the
If they
not bear examination.
one, they must have been present at both.
comic competitions frequently took place upon the same days,
and succeeded one another without any

cult to
suppose
that, after
interval
and
it
is diffi-
the tragedies were over, a large part
of the audience had to be turned out before the comedies could

if women and boys had been present at the
would of necessity have been spectators of the
dramas, which were nearly as coarse as the comedies.
Moreover,
begin.
tragedies, they
satyric
It is
useless therefore to endeavour to separate tragedy from
comedy in the consideration of this question.

As a matter of fact the evidence upon the
Dem. Meid. 74.
Theophrast. Char. 9 koI ^kvois Se
avTov Oeav dyopdaas firj bovs rb {iipos
thumskunde
Btojpuv.
ii.
2. p.
37
"^
p.
E. g. Bottiger, Kleine Schriften i.

ff. ; Wachsmuth,
Hellen. Alter-
295
Literatur.
*
iii.
ii.
p.
subject,
391
if
con-
Bergk, Griech.
p. 49.
E. g. Bernhardy, Griech. Litterat.

132 ; Bockh, Trag. Princip. p.
Meineke, Menand. et Philem. Reliq.
p. 345.
'
THE AUDIENCE.
298
makes
sidered without prejudice,
were no
it
[Ch.
practically certain that th^re
The audience
restrictions of the kind suggested.
at
was drawn
Men, women, boys, and
the dramatic performances, whether tragic or comic,
from every class of the population.

slaves were
The
allowed to be present.
all
ancient authors
is
evidence from
too copious to be accounted for on any other
There are three passages in Plato which in themIn one place,

selves are almost enough to decide the question.
supposition.
speaking of poetry in general, and more especially of tragedy,

a kind of rhetoric addressed to
Plato says
it
and men,
slaves,
is
and
free
another place, where he

republic,
ideal
he
citizens
treating of the
is
says
there
'
boys,
women,
In
without distinction.'
will
management of
no
be
great
his
readiness
to allow the tragic poets to 'erect their stages in the market-
place,
and perform before women and children, and the general
A passage of this kind would have very little point,

was intended as a condemnation of the prevailing practice.
In a third place he declares that if there was a general
exhibition of all kinds of public amusements, and the audience
were called upon to state what they were most pleased with, the
little children would vote for the conjuror, the boys for the comic
poet, the young men and the more refined sort of women for the
tragic poet \
These three passages of Plato are hardly con-
public'
unless
it
the supposition that the drama was a spectacle

which boys and women were never allowed to witness.
sistent with
In addition to the above evidence there are also several
women are referred

They must therefore
places in Aristophanes where boys and

to
as forming part of the
have been present
For
instance, in
at the
audience.
performances of the Old Comedy.
the Clouds Aristophanes prides himself on
having refrained from introducing the phallus

laugh.'
'
to
make
the boys
In the Peace he says that 'both the boys and the
men
ought to wish for his victory in the contest, because of his boldness in attacking Cleon.
some barley
is
In another part of the Peace,
when
thrown among the male part of the spectators,
Plat.
Gorg. 502 B-E, Legg. 817 A-C, 658
A-D.
COMPOSITION OF THE AUDIENCE,
VII.]
Trygaeus remarks
that the
women have
New Comedy
That women were
Alciphron, in which
him than
to
Menander
is
letter
of
supposed to be writing to his
In this letter he says that nothing
mistress Glycera.
to
proved conclusively by a
is
Other
not got any'.
passages of the same kind might be quoted.

present at the
299
dearer
is
be crowned with the ivy of Dionysus, as victor in
the comic contest, 'while Glycera
is
sitting in the theatre
Other pieces of evidence are as
looking on^'
Lucian's dialogue Solon
tells
and
In
follows.
Anacharsis that the Athenians
educate their sons by taking them to tragedies and comedies,
and showing them examples of virtue and vice, so as to teach

them what to imitate and what to avoid ^. In the Frogs there is
the well-known passage in which Aeschylus taunts Euripides
women of
If women were
with the immorality of his plays, which have caused

refinement to commit suicide from very shame.
never present
we
are told that
theatre
'
performance of the tragedies of Euripides,
at the
meaning in the reproach

Then again
when Alcibiades was choregus, and entered the
there would be very
*.
little
'
dressed in a splendid purple robe, he was admired
only by the men, but also by the
women
'
not
The shameless
^.*
person in Theophrastus smuggles his sons into the theatre

with a ticket which belongs to some one
takes his sons to the theatre except
The
The miser never
else.
when
the entrance
regulation of Sphyromachus, providing that men,
and courtesans should

have referred
effect
of
all
to
free ^
women,
apart from one another, can hardly
sit
any place but the
these passages
is
is difficult
theatre"^.
The
cumulative
to resist.
It is
impossible
Even
Eumenides of Aeschylus
upon the audience of the boys dying of fright and the women
to explain
them
all
away by
far-fetched interpretations.
the story of the effect produced by the
having miscarriages
^
such
a story, though
Aristoph. Nub. 537-539, Pax 76=,
Cp. also Arist. Pax 50

766, 962-967.
70; Se rbv Xo-ôv 76 rolai iraidiois ...
ifvxP'^v.
^
^
(Meineke, Frag. Com. Gr. ii. p. 521)

to oKWfifi
eari aoi
'Hpa/fAfts, TovT
(ppdaoj;
Eupolis,
UpoairaKrioi,
fr.
doiX-^h
Kal
m.eyapiKdv
ml
''
a<p65pa
j
in
itself
^^Xwaiv, ws bpas,
a foolish
rd
-naihia.
Alciphron, Epist. ii. 3.

Lucian, Anachar. 22.
Aristoph. Ran. 1050, 1051.
Athen. p. 534 C.
Theophrast. Char. 9 and 13.
Schol. Aristoph. Eccles. 22.
THE AUDIENCE.
300
[Ch.
invention, could hardly have originated unless
had been regularly present

admitted at a later period
inscriptions
in
at
women and boys

That they were
the theatre \
proved by the direct evidence of
is
the theatre of Dionysus, which
show
that
in
Hadrian's time seats were specially reserved for priestesses and

other
women
This
^.
fact
would not of course be conclusive
evidence as to the custom which prevailed in the classical period
But as
of Athenian history.
the conclusions based
far as
it
goes,
No doubt at first sight it appears a

women and boys should have been
Comedy.
But
it
it
tends to confirm
upon the evidence of ancient authors.

very startling
fact that
spectators of the
Old
should always be remembered that the come-
dies performed at the festivals of Dionysus
were a portion of
was a pious duty to take part

in.
Ribaldry and coarseness were a traditional element in the
worship of Dionysus, handed down from rude and primitive
a religious celebration, which
times,
and were not
it
lightly to
be dispensed with.
such matters were thoroughly conservative..
in
It
The Greeks
was a
feeling
of this kind which caused the satyric drama to be developed

side by side with tragedy, in order that the old licentious merri-
ment of the satyrs might not be utterly forgotten. The coarseness of the Old Comedy, being a regular part of the celebrations
in honour of Dionysus, might be witnessed by boys and women
without degradation, though their presence at similar scenes in
real life
Where
would have been regarded
in a
very different manner.
was concerned, the practice of

keeping women in strict seclusion was allowed to drop into
abeyance. Women and even girls were present at the phallic
processions in honour of Dionysus ^ Their appearance on such
occasions we^^regarded as a mere matter of course.
It need
the worship of the gods
not therefore surprise us that
women and boys
should have been
present in the theatre at the performances of the Old Comedy.
Whether they were ever present in large numbers is a further

Even those writers who admit that their presence
question.
^
Vit. Aeschyli, p.
4 Dindf.
Corp. Inscr. Att.
iii.
282,313, 315,
321, 322, 324, 325, 333, 342, 343,

345, 350. 351, 354, 361, &c.
.316,
Aristoph. Achar. 241-246; Menand.
Frag. Incert 32 (Meineke, P'rag.
Gr.
iv. p.
243).
Com.
COMPOSITION OF THE AUDIENCE.
VII.]
301
was not prohibited by law, generally add that the more respectable women would in all probability keep away \
But the only
authority for such a notion
passages
be found in a couple of
to
is
Aristophanes, which represent
in
husband as
the
home ^
present in the theatre, while the wife was at
There
is
nothing so unusual in an occurrence of this kind as to warrant
Some
any sweeping conclusions.

remained
at
home, from the mere
have been large enough

Athens,
it is
if
people must necessarily have
would not
fact that the theatre
contain the whole population of
to
men, women, and children had
all
been present.
But
hardly probable, for the reasons already stated, that there was
anything disreputable in a
woman
the
visiting
Re-
theatre.
formers like Aristotle were in advance of ordinary public opinion

in their
feelings about
Aristotle's Politics
There
such matters.
which
is
a passage in
of great interest as showing the
is
general sentiment on the subject
Aristotle expresses a strong
'^.
opinion that boys should be prevented from seeing or hearing
any piece of coarseness or indecency.
Even
if
such ribaldry
an essential feature in the worship of any particular
men
says that only
should be allowed to be present.
is
he
deity,
The men
should pay the proper homage to gods of this character on behalf

of themselves, their wives, and their children
but boys should
not be permitted to be witnesses of comedies and similar spec-
This passage,
tacles.
in
which Aristotle
"ing practice of the times, is
is
combating the prevail-
an additional proof that boys were
present at the performance of comedies, and shows clearly that
when
the worship of the gods
was concerned ordinary public
opinion did not consider such spectacles improper.
E.g.
Miiller,
die Griech. Biilmen-
Aristot. Pol.
vii.
17
ljri;ufA.S ;tei/ oSi/
alterthiimer p. 291.
carco rols dpxovai fxrjOkv
Aristoph. Av. 793~79^ ^' "^^ )"^'"

Xctojv Tis vfiMV hariv oaris TV7xai/i,
A"?'"*
ypa(prjv
/iiixijaivêl
rbv dvbpa t^s yvvaiKOS (V

PovXevTiKw,
ovTOS av irdXiv Trap' vpLWV
rrTepvyicras dviinaTO,
dra Pivrjaas IkhKaO' opa
fir)
elvai
6eu avdis av KaOeêro.
397 wct' ev6vs (iai6vTs
Thesm. 395diro tcuv 'iKpiajv
VTTofiXiiTova Tjixds, aKOTTovvTai
Se tovtois
irapciTKn OeoTs toiovtois
d(pir](Tiv
evSov
ris dnoKtKpv/xfiivos.
irXiov
avrcoy nal
6 vopios roiis exovras
vpoarjKovaav
refivctiv
oh
irpos
KalyvvaiKwv
roiis 8e
koi
virep
TifxaXcpetv
veajrepovs ovt' id/X'
Pcou ovt KO}pL<^hia% Oârds vopioOeTrjTioy.
(vOecos
\
Hr) /xoixos
-qXiKiav
roiis $eovs.
|
dyaXfjia
vpd^ccuv
KalrovTOoOaapLovavoUdojaLV ovopLOS'
fxrjre
toiovtoov
THE AUDIENCE,
ôa
women and
Besides
children
it
[Ch.
appears that slaves were ocPlato in the Gorgias mentions
casionally present at the theatre.
slaves as one of the classes before which the tragic poets will not
be allowed
man
perform in his ideal commonwealth \ The shameless
to
described by Theophrastus takes the
theatre, along with his sons,
did not really belong

the
number of
'
paedagogus
and crowds them
all into
'
seats
to the
which
him^ It is not however probable that

among the audience was ever very great.
to
slaves
Their presence would depend upon the kindness of their masters.
But the two passages just quoted prove that there was no law
to prevent their attendance.
Price of Admission,
2.
The
dramatic entertainments at Athens were provided by the
originally free,
The
whole people.
state for the benefit of the
and every man was allowed
entrance was
to get the best seat
he could.
But as the drama was extremely popular from the
very
the struggle for seats caused great
first,
disturbances.
People used to come and secure places the night before the per-
formance began
complained that they were crowded
citizens
out of the theatre by foreigners
quent occurrence.
entrance
fee,
and
blows and fights were of
was therefore decided
It
to
fre-
charge a small
to sell all the seats in advance.
In this
way
was avoided, and as each man's seat was

secured for him, he was able to go to the theatre at a more
reasonable hour^ The price of a seat for one day's performThe same price appears to have been
ance was two obols.
the crush of people
charged for
all
the different parts of the theatre, with the excep-
tion of the reserved seats for priests, officials,
tinguished persons
*.
goodness and badness of the

^
2
^
Gorg. 502 D.
Theophrast. Char. 9.
Schol. Lucian. Tim, 49
seat,
Plat.
Suidas
v.
OeoupiKov.
*
Dem. de
Cor.
28
dW'
^voTv dôXoTv kOfwpovv dv.
and other
dis-
gradation of prices, according to the
ev
toTv
This pas-
sage shows that there was no alternative
would probably not have been

between the reserved seats for distinguished persons, and the ordinary twoobol seats. The passage in Plat. Apol.
26 D, which has often been quoted to
prove that some seats cost a drachma,
has probably no reference to the theatre.
See above, chap. iii. p. 106.
PRICE OF ADMISSION,
VII.]
tolerated
303
by the democracy, as giving the
too great an
rich
advantage over the poor.
man had
Until the time of Pericles every
to
pay
although the charge was a very small one.

classes
began
them, and
for his place,
But the poorer
complain that the expense was too great for
to
that
the
rich
bought up
citizens
the
all
seats.
Pericles therefore, in order to gratify the democracy, passed
a measure directing that every citizen should have the price

of the entrance to the dramatic performances paid to him by the
The sum given in this way was called theoric money.

The law is described as if it was of universal application, but it
is probable that in Pericles' time, and for many years afterwards,
only the needy citizens applied for the theoric grants
The
amount given to each man is sometimes said to have been
state.
'
There
a drachma, sometimes two obols.
entrance
therefore a
drachma was
given,
which the performances
at
The amount
is
no doubt that the
one day's performance was two obols.
for
fee
'
it
in
must have been
If
for a festival
the theatre lasted
three days.
of the theoric grant would of course vary according
to the length of the festival
^.
It
is
well
known
that in later
times this system of theoric donations developed into the most
Grants of money were given
scandalous abuse.
not merely at the Dionysia, but at

to provide
all
them with banquets and means of enjoyment.
much eagerness
rich claimed the grant with quite as
The
to the citizens,
the other Athenian festivals,
military revenues
theoric fund ^
At
were impoverished
in
The
as the poor.
order to supply the
however, the donations were limited to
first,
the dramatic performances at the Dionysia.

^
Ulpian. ad
Dem.
Olynth.
i.
p. 13
^ The amount of the grant is given as

two obols by Suidas, Photius, and Etym.
Mag. V. OeojpiKov by Libanius, Hypoth.
ad Dem. Olynth. i. p. 8 and by Schol.
;
Aristoph, Vesp. 1118.
Ulpian , on
mistaken in
asserting that of the two obols one was
for admission to the theatre, the other
for refreshments.
The Schol. on Dem.
de Cor. 28 also erroneously states
that the price of admission was one
hvoTv dPoXotv (Oewpovv dv.
Dem. Olynth.
Plut. Pericles p. 157 A.
It is
given as a
drachma by Schol. Lucian. Tim. 49;

and by Photius, Suidas, and Harpocrat.
That the amount was two
s.v. OeojpiKCL.
obols for a single day is proved by the
passage in Dem. de Cor.
28
Ij/
toiv
i.
p.
13, is
obol.
^
i.
Liban. Hypoth. ad
Ammonius, de
p. 8
dfojpSs;
iv, 38,
Dem. de
Dem. Olynth.
diff.
vocab.
v.
Cor. 118, Philipp.
THE AUDIENCE.
304
The
receipts from the sale of places in the theatre v/ent to the
The arrangement in
was a person who
lessee.
The
[Ch.
lessee
was
this matter
a peculiar one.
entered into a contract with the
by which he undertook to keep the fabric of the theatre in

and in return was allowed to take all the entrance
good
money. If he failed to keep the theatre in good condition, the
state,
repair,
state did the necessary repairs
He
expenses.
had
to
for distinguished persons,
and
it
paid him for these seats or not.

the theatre he
was allowed
3.
When
is
the theatre
was
full
^.
the Seats.
the audience
As
numbered
on
this
known, and some
facts are
had reserved seats
in the front,
two-obol seats at the back.
and the occupants of the ordinary
A gradation
prices was, as previously stated,

nians.
The
of seats with descending
unknown
to the ancient
Athe-
privilege of having a reserved seat in the theatre
and was conferred by the state ^ From

number of persons who enjoyed the distinction it is
called 'proedria,'
the large
clear that several of the front

this
The
conclusion
is
rows must have been reserved
confirmed by the inscriptions in
which show that seats were assigned
theatre,
was generally called

(Dem. de Cor. 28), because part of his contract was to look
lessee
apxtTKTa}v
at the
Peiraeeus engage to keep the
fabric
in
Cor.
28
good repair
rj
diav
fj.T)
(2)
apxireKTOva avroTs KcXevaai
was
vii.
ad Dem. Olynth.
from the
fact of his selling seats
... 5vo dPoXovs,
i.
ha
p.
.
Dem. de
Karavuiiai
He
also called OearpoirwX'qs (Poll.
the
to particular in-
after the buildings of the theatre.
199),
close
arrangement of
the
to
may be made but the information is not very comThe great distinction was between the dignitaries who
inferences
plete.
the other portions of
all
charge two obols and no more \
to
enormous mass of people some few
and
uncertain whether the state
For
The Distribution of
thirty thousand persons
was
and made him pay the
itself,
provide reserved seats in the front rows
(3)
rov
Ulpian.
13 wcrre Xa/xPdveiv
tov S' aWov -nap-
and OeaTpojvTjs (Theophrast. Char, 11),

from the fact of his having taken the
theatre on lease.
The nature of the
excti' excuat to)
arrangement with the lessee may be

gathered from (1) Corp. Inscr. Att. ii.
573, in which the lessees of the theatre
lux, iv. 121, states rather doubtfully that
dpxt''"''f'''0''' '''oy
êdrpou.
See above, chap.
Schol. Aristoph. Equit. 572.
iii.
p. 122.
Pol-
the Tr/ooeSpm in the theatre might also be

called irpurov ^vXov.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SEATS,
VII.]
305
dividuals as far back as the twenty-fourth tier from the fronts
The
recipients of the honour, or at
any
more prominent
rate the
of them, were conducted in a solemn procession to the theatre
each morning by one of the state
officials
^.
Foremost among the persons who had seats

were the
ferent
and religious
priests
in the front
That they should be distinguished
divinities.
manner was only
keeping with
in
the
dif-
in this
essentially religious
An
character of the ancient Greek drama.

to the theatre at the Peiraeeus,
rows
connected with the
officers
and belonging
inscription referring
to the third or fourth
century b.c, mentions the priests specially by name as the most
who had
conspicuous members of the class
The
upon the seats
inscriptions
the
in the theatre at
'
proedria ^
'
Athens, which
represent for the most part the arrangement that existed during
the reign of Hadrian, place the matter in a very clear light.
They
enable us to determine the occupants of fifty-four out of
sixty-seven
seats
the
in
row;
front
and
is
it
found that of
these fifty-four persons no less than forty-five were priests, or

ministers connected with religion.
Similarly, in the
rows imme-
number of places were set

and priestesses
Such was the
diately behind the front row, a large
apart for the different priests
arrangement
doubt that
it
''.
the time of Hadrian, and there can be
in
was much the same
in its general character
little
during
the period of the Athenian democracy.
Among
state officials the nine
had distinguished places
archons and the ten generals

In Hadrian's time the
in the theatre.
archons occupied seats in the front row, and
it
is
probable that
was assigned to them from the earliest period.

The generals were in some prominent part of the theatre, but the
this position
Corp. Inscr. Att.

Corp. Inscr. Att.
303-384.
589 shows that
in the Peiraeeus the demarch used to
conduct the persons honoured with
^
iii.
ii.
proedria to the theatre.

tice
A similar prac-
was no doubt observed
at Athens.
Corp. Inscr. Att. ii. 589 koI elffa76x0; avTov 6 Srifiapxos eh to Otarpov
^
tcaOattep hpeis Kal tovs

57
irpoedpia
trapd
aWovs oh
TldpaUuv.
dedorai
Cp. also
Hesych. v. I'c/xijo'eis Qkav 'AOtjvcuoi tcLs

Oiarpw KaOeSpas, xf^rjipiafxaTi veve-
ev to)
fjnj/jievas
*
irpoibpias iepevaiv.
Corp.
Inscr.
Att.
iii.
Fifty- two thrones in the front
240-298.
row have
been preserved, with the inscriptions

upon them and it is quite clear that
two other thrones must have been reserved for the two remaining Thesmo;
thetae.
THE AUDIENCE.
306
exact place
is
The snob
not known.
in
[ch.
Theophrastus was always
Ambassadors from
was previously pointed out, were generally
provided with front seats, on the motion of some member of the
Demosthenes is taunted by Aeschines for the excesCouncil.
sive politeness which he showed to Philip's ambassadors on
anxious to
sit
them as possible \
as near to
foreign states, as
an occasion of
Peiraeeus,
kind.
this
as appears
The
lessee of the
from an inscription
the
theatre at
still
was
extant,
ordered to provide the ambassadors from Colophon with
re-
The Spartan ambassadors

were sitting in a most distinguished part of the theatre when
they considerately gave up a place to an old man for whom
no one else would make room^ The judges of the various
served
places at
the
Dionysia.
'
contests sat together in a body, and would
naturally be pro-
vided with one of the best places in the theatre ^
men who had
sons of
fallen in battle received
in addition to other honours, the distinction of
'
The orphan
from the
state,
proedria.'
The
was frequently conferred by decree upon great

public benefactors, and was generally made hereditary in the
same
privilege
family, descending
by succession to the eldest male representative.
An
kind was bestowed upon Demosthenes \
honour of
With
this
the exception of the reserved places in the front rows,
the rest of the auditorium consisted of the ordinary two-obol
Concerning the arrangements adopted
seats.
theatre a few details have been recorded.
It
in this part of the
appears that spe-
portions of the auditorium were set apart for the different
cial
There was a particular place for

members of the Council of Five Hundred, and another place
classes of the community.
the
for
the Ephebi, or youths between the age of eighteen and twenty
The women were
Corp.
separated from the men, and the courtesans
from the other
sat apart
Inscr.
Att.
Aristoph. Equit. 573-576
It
^.
is
254-260;
See chap.
Aeschin. Ctesiph.
Orat.,
Att.
hcprjfiiKov.
Max.
164
iii.
5.
probable that
Theophrast.
iii.
;
women
Char. 5.
^ Aeschin. Fals. Leg.
tii, Ctesiph.
76; Dem. de Cor. 28; Corp. Inscr.
ii.
^.
Cic. de Senect.
63
Val.
i.
all
the
p. 46.
154; Plut.
and II, p. 851 A-F.

Schol. Aristoph. Av. 795
Poll. iv.
prephisms
122 fiov\(VTi/cdv fiSpos rod Bedrpov

e
Schol. Aristoph. Eccles. 22.
ml
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SEATS.
VII.]
307
women
sat at the
stage.
Foreigners also seem usually to have been confined
back of the theatre,
The amphitheatre
back seats \
at a
long distance from the

to the
of seats was divided into thirteen
blocks by the passages which ran upwards from the orchestra.

It
is
a very plausible conjecture that in the arrangement of
it.
Not
was any correspondence between the number of the
blocks and the number of the tribes. The blocks of seats were
the audience each tribe had a special block assigned to

that there
thirteen from the
first
the tribes were originally ten, and were
only raised in later times to twelve and thirteen.
were
particular blocks
If therefore
really appropriated to particular tribes,
there must have been from one to three blocks unappropriated
during a considerable period of Athenian history.
But the
recent excavations in the theatre afford grounds for inferring
was a connexion between certain blocks and certain

and the thing is not improbable in itself^ The tribal
that there
tribes,
divisions played a large part in the various details of Attic ad-
and an arrangement by
tribes
would have greatly
facilitated
the process of distributing the
enormous mass of
spectators
among
ministration,
their proper seats.
Before leaving this part of the subject

give a complete
front
of the priests and
list
row was reserved

Pax 962-966
Aristoph.
OearaTs pinre
KpiOwv.
tuiv
in later times.
koI
It
the eastern end
OI. vi) rbv 'Epixrjv,

TP. Uo)Kas tjSt}
... ovk (Otiv ovdels oaris ov
;
Kpid7]v
ex^'-
iKafiov.
''^X o* fwaiKes
TwaiKOKparia, fr.
"I^*
I
Alexis,
is
still
useful to
whom
7'
the
possible, as
tribe Erectheis, is in the first block
toTs
OI. ihov.
\
ware ye
may be
it
officials for
from
the second, erected by
the tribe Acamanthis,
is
in the
block from the eastern end
erected by the tribe Oeneis,
sixth
the third,
is
in
the
from the western end (C.I. A.

466-468). Thus the place of each
sixth block
(Meineke, Fiag. Com. Gr. iii. p. 402)

kvTavOa irepl ttjv effxaTrjv Set /cepKida
vftas KaOiôvffas Oecvpeiv ws eVas.
2 In the central block, on the third
step, was a statue of Hadrian, of which
iii.
statue
in
the
series
of blocks corre-
the basis
is
still
preserved, erected in
112 A. D. hy the Areopagus, the Council

of Six Hundred, and the people of
Athens (C.
I.
the bases of
ii. 464).
Besides this,
three other statues of
A.
Hadrian, erected by different

still
in existence.
second step.
The
tribes, are
They
are all on the
first,
erected by the
sponded exactly with the place of the

tribe in the official list of tribes.
It is
therefore a highly plausible conjecture

that, in addition to the statue of Hadrian
in the central block, there
were twelve
other statues erected by the twelve tribes
remaining blocks and that each

special block appropriated
to itself.
See Benndorf, Beitrage zur
Kentniss des att. Theaters p. 4 ff.
in the
tribe
X 2
had a
THE AUDIENCE.
3o8
[Ch.
already stated, to determine the occupants of fifty-four out of

the sixty-seven seats
tions,
is
^.
^f
without interest, as
to
and the arrangement, with a few excep-
that of Hadrian's
it
time\
The
list
of names
not
is
^v'^^.at^^s^,
enables us, better than any description,
form a general conception of the sort of arrangement which
^ Corp.
Inscr.
Alt. iii. 240-298.
There is a very full account of the
inscriptions on the thrones in Wheeler's
article on the Theatre of Dionysus, in
Papers
of
Classical
152
ff.
the
American School
Studies at Athens vol.
i.
of
p.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SEATS.
VlL]
was probably adopted
an earlier period.
at
309
It also affords
curious glimpse into the religious side of the old Athenian
and helps us
to realise the variety
and ceremonials.
deities,
in the best place in the
and
multiplicity of priests,
In the very centre of the front row,
whole
theatre, sat the priest of
Dionysus
A repre-
Eleuthereus, on a throne of elaborate workmanship.

sentation of the throne
is
here inserted \
As
it
was only
was
the theatre
regarded as a temple of Dionysus, and the drama was a

bration in his honour,
life,
cele-
should
fitting that his priest
There
occupy the most conspicuous and distinguished position.
a reference to the arrangement in the Frogs of Aristophanes,
is
in the scene
where Dionysus
and desperately appeals
the thirty-three seats to the
occupants of twenty are
is terrified
to his
still
own
left
by the goblins
Hades,
in
priest for protection
^.
Of
of the priest of Dionysus the
known, and were as follows
Priest of Zeus the Protector of the City.
The Sacrificer.
The Hieromnemon^
Priest
and Chief Priest of Augustus Caesar.

Hadrian Eleuthereus.
Priest of
Chief Archon.
King Archon.
Polemarch.
The Six Thesmothetae.

The lacchus-carrier*.
The Sacred Herald.
Priest of Asclepius the Healer.
Fire-bringer from the Acropolis^.

Priest of the People, the Graces,
Holy Herald and

^
The
illustration
Zeitschrift
fiir
taken
is
bildende Kunst vol.
from
xiii.
On the back, of the chair are

p. 196.
depicted two Satyrs, holding a bunch of
In the front, underneath the
grapes.
seat, are
in a fight
and Rome.
Priest.
two Oriental figures, engaged

with winged lions. On the
chap.
iii.
p. 162).
The
significance of
the Oriental figures has not yet been
explained,
^
^
Aristoph. Ran. 297.

the representative of Athens at
I. e.
the Amphictyonic Council,

*
I. e.
the
priest
who
carried
the
arms of the throne are
figures of Cupids,
lacchus, or sacred statue of Dionysus,
setting cocks to fight.
The
at the Eleusinian procession,
appropriate-
ness of the Satyrs, as a decoration in the

theatre of Dionysus,
is
cocks, no doubt, refer
obvious.
to
The
the annual
cock-fight held in the theatre (see above,
I. e.
the priest
who looked
sacrificial fire in the
on the Acropolis,
after the
temple of Athene
THE AUDIENCE,
310
All the thrones to the right
[Ch.
hand of the
Dionysus
priest of
have been preserved, and were occupied by the following persons
by the Pythian Oracle

Olympian Zeus.
Interpreter appointed
Priest of
Hierophant.
Priest of Delian Apollo.
Priest of Poseidon the Nourisher.
Fire-bringer of the Graces, and of Artemis of the Tower.

Interpreter chosen
.
from the Eupatridae by the people
Priest of Poseidon the Earth-holder
for life.
and Poseidon Erectheus.
Priest of Artemis Colaenis.

Priest of
Dionysus the Singer, chosen from the Euneidae.
Bullock-keeper of Palladian Zeus.

Priest of Zeus of the Council
and Athene of the Council 2.
and Athene the Deliverer.
Priest of Zeus the Deliverer
from the
Priest of Antinous the Dancer, chosen
Company
of Actors^.
Priest of
Apollo Patrons.
Priest of
Dionysus the Singer, chosen from the Company of Actors.
Priest of
Glory and Order.
Priest of Asclepius,
Priest of the Muses.
god of Friendship.
Twelve Gods.
Priest of Zeus the
Priest of the
Statue-cleanser of Zeus at Pisa.

Priest of the
Lycean Apollo.
Olympian Zeus in the City.

and the Hero Epiteîus*.
of Heavenly Nemesis.
Statue-cleanser of
Priest of the Dioscuri

Priest
Priest of Hephaestus.
Priest of Apollo the Laurel- wearer.

Priest of Dionysus of Aulon.
The
Stone-carrier "'.
Priest of Theseus.
Bullock-keeper of Zeus the Accomplisher.

Priest of
The
in the
^
Demeter and Persephone.
priests
enumerated here were the principal dignitaries
Athenian hierarchy.
He was
Behind them
one of the three Exegetae,
or Interpreters of sacred law, and
was
appointed by the Pythian oracle. A

second was chosen by the people from
the Eupatridae, and also had a seat in
the front row.
They were the guardians of the
"^
fiovKij,
and
their
altars
were
in
the
sat a large gathering
PovXevTrjpiov.
This Antinous was a favourite of

and was drowned in the
Nile, and afterwards deified,
^
Hadrian's,
^
Unknown,
probably an
sacred stone in
nothing
is
official
who
carried a
some procession
known about him.
but
VARIOUS ARRANGEMENTS.
VII.]
of inferior priests and priestesses.
311
Their presence in such num-
bers at performances Hke the Old and Middle
Comedy
affords
a curious illustration of the religious sentiment of the Athenians,
and indicates clearly that the coarseness of the early comedy,
and
its
burlesque representations of the gods and their adven-
tures, did not constitute
any offence against
an appropriate element
in the
formed
religion, but
worship of Dionysus.
Various arrangements in connexion with the Audience.
4.
The performance
continued
of plays
began soon
another in rapid succession \

the subject,
There was no
day long without intermission.
all
such thing as an interval for refreshments
it is
and
sunrise,
after
one play followed
Apart from direct evidence upon
manifest that, considering the large
number of
plays which had to be gone through in the time, any delay would
have been out of the question.
were
careful to
There was
Consequently the spectators
have a good meal before starting for the theatre ^
also a plentiful
consumption of wine and various
light
The
refreshments in the course of the actual performances.
time for such an indulgence was during the tedious portions of
when one
a play, but
of the great actors came upon the stage,
the provisions were laid aside, and the audience
became
all
attention ^
The
ance.
must have presented a bright and festive appearCrowns were worn in honour of Dionysus by the express
theatre
command
The
of the oracle \
gaily-coloured
dresses of the
At
same time the comfort of the audience was not very much
spectators would add greatly to the brilliancy of the scene.
the
Aeschin. Ctesipb. 76 aiia t^ '7A*/'?

els to Oearpov.
^yeiTO Tois rrpiafiâiv
Dem, Meid.
vijcpovTOS)
'icvOfv,
786-789 avTix
û
74 hyw
viroTTTepos,
Twv Tpaywhwv
5'
vn
kx&pov
Aristoph. Av.
k.t.X.
vfiwv Tuiv OeaTUJV
ei
tis
efra ireivaiv tois x^po^^''

TjxOeTO,
kKTrrofxevos
ovTOS ripioTTjaev k\6ajv oiKaSe,

f liirXrjfrOets k<p' fjîds
av
Kdr av
avOis av KaTkiTTaTO.
Philochorus ap. Athen. p. 464 E

'AOrjvaioi tois ^lowaiaKOis dyojoi Td {xlv
2
irpwrov ^pio'TijKOTes Kal vencoKores kPdbiôv
km
rT)v diav.
Philochor. ap. Athen. \.c. irapa hi

tuv dyuiua iravTa olvos aiiTois djvoxoeiro
^
koI
rpayfifiara
irapfcpipeTO.
Aristot.
^th. Nic. x. 5 Kal kv tois OeaTpois ol

TpayrjfxaTiôvTfs,
(ojjievoi
*
orav (pav\oi
Philochor.
ap.
Athen.
kcTicpavojuivoi kOewpovv.
52.
01
dyouvi-
wai, Tore frnXiar avTo Spa/ffiv.

1.
c.
kox
Dem. Meid.
THE AUDIENCE.
312
The
consulted.
people had to
was
as
them.
were of stone, and without backs ; and the

all day long, packed together as closely
seats
sit
[Ch.
there
Rich men brought cushions and carpets with
possible.
Aeschines draws a contemptuous picture of Demosthenes
escorting Philip's ambassadors to the theatre in person, and
arranging their cushions and spreading their carpets with his
own
The toady in Theophrastus, when he accompanies

man to the theatre, is careful to take the cushion out
hands.
a wealthy
of the slave's hands, and to insist upon placing
But luxuries of
patron \
classes,
it
ready for his
kind were confined to the richer
this
and the common people were probably contented with
the stone seats.
There was no shelter from the sun. The theatre faced toBut as the
wards the south, and was entirely uncovered.
dramatic performances took place at the end of the winter, or
early in the spring, the heat would not usually be excessive.
Probably the sun was in most cases very welcome. If however
any shelter was required, hats appear
to
have been worn, though
the Athenians generally went bare-headed except
ney ^
It
upon a
jour-
has been suggested that small awnings were sometimes
erected upon rods by individual spectators for their
and
venience,
that
the
'
purple cloths
'
own
con-
which Demosthenes
spread out for Philip's ambassadors were awnings of this description ^
But
it is
most improbable that anything of the kind
was permitted, at any rate during the period of the democracy.

Such awnings would have seriously interfered with the view of
the persons immediately behind.
To keep
order
among a gathering of about
thirty
thousand
persons, crowded together in a comparatively small space, must
have been a matter of some
Aeschin. Ctesiph.
76, Fals. Leg.
111; Theophrast. Char.

"^
TcDi/
cTTi
Suidas
v TO)
V.
ApaKOJV
Ofdrpof,
virb
rwv
cut
in the
rods,
2.
Alyivrj-
knippixpavTojv
Certain officers called
difficulty.
avrai
7^v K<paX-qv TTtraaovs v\(iovas Koi
to
they date from
purpose
is
ôiviKidts
XiToivas Kal Ifxaria, direirviyr}.
(Ctesiph.
In one or two places in the theatre

of Dionysus holes appear to have been
or carpets.
stone for the reception
of
support small awnings; but
Roman
not
quite
times,
and
certain.
their
The
mentioned
by Aeschines
76) were probably coverlets
CHARACTER OF ATTIC AUDIENCES.
VII.]
'
staff-bearers
'
were stationed
in the theatre for the
313
purpose \
Disturbances were not infrequent, and arose from various causes.
Sometimes the rivalry between two choregi resulted in actual

For example, on one occasion, when Taureas and
Alcibiades were competitors in a dithyrambic contest, a fight
broke out between them, in the course of which Alcibiades,
violence.
being the stronger
man
of the two, drove Taureas out of the
That the feeling between the choregi often ran
orchestral
very high has already been pointed out in a previous chapter.

Disputes about seats were another
With
fertile
source of disturbance.
the exception of the front row, the individual places were
not separated from one another, but the people sat together on
Such an arrangement was very likely

Demosthenes mentions the case of a highly
the long stone benches.

to cause confusion.
distinguished citizen,
owing
to his
who
ran great risk of being put to death,
having forcibly ejected a
man from
his seat.
Per-
was regarded as a crime against

If any dispute arose, the
prohibited.
sonal violence in the theatre

religion,
and was
strictly
proper course was to appeal to the

took the law into his
5.
own hands was
officers
and the man who
guilty of a capital offence
^.
Character of Attic Audiences.
The Athenians were

their feelings in the
a lively audience, and gave expression to
The
most unmistakable manner.
noise and
uproar produced by an excited crowd of thirty thousand persons
must have been of a deafening character, and

difficult for
the judges to resist
accordance with their
in
modes of
own
is
It
modern
times,
The ordinary
much the same in
private judgment.
signifying pleasure or disgust were
ancient as in
described in the
was exceedingly
such demonstrations, and to vote
most uncomplimentary language by Plato *.
and consisted of hisses and groans
on the one hand, and shouts and clapping of hands on the other \
The Athenians had

^
Pax
^
^
also a peculiar
way of marking
Called pa$So(f>6poi (Schol. Aristoph.
Plat.
and pal3dovxoi (Pax 734).

Andocid. Alcibiad. 20.
Dem. Meid.
734),
Dem. Meid.
178, 179.
Epist.
iii.
their dis-
Legg. 700 C.
71.
14, 226; Alciphron,
THE AUDIENCE.
314
[Ch.
approval of a performance by kicking with the heels of their

sandals against the front of the stone benches on which they
were
Stones were occasionally thrown by an
sitting'.
There
death/ in the course of his theatrical career.
to
irate
Aeschines was hissed off the stage, and âlmost stoned
audience.
is
an
allusion to the practice in the story of the second-rate musician,
who borrowed
a supply of stone from a friend in order to build
a house, and promised to repay
him with the stones he
from his next performance in public

Attic
demes used
and
figs
On
ing unpopular actors ^
unknown,
and
in the
similar missiles, for pelt-
the other hand, encores were not
particular passages took the fancy of the audience.
if
Socrates
olives,
collected
Country audiences
^.
said to have encored the
is
three lines of the
first
Orestes of Euripides^.
If the
Athenians were dissatisfied with an actor or a play,
they had no hesitation about revealing the
fact,
but promptly
put a stop to the performance by means of hisses and groans and
stamping with the heels.
They were
readiness, as several plays
were always performed
and they could
call for
tainment to a close.
programme very
the
able to do so with greater

in succession,
the next play, without bringing the enter-
In this
way they sometimes

There
rapidly.
is
got through
an instance of such an
occurrence in the story of the comic actor Hermon, whose play
should naturally have come on
late in the
day
but as
all
the
previous performers were promptly hissed off the stage one after
another, he
was
upon much sooner than he expected, and
called
consequence was not ready
in
comic poet Diphilus
to
is true, it
appear ^
would seem
If the tale about the
that
even the authors
of very unsuccessful plays were sometimes forcibly ejected from

the theatre ^
A
'
few scattered notices and descriptions, referring to the
Poll. iv.
122 TO iikvroi
TO.
\lw\ia
rah mkpvais Karafcpovdv impvoKOfTiiv

eXfyov
kiroiovv
Se
rovTo
onoTf
Tiva
(K0dKoi(v.
^
Dem.
Fals. Leg. 337
Athen.
p.
M6i$ seems
to
245 E.
'
Dem. de
Cor. 262.
Cic. Tusc. iv. 63.
have been the word used; cp. Xen.

Symp. ix. 4 ct'yua St kPowv av6is.
^ Poll. iv. 88.
he word for hissing
an actor off the stage was eftPdWciv
to be hissed off was kKvivTuv.
See
Dem. de Cor. 265, Poll. iv. 122.
Athen.
p. 585 F.
VII.]
spectators
in
show
the Athenian theatre,
was very much the same
in
that
315
human
nature
ancient times as at the present
Certain types of character, which were generally to be
day.
met with among an Attic audience,
be recognised
will easily
There was the man of taste, who prided

superior discernment, and used to hiss when
as familiar figures.
himself upon his
everyone else was applauding, and clap when every one else was
silent \
There was the person who made himself objectionable
his
neighbours by whistling an accompaniment to tunes
to
which happened
of the town,'
stage
the
to please
who took
him^
There were the 'young men
a malign pleasure in hissing a play off
There were the people who brought out
^.
their
provisions during the less exciting parts of the entertainment \
There was the somnolent individual who
slept peacefully
through
was not even waked up by the noise

of the audience going away ^
Certain indications show that the
employment of the claque was not unknown to Greek actors and
poets.
The parasite Philaporus, who had recently taken up the
profession of an actor, and was anxious about the result of his
first public appearance, writes to a friend to ask him to come
with a large body of supporters, and drown with their applause
tragedies and comedies, and
Philemon, in
the hisses of the critical part of the audience.

spite of his inferior talents as a
frequently
kind
won
victories from
comic writer,
Menander by
is
said to have
practices of this
".
The
character of the Athenian audience as a whole
is
well
exemplified by the stories of their treatment of individual poets.
Although they were willing
to tolerate the
utmost ribaldry upon
the stage, and to allow the gods and sacred legends to be bur-
lesqued in the most ridiculous fashion, they were at the same

time extremely orthodox in regard to the national religion.
atheistical sentiments,
were
i
liable
to
and any
provoke an outburst of the greatest violence.
Theophrast. Char.
Theophrast. Char.
11.
I.e.
*'
Alciphron, Epist. iii. 71 iVa, kov ti

\dOQ}fiv arroacpaXivm, fxrj Xdfiri xwpav
^
rd
Any
violations of their religious law,
daTiKOi fiapdKia kXw((iv ^
avpimiv.
Aristot. Eth. Nic. x. 5.
Theophrast. Char. 14.

Alciphron, Epist.
N. A.
xvii. 4.
iii.
71
Aul. Gell.
the audience,
3J6
[Ch.
Aeschylus on one occasion was nearly killed

itself,
the theatre
in
because he was supposed to have revealed part of the
mysteries in the course of a tragedy.

flying for refuge to the altar of
He was
Dionysus
only saved by
orchestral
in the
Euripides also caused a great uproar by beginning his Mela-
nippe with the
line,
save by report,' &c.
'Zeus, whoever Zeus be, for
by
truth,^
In the same
&c.
'
Zeus, as
way sentiments which
is
reported
violated the
moral feeling of the audience were received with intense

dignation,
and sometimes resulted
The Danae
not
In a subsequent production of a revised
version of the play he altered the line to

'
know
of Euripides
is
said to have
in-
stoppage of the play.
in the
been nearly hissed off
money ^
the stage because of a passage in praise of
On
the
other hand, wise and noble sentiments excited great enthusiasm.
Aristophanes was rewarded with a chaplet from the sacred olive

because of the splendid passage in which he counsels mercy to
the
disfranchised citizens.
Sophocles
is
said
to
have been
appointed one of the generals in the Samian expedition on account of the excellent political wisdom shown in certain passages
of the Antigone
in art is
^.
shown by
The
partiality of the
Athenians for idealism
the reception which they gave to Phrynichus*
tragedy of the Capture of Miletus, an historical drama in which
So far
him a thousand
the misfortunes of the lonians were forcibly portrayed.
from admiring the
drachmas
for
skill
of the poet, they fined
reminding them of the miseries of their kinsfolk,
and passed a law forbidding the reproduction of
this particular
play'.
The enthusiasm of the Athenians for the drama was

Nowhere was the theatre more crowded. In
bounded.
unthe
words of one of the old historians they 'spent the public

revenues on their festivals, wêre more familiar with the stage
than with the camp, and paid more regard to verse-makers than
Aristot Eth. Nic.
stath.
2
ad
iii.
2,
and Eu-
loc.
Plut.
Gi. Frag.
Amator. 756 C; Nauck, Trag.

p.
405.
Senec. Epist.
115; Nauck, Trag.
Gr. Frag. p. 363.

* Vit.
Aristoph.
(Dindf. Prolegom.
de Com. p. 12) Arg. to Soph. Antig.
5 Herod, vi. 21.
;
VIT.]
317
The speeches of Demosthenes are full of comstrain.

The eagerness with which dramatic
were coveted, and the elaborate monuments erected to
to generals \*
plaints in the
victories
same
commemorate them, have already been referred to in a previous

It was not however till the middle of the fourth cenchapter.
tury that the devotion to this and similar amusements grew to
such a height as to become a positive vice, and to sap the
The Athenians
military energies of the people.
of the
fifth
century showed that enthusiasm for art and music and the
drama was not

matter of
As
inconsistent with energy of character.
fact the
very greatest period of the Attic drama
also
is
the period of the political supremacy of Athens.
As
far as intelligence
and discrimination are concerned, the
Athenian audiences were probably superior
to
any audience of
same size which has ever been brought together. Their

keen and rapid intellect was a subject of frequent praise among
the ancients, and was ascribed to the exhilarating influence of the
They were especially distinguished for the reAttic climate ^.
finement of their taste in matters of art and literature, and for the
soberness of judgment with which they rejected any sort of florid
exuberance. That they were keenly alive to the attractions of
beauty of form and chastened simplicity of style is proved by the
fact that Sophocles was by far the most successful of their tragic
Though Euripides became more popular among the
poets.
later Greeks, Sophocles in his own lifetime obtained far more
At the same time it is
victories than any other tragic writer ^
the
easy to form an exaggerated idea of the refinement of an Attic

audience.
They were drawn from
all
classes of the people,
a large proportion were ignorant and uncultured.

in the
and
Plato speaks
most disparaging terms of them, and charges them with
having corrupted the dramatic poets, and brought them down to

1
Justin.
17.
9.
The passage was
rum semper
very likely from Theopompus.

2 Dem. Olynth. iii.
15 kox ^vuvai
ruptum
iravTOJV vp.iTs b^vraroi to. ^rjOevra.
Cic.
Atticorum
Athenis tenue caelum, ex
sas qui se
de Fato
quo acutiores etiam putantur

^
Attici.
Cic. Orat. 25 (Athenienses) quo-
fuit
iudicium, nihil
audire
prudens sincerumque
ut possent
et
elegans
nisi
;
incor-
27
ad
igitur aures teretes et religio-
accommodant,
mandi Attice dicere.
ii
sunt existi-
THE AUDIENCE.
3i8
their
But
is
own
His evidence
leveP.
who had much
Aristotle,
He
not very complimentary.
into two classes, the refined
is
perhaps rather prejudiced.
greater faith in popular judgment,

divides the theatrical audience
and cultured
on the one hand,
class
and the mass of rough and ignorant artisans on the other.

of his objections to the profession of an actor or musician
One
is
that
he must accommodate himself to the level of the ignorant part of
He
his audience^.
mentions examples
from which
level of popular taste,
it
in the Poetics of the
spectator in ancient times was, like his
He
fond of 'happy terminations.'
requirements of the composition

rewarded,
and vice punished,
at
low
appears that the average
cared
modern
his desire
the
counterpart,
for the artistic
little
was
end of a
to see virtue
Then
play.
again, a large part of the audience, Aristotle remarks, were so
ignorant as to be unacquainted with the ordinary facts of mythology, which formed the basis of most tragedies.
In judging
more regard to the actor's voice than to the

At the same time, in spite of depreciatory cripoet's genius ^.
ticisms, it must be remembered that the true criterion of a
a play, they paid
people's taste
more than
is
to
The
favourites.
fifty
be found
years,
any rate during the
is
popular
victorious career of Sophocles,
lasting over
a convincing proof of the fact that, at
fifth
century, the dramatic taste
Athenians was altogether higher than that
of an
of the
ordinary
populai audience.
Legg. 659 B, C.
Plat.
Aristot. Pol.
viii. 7
8'
Oearfis
SiTTos, b fxev kkcvOepos Kal Treiraidevfêfos,
o 8e (popTiKoi
Itf
StTrX^j/ re t-^v avaraaw txovoa KaSdncp

'OSvaafia Kal TeKcvruiaa l kvavTias
roTs peXTioai Kal xf'Voo'tv.
SoK(r be
end
âvavcrwv Kal
OrjTwi' Kal
1)
eivai irpwrr] dia
t^v tu)v
Oedrpctiv doOe-
aWojv Toiovrojv avyKeifj,(Vcs, ibid. 6 6

yap Ocarrjs (popriKos $jv fierafidWeiv
ciu9e rrjv /xovffiK-fjv, ware koI tovs t^x^l-
veiav,
aKoXovOovai yap
ivx^v
iroiovvrfs tois OcaraTs.
Tos rovsTTpbs avTov fieKeruiVTas avrovs t
oXiyois yvuipifjcd kariv, dXX'
iroiovs Tivas ttoki.
vei irdvTas.
Aristot. Poet.
trpwrr] Keyopiivr] virb
c.
13
5(VTepa
8'
Tivuv kari avaraffis
(of the old legends)
dvvavrai vvv
Id.
tmv
ot
Ittci
Rhet.
iroirjTal
Kar'
Ibid. c. 9
Kal rd yvwpipa
iii.
iroirjTdiv 01
ofxcos evcppatI
eKii p-eTôv
vnoKpirai.
APPENDIX
The
A.
information concerning the dates at which the plays of the
and the success which they

met with in the competitions, is derived from various brief notices,
which occur mostly in the Arguments prefixed to the different plays,
and which were ultimately derived from Aristotle's Didascaliae, or
from other collections of the same kind (see chap. i. p. 6;^). A
complete list of these notices is here appended
great Attic dramatists were produced,
472
Arg. Aesch. Persae
Uepaats, FXavKto,
B.C.
*En\ Mevcovos
rpayabcov
AlaxiiXos
ivUa
$ti/et,
orf .
ivUa
IIpoiir]d7.
467
Arg. Aesch. Septem
*Edi8dxdr)
B.C.
em
eeayevidov oXvuniddi
Aaio), OldiTTobi, 'Ettto, eVt Qrjâs, 2(j)i,yyl o-aTvpiKrj.
devrepos Âpiarias Ucpa-e'i,
TavToXa, UaKaia-Tois (TaTvpiKois rots nparivov Trarpos,
rpiros TloXvcppadpcov
AvKovpyeia TCTpakoyiq.
458
Arg. Aesch.
Agamemnon
oXvpniddi oydoTjKoar^ erei 8evTep(p.

Evp.vl(n, UpcoTcl auTvpiKa.
TrpcoTOs AI(t\vXos 'Aya/xe/ij/ovi, Xorjcfiopoii,
ixoprjyei SevoicXris *A(j)idvvy.
455
Vit. Eurip. p. 4 Dindf.
apxovTos KUT oXvpmdda
B.C.
'EdiddxOrj t6 dpafxa eVt apxovros ^CKoKkiovs,
"Upâro
erei
rra
a,
B.C.
di
dibdaKdv (6
EvpiTTiBrjs) eVt
KaXXiov
TTpSnTOV b' edidaê rds IleXiddas, ore
koi
rpiros iyivero.
438
Arg. Eur. Alcestis
TTparos
rjv 2o(fiOKXi'is,
TrjXecfico,
'
devrepos Evpnridrjs Kprjaaais, *AXKpaia>vi
oXvfimdbi
ra
TTf'.
dia "âxjndos,
AXKrjcrridi.
431
Arg. Eur.
KOcrrt]V
B.C.
ÊbihdxOr} inX VXavKivov apxovros
Medea
ijSdofiTjv
Êdiddx^r)
6Xvp.Trid8a.
Evpmibijs MT)8eia, îXoKrrjrTjf
Aristid. vol.
TOP OldinovVf
S)
ii.
p.
Trpcoros
AiKrv'i,
430
334 Dindf.
Zcv Ka\
deoi.
B.C.
eVl Uvdobiiipov apxovros
EvôpioiVy
devrepos
Qepiara^s o-arvpois,
Kara
rr]V
oyborj-
2o(f)OKXrjs,
rpiros
ov
crciêrac.
B.C. (?)
2o(f)OKXr]s
îXoKXeovs fjrraro U ' AOrjvaiois
APPENDIX
3^0
428
Arg. Eur. HippolytUS
KocrTji i^dofiT], e ret
TerapTW. Trpcoros ^vpinidr]<:, bevTcpos
425
KaWio-rpdrov' Ka\
Trpatros
rpiros "lav.
B.C.
'ESiSdx^/? in\ ElBvvov apxovros iv Arjvaiois bia
devrepos Kparivos Xet/iaô/xci/ois* ov
rjv.
424
fls
lo(fiS)v,
(r<i)ôvTai.
l>iovp,r}viais.
Arg. Arist. Equites

brjfioo-ia
B.C.
'EStSa^^'J.cVi 'Afieivovos apxovros oXvixmddi oyBoT)-
Arg. Arist. Acharnenses
rpiros EviroXts
A,
Arjvaia,
avrov
bi
B.C.
*EdiBdxdr] r6
dpap.a
eVl
rov Âpiarotpdvovs.
^rparoKkeovs
apxovros
iviKa'
devrepos
7rpa>ros
Kparivos 2arvpois' rpiros * Api(Trop,evr]s 'YXo:/)opois.
423
Nubes
Arg. Arist.
*ladpxov, ore Kparivos
fxlv iv'iKa Uvrivrj, Âfxeiyj^las 8e
422
Nubes
Arg. Arist.
Arist.
Ka\
Vespae
B.C.
Al 7rp5>rai NeêXat iv aa-rei idibaxBrja-av
em
apxovros
Kovva.
B.C.
Ai Se devrepai NeêXat cVi Âpeiviov apxovros.
Arg.
'Ediddxdrj eVi apxovros *Ap.iviov dia îXcovtbov els Arjvaia'
evUa nparos.
devrepos
îKcovidrjs Upodycovij AevKcov Tlpeo-êa-t rpiros.
rjv
421 B.C.
ra bpdpan
.
Arg. Arist. Pax

ev acrrei.
ÊvUrjo-e be
TTOirjrrjs erri
rrpMros EvnoXis KoXaî, bevrepos 'Apicrrocfidvrjs
apxovros 'AXKatov,
Elprjvij^
rpiros AevKcov
^pdropcri.
415
Ael. Var. Hist.
ii.
Kara
B.C.
Ka\ evevrjKoa-rrjv oXvinridba
rrjv rrptarrjv
avrriyoivia-avro dXXrfXois ISevoKXrjs kol Evpnribrjs'
oaris Tvore ovros
ecrriv,
Ka\ Trpcoros ye
rjv
....
SevoKX.^s,
Olbinobi Ka\ AvKdovi Ka\ Baif;ât9 Ka\ Âddfiavn aarvpiKM.
rovrov bevrepos Evpinibris
rjv
ÂXe^dvbpco Kal UaXafirjbei Ka\ Tpmaai Ka\ Stcrvô)
aarvpiKw.
414
Arg. Arist. Aves
bevrepos rols "Opvia-i, irpoaros
ÂfieiyJAias Koifiaa-rals,
412
Ran. 53
Thesm. 1012
Schol. Arist.
Schol. Arist.
'H
be
*Avbpopeba
oyboa
erei
enl
TSlavaiKpdrovs apxovros oXvfimdb
bevrepos Evpmibrjs, rpiros

.
npoeia-riXdev.
rfi 'EXevrj.
B.C. (?)
ÊbtbdxOrj
Ka\ XpuaiTTTTOs Kal ôivKraai Kal
rjv
rpiros ^pvvixos MovorpoTTO).
B.C.
awbebiboKrai yap
411
Arg. Eur. Phoenissae
nparos
B.C.
'Ebibdxdrj enl Xa^piov bia KaXXiO-rpdrov ev aarei, os
aarvp
ov aaêrai.
6 Olvo/iaos
APPENDIX
409
Arg. Soph. Philoctetes
B.C.
Arg. Arist.
Ranae
np6 yap
AioKXtovSy
Schol. Arist. Ran. 67
TTjP ip
AvXcdiy
bedidax^PCH'
SoôkX^s 6 vibovs edibaêp,
iirl
pidi,
AXkuiov 6e
vlos
B.C.
coi'
ÂplcrTcopos, iiri
apôpTos MiKoypos.
B.C.
*Ediddx6T) eVi apxopros *ApTnrdTpoVj dpTaya>PiôfiPov
AdK(oatp,*ApiaTOfxepovs de'Adp.rjTtOjTîKocjicbPTOsde'Adoi-
p-ep
IlacrKpdTj.
APPENDIX
Our
(f)pov(Ti, reXevrr)-
ip aaTCL *l(ptyePiap
KoXcopa Oldinoda ini TercXfVTijKOTL rw irdmra
388
Arg. Arist. PlutUS
6fia>pvfxop
BaKxa^.
Top
UXdrcop rpiros KXeo^wi/rt.
B.C.
401
avTa NiKoxdpovs
ov top 'Opearrjv eStdaê.
Ovto) yap Ka\ al AiSao-KaX/at
vIop airrov
*AXff/xai''ora,
Arg. Soph. O. C.
e</)'
B.C.
^pvpixos bevrepos Movaais'
aaPTos 'EvpiTTibov top
Tfv 2o(f)OKKTis.
'EdiddxOr] inl KaXXiov rov ixera 'AvTiyePTj dia îKcopidov
7rpa>T05 rjV
rrparos
B. C.
405
els Ar)paia.
321
*E8i8ax^; tVi TXavKi-mTOV,
408
Schol. Eur. Orest. 371
B,
B.
knowledge of the Athenian drama has been very much
increased in recent years by the discovery at Athens of a large
number of
inscriptions relating to dramatic contests.
collection of all the inscriptions
which bear upon
complete
this subject will
be
found, admirably edited by Kohler, in the Corpus Inscriptionum
Atticarum, vol.
ant of
them
is
ii.
pt. 2. p.
394 foil.
here appended.
collection, with the exception of the
only discovered in 1886, and

yiKT]
I.
for that year (p.
269
is
They
selection of the
are
all
most import-
copied from Kohler's
second on the
published in the
list,
which was
*E(f)rjp.ep\s
*ApxaioXo-
foil.).
List of victors in the four contests at the City Dionysia.

I.
[Se]i/oKXei8i/s ixoprjyei,
Before
[Mjdyi/T/s ibidaoTKfP.
45^
'rpay(o8a>Pf
^* ^
APPENDIX
322
nepiK^s Xo\ap{yev5)
B,
(X^prjiyfi),
Aio-xvXos [8]i8a(rKe[i/].
2.
458
['EttI $iXo]fcXeovff,
B. C.
fOtj/Jjjts naidoyv,
ArjfxodoKOS exoprjyci.
'iTnrodcovTis dvdpSiv^
EvKTrjfxau 'EXev((nVto?) fXPv{y^^)Ka>iJ.(ob5>Vj
BvpvicKeibrjs ixopriyei,
Ev(l)p6vios ibiba(rK.
TpaycobayVj
SfVOKkrjs *A<l)ibva(los) ^X^pviy^')}
Alaxvôs
'EttI
cbidaa-Kev.
-^57 B. C.
"A^pavos,
ÊpxBrj\s TraidaVj
Xapias ÂypvXrjidev) xopr]{yei),

AecdVTis dv8pci)Vj
AeivoarpaTOS xoprj{yi).
K(op(o8S)V,
[f>]p'7r["]
3-
Ilaia.[yivs e'xopjjyei],
OS e6[iSa(rKej/].
[TpayQ)]tSc5i/,
(ojv naiavi[ys ix^prjyei],
[Me^veKpcLTrjs idi^daa-Kevjf
[vTTÔKpLTrjs
Mvvv[iaK05],
421 B.C.
lÊyV A\Kalov,
'IttttoOcovtIs TTaidcOVj
'Apiarapxos AcKefXeevs) cxop^{yet).

AlavTLS dvbpcov,
Ar}p,oa6VT]s ixoprjyei.
MVavbpo[s
^xop]v[y^''l
] ^X^prjyfi,
APPENDIX
B.
3^3
VTTo[KpiTJr)\yj KXeavdpo^s].
'Etti
QeodoTov,
386
B. C.
'AvTio)(ls Tra/Scoi',
EvriyTT]s HaXk^rfjvevs [ixoprjyei],
Alyrjts dv8pS>p,
Idaav KoXXvrevs
e^ôp^ytt.
5-
Middle of
Aio<pav
KeKpcms
1^.
fourth cen-
)(oprjyfi\.
tury B. c.
[avdpcovj,
OpTjrap [MeXiTei/s
e;ôpi5y6iJ.
KQ)/xa)8[a)i'],
Ai07rei[dr]s
exoprjyei],
UpoK\[idr]s dldaaKu\.
Tpay(od[S>p'],
6.
['eJttI
'
330
ApL(rT[o](f)dpovs,
Olp[r)ts] naibco^pj,
Tos [Axa]pi/[Uff exop.7(yi)].

['l7r]7roâ)j/Tt? ai/[5]p[a>i/].
.
II.
... OS
Record of
[rieip'âie^vs e;(o/)^(yei)].
tragic contests at the City Dionysia.
[TraXataJ*
Nf[o7rToXf/ios]
['lîyeji/eia Ei'[pi7ri]8o[i;J*
[7roj7(rai)]*
'
Aa-rvM/ias
['A;(t]\Xer, VTre^KpipcTo) QeTTaXos'
*A6dp.aPTij vne{KpipfTo) Neo7rrdX[eôs]*

Âp~\Tiy6pr], V7re(KpipTo)
'
A6qp68(o[pos]'
\_Ev]dpTOS [fiev(repoff)] TevKpa,

[vTrjei^KplpeTo)
A6r)p68copos'
['Axi]X[X]6t, [v7re(KpiVeTo)] QeTToKos'

[
et],
v^ne^KpipeTo) NeJon-ro'Xe/ioy
t]pl{tos) [njeXidaiPf
[yTr((KpLpeTo) NeoirrjoXefios'
'OpeoTTjî, VTrei^KplvcToj
A6i]jv^6d(oposy
Av[yj7], vTrfi^KpiPiTo) 0TT[aXd]ff*

xmo{KpiTTis) fêoTTToXefjios ipiKâj.
Y 2
B. c.
APPENDIX
3^4
B,
34
a-aTvpi(Ka>)'
'ETTt 'NiKOfxdxoV
^' ^^
TijxoKKrjs AvKOVpyco'
Neo7rTdXe/x[_osJ
irdKaia'
'OpecTTT? EvpiTTidov'
'Ao-rvSa/xas
[7r]o);(ra/)*
IlapdevoTraito, vire^Kpivero) 9eT[raXos]'
rAuKaJoi/t, virei^Kpivero) Neo7rroXe[/iosJ*
okX^s 8ei;(rfpos) ^pi^cp^

GerraXds*
^vTrei^KpiveTo)^
[Oi5i]7ro8i, VTTe{KpivTo) Neo7rrdX[e/Lto9]"
[Evapjeros Tpliros)
r'AXK/A]e[oi/Jt, virei^KpiviTo)
GeJrraXos eVixa.
rv7ro(KpiTjJs)
['EttI
QerrcôsY
vne{KpiveTo) Neo7rrd[Xe/A0sJ*
?;,
GeoJ^paoTOu* (raru[pi(K)]*
339
^- C-
419
B, c.
418
B. C.
$opKia-[t]*
[TraXaia
d]oTp[aro?]
Et']pt7ri[Soi']'
III.
Record of
],
VTrei^Kpivero)
v7ro(^KpLTr)s)
'Em
eviKoj.
['Ao-TV<^tXov
"Aya[pefxvoui,
w[e(Kpii'eTo)
'iipa[K
v7r\j(^KpipTo)
VTToi^KpiTTjs)
]'
eVlKOJ.
'Apx[lov
Tvpoi,
],
],
Qr)(T7,
'Ett*
Lenaea.
[n]etp[i^do),
]
,
vne(^KpiVTo) AvcriKpaT^rjsJ'
KaWiorpaTos
*Afi(j)iK6xco, *I|to[i/i],
vTre(KpLVTo) Ka\Xnr7rl[pr}sj'
[y7rjo(KpLTr]s^
KaWnnrl^drjs ivUaj.
['Ett' *a]vt[l]4)[S)]vto5
417 B.C.
APPENDIX
IV. Records of
Comic
B,
35
Contests.
I.
ri^ra^Tos)
aJori'St,
['Ai/riâi/jyjff TrefiljrTos) *Ai/ao-G>ô(/Liei'ots),
....
[y7ro(KpiTfj5)
['Errt
At] ori/xon*
JcDj/UjUOff
ivLKa.
353 B.C.
2t/uv\off
a-iq, v7re(^KpLveToj
Apiarofiaxos'
Aiodapos dcvijepos) NcKpoi,

virei^KplveTo)
ApicrTopaxos'
Aiodoopos rpiiros) Maivo/iei/a)[t],

v7re(KpivTo) Kr}(f)L(nos'
[ôi]i/ifc[tS];9
r6(Taproy)
^vneljcplvero^
HorjTe't,
];s*
2.
About
[Tifi]o(r[Tparos Aur[povfievQ)],
190
vTT{Kpiv(To\ AioyeiTtov'
B. C.
vno^KpiTr]^) Kpdrr)s iviKa.

'EttI 2vfip.dxOV
OVK y[VToJ.
'EttI
Qeoêvov ovk [eyeVfro].
'ETTt
Zanvpov
*EpaTa)i/
TTOTy^rai)*
[TraXatSj*
Me
'
Aati*
3-
M
[7rojj(Tai)]'
KpiTcdv
*E(J)c(Tlois,
[ujTre (KpiVero) Sox^tXos'
Hapdfjiovos Nat'ayw,
V7Ti{KplvT0) *OVT](riflOS'
Tipoa-Tparos îXoiKeiG),
vve(^<pivTo) KaWia-Tparos'
^(oyevrji îXoSeo-TTOTO),
vire{KpivTo) 'EKaralos'
î\r)p,ciiv
About
TraXatfi]'
['Etti
vea^repos) MiXtjalq,
vn(KpivTo) Kpdrrjs'
VTToijcpiTris) *Oi'rj(Tip.os iviKâj.
180 B.C.
APPENDIX
326
B.
Ettj 'Epfioyevov ovk [eye'^vero.
TrjaXaia'
'EttI Tifxr](Tidv\aKTOs'
îkoa-rparo^s 'ATTOfcXeJto/icVet no(rt[5i7r7rov]'

Trorjiraiy
i^^VP^)
xmeijcpivcTo^
4.
[napajfxovos XopijyovvTi,
About
[t7r(Kpii'ro)] Movifxos'
^- ^
[vTrJo^KpiT)^?) KpiToBrjfios iviKa.

['EJttI
'Etti
EvvIkov ovk eyeve^Toj.
SevoKKiovs' 7raXat[a]'
Moi/t/xoff âo-jMart Mei/[di'Spoi;]'
Trorjfjaij'
Hapdpovos TeOvrjKas
is,
VTT({KpiviTo) Aa/iCOJ/'
KplTCOV AiTcoXw,
V7re(KpivTo) Movifxos'
BioTTOs UorjTei,
Adpav'
VTr(jcpiPTo)
Aa/xTTVToy
Ka
VTTc^Kpivero)
ÊTriK^^paTTjs
],
vne^jcpivfTo)
].
5['Etti]
Evp[y
['eJtti
'EpaaTo[y ovk eyeWro].
OVK eyevero].
'EttI no(rei[Sa>i/iou
'Em
*Apia^To\a'
About
165 B,
C.
ovk eyeverol.
TraXata]*
'HpoK
6.
.
[xm{KpiveTo) Ka^d]pixos'
['E7r]iye[i/]?7ff
Avrpou/McVo),
V7r(^KpipTo) Kaêipcxos'
VTru(^<piTf]s)
NiKoXao?
ej/i/ca.
Etti AvBearrjpiov ovk yevf\Tol.
Etti KoXXto-rpaTov ou/c eycVerroJ.

*E7rt
MvqaiOiov'
TraXata*
About
160 B.C.
11
APPENDIX
B.
3^7
Aa/xcoi/ ^CKaQrjvalco ^6Xi7r7r[i5oi;j'
^tXoAcX^s: Tpavfiariay
Tro^rjrai'y
KaWiKpdrrjs'
v7rf(Kpii/fTo)
Xaiplcov AvTOv KaTa\//"u8o/z e[i/G)],

VTre (^KplvcTo^ Adpcav'
TlfXO^CVOS 2vPKpvnTov^TLJ,
VTr(( KpiueTci) KoXXtKpdrj/s*
'
AyadoKXrjs
'0/xoi'oia[t],
[i;7r(KpiWro) Nt/coXjaoy'
V. Lists of tragic and comic poets, and tragic and comic actors,
with the
number
of their victories
the Lenaea and the City
at
Dionysia.
1.
Tragic poets, with their victories at the City Dionysia.

I.
[Ai](rxv[Xos
[.
.]eTr]s
[noX]v0pa(r/i[a)i'
[.
.]
.JlTTTTO?
[2o<ô]kx^s
TOS
.]
Arm
I
['Api(rTi]as
...
[Kap/ci vos
2.
"A(rr]v8dp.a5 r[ll]l
TM
[GeoJSeKras
['Aâjpeus
[
2.
Comic
(ov]\
poets, with their victories at the City Dionysia.

I.
[Sf]l/o'<^lXo5
[Tj^yXexXeiS?;?
*ApCOTOIlVl]S
Kparivos
III
êpeKpdrqs
"EpfiiTTiros 11 II
<^pvvixos
1111
APPENDIX
3J8
MvpriKos
B,
[E{f\noXis
1 1
2.
JJpoKKeLSrjs
M[6V]ai'Spoff
<E[lX]l5/M0)I/
['A7r]oXXdSa)po[s
Ai<jii\os
.]
II...
NiKoarparos
KaWiddrjs
'A/>ij/[ia]ff
Tragic actors, with victories at the Lenaea.

Qeobcopos
"limapxps
['AJ/ueiJ/ias
Y kv\bpo(T64vr]s
[Neo]7rroXe/xo5
[GeTTajXos
4.
^LXmnidrjs
3.
Comic
actors.
['Ap/o-rjo)!/
'n.a\p\piva>v
AvKcov
.,^
1 1 1
N[a]vo-tK[par)7S
['Afi](Ptx[dpr)s
.]
.].
GREEK INDEX.
dyopd,
1 06,
126.
yepavos, 193.
dywvfs XvTpivoif 43.
ypafinai, 135.
aOXov, 86.
ypafifxareiov, 45, 47.
alyeipov 6ia, 106.
ypafifjLaTvs, 97.
aloopai, 189.
ypacpai, 170, 183.
dvaPaOfxoi, 194,
dvaâiveiv, 103, 144.
dvaSiSdffKdv, 92.
5eiK7]\iKTas, 256.
A.
avdnaiffTa, 245.
56tts,
dvdiraiaroi, 266.
SeîoardTrjs, 270, 271.
dvameapLa, 194.
dvSpStv xoôs, 14, 18.
SfVTepaywvio'T'^s, 77.
SfVTepocrTdrrjs, 271.
dvreiTippijfiay 244.
Srjfmpxos, 305.
di/Ttxo/a, 281.
Sia^wfxara, 120.
dirayyiWfLv, 88.
SiacKvr], 93.
SmvAtoj/, 293.
ttTr'
alyeipov Oea, 106.
ttTTo ftrjxavrjs,
191, 193.
286.
StSao'/faAfroj/, 79.
diTO/tpiveaOai, 203.
SiSaCKaXia, 21, 80, 205.
dTToA.axfrJ', 45,
47.
dpi(TTepo(TTdTT]s, 270, 271.
8iSacrKa\ia dffTiKrj, 10, 21.
dpXlTiKTOW, 304.
SidaaKaXia rpayiKr}, 21, 80.
dpxo^v, 86.
Ai8a<TKa\iai, 26, 63, 75.

SiSacTKoXiav KuBuvai, 45.
aS^ts, 314.
auAata, 195.
avXrjTal dvSpes,
SiSaffKaXla Arfvcu/crj, 2
dildcKaXos, 74, 75, 80, 81.

StSdcr/fctr TpaywUav, 39, 80.
1 4.
auAT^Tijs, 272.
diOvpapLôs, 14, 198.
avXos, 244, 292.
Atovvo-ta rd dariKd, 10.
^ts. 1 35 J 176.
Aioj'utrta
B.
rd
rd
Iv darei, 10, 30.
AjovvcTja
Aiovvcria
tcL
nar' dypovs, 43.

jxeydKa, 10, 30.
fidepov, 108.
Aiovvaia rd
Papvarovos, 249.
/3^/ia, 132, 141.
pofiPuv, 249.
SjttA^, 290.
Itti
Arjvaio),
Siareyia, 170.
Sixopia, 281.
fiovXevTiKov, 301, 306.
PpovreTov, 194.
â)/xos, 132,
36.
133, 154, 183.
kyicuK\r)6poVf 185.
GREEK INDEX,
33^
l^^KXrina, 185, 193.
darv Kadiivai,
its
els d(TTV
10.
KaraXfyeaOai, 43.
elcTKVKXeiv, 188,
J.
lafxPciov, 242.
'laoi'tot vofjioi,
l(TKVK\r]fia, 185.
i'Sm qcrixara,
r/f/)ta,
kKâWuv,
314.
eKK\r]cria kv Aiovvcrov, il.
kKKVKXuv, 185, 188.

eKKVfcXrjfjut,
292.
278.
eiaodos, 135.
104, 105, 107, 124, 301.
IpxiriopiaOai, 83.
lfjiaTiop.io9coTai, 83.
ipdriov, 266.
182, 185.
fKirinTUV, 314.
fKffKeva TTpoaoina, 221.
IXos, 103, 145, 198.
KaOdpaiov, 89.
Ka6e(ea6ai, 45.
240.
eixfids,
Cfi^drrjs, 224.
61'
acTTei StSdo-zcetJ/, 10.
Svoo/ o^SoA-ou', 302.
|j/ Tori/
45.
Tpaywdoi, 30, 40.
Kaivos dyoov, 30.
fo8o?, 245, 272.
iûarpa, 189.
iTTt Aijvaiq} dyuv, 10, 36, 105.
kirnrdpoSos, 276.
KaXaOioKos, 290.
Karafiaiveiv, 144.
Kara fiXrj para, 170.

KaraXiyeiv, 244.
kvippTjfia, 244.
fvrjfiepfiv,
fcadlêiv,
tfati/oi
50, 59, 205.
KaraXoyq, 244.
Kararopi],
v(pojvia, 247.
4.
Kfpapos, 172.
kcpanris, 228.
KcpavvoffKOTTeiov, 194.
kip-qîKov, 306.
120, 305.
/C/3/ftS,
kdjpTjim, 189.
KivTjcns,
251.
KX&piapLôs, 244.
KXipaKes, 147, 194.
Cy7<5r, 269.
^cDi'ai,
KXipaKTTJpes, 147.
120.
KoOopvos, 224.
KOpCpOS, 243, 278.
H.
^yefidjv, 271.
^fjLiKvKXiov, 126, 194.
Koviarpa, 126, 154.

Kopda^, 290.
Kopv(paios, 271.
/fpd577,
^ pilarp6îov, 194.
193.
fcpao-nediTTjs,
iimX^piov, 275, 281.
271.
44, 45, 46.

Kpovais, 243,
KvPhrijais, 290.
/f/)tT77S,
e.
0a, 297.
kvkXios x^pos, 14.
06a
KobpLOS, 14.
Tra/j'
alydpqt, 106.
eidodai, 88.
Kupxphoi, 14, 18, 37, 42, 43, 133, 249.
Oearris, 126.
eiarpov, 109, 113, 318.

OearpoiTuXrjs, 304.
OeaTpwvijs, 304.
0eoA.O7eroy, 193.
Xapvyyiôjv, 249.
XavpoaTaTrjs, 270.
0os djTo prjxavfjs, 191, 193.
XrjKvOiôjv, 249.
deppavarpls, 290.
A.-yi/ata, 9,
OecvptKSv, 303.
Arjvaiov, 105.
0t;/x'Av,
133, I4i I54> 155-
52.
\o7roj/, 133, 141, 146.
GREEK INDEX.
331
irepiaKTOi, 1 70, 175, 181, 182.
M.
irepiÔfxfiaiv,
fjiiXos,
'tW, 53. 64, 170.

noiKiKov, 226.
242.
fieTCLffTacis,
276.
181, 182, 183, 189.
132, 154, 155.
Trpos
Aitaôs, 53.
xP^^ \ey(iv, 244, 289.
trpooojitiiov,
294.
fiovcriK'fi,
88.
trpoaicqviov, 14I, I47, 170, 195, 271.
fiovq)5ia, 243.
fivpfXTjKia,
7rpod7cu',
wpoeSpia, 304, 305.

TTpoXoyos, 200.
189, 192.
fiTjxavoTTOios,
fxTfioi,
14, 37, 42.
7ro/x7ri7,
fiirpov, 242.
fiTjxavrj,
249.
265.
Trepiôj/xa,
fxeya\o(pojvia, 247.
237, 266.
npvTCLveis, 45.
294.
Ixvpf^TjKos OLTpaitoSf
294.
TTpoiraywviarris, 170, 175.
N.
irpcoTOcrTaTTjs, 271.
irpwTov (v\ov, 107, 304.

iTTCpvoKOTreiv, 314.
vefi-qaeis Okas, 6,
ve/irjcreis
yt/far,
305.
irvppiXKTToi, 15.
vrroKpiTwv, 77, 83.
55, 66.
P.
i/t/fay CTfi Ajjvalqf,

i/j^t;
dariKr], lO.
i/t/f?;
ArjvaiK-fi,
36.
pa^Sovxoi, 313.
â^Zo<p6poi, 313.
36.
^^(Tts,
200, 244, 289.
feros, 297.
^KpiCîv, 290.
ffarvpiKov, 20.
^Kpia/xos, 290.
acLTvpoi, 265.
vAou
ffiyfia,
rrap&K-qxpis, 2 90.
<^'A*^
(T/fjyi/l^,
O.
114, 126.
Xt> 29.
139,
147,
151, 154, 170, 189,
195.
o/epiPas, 88, 141, 224.
ffierjvoypofpia,
opxnois, 251, 284.
ffKOJirevpLa,
170.
29I.
bpxnar-qs, 285.
ardo'tîoi',
dpxrjffroSiSdcrKaXos, 284.
GTi(pavovv, 52.
opxnffTpa, 106, 126, 132, 133, 135, 141,
(XToixos, 126, 141, 269.
147, 151, 154, 155.
278, 279, 288.
arpotpiiov, 194.
ffxrjf^CLTay
284, 286, 290.
n.
T.
Tra/)'
aiydpov Oca, 104,
1 06.
rd
aTTo T^s aKTjvrjs, 243, 278.
afiaûv CKdifipuiTa, 9.
irapafiaiveiv, 126, 275.
TO, l/f Twi'
irapAPacis, 92, 244, 261, 275.
Tcuvta, 53.
irapa^rjvai rerrapa, 290.
Ta/ims, 45.
napaftaraXoyq, 243, 245.
rd(poi, 183.
irapaitiracixa, 139, 170, 175, 195.
rerpaXoyia, 20, 21, 26.
Trapaaicfivia,
TerpdfJteTpov, 242, 244.
132, 149, 154, 175.
TtapaaKTjviov, 213.
T^xviTT^s, 204, 252, 289.
Ttapaardrrjs, 271.
TpaycpSoi, 14, 18, 30, 37, 42, 133, 249.
vapaxoprjyrjfia, 212.
rpaywhSiv x^poi, 35-
irdpoSos, 135, 176, 189, 273, 278.
T/)d7rCa,
TTCTrAao'/iej'ow,
248.
103, 133-
rpiXoyia, 26.
GREEK INDEX.
33^
XITOUV, 226.
rpiirovs, 14, 15, 1 14.
rpiTOS dpiffTepov, 2 7 1.
XtTWj/ dpL<pi[ji.aK\os, 233.
TpiTOffTaTTjs, 271.
XiTcbv /xaXAcuTos, 233.
rpvyqidoi, 288.
XiTWi' xo/JTaroj, 233.
Xoes, 9.
Xopayds, 271.
T.
XopevTTjS, 80, 103, 269.
vSpia, 45.
XopTl-iîv, 82,
VTToSiSaffKaXos, 81.
XoprjyeTv avSpdcri, 14,
viTOKpiveo9ai, 203.
VTToKpicris,
205.
viroKpiTqs, 77, 139,
51, 170, 199, 203,
206.
Xopijyuv
iraiai, 1 1 4.
Xoprjyeiv
rrj (pvXfj,
15.
Xoprjyeiv Tpaywhois, 15.
vtropxT^ftaTi/fo?,
278.
vvopxrjcns, 289.
vrrocTK'fjviov,
146.
iKpdafxaTa, 170.
Xoprjyiiov, 79.
Xoprjyia, 50.
Xo/)777^s, 45; 75, 82, 86, 261, 271.
XOpo\iKTT]9, 79.
(papvyyi^ctiv, 249.
Xopbv alreiv, 70.

Xopbv SiSovai, 66.
xopbv elcrdyeiv, go.
Xopov rvyxdviiv, 66.
âpvyyivSrjv, 80.
Xvrpoi, 43.
âWiKa, 198.
(poiviKides,
<})Opai,
1 1 5.
Xoprjyeiv Ko^pwdois, 53.
313.
>F.
286.
j/zaX/s,
lf/l\VS,
Xap^jvioi KXipLaKcs, 194.
135.
271.
n.
XCtp KaTatrp-qvrjS, 240.

XîpiSes, 226.
ySefoj/, 87, 88, 109.
GENERAL INDEX.
ff.
Number of his vicRecords concerning his
Exhibits at an
Oresteia, 60, 64.
early age, 67. Actors of, 76. Trains
his choruses, 81.
Reproduction of
his plays, 94.
Text of his plays, 95,
Not popular in later times, 98.
97.
His statue in the theatre, 160. Scenery
logies of, 22
A.
tories, 47.
Acoustics, attention paid to, 159.

Acrae, theatre at, 117.
Acting, importance of voice in, 245.

Musical training necessary for, 248.
Mode
of enunciation used
in,
249.
Gestures used in, 250.

Actors, contests between, 55, 57. Importance of protagonist, 56. ReproOriduction of old plays by, 58.
ginally chosen by the poets, afterwards
by the
plays,
*
Paid by the
state, 76.
Tamper with
83.
Meaning of the term
97.
actor,'
state,
the text of old
Gradual introduction
197.
198 ff. Number of actors in tragedy, comedy, and satyric drama,

200.
Effect of small number of, 201.
of,
Rise of the actor's profession, 204.

importance of, 205.
Increase in
of parts among, 207.
Changes of costume by, 209. Costume of tragic actors, 216 fif.; of
of satyric accomic actors, 235 ff.
Importance of the voice
tors, 231 ff.
Distribution
Musical training
in,
245.
Style of
Actors'
252.
ral
Greek
Guild,
Social position
character
actors, 255
Aegis,
acting,
of,
249.
Privileges
251.
of,
254.
the second actor,

Ceases to act in person, 204.
His Persae, 216.
Invents the tragic
mask and costume,
Improves the
His Eumenides,
for the Erinyes, 264.
tragic dance,
286.
Nearly killed for impiety, 316.

299.
Agathon, his first victory, 91. At the
His choruses, 261.
Proagon, 145.
Adopts the new
style of music, 294.
Agyrrhius, commissioner of the treasury,

54-
Aixone, comedies
at,
42.
corrupts
Alcibiades,
stage of bronze,
59.
Alexandria, literary supremacy

Altar, in the orchestra,
227.
tritagonist,
His acciTaunted by
210.
dent at Collytus, 255.
Intro-
219, 223.
duces the cothurnus, 224. His choDesigns the dress

ruses, 259, 262.
Alexander, the Great, wishes to build a
ff.
worn by Athene,
As
199.
of,
Gene-
Aeschines, called the * rustic Oenomaus,'

Hired by Socrates and Simylus,
42.
43.
Invents stage decorations,
Introduces
The
Celebrated
255.
183.
the judges, 49.

Assaults Taureas, 86, 313. Admired
for his beauty, 13, 299.
248,
of,
in his plays, 166. Invents scene-paint-
ing, 170.
132.
of, 29.
On
the
stage, 184.
Ambassadors, provided with front
seats,
296, 306.
Anapaests, given in recitative, 244. Often delivered by the coryphaeus, 279.
Demosthenes, 254.
Anapiesma,
appearance as a
His Oedidramatist, 16, 107, 123.
Anaxandrides, never revises his come-
His Oresteia, 17.

His Lycurgeia, and Promethean triTrilogies and tetralogy, 17, 24.
Andronicus, victorious in the Epigoni,
Aeschylus, his
podeia,
16,
first
24.
the, 194.
dies, 93.
58.
Anthesteria, the, 42.
GENERAL INDEX,
334
as choregus,
success
the Lenaea, 296.

sia,
50, 82.
Aphareus, engages in eight contests, 29.

Exhibits at the Lenaea, 39. A rhe-
At
At the City DionyIncludes women, boys, and
Overrules the judges, 51.
316.
Antichoregi, 86.
Antisthenes, his
296.
slaves,
297
ff.
Distribution of seats
Price of admission,
302.
The
311.
Regulations for keeping order

Their mode of express-
proedria, 304. Occupants

of the front row, 307. Comfort of,
torician as well as poet, 81.
Apollonius, disregards tetralogies, 27.

Applause, mode of expressing, 313.
Araros, son of Aristophanes, 69.
among, 313.
Archilochus, invents recitative, 243.

Archinus, commissioner of the treasury,
ing pleasure and disapproval,
eponymus, 65.
Aristarchus, disregards tetralogies, 27.
Aristerostatae, the, 270, 271.
competes with Aeschylus, 16,
314.
Their ortho-
Characteristics of, 315.
doxy, 316.
54-
Archons, the, granted the proedria, 305.

The archon basileus, 65. The archon
Aristias,
ff.
among, 304
Their intelligence and
taste, 317.
Auditorium, shape of, 113.

Interior
of, 117.
Passages in, 119. Size of,
122.
In the theatre at Athens, 1 1 3 ff.
Awnings, not used in early Greek
theatres, 160, 312.
25.
Aristodemus, the actor, 252, 255, 257.

Aristophanes (the grammarian), 26. His
Arguments, 64.
Aristophanes (the poet), competes at
and at the
the City Dionysia, 30
Story about his
Lenaea, 36, 40.
Clouds, 51. Third in a certain conExhibits at an early age,
test, 54.
B.
Back- wall, the, 149.

Basis (metrical term), 283.
67.
Entrusts his plays to others, 68.
Their
Birds, chorus of, 267.
mode
of
entrance, 271.
Boys, admitted to the theatre, 297
ff.
Bronteion, the, 194.
His Ecclesiazusae, 90. Proud of his

His Frogs much ad-
originality, 92.
mired, 92. Scenery in his plays, 169.

Discards the phallus, 235 ; and the
kordax, 290. Honoured with a chap-
from the sacred olive, 316.

Aristotle, makes no mention of tetralogies, 26.
His Didascaliae, 63. Cenlet
sures
extravagance
in
choregi,
83.
C.
Callimachus, the grammarian, 64.
Callippides, the actor, 251. Stories about
him, 256.
plays of Aristo-
Callistratus, exhibits
phanes, 69.
Not an
actor, 78.
Carpets, in the theatre, 312.
Of costume,
His opinion concerning the deus ex

machina, 191. His definition of acting, 247,
His opinion about actors,
Chariots, on the stage, 184.
255.
His definition of dancing, 285.

His remarks about the admission of
boys to comedies, 301. His descrip-
Charon's Steps, 193.

Chionides, 8.
Chlamys, the, 226.
tion of Attic audiences, 318.
Choerilus,
162,
Choregi,
age, 72.
Astydamas, his conceit, 161.

Athenodorus, the actor, 207, 255, 257.
Audience, the, representative character
Enthusiasm
for the
of his plays,
8.
217.
ff.,
163.
of, 3.
Number
7.
ff.
Competes with Aeschylus, 16, 107,

His improvements in masks,
123.
Arsis, 283.
Artists of Dionysus, 204.
Aspendos, theatre at, 150.
Assembly, in the theatre, 91
Changes, of scenery, 178

209 ff.
drama,
3,
how
appointed,
Scarcity
of,
tion of poets to, 73.
Their
Assigna-
71.
73.
Duties
of, 79.
Rivalry between, 86.
Choregia, abolished, 73.

82 ff.
Expenses
of,
GENERAL INDEX,
Delivery
Choreutae, their appetite, 80.
of words by single choreutae, 280.

Decline in the excellence of, 287.
Chorus, granted by the arch on, 66.
Training of, 79. Paid by the choregus, 82.
Dionysia,
at
Comic
by
30
ff.
37
ff.
Records
tume in tragedy, 264; in the Old

Comedy, 266. Rectangular arrangement of, 268. Its mode of entrance,
89.
Irregular
269.
The parodos,
entrances
of,
272.
273. Its formation
when
Manoeuvres of,
Delivery of words by the whole
City
fice,
Order determined by lot,

Announced by a trumpet, 90.
Coryphaeus, the, 271.
Costume, of the actors, 216

chorus, 263
Decline
of
choral
Accompanies
actors'
281.
dancing,
286.
speeches with mimetic dances, 289.

Sings in unison, 292.
Chorus
paid by the choregus,
trainer,
Chytri, the, 43.
City Dionysia, meaning of the name,
Date
of,
proceedings
at, 13.
16
flf.
The
Character of the
II.
at,
Contests
Comedy
The
11.
The
procession
Tragedy at,
30 ff. Order of
at, 14.
at,
Compared with
33 ff.
Lenaea, 41.
Proclamation of
crowns at, 89. Tribute displayed at,
Orphans paraded at, 89.
89.
Claque, the, 315.
226.
Head-coverings, 227.
costumes in tragedy, 227.
institution of contests in,
At the City Dionysia, 30 ff.

Number of poets and plays in the
comic contests, 31. At the Lenaea,
Actors in, 200. Costume of
40.
8, 30.
actors in, 235
Special
Costume of satyric actors, 231. Costume of actors in the Old Comedy, 235.
Costume of actors in the New Comedy,
236 ff. Costume of the tragic chorus,
ff.
Size of chorus in,
Costume of chorus in, 266.

Dances used in, 290. Its connexion
263.
with religion, 300.

Conjurors, in the theatre, 163.
Contests, the dramatic, confined to the
of
Cothurnus, the, 224. Not worn in satyric dramas, 232.

Council, special seats for the, 306.
Courtesans, special seats for, 306.
Crane, the, 192.
Crates, actor to Cratinus, 78.
Cock-fight, in the theatre, 162, 309.

Collytus, dramatic performances at, 42.
tra-
General
character of the tragic costume, 228 flf.
Cratinus,
Oleander, actor of Aeschylus, 76.

CI eon, terror inspired by, 235.
the
tragic mantle,
contests at,
first
The
cothurnus, 224.
the
Comedy,
Of
263 ; of the satyric chorus, 265

the comic chorus, 266.
82.
10.
ff.
Tragic masks, 217 ff.

Tragic dress invented by Aeschylus,
flf.
223.
choruses,
ff.
89.
gic tunic, 225.
15
break, 89, 311. Preceded by a sacri-
275.
chorus, 277 ; by the coryphaeus, 279

single choreutae, 280; by half-
Tragic con-
Contests between actors, 55 ff.

of, 59.
Commence at day-
ff.
in the orchestra, 274.
by
ff.
Dionysia,
Tragic contests at the Lenaea,

Comic contests at the Lenaea,
The judges in, 44 ff. Prizes for,
Gradual decline of,

Its size in tragedy, comedy,
259.
and the satyric drama, 262, Its cos-
52
the
the
of, 4.
contests at the City Dionysia,
40.
for, I54ff.
Managed by
9.
First institution of, 6

tests
kinds of choruses, 84. Appearance

on the stage, 152. Supposed plat-
form
i,
Universal prevalence
state, 2.
Cost of different
dresses supplied
Its
the choregus, 83.
Z?,^
number of his victories, 62.

Refused a chorus by the archon, 67.
Employs Crates
as
his
actor,
78.
Called a 'dancer,' 80, 205, 286.

Crowns, proclaimed at the City Diony-
Bestowed on victors at
Worn by kings,
90.
228; by messengers, 228; at banquets, 311.
Worn by the spectators,
sia, 89,
the
162.
contests,
311.
Cushions, in the theatre, 312.
D.
Dancing, importance of in the Greek
drama, 283. Its mimetic character,
History of, 286. How far em284.
ployed in the drama, 287. Used as
an accompaniment to speeches from
GENERAL INDEX.
33^
The
the stage, 289.

289.
The comic
tragic
dance,
The
dance, 290.
satyric dance, 291.
Delivery,
Louder
different
modes
of,
in tragedy than in
241
ff.
comedy,
249. More rhythmical than in modern

Delivery of the choral
times, 249.
part, 2 76ff.
Demosthenes, his dream, 50. Supplies

his chorus with golden crowns, 83.
Complains of the amount spent on
His remark about
choruses, 85.
Assaulted by Meidias,
actors, 247.
Epidaurus, the theatre at, 102. Shape

of the auditorium in, 115, 116, 117,
121.
Size
141.
Seats
127,
125,
at,
of, 124,
stage in,
of, 130.
The
View of the pro-
140.
in,
The
Plan
141, 142.
orchestra
Date
122.
of,
scenium in, 147.

Erinyes, the chorus of, 264, 272.
Eubulus, entrusts his plays to Philip,
70.
Eumenes, Portico
of,
160.
Euphorion, produces plays of Aeschylus, 96.
Eupolis, exhibits at an early age, 68.
6, 297.
Deus ex machina,
Entrusts one of his plays to
190,
Deuteragonist, 207, 208, 211.
Demos-
tratus, 70.
Euripides,
Deuterostatae, 271.
Diaulia, 293.
Alcestis,
his
Medea,
Dexiostatae, 270.
20.
17,
His
His
Hippolytus, 18.
Defeated by Xenocles, 18 by Nicomachus, 48. His Iphigeneia in Aulis
17.
Dicaeogenes, his meanness, 50.

Didascalia, meaning of the word, 63.
The comic
didascaliae, 37.
and Bacchae,
Didaskalos, 80.
28, 99.
Diodorus, exhibits two comedies at one
contest, 32.
Dionysius, exhibits at the Lenaea, 39.

Dionysus, his statue in the theatre, 87.
His temples, no,
160.
18, 21, 96.
Reproduc-
tion of his tragedies in later times,
His
priest,
His
play, 39.
first
Exhibits
new tragedy at the Peiraeeus, 42.

Number of his victories, 48. Exhi-
an early age, 67. His actor

Trains his own
Cephisophon, 76.
bits at
Text of his plays, 95,

His popularity, 99. His statue
choruses, 81.
309.
Diphilus, ejected from the theatre, 312.
in
Distegia, the, 172.
plays, 168.
His use of the deus ex ma-
china, 191.
Often introduces children

Character of his
Distribution, of the
parts
among
210 ff.
Dithyrambic contests, 14, 37 note.
Doors, leading to the stage, 173 ff.
the
the theatre, 160.
on the
actors,
to
Scenery in his
stage, 214.
tragedies,
;
229.
Adopts the new
His choruses,
260.
style of music, 294.
the speedy popularity of

Timotheus, 294. Charged with writHis Melaing immoral plays, 299.
His Danae, 316.
nippe, 316.
Exodoi, not usually accompanied by
the orcnestra, 140, 146.
Dorian Mode,
97.
Predicts
the, 293.
Drop-scene, the, I94ff.
dancing, 288.
Eisodoi, the, 135.
Ekkyklema,
the,
185
Exostra, the, 189.

Extra performers, 212
ff.
ff.
Eleusis, dramatic performances at, 42.
Emmeleia,
the, 289.
Encores, 314.
Entrances, to the orchestra, 135. To
the stage, 173 ff. Regulations con-
Flute, the, regularly used in the drama,
cerning the entrances, 176.
Ephebi, place the statue of Dionysus in

the theatre,
87.
Their
seats,
Fig-Branch, the, 192.

Files, in choruses, 268.
306.
245Flute-players,
how
assigned
Receive their shields and spears in
dithyrambic contests, 74.
the theatre, 163.
the choregus, 83.
in
the
Paid by
GENERAL INDEX.
Foreigners, confined to the back seats,
307-
G.
?>Z1
their verdicts, 48 ff.

Sometimes corrupted and intimidated, 48. Afraid
of the audience, 51.
Their seats,
306.
Gates, leading to the orchestra, 134.

Generals, the ten, their seats in the
theatre, 305.
Gestures, most important in the Greek
drama, 250.
Restrained in character,
251.
Gladiatorial
combats, in
the theatre,
163.
Guild, the Actors', 251
K.
Kataloge, 245.
Katatome, the, 114.

Keraunoskopeion, the, 194.
Kerkides, the, 120.
Assigned to particular tribes, 307.
Klepsiambos, the, 245.

ff.
H.
Kolpoma,
the, 228.
Kommos,
the,
Hadrian, his statues in the theatre, 161.

Harmonies, the, 292.
Harp, the, occasionally employed in the

drama, 245.
Hats, worn by the spectators, 312.
Accompanied by
243.
The kommos
dancing, 288.
in the
Persae, 290.
Konistra, the, 126.
Kordax,
the, 290.
Kraspeditae, 271.
Krepis, the, 225.
Head-coverings, for the actors, 227.
Hemichoria, 280.
Hemikyklion, 194.
Hemistrophion, 194.
Hermon, the
Laurostatae, 270.
Lenaea, the, meaning of the name, 10,

36. General character of, 36. Tragic
actor, 258, 314.
Himation, the, 226.

Horses, on the stage, 184.
Hypodidaskalos, 81.
Hypokrites, use of the word, 196.
contests at, 37.
Its
derivation, 203.
Lenaeum,
at,
Hypophrygian Mode, the, 293.

Hyporchemata, 278, 288, 290.
Hyposkenion, the, 146.
the,
contests at,
performance of dramas
Chosen as the
105.
theatre,
site for
the
no.
Lessee, the, 304.
Leucon, 32.
Licymnius, victorious
I.
Iambic tetrameters, given
Comic
Less important than the City

Dionysia, 41.
40.
58,_
in recitative,
in the
Propompi,
247.
Logeion,
the, 141.
Lucian, ridicules the tragic actors, 229,
244.
Iambic trimeters, spoken without musical accompaniment, 241
247-
Lycurgus, the orator, his law concerning
Ikria, the, 104, 107.
the Anthesteria, 43.
Ion, of Chios, his remark about virtue,
rambic contests at the Peiraeeus, 54.

His law for preserving the text of
the great tragic poets, 97. Completes
His present to the Athenians,
20.
91.
Ionic
Mode,
the theatre, 108, 125, 137.
the, 293.
lophon, exhibits plays of his
father
Sophocles, 69.
M.
Magnes,
Judges, in the dramatic contests, their

number, 44. Mode of selection, 45.
The
process of voting, 47.
Institutes dithy-
Value of
8.
Mantineia, the theatre at, 115.

Market-place, dramatic performances in
the, 104.
Masks, invention
of,
217.
Results of
GENERAL INDEX.
33^
the use
220
of,
The
217.
tragic mask,
Different kinds of tragic masks,
219.
The mask
ff.
of Silenus, 232.
Orchestra, the, importance of in Greek
The
theatres, 104, 151.
the
market-place,
orchestra in
106.
Its name,
Greek and
The masks in the Old Comedy, 235.

The masks in the New Comedy, 237 ff.
Roman
theatres, 126.
Worn by
in the
Mechane,
the choruses, 264.
the,
189
in
ff.
Megalopolis, the theatre

size,
at,
115.
Its
Comparative
125.
Character
His
Demosthenes, 86, 297.
Interferes with Demosthenes' chorus,
with
252.
154-
Meidias, corrupts the judges, 49.
on
assault
The
orchestra
128 ff.;
180 ff.
the theatre at Epidaurus,
of in
Pavement
122.
size in
in,
The
132.
early
times,
131.
Position of altar
132.
of,
gutter,
Marked
135.
Strewed with chaff,

Hermann's view concerning,
lines, 135.
135.
Meletus, his Oedipodeia, 26.
Orphans, paraded in the theatre, 89,
Menander, reproduction of comedies of,

Defeated by Philemon, 49, 315.
33.
His statue in the theatre, 161. His
Ovid, his advice to lovers, 285.
Have
162.
the proedria, 306.
desire for distinction as a dramatist,
P.
299.
Miitiades, his statue in the theatre, 161.
Parachoregemata, 2
Parakataloge, 243.
Mixolydian Mode, the, 293.

Modes, the, 292.
Monodies, 243.
Music,
the
Greek
in character,
Parmenon, the
Parodoi, or entrances to orchestra and
291 ff.
Subordi-
fifth
century,
294.
to
Aeschylus,
actor, 258.
stage, 135.
Parodos, or entrance song, 273.

Given
by the whole chorus, 277. Generally
accompanied with dancing, 287.
Passages, in the auditorium,
characters, 83, 213, 214.
actor
ff.
drama,
Greek Music during the
Mynniscus,
291.
nated to the poetry, 292. The Modes,

Deterioration in
or Harmonies, 293.
Mute
Paraskenia, 149, 213.

Parastatae, 271.
159.
in
Simple
Position of chorus during, 275.
244.
Mitra, the, 227.
Mummius,
Parabasis, delivered partly in recitative,
76.
19
Into
ff.
the orchestra, T33ff.
dramatic performances
Theatre at, 115, 117. Date
of theatre at, 124.
Stage in theatre
at, 127, 142.
Orchestra in theatre at,
Peiraeeus, the,
Calls Callipides an ape, 251.
at, 42.
N.
Neoptolemus, the
actor,
247, 252, 255,
132.
Periaktoi, 181
257.
Nero, competes
in tragic contests, 247.
Nicias, as choregus, 50, 86.
Phallus,
Nicostratus, the actor, 244.
ff.
Phaedrus, stage
of,
109, 128, 13S.
worn by comic
actors, 235
by
satyrs, 265.
Pherecrates, censures the music of Ti-
O.
Obelisks,
Odeum,
on the
stage, 184.
used for the Proagon, 87.

Formerly used for performances by
the,
rhapsodists
and
The Odeum
of Pericles, 160.
Okribas, 141.
Orange, the theatre
Orchesis, 284.
harp-players,
162.
motheus, 294.
Philemon, reproduction of his plays, 33.
Defeats Menander, 49, 315.
Philip, son of Aristophanes, 70.
Philippides, reproduction of his plays,
33.
Philocles, writes a Pandionis, 25.
Philonides,
at,
140, 150.
exhibits
various
Aristophanes, 31, 69.

78.
plays
Not an
of
actor,
GENERAL INDEX.
Phlya, dramatic performances at, 42.
Phlyakes, Comedy of the, 234.
Phrygian Mode, the, 293.
Phrynichus, his first victory, 7. Called
a
'
His capture of
dancer,' 80, 286.
Production, of a play, 66
His opinion of Attic
26,
Excludes
52, 313, 317.
tragic poets from his republic, 105
audiences,
also actors, 247.
Praises the tragic
dance, 289. Disapproves of the kordax, 290.

His remarks about the
drama in connexion with boys and

women, 298,
Plato (the poet),
comedies, 69.
His remarks on the decline of choral
dancing, 287.
Plutarch,
remark
His
285.
plays, 96.
the,
Conferred on
304.
305 on archons and generals,
305 on various other persons, 306.
Prologue, the, 273.
Proskenion, the, 141, 170.
priests,
Protagonist, his importance,
the Third, a collector of

manuscripts, 97.
Puppet-shows, in the theatre, 163.
Pythian games, dramatic performances
introduced into the, 9,
QQuintilian, his statement about Aeschy-
His comparison of the orator

and the dancer, 285,
lus, 95.
semblies, 162, 163.
number of at the different dramatic
contests, 19, 28, 30, 31, 38,40.

Age
Produce plays in other
of,
67.
persons' names, 6 8 if.
R.
Originally also
Ranks, in choruses, 268.
stage-managers, 69, 80. Assigned to

the choregi, 73 ff.
Act in their own
Recitative,
plays, 204.
Records,
his
salary,
cerning, 256.
his
Lycurgean tetralogy,
the
auditorium,
121.
Of
ft-,
300-
92
plays, 8.
Com-
Called a dancer,' 80, 286.

plains of the flute-players, 292.
'
of admission,
two
state to
obols,
needy
98
Favourite tragedies
ff.
Revision of plays, 93,

Rural Dionysia, the, 42.
Com302.
Salamis, dramatic performances
303-
by
58,
the
citizens,
Priestesses, their seats, 305, 311.

Priests, their seats, 305, 309 ff.
Privileges, enjoyed
century, 92.
in later times,
petes with Aeschylus, 16, 107, 123.
Granted by the
ff.
fifth
number of his
By the actors,
Almost unknown during
Aeschylus, 94.
Praecinctiones, 121.
Price,
the
Reproduction of old tragedies, 28, 96;

of plays of
of old comedies, 32, 98
PZumenes, 160.
Posidippus, reproduction of his plays, 33.
Pratinas,
in
276.
Refreshments, in the theatre, 311,

Religion, its connexion with the drama,
16.
ff.,
Refrains, 293.
Epidaurus, 116.
Portico,
employed
far
of dramatic contests, 59 ff.

Erected in or near to the theatre, 161,
con-
Stories
255.
how
Greek drama, 243
Polycleitus, architect of the theatre at
Polyphradmon,
208.
Ptolemy,
music, 291.
Polus,
56,
Parts taken by him, 210, 211.
about
nyx, the, stone seats at, 1 07. Disused

as a meeting- place for popular asPoets,
Conceal-
Proedria,
Greek
of
description
his
dancing,
sells his
ff.
ment of the poet's name, 68 ff.

F'ormerly managed by the poet himself, 69 ff.
Posthumous production of
philosopher), writes a te-
(the
poets,
Proagon, the, 87.

Pro bole, the, 91.
dances, 286.
tralogy,
For
Prizes, for choregi, 53, 90.

For actors, 55.
54, 90.
Introduces female
Miletus, 93, 316.
masks, 217. Skilful in inventing new
Plato
339
actors, 252.
at, 42.
Salaries, of the actors, 255.
Sannio, the chorus-trainer, 81, 252,

Satyric drama, at the City Dionysia, 19.
Z 2
GENERAL INDEX,
340
Decline
Its relation to tragedy, 24.
in the
importance
of actors
263.
Number
28.
of,
Size of chorus in,
in, 201.
Costume of satyric
actors, 231
The
of satyric choruses, 265.
ff.
satyric
dance, 291.
Entrusts plays to his son lophon, 69.

His actor Tlepolemus, 76.
Writes
the actors, 76, 207.
Appears
occasionally on the stage, 81, 205.
for
His conduct
after the death of
ripides,
The
Satyrs, costume of, 265.
95,
Satyrus, the actor, 99.

Scene-painting, 170.
99.
Scenery, occasionally supplied by the

choregus, 84. Simple in character,
164.
Gradual introduction
Number
165
ff.
of scenes not large, 168
ff.
of,
Mechanical
1 70.
arrangements for scenery,
171 ff.
Entrances to the stage, 174. Regulations concerning the entrances, 176.
Scene-painting,
Changes of scene,
aktoi,
181
The
i78ff.
peri-
Stage-properties, 183.
ff.
The ekkyklema, i85ff. The exostra,

The mechane, 189 ff. Various
189.
contrivances, 192
Seats, originally of
wood, 104.
1
ff.
In the
Price of
Popular tragedies of his,

His statue in the theatre, 160.
97.
Scenery in his plays, 168. Said to

invented scene-painting, 170.
Introduces a third actor, 200. Pre-
have
vented from acting by the weakness

of his voice, 204. Invents the krepis,
225 ; and the curved staff, 228. Increases the size of the chorus, 262.
Appointed general, 316.
Shepherds, on the stage, their costume,
Sparta, the theatre at, 122.
Speech, used in the delivery of iambic

trimeters, 241, 276.
Sphyromachus,
his regulation about the
Staff- bearers, 313.
height
Stage,
of,
theatres, 142.
cerning, 142
227.
ff.
Greek and Roman
Dorpfeld's theory con-
Steps leading up to,
147.
Sikinnis, the, 291.
for the actors, 150.
Simylus, the actor, 43, 249.

Skene, origin of the terra, 104.
by the chorus, 152.
meanings of, 139, 170.

Slaves, admitted to the theatre,
Various
146.
the
ff.,
Soccus, the, 240.

Socrates (the actor), 43, 249.
Socrates (the philosopher), an admirer of
fifth
Its height
during
277.
Solos, by actors, 243.
Song, used
in lyrical passages, 243, 276.

Soothsayers, their costume on the stage,
227.
Long and narrow in

The
Stasima, movements of chorus during,

275.
7.
ff.
shape, 139. The fa9ade, 140.

side-wings, 148.
Stage-properties, 183 ff.
the performance of the Clouds, 235.

Solon, witnesses a performance by
Delivered by the whole chorus,

Accompanied with dances, 287.
Statues, in the theatre, 160,
161.
On
the stage, 183.

Steps, between orchestra and stage, 147.
Stropheion, the, 194.
Sword-swallowers, in the theatre, 163.

Syrtos, the, 226.
Sophocles, competes with Euripides, 17.

Number of his victories, 20, 47, 62,
Abandons the
of writing
Defeated by PhiloNever third in a contest,
48.
Refused a chorus by the archon,
Exhibits at an early age, 67.
tetralogies,
67.
Used occasionally
century, 158.
nysus, 136
His behaviour during
54.
Supported by the hyposkenion,

The back-wall, 149. Intended
Stage-buildings, in the theatre of Dio-
297
302.
cles,
Com-
I54ff.
141,
Side-wings, 148. Called paraskenia, 149.

Sigma, a name for the orchestra, 125.
Thespis,
His popu-
larity, 317, 318.
parative size in
feats, 302.
Euripides, 42.
Eu-
text of his plays,
seats, 299.
ff.
87,
25.
T.
practice
Taureas, assaulted by Alcibiades, 86,

313-
Tauromenion, the theatre at, 149.

Telestes, dancer employed by Aeschylus,
GENERAL INDEX.
Dances the Seven against
284.
Thebes, 289.
Temples, of Dionysus, no, 160.
Termessus, the theatre at, 1 1 7.
Tetralogies,
2 iff.
Character
of,
Invention
of,
21.
Disuse
of,
25.
23.
Meaning of the term,
26.
Text, of old plays, officially preserved, 97.

Theatre, the Greek, general character
Originally of wood,
I02.
of,
Site of the old
Athens,
104.
torium, 115
ff.
torium, 121.
theatres,
Passages in the audiSize of different Greek
The
122.
The
135.
orchestra,
139
The
ff.
The hyposkenion,
1
146.
125,
stage-
ff.
Its
site,
59.
no.
Plan
auditorium, 113 ff.

Date of the auditorium, I23ff. The
1 28 ff.
The stage-buildings,
The stage, 146, 158. Statues
and monuments in, 160 ff. Buildings
orchestra,
I36fr.
near, 160,
Its
various
uses,
162
ff.
Themistocles, victorious in a dramatic
His
contest, 53, 60.

theatre, 161.
statue in
the
Victorious
at
the
Lenaea,
Called a
his
own
'
inventor of tragedy,
dancer,'
plays,
the
in
orchestra
133; for the stage, 155. Wieview concerning it, 155.

Timotheus, the author of the new style
of music, 294.
itself,
seler's
Tombs, on the stage, 184.

Tragedy, date of first institution
of
At the City Dionysia,

16 ff., 27 ff.
At the Lenaea, 37.
Number of actors in, 200. Costume
contests in, 6.
of actors
The
in,
216
ff.
Size of chorus in,
Costume of chorus
262.
in,
262.
tragic dance, 289.
Training, of the chorus, 80
ff.
Tribes, the Attic, dithyrambic contests
them, 307.
Tribute, displayed at the City Dionysia,
89, 162.
Trilogies, 21
ff.
Tripods, the prizes in the dithyrambic

contests, 53.
Tritagonist, the, 207, 208, 211.
Tritostatae, the, 271.
Trochaic tetrameters, given in
recitative,
244.
Tunic, of tragic actors, 225.
Of
satyric
Turban, worn by Darius, 228.
rhetorician as well as poet, 81.
the
the
39.
V.
Theodorus, excellence of his voice, 248.

Stories about him, 257.
Theognis, the tragic poet, 95.
Theologeion, the, 193.
Theoric money, the, 303.
Thesis (metrical term), 283.
Thespis,
for
actors, 232.
Theodectes, engages in thirteen contests,

28.
the altar
for
blocks in the theatre appropriated to
The
112.
of,
132
Back-
49. Acoustic properties of,
of the, 107
orchestra,
between, 14, 15. Have no connexion

with the dramatic contests, 1 4. Certain
141.
Steps
Theatre, of Dionysus at Athens, history
Thymele, name
to
stage,
Side- wings, 148.
stage, 147.
wall,
The
eisodoi, 133.
buildings,
103.
wooden theatres at
Shape of the audi-
341
80,
204.
286.
7.
Acted
Said to have
importance of in the Greek

Its strength more redrama, 245.
garded than its quality, 246. Train-
Voice,
ing of the voice, 248.
W.
Windows,
Women,
Their
used masks, 217.
in the back-scene, i73
admitted to the theatre, 227

seats, 307.
Thessalus, the actor, 255, 257.

Thoricus, the theatre at, 42.
Thrasyllus, his dream, 58.
Thrones, in the theatre of Dionysus,
date of, 125. Throne of the priest of
Dionysus, 308.
Xenocles, defeats Euripides, 18.

Z.
Zeno, his remark about actors, 247.
THE END.
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Attic Theatre - A.E. Haigh

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3]%^.

THE ATTIC THEATRE

Oxford University Press Warehouse

The Attic Theatre

OF THE ATHENIANS, AND OF THE DRAMATIC

LATE FELLOW OF HERTFORD, AND CLASSICAL LECTURER AT CORPUS

AND WADHAM COLLEGES, OXFORD

WITH FA CSIMHE S AND ILLUSTRATIONS

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

book has been

and surroundings of the old Athenian dramatic per-

the available information concerning the outward

words, to write a history of the Attic drama

the literary, point of view.

one which has been practically revolutionised

various scholars in interpreting the notices of the old gram-

to the rich discoveries of

inscriptions relating to theatrical affairs, and the information

supplied by excavations in the old Greek theatres.

of the copious accession of fresh materials,

years since any work has appeared in English, in which

department of Greek dramatic history has been

treated in a comprehensive manner.

more remarkable, as the

undeniably of great interest

understand and appreciate the peculiar

Greek plays, without acquiring some

poets had to work.

In the second place, as the Attic drama

essentially a public institution,

and formed one of the most

conspicuous elements in the national

the various details

tastes of the old Athenians.

several considerations that the present

work has been under-

Unfortunately, with the exception of a

and a few observations upon the theatre

Vitruvius, none of the ancient treatises, which dealt with the

various portions of the subject, have been preserved.

materials have in consequence to be collected from the most

from incidental references

casual remarks in ancient authors,

Greek dramas, from obscure

marians, from old inscriptions,

and other works of

In the treatment of questions, which depend upon evidence of

and complex character,

diversity of opinion should arise,

drama has been

inevitable that great

and that numberless oppor-

a matter of fact the whole history of

mass of controversy and hypothesis

purpose throughout the following pages has been

close to the original sources of information, to restrict myself

unreservedly to such facts as seem

by the evidence, and

fairly well established

to clear the subject of all those fine-drawn

theories and conjectures, which have no definite foundation to

For every statement concerning the

have been careful