Roman Theatre and Drama

General History and Cultural

Context
Scholars

date the founding of Rome at

753 B.C.E.

In

509 B.C.E. the Romans kick out the

Etruscans and found their republic (just
as Athens was becoming a Democracy).

General History and Cultural

Context
By

265 B.C.E. Rome controls the

entire Italian Peninsula.

As

a result of its expansion

between 270 and 240 B.C.E.,
Rome took over several Greek
territories in which theatre had
long flourished.

General History and Cultural

Context
By

240 B.C.E., (The year regular

comedy and tragedy were added to
the state-sponsored festival called
Ludi Romani) a great number of
Romans were familiar with Greek art
and theatre.
It is this date (240 B.C.E) that is
often said to mark the beginning
of Roman Theatre.

General History and Cultural

Context
To

understand Roman theatre, it is

essential to recognize that drama in the
Greek sense played only a small role in
it.

Roman

Theatre was always dominated

by variety or popular entertainment.

General History and Cultural

Context
Roman

Theatre encompassed acrobatics,

trained animals, jugglers, athletic events,
music and dance, dramatic skits, short
farces, and full length dramas.

The

public was fickle and

frequently left one event for
another and demanded diversions
capable of withstanding all
competition.

Etruscan Influence
Prior

to 240 B.C.E Etruria was the dominant

influence on Roman theatrical activities.
Sacred festivals in Etruria included acting,
dancing, flute playing, juggling,
prizefighting, horseracing, acrobatics, and
competitive sports.
Roman festivals inherited many features
from Etruria and therefore mingled diverse
activities in and atmosphere partly religious,
partly secular, or even carnival-like.

Etruscan Influence
The

Etruscans also originated

gladiatorial contests, as funeral
ceremonies rather then the form of
entertainment they became under
the Romans.

Etruscan Influence
In

addition to Etruria, southern Italy also

contributed to Romes early theatre in the
form of its Atellan farce (fabula Atellana).
These

were probably short mimes, largely

improvised
and based on domestic situations
or mythological burlesque.
They were likely derived
from the Greek mimes
(phlyakes).

Etruscan Influence
By

240 B.C.E., when Greek drama

was imported to Rome, various kinds
of entertainments (music, dance,
farce, chariot races, and boxing)
were already well established at
Roman festivals. Regular drama was
merely added to them.

Cultural Context
So,

by 146 B.C.E., Rome had

conquered Greece and gradually
absorbed the entire Hellenic world.
Rome

was heavily influenced by Greek

culture, most Roman art and literature
was based on
Greek Vase
Roman Vase

Greek models.

Cultural Context
However,

Romans should not be

viewed as mere extensions of the
Greeks, their own character made
them reject much that was
characteristic of the Greeks.

Cultural Context
Romes

history can best be understood

by dividing it into two phases:
The

Republic (509 - 27 B.C.E)

The Empire (27 B.C.E 476 C.E.)
It

was the virtues of

the Republic that
enabled Rome to
become a world power.

Cultural Context
But

by 27 B.C.E., power had passed

from representative bodies to the
emperor.

Cultural Context
Elements

of the same change can be

noted in the theatre.
Under the rule of the republic, regular
drama prospered.

Cultural Context
Under

the empire, regular drama was largely

abandoned in favor of variety entertainment.

Cultural Context
By

the 2nd century C.E., women had gained

more rights and were respected members
of society.

Cultural Context
Women

engaged freely in birth control and

entered freely almost any profession open to
men.

Roman

women gave orders to maids

Received visitors of both sexes
Enjoyed the better education,
leisure, and work.
Attended religious festivals, games,
theatre, and circuses.

Cultural Context
Women

became performers, clowns and

gladiators, one even became Empress of
the empire.

Sexual

equality was legislated and

practiced to an unparalleled degree.

Cultural Context
Theatrical

offerings, no matter what

the content, were thought to be
pleasing to the Gods.
There were Roman counter parts to
each of the Greek Gods and
Goddesses, and household
spirits and animalistic forces
were venerated as well.

Greek and Roman God &

Goddesses

Greek name
Roman Name
Title
Zeus
Jupiter
King of Gods
Apollo
Phoebus Apollo
God of Light
Hermes
Mercury
Messenger of the Gods
Poseidon
Neptune
God of the Sea Ares
Mars
God of War Hephaestus
Vulcan
God of Fire Dionysus
Bacchus
God of Wine
Pan
Pan
God of Woods Eros
Cupid
God of
Love
Hades
Pluto
God of Underworld
Athena
Minerva
Goddess of Wisdom
Artemis
Diana
Goddess of the Hunt
Aphrodite
Venus
Goddess of Love/Beauty
Hera
Juno
Queen of the Gods
Demeter
Ceres
Goddess of Grain/Crops

Cultural Context
As

Rome expanded, new

Gods and Goddesses were
continually added to the list.
The

Romans were a superstitious

people fearful of offending any
supernatural power.

Roman Festivals
Most

state-sponsored theatrical
performances in Rome were given at
official Roman Festivals, or Ludi,
honoring various Gods.
A

number of other festivals were given on

special occasions:
Major

victories in war
Dedication of public buildings or monuments
Funerals of important people
Or when a private individual wished to win favor

Roman Festivals

The oldest of the official festivals was the Ludi

Romani, established in the 6th century B.C.E. and
given in honor of Jupiter each September.

THE LUDI SAECULARES

(May-June, 17 B.C.)

The Ludi Circenes

Roman Festivals

The Ludi Florales, which began in April, was an

ancient May Day celebration. Flora, the Roman
goddess in whose honor the festival was held,
was a goddess of flowers. The intension was to
please the goddess into protecting the blossoms.

Ludi

Florales

Roman Festivals
Roman

public games (ludi) were

financed
by minor public magistrates known as
Aediles.
There were many other festivals
throughout the year which included
theatre, however, none honored the
God Bacchus the Roman equivalent
of Dionysus.

Drama under the Romans

By

the time Rome ceased to be a

republic in 27 B.C.E., regular drama
had already declined markedly and the
minor forms had become dominant.
Of

more than 900 years over which the

history of Roman theatre extends, only
about 200 are of much importance for
drama since it was during this time that
most of the plays for performance were
written.

Drama under the Romans

Roman

literature is usually said to

have begun with the foreigner Livius
Andronicus (240-204 B.C.E)
He

wrote, translated and adapted

comedies and tragedies that are now
considered the first important literary
works in
Latin.

Drama under the Romans

The

first native-born dramatist was

Gnaeus Naevius (270 201 B.C.E.)
He

did much to Romanize the drama

by introducing many Roman allusions
into the Greek originals and by writing
plays on Roman stories.

Drama under the Romans

Because

comedy was more popular than

tragedy in Rome, the names of many
comic writers have come down to us.
However, we only have plays from two
comedic authors.
Plautus

Terence

Plautus
Titus

Maccinus Plautus (254 184

B.C.E.) was the first important
successor to Livius Andronicus and
Naevius in comedy.

Plautus
His

popularity was so great that after

his death as many as 130
plays came to be attributed to him.

Plautus
Few

of the plays can be dated with

certainty, although all were probably
written between 205 and 184.

Plautus
He

added many Roman allusion and

was much admired for his Latin
dialogue, his varied poetic meters,
and his witty jokes.
Although his plays show a
wide range of comic powers,
Plautus is best known for his
farce.

Terence
Publius

Terentius Afer (195 or 185

159 B.C.E.) is said to have been born in
Carthage, brought to Rome as a slave
when he was a boy, educated, and
freed.
He wrote 6 plays all of which survive:
Andria

(166), Mother-in-law (165), SelfTormentor (163), Eunuch (161), Phormio

(161), and The Brothers (160).

Terence
Terences

plots are more complex

than those of his predecessors,
because he combined stories from
more than one Greek
original, a practice for
which he was often
denounced.

Terence
The

chief interest in his works,

however, does not lie in intrigue, but
in character and the double plots
that provided him with opportunities
for showing contrasts in human
behavior.

Terence
His

sympathetic treatment of
characters moves his plays toward
romantic or sentimental comedy.

Since he strove for consistency, he

avoided inserting Roman allusions into
the Greek plots upon which he drew.

Terence
His

language, that of everyday polite

conversion, lacks the great metrical
variety found in Plautus plays

Terence

was much more conscious of

artistic principals than Plautus, but
he never equaled the latters
popularity.

Drama under the Romans

Comedy

ceased to be a vital form after

about 100 B.C.E., but the works of Plautus
and Terence survived, even after the
decline of Rome, perhaps because they
were valued as models of spoken Latin.
Since

later critics turned to

them as the foremost
examples of comic drama,
the plays of Plautus and
Terence had an enormous
influence on Renaissance
comedy.

Drama under the Romans

Although

all of the existing Roman

comedies are adaptations of Greek plays,
Plautus and Terence did make some minor
changes in the structure of the originals.

One

of the main things they did

was eliminate the chorus, with
the result that the plays are not
divided into episodes.

Drama under the Romans

Another

important addition in the case of

Plautus was the musical accompaniment of
the dialogue.

However,

in subject matter, plot devices, and

characterization, Roman comedy seems to
have differed little from Greek New Comedy.

Drama under the Romans

The

only Roman tragedies that

survive are from a later period and
all but one of these were written by
one author.

Seneca
Lucius

Annaeus Seneca
(5 or 4 B.C.E. 65 C.E.) Born in
Spain, educated in Rome.
Famous for his works on rhetoric and
philosophy and became one of the most
influential men in Rome after his pupil
Nero was named emperor in 54 C.E.
Committed suicide in 65 C.E.

Seneca
Nine

of Senecas plays survive:

The

Trojan Women, Medea, Oedipus,

Phaedra, Theyestes, Hercules on Oeta,
The Mad Hercules, The Phoenician
Women, and Agamemnon.

All

were adapted from Greek

originals.

Seneca
Since

they helped shape tragedy in

the age of Shakespeare their
characteristics are important.
First,

Senecas plays were divided into 5

episodes. (During the Renaissance this
became standard).
Second, Senecas elaborate
speeches, often resembling forensic
addresses, were imitated by
later writers.

Seneca
Third,

Senecas interest in morality,

reflected through sensational deeds.

Fourth,

Senecas scenes of
violence and horror (for example, in
Oedipus, Jocasta rips open her womb, and
in Thyestes, the bodies of children are
served at a banquet) were imitated by
later writers.

Seneca
Fifth,

Senecas preoccupation with

magic, death, and the merging of the
human and superhuman worlds
paralleled a major interest of the
Renaissance.
Sixth, Senecas creation of characters
who are dominated by a single obsessive
passion (such as revenge) that drives
them to their doom provided.

Seneca
Seventh,

many of Senecas technical

devices, such as, soliloquies, asides, and
confidantes, were taken over by later
authors.

Thus,

even though he is now, by

some, considered to be an inferior
dramatist,
Seneca exerted enormous
influence in later times.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime
By

the first century C.E., regular

comedy and tragedy had totally lost
their popularity on the public stages.
However, there were minor forms
that dominated the Roman repertory
from the first century B.C.E. onward.

Four parts of Comedy

Prologue

Prostasis - introduces the action

Epistasis - complication

Catastrophe - resolution

The Fabula Palliata

(Literally:

a tale in Greek dress) Comedy

translated wholly from Greek or, in later
years, a play that was mostly based on a
Greek original.

The

word Palliata comes from the Latin word,

Pallium, for a type cloak worn by Greeks.

The

only substantial works that survive are

from Plautus and Terence.
Only small line fragments remain from the
other authors.

The Fabula Palliata

Common

elements include:

Exotic

location (often somewhere in Greece)

with witty servants

Lovesick
Foolish

young men and women

old men

Everything

the play

wrapping up neatly by the end of

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime

Most

importantly, the Atellan farce

and Mime.
Nonliterary

forms until the 1st century

B.C.E.
Not

until major forms began to decline

Atellan

farce and the mime were first

written down.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime
Pomponius
Credited

and Novius (100-75 B.C.E.)

with making it a literary form.

At

this time, the Atellana seem to have

been short (perhaps 300-400 lines)

Served

as Exodia, or
afterpieces, to regular
drama.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime

Emphasized

speech.

Its

rural settings, characters, and

subject matter:

Cheating,

gluttony, fighting, or
sexual exploits.
Rustic atmosphere
Use as an afterpiece
Romans associate it with the
satyr play.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime
Four stock characters
appeared in the
Atellana:
Bucco,

the boisterous braggart

Pappus, the comic old man
Maccus, the gluttonous fool
Dosserms, a hunchback
Many

historians trace Commedia

dellArte back to the Atellan farce
and these stock characters.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime
Mime or fabula riciniata,
Mime or fabula riciniata,
First

clear reference to it is found in

Rome in 211 B.C.E.
Mime was transformed into a literary
type in the 1st c. B.C.E.
Decimus

Laberius (106 43 B.C.E.)

and his contemporary, Publius
Syrus are usually credited with this
development.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime

Under

the empire, the mime appears

to have reverted back to a
nonliterary type, although its
popularity increased until it virtually
drove all other forms from the stage.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime
Usually

short, dramatic form

Sometimes elaborate
Complex spectacle with
large casts.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime
They could be obscene or violent in content.
Usually

there was some kind of depravity

going on.
Mimes reflected the taste of the period as
can be seen from the
Numerous

beatings

Fights
Deaths
Other

forms of violence.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime

Mimes

disliked by the Christians

Beliefs

were often mocked onstage.

Sufficient

evidence to show that the mimes were

artistically inferior.

Much

about their depravity

and excesses comes from
Christian writers seeking to
undermine the theatres
appeal.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime

Mime

troupes also presented a wide range

of incidental entertainment:
Tightrope

walking and trapezes, fire-spitting

sword swallowing
juggling with balls, daggers, and other objects
stilt walking
trained animals
singing and dancing, etc.
Audiences

were very fickle, so the range of

mimic offerings was extremely wide.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime
Under

the empire, Pantomime

(fabula saltica) was also popular.
Roman pantomime was a forerunner
of modern ballet.
Essentially a
storytelling dance.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime
A solo dance.
Plots

were usually taken from

mythology or history.
The action was accompanied by a
chorus (sang exposition) and an
orchestra of flutes, pipes,
and cymbals.

Atellan Farce, Mime, and

Pantomime

Could

be both comic and serious, the

serious form became most popular
and after the 2nd century C.E.
It was increasingly subordinated to
mime.

 Quintus

Horace

Horatius Flaccus (65 8 B.C.E)

Second only to Aristotle, Horace exerted a
major influence on later dramatic theory
during the renaissance.

After

publishing the Odes in 23 B.C.E.,

Horace wrote three episodes on the
nature of poetry.
The

second of these
was Ars Poetica, The Art of Poetry,
which examines the merits of
philosophical expression over lyric poetry.

 Based

Horace

on decorum.

Complains

of silly plays with complicated

scenery and disjointed plots

Gives

some clear-cut laws which will

become the credo of neoclassical writers:
Characters

in comedy must be
typical, and speak and behave
according to their age and nature.

Horace
Traditional

characters in
tragedy must not be altered.

Invented

characters must be

consistent.
Unbelievable

or immoral actions must be

narrated and not shown on stage.

Plays

must have 5 acts.

Horace
The

deus ex machina must not be

used in unworthy occasions.

Only

three actors can speak at one

time in a scene.

The

chorus must behave like

one of the actors, and side
with the good characters.

Actors and Acting

The

usual term for actors in Rome

was histriones but cantores
(or declaimers) was also used.
The

majority of performers were

male women only appeared on
stage in mimes.

Actors and Acting

The

social status of the actor is much

disputed.
Some historians suggest that all
actors were slaves owned by
company managers, or Domini.

Actors and Acting

Some

actors were members of the

collegium poetarum, an association of
writers and actors founded in 207 B.C.E.,
which would have only been given to
men with full civil rights.

Actors and Acting

Acting

style probably varied

according to the dramatic form.
In comedy and tragedy,
acting seems to have followed
conventions already developed
by the Greeks.

Actors and Acting

Contemporary

writers also make it

clear that expressive gesture and
pantomime (perhaps heavily
dependant on stock attitudes and
poses) were prominent in
performance.

Roman Theatres
Roman

theatres
were typically built on
ground level rather
than cut out of a hill
side as Greek theatres
were.

Roman Theatres
The

facade or scaena frons, of the

stage
House, or scaena, was decorated with
columns, niches, and statues.

Roman Theatres
The

seating area was called a cavea and

the parodoi were roofed over to provide
corridors and were called vomitoria.

Cavea
Orchestra
Vomitoria
Scaena frons

Scaena

Pompey

Orange-Southern France
1st C. AD

Other Entertainments
Theatre

had to compete with many

other kinds of entertainments.
The oldest and most popular of these
was Chariot racing.
The

races were included among the

events of several religious festivals
during both the Republic and the
Empire.

Other Entertainments
Their

popularity was enormous during

the empire, and was favored well into
the 6th century C.E.

Several

other entertainments were

given in the circuses (the most famous
being the Circus Maximus, built to
accommodate chariot races:

Other Entertainments
Gladiatorial

contests provided
another kind of popular
entertainment.
Before

the end of the 1st century C.E. the

contests were established throughout
the empire.

Other Entertainments
As

time went by, contests became more

and more elaborate.
Accompanied by mood music and sound
effects, even appropriate costuming and
scenic elements.

Other Entertainments
Special

schools trained the

gladiators, most of whom
were slaves.

Some

as

free men voluntarily became gladiators,

some reached a type of superstar
status.

Other Entertainments
Also

female gladiators. They would have

been pitted against each other.
Contest between a man and a woman
would not have been considered fair.

Other Entertainments
Venationes,

or wild animal fights,

were closely related to the
gladiatorial contests and were also
staged in amphitheaters.

Other Entertainments
The

most famous amphitheater was

the Colosseum (or Flavian
Amphitheatre), opened in 80 C.E.

Other Entertainments
The

Colosseum had a full network of

tunnels, cages, and elevators to reveal
gladiators or animals onto arena floor.

Other Entertainments
These

amphitheatres were built

throughout the Roman Empire,
though none is as grand as the
Colosseum.
Tunisia

Pompeii

Other Entertainments
Most

spectacular of all the

entertainments were the
Naumachiae, or sea battles.
The

first was given by Julius Caesar on a

lake dug for the occasion.
Battle involving 2,000 marines and
6,000 oarsman.

The Decline of the Roman

Theatre

The

Roman theatre reached its height

during the 4th century C.E.

Although

it continued for as a public

supported institution for another 200
years, it has already
encountered difficulties that would
eventually
overwhelm it.

The Decline of the Roman

One source ofTheatre
opposition was the
rising Christian church.
Constantine

(Emperor 324 377 C.E.)

first made Christianity lawful, and
Theodosius I made the practice of any
other religion unlawful in 393 C.E.

 The

theatre was a favorite target of the Christians for

at least three reasons:
1. It was associated with Pagan festivals.
200AD

Tertullian

All

forms of imitation are sinful

Pantomimes:
Sex outside of marriage
Thievery
Physical Abuse

2. The licentiousness of the mimes offended the moral sense

of the church leaders.
3. Mimes often ridiculed church
practices.

Even mimicking was a falsification

 Church

leaders sought to dissuade Christians from

attending the theatre:
Excommunication

Church

(Constantine)

opposition alone did not cause the decline:

Decay

of the Roman Empire from within

Pressures from barbarian tribes without eventually took
their toll.
Other

excesses:

Domitian

used condemned men to be killed

Elagabalus.adulterous scenes in comedies
Mimi (mimes) making fun of religious practices. Found
audiences in provinces.

 The

last definite record of a

performance in Rome is found in a
letter written in 533 C.E.
568-Justinian

married an archimima
(leading actress in mime troupe)
Theodora. Then she had to denounce
acting.

The Decline of the Roman

Does not seemTheatre
to have survived the

Lombard invasion of (Justinian) 568 C.E.

State recognition and support for
theatrical performances definitely
ceased.
Theatre

in the western territories

returned to that obscurity out of which it
had slowly emerged some 900 years
earlier.
Circa 959 CE