Fig. 44.—Movements of the Actors in Aristophanes’Frogs, vss. 1-460
Fig. 44.—Movements of the Actors in Aristophanes’Frogs, vss. 1-460
Again, the incidents of many plays come into harmony with theatrical conditions only if we suppose that there was no stage. Perhaps the best and clearest illustration of this is afforded by Aristophanes’Frogs(405B.C.). Xanthias and Dionysus, engaged in conversation, enter the orchestra at one of the side entrances (Fig. 44A). At vs. 35 the latter calls attention to the nearest of the three doors in the proscenium, saying: “I amalready near this door where I must turn in.” It transpires that this is the house of Heracles (Fig. 44B), and Dionysus’ knock brings his brother in person to the door. From him they receive directions for their trip to the lower world—that first they will come to a large lake which they must cross in a tiny boat, then they will see perjurers, thieves, and criminals of the deepest dye, and finally will be received by happy bands of initiates (the chorus), who “dwell alongside the very road at the doors of Pluto” (vss. 162 f.). Scarcely have they left Heracles’door when they behold a trundle-boat pushed from the opposite parodus into the orchestra (CC′) and hear Charon’s “Yo-heigh, Yo-ho” (vs. 180). He approaches the edge of the orchestra where they now stand, but when they prepare to embark Charon refuses to receive a slave on board and poor Xanthias is ordered to run around the lake (C′C″D; vs. 193). Meanwhile Dionysus and Charon direct their boat across the orchestra (C′D) to where, in the center of the front row of seats, the priest of Dionysus and other functionaries always sat (Fig. 45);[181]and from behind the scenes, to accompany their rowing, the choreutae sing a “frog” chorus as if from the bottom of the lake (vss. 209-69). Upon disembarking (atD) Dionysus calls for his slave and catches his faint reply as he comes into sight (!) from his “arduous” trip around the orchestra’s semicircumference. Xanthias now points out to his master the perjurers, etc., in the nearby audience (vs. 275). Presently they are badly frightened and Dionysus appeals to his priest, who is within arm’s length of him, to protect him (vs. 297). Now the sound of flutes is heard and the chorus of initiates enter. Dionysus and Xanthias crouch down, where they are, to listen (vs. 315). Immediately the orchestra, which has just been a subterranean lake, is changed to the imagination into a flowery meadow (vss. 326, 351, etc.). At vs. 431 Dionysus starts up from his lurking-place and inquires of the chorus, “Could you tell us where Pluto dwells hereabouts?” and the coryphaeus promptly replies: “Know that you have come to the very door” (vs. 436). Dionysus orders his slave to pick up the baggage, walks across the orchestra (DE), and raps at the central door (E), which represents the palace of Pluto (vss. 460 ff.). We need continue no further, for the remainder of the play contains nothing that is noteworthy for our present purpose; but it is already evident how closely the successive situations of the comedy correspond to the physical conditions and arrangements of a stageless theater. To those who would apply Vitruvius’ account to thefifth-century theater, this play presents ineluctable difficulties; there is insufficient room for Charon’s boat on a Vitruvian or any other kind of a Greek stage, Dionysus must appeal to his priest who is some eighty feet away,[182]Xanthias has no lake to run around, and Dionysus must inquire the way to Pluto’s palace when he would be standing considerably nearer to it than the chorus.
Fig. 45STONE CHAIR OF THE PRIEST OF DIONYSUS OPPOSITE THE CENTER OF THE ORCHESTRA IN ATHENSSee p. 90, n. 1
Fig. 45
STONE CHAIR OF THE PRIEST OF DIONYSUS OPPOSITE THE CENTER OF THE ORCHESTRA IN ATHENS
See p. 90, n. 1
It was a convention in the earlier fifth-century plays that if the chorus and one actor were before the audience, an incoming actor should speak first to the chorus and ignore the other actor for the time being (seepp. 165 f., below). This convention was oftentimes extremely awkward and unnatural; but if both actors had stood on a stage several feet above the chorus it surely would have been altogether impossible.[183]
The only tangible argument for a stage of any height in the fifth century is afforded by the occurrence of the words ἀναβαίνειν (“to ascend”) in Aristophanes’Acharnians(vs. 732),Knights(vs. 149), andWasps(vs. 1342), and καταβαίνειν (“to descend”) in hisWasps(vs. 1514) andWomen in Council(vs. 1152). All of these plays, except the last, were performed prior to Aristophanes’Frogs, which we have already seen to be incapable of presentation in a staged theater. In my opinion, then, these words are best explained on the basis of the slight difference in level between the orchestra and the floor of the proscenium colonnade, which was probably elevated a step or two above the orchestra and was often used by the dramatic performers (seep. 68, above, andpp. 238 f., below).[184]Since theAcharnianswas produced in 425B.C., the appearance of ἀναβαίνειν in thatplay is valuable as affording aterminus ante quemfor the introduction of a wooden proscenium at Athens.
The chorus of the fifth-century plays is fatal to any suggestion of a Vitruvian stage, and except Puchstein, who frankly ignored the literary evidence, no recent writer has advocated a high stage for the theater of that period. The advocates of a high stage have clearly seen that they can make headway only by the sacrifice of the dramatic chorus. They are assisted in this attempt by the fact that only three complete plays of the fourth century are extant, the pseudo-EuripideanRhesusand two comedies of Aristophanes, and that the rôle of the chorus in the latter happens to be curtailed. Aristotle,[185]also, speaks of irrelevantembolimain the work of Agathon, who won his first victory in 416B.C.From these facts it has been declared that at the close of the fifth century or early in the fourth the chorus was either given up altogether or “its functions were merely those of the modern band” or “of mere interlude-singers.” Accordingly, it has been argued that the actors at the end of the fifth century stood upon a low stage (which for the kind of plays then exhibited was only less impracticable than a Vitruvian stage) and that they were suddenly elevated to the full height of the proscenium before the close of the fourth century. It must be added that even among those who accept Dörpfeld’s theory for the fifth century there is a tendency to go over to Vitruvius for the period represented by the Lycurgus theater at Athens and by the theater at Epidaurus—the last quarter of the fourth century.[186]So far as Vitruvius himself is involved in this, the matter has already been disposed of. The alleged disappearance or waning of the chorus, however, furnishes no better ground of support for pro-stage writers. To trace the history of the chorus in detail will not be feasible at this point.[187]It will be sufficient to state that there is no reason to believe that the tragic chorus failed to participate in the action or to bear a respectable share of the spoken lines until Roman times. Even in New Comedy, in which the chorus is now known to have appeared only for theentr’actes, its on-coming is often used to motivate the withdrawal of the actors. Such a motivation could scarcely have become common if the actors stood so far above the choreutae as to be safe from their drunken words and acts.[188]
Another argument in favor of a stage has been drawn from the phrases ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς and ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς, which occur in two fourth-century authors, Aristotle and Demosthenes.[189]It has been claimed that ἐπί “naturally means ‘on’ and implies elevation” and that σκηνή means “stage.” If this exegesis were correct, there could be no doubt as to the presence of a stage in the fourth-century theater; but as a matter of fact neither claim is warranted. Everyone would concede that the primary, untechnical meaning of σκηνή is “hut” or “tent,” and that the word was applied to the scene-building, which was erected back of the orchestra and which came to be increasingly substantial in construction. Though the term acquired a variety of other theatrical meanings, I agree with those who maintain that atno period did it mean “stage” in classical Greek. It is manifestly impossible to discuss the matter here, but I shall presently have occasion to show that even in Pollux, who lived in the second centuryA.D., it had not gained this meaning (seep. 98, below). If σκηνή does not mean “stage,” it is unnecessary to argue that ἐπί does not mean “on,” for actors could speak from the porch or from between the columns of the proscenium, and so could be said to speak “from the scene-building” (ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς) or to be standing “on the scene-building” (ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς) without being “on top of the scene-building.” Just so the teachings of the Stoic philosophers are referred to as οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς στοᾶς λόγοι[190]without any implication that the Stoics spoke from a platform, let alone from the top of the stoa. Nevertheless, it is a fact that ἐπί does not always mean “on.” For example, Diodorus and Plutarch both employ ἐπὶ σκηνῆς in a non-technical sense with reference to an occurrence “before” or “at the quarters” of a commander. And Lucian’s metamorphosed ass was mortified at being shown to be a thief and glutton “before his master” (ἐπὶ τοῦ δεσπότου)[191]—surely there was no superposition there. Such passages, however, come from later Greek, when the prepositions were less clear-cut in meaning, and it is better, as Professor Gildersleeve has suggested[192], to “repose quietly on the phraseological use of ἐπί; ‘on the playhouse side’ is all the Dörpfeld theory demands.”
This being the theoretical situation with regard to the original meaning of ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς, it is important to observe that already in its fourth-century usage the phrase was employed vaguely, often meaning little more than “in the theater” or “in a play.” In fact, in one Aristotelian passage, as frequently in later writers, it clearly includes both chorus and actors within its scope. “We ought, therefore, to represent the marvelous in tragedy, but in epic there is greater room for the improbable (by which themarvelous is most often brought to pass) on account of our not actually beholding the characters. For example, Achilles’ pursuit of Hector, if enacted in a play (ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς), would appear absurd—the Greeks (οἱ μὲν) standing still instead of joining in the pursuit and Achilles (ὁ δ’) motioning them back—but in epic verse the absurdity escapes notice.”[193]It is evident that Aristotle was thinking of Homer’sIliadxxii, vss. 205 f.: “But Achilles shook his head to the people in refusal and did not permit them to cast their sharp weapons at Hector,” and was trying to show why a scene that was excellent in an epic could not be dramatized with success. In Homer there are two groups of characters: (a) Achilles and Hector, and (b) the Greek army. In Aristotle’s imaginary dramatization of the incident these groups are represented by the actors (ὁ δέ) and the chorus (οἱ μέν), respectively. Consequently, if σκηνή here means an elevated stage, chorus as well as actors must have stood thereon. Nor did the incongruity consist in the mere position of the chorus inactive in the orchestra and the actors running on the stage, but in the action itself, since the action is equally irrational in the epic (where orchestra and stage assuredly play no part) but is there more tolerable because the scene is not distinctly visualized. I do not insist upon σκηνή here meaning “play” or “performance,” though that is a frequent use and gives the indefinite sense required; but at least until this passage can be shown capable of another interpretation, believers in a stage cannot fairly cite Aristotle’s use of ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς in support of their opinion.
But though ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς σκηνῆς was broad enough to comprise both chorus and actors, it naturally did not always include them both. Particularly, if it were desired to distinguish between the two kinds of dramatic performers, since οἱ ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς θυμέλης could be used of the dithyrambic choruses and other “thymelic” (i.e., orchestral) performers, and could not possibly be applied to the actors, that phrase would naturally be used to designate the dramatic chorus as well, and οἱ ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς σκηνῆς would beused in the restricted sense for the actors alone, even in opposition to the dramatic chorus. This was especially common in the case of οἱ ἀπὸ σκηνῆς, doubtless because the scene-building was thought of as the home of the characters “from” which they came, as the choreutae, whether dramatic or dithyrambic, did not. Thus, a lyrical duet between the dramatic chorus and the actors (acommus—κομμός) is defined as a “dirge shared by the χοροῦ καὶ <τῶν> ἀπὸ σκηνῆς.”[194]But neither the original meaning of ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς σκηνῆς nor this secondary development which brought it into opposition to the thymelic performers and even to the dramatic choreutae presupposes a raised stage for the exclusive use of actors, still less requires that σκηνή should have meant “stage.”
Now οἱ ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς σκηνῆς and οἱ ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς θυμέλης are exactly equivalent to the more common expressions οἱ σκηνικοί and οἱ θυμελικοί. For example, Euripides is called both ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς φιλόσοφος andphilosophus scaenicus.[195]The relationship is an obvious one, but is worth noting because one of Bethe’s pupils has made σκηνικός and θυμελικός the basis of an attempt to prove the existence of a stage in the fourth-century theater at Athens. But since the earlier expressions ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς σκηνῆς and ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς θυμέλης were used with the same distinctions of meaning but without presupposing a stage, there is obviously no need of one to explain the later expressions. Moreover, Dr. Frei is guilty of an egregiouspetitio principii: he first accepts Bethe’s hypothesis that the Lycurgus theater had a stage and consequently concludes that the distinction between σκηνικός and θυμελικός must be explained on the basis of difference in the place of performance there, and then uses these conclusions to prove a stage at that period.[196]All attempts to forge a pro-stageargument out of any of these expressions must be pronounced a failure. But of course in the Roman era, after most Greek theaters had been provided with a raised stage, the differentiation between ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς σκηνῆς and σκηνικός, on the one hand, and ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς θυμέλης and θυμελικός, on the other, became doubly appropriate, because the difference in levels now reinforced a distinction which had already existed without it.
Vitruvius, of course, made no philological or archaeological study of the two adjectives but explained them in terms of the theater which was known to him (seepp. 76 f., above). It should be noted, however, that Vitruvius mentions only the tragic and comic actors under the termscaeniciand includes underthymelici“the other artists” who perform in the orchestra. Does the dramatic chorus belong among the latter? Or is it simply ignored here? The answer is far from certain. If we were dealing only with new plays, it is conceivable that the choruses were so detached from the histrionic action as to be able to stand ten or twelve feet below the actors. But it is well known that some of the fifth-century tragedies were still popular and frequently acted; and as we have already seen, they were not amenable to any such method of staging. In revivals of early masterpieces, then, did all the performers, actors and chorus alike, appear in the orchestra, as in the old Greek theaters? Or was the chorus so reduced in size, and its manner of performance so altered, that it could stand with the actors on the high and narrow Graeco-Roman stage, as they all certainly did on the low and broad Roman stage? It is impossible to determine. All that can truthfully be said is that Vitruvius does not clearly indicate the place of the dramatic chorus in the Graeco-Roman theater. My own opinion is that he is speaking of two distinct types of performance and is ignoring the dramatic chorus.
The same question arises in connection with Pollux. He catalogues eleven parts of a theater. Of these, only six concern us at present: σκηνή, orchestra, logium, proscenium, parascenia, and hyposcenium (IV, 123). Dörpfeld thinks that Pollux is describing the Greek Hellenistic theater,[197]but Pollux was formany years a professor at Athens and dedicated his work to the emperor Commodus (161-92A.D.). Unless his language prevents it, it is more natural to suppose that he had the Athenian structure of his own day in mind, and this would be the Nero theater. In that case, every term falls into place. For the Nero theater logium could refer to the stage alone; and as there would be no sense in Pollux mentioning two words for stage, and since no other term for scene-building as a whole (including logium, proscenium, and parascenia) appears in his list, σκηνή must still mean scene-building and not stage. Pollux then proceeds to say that “the scene-building belongs to the actors and the orchestra to the chorus,” and a little later that “entering at the orchestra they mount to the scene-building on ladders (steps?).”[198]Believing that Pollux is describing the Hellenistic theater, Dörpfeld interprets the first of these passages much as Aristotle’s use of ἐπὶ (ἀπὸ) τῆς σκηνῆς has just been explained. The second passage he considers a reference to some such unusual incident as occurs in Aristophanes’Clouds, where an actor is bidden to climb (from the orchestra) by means of a ladder to the housetop (i.e., to the top of the scene-building) and destroy the roof.[199]There is much merit in this explanation, and it is not necessarily inconsistent with a belief that Pollux is in general dealing with the contemporaneous theater; such learned digressions occur not infrequently in his text. Nevertheless, since stone steps leading from the orchestra to the stage of the scene-building are a part of the Phaedrus theater at Athens, it is not improbable that they belonged also to the Nero stage, if, as Dörpfeld first thought, this was only about six inches higher than the present stage (seep. 74, above). On the other hand, the pro-stage writers boldly cite these passages in support of their views and as if they pertained to the earlier periods of the theater’s history. But though Pollux is probably discussing a theater with a stage, σκηνή does not mean stage in these twosentences any more than in his catalogue of theater parts; and his testimony, however it is to be interpreted, should not be applied to fifth- and fourth-century conditions unless confirmatory evidence for so doing can be produced from these periods. Now the last of these sentences from Pollux concludes a discussion of the conventional significance of the parodi in the ancient theater (seep. 233, below). In my opinion, the Nero stage, though much deeper than the Hellenistic proscenium, was shallow enough so that the parodi still led directly into the orchestra. In that case, when the characters entered by either parodus, as they would when they were thought of as coming from the market place, harbor, or country, they would have to pass through the orchestra first and mount from there upon the stage by means of the steps, exactly as Pollux says. Furthermore, if actors could traverse this route it must have been available also for the chorus. In other words, although at this period the orchestra was the exclusive sphere of the dithyrambic choruses and other thymelic performers and was the normal place for the dramatic chorus, and though the actors regularly stood upon the stage, yet both the actors and the dramatic chorus appeared in either orchestra or stage according to the requirements of the plays. It must be understood, however, that this manner of staging was confined to the Nero theater at Athens; the stage of the Graeco-Roman theaters and the proscenium of the Hellenistic theaters were too high to make it feasible, and in the purely Roman theaters all performers appeared upon the stage. But why is it permissible to accept a low stage for the Nero theater and reject it for the fifth century? In the first place, the stage in Roman times is attested by incontrovertible evidence, both literary and archaeological, but for the fifth century it rests upon pure hypothesis. In the second place, there is no reason to believe that the Athenian chorus in Roman times was brought into actual contact with the tragic actors or had to pass to their place of action so frequently as in fifth-century drama (seep. 88, above).
There is still another sentence in Pollux which needs to be discussed. He declares that “the hyposcenium is adorned with columns and sculptured figures turned toward the audience, and it lies beneath (ὑπό) the logium.”[200]There is no doubt as to the general position of the hyposcenium—it is the room[201]immediately behind the orchestra and on the same level—but there is a division of opinion as to the type of theater which had one and as to its function. In accordance with his belief that Pollux is describing the Hellenistic theater, Dörpfeld understands it as the first story of the scene-building in a theater of this type.[202]The columns and statuary would then refer to the proscenium just in front of it and to the figures which were sometimes placed in the intercolumniations thereof. In Hellenistic theaters Dörpfeld believes the top of the proscenium to have been used by speakers in the public assemblies and for that reason to have been known as a logium (seep. 59, n. 1, above); the hyposcenium, of course, lay on a lower level. Pollux’ statement could not refer to a theater with a stage because the wall beneath the front of the stage was not decorated with columns or statuary (seep. 86, above), the proscenium now being raised one story and appearing at the back of the stage. On the contrary, the pro-stage writers maintain that Pollux refers to the space under a stage. In this instance I agree with them as against Dörpfeld, though I would not look upon Pollux’ statement as applying to the theaters before his own day. Accepting Dörpfeld’s opinion that the Hellenistic theaters had no stage, I think that the first story of their scene-buildings had no special name and that the term “hyposcenium” had not yet come into use; Pollux, however, is referring to the space under the stage in the Nero theater. The front of this was probably adorned with the same frieze as now stands before the Phaedrus stage, and we may not dogmaticallyassert that no columns stood there as well.[203]The Athens theater was inclined to besui generisat all periods, and these would not be the only particulars in which the Nero theater differed from the Graeco-Roman type.
There remains for discussion a passage in Plutarch. It concerns an episode in the career of Demetrius Poliorcetes (337-283B.C.) and has been thought to refer to the theater of his day. But a study has been made of Plutarch’s practice in such matters and it has been found that many times he deliberately sought vividness of presentation by modernizing his accounts and picturing his scenes amid the familiar surroundings of contemporaneous life; in other words, the references to the theater in connection with his anecdotes never presuppose any other type of building than the stage-equipped buildings of his own day, and in several instances this method resulted in patent anachronisms. One example will suffice.[204]Plutarch declares that Lycurgus, the Spartan lawgiver of about the ninth centuryB.C., believed that the minds of assemblymen were distracted by “statues and paintings or the proscenia of theaters or the extravagantly wrought roofs of council chambers,” and so caused the Spartans to hold their assemblies in an open space. The author has here modernized his account in two particulars: he speaks as if Lycurgus were familiar with a fully developed theater building and as if it had already come to be used, elsewhere in Greece, as a place of meeting for the popular assembly. Of course, Lycurgus antedated the Greek drama and all but the crudest forms of choral performances by centuries, and this fact was as well known to Plutarch as it is to us.
Fig. 46.—Plan of the Theater at Epidaurus in ArgolisSee p. 104, n. 1
Fig. 46.—Plan of the Theater at Epidaurus in Argolis
See p. 104, n. 1
Now Plutarch says[205]that “Demetrius came into the city (Athens) and ordered the entire population to be assembled intothe theater and hedged in the scene-building (σκηνήν) on every side with troops and surrounded the stage (λογεῖον) with guards, and himself descending (καταβάς), like the tragic actors, through the upper parodi (διὰ τῶν ἄνω παρόδων) he ended their fears with his very first words.” In my opinion, the word καταβάς (“descending”) clearly shows that λογεῖον means “stage.” The “upper parodi,” then, must be the passages opening upon the logium from the parascenia. As Plutarch visualized the scene and wished his readers to do so, Demetrius came out upon the stage from one of the side entrances but did not address the people from there, as an orator of Plutarch’s own day would have done.[206]Instead, in his desire to show the Athenians his good-will he passed on down the central steps, as Plutarch had often seen the actors do in that theater (seep. 99, above), and addressed the assemblage from the orchestra. Since he could have passedthrough only one side entrance, the plural (παρόδων) must be due to a sort of zeugma, to imply that he came through one upper parodus and one upper entrance, viz., the central steps. The pro-stage writers who seek to apply Plutarch’s words to the Lycurgus theater in which the incident really happened, and who use them as an argument for a stage at that period, are forced to ignore the word καταβάς, for they cannot allow that “tragic actors” regularly descended from the Lycurgus proscenium into the orchestra. If we go back of Plutarch’s words and inquire what Demetrius actually did in the Lycurgus theater, the answer is plain: he simply advanced from the scene-building into the orchestra, and expressions consistent with this must have appeared in the source from which Plutarch derived his account. In fact, in describing a similar scene at Corinth, Plutarch retained words which are vague enough to be applicable to either type of theater.[207]He has simply modernized one account and brought over the other unchanged.
The zenith of Attic drama had passed by, entirely for tragedy and almost so for comedy, before the remains of theaters outside of Athens become frequent.[208]Nevertheless, these sometimes aid materially in reconstructing or interpreting the Athenian theater, and it will be necessary to dwell briefly upon a few of them. Perhaps the earliest and most primitive is found at Thoricus in southern Attica (Figs.70 f.). This was built in the fifth or fourth centuryB.C.and was subsequently enlarged somewhat. The orchestra is oblong rather than circular, being bounded at one side by a temple, at the other side by a greenroom or storage chamber, and at the rear by a retaining wall. There is no reason to believe that a permanent scene-building was ever erected behind the orchestra. It is apparent that this structure hasseveral points of resemblance to the Athenian theater of the period betweenca.499B.C.andca.465B.C.(seepp. 65 f., above).
The most symmetrical of all the Greek theaters and one of the best preserved is that at Epidaurus (Figs.46-52and72, 2).[209]Its architect was the younger Polyclitus, and it was built toward the close of the fourth centuryB.C.If we are right in believing that the proscenium was not used as a stage, then the Epidaurus theater never had a stage. At any rate, it was not rebuilt and provided with one in Roman times. In the center of the orchestra stands a block of stone with a circular cavity, doubtless the foundation of the thymele. There is not only space for the full circle of the orchestra (in the narrowest sense; seep. 83, n. 2) but the bounding stones are actually continued for the full distance. The stone proscenium, containing half-columns (Fig. 72, 2) of the Ionic order and once eleven feet seven inches or about twelve Roman feet in height, was erected in the second or third centuryB.C.and replaced a wooden proscenium. The parascenia were rebuilt at the same time and seem originally to have been broader and to have projected farther from the scene-building. In either parodus stood a handsome double gateway (Figs.49and51 f.), one door of which led into the orchestra and the other opened upon a ramp, somewhat sharply inclined, which debouched on the top of the proscenium. Ramps are found also in the Sicyon theater.
THE THEATER AT EPIDAURUS
See p. 104, n. 1
Fig. 47.—The Auditorium from the North
Fig. 47.—The Auditorium from the North
Fig. 48.—Orchestra and Scene-Building from the South
Fig. 48.—Orchestra and Scene-Building from the South
Fig. 49.—The West Parodus
Fig. 49.—The West Parodus
Fig. 50.—The East Parodus
Fig. 50.—The East Parodus
Fig. 51.—The Gateway in the West Parodus
Fig. 51.—The Gateway in the West Parodus
Fig. 52.—Looking through the West Parodus
Fig. 52.—Looking through the West Parodus
Fig. 53.—Ground Plan of the Theater at Eretria in EuboeaSee p. 104, n. 2
Fig. 53.—Ground Plan of the Theater at Eretria in Euboea
See p. 104, n. 2
Fig. 54.—Cross-Section of the Theater at EretriaSee p. 104, n. 2
Fig. 54.—Cross-Section of the Theater at Eretria
See p. 104, n. 2
The theater at Eretria, on the west coast of Euboea, is not only one of the earliest but also presents several unusual features (Figs.53-55and72).[210]It falls into three periods. The old scene-building was erected early in the fourth centuryB.C.A later scene-building was erected in front of the other about 300B.C.The white marble proscenium belongs to the first centuryB.C.or later. The precinct of Dionysus at Eretria was situated on level ground, and this fact necessitated different arrangements than werefeasible on the usual hillside site. The highest ground inFig. 55shows the original level on which the first scene-building, orchestra, and auditorium were erected (Fig. 54). This scene-building was of the common type with projecting parascenia between which the proscenium must have been constructed of wood. The seats at this period apparently were wooden bleachers like the ἴκρια of the primitive orchestra in the old market place at Athens (seepp. 63 f., above); and when they proved unsatisfactory, it seemed easier to excavate the center of the area than to throw up a mound around it. Accordingly, earth to a depth of tenand a half feet was removed to form a new orchestra somewhat north of the old one. In order that the old scene-building might not have to be taken down or lose its serviceability, the earth just in front of it was left standing and was held in place by a retaining wall. Over this space was built a new scene-building, really only an episcenium. Communication between the old level and the new was secured by means of a vaulted passageway and stone steps. Before the retaining wall stood a wooden proscenium, the top of which doubtless continued the floor of the scene-buildings at the original ground level. The boundary of the orchestra (in the narrowest sense) stopped at the semicircumference, but there was sufficient room before the proscenium for the complete circle. A tunnel, six and a half feet high and three feet wide and with stone steps at either end, led from behind the proscenium to the center of the orchestra. Such an arrangement is probably what Pollux referred to as “Charon’s steps”[211]and was convenient when an actor was to make an appearance from the earth or, like the ghost of Darius in Aeschylus’Persians, from some structure which might temporarily be erected in the orchestra. Somewhat similar passages have been found in several other theaters, including Athens, but because of their size or other considerations seem not to have been used by actors. The downward pitch of the parodus, owing to the excavations, is clearly seen inFig. 55. The marble proscenium is thought to have been about elevenand a half feet high and was supported by rimmed columns (Fig. 72, 1b). The parascenia did not project from this but merely continued the line of the proscenium, as in many of the Asia Minor theaters. Traces of tracks for the wheels of an eccyclema (seepp. 284 ff., below) are said to have been found in this theater on a level with the logium,[212]but the stones have now disappeared and their purpose is not free from doubt.
Fig. 55.—The Theater at Eretria as Seen from the NorthwestSee p. 104, n. 2
Fig. 55.—The Theater at Eretria as Seen from the Northwest
See p. 104, n. 2
Fig. 57.—The Scene-Building of the Theater at OropusSee p. 108, n. 1
Fig. 57.—The Scene-Building of the Theater at Oropus
See p. 108, n. 1
Inscriptions in the island of Delos[213]show that contractors received payment for a scene-building and proscenium in 290B.C.Panels (πίνακες) for the proscenium are mentioned in 282B.C.Wood for the “logium of the scene-building” was paid for in 279B.C.Extensive repairs and improvements seem to have been carried through in 274B.C.Stone was provided for the parascenium in 269B.C.Wood was used for “panels for the logium” in 180B.C.These were probably used to close large openings in the episcenium (see the θυρώματα at Oropus onp. 109, below). Most of these entries refer to wooden construction and antedate the extant remains in stone. There is no orchestra in the more restricted sense, but a gutter extends for about two-thirds of a circumference. If prolonged, this would just reach the front wall of the scene-building but would have a large segment subtended by the proscenium. The scene-building is an oblong with three doors in front and one in the rear. It is bounded on all four sides by a portico about nine and a third feet high. The front of this formed the proscenium, and it is clear that what was an ornament and certainly not a stage on the other three sides was primarily an ornament and certainly not a stage also on the fourth side. The oblong pillars, which were left plain on the other three sides of the building, on this side have their front surfaces rounded off into half-columns, and a vertical rim expedited the insertion of panels (Fig. 72, 3). There were no parascenia in the stone theater except as these were providedby the ends of the side porticos. The inscriptions, however, would seem to indicate that the situation had previously been different. From the front corners of the colonnade slanting doorways extended across the parodi. In the orchestra several bases stand in front of the proscenium, probably for the erection of statues or votive offerings.
There are theaters also at Delphi (Fig. 26), Megalopolis (Figs.27and72, 1a), and Sicyon, but it is not possible to discuss every theater on the Greek mainland. We must not, however, pass by the small theater at Oropus in northern Attica (Figs.56 f.and72, 4).[214]It stood in the precinct of Amphiaraus and dates from the first and second centuriesB.C.The auditorium is almost completely destroyed; evidently the seats were always wooden bleachers. Five marble thrones, however, stand within the orchestra, an unusual arrangement which recurs at Priene (seep. 113, below). Another peculiarity is that no orchestra, in the narrowest sense, is marked out, either in whole or in part. But if a circle is drawn through the seats of honor, as has been done inFig. 56, it falls just outside the proscenium. On the contrary, a circle as determined by the lowest row of seats cuts into the proscenium slightly. The parodi have been banked up so that their outer entrances are on a level with the top of the proscenium. The chief merit of this theater consists in the fact that the superior preservation of its scene-building and the presence of two inscriptions enable us to form a fairly clear picture of how a proscenium and an episcenium looked at this period. The front wall of the scene-building is pierced by one door; the side walls are continued so as to frame the proscenium but themselves turn sharply back along the parodi without forming projecting parascenia. The proscenium consisted of Doric half-columns and was eight and a quarter feet high. Its central intercolumniation was intended to be filled by a door, but the four on either side were so made as to be readily filled in with painted panels (Fig. 72, 4). Across the architrave ran an inscription:“... having been agonothete, dedicated the proscenium and the panels.” Another inscription ran along the top of the episcenium: “... having been priest, dedicated the scene-building and the doors.”[215]The last item refers to five (or three) large openings in the front wall of the episcenium. Similar doors are found at Ephesus, and they were doubtless used in connection with the crane (μηχανή, seepp. 67 f., above, andp. 289,below). All in all, Oropus contributes very materially to our knowledge of the ancient theater.