Chapter XXIV: Appendix: D (3)

[527] The following instances appear to be certain—Aesch. Suppl. 208, 832; Choeph. 22 ff. Soph. Oed. Col. 826 ff. Eur. Suppl. 1, 815: Hel. 1627 ff.: Rhesus 681; Iph. Aul. 599. Aristoph. Pax 246 ff. Many other examples will be found in the treatises already mentioned; but the evidence for most of them appears to be very slight.

[528] Griech. Theater, pp. 353 ff.

[529] Phot. and Hesych. s.v. λαυροστάται.

[530] [Seats of honour are not of course necessarily the best for seeing or hearing (see p. 159, note), but they are not likely to be the worst.]

[531] Griech. Theater, p. 363.

[532] See above, p. 118.

[533] [Frei, De certaminibus thymelicis, traces back to the second half of the fourth century the distinction of θυμελικοὶ and σκηνικοὶ ἀγῶνες, and so proves the existence of a stage at that time. Engelmann, Archäol. Stud. zu den Tragikern, supports Dörpfeld’s view by reference to vase paintings, which he thinks were suggested by theatrical scenes, and represent actions taking place in the orchestra, with the columnar προσκήνιον as background. But the background could in most cases be equally well the back of the stage; and it is not certain that the vases in question present dramatic scenes at all. Columns, &c., are common on all vases to indicate a house or a temple, where there is no reference to a stage; and in black-figured vases, where all such reference is out of the question, we find Prometheus and Odysseus tied to columns instead of to a rock or a mast. See E. A. Gardner, Class. Rev. 1901, p. 432.]

[534] Bethe, Prolegomena zur Geschichte des Theaters, pp. 205 ff.

[535] Scenische Aufführung, p. 37. Jahrb. für classische Philologie, 1895, pp. 673 ff. See above, p. 167.

[536] Jahrb. für class. Philologie, 1894, pp. 161 ff.

[537] Hermes, 1897, pp. 450 ff.

[538] Vitruv. v. 6.

[539] Plut., Non posse suaviter, &c. 1096 B.

[540] Vitruv. v. 5.

[541] Id. v. 9.

[542] Plut. Pericles, 160 A. Pausan. i. 14. I. See Gardner, Ancient Athens; Harrison, Primitive Athens.

[543] Same references.

[544] Val. Max. ii. 4. 6. C. I. G. 4283.

[545] Plut. X. orat. 841 F.

[546] Pausan. i. 21. I.

[547] Griech. Theater, p. 71.

[548] Suidas s.v. σαυτὴν ἐπαινεῖς.

[549] See above, p. 87.

[550] Schol. Aristid. iii. p. 535, Dindf. So Wilamowitz, Aristoteles und Athen, i. p. 263. Christ, however (Sitzungs. bayer. Akad. der Wissen. 1894, p. 3), thinks the statement about the statues is true, though the scholiast was mistaken in applying it to the passage in Aristides.

[551] Athen., p. 19 E.

[552] C. I. A. iii. 469.

[553] Griech. Theater, p. 70. For the inscription on the Xenocles monument see C. I. A. ii. 1289.

[554] C. I. A. ii. 551.

[555] Hesych. s.v. ᾠδεῖον.

[556] See ch. ii.

[557] Aelian. Var. Hist. ii. 28. On the outside of the arms, in the throne of the priest of Dionysus, there are two bas-reliefs, in which kneeling Cupids are depicted in the act of setting cocks to fight. The significance of the reliefs is explained by the fact that the annual cock-fight was held in the theatre.

[558] Dem. Meid. § 9.

[559] Thuc. viii. 93, 94.

[560] Plut. Phoc. 757 D.

[561] Id. Demetr. 905 A. Müller (Bühnenalt. 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. That they met in the Pnyx is proved by the passage in Dem. de Cor. § 169. Diodorus is merely using the language of his own time, when the theatre was the regular meeting-place.

[562] Harpocrat. s.v. περίπολος.

[563] Poll. viii. 132.

[564] Plut. Lycurg. 51 E. Athen. 19 E. Alciphron iii. 20.

[565] Dion Chrysost. or. xxxi. p. 386 (Dindf.). Philostrat. vit. Apoll. iv. 22.

[566] Aesch. Suppl. 189.

[567] Pers. 659. The palace is often referred to (159, 230, 524, 849, 1038); but this does not show that it was supposed to be visible. And the fact that Atossa made her first entrance on a chariot (159, 607), though coming from the palace, seems to prove that it was out of sight.

[568] Septem 95, 240, 265, 549, 823.

[569] Agam. 3, Choeph. 22, Eum. 35, 242.

[570] Reisch (Griech. Theater, pp. 194, 200) thinks the actors’ booth was originally in the side-entrance to the orchestra. He thinks the first stage-buildings were erected about 465, when scenery was introduced; and that these buildings were henceforth used for actors’ rooms. But it is much simpler to suppose that the actors’ booth stood fronting the spectators from the first, and that it was gradually converted into a stage-building.

[571] Aristot. Poet. c. 4 τρεῖς δὲ καὶ σκηνογραφίαν Σοφοκλῆς. Vitruv. vii. praef. § 11 primum Agatharchus Athenis Aeschylo docente tragoediam scaenam fecit et de ea commentarium reliquit. Prof. Jebb (Dict. Antiq. ii. p. 816) thinks the two statements may be reconciled by supposing that the words ‘Aeschylo docente tragoediam’ merely fix the date, without implying that Aeschylus had anything to do with the innovation. [Prof. P. Gardner (J. Hell. Stud. 1899, p. 253) points out that, according to Vitruvius, Agatharchus, like Democritus and Anaxagoras, seems to have studied perspective theoretically; and the story that he was enticed by Alcibiades into his house, and not released till he had painted its interior, combined with Vitruvius’ notice, suggests that he was precisely the kind of painter for a stage; while the date suggested has nothing chronologically against it.]

[572] Vitruv. v. 6.

[573] Viz. Soph. O. R., Antig., Electr., Trach.; Eur. Alc., Med., Hipp., Herc. Fur., Phoen., Hel., Orest., Bacch., Ion, Iph. Taur., Andr., Suppl., Heraclid.

[574] Viz. Eur. Hec., Troad., Iph. Aul., Rhesus.

[575] Viz. the Wasps, Peace, Clouds, Frogs, Ecclesiazusae, Plutus.

[576] [This was so not only in vase paintings, but in such elaborate works as those of Polygnotus at Delphi: cp. P. Gardner, J. Hell. Stud. 1899, p. 254.]

[577] [See P. Gardner, J. Hell. Stud. 1899, pp. 255 ff.]

[578] Bacch. 590, 1211; Orest. 1569; Iph. Taur. 113, 130.

[579] Ion 190 ff. [It is noticeable that the occurrence of the technical terms of architecture and other arts is particularly common in Euripides, who shows special acquaintance with the arts and their processes. This may perhaps confirm the otherwise uncertain tradition (Vit. Eur.) that he was once a painter: cp. Huddilston, The Attitude of the Greek Tragedians towards Art.]

[580] Such scenes were depicted on the periaktoi, Poll. iv. 126, 131. See below, p. 197.

[581] Eur. Hel. 1, Troad. 1256; Soph. El. 4 ff.

[582] Poll. iv. 131 καταβλήματα ... κατεβάλλετο ἐπὶ τὰς περιάκτους ὄρος δεικνύντα ἢ θάλατταν ἢ ποταμὸν ἢ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον. Anon. de comoed. (xx. 28 Dübner) πολυτελέσι δαπάναις κατεσκευάζετο ἡ σκηνὴ ... πεποικιλμένη παραπετάσμασι καὶ ὀθόναις λευκαῖς καὶ μελαίναις ... εἰς τύπον θαλάσσης ταρτάρου ᾅδου ... γῆς καὶ οὐρανοῦ κ.τ.λ.

[583] Poll. iv. 131 καταβλήματα δὲ ὑφάσματα ἢ πίνακες ἦσαν ἔχοντες γραφὰς τῇ χρείᾳ τῶν δραμάτων προσφόρους· κατεβάλλετο δὲ ἐπὶ τὰς περιάκτους. Ibid. 125 κλίσιον ... παραπετάσμασιν δηλούμενον. Suid. s.v. προσκήνιον τὸ πρὸ τῆς σκηνῆς παραπέτασμα. Anon. de comoed. (xx. 28 Dübner) σκηνὴ πεποικιλμένη παραπετάσμασι καὶ ὀθόναις.

[584] So Müller, Bühnenalt. pp. 118, 142.

[585] Poll. iv. 129 ἡ δὲ διστεγία ποτὲ μὲν ἐν οἴκῳ βασιλείῳ διῆρες δωμάτιον, οἷον ἀφ’ οὗ ἐν Φοινίσσαις ἡ Ἀντιγόνη βλέπει τὸν στρατόν, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ κέραμος, ἀφ’ οὗ βάλλουσι τῷ κεράμῳ· ἐν δὲ κωμῳδίᾳ ἀπὸ τῆς διστεγίας πορνοβοσκοί τι κατοπτεύουσιν ἢ γρᾴδια ἢ γύναια καταβλέπει.

[586] Agam. 3, Phoen. 89, Orest. 1567-75, Acharn. 262, Vesp. 68 and 144, Nub. 1485-1503, Lysist. 864, 874, and 883, Eur. Suppl. 990.

[587] Dict. Antiq. i. pp. 663, 666.

[588] Vitruv. v. 6.

[589] Vitruv. v. 6. Vesp. 379, Eccles. 924, 930, 961-3.

[590] See above, p. 135.

[591] See above, p. 135.

[592] Poll. iv. 124, 126; Vitruv. v. 6.

[593] Vitruv. v. 6 ‘ipsae autem scaenae suas habent rationes explicatas ita uti mediae valvae ornatus habeant aulae regiae, dextra ac sinistra hospitalia.’ Poll. iv. 124 τριῶν δὲ τῶν κατὰ τὴν σκηνὴν θυρῶν ἡ μέση μὲν βασίλειον ἢ σπήλαιον ἢ οἶκος ἔνδοξος ἢ πᾶν τοῦ πρωταγωνιστοῦ τοῦ δράματος, ἡ δὲ δεξιὰ τοῦ δευτεραγωνιστοῦντος καταγώγιον· ἡ δὲ ἀριστερὰ τὸ εὐτελέστατον ἔχει πρόσωπον ἢ ἱερὸν ἐξηρημωμένον, ἢ ἄοικός ἐστιν. ἐν δὲ τραγῳδίᾳ ἡ μὲν δεξιὰ θύρα ξενών ἐστιν, εἱρκτὴ δὲ ἡ λαιά. τὸ δὲ κλίσιον ἐν κωμῳδίᾳ παράκειται παρὰ τὴν οἰκίαν, παραπετάσμασι δηλούμενον, καὶ ἔστι μὲν σταθμὸς ὑποζυγίων ... ἐν δὲ Ἀντιφάνους Ἀκεστρίᾳ καὶ ἐργαστήριον γέγονεν. Throughout this passage Pollux is guilty of his usual fault of converting particular cases into general rules.

[594] See the previous note.

[595] Poll. iv. 126 παρ’ ἑκάτερα δὲ τῶν δύο θυρῶν τῶν περὶ τὴν μέσην ἄλλαι δύο εἶεν ἄν, μία ἑκατέρωθεν, πρὸς ἃς αἱ περίακτοι συμπεπήγασιν. Vitruv. v. 6 ‘secundum ea loca versurae sunt procurrentes, quae efficiunt una a foro, altera a peregre, aditus in scaenam’. Phot. s.v. παρασκήνια· αἱ εἴσοδοι αἱ εἰς τὴν σκηνήν. Schol. Aristoph. Lysist. 321 νῦν ἐστιν ἡμιχόριον τὸ λέγον ἐκ γυναικῶν εἰσερχομένων ἄνωθεν ... τὸ δὲ ἄλλο ἡμιχόριον ἐξ ἀνδρῶν κάτωθεν ἐπερχομένων.

[596] See Harzmann, Quaestiones Scenicae, pp. 43 ff.; Bodensteiner, Scenische Fragen, pp. 703 ff.; Capps, The Stage in the Greek Theatre, pp. 12 ff.; Weissmann, Scenische Aufführung, pp. 25 ff., 76.

[597] Cf. Aesch. Suppl. 1018; Pers. 1076. Eur. Suppl. 1231; Alc. 741. Aristoph. Acharn. 1231; Vesp. 1535; Pax 1357; Ran. 1524. For other instances see Bodensteiner, p. 690. Only one of these cases—the funeral procession in the Alcestis—occurs in the middle of a play.

[598] Alcestis 861; Plutus 253. Capps (pp. 20 ff.) gives some additional instances; but for these there is no clear evidence.

[599] See below, p. 201.

[600] E.g. Oed. Tyr. 1110-21; Agam. 498-503; Ion 392-401; Oed. Col. 310-24. See Harzmann, pp. 43 ff.

[601] E.g. Trach. 178-80, 731-4; Phil. 539-42.

[602] Av. 1-53, Ran. 1-35.

[603] E.g. Bacch. 1216 ff.; Hec. 484 ff.; Aj. 1040 ff. See, for other instances, Harzmann, pp. 45 ff.; Bodensteiner, pp. 716 ff.

[604] See above, pp. 125, 126, for the various devices for such entrances.

[605] Vitruv. v. 6 ‘secundum ea loca versurae sunt procurrentes, quae efficiunt una a foro, altera a peregre, aditus in scaenam’. Vit. Aristoph. (Dindf. Prolegom. de Comoed. p. 36) ὁ κωμικὸς χορὸς συνέστηκεν ἐξ ἀνδρῶν κδʹ. καὶ εἰ μὲν ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως ἤρχετο ἐπὶ τὸ θέατρον, διὰ τῆς ἀριστερᾶς ἁψῖδος εἰσῄει, εἰ δὲ ὡς ἀπὸ ἀγροῦ, διὰ τῆς δεξιᾶς. Poll. iv. 126 τῶν μέντοι παρόδων ἡ μὲν δεξιὰ ἀγρόθεν ἢ ἐκ λιμένος ἢ ἐκ πόλεως ἄγει· οἱ δὲ ἀλλαχόθεν πεζοὶ ἀφικνούμενοι κατὰ τὴν ἑτέραν εἰσίασιν. In the Life the words ἀπὸ ἀγροῦ denote ‘from a distance’. In Pollux ἀγρόθεν apparently means ‘from the country in the suburbs’; but the word is obscure, and possibly corrupt. As applied to the _stage_ the words ‘right’ and ‘left’ were always used from the point of view of the actors: cp. the account of the periaktoi in Poll. iv. 126. But as applied to the orchestra they were sometimes used from the point of view of the actors, sometimes from that of the audience. Hence the eastern parodos might be called the right or the left parodos, according to the point of view from which it was regarded. This is the reason of the apparent discrepancy between the statements in the Life and in Pollux. The author of the Life is looking at the orchestra from the point of view of the actors, Pollux from the point of view of the audience.

[606] At line 566 the scene of action is transferred in reality to the Areopagus (cf. 685 πάγον δ’ Ἄρειον τόνδε). But this change must have been imagined, and not represented. After Orestes and the Furies arrive in front of the temple of Athene, they remain continuously on the stage till the end of the trial.

[607] Poll. iv. 126 παρ’ ἑκάτερα δὲ τῶν δύο θυρῶν τῶν περὶ τὴν μέσην ἄλλαι δύο εἶεν ἄν, μία ἑκατέρωθεν, πρὸς ἅς αἱ περίακτοι συμπεπήγασιν, ἡ μὲν δεξιὰ τὰ ἔξω πόλεως δηλοῦσα, ἡ δ’ ἑτέρα τὰ ἐκ πόλεως, μάλιστα τὰ ἐκ λιμένος· καὶ θεούς τε θαλαττίους ἐπάγει, καὶ πάνθ’ ὅσα ἐπαχθέστερα ὄντα ἡ μηχανὴ φέρειν ἀδυνατεῖ. εἰ δ’ ἐπιστραφεῖεν αἱ περίακτοι, ἡ δεξιὰ μὲν ἀμείβει τόπον (a. l. τὸ πᾶν) ἀμφότεραι δὲ χώραν ὑπαλλάττουσιν. Vitruv. v. 6 ‘secundum autem spatia ad ornatus comparata, quae loca Graeci περιάκτους dicunt, ab eo quod machinae sunt in his locis versatiles trigonoe habentes singulae tres species ornationis, quae, cum aut fabularum mutationes sunt futurae, seu deorum adventus cum tonitribus repentinis, versentur mutentque speciem ornationis in fronte’, &c. Serv. on Verg. Georg. iii. 24 ‘scaena quae fiebat aut versilis erat aut ductilis erat. Versilis tum erat cum subito tota machinis quibusdam convertebatur, et aliam picturae faciem ostendebat’. A change of τόπος means a change from one part of the same district to another; a change of χώρα means an entire change of district. Niejahr (Comment. Scaen. pp. 1 ff.), Oehmichen (Bühnenwesen, p. 241), and P. Gardner, J. Hell. Stud. 1899, p. 262, think the passage ἡ μὲν δεξιὰ ... ἀδυνατεῖ refers, not to the periaktoi, but to the side-doors. But (1) the run of the passage is against this view, (2) δηλοῦσα could hardly be used of a door, (3) Vitruvius says the periaktoi were used for introducing gods, and thus proves that θεοὺς ἐπάγει in Pollux also refers to the periaktoi.

[608] [P. Gardner, J. Hell. Stud. 1899, p. 260, disputes the view that the periaktoi stood in line with a painted background and altered a small part of it. He thinks that before the existence of a painted background the periaktoi stood alone and indicated a change of scene in a merely symbolical way.]

[609] [Cp. P. Gardner, J. Hell. Stud. 1899, p. 261. He interprets in this sense Pollux iv. 131 καταβλήματα δὲ ὑφάσματα ἢ πίνακες ἦσαν ἔχοντες γραφὰς τῇ χρείᾳ τῶν δραμάτων προσφόρους· κατεβάλλετο δ’ ἐπὶ τὰς περιάκτους ὄρος δεικνύντα ἢ θάλατταν ἢ ποταμὸν ἢ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον.]

[610] The suggestion is due to Navarre, Dionysos, p. 137. [Cf. Holwerda, Ath. Mitth. 1898, p. 386.] Possibly Plutarch may be referring to this contrivance when he says (de Esu Carn. 996 B) μηχανὴν αἱρεῖ ποιητικὸς ἀνὴρ σκηνῆς περιφερομένης.

[611] Cramer, Anecd. Par. i. 19.

[612] [P. Gardner, l.c. p. 260, thinks that so simple, conventional, and yet effective an arrangement is quite in the manner of the fifth century, and belongs to the same class as the ekkyklema and the mask, which were certainly Aeschylean.]

[613] Serv. on Verg. Georg. iii. 24 ‘scaena quae fiebat aut versilis erat aut ductilis erat ... ductilis tum cum tractis tabulatis huc atque illuc species picturae nudabatur interior’.

[614] Vit. Aesch. p. 6 Dindf. καὶ τὴν ὄψιν τῶν θεωμένων κατέπληξε τῇ λαμπρότητι, γραφαῖς καὶ μηχαναῖς, βωμοῖς τε καὶ τάφοις, σάλπιγξιν, εἰδώλοις, Ἐρινύσι κ.τ.λ.

[615] Aesch. Eum. 242; Soph. Electr. 1373, Oed. Col. 59; Eur. Hipp. 70-106.

[616] Aesch. Suppl. 188-200; Soph. Oed. Tyr. 1-3, 142.

[617] Poll. iv. 123; Aesch. Agam. 1080 ff.; Schol. Eur. Phoen. 631; Arist. Vesp. 875.

[618] Aesch. Pers. 684, Choeph. 4; Soph. Oed. Col. 19; Poll. iv. 127.

[619] Aesch. Agam. 782 ff. Eur. El. 988 ff. Other instances occur in Pers. 159 (cp. 607), Troad. 569, Iph. Aul. 600. But there is no reason to infer from Aesch. Suppl. 181 and Pers. 1000 that chariots were actually introduced in these two places.

[620] Prom. 286, 395; Ran. 27. As for the horse on which Ismene is riding (Oed. Col. 312), or the captured horses of Rhesus (Rhes. 671), or the flocks of Polyphemus (Cycl. 82), it is most improbable that these were brought into the theatre.

[621] The ekkyklema is described in the following passages:—Poll. iv. 128. καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐκκύκλημα ἐπὶ ξύλων ὑψηλὸν βάθρον, ᾧ ἐπίκειται θρόνος· δείκνυσι δὲ τὰ ὑπὸ σκηνὴν ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις ἀπόρρητα πραχθέντα, καὶ τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ ἔργου καλεῖται ἐκκυκλεῖν. ἐφ’ οὗ δὲ εἰσάγεται τὸ ἐκκύκλημα, εἰσκύκλημα ὀνομάζεται, καὶ χρὴ τοῦτο νοεῖσθαι καθ’ ἑκάστην θύραν, οἱονεὶ καθ’ ἑκάστην οἰκίαν. (The θρόνος mentioned by Pollux must be derived from some particular instance of the use of the ekkyklema. The epithet ὑψηλόν is not strictly correct: cf. p. 232.) Eustath. Il. 976. 15 τὸ ἐγκύκλημα, ὃ καὶ ἐγκύκληθρον λέγεται, μηχάνημα ἦν ὑπότροχον, ὑφ’ οὗ ἐδείκνυτο τὰ ἐν τῇ σκευῇ ἢ σκηνῇ. Schol. Aesch. Choeph. 973 ἀνοίγεται ἡ σκηνὴ καὶ ἐπὶ ἐκκυκλήματος ὁρᾶται τὰ σώματα. Schol. Arist. Thesm. 96 ἐπὶ ἐκκυκλήματος γὰρ φαίνεται. Schol. Arist. Acharn. 408 ἐκκύκλημα δὲ λέγεται μηχάνημα ξύλινον τροχοὺς ἔχον, ὅπερ περιστρεφόμενον τὰ δοκοῦντα ἔνδον ὡς ἐν οἰκίᾳ πράττεσθαι καὶ τοῖς ἔξω ἐδείκνυε, λέγω δὴ τοῖς θεαταῖς. Schol. Aesch. Eum. 64 καὶ δευτέρα δὲ γίγνεται φαντασία· στραφέντα γὰρ μηχανήματα ἔνδηλα ποιεῖ τὰ κατὰ τὸ μαντεῖον ὡς ἔχει. Schol. Arist. Nub. 184 ὁρᾷ δὲ ὡς φιλοσόφους κομῶντας, στραφέντος τοῦ ἐγκυκλήματος. Schol. Clem. Alex. iv. 97 σκεῦός τι ὑπότροχον ἐκτὸς τῆς σκηνῆς, οὗ στρεφομένου ἐδόκει τὰ ἔσω τοῖς ἔξω φανερὰ γίνεσθαι. Reisch (Griech. Theater, p. 236) thinks the last four passages, in which the word στρέφειν is used, refer to a different kind of machine, by which the back-scene was rolled apart, and disclosed the interior. But this is to lay too much stress on the exact words of the grammarians. They are all obviously referring to the same device. See below, p. 206.

[622] Agam. 1379, 1404, 1440. Choeph. 973, 981.

[623] Ajax 346; Antig. 1293, 1301; Hipp. 808, 857; Soph. El. 1458-75; Hec. 1051, 1118; Herc. Fur. 1029-1402; Eur. El. 1177, 1243, 1276.

[624] Thesm. 95, 96 ΕΥ. σίγα. ΜΝ. τί δ’ έστιν; ΕΥ. Ἁγάθων ἐξέρχεται. | ΜΝ. καὶ ποῖός ἐστιν; ΕΥ. οὗτος οὑκκυκλούμενος, 238 ἐνεγκάτω τις ἔνδοθεν δᾷδ’ ἢ λύχνον, 265 εἴσω τις ὡς τάχιστά μ’ εἰσκυκλησάτω. Id. Acharn. 399 αὐτὸς δ’ ἔνδον ἀναβάδην ποιεῖ, 408, 409 ΔΙ. ἀλλ’ ἐκκυκλήθητ’. ΕΥ. ἀλλ’ ἀδύνατον. ΔΙ. ἀλλ’ ὅμως. | ΕΥ. ἀλλ’ ἐκκυκλήσομαι· καταβαίνειν δ’ οὐ σχολή. The word ἀναβάδην usually means ‘with one’s feet up’, and is so taken by many scholars in the present passage. But καταβαίνειν in l. 409 seems to prove that here at least it must mean ‘upstairs’.

[625] Nub. 181 ff., Equit. 1327.

[626] [Fossum, Am. J. Arch. 1898, p. 188; Dörpfeld, Ath. Mitth. 1903, p. 396. See above, p. 165 n.]

[627] [Exon, Hermathena, 1900, pp. 132 ff.; Navarre, Revue des Études Anciennes, 1901, p. 102. The words are περιστρεφόμενον, στραφέντα, and the variant ἐγκύκλημα (compared with ἐγκύκλιος, &c., of rotatory movement): see above, p. 201. Exon also doubts if ἀνοίγεται ἡ σκηνή could be used of opening a door for the ἐκκύκλημα to pass, and thinks that the portion of the back-scene which formed part of the ἐκκύκλημα on his theory was by the side of the door, and that there was a similar apparatus by each door. But this is pressing the meaning of ἀνοίγεται ἡ σκηνή too closely. The words of Pollux, however, do suggest that the ἐκκύκλημα could be adapted to any of the three doors.]

[628] Schol. Thesm. 284 παρεπιγραφή. ἐκκυκλεῖται ἐπὶ τὸ ἔξω τὸ θεσμοφόριον. The words ὠθεῖται τὸ ἱερόν are inserted in the text. These παρεπιγραφαί were stage-directions appended to the text of the plays; but when and by whom they were written is unknown.

[629] Schol. Eum. 64.

[630] When Apollo (l. 67) says καὶ νῦν ἁλούσας τάσδε τὰς μάργους ὁρᾷς, it is hardly conceivable that the Furies should not have been visible to the audience. Also l. 179 ἔξω, κελεύω, τῶνδε δωμάτων τάχος | χωρεῖτε implies that they were still inside the temple: but according to the theory in the text they had come out of the temple at l. 140.

[631] Reisch, Griech. Theater, pp. 234 ff.; Capps, The Stage in the Greek Theatre, pp. 237 ff. Neckel (Das Ekkyklema, pp. 7 ff.) thinks the ekkyklema was too rude a device for the taste of Aeschylus and Sophocles, and that it was first introduced in the time of Euripides. Bethe (Prolegomena, pp. 104 ff.) thinks it was used by Aeschylus and Sophocles, but gradually dropped by Euripides.

[632] Reisch (pp. 237 ff.) explains the two scenes in the Thesmophoriazusae and the Acharnians by supposing that Agathon and Euripides were rolled out on couches. But this theory destroys all the point and humour of the scenes.

[633] Herc. Fur. 1008, 1070.

[634] Nub. 184, 198.

[635] Additional proofs that the bodies were not _carried_ out are (1) Agam. 1379, where Clytaemnestra says she is standing on ‘the very spot where she struck the blow’, (2) Antig. 1301, where Eurydice is seen lying beside the altar at which she had stabbed herself. That the ekkyklema-scenes were _outside_ the building, and on the stage, is also proved by Eur. El. 1245, 1276, where the Dioscuri, though standing above the palace roof, can see the bodies of Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus.

[636] Poll. iv. 129 τὴν δὲ ἐξώστραν ταὐτὸν τῷ ἐκκυκλήματι νομίζουσιν. Hesych. s.v. ἐξώστρα· ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς τὸ ἐκκύκλημα. Delian inscription of 274 B.C. (Bull. Corr. Hell. 1894, p. 162) τὰς ἐξώστρας ... ἐπισκευάσαι. Polyb. xi. 6. 8 τῆς τύχης ὥσπερ ἐπίτηδες ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξώστραν ἀναβιβαζούσης τὴν ὑμετέραν ἄγνοιαν. Cic. de Prov. Cons. § 14 iam in exostra helluatur, antea post siparium solebat.

[637] Poll. iv. 128 ἡ μηχανὴ δὲ θεοὺς δείκνυσι καὶ ἥρως τοὺς ἐν ἀέρι, Βελλεροφόντας ἢ Περσέας, καὶ κεῖται κατὰ τὴν ἀριστερὰν πάροδον, ὑπὲρ τὴν σκηνὴν τὸ ὕψος. Schol. Luc. Philops. vii. p. 375 (Lehmann) ἄνωθεν ὑπὲρ τὰς παρ’ ἑκάτερα τῆς μέσης τοῦ θεάτρου θύρας ... μηχανῶν δύο μετεωριζομένων ἡ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν θεοὺς καὶ ἥρωας ἐνεφάνιζε παρευθύ, ὥσπερ λύσιν φέροντας τῶν ἀμηχάνων. Aristoph. Daedal. fr. 9 (Meineke) ὁ μηχανοποιός, ὁπότε βούλει τὸν τροχὸν | ἐλᾶν ἀνεκάς, λέγε, χαῖρε φέγγος ἡλίου. The μηχανή was also called ἐώρημα, Suidas. s.v. [This should probably be αἰώρημα.] The ropes to which the actor was suspended were called αἰῶραι; Poll. iv. 131 αἰώρας δ’ ἂν εἴποις τοὺς κάλως οἳ κατήρτηνται ἐξ ὕψους ἀνέχειν τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀέρος φέρεσθαι δοκοῦντας ἥρως ἢ θεούς. The hook by which he was fastened was ἅρπαξ or ἀγκυρίς; Bekk. Anecd. i. 232 (of the Crane) ἅρπαξ ... ἐξ οὗ ὁ ἐσκευασμένος ὑποκριτὴς τραγῳδεῖ. Plut. Prov. 116 (of the Fig-Branch) ἀγκυρίς, ἀφ’ ἧς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ ... ἐξαρτῶνται ... ζωστῆρσι καὶ ταινίαις κατειλημμένοι.

[638] Plut. Prov. 116 κράδης ῥαγείσης· νῦν οὐχ ὁ σύκινος κλάδος, ἀλλ’ ἡ ἀγκυρίς, ἀφ’ ἧς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ ἐν ταῖς τραγικαῖς σκηναῖς ἐξαρτῶνται θεοῦ μιμούμενοι ἐπιφάνειαν. So Hesych. s.v. κράδη. Pollux (iv. 128) makes the κράδη the comic counterpart of the μηχανή, which is utterly improbable. Crusius (Philologus, 1889, p. 698) suggests very plausibly that κράδης ῥαγείσης was the beginning of a line in some comic poet, who applied the name ‘fig-branch’ contemptuously to the hook of the μηχανή.

[639] Poll. iv. 130 ἡ δέ γέρανος μηχάνημά ἐστιν ἐκ μετεώρου καταφερόμενον ἐφ’ ἁρπαγῇ σώματος, ᾧ κέχρηται Ἠὼς ἁρπάζουσα τὸ σῶμα τὸ Μέμνονος. The scholiast on Lucian (quoted on p. 209) speaks of two μηχαναί, one at each end of the back-scene; and then proceeds to describe the ordinary μηχανή, but says nothing about the other one. Hence Oehmichen (Bühnenwesen, p. 247) conjectures that this other μηχανή was the γέρανος.

[640] Bekk. Anecd. i. 208 μηχανή ἐστι παρὰ τοῖς κωμικοῖς ἐκκυκλήματός τι εἶδος ... δείξεως χάριν θεοῦ ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς ἥρωος. Lucian, Philops. 29 θεὸν ἀπὸ μηχανῆς ἐπεισκυκληθῆναί μοι τοῦτον ᾤμην. Philostrat. vit. Apoll. vi. 11 ἐφ’ ὑψηλῆς καὶ θείας μηχανῆς ἐκκυκλοῦσιν.

[641] Prom. 284, 394. Pollux, iv. 130.

[642] Eum. 403-5.

[643] Prom. 135, 280.

[644] That the capacities of the μηχανή were not unlimited is proved by Pollux, iv. 126 θεοὺς θαλαττίους ἐπάγει, καὶ πάνθ’ ὅσα ἐπαχθέστερα ὄντα ἡ μηχανὴ φέρειν ἀδυνατεῖ.

[645] Androm. 1229, Eur. El. 1235, 1349, Med. 1317 ff.

[646] Herc. Fur. 817, 872, 880. Eur. frags. 124, 306, 307. Poll. iv. 128.

[647] Nub. 218, Av. 1199, Daedal. frag. 9, Pax 154 ff.

[648] A supposed representation of a theologeion on a medallion of the Roman period, found at Orange, is given in Baumeister, fig. 1832, and Griech. Theater, p. 335. Jupiter, Minerva, and Victoria are depicted as sitting on a tall and narrow stage, while Mars and Hercules confront one another underneath. But there is nothing to show that the scene represents a theatrical performance.

[649] See next note. See also p. 164.

[650] Poll. iv. 130 ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ θεολογείου ὄντος ὑπὲρ τὴν σκηνὴν ἐν ὕψει ἐπιφαίνονται θεοί, ὡς Ζεὺς καὶ οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν ἐν Ψυχοστασίᾳ. Plut. Aud. Poet. 17 A.

[651] Niejahr, however (Quaest. Scaen. pp. 20 ff.), suggests that Trygaeus only 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. [Cp. Sharpley’s edition of the Peace, Introduction.]

[652] Wilamowitz, Herakles, i. p. 148.

[653] Reisch, Griech. Theater, pp. 227 ff. Bodensteiner, Scenische Fragen, pp. 665 ff. Bethe (Prolegomena, p. 133) thinks neither the mechane nor the theologeion were used before about 427, when he supposes there was a great reorganization of the scenic arrangements (see above, p. 172).

[654] Ion 1549, Rhesus 886, Orest. 1631.

[655] Hipp. 1282, Iph. Taur. 1435, Eur. Suppl. 1183, Hel. 1642, Phil. 1409, Bacch. 1331.

[656] Plat. Cratyl. 425 D οἱ τραγῳδοί, ἐπειδάν τι ἀπορῶσιν, ἐπὶ τὰς μηχανὰς καταφεύγουσι θεοὺς αἴροντες. Antiphanes (Meineke, iii. p. 106) ἔπειθ’ ὅταν μηδὲν δύνωντ’ εἰπεῖν ἔτι | ... αἴρουσιν ὥσπερ δάκτυλον τὴν μηχανήν, | καὶ τοῖς θεωμένοισιν ἀποχρώντως ἔχει. Aristot. Poet. c. 15. Demosth. p. 1025 ὥσπερ ἀπὸ μηχανῆς. Schol. Plat. Bekk. p. 381 ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεὸς ἐπεφάνης· Μένανδρος Θεοφορουμένῃ.

[657] Rhesus 596 (cp. 627); Ajax 1-133.

[658] Cp. Hipp. 53 ἔξω τῶνδε βήσομαι τόπων. Ion 76 ἐς δαφνώδη γύαλα βήσομαι τάδε. In the Troades, though Hecuba is on the stage during the speech of Poseidon and his colloquy with Athene, she is lying prostrate on the ground, overcome with grief, and is unconscious of their presence.

[659] Aristot. Poet. c. 15 ἀλλὰ μηχανῇ χρηστέον ἐπὶ τὰ ἔξω τοῦ δράματος, ἢ ὅσα πρὸ τοῦ γέγονεν ἃ οὐχ οἷόν τε ἄνθρωπον εἰδέναι, ἢ ὅσα ὕστερον ἃ δεῖται προαγορεύσεως καὶ ἀγγελίας. Here ὅσα πρὸ τοῦ γέγονεν apparently refers to the prologue. For the practice of later times cp. Evanthius de Commedia, p. 6 Reif. (quoted by Bethe, Prolegom. p. 133) ‘deinde θεοὺς ἀπὸ μηχανῆς, id est, deos narrandis argumentis machinatos, ceteri Latini ad instar Graecorum habent’.

[660] Aristot. Poet. c. 15.

[661] See the Tragic Drama of the Greeks, p. 245.

[662] Poll. iv. 132 αἱ δὲ Χαρώνιοι κλίμακες, κατὰ τὰς ἐκ τῶν ἑδωλίων καθόδους κείμεναι, τὰ εἴδωλα ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἀναπέμπουσιν. τὰ δὲ ἀναπιέσματα, τὸ μέν ἐστιν ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ ὡς ποταμὸν ἀνελθεῖν ἢ τοιοῦτόν τι πρόσωπον, τὸ δὲ περὶ τοὺς ἀναβαθμούς, ἀφ’ ὧν ἀνέβαινον Ἐρινύες.

[663] Pers. 659, Nauck, Trag. Graec. Frag. p. 246 προφαινομένου ὑπὲρ τοῦ τάφου.

[664] Schol. Nub. 292; Poll. iv. 130; Heron (in Thevenot, Mathematici Veteres, p. 263). See Weismann, Scen. Anweis. pp. 45 ff.

[665] Poll. iv. 130 κεραυνοσκοπεῖον ... περίακτος ὑψηλή. Heron, l.c. p. 265. Weismann (l.c. p. 48), who was the first to draw attention to the passage in Heron, supposes that there was a periaktos high up in the back-scene, and that an apparatus like that of Heron’s was fastened to all three sides of it, so that by revolving the periaktos three successive flashes might be exhibited.

[666] Poll. iv. 127, 131, 132.

[667] Ovid, Met. iii. 111; Hor. Ep. ii. 1. 189.

[668] The following passages are cited in proof of the existence of a drop-scene:—(1) Athen. 536 A γενομένων δὲ τῶν Δημητρίων Ἀθήνησιν ἐγράφετο ἐπὶ τοῦ προσκηνίου (ὁ Δημήτριος) ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης ὀχούμενος. Here προσκήνιον more probably denotes the scene at the back of the stage. (2) Suid. s.v. προσκήνιον· τὸ πρὸ τῆς σκηνῆς παραπέτασμα· ἡ δὲ τύχη παρελκομένη τὴν πρόφασιν καθάπερ ἐπὶ προσκήνιον παρεγύμνωσε τὰς ἀληθεῖς ἐπινοίας. Suidas has here mistaken the meaning of the passage he quotes, in which προσκήνιον = ‘the stage’. (3) Synesius (flor. about 400 A.D.) Aegypt. p. 128 C εἰ δέ τις ... κυνοφθαλμίζοιτο διὰ τοῦ προσκηνίου. Even if προσκήνιον means the drop-scene in this passage, it would be no proof of the existence of a drop-scene in classical times. (4) Poll. iv. 122 (speaking of the theatre) ἔξεστι δὲ καὶ τὸ παραπέτασμα αὐλαίαν καλεῖν, Ὑπερείδου εἰπόντος ἐν τῷ κατὰ Πατροκλέους· οἱ δὲ ἐννέα ἄρχοντες εἱστιῶντο ἐν τῇ στοᾷ, περιφραξάμενοί τι μέρος αὐτῆς αὐλαίᾳ. Suidas s.v. αὐλαία, and Bekk. Anecd. p. 463 αὐλαία τὸ τῆς σκηνῆς παραπέτασμα· κέχρηται δὲ αὐτῷ Ὑπερείδης ἐν τῷ κατὰ Πατροκλέους. Hesych. s.ν. αὐλαία ... τὸ τῆς σκηνῆς παραπέτασμα. Et. Mag. p. 170 λέγονται δὲ αὐλαῖαι καὶ τὰ παραπετάσματα τῆς σκηνῆς, ὡς παρὰ τῷ θεολόγῳ. It is obvious that the grammarians here cited were thinking of a drop-scene. But the passage they refer to in Hypereides has nothing to do with a drop-scene. It is doubtful, therefore, whether this testimony is of any value except for the practice of later times. It can hardly be considered decisive for the classical period.

[669] Bethe (Prolegomena, pp. 198 ff.) thinks the drop-scene was introduced into the Greek theatre about 427 B.C., at the same time as the raised stage. His reason is that none of the plays which begin with a tableau are previous to 427 in date. But the Agamemnon commences with the watchman reclining on the palace roof. The Heracleidae (probably anterior to 427) opens with a group of suppliants at an altar. The Oedipus Rex, which also begins with a tableau, is of unknown date, and there is nothing to show that it was later than 427.

[670] Poll. iv. 123 ἐλεὸς δ’ ἦν τράπεζα ἀρχαία, ἐφ’ ἣν πρὸ Θέσπιδος εἷς τις ἀναβὰς τοῖς χορευταῖς ἀπεκρίνατο. Arist. Poet. c. 4 καὶ ἡ μὲν (τραγῳδία ἐγένετο) ἀπὸ τῶν ἐξαρχόντων τὸν διθύραμβον, ἡ δὲ (κωμῳδία) ἀπὸ τῶν τὰ φαλλικά.

[671] Diog. Laërt. iii. 56 ὥσπερ δὲ τὸ παλαιὸν ἐν τῇ τραγῳδίᾳ πρότερον μὲν μόνος ὁ χορὸς διεδραμάτιζεν, ὕστερον δὲ Θέσπις ἕνα ὑποκριτὴν ἐξεῦρεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ διαναπαύεσθαι τὸν χορόν.

[672] Suidas s.v. Θέσπις.

[673] Aristot. Poet. c. 4 καὶ τό τε τῶν ὑποκριτῶν πλῆθος ἐξ ἑνὸς εἰς δύο πρῶτος Αἰσχύλος ἤγαγε καὶ τὰ τοῦ χοροῦ ἠλάττωσε καὶ τὸν λόγον πρωταγωνιστὴν παρεσκεύασεν.

[674] Viz. the Supplices, Persae, and Seven against Thebes. In the concluding scene of the Seven the part of Ismene would not be taken by a regular actor. Apparently the opening scene of the Prometheus requires three actors, unless we are to adopt the very improbable supposition that the person of Prometheus was represented by a wooden figure, which was nailed to the rock, and from behind which the protagonist spoke the part. [In favour of the lay figure, see Wecklein’s Edition of the Prometheus, Introd. p. 54; Navarre, Annales de la Faculté des Lettres de Bordeaux, Rev. des Études Anciennes, 1901; against it, Bodensteiner, Jahrb. für class. Philol., Suppl.-bd. xix. p. 674; Bethe, Proleg. p. 180, &c.]

[675] Aristot. Poet. c. 4; Diog. Laërt. iii. 56; vit. Soph.; Suidas s.v. Σοφοκλῆς. The Life of Aeschylus assigns the introduction of the third actor to Aeschylus, but adds that Dicaearchus ascribed it to Sophocles. The passage in Themistius (xxvi. p. 316 D) καὶ οὐ προσέχομεν Ἀριστοτέλει ὅτι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ὁ χορὸς εἰσιὼν ᾖδεν εἰς τοὺς θεούς, Θέσπις δὲ πρόλογόν τε καὶ ῥῆσιν ἐξεῦρεν, Αἰσχύλος δὲ τρίτον ὑποκριτήν (a. l. τρίτον ὑποκριτάς) is doubtful, 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.

[676] Baumeister, Denkmäler, No. 422; Eur. Cyclops 197 ff.

[677] Arist. Poet. cc. 4, 5; Anon. de Comoed. (Dindf. Prolegom. de Comoed. p. 27); Diomedes, p. 490 K.

[678] Soph. O. C. 1117 ff., 1249 ff., 1500 ff.

[679] Cp. Beer, Über die Zahl der Schauspieler bei Aristophanes, Leipz. 1844.

[680] Phot. s.v. ὑποκρίνεσθαι· τὸ ἀποκρίνεσθαι οἱ παλαιοί· καὶ ὁ ὑποκριτὴς ἐντεῦθεν, ὁ ἀποκρινόμενος τῷ χορῷ. So also Hesych. s.v. ὑποκρίνοιτο, and Poll. iv. 123. Apollon. Lex. Hom. s.v. ὑποκρίναιτο· πρωταγωνιστοῦντος γὰρ τοῦ χοροῦ τὸ παλαιὸν οὗτοι ὥσπερ ἀποκριταὶ ᾖσαν, ἀποκρινόμενοι πρὸς τὸν χορόν.

[681] Demosth. Fals. Leg. § 192 πάντας τοὺς τεχνίτας συνήγαγεν; Aristot. Prob. xxx. 10 οἱ περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον τεχνῖται; Polyb. xvi. 21.

[682] Plut. Solon p. 95 C; Aristot. Rhet. iii. 1 ὑπεκρίνοντο γὰρ αὐτοὶ τὰς τραγῳδίας οἱ ποιηταὶ τὸ πρῶτον.

[683] The words in the Life are ἐχρήσατο δ’ ὑποκριτῇ πρώτῳ μὲν Κλεάνδρῳ, ἔπειτα καὶ τὸν δεύτερον αὐτῷ προσῆψε Μυννίσκον τὸν Χαλκιδέα· τὸν δὲ τρίτον ὑποκριτὴν αὐτὸς ἐξεῦρεν, ὡς δὲ Δικαίαρχος ὁ Μεσσήνιος, Σοφοκλῆς. These words imply that he employed Mynniscus for the first time on the occasion of his introduction of a second actor; and that previously to this innovation, when only one actor was required, he had been accustomed to employ Cleander, instead of acting himself. He must, therefore, have given up acting before the production of the Supplices, and considerably before the first appearance of Sophocles. The statement that Sophocles was the _first_ 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.

[684] Vit. Soph. πρῶτον μὲν καταλύσας τὴν ὑπόκρισιν τοῦ ποιητοῦ διὰ τὴν ἰδίαν μικροφωνίαν; Athen. p. 20 F; Eustath. Od. p. 1533.

[685] Müller (Griech. Bühnenalt. p. 184) states, on the authority of Zenob. Prov. v. 100, that Astydamas the Elder acted in his own tragedy, the Parthenopaeus. The words in Zenobius are εὐημερήσας ἐν τῇ ὑποκρίσει Παρθενοπαίου. But this is merely a carelessness of expression, on which no stress can be laid. In the account given by Suidas (s.v. σαυτὴν ἐπαινεῖς) of the same occurrence the expression is εὐημερήσαντι ἐπὶ τραγῳδίας διδασκαλίᾳ Παρθενοπαίου. The Parthenopaeus was really written by Astydamas the Younger. See the Tragic Drama of the Greeks, p. 430.

[686] Athen. p. 22 A; Schol. Aristoph. Equit. 534.

[687] Vit. Aristoph. p. 34 Dindf.; Arg. ii. Equit. The story arose from a misunderstanding of the phrase καθιέναι τὸ δρᾶμα δι’ ἑαυτοῦ. The Knights was the first play Aristophanes produced in his own name. See Meineke, Frag. Com. Gr. ii. 928 ff. Antiphanes is said (Müller, Die griech. Bühnen, p. 184) to have acted one of his own comedies, the evidence being the inscription in Corp. Ins. Att. ii. 972 [Ἀντιφάνη]ς πέμ(πτος) Ἀνασῳζο(μένοις)· [ὑπεκρίνετο Ἀντ]ιφάνης. But it is by no means certain that the name of the poet is rightly filled in as Antiphanes. Even if it is, it does not follow that the actor Antiphanes was the same person.

[688] See chap. i. p. 44.

[689] Aristot. Poet. c. 9 λέγω δ’ ἐπεισοδιώδη μῦθον ἐν ᾧ τὰ ἐπεισόδια μετ’ ἄλληλα οὔτ’ εἰκὸς οὔτ’ ἀνάγκη εἶναι. τοιαῦται δὲ ποιοῦνται ὑπὸ μὲν τῶν φαύλων ποιητῶν δι’ αὐτούς, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἀγαθῶν διὰ τοὺς ὑποκριτάς: Rhet. iii. 1 μεῖζον δύνανται νῦν τῶν ποιητῶν οἱ ὑποκριταί.

[690] Vit. Soph. p. 3 Dindf.

[691] See chap. ii. pp. 57 ff.

[692] Plut. Alex. p. 681 E.

[693] Plut. Rep. Ger. 817 A; Dem. Fals. Leg. § 10; Suidas s.v. Σοφοκλῆς.

[694] See chap. i. p. 42, ch. ii. p. 57.

[695] Cic. Div. in Caecil. § 48 ‘ut in actoribus Graecis fieri videmus, saepe illum, qui est secundarum aut tertiarum partium, cum possit aliquanto clarius dicere quam ipse primarum, multum summittere, ut ille princeps quam maxime excellat,’ &c.

[696] Aristot. Pol. vii. 17. The story about Theodorus has caused some difficulty. Does it mean that Theodorus, besides taking the principal character, also played the part of the person who made the first speech in the tragedy? If so, he would have been debarred from acting some of the most popular tragedies of the time. For instance, the actor 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 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 make himself, instead of leaving it to a subordinate. Such announcements were made in Greek theatres in later times (cp. Lucian, Pseudolog. 19; Heliod. Aethiop. viii. 17; Synesius, περὶ προνοίας, p. 128 D), and may have been customary in Athens, or in other parts of Greece, in the time of Theodorus. 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 the name of the coming play. The meaning is probably that Theodorus used to take the part of the character which spoke first, whenever it was possible to do so. In such plays as the Electra it would be impossible.

[697] Alciphron, Epist. iii. 71.

[698] Schol. Eur. Phoen. 93.

[699] Schol. Aesch. Choeph. 900.

[700] Aul. Gell. vii. 5; Stob. Flor. 97. 28; Dem. Fals. Leg. § 246; Strattis ap. Kock, Frag. Com. Gr. i. p. 711.

[701] Hesych. s.v. ἀρουραῖος Οἰνόμαος; Dem. de Cor. § 180; Aelian, Var. Hist. xiv. 40.

[702] Plut. Lysand. p. 466 D.

[703] Dem. Fals. Leg. § 247.

[704] Dem. l.c., de Cor. §§ 180, 267. [Devrient, Das Kind auf der antiken Bühne, thinks that the words spoken by children in the Alcestis, Andromache, &c., were declaimed by the tritagonist from behind the stage, while a real child appeared on the stage and went through the gestures.]

[705] K. F. Hermann, De distributione personarum in trag. graec., 1842; Richter, Die Vertheilung der Rollen der griech. Tragödie, 1842; Croiset, Histoire de la Litt. grecq., iii. passim.

[706] As there is some doubt about the meaning of the word παραχορήγημα, it will be well to quote the passages where it occurs. They are (1) Schol. Aesch. Prom. 12 ἐν παραχορηγήματι αὐτῷ εἰδωλοποιηθεῖσα Βία. (2) Schol. Aesch. Eum. 573 ἐν παραχορηγήματι αὐτῷ εἰσιν οἱ Ἀρεοπαγῖται μηδαμοῦ διαλεγόμενοι. (3) Schol. Aristoph. Ran. 211 ταῦτα καλεῖται παραχορηγήματα, ἐπειδὴ οὐχ ὁρῶνται ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ οἱ βάτραχοι, οὐδὲ ὁ χορός, ἀλλ’ ἔσωθεν μιμοῦνται τοὺς βατράχους· ὁ δὲ ἀληθῶς χορὸς ἐκ τῶν εὐσεβῶν νεκρῶν συνέστηκεν. (4) Schol. Aristoph. Pax 113 τὰ τοιαῦτα παραχορηγήματα καλοῦσιν, οἷα νῦν τὰ παιδία ποιεῖ καλοῦντα τὸν πατέρα· εἶτα πρὸς οὐδὲν ἔτι τούτοις χρήσεται. (5) Poll. iv. 109 ὁπότε μὴν ἀντὶ τετάρτου ὑποκριτοῦ δέοι τινὰ τῶν χορευτῶν εἰπεῖν ἐν ᾠδῇ, παρασκήνιον καλεῖται τὸ πρᾶγμα, ὡς ἐν Ἀγαμέμνονι Αἰσχύλου· εἰ δὲ τέταρτος ὑποκριτής τι παραφθέγξαιτο, τοῦτο παραχορήγημα ὀνομάζεται, καὶ πεπρᾶχθαί φασιν αὐτὸ ἐν Μέμνονι Αἰσχύλου. The first and second instances refer to mute personages, the third instance refers to an extra chorus, the fourth to extra performers who say only a few words upon the stage. It is therefore quite clear that the word παραχορήγημα included all classes of extra performers, as distinct from the actors and the chorus. There are no grounds for excluding the mute personages from the class of παραχορηγήματα, as Müller (Griech. Bühnenalt. p. 179) and others have done. Pollux appears to make the distinction between παρασκήνιον and παραχορήγημα lie in the fact that the former sang, the latter spoke. The distinction is a foolish one, and was probably due to Pollux’s habit of generalizing from one particular instance. The word παρασκήνιον, in its present sense, only occurs in the passage of Pollux. To judge from the etymology of the word, it may have denoted performers behind the scenes. The words ἐν Ἀγαμέμνονι Αἰσχύλου in the passage of Pollux are corrupt, the corruption arising from the words ἐν Μέμνονι Αἰσχύλου which follow. There is no παρασκήνιον in the Agamemnon. The reference cannot be to the speech of Pylades in the Choephori (vv. 900-902), because (1) 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. informs us.

[707] Plut. Phocion, p. 750 C.

[708] See note 2 on the previous page.

[709] Aesch. Choeph. 713, Eum. 678 ff., Agam. 908.

[710] Soph. Aj. 544; Eur. Med. 1021, Herc. Fur. 454, Phoen. 834, Hecub. 978.

[711] Eur. Alc. 393, Androm. 504.

[712] Aristoph. Pax 114, Acharn. 43, 94, 729.

[713] Aesch. Eum. 1032; Aristoph. Vesp. 248; Schol. Eur. Hipp. 58.

[714] Aristoph. Ran. 209, Thesm. 104.

[715] Eur. Hipp. 61.

[716] Athen. p. 21 E; Hor. A. P. 278; Philostrat. vit. Apoll. vi. 11; Cramer, Anecd. Par. i. p. 19; Evanth. de trag. et com. (Gronov. Thesaur. viii. p. 1683); Suidas s.v. Αἰσχύλος.

[717] See Crusius, Philologus, 1889, p. 703.

[718] Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 296; Suidas s.v. θρίαμβος; Plut. Cupid. Divit. 527 D; Verg. Georg. ii. 387.

[719] Bethe (Prolegomena, pp. 35-46) finds an additional proof of this theory in the Bologna vase (cp. Dümmler, Rhein. Museum, 1888, p. 355). In this vase Dionysus is represented sitting in a boat-shaped car, with a satyr playing a flute on each side of him. The car is drawn by two satyrs, and two others are leading an ox. A boy and four women follow behind. Bethe thinks this scene was part of an old tragic performance; that the single actor of the period always played the part of Dionysus, and therefore naturally wore his costume. He also thinks the car was the prototype of the later stage, and is identical with the wagons in which Thespis is said to have carried about his tragedies (Hor. A. P. 276). Unfortunately for these theories there is nothing to show that the procession depicted on the vase had any connexion with a dramatic performance. Such processions with Dionysus in a boat-shaped car are known to have existed in other parts of Greece (Philostrat. vit. Soph. i. 25; cp. Crusius, Philologus, 1889, p. 209); and though interesting as illustrations of the Bacchic mythology, they throw no light on the early history of the drama.

[720] Athen. p. 21 E.

[721] See, on the subject of this relief, Robert, Athen. Mittheil. 1882, pp. 389 ff.

[722] See Bethe, Jahrb. des Archaeol. Instituts, 1896, pp. 292 ff., and pl. 2.

[723] See especially the Medea vase (Baumeister, Denkmäler, no. 980). Copies of many of these vases are given by Huddilston, in Greek Tragedy in the Light of Vase-Paintings, 1898.

[724] A list of them will be found in Müller, Griech. Bühnenalt. p. 226.

[725] From Monumenti Inediti, xi. 13.

[726] Suidas s.vv. Θέσπις, Χοιρίλος, Φρύνιχος.

[727] Suidas s.v. Αἰσχύλος; Hor. A. P. 278; Evanth. de trag. et com. (Gronov. Thesaur. viii. p. 1683).

[728] Aul. Gell. v. 7.

[729] Poll. x. 167; Isidor. Orig. x. 119; Suidas s.v. Θέσπις; Verg. Georg. ii. 387; Prudent. c. Symmach. ii. 646.

[730] Aul. Gell. v. 7.

[731] Schol. Dem. Fals. Leg. § 256. See fig. 23.

[732] Wieseler, Denkmäler, p. 42.

[733] Poll. iv. 133-5, 139.

[734] [Soph. El. 1296 ff. Other cases are Aesch. Eum. 968, 990, and Eur. Orest. 1317. Cf. Hense, Die Modificirung der Maske in der griech. Tragödie, ed. ii (1905), where the various cases in which a change of mask is certain or suspected are discussed.]

[735] Poll. iv. 133-41.

[736] Poll. iv. 141, 142. Special masks were called ἔκσκευα πρόσωπα.

[737] The masks in fig. 17 are copied from Wieseler, Denkmäler, v. 20, 24, 26. The first is a marble, the second and third are from wall-paintings at Herculaneum. The masks in fig. 18 are copied from the Archaeol. Zeitung for 1878. They are from wall-paintings at Pompeii. For a list of the various works of art illustrating the subject see Müller, Griech. Bühnenalt. p. 273.

[738] The name for the tragic boot in Greek was ἐμβάτης (Suid. s.v. Αἰσχύλος), ὀκρίβας (Lucian, Nero c. 9), or κόθορνος (vit. Aesch.). Cothurnus was the regular name in Latin. Pollux (iv. 115) appears to be mistaken in calling ἐμβάτης the comic boot, in opposition to the notices in other grammarians. The sole of the cothurnus was of wood, as appears from Schol. Lucian, Epist. Saturn. 19. Works of art show that it was painted: see Wieseler, Denkmäler, vii, viii; and cp. Ovid. Am. ii. 18. 15 ‘risit Amor pallamque meam pictosque cothurnos’.

[739] Suidas s.v. Αἰσχύλος; Aristot. apud Themist. or. xxvi. p. 316; Philostrat., vit. Apoll. vi. 11; Porphyr. on Hor. A. P. 278.

[740] Vit. Aesch. p. 7 Dindf.

[741] Lucian, Nero c. 9, Necyom. c. 16, Iupp. Trag. c. 41, de Salt. c. 27; Martial, viii. 3, 13, &c.

[742] The illustration is from Wieseler, Denkmäler, ix. 1. The original is a wall-painting from Pompeii.

[743] Vit. Soph. p. 2 Dindf.

[744] Lucian, Somnium vel Gallus 26; vit. Aeschin.

[745] Phot. s.v. σωμάτια; Lucian, de Salt. 27.

[746] For the general account of the χιτών or tunic see Pollux iv. 115-18. The epithet ποικίλον shows that it was brilliantly coloured. As to the length of the tunic see Lucian, Iupp. Trag. c. 41, Eustath. II. p. 954. 47, and the works of art referred to on pp. 240, 241. For the ornamentation and the girdle see the same works of art. The sleeves were called χειρίδες (vit. Aesch. p. 6 Dindf.; Lucian, Iupp. Trag. c. 41).

[747] Poll. iv. 116-18.

[748] Poll. iv. 116; Soph. O. C. 314; Eur. Bacch. 833.

[749] Poll. iv. 116, 117; Varro, Res Rust. ii. 11.

[750] Aesch. Eum. 181, 404; Poll. iv. 117.

[751] Poll. iv. 117. See fig. 18.

[752] Lucian, Somn. vel Gall. 26; Poll. iv. 116. The special tunic was called κόλπωμα.

[753] Aesch. Pers. 661.

[754] Poll. iv. 116, 117. The cloak was called ἐφαπτίς.

[755] Eur. Ion 743; Vit. Soph. p. 2 Dindf.

[756] Aesch. Agam. 493; Soph. O. R. 83; Eur. Alc. 759.

[757] Lucian, de Salt. 27, Anachar. 23.

[758] Philostrat. vit. Apoll. v. 9.

[759] The illustrations are taken from Monumenti Inediti, xi. 31, 32. The originals are wall-paintings at Pompeii.

[760] Baumeister, Denkmäler, nos. 422 (the Naples vase), 424, 1631; Wieseler, Denkmäler, vi. 1, 2 (the Naples vase), 3-10. See above, p. 240.

[761] Specimens of the first kind of dress are to be found in Wieseler, vi. 2 (= Baumeister, 422), 6, 7, 10; specimens of the second kind in vi. 8 (= Baum. 1631), 9. The tunic was called χιτὼν χορταῖος, μαλλωτός, ἀμφίμαλλος, and was apparently made of wool: cp. Poll. iv. 118; Hesych. and Suid. s.v. χορταῖος; Dion. Hal. A. R. vii. 72; Ael. Var. Hist. iii. 40.

[762] Poll. iv. 118. These articles are part of the dress of Silenus. The other actors were dressed quite differently. The dress of the chorus is described in the next chapter.

[763] There does not appear, however, to be any instance of an old Attic comedy being acted by the Phlyakes. The scene in Baumeister no. 904, where Hercules is knocking against a door, and a slave on a donkey follows behind, was formerly supposed to be the opening scene of the Frogs. But this is very doubtful. The character in the vase-painting is the real Hercules, and not Dionysus disguised.

[764] Körte, Studien zur Alten Komödie, Jahrbuch des archaeol. Instituts, 1893, pp. 61-93.

[765] The illustration is taken from Compte Rendu de la Commission Impériale Archéologique, 1870-1, plate iv. 1. The vase was found in the Crimea, but is now at St. Petersburg. In the original there are two other figures (not actors), one on each side of the group. These have been omitted from the copy.

[766] The two figures are from Körte, l.c. pp. 78 and 80. Both were found at Athens. For a complete list of these statuettes see Körte, pp. 77-86.

[767] Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 538.

[768] Aristoph. Nub. 538 οὐδὲν ἦλθε ῥαψαμένη σκύτινον καθειμένον κ.τ.λ. Possibly Aristophanes only means that he used the φαλλὸς ἀναδεδεμένος instead of the more indecent καθειμένος. Nub. 734 seems to show that the φαλλός was used even in the Clouds. For its employment in the other plays cp. Acharn. 156 ff., 1216 ff., Vesp. 1342, Pax 1349, Lysist. 928, 937, 987 ff., 1073 ff., Thesm. 59, 141, 239, 643, 1114. [Willems, Le Nu dans la Comédie Ancienne, tries to show that Aristophanes’ use of the phallus was exceptional, but without success. He also argues that in Vesp. 1342, Pax 886, Thesm. 1181, Ach. 1198, Ran. 1308 mute parts were played by ἑταῖραι absolutely nude; but the evidence is quite insufficient, and can be otherwise explained.]

[769] The padding was called σωμάτιον. Cp. Phot. σωμάτια, τὰ ἀναπλάσματα οἷς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ διασάττουσιν αὑτούς. Luc. Iupp. Trag. 41 προγαστρίδια καὶ σωμάτια. The name of the under-garment is uncertain. Müller (Bühnenalt. p. 230) thinks it too was called σωμάτιον, on the strength of Poll. iv. 115 καὶ σκευὴ μὲν ἡ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν στολὴ (ἡ δ’ αὐτὴ καὶ σωμάτιον ἐκαλεῖτο). But this is very doubtful.

[770] For the references see Müller, Bühnenalt. pp. 249 ff.

[771] Poll. iv. 143; Platon. de Comoed. (Dindf. p. 21); Aristoph. Equit. 230; Ael. Var. Hist. ii. 13.

[772] Poll. iv. 143 ἐπὶ τὸ γελοιότερον ἐσχημάτιστο.

[773] Schol. Aristoph. Acharn. 97; Aristoph. Av. 62, 94, 104, 1203 (with Schol. ad loc.), 1508, Acharn. 575 ff.

[774] Müller, Bühnenalt. p. 253.

[775] Jahrbuch des archaeol. Inst. 1893, pp. 89 ff.

[776] The vase with the names (Εὔνους, Ὀφέλανδρος, Ὄμβρικος) is given by Körte, p. 91. For another specimen see Baumeister, no. 2099.

[777] Körte, Athen. Mittheil. 1884, pp. 346 ff. See the specimen given by Cook in the Classical Review, 1895, p. 373.

[778] For a list of the works of art illustrating the subject see Müller, Bühnenalt. pp. 258, 273-6.

[779] Platon. ap. Dindf. Proll. de Com. p. 21 ἐν δὲ τῇ μέσῃ καὶ νέᾳ κωμῳδίᾳ ἐπίτηδες τὰ προσωπεῖα πρὸς τὸ γελοιότερον ἐδημιούργησαν ... ὁρῶμεν γοῦν τὰ προσωπεῖα τῆς Μενάνδρου κωμῳδίας τὰς ὀφρῦς ὁποίας ἔχει, καὶ ὅπως ἐξεστραμμένον τὸ στόμα καὶ οὐδὲ κατ’ ἀνθρώπων φύσιν. See Wieseler, Denkmäl. v. 27-52; Baumeister, nos. 905-8.

[780] Fig. 25 is taken from Archaeol. Zeitung, 1878, Taf. 4, and represents the masks of a girl and a slave. The original is a wall-painting at Pompeii. Fig. 26, which is taken from Monumenti Inediti, xi. 32, contains two copies of terra cottas found at Pompeii. It will be seen that the mask of the girl is not unlike a tragic mask in general character.

[781] Poll. iv. 143-54. Cp. Quint. Inst. xi. 3. 74.

[782] This shoe was called ἐμβάς in Greek, and soccus in Latin: see Ammon. de diff. vocab. p. 49; Aristoph. Nub. 858.

[783] Poll. iv. 119-20.

[784] The illustration is from Monumenti Inediti, xi. 32.

[785] Aristot. Poet. c. 6 τὸ δὲ χωρὶς τοῖς εἴδεσι τὸ διὰ μέτρων ἔνια μόνον περαίνεσθαι καὶ πάλιν ἕτερα διὰ μέλους, c. 4 λέξεως δὲ γενομένης αὐτὴ ἡ φύσις τὸ οἰκεῖον μέτρον εὗρε, μάλιστα γὰρ λεκτικὸν τῶν μέτρων τὸ ἰαμβεῖόν ἐστιν.

[786] The mark C (canticum) denotes the part which was sung, D V (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, Poenulus, Pseudolus, Truculentus, and parts of others. See Christ, Metrik, pp. 677 ff.

[787] Lucian, de Salt. 27 ἐνίοτε καὶ περιᾴδων τὰ ἰαμβεῖα.

[788] Songs by the actors were called τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς. The solos (in tragedy) were called μονῳδίαι, the duets and trios had no special name. Musical duets between actors and chorus were in tragedy called κόμμοι. Suidas s.vv. μονῳδεῖν, μονῳδία; Aristot. Poet. c. 12.

[789] Plut. Mus. p. 1140 F ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ Ἀρχίλοχος τὴν τῶν τριμέτρων ῥυθμοποιΐαν προσεξεῦρε ... καὶ τὴν παρακαταλογήν, καὶ τὴν περὶ ταῦτα κροῦσιν ... ἔτι δὲ τῶν ἰαμβείων τὸ τὰ μὲν λέγεσθαι παρὰ τὴν κροῦσιν, τὰ δ’ ᾄδεσθαι, Ἀρχίλοχόν φασι καταδεῖξαι, εἶθ’ οὕτω χρήσασθαι τοὺς τραγικοὺς ποιητάς. Athen. p. 636 B ἐν οἷς γὰρ (φησὶ) τοὺς ἰάμβους ᾖδον, ἰαμβύκας ἐκάλουν· ἐν οἷς δὲ παρελογίζοντο τὰ ἐν τοῖς μέτροις, κλεψιάμβους. Hesych. s.v. καταλογή· τὸ τὰ ᾄσματα μὴ ὑπὸ μέλει λέγειν.

[790] Xen. Symp. vi. 3 ὥσπερ Νικόστρατος ὁ ὑποκριτὴς τετράμετρα πρὸς τὸν αὐλὸν κατέλεγεν.

[791] The two groups of trochaic tetrameters in the parabasis were called ἐπίρρημα and ἀντεπίρρημα. See Platon. in Dindf. Prolegom. de Comoed. p. 21.

[792] Aristoph. Pax 1171, 1172.

[793] Schol. Arist. Nub. 1355 οὕτως ἔλεγον πρὸς χορὸν λέγειν, ὅτε τοῦ ὑποκριτοῦ διατιθεμένου τὴν ῥῆσιν, ὁ χορὸς ὠρχεῖτο. διὸ καὶ ἐκλέγονται ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις τὰ τετράμετρα, ἢ τὰ ἀναπαιστικά, ἢ τὰ ἰαμβικά, διὰ τὸ ῥᾳδίως ἐμπίπτειν ἐν τούτοις τὸν τοιοῦτον ῥυθμόν.

[794] Aristoph. Av. 682-4 ἀλλ’, ὦ καλλιβόαν κρέκουσ’ | αὐλὸν φθέγμασιν ἠρινοῖς, | ἄρχου τῶν ἀναπαίστων, and Schol. ad loc. πολλάκις πρὸς αὐλὸν λέγουσι τὰς παραβάσεις.

[795] The exodos, mostly consisting of anapaests, is described as ἅπερ ἐπὶ τῇ ἐξόδῳ τοῦ δράματος ᾄδεται in Schol. Arist. Vesp. 270, and as ὃ ἐξιόντες ᾖδον in Poll. iv. 108. But in Dindf. Proll. de Com. p. 37 it is called τὸ ἐπὶ τέλει λεγόμενον τοῦ χοροῦ. As far as the anapaestic tetrameters are concerned, the word ᾄδοντας in Aristoph. Plut. 1209, and Hesych.’s definition of ἀνάπαιστα as τὰ ἐν ταῖς παραβάσεσι τῶν χορῶν ᾄσματα, show that they were not merely spoken: the expression λέξοντας ἔπη in Aristoph. Equit. 508 proves that they were not sung. See Christ, Metrik, pp. 680 ff.

[796] Aristot. Probl. xix. 6 διὰ τί ἡ παρακαταλογὴ ἐν ταῖς ᾠδαῖς τραγικόν;

[797] Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 312, Vesp. 580; Aristoph. Eccles. 890-2.

[798] Sext. Empir. p. 751, 21; Aristot. Probl. xix. 43.

[799] Aristoph. Ran. 1286, 1304. Baumeister, Denkmäler, no. 422.

[800] Aristoph. Av. 226 ff., 659 ff.

[801] Lüders, Die dionysischen Künstler, pp. 187 ff. Schol. Aristoph. Vesp. 582 ἔθος δὲ ἦν ἐν ταῖς ἐξόδοις τῆς τραγῳδίας χορικῶν προσώπων προηγεῖσθαι αὐλητήν, ὥστε αὐλοῦντα προπέμπειν.

[802] See Baumeister, Denkmäler, nos. 422, 424; Journal of Hellenic Studies, xi. plate 11 (reproduced in Fig. 28).

[803] Schol. Aristoph. Vesp. 582.

[804] Diod. Sic. xvi. 92 Νεοπτόλεμος ὁ τραγῳδός, πρωτεύων τῇ μεγαλοφωνίᾳ καὶ τῇ δόξῃ.

[805] Alciph. iii. 48 τορῷ τινι καὶ γεγωνοτέρῳ φωνήματι χρησάμενος.

[806] Diod. Sic. xv. 7 ἐξαπέστειλε τοὺς εὐφωνοτάτους τῶν ὑποκριτῶν ... οὗτοι δὲ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον διὰ τὴν εὐφωνίαν ἐξέπληττον τοὺς ἀκούοντας.