The Stage of Aristophanes PDF
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The Stage of Aristophanes C.W. DEARDEN UNIVERSITY OF LONDON THE ATHLONE PRESS 1976 Universityo f LondonC lassicalS tudies VII THE STAGE OF ARISTOPHANES Puhlishld by THE ATHLONE PRESS UNIVERSITY OP LONDON at 4 GowerS treet,L ondonW CI Distribuud by Tiptree Book ServicesL td Tiptree, Essex U.S.A. and Canada HumanitiesP ressI nc New Jersey © C. W. Dearden1 976 Printedi n GreatB ritain by WESTERN PRINTING SERVICES LTD BRISTOL PREFACE No two people agree on the form that the Fifth Century Athenian theatre took. The paucity of archaeological evidence, the doubtful value of theatrical illustrations on vases, the con fused and often contradictory statements of scholiasts and lexicographers make this disparity of view hardly surprising. The result has been a large number of studies of the Athenian theatre: my only excuse for adding to them is that I have tried to approach the problem from a different angle and have con cerned myself with a single playwright, Aristophanes, in an attempt to show the kind of theatre that his plays seem to imply and the extent to which this is compatible with the archaeologi cal and other evidence. For a study of this kind the comic playwright is peculiarly helpful for he, unlike his tragic counter part, is willing to sacrifice the flow of his plot to win a laugh at the expense of the absurdity of the dramatic conventions that surround his performance. While he laughs, we can observe the creaking stage machinery. As will be immediately apparent, this book owes much to earlier writers on the theatre; and though I have often disagreed with their conclusions I am very conscious that without the stimulus they provided, much ofit would have been impossible. It is based largely upon my thesis for Ph.D. submitted to the University of London. In the writing of that thesis I was fortu- · nate enough to be supervised by Professor T. B. L. Webster and to him I am deeply grateful for his unstinted interest in my work and his penetrating criticisms of it: indeed much more grateful than can be acknowledged here. Professor E. W. Handley gave unstintingly of his time to read through the manu s_cripti n draft, made numerous suggestions on it and saved me from many errors: to him also I am deeply indebted. My examiner Professor R. E. Wycherley made many valuable viii PREFACE J. suggestions and comments as did Professors K. Dover and R. P. Winnington-Ingram, who read parts of the typescript at various stages in its preparation. Miss E. Mary Cash, with enviable skill, improved the manuscript beyond recognition, my mother typed it time and again without complaint and my wife lived with it for seven years. This book is an expression of gratitude to them all. I should like to record my thanks to the Humanities Research Council of the Canada Council for funds enabling me to visit theatres in Greece, Italy, and Sicily and to work in London, to the New Zealand Universities Grants Committee for money to purchase books and microfilm and to the delegates of the Henry Brown Fund of the Institute of Classical Studies for a grant to help with publication. I have finally to thank the long-suffering staff of the Athlone Press for all their help and courtesy. Victoria University ofWellington · C.W.D. News of the death of Professor T. B. L. Webster reached New Zealand while this book was with the publisher. Others have spoken and written of his qualities both as a scholar and man more eloquently than I could. Suffice it to say that I owe much to him, and, as some small token of the respect and affection in which I held him, I dedicate this book to his memory. CONTENTS . ABBREVIATIONS XI I. THE THEATRICAL BACKGROUND I The City Dionysia and the Theatre of Dionysus 3 The Lenaea and its Theatre 5 Il. THE THEATRE 9 The Archaeological Remains 9 Aristophanes on the Theatrical Structure 11 The Raised Stage 13 The Paraskenia 18 The Number of Doors and the Prothyron 20 · The Roof 30 The Windows 31 The Parodoi 32 38 III. THE SKENE Scene l:ndication and Scene Painting 38 Stage Pr~erties 46 IV. THE EKKYX.LEMA 50 75 V. THE MECHANE 86 VI. THE ACTORS The Three-Actor~ Rule 86 Mutes and Extras 94 The Chief Character as a Point of Unity 94 Appendix: The Division of Roles between Actors 96 VII. THE CHORUS IOI The Development of the Chorus o I 1 CONTENTS X Size and Arrangement of the Chorus 105 Subsidiary Choruses and Special Dancers 109 Vlll. COSTUME IN OLD COMEDY I I I IX. THE MASKS 122 Appendix: Allocation of the Masks 126 APPENDIX: THE STAGING OF THE PLAYS 143 NOTES 180 INDEX LOCORUM 191 INDEX OF MONUMENTS 197 GENERAL INDEX 198
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