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Benjamin Ide Wheeler
REPRINTED FROM HARVARD STUDIES IN
CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY, VOL. II
[Boston: Ginn & Company. 1891.]
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THE 'STAGE' IN ARISTOPHANES.
By John Williams White.
THAT famous architect and doubtless honest man, Vitruvius
PoUio, says in his celebrated treatise On Architecture that the
stage in a Greek theatre should be not less than ten nor more than
twelve feet high. He says also that the actors performed on the
stage, the chorus in the orchestra. Pollux repeats the last statement.^
Scholars have universally believed in the existence of a stage in
the Greek theatre and in the consequent separation of actors and
chorus by a difference of level, until within the last ten years. But
with the excavation of the theatres at Epidaurus, Assos, Oropus, and
elsewhere, in quick succession within the last decade, and the final
excavation of the Theatre of Dionysus at Athens in 1886, the un-
questioned behef of centuries has been rudely called in question.
Many a student of the Greek drama must have felt the inherent
difficulties arising from the supposition of a stage. To ' set ' a play
like the Birds or Lysistrata of Aristophanes on a stage of any height
is difficult and awkward. The stairway that is needed in order
to effect connexion between the orchestra on the lower level and
the stage above ^ is fatally destructive of that perfect ease of action
which is instinctively felt to be everywhere characteristic of the
comedies of the great playwright. The natural solution of the diffi-
culty, the bold assumption that actors and chorus stood on a level
and played their closely interwoven parts on the common floor of
the orchestra, seems not even to have been conceived before the
^ Vitruv. V. 7. 2 : ita tribus centris hac descriptione ampliorem habent orches-
tram Graeci et scaenam recessiorem minoreque latitudine pulpitum, quod Xoyelou
appellant, ideo quod eo tragici et comici actores in scaena peragunt, reliqui autem
artifices suas per orchestram praestant actiones; itaque ex eo scaenici et thymelici
graece separatim nominantur. eius logei altitudo non minus debet esse pedum X,
non plus duodecim. Poll. IV. 123: Koi aKriv^ ^ej/ vKOKpiTwv JfStoc, i) Sf 6pxv(TTpa
Tuv x°P°^> *'' V ''"' ^ dufxiXi), (tre ^TJ/xd Tt odaa dre ^C))fx6s.
^ Cf. Poll. IV. 127: elfffXOovTd 5e Kara, rrjv opx^<^Tpav iirl rrju (Xktiv^v ava&ai-
vovai 5to K\LfxaK<jov • t^s Se K\ifxaKos ol 0a9fJ.o\ K\t/j,aKTi]pes KaXovvrai.
'59
411275
l6o Jo] in Williams White.
last decade. Such an assumption would have opposed a tradition
which antedates the Christian era.
The difficulty presented by the height of the Vitruvian stage has
been dealt with variously. A second stage has been built up in front
of it, for the use of the chorus, and its advocates have confidently
believed that its existence could be proved on ancient authority.^
Again the suggestion has been made that the stage on which the
plays of the four great dramatists were acted may not have been so
high as the rule of Vitruvius demands. His stage of ten or twelve
feet has been reduced to one of six or seven feet or even less.^
This is probably the resort to which most teachers have had recourse
when brought face to face with the question in the lecture-room.
If they have not ignored the question altogether, they have adopted
a stage that was knu, such as that of Phaedrus in the theatre at
Athens and those found in other Romanized theatres. Such a stage
is the least inconvenient to deal with, and tallies well in height with
that to which we have become accustomed in the modern theatre.
The theatre at Epidaurus presents a ' stage ' altogether different
from that of the Romanized Greek theatre. In front of the stage-
building, so-called, in this theatre was a proscenium, a handsome
fagade which consisted of eighteen engaged Ionic columns supporting
an entablature. The proscenium was slightly advanced at each end
1 See the citations in "^Iv^^x, Bilhnenalterihiimer,^. 129^. The passages cited
are misapplied, so that there is not even the authority of late writers for this
' stage for the chorus,' which is essentially a modern fiction. Much less is there
the least suggestion of such a stage in the extant dramas. Oehmichen also,
Das Biihnen-ivesen der Griechen und Homer (in I. Miiller's Handbtuh, V. 3,
p. 242), believes in the supplementary stage.
2 See Haigh, Attic Theatre, p. 158. Mr. Verrall, in his review of Mr. Haigh's
book in the Classical Review (Vol. IV. 1890, p. 226), while regarding it certain
that Aeschylus and his immediate successors used a stage, seems to reduce the
height of the stage in Aeschylus to something considerably less than " six or seven
feet." He says: "That the back part of the scene should be somewhat higher in
level than the front would be in the Etwienides, as always, practically necessary;
but it is an equally plain condition that the whole scene should be one to the eye
and one for the purpose of inter-action and intercommunication." — The exact
determination of the date of the stage of the theatre at Megalopolis excavated by
the British School at Athens is awaited with great interest. See Mr. Gardner's
brief statement of the results of the excavations in the Athenaeum for August 23,
1890, repeated in American Journal of Archaeology, 1890, p. 368 ff.
TJie ^ Stage' hi Aristophanes. i6r
in the form of a wing. At its centre and in the front of each of the
wings was a door, the sill of which in each instance was on a level
with the orchestra. The orchestra was a complete circle, whose
periphery approached the proscenium closely. The height of the
proscenium, including the entablature, was twelve feet. It stood
eight feet from the front of the main building. The orchestra meas-
ured sixty-six feet in diameter. Its outer circle was within three
feet of the proscenium.^ The theatres of Assos, Oropus, and Thes-
piae had similar proscenia. There was a permanent proscenium also
in the great theatre of Dionysus at Athens.
When the first of these fagades was laid bare by excavation, the
view was advanced that it was the front supporting wall of the stage.
The Vitruvian stage had at last been brought to light. On the floor
laid from the entablature to the wall of the main building behind the
proscenium the actors had played their parts ; the chorus were in
the orchestra, twelve feet below. That the proscenium was the front
supporting wall of the stage is the view vigorously maintained in
two noteworthy books already mentioned, Albert Miiller's Lehrbuch
der Griechische7i Buhnenalterthihnei- (1886) and Mr. Haigh's The
Attic Theatre ( 1 890) . Dr. Miiller beUeves in the existence of the
above-mentioned supplementary stage for the chorus, which would
reduce the difference of level between chorus and actors ; Mr. Haigh
stoutly and successfully argues against it.^
Dr. Wilhelm Dorpfeld, the well-known First Secretary of the Ger-
man Archaeological Institute at Athens, denies that the proscenium
Avas the supporting wall of the stage. It was, he says, the support on
which was displayed the scenery appropriate to the play. The actor
stood in front of it, not over it. Actors and chorus were on the
same level. In the time of the great dramatists, the ' stage ' had no
existence.^
1 An excellent plan of the theatre at Epidaurus is given in Baumeister's Dcnk-
m'dler des klassischen Altertums, p. 1735. See also Tafel LXV. for a restored view
of the proscenium. Representations also in Miiller, B.-A., pp. 5, 6; Haigh, A. T.,
pp. 130, 134, 147; and Oehmichen, Bilhnemveseti, Tafel I. For the excavations
at Epidaurus as first reported, see 'AOrjvaiov, IX. p. 464 ff., X. p. 53 ff. ; llapvaa(T6s,
VI. p. 864; UpaKTiKo, TTJs iv 'AdrjvaLS apxatoKoyiKrjs eraiplas, 1 88 1, with four plates,
1882, p. 75, 1883, p. 46 ff., with two plates.
2 Miiller, B.-A., pp. 129-136; Haigh, A. 7\, pp. 1 54-157.
3 In 1884 Juhus Hopken presented at the University of Bonn, as candidate for
1 62 Jo Jin Williams White.
This view is revolutionary. Dr. Dorpfeld, who is a trained archi-
tect, apparently came to entertain it mainly through architectural
considerations.^ His arguments in support of it, and of another
view equally revolutionary, as to the date of the great theatre at
Athens, will be presented in the winter of 1S90-91 in a book already
announced.^
Those who have engaged in the discussion of this vital question
have found common ground on which to stand. It is generally
agreed that, when we turn from the architectural to the literary
evidence, the lexicographers and scholiasts must be practically aban-
doned ; we must depend upon the evidence furnished by the extant
the degree of doctor of philosophy, a thesis entitled De Theatro Aitico Saeculi A.
Chr. Qiiinti, in which he combats the generally accepted view transmitted by
Vitruvius and Pollux that the chorus played their parts in the orchestra, the actors
theirs on a high and narrow stage that stood bejiind it. According to Hopken
" in proscaenio " (the ' stage ') " apparatus scaenicus ponitur, quem ante ludorum
initium spectatoribus proscaenii aulaeum obtegit." In front of this lies the
opxvcTTpa, a low wooden platform occupying the greater part of the space en-
closed by the seats. This ' orchestra ' is in form two thirds of a circle. About it,
at a lower level, lies the Koviarpa. The ' orchestra ' was occupied in common by
actors and chorus.
In combating the tradition transmitted by Vitruvius and Pollux, Hopken
depends mainly on late writers. He quotes also certain passages from Aris-
tophanes to prove that the actors must have stood in the vicinity of the spectators.
It does not appear from his thesis that he was aware of the excavations at Epi-
daurus. Hopken has been treated with undeserved contempt by his critics.
1 It does not appear from any published statement that Dr. Dorpfeld, at the
time when he first announced his view, was acquainted with Hopken's argument.
- " Das Dionysostheater in Athen, Studien zur Geschichte des antiken The-
aters." Dr. Dorpfeld will have Dr. E. Reisch as collaborator in this work.
Dr. Dorpfeld's theory was first announced in print in brief notices in the Aus-
grabungsberichte in the Athenian " Mittheilungen " and in extracts from a letter
in Miiller, B.-A., p. 415. It was next briefly presented, on information furnished
by Dr. Dorpfeld, in G. Kawerau's article on Theatergebaude in Baumeister's
Denkmaler, p. 1730 ff. In a review of Mr. Haigh's Attic Theatre in the Berliner
Philologische Wochenschrift for April 12, 1890, Dr. Dorpfeld himself states, but
necessarily only briefly, his reasons for believing that actors and chorus played on
the same level. Miss Harrison has published a translation of this part of Dr.
Dorpfeld's review in the Classical Review for June, 1890, p. 274 ff. Mr. Haigh
answers Dr. Dorpfeld's criticism in the same number, p. 277 ff. See also Dr.
Dorpfeld's review of Oehmichen's Biihnenwesen in the Berliner Philol. Woch. for
November 29, 1890.
The 'Stage' in Aristophanes. 163
Greek dramas themselves.^ The most bewildering confusion of
terms and conceptions pervades the writings of the lexicographers
and scholiasts ; and yet through all this confusion may be traced the
dominant belief in the existence of a stage. This last fact proves no
more than that this belief arose and became fixed before the time of
these later writers.
The literary evidence, then, in support of or against the theory of
the existence of a stage in the fifth century must be sought for in the
plays that have come down to us. It would, indeed, be surprising
if they left us uncertain as to the facts \ and it would be scarcely less
surprising if, on a rnore careful examination than, with a single ex-
ception,^ has yet been given them, they should be found to confirm
the testimony furnished by monumental remains, and should them-
selves supply the evidence on which we should abandon our behef in
the existence of a stage in the time of the great dramatists. The
importance of such a thorough examination is manifest. Mr. Haigh
feels justified in saying : " It appears, therefore, that the testimony
of Aristophanes points decisively to the existence of a stage for the
actors in the fifth century." And again : "And the passages in Aris-
1 " Was spatere Schriftsteller, welche allerdings nicht selten auf das Theater-
wesen Bezug nehmen, was Vitruv, die Scholiasten und Lexicographen, nament-
lich Pollux Einschlagendes berichten, ist zwar zum Theil sehr werthvoll, darf aber
fiir die Einrichtungen des fiinften Jahrhunderts, dem die betreffenden Autoren
bereits fern standen, nur mit Vorsicht benutzt warden, so dass wir fUr die clas-
sische Zeit wesentlich auf die Durchforschung der erhaltenen Dramen ange-
wiesen sind, und dass diese Quelle, so bald man sich bescheidet, nicht mehr
wissen zu woUen, als was aus den Tragodien und Komodien mit Sicherheit ermit-
telt werden kann, eine durchaus ergiebige ist, haben neuere Forschungen gezeigt,
welche mit dem friiher iiblichen Verfahren, den Biihnenweisungen der Scholi-
asten und den Nachrichten der Lexicographen bei den betreffenden Untersuch-
ungen gleiche Beachtung zu schenken, gebrochen haben." Miiller, B.-A., pp.
107, 108. " Diese Frage kann auch nicht entschieden werden durch den Hinweis
auf irgend eine Nachricht eines spateren Lexikographen oder Grammatikers.
Nur die Nachrichten welche wir den Stiicken der grossen Tragiker und Komiker
selbst entnehmen, und welche wir bei andern Schriftstellern des V. und IV. Jahr-
hunderts finden, konnen als entscheidend anerkannt werden." Dorpfeld, Ber-
liner Philol. Woch., 1890, p. 468. Haigh also attaches great value to the evidence
supplied by the dramas, A. T., p. 144.
2 See Hermes, XXI. (1886), "Die Biihne des Aischylos," by U. v. Wilamo-
witz-MollendorfT.
164 JoJm Williams White.
tophanes appear to prove decisively that in the fifth century the
actors stood on a considerably higher level than the chorus." And
finally : '' The other theory, that during the fifth century actors and
chorus were both in the orchestra and on the same level, appears to
be conclusively disproved by certain passages in Aristophanes."^
The present paper states the results of a careful inspection of the
comedies of Aristophanes made with the intention of testing what
may perhaps properly be called Dr. Dorpfeld's theory. The results
of this investigation amount to an argument in favor of the proposi-
tion, that the Comedies of Aristophanes could not have been performed
on the stage of Vitruvius. This paper has, therefore, been cast in the
argumentative form.'
Positive Testimony to the Existence of a Stage furnished by
Aristophanes.
There are certain passages in the great comedian in which the
use of the terms avafSaivav and Karajiaivuv has been thought to
prove the existence of a stage. Varying degrees of reliance, how-
ever, have been placed upon these by the advocates of the old
theory.^ These passages are five in number, as follows :
I, MEFAPEYS.
dXA' <3 Trovrjpa Kopia KaOXioi irarpo^,
ajx(3aT€ TTOTTav [JLaSSav, at ^ €vpr}Te ira.
Ach. 731, 732.
1 A. T., pp. 144. 146, 158-
- The statement of the investigation is here strictly limited to Aristophanes,
because it seemed desirable to keep the facts to be deduced from the plays of
each dramatist distinct. The results here presented, however, are confirmed by
those reached by an investigation of the tragedians. This paper will be followed
by two similar papers, the first stating the results of an inspection of the plays of
Euripides, the second, of the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles.
3 Miiller, B.-A., p. no, for example, citing the last four passages quoted just
below, thinks that Vesp. 15 14, 15 15, proves conclusively that the actor stood upon
the stage, but says that • elsewhere ' KaTaBalveiv signifies simply " abtreten," and
correspondingly avaBaivetu means " auftreten." On the other hand, Haigh, A. T.,
p. 144, cites the same passages as proof that " the actors had been accustomed to
stand on an elevated platform." The only passage of the four that is doubtful, in
Mr. Haigh's view, is Vesp, 1514, 1515, but in this also he thinks that the literal
meaning is much the more probable.
The 'Stage' in Aristoplianes. 165
2. OIKETH2 A.
oj fxaKapie
aXXavTOTTwXa, Sevpo Btvp" w </)tATaT£
dva/SaLVt awTrjp rrj ttoAci /cat vwv c^avets.
Eq. 147-149-
3. "tlAOKAEnN.
dvd/3aiv€ Serpo ^vaofjirjXoXovOiov,
Trj X^'P^ TovSt Xa^ofxivr) tov (r)(OLVLOv.
€)(ov ' (fivXaTTOv o , COS craTTpov to ct-^olvlov-
Vesp. 1 341-1343.
4. 't'lAOKAEnN.
drap KaTafiareov y ivr aiTov<i fioL ' av Se
dX[.ir]v KVKa tovtolctlv, rjv eyo> Kparu).
Vesp. 15 14, 15 15.
5. XOP02.
Tt Sijra StaTjOtySets ex'^'^' <^'^ '^^'^ ayets
TaaSt Xaf3wv; iv ocrw 8e Kara/Jatvet?, eycu
£7ra'cro/xat /a£/\os ti /U.eAAoSetTTvtKOv.
Eccl. 1151-1153.
It will be observed that the reference in these passages is always
to an actor (or mute), and that the terms are used, either just after
an entrance (dva/3atmv) or just before an exit (Kara^atVetv). The
terms have commonly been interpreted to mean respectively, come
up upon the stage, and go or come down into the orchestra.
The same words are often used in other passages in Aristophanes,
but in different application.^ These occurrences, therefore, have no
direct bearing on the present discussion.
The text of all of the passages quoted is sound. If the ordinary
interpretation of any one of them can be successfully maintained to
the exclusion of any alternative view, the existence of a stage in the
time of .'\ristophanes must be conceded.
An interesting schohum on the second of the passages quoted
(Eq. 149) reads as follows : dvd/3atve aojrrjp rrj ttoXu : "Iva, (ftrja-lv, e/c
Trj<; Trap68ov iirl to Xoyelov dva(ifj. (Sia tl ovv (.k riys Trapooou ; tovto
yap ovK dvayKoiov. Xcktcov ovv oti dvajBai'veiv lXe.ye.TO to Ittl to Xoyciov
1 So ava^aipeiv Vesp. 398, Ran. 130, Frg. 329 (Kock) ; KaraBaivnv Ach. 409,
Nub. 237, 508, Vesp. 347, 397, Pax 725, Lys. 864, 873, 874, 883, 884, Thes. 482,
483, Ran. 35.
1 66 Jo Jin Williams White.
claUvai. u KOL TrpoaKHTai. Aeyerai yap KarafSaiveiv) to ciTraXAaTTecr^ai
ivTtvOev a.TJ-6 tov TraXatov tOovi. [tovtov 8k ot fxkv KAewvu/u,ov, ot 8k
'YTrepfSoXov, ol 8c cfyacnv Ev/3ouAov eTvai. cos iv OvfxeXy 8k to dvdfSaLve.)
The scholium is here given as printed in Diibner's edition. In
Suidas the words read (s.v. dva/Satve) : lareov on lAeyov ol TraAatot TO
iirl Aoyiov eicrie'vat dvajiaivuv, KaTaf3acv€iv 8k to a.TraXXa.TTe(r6ai ivTcvOcv,
OLTTO tov TraAatou eOovs- ' A pL<JTO<f>a.vr]^ " dAAavTOTrwAa, oevpo oevp , to
t^tArare, dvafSaivc crwTrjp Trj Tro'Aet Kat vwv c^avet's."
The schoHum is clear. It should be noted first that both scholi-
asts assume that there was a stage in the poet's time.^ The point
under contention is simply whether Agoracritus came in through the
parodos and mounted the stage, or came in through one of the wings,
where, as both of the scholiasts would have agreed, the actor almost
invariably made his appearance, if he did not come directly from the
(TKrjvYj. The second scholiast corrects the other, and says : " It should
be understood that to co??ie ifi upon the stage was called ' ascending,'
just as to retire from it was called * descending.' This use of the
words arose from the ancient practice." What he denies is that dva-
/Satvetv signified " to come /// on the stage." Here then is a com-
mentator who believed, as the moderns also generally have believed,
that there was a stage in the time of Aristophanes, transmitting the
tradition that the words dvafSaivav and KaTaf^acveiv when thus used by
the poet had lost all sense of elevation and descent." Before Aris-
tophanes's time they had become technical ' stage ' terms.^ This
came about, he says, " from the ancient practice." He is referring
to the tradition that when tragedy arose from the dithyrambic chorus
and a * speaker ' was first introduced, the latter took his place upon
the elevation afforded by the so-called lAeos or Ov/xeXr].*
1 Cf. the scholiast on Ran. i8i and 297.
2 This use of the words has its parallel in the celebrated court-scene in the
Wasps. It is hardly possible that /SVj/iaTo were brought on with the other court-
appurtenances, but the technical words are nevertheless used, ava^aipuv in 905,
944, 963, 977, Kara^alveiv in 979, 980, 981.
3 This is the point of view from which the last words of the scholium are used,
ws iv 6vfx(\ri Se rh avdfiaive. That OufxeXr) here means ' stage ' is clear from the
scholium on Av. 6731 <»'s fv ^U/UfAj? yap ■Kpoaco'Kuov i^7J\0fv exoi/ira (speaking of
Procne) .
* Poll. IV. 123: fAfhs 5' ?iv TpdTrf(a apxal-a, €<^' V '"'P^ ©eViriSos ets Tis ayoySoj
Tors xopf^Tois aireKpivaro. Cf. also Et. M., p. 458, 30.
The 'Stage' in Aristophanes. 167
The scholiast in V, then, offers an alternative to the common
interpretation of dva^atVetv and Kara^atVeiv. He transmits an ancient
tradition which gives the words a meaning that, if applicable to Aris-
tophanes, destroys their force as an argument to prove the existence
of a stage in his time. In determining whether or not there was a
stage, we are then thrown back upon other internal evidence. If this
evidence proves that there was no stage, we shall naturally attach to
the words in the period when there was no stage the meaning for
which the scholiast vouches in a later, though still early, time, since
in the sense of ' enter ' and * retire ' they are precisely as applicable
to the scenic action in the period when there was no stage as in the
somewhat later time of which the scholiast speaks.^
The passages will now be considered in order. In the Knights,
the Sausage-seller is espied (v. 146) at the left, and Demosthenes
calls out, " O come in, come in ! " In the passage quoted from the
Acharnians, the girls are following their father, who says to them as
he advances to a central position, "Ye poor bairns of an unlucky
father, come on and get your bannock, an ye find it anywhere." In
the first passage quoted from the Wasps, Philocleon comes in ' fight-
ing drunk,' torch in hand. He rails at the crowd that follows. The
aviMTTOTat, whose party he has broken up, make threats of conse-
quences on the morrow and retire. The old man is left in posses-
^ Three periods must be recognized : the earhest time, when the actor stood
on the €\eos; the classical time, when he stood in front of the proscenium; the
Macedonian epoch, when, with the loss of the chorus and the general vitiation of
public taste, he did doubtless stand upon it. In the first period, ava^aivfLv and
KaTa&aAveiv meant 'ascend' and ' descend '; in both the second and the third,
'enter' and 'retire.' In the first period, ava&aive and KUTapaiuf, applied to the
original ' speaker ' and to the first actor of Thespis, who doubtless took the same
position, actually did mean ' ascend ' and ' descend.' But with the introduction
of the second actor, when the dialogue became independent of the chorus, and a
complete story was acted from beginning to end, involving many ' mounts ' and
' descents,' the elevation disappeared as an impossible contrivance. This is the
second period, of which the scholiast had no knowledge. It is surely not without
significance that just at this time Aeschylus invented what were in effect a means
of compensation for the loss of the elevation, — the cothurn, the high mask, the
padded figure, equipped with which in tragedy the actor stood out distinct from
the members of the chorus. The terms might still be used in a technical sense
when the actor made his entrance or exit. Under just what circumstances they were
so used will be noted later. See p. 170 f. They occur, in fact, only in comedy.
1 68 JoJm Williams WJiite.
sion of the field, with the girl (avXrjTpis) whom he has carried off.
The scene has been a spirited one enfire/y at the right. The crr/A7rd-
Tat have appeared and disappeared. Then the old man backs on
the scene toward the centre, saying to the girl, who has been standing
at one side and who is apparently reluctant to come forward, "Come
on here ! Lay hold on this old ' rope.' But be on your guard, for
the 'rope' is rotten." The following verses show what the action was.
The (Txotvtov was the (jkvt'iov KaOei.fj.ei/ov with which every comic actor
who played a man's part was equipped, Philocleon pulls the girl
in in a manner that did undoubtedly " provoke the laughter of the
boys."^ It will be agreed at once that the problem of the scenic
action is made enormously difficult by the supposition that Philocleon
is on a lofty ' stage ' and Dardanis down below in the orchestra !
And yet this view has been seriously advanced.^
In the first of the two passages where Kara/SuLveLv occurs, the word
is used in a metaphorical, not in a literal sense. KarafSaiveiv here
means in certamen descendere, as is now generally agreed. The
word occurs in this sense in Herodotus, Sophocles, Xenophon, and
Plato,^ and this sense exactly suits the connexion here.
Certain preliminary considerations are necessary to the interpre-
tation of the second of the two passages where KarafSaiveiv occurs in
the apparent sense of ' descend ' (Eccl. 115 2).
It should be observed that the codices assign nothing to Blepyrus
after verse 1150. He has something still to do, but nothing further
to say. To assign to him any part of the lyric which begins at 1163
is a mischievous modern fiction. This belongs to the chorus, and R
assigns it in four parts to semichoruses. Again, in 1138 /xetpaKas
cannot refer to the chorus, as the scholiast says that it does. The
chorus are women of the age of Praxagora, and they are spoken of as
yuvatKes. So by Praxagora in 504 ; by the maid in 11 25 ; by them-
selves in 1 164. But ixelpa^ in Aristophanes signifies yoi/ng girl, lass.
Cf. Thes. 410 (unmarried), Eccl. 611, 696 (wpa^'a), Plat. 1071, 1079
1 Cf. Nub. 538, 539, Ach. 1216, 1217 (a similar scene), Nub. 734, Vesp. 739,
Thes. 643 ff., et pass. See also Miiller, B.-A., p. 246 f.
2 " AUoquitur scortillum illud, quod in convivio arreptum sequi se jussit, et e
loco sublimi stans blande appellat et ascendere hortatur." Chrestien.
3 This sense was recognized early. Cf. Suidas (s.v. KardBa) : koI Kara&ai-
veiv t}) els ayoiva x'l'pf''' ' " eVraCfla /caTaScifft Tropa0a\\6/jifi'os."
TJie ^ Stage' in At'istop/ia?tcs. 169
(note especially). It is equally clear that rao-St in 1152 cannot refer
to the chorus. The leader of the chorus would have said 17/^5?, as
universally, and certainly would not have excluded herself. racrSt
refers to the /xetpaKes. Besides the chorus, the maid, and Blepyrus,
then, the presence of others on the scene must be recognized, —
of the dancing-girls whom Blepyrus is bringing to the dinner.
Again, the language in 1153 should be noted. The chorus says
i-n-uaoixai, which means not simply " sing," but " sing in accompani-
ment." Cf. Eur. Elec. 864, Hdt. i. 132. On the old view the words
would have the absurd and impossible meaning, "As you descend
from the stage, I'll accompany you with a bit of a song " ! Just here
an acute observation made by von Velsen is pertinent. In account-
ing for the omission of the chorus following 1 1 1 1 he says : " XOPOY
adieci editores secutus, quamquam ipse magis in earn sententiara
inclino, ut omnibus illis locis non cantus, sed solas saltationes chori
fuisse putem." The close of the play, which is exactly similar to the
close of the Wasps, confirms this view. The poet furnishes, for the
further delight of his audience, an elaborate dance performed by
specialists. These are the /u,etpa/<£s.
The last scene of the play, then, is as follows. The maid comes
in (1112) from the dinner to fetch her master. Her language shows
that she is tipsy. In reply to her question where her master is, the
chorus answer, with comic recognition of the situation, " No doubt
he'll turn up shortly." He does appear at once with the ixtLpaKe?.
The poet has a special purpose in producing them, but aside from
this their presence with Blepyrus is perfectly motived. Such 6pxr]-
o-rptSes were among the commonest means of entertainment at an
Athenian dinner. The maid addresses her master in lively and jovial
language. He is in quite the same mood, cracks his joke, and says
he is 'off.' With the words in 1149, 1150 the 'business' of the
play is practically at an end. Only the ' exeunt omnes ' remains.
It is at this point that the chorus say, " Why, then, don't you take
these girls and go? And as you retire, I'll accompany you with song
in anticipation of our dinner." Blepyrus brings forward the dancers,
and after a word from the coryphaeus to the judges, the orchestic
performance begins. The first semichorus joyously sing that dinner
waits, and exhort the second semichorus to the dance ; they, with
the words rovro Spu) (1166), execute a movement simply to the
170 JoJm Williams WJiite.
music of the flute ; then follows the special dance of the /AcipaKc?
(who certainly are referred to by rao-Se in 11 66), accompanied by the
song of the first semichorus. In this song occurs that extraordinary
compound in whose invention the rioting humour of the poet vies
with his dancers for the favour of the audience. With the following
song of the second semichorus, all finally leave the theatre at the
right, dancing, led by Blepyrus.
If this explanation of the five passages is correct, these are the re-
sults. It is shown that the old interpretation of the terms (' ascend '
and 'descend') is impossible for the Vitruvian stage in the third
and fifth passages ; moreover, in the fifth, that the sense ' retire ' is
also impossible in the scholiast's application of the meaning, since
actors and chorus are on a level. The last passage, therefore, is
positive proof against the existence of a stage.
The words avajSaivav and KaraPaCvuv (old-fashioned terms, come
down from the fathers), when thus employed, are always used with
a special touch of humour. By their use the speaker reminds the
audience, in the good-natured way characteristic of comedy,^ that
he and his fellows are * on the boards,' When there is no such inten-
tion, the ordinary words to express ' approach ' and ' departure ' are
used, generally TrpocnivaL and Tvpoaip-)(€.<jOaL, or aTrieVat.^ But many
others occur. In no one of them, however, is there the least indica-
tion of change of level. The plays are full of illustrations. The
following, for example, occur in the Birds. The case, it will be re-
1 The humorous way in which the comic actor talces the spectators into his
confidence in openly recognizing the theatre and its appurtenances has many
illustrations in comedy. Thus, the jokes by direct reference to the eKKVK\i]/j.a,
Ach. 408, 409, Thes. 96, 265, cf. Vesp. 1475; *^^ reference to the 'scenes,' Pax
731; to the ita-oSos, Nub. 326, Av. 296; to the statue of Hermes in front of the
proscenium, Nub. 1478; to the seats, Eq. 163, 704, Nub. 1203; to the mask-makers,
Eq. 232; to the scene-shifter, Pax 174; to the constables, Pax 774; to the chora-
gus, Ach. 1 1 55, Pax 1022. The references to the poet, to individuals in the audi-
ence, to the audience collectively, to the judges, are very numerous. Of the same
general intent is the express recognition by the chorus at the close of the plays
that they have been furnishing the spectators entertainment, as Nub. 15 10, Vesp.
1536, 1537. Pax 1355-1357. Thes. 1227.
2 See E. Droysen, Quacstiones de Aristophanis Re Scaenica, who has collected
the instances, as also those where an actor enters or leaves by the main scene.
The terms used in this case are generally dcrifuai and f|i«Vat.
The ^ Stage' in Aristophanes. 171
membered, is always that of an actor approaching or leaving by a side
entrance (or more probably by the parodos). To express approach
in the Birds, we have 7j/<etv, 992, 1022, 1038, 1587; rpkytiv, 1121;
iaOcLV, 1 169; irpoauvai, 131 2; Trpoaep^eaOaL, 1341, 1414, 1709- To
express departure we find /3aSt^€ti/, 837 ; leVai, 846, 990; a-Kip^taBai,
948 (bis) ; kKTpi^uv, 991 ; {iTraTroKtveiv, lOll ; {iTrayetv, IO17; aTrteVat,
1020, 1026, 1029, 1636; aTrocTofSeiv, IO32 ; aTrorpe^^eiv, I162, 1549;
aTroTrirtcrOai, 1369.^
The foregoing interpretation of dva^aiveiv and Kara/SaLveiv is pow-
erfully supported by the negative consideration that t//ey are applied
only to actors, 7iever to the chorus. And yet, on the old view, we
should expect the words to be used of the movements of the chorus
rather than of those of the actor. For assuming for a moment the
existence of a stage, for the sake of the argument, the case stands
thus. There is only one place in Aristophanes (Plut, 253 ff.) where it
is necessary to assume that an actor comes in through the parodos.^
He may come on through the wings. This is the view of the second
scholiast on Eq. 149, who certainly thought that there was a stage.
The actor, then, is on the ' stage ' from the first, and the word dva-
/3aiveLv in the sense of " come up from below " could not properly be
applied to him. But the chorus are incontrovertibly on a lower level,
in the case assumed, and as incontrovertibly in many instances they
mount the ' stage,' that is, come to the main scene of the action. In-
stances of this in seven of the eleven plays are cited below. Now it is
^ Those who believe that avaBaiueti' and KaralSaiveii' signify ' ascend ' and
' descend ' may well be called upon to explain why the actor is brought in only
a few times through the parodos, but in so many other instances through the
' wings.' What discoverable reason is there for making the place of entrance of
the Megarian and his girls in the Acharnians (729 ff.) different from that of the
Boeotian and his servant (860 ff.) ? Or that of Xanthias in the Wasps (1292 ff.)
different from that of Philocleon and Dardanis (1326 ff.) ? But Schonborn (Die
Skene der Hellenen), Droysen, and others invariably bring in the actor by the
' wings ' unless they are forced to adopt the alternative.
2 Not that, on the assumption that there was no stage, this may not naturally
have happened. If the stage is abandoned, the setting of all of the plays will l)e
much simplified. This is not the place in which to illustrate the bearings of this
important fact, but see Dr. Dorpfeld's brilliant picture of the scene and action
of the Agamemnon, as given by Miss Harrison, Mythology and Jllo7iuments of
Ancient Athens, p. 292 f.
1/2 John Williams White.
extraordinary that the chorus should be exhorted or should exhort one
another to mount the ' stage,' as it is said, or should be ordered off
the ' stage ' down into the orchestra, and yet that the terms dva/3atVetv
and KaTa^acveiv should never be applied to them, although applied to
the actor in similar circumstances. The words used are very differ-
ent. They are never terms implying change of level. For example,
in the Wasps, the old dicasts, when they make their attack upon
Bdelycleon, who is directly in front of the main scene, that is, on
the stage if there is a stage, say ttSs cTrt'o-rpe^e Sevpo (422) and
Cir Itt avrov ucro (423). When they are driven off, the words are
ovK airtTe ; (458) and ap' IfxiWojxiv iroO vfxoi<; dTrocro/BrjaeLv tw ^ovo)
(460). So in the Birds the exhortation to attack is lio iw, e-iray
cTTi^' cTTt'c^epe TToXijxiov opfiav (j>oviav (343 f.) j and a little later cXeXc-
\ev x^P^'- (364)' The chorus fall back with the words avay' es rdiiv
(400). In the Peace, Hermes exhorts the chorus, eto-toVre? ws rd-
Xi-o-ra Tovs XtOov<s affteXKere (427), and the word used to express their
falling back is dmivat (550).^ Illustrations need not be multipUed.
The poet's actual choice of words in these situations shows first that
the exhortation or command cannot have been to mount a ' stage ' or
go down from it, but to come forward between the wings and, again,
retire ; and amounts secondly almost to a conclusive proof that the
terms dvajSaivav and KaTa^aivuv cannot have had the signification in
application to the actor that has generally been given them.
Positive Testimony against the Existence of a Stage furnished
BY Aristophanes.
The facts will, for convenience, be presented under the following
heads, although the divisions are not strictly coordinate, and the facts
presented under the different heads are not mutually exclusive.
I. The Argument from Mingling of Chorus and Actors.
11. The Argument from the Close of the Plays.
HI. The Argument from Impossible Situations.
IV. The Argument from the Over-crowded ' Stage.'
V. The Argument from Probability.
1 Miiller, B.-A., p. 109, declares that the language in Pax 564, 565, shows that
the actors were on a higher level than the chorus ! That he should advance this
seriously as an argument is past belief.
The 'Stage' in Aristophanes. 173
I. Argument from Afingling of Chorus and Actors.
In twenty-five situations in the plays of Aristophanes the chorus
and actors (or mutes associated with the actors, or — in one instance
— a musician who comes from among the actors) are at a given
moment on the same level. In eleven of them, on the old theory,
the chorus are on the ' stage ' ; in fourteen, actors, mutes, or a musi-
cian, are in the orchestra.
The argument from these instances will stand thus. If the facts
are as stated, the burden of proof rests on those who believe in the
existence of a stage to show that the given situation is, so far as a
common level is concerned, not the situation throughout the play.
If nothing in the language or course of the action prior or subse-
quent to these situations indicates that there has been a change of
level, we have proof that the ' stage ' in Aristophanes is a fiction,
unless we either deny in the first eleven instances that the chorus
entered by the orchestra or assert for all of them that Aristophanes,
generally so careful in furnishing motive for introits and exits, allowed
these changes of level to occur without intimation.
Chorus on the same level with Actors.
1. HMIXOPION.
ouTOs cri) TTOi ^eis ; ov |U,ev£ts ; ws et ^eveis
rov avSpa tovtov, atros apOrjtTU rd^^a.
Ach. 564, 565.
The first semichorus are about to strike Dicaeopolis, when the
second violently interfere, dtivuv signifies in Aristophanes and else-
where to strike with some part of the person or with something in
the hand.^ Before the great Euripidean scene, when the intention
of the chorus was to stone Dicaeopolis, the words used were fSdXXo),
Trato) (once), and KaraAeuw (or an equivalent expression).
2. XOP02.
€)^e vvv, aXuxpov rov Tpd)(r]Xov tovtwl.
€X^ y^v^ CTrey/cai/'ov \a(3wv raSt.
Eq. 490 and 493.
1 Cf. Eq. 640, Vesp. 1384, Av. 54, 1613, Lys. 364, 821, Ran. S55 (meta-
phorical).
174 JoJm Williams White.
These verses are assigned to the chorus in R V A P M F 0. The
editors, following Enger, assign them to OikcVt/s A, doubtless because
of the extreme difficult) '-•': the scenic situation on the supposition of
a stage. This sort of error is wide-spread in the texts. Other in-
stances will be noted below. The scholiast explains the action :
crriap hihovcnv avT(2 dXeiffiecrOaL, tva eti^epois 6Atcr^atv£tv BvvrjraL. And
again : a-KopoSov auraJ ■7Tpoa<j)ip€i. 6 (jyaal Setv aurov l-m^ayuv.
3. X0P02.
a.iTapv(mov re tojv airuX^v TavryL
Eq. 921, 922.
All the codices give the words to the chorus ; Bergk, Kock, von
Velsen to the dX\avTOTro)Xr)<;, doubtless for the reason mentioned
above. The coryphaeus at this point jocosely hands Agoracritus a
^<D[xr]pva(.s-
4. *IAOKAEnN.
OL-fMev es Tov ttjocoktov auTtov icnreTecrO copyicr/Aevot,
OL Se TU}<f)Oa\p.oi 'v kvkXco KtvTCLTe Koi Tous SaKTvXovi.
BAEAYKAEON.
ov)(i aovcrO' ; ovk es KopaKas ; ovk amTe ; Traie tw $vX(o.
Vesp. 431, 432, and 458.
At the close of this spirited scene, Xanthias does as he is ordered,
and clubs the chorus.
5. EPMH2.
oAXa Tais a/xats
cicrtdi/Tes cos Ta^tcTTa tovs Xt^ovs dcfieXKeTe.
X0P02.
VTTOTetve 8^ ttSs kol Karayt toictlv KaXws.
XOP02.
dXX aycTov vvv cXkctc Kat cr<^a).
TPYrAIOS.
ovKOW cXko) Kd^apT(i)fiaL
KaTrc/ATrtTTTO) Kat (nrovBd^o) ;
Pax 426, 427; 458, and 469-471.
TJie ^ Stage' in Aristophanes. 175
The chorus, Hermes, and Trygaeus are all pulling at once on the
ropes by which the great statue of Peace is finally brought to light.
The chorus takes part in the hbation, 431-457.^
6. OIKETH2.
ov yap, omve?
Tj^iiiv KaTa^eovTwv v8wp toctovtovl
£S TavTo TovO ecTTacr tdvTCS ^wptbv ; p
The servant has doused the chorus (roio-St, 969), who stand about
those engaged in the sacrifice, and join in the prayers offered. The
dousing scene is similar to that in Lys. 381 ff., where the semi-
choruses are on the same level. See below, p. 185. See also the use
of Karap^e'w in Plut. 790.
7. TPYrAIOS.
aX\ oj Trpo Tov TreLvwvres ifxfSdWeaOe twv Xayw'wv.
Pax 1312.
The kitchen scene begins at 1191. Cf. 1197. Trygaeus is about
to go within to the dinner that has been made ready. The chorus
1 I conceive that the second scene in the Peace was managed as follows : Try-
gaeus mounts skyward on his beetle. The girls and servants go within (149), —
an important fact to note. In mid-air Trygaeus chants the verses that give the
scene-shifter the time needed for the change of scene. Trygaeus actually ad-
dresses him in appealing language (174). The new scene is suspended, as was the
old one, on the wall of the proscenium. It represents the oiKia of Zeus (178), in
front of which the scene-shifter and the attendants pile a heap of stones, unless in-
deed these were already there, concealed during the first scene by the wall of the
beetle-pen. The beetle gently descends to the floor of the orchestra. Trygaeus
dismounts. He is now eV ovpavcfi. The scene thus conceived can be perfectly
managed during the following action. Thus, Trygaeus announces the hour has
come to haul Peace out of the pit in which War has immured her (292 fif.), and
summons the chorus, who come followed by a great crowd. Hermes, finally won
over, himself lends a hand (416, 417), and takes direction of the work. He bifls
the chorus and their followers come in (flcri6vT(s, that is, to the space between
the wings) and shovel away the stones (427). This they do, and when the liba-
tion has been made and the ropes have been adjusted, they all pull to the " Yo,
heave ho!" of Hermes (459 ff.)- Finally the others are pushed aside and the
chorus of farmers pull alone (508 ff.). And so the action continues in the sim-
plest manner possible. — In one other play of Aristophanes the scene is changed
with an actor present, namely, the Frogs, in which the poet had resort to a
moving scene.
176 JoJin Williams White.
are invited (cf. 1305-1310) to fall to on whatever has been left in
the kitchen of the dishes that have been prepared.
8. xopos.
cAeAcAeu X'^P" /ca^es to ^a/x<^os ' ov /xe'AAetv ixP^^'
eXK€ Ti'AXe Trate Seipe, kotttc 7rpwTi7V t^v x^^Tpav,
Av. 364, 365.
The pots are on the old fellows' heads.
n. XOPO2 rEPONTON.
Kav fJi.Tj KaXowTwv tows /xo^Aous xiXwo-tv at yvvoLKe^,
i/XTnfJLTrpavaL ^p^ tois 6vpas koI tw KaTrvcI) Trte^etv.
Lys. 310, 311.
The old men are j'usf in front of the main scene, from which
Lysistrata enters at 430. Here they intend to set their fire going.^
10. ©EPAnnN.
VT] Tov At" cijs rj8r] ye ^wpova evBoOev.
Lys. 1 241.
The persons who appear are Lysistrata, a semichorus of Laco-
nians, and a semichorus of Athenians. They come directly from
the main scene, the gates of the Acropolis.
1 The language of 286-288 (note (Tt,uoV) seems at the first glance to indicate a
change of level, but only at the first glance. These verses are part of a lyric
strophe, which is followed immediately by the antistrophe. Four such lyric num-
bers occur after the entrance of the chorus of old men before they turn to the
main scene and at 306 (the verses beginning here are iambic tetrameters) pro-
ceed to execute the purpose for which they came. During these lyrics the old
men are in the orchestra. They certainly cannot be mounting the stairway that
leads to the ' stage.' The language in 286-288 is perfectly justified by the scene,
which represents the approach to the Acropolis, with the wall above. (Lysistrata
and other women appear here in the course of the action on iop of the prosce-
nium, 829 ff.) That the poet was thus able, assisted by the painted scene, safely to
appeal to the imagination of his audience finds striking confirmation in the Thes-
mophoriazusae. The second scene of this play is the Thesmophorium, which
stood on high ground. Mnesilochus, announcing the coming of the chorus, says
(281), '6(Tov rb XPVI^' avepxeO' vnh ttjs Xiyvvos. But the chorus are coming into
the orchestra on a dead level. Compounds of avd are used also in 585, 623, 893,
1045.
The 'Stage' in Aristophanes. lyy
11. Thes. 730-73S.
During the time that intervenes between the exit and reappear-
ance of the First Woman with her servant, the chorus are left in
guard of Mnesilochus, who has fled to the altar in the Thesmopho-
rium. The chorus have been implored for help in 696-698, They
give the advice to set him afire in 726, 727. He will be free to fly
while the First Woman is off the scene, if the chorus do not guard
him. The Third Woman is set to guard him (762-764) when the
First Woman leaves the scene a second time to go to the prytanes.
The certain conclusion from this last situation is that there was no
one present competent to keep watch during her first absence ex-
cept the chorus, and that the poet who provided for the second case
would not have neglected the first. The chorus are free during the
following scene to bring on the parabasis. During the first scene,
while the chorus is in charge of Mnesilochus, there is no lyric
number.
Actors, Mutes, or a Musician on the same level with the Chorus.
12. »lIKAIOnOAI2.
€Trea64 vvv aSovres w ryveXXa kuXXlvlko';.
Ach. 1 231.
Dicaeopolis, the two girls (1200), and the chorus leave the theatre
together.
13. AIKA102.
riTTr)ix€.0 ' u) Kivov/xevoL
7r/3os ToiJv 6ewv hi^acrOi. jxov
VolfiaTLOv, oy;
i^avToixoXCi TT/aos v/^a?.
Nub. I102-I104.
For a discussion of the action here, see below under 20.
14. XOP02.
dAA i^dyer , et tl (fyiXecT op^oSfxtvoi, Ovpa^e
^/xas Ta^v • TOVTO yap orStt's tto) Trapos SeSpaKCV,
opp^or/xevos octtis aTrrjXXa^cv )(opuv Tpvyw8wv.
Vesp. 1535-1537-
178 John Williams White.
Philocleon, the three sons of Carcinus, Xanthias, and the chorus
leave the theatre together. On the force of KaTafiareov in 15 14, see
above, p. 168.
15. TPYrAI02.
ScVpO (TV '
Karadrjcroixai yap aiiTos £S fxecrovi ayojv.
dXX' w TrpvTo.veL'i 8i)^€a6e rrjv ®€wpiav.
6a.(T (OS TrpoOvp.oi's 6 TrpvTavL<; TrapeSe'caro.
Pax 881, 882, and 906, 907.
For a discussion of the action here, see below under 20.
16. TpyrAios.
Kal Tots ^earais ptTrre twv Kptoiov.
0IKETH2.
I80V.
Pax 962.
For a discussion of the action here, see below under 20.
17. XOP02.
oAA' dpdfJ.evoi (f}ep(DfJiev ol irpoTerayfJiivoL tov vvfJi<^LOv, wvopes.
Pax 1 339-1 341.
Trygaeus, Opora, and the chorus leave the theatre together.
18. Av. 665-684.
The flute-player enters from the main scene, is engaged first with
the actors present, and then passes to the chorus and plays the
accompaniment to the parabasis.
19. Av. I 706-1765.
Note especially 1721, 1722, and 1755. Peithetaerus, the Princess,
the Messenger, and the chorus leave the theatre together.
20. MONY202.
Itpev hia^vXa^ov f.C , Iv 10 crot ^vfnroTrjs.
Ran. 297.
Compare the passages quoted above in 13, 15, 16. The situation
in these four places is practically the same, that of an actor or mute
Tlie * Stage' hi AristopJiaiics. lya
very near the spectators or actually among them. In discussing it,
we must free ourselves, if possible, of a very natural prepossession in
favour of a stage. This prepossession seems to have affected the
views of commentators, who show a strong disposition not to take
the poet literally, in the face of the utmost directness of language.'
Certainly a stage so far removed from the spectators interposes
a great barrier to the action which the language of the poet seems
naturally to demand. The scholiast on Ran. 297 felt the difficulty
of the situation : iv TrpoeSpta Kad-qraL 6 Tov Atos (sic) lepevs. aTropovai
Se Ttves TTois aTro tov Xoye{ov TrepLeXOiov Kol /cpu^^ets OTnaOcv tov icpetos
TOVTO Xeyei. ^atvovrat 8c ovk elvai i-rrl tov Aoyetov, dXX' ctti ttJs opxq-
(TTpas, iv r] 6 Atovvcros ivefSy] Kat o ttXov'S eTrereXetTO. This is a telling
concession, and it comes early.
The poet expresses himself in the four passages quoted above in
language that is direct and unequivocal. In the Clouds, where,
as the previous verses make it certain, the address is to the specta-
tors,^ the Just Logic cries, " Ye blackguards, in God's name take my
cloak, for I desert to you." The natural inference is that he tosses
them his outer garment and disappears among them, up the stair-
way between the wedges of seats. iiavToixoXu) might mean simply
" come over to your side," but no such interpretation of the previous
words is possible. One does not deal metaphorically with a cloak.^
Again, in the Peace, with the words Sevpo crv Trygaeus is address-
ing Theoria. He has said (871, 872) that he intends to hand her
over to the Senate, and has appealed in vain for some ' honest ' man
^ To cite a single case (Miiller, B.-A., p. 109 ^) : " In alien diesen Fallen
bleiben die Schauspieler auf der Biihne; es handelt sich hier nur um eine Eigen-
thiimlichkeit der Aristophanischen Komik, der zufolge der Dichter gern das Pub-
likum in die Handlung des Stiicks hineinzieht." So indeed the poet does, and
to a much greater degree than Miiller is willing — or is able, with his awkward
modern contrivance of a stage before a stage — to allow. Miiller cites here the
passages numbered 15, 16, 20 above.
^ There is only one real ' blackguard ' on the scene, it will be observed,
namely the False Logic.
^ But nevertheless resort has been had to metaphor, so difficult is the situation
in these passages on the assumption of a stage. See G. Hermann ad loc. : " Nam
ubi omnia plena videt mollium et effeminatorum hominum, perniciem sibi metu-
ens, ni horum partibus accedat, simidat se vestem iis transmissurum esse, quo
expeditior ipse ad eorum gregem perfugere possit."
l8o JoJut Williams White.
to come forward and take her in charge. Then he says, " Come here.
I'll lead you into their midst myself and deposit you among them."
This is not the language of a man who remains standing upon a dis-
tant stage. Trygaeus hereupon makes the actor who plays the part
of Theoria strip to his o-w/xaTiov, and describes the ' maid's ' charms
at length. And then, " Good Prytanes receive Theoria. See how
eagerly the Pryianis took her from ;;/<?/" Again the natural inference
is that the ' girl,' amidst the shouts of the crowd, imposes herself
upon the Prytanis, as if he really were eager to receive her, and
presently, as in the Clouds, disappears from view. The actors and
chorus immediately turn to other * business.' If it is said that the
scene is too broad even for the comic stage, a strikingly parallel
scene may be cited. At the end of the Acharnians Dicaeopolis is
undoubtedly in the orchestra. In his drunken good humour he says,
TToS Vrtv 6 ^acrt/Xeus ; aTroSore /AOt tov ostkov (1224, 1225), that IS,
reddite ut debitum, where aTroSore makes it clear that the do-Ko's is not
yet in his possession, and that the command cannot be addressed to
his attendants as such. Presently he receives the a(TK6<i, for the
chorus say (1230), x'J^P" ^.a/^wv tov do-KoV. It came into his hands
in some manner that involved, doubtless to his confusion and to the
amusement of the crowd, the apx<av ^ao-iXevs, who as director of the
Lenaean festival would be prominent in the theatre.^ It is danger-
ous to say what sort of a scene would be too broad for Attic comedy,
and prudence may prompt us to inquire whether in scenes like these
our judgment has not been controlled by our prepossessions.
In the Peace occurs also the passage where the servant attending
Trygaeus at the sacrifice is bidden, " Now throw some barley-corns to
the spectators," and answers, *' I have done it." He did not throw
the barley-corns, of course, across the whole space of the orchestra
intervening between the ' stage ' and the seats. If it is urged that
this is a bit of pantomime to introduce the following joke, the
answer is ready that just this thing was often done in the theatre.
In the Wasps (58, 59) the poet says,
^ Here again the possibility of taking the situation literally is denied by the
commentators. For example, " Adesse ergo Jinguntur archon ^Sao-iXeus appel-
latus et certaminis potatorii arbitri, a quibus ut victor utrem vini accipit (v.
1230)." Blaydes.
The 'Stage' iti Aristophanes. i8l
T][uv yap ovK tcrr ovt€ Kapv €k (fiopfitoo^
BovXoi SiappLTTTOvvTe TOis Ocwjxevoi';,
verses that make it clear that his contemporaries resorted to this
device in order to win the favour of the crowd, and again in the
Plutus (79 7-799) >
ov yap TrpCTTwoes icTTt raJ otoacKaAo)
icr^aSta koi rpwyaAia rots ^ew/xevot?
TrpojSaXovT i-TTL TovTOL<i CLT di'ayKa^ctv ycAav.
The commentators on the passage in the Frogs are generally
agreed that the priest addressed was the priest of Dionysus actually
present in the most conspicuous seat in the theatre.^ The reference
is to the priest also in 308, who is there said to have shown great
concern for his god ! It is clear that Dionysus runs away at 297,
for Xanthias calls to him presently (301), SeSpo SeCp' t3 SeWora. He
must have run to the priest on whom he had called. And the scene
gains immensely in effect if the action is thus interpreted. There
is not the least difficulty in doing this, except that caused by the
assumption of a stage.
21. nAOYTiiN.
<jiaLVCT€ TOLVVV VfJiCL'; TOVTO)
AayaTTcxSas tepas, X"'/^'^ 7rpo7rep,7r£T€
TOicrtv TovTOV TOVTOV /xeXeaiv
Kol fxoXTraicnv KeXaoovvra .
Ran. 1 5 24- 1 5 27.
Aeschylus, Dionysus, and the chorus leave the theatre together.
1 So Brunck : " Histrio, qui Bacchum agebat, hunc versum proferens ad Li-
beri sacerdotem se convertebat, cui ob dignitatis praerogativam in Liberalium
celebratione sedes erat in theatri loco maxime conspicuo." Keck : " Wie sonst,
zumal in Gefahren, der Priester zu seinem Gotte fleht, so wendet sich hier derGott
an seinen Priester, der bei den Festen des Dionysos die Proedrie hat." Kock
does not believe Enger's assumption, that Dionysus actually leaves the stage and
goes to the priest, but confesses that he is at a loss to explain what really hap-
pened : " Allerdings bin ich auch nicht im Stande die Vorgange auf der Biihne
vvahrend dieses und der folgenden Verse geniigend zu erklaren." Merry : " The
priest of Dionysus sat in a conspicuous place in the theatre; and Dionysus rushes
across the stage to get his protection." So many others.
1 82 John Williams White.
2 2. nPAHArOPA.
Kai [xivTOL (TV fxkv
TavTa<i KaTCVTpe-m^e.
Eccl. 509, 510.
The women have returned from the assembly. Praxagora and the
women immediately with her have already freed themselves from the
gear they had borrowed from their husbands (503). The chorus
are about to do so, and Praxagora urges haste. " Cast aside your
mantles ! Off with your shoes ! Fling away your staves ! " And
then, Kal fjiivTOL (TV fxkv Tairras KarevrpeTn^e, " and do you put these
again in order." Whom is Praxagora addressing? Not the leader
of the chorus nor any member of the chorus, for their answer is a
reply to her command that they shall cast aside their trappings, not
to her direction that these shall be put in order. Their answer (514)
involves a fixed formula, and is correctly interpreted by Blaydes,
" ecce humi iacent omnia quae dixisti." Praxagora must be address-
ing one of her attendants. Orders are constantly so given in Aris-
tophanes to servants, the name not being added. Cf. Pax 937, 956,
960, 961, 1 100, 1 193, Av. 435, 947, 958, 1309, etc. The attendant,
in order to obey the command of her mistress, must pass to the spot
where the chorus have flung aside their mantles, shoes, and staves ;
that is, she must be in the orchestra. That the actors are here on
the same level with the chorus, is confirmed by the relation of chorus
and actors at the beginning of the play. See below, p. 199 f.
23. Eccl. 1 15 1 ff.
Blepyrus, the maid, the dancing girls, and the chorus all leave the
theatre together. See the discussion of this passage, pp. 168-170.
24. Plut. 253 ff.
Carion has been sent to fetch the chorus (223-228). He and the
chorus enter the orchestra together at 253, conversing as they come.
They presently dance, Carion leading off (290 ff.).
25. XOP02.
Set yap kutottlv tovtwv aSovras errecrOai. ■p^ .
Chremylus, the priest, Plutus, the old woman, and the chorus
leave the theatre together.
The ^ Stage' in Aristophanes. 183
These, then, are the twenty-five instances where chorus and actors
(or mutes or a musician) are on the same level. The situation
occurs at least once in each of the eleven plays. Perhaps the fact of
a common level for chorus and actors will not be conceded in some
of the instances. But the number will still remain astonishingly large,
and many of them are of great importance in the action of the play,
since frequently the situation is continued and involves many persons.
It may be affirmed with confidence that nothing in the language
or course of the action prior or subsequent to these situations proves
that there has been a change of level. (See p. 1 73.) There is not even
an indication of such a change. In the first eleven instances, where
the chorus come to the actors, it will doubtless at once be granted
that the entrance of the chorus upon the scene must have been made
through the parodos. If we still maintain that there w-as a stage, we
are then forced in all of the instances to beheve that Aristophanes,
who motives introits and exits with such care, allowed these changes
of level to occur without intimation. And this will be urged by those
who still believe that in five cases he has been careful to indicate the
ascent or descent of the actor in a similar situation.
It is of great importance to observe that the argument holds, even
if we abandon the Vitruvian stage, and reduce the height of the stage,
as Mr. Haigh has suggested, to six or seven feet. The argument holds
against any stage that demands a stairway. The only stage that would
not give serious offence would be one raised only a single step above
the level of the orchestra. And this would be a rediictio ad — nihil /
II. Argjitneni from the Close of the Plays.
It is noteworthy that many of the situations just cited occur at the
close of the play.^ In all but three of the plays the chorus and
actors go off together.^ These three are the Knights, the Clouds,
1 For the Acharnians, see p. 177; Wasps, p. 177; Peace, p. 178; Birds, p. 178;
Lysistrata, pp. 176 and 186 f.; Frogs, p. 181 ; Ecclesiazusae, p. 182; Plutus, p. 182.
2 Arid yet Mr. Haigh says {A. T. p. 178) that instances where the actors made
their exit by the orchestra are only rarely to be met with. In the eight cases
just cited the evidence that the actors did make their exit through the orchestra
is certain. If Mr. Haigh is referring to the exits of single actors in the course of
the play, he is begging the question, so far as proof that can be adduced from the
plays themselves is concerned. What is the proof that these exits did not occur
through the parodoi?
184 Jo Jin Williams White.
and the Thesmophoriazusae. The Knights must be disn\issed from
consideration, for as Dindorf pointed out, and as is now universally
agreed, the close of this play is defective. Verses of the chorus
have here been lost. These lost verses may have contained a direc-
tion similar to that in Plut. 1208, 1209, which would have deter-
mined the action that closed the play. In the other two plays
mentioned, the situation demands that the exit of the actors shall be
hurried.^
In the Acharnians, Dicaeopolis retires at the right at the head of a
triumphal procession. The chorus have been completely won over,
and he has thoroughly routed the enemies of peace. The Peace and
the Birds end with the hymenaeus, with splendid spectacular effect.
In the Wasps, the poet introduces what he himself tells us is a new
device. (The date of the play is 422 b.c.)
" Come, dancing as you are, if you like it, lead away,
For never yet, I warrant, has an actor till to-day
Led out a chorus, dancing, at the ending of the play." ^
The invention apparently pleased both poet and people, for three
later plays end in a similar manner, — the Peace, the Birds, and
the Ecclesiazusae. The grouping of actors, Athenian semichorus,
and Athenian chorus at the close of the Lysistrata must have been
effective.^ The same general eifect must have been produced by
the processional close of the Frogs and the Plutus.
The fact that the comedies of Aristophanes so generally close in
this manner is surely not without significance. It makes the suppo-
sition of a stage extremely difficult. In the Frogs, in particular,
while there is throughout the play the distinctest apparent separation
of chorus and actors, for reasons given elsewhere,'* yet at the close
^ In the Clouds, Strepsiades and Xanthias are escaping from the burning
house. See Schonborn, p. 351: "Strepsiades verschwindet von dem Dache des
brennenden Hauses aus mit seinen Dienern hinter den Coulissen zur linken."
Beer's suggestion that 1508, 1509 belong to the chorus has much to commend it.
See Kaehler's note. In the Thesmophoriazusae, the policeman disappears on the
run in pursuit of ' Artamuxia.' Cf. 1225, 1226.
2 Vesp. 1 535-1 537, from Mr. Rogers's translation of the play. The codices
read opxovt'-^vos in 1537. The passage is quoted on p. 177.
^ See p. 205.
* See p. 199.
TJie ' Stage ' in A ristopJianes. 1 8 5
of the play chorus and actors unite in the most natural manner. The
inference in this play, as in the others, is that there was 710 bar to
their doing this.
III. Argument from Impossible Situations.
In two scenes in the Lysistrata, on the theory of a stage, a chorus
of twenty-four persons must have executed a dance-movement upon
it. But this would have been impossible on a stage so shallow as
that assumed.
I. The semichorus of old men are certainly in front of the main
scene at 306-318 ; that is, they are on the stage, if there is a stage.
They have executed the four introductory lyric numbers in the
orchestra. At 306 they turn to the accomplishment of the purpose
which has brought them to the Acropolis. There is no intimation
that they make an 'ascent.'^ They lay down their burdens (307,
314), dip the vine-torch in the pot (308, 316), and threaten to butt
like battering-rams at the gates of the Acropolis (309), and, if Lysis-
trata and those with her refuse to obey the summons and undo the
bars, to burn the very gates with fire and smoke the women out
(311, cf. 267-270).
The semichorus of women enter (with a double lyric number, it
should be observed) on the level occupied by the old men at 306-
318. While there is no intimation at any point that the women have
made an ' ascent,' there is clear evidence in the dialogue which be-
gins at 350 that men and women are on a common level. The old
fellows threaten to break their sticks on the women's backs (357)
and to slap their faces (360 f., cf. 362). The dialogue is spirited,
and the language implies the possibility of personal contact : ^ 7*v
Trpo(T(f>€prj rrjv X^^P^ ''"'■^ (359) ^ Oevutv (364) ; airrov t(2 SaKruAw (365) ;
•qv cnro8w rots kov8v\ol<; (^^66) ; el ryjS' ws t^*^ '''J? Aa/x7raSt araOevao)
(376) ; e/XTrprja-ov avr^s ras KO/Aas (381). At its close the women
actually douse the men with the contents of their pitchers.^
^ See p. 176, note.
2 What is here threatened is actually done further on in the play. Cf. 635,
657, 681, 705.
* The course of the action shows that the scholiast on 321 is wrong in suppos-
ing that the women are on the 'stage,' the old men below in the orchestra. ireTov,
rreTOK : tiiiv ianv 7]ixtx<^ptoy rh Kfyov eV yvyaiKuy ei(repxojJ-(i'Oi>y 6.vwdev, "va koI rh
1 86 JoJm Williams White.
The chorus of twenty-four, then, are all on the stage, if there is a
stage, at the moment of the entrance of the Magistrate at 387. Here
they remain. But at 476 fif. occur a song and a dance of the old men,
and at 541 ff. the corresponding song and dance of the women. That
this lyric strophe and antistrophe were accompanied by a dance is clear
from the language in 541, lywye ya.p av ovttotc Ka/xot/*' av opxpyfievrj.
Here then is an impossible situation, a dance movement executed
on a shallow ' stage,' and that already overcrowded. (See below,
p. 191 f.)
It should be added that no intimation is given in what follows that
the chorus descend from the 'stage.' But the four lyric numbers
which begin at 614 are clearly orchestic.
2. An impossible situation, similar to the above but even more
convincing, occurs at the close of the play.
Athenians and Laconians have yielded to the women (117S ff.),
Lysistrata has conducted the men within the gates of the Acropolis,
where they have feasted and given one another pledges. Each man
is to take his wife and hie away homeward (1182 ff.). The feasters
are announced, o5s rjSrj ye ^(wpoOcr' evSoOev (1241), and appear, men
and women together, as a supplementary chorus of twenty-four,
consisting of a semichorus of six Laconian men and six Laconian
women, and another semichorus of six Athenian men and six Athe-
nian women. Immediately on their appearance through the gates of
the Acropolis the lyric movement begins (1247). That the songs
were accompanied by dances is clear. Cf. StTroSta^w (1243), opxov-
/xe'vovs (1246), 6p\-q(Ta.p.tvoL (1277), Trpocraye •)(op6v, lirayaye. ■)(a.piTa<;
(1279), atpecrO' avco lat (1292), w eta Kovcfia irdXXwv (1304), ttoSolv re
7rd8r) (1317)-
In the two situations just described the height of the ' stage ' is a
matter of no special importance. The argument rests on its extreme
shallowness, according to Vitruvius and according to the actual
remains of proscenia found at Epidaurus, Assos, Oropus, and else-
where. How extremely shallow it was is worthy of special attention.
iiSup avTuv Karax^^ffiv &vwdev. rh 5e 6.W0 ri/xix^ptov i^ avdpoov KaTcnOiv iirepxo-
fi4v(iiv TOLS iv rrj aKpoir6\et els TroXiopKiav. The scholiast's imagination was caught
by the dousing scene at 381 ff. He wished to get the effect of height when the
women soused the men.
TJie '■Stage' in Aristophanes. 187
The ' stage ' in the theatre at Epidaurus was eight feet deep ; that
is, this was the distance from the entablature of the proscenium to
the wall of the main building.^ The later stone proscenium in the
theatre at Athens, which was probably erected just where the earlier
temporary wooden proscenium had stood, was no further than this
from the main building. But there was not actually even this amount
of space for the movements of the actors. How it was narrowed had
better be explained in the language of those who believe that the pro-
scenium was in fact the front wall of the ' stage ' on which the actors
stood. Mr. Haigh says: "The upper portion of the painted scene
represented merely the sky, and was probably the same in all dramas.
The lower portion was separable from the upper, and on it was de-
lineated the building or landscape which the particular play required.
This lower portion of the scene must have stood some small distance
in front of the upper portion. It is impossible that the whole scene
should have been in one piece, and have ascended in a straight line
from the bottom to the top of the stage. If this had been the case,
there would have been no room for the narrow ledge or platform,
which Pollux calls the ' distegia.' - The distegia was a contrivance
which enabled actors to take their stand upon the roof of a palace
or private house. ... In the Acharnians, the wife of Dicaeopolis
views the procession from the roof of the house. At the commence-
ment of the Wasps Bdelycleon is seen sleeping upon the roof, and
his father Philocleon tries to escape through the chimney. At the
end of the Clouds Strepsiades climbs up by a ladder to the roof of
the phrontisterion, in order to set it on fire. The distegia must also
have been used in such scenes as that ... in which Lysistrata and
Myrrina are seen upon the battlements of the Acropolis.'' It fol-
lows from these examples that there must have been room enough
between the top of the palace or other building, and the surface of
the scene behind it, to allow a narrow ledge or platform to be in-
serted. . . . The upper portion [of the scene] must have been
1 See above, p. 161.
^ Poll. IV. 129, 130 ! V 5e Siore-yio Trore fxfv iv otKoi ySacriAeia) SiTJpes ScufxaTiov,
oTou acf)' oil ^v ^oiVLcrcrais 7) ' hvTiyovri ffkiirn rhv arparSv, irore de Kal K^pa/uos,
a(p' ov BaWovffi T(S Kcpa/xai • iv Se Kw/j-coSia airh Trjs Siffreyias iropvo^oaKoi ri Ka'
TOTTTevovaiv ^ yp-iSta ^ yvvaia Kara^AfTrei.
3 Ach. 262, Vesp. 68, 144, Nub. 1485- 1503, Lys. 864, 874, 883.
1 88 John Williams White.
affixed to the permanent wall at the back of the stage. . . . The
lower portion . . . would be fastened to a wooden frame a short
distance in front of the permanent back-wall. There would thus be
room for the erection of the ledge or distegia between the wooden
frame and the wall at the back." So too Miiller, who is more specific
as to the amount of space taken by this extraordinary contrivance :
" Indessen ist es eine sehr ansprechende Vermuthung, dass dieselben
[die bemalten Vorhiinge] nicht unmittelbar an der Hinterwand be-
festigt wurden, was nach Errichtung reich verzierter steinerner Wande
schon des Statuen- und Saulenschmucks wegen nicht moglich gewesen
ware, sondern an einem holzernen Rahmenwerke, welches jedenfalls
so weit von der Hinterwand abstand, dass die Schauspieler zwischen
dieser und jenem sich bewegen konnten." ^ The distegia, even at
the narrowest, must have occupied two feet. Even then the position
of the actor who took his place upon it would have been extremely
uncomfortable and precarious. If the distegia occupied two feet of
space, the total depth of the 'stage' in the theatres at Epidaurus and
Athens was six feet. No dance of a chorus of twenty-four was pos-
sible, of course, on a ' stage ' of this depth.
IV. Argument from the Over-crowded ' Staged
Scenes occur in Aristophanes in which the persons introduced
are so many in number and the properties brought on are so consid-
erable in amount that the action could not have been properly man-
aged on a ' stage ' only six feet in depth. The following instances,
selected from many, will serve as illustrations.
I. Acharnians 1-203. The play opens with a regular meeting of
the Athenian Assembly on the Pnyx. The chorus do not enter until
this scene has closed. The following persons are all 'on' at the
same time : DicaeopoHs (i ff.) ; a herald (43 fif.) ; the prytanes (40,
56, 167, 173) ; ordinary ecclesiasts (t^v ^KKX-qmav, 56) ; Amphitheus
(45 ff.) ; policemen (54) ; ambassadors (61 ff.) ; Shamartabas (94) ;
two eunuchs (117). The prytanes and ordinary ecclesiasts sit, and
1 Haigh, A. T., p. 171 ff., Miiller, B.-A., p. 117. — On the theory that actors
and chorus were on the same level, the ' roof- scenes ' and the scenes correspond-
ing to these took place on top of the proscenium. This would give a 'distegia'
eight feet deep.
The ^ Stage' in Aristophcxnes. 189
wooden benches are provided (25, 42, 59, 123). It is impossible
to say how many ' mutae personae ' were brought on to represent the
prytanes, ecclesiasts, and poHcemen, but the indications are that the
number was considerable. Dicaeopolis speaking of the prytanes
uses the words aOpoi KaTappiovTe<5 (26), a natural indication of what
is presently to happen ; when the prytanes come in they crowd and
jostle one another in their struggle for a front seat (24, 42) ; the
herald's order is, TvdpiT es to irpoaOev, -n-dpLTe. (43 f.), language which
suggests the press of a crowd whose numbers make it difficult for
them to get to their places.
When Amphitheus, the ambassadors, Shamartabas, and the two
eunuchs have retired, Theorus (134) and the Odomanti (155) are
introduced. The latter are spoken of as /xa;^i/AajraTov ©paKwv t^ros
(153) and as 'OSop-avrwv a-Tparo'i (156, cf. 149-152) ; it is said of them
KaraTreATcicrovTat T-i]v Botwrcav oX-qv (160).
In this part of the scene from thirty to fifty persons must have
been introduced, and benches must have been provided for half of
them. It is worthy of note, further, that a row occurs betwen Dicae-
opolis and the Odomanti (163-168). To ' set ' such a scene as this
on a ' stage ' so shallow would be extremely difficult. On the other
hand, to reduce the number of the prytanes, ecclesiasts, policemen,
and Odomanti to a handful is without justification. No good reason
can be given for supposing that the Greeks relinquished the realistic
effect of numbers in their dramatic representations. The general
largeness of these representations would suggest the contrary. Our
undoubted disposition to make the number of the ' dramatis personae '
small results from the necessity which belief in the existence of a
' stage ' has imposed. But in some scenes in Aristophanes the num-
ber of persons introduced is very great and cannot be reduced arbi-
trarily by any possible device. Two such scenes follow.
2. Pax 301-728. The scene describes the recovery of Peace from
the avTpov in which she has been buried by War. The chorus are a
part of the action. The passages which prove that all of the action
takes place on the same level, contrary to the view of some of the
commentators, are quoted on p. 1 74.
The following are participants : Trygaeus (309 ff.) ; Hermes
(362 ff.) ; the chorus of twenty-four Attic farmers* (301 ff-) ; repre-
sentatives of other Greek states who come in with the chorus and
190 JoJm Williams White.
assist in the recovery of Peace, as Boeotians (466), Argives (475,
493), Laconians (478), Megarians (481, 500), These all actively
assist in hauling Peace from the avrpov (cf. page 175, note). Fur-
ther, when the great wooden statue is brought to light, two ' mutae
personae ' appear with it, Theoria and Opora.
The list of dramatis personae is lacking in R, but is found in V.
The chorus are there designated as Xopos yewpywv 'A^^ovewv (cf. 190.)
That they are farmers can be proved on the internal evidence fur-
nished by the play. They are so called in 508, 511, 589, 603. That
the Boeotians, Argives, Laconians, and Megarians who take part in
the action are not members of the chorus is equally clear. When
Trygaeus invokes help (296-298), he calls upon others besides
farmers :
dAX w yewpyot KafJiTropot kol re/croves
Kai BrjfiLovpyol kol /xcTOiKOL kol ievoL
Koi vrjcnwrai, Serp' iV cS Travres Xeo).
Further on, workers in wood and smiths are specially named (479,
480). When the chorus enter, accompanied by the representatives
of other nationalities, their exhortation is cS IlaveAXT/ves (SofjOTJa-wjxev
(302). These supplementary persons are finally excluded from the
action, and the chorus of farmers alone pull on the ropes and bring
the statue into view (508, 511). The supplementary persons are
referred to in 538 ff., where the reference cannot be to the specta-
tors, as verses 543 ff. prove. Finally the reference in 730 is pretty
certainly to these ' followers ' of the chorus, who at this point, when
the parabasis is about to begin, take the implements (a-Kevr), 729)
and withdraw.^
That so great a number of persons could have been thus vigorously
engaged on a ' stage ' only six feet in depth is not conceivable. Pro-
vision, further, would have to be made for the stones that before the
action began were heaped over the avrpov (225, 361, 427), for the
statue of Peace, which was so colossal that it provoked the ridicule
^ So Richter on 731 : " to7s aKoXovdois. Sunt TrapaxopvyvfJ-ciTa Koxpd, quae una
cum choro prodierant a Trygaeo conclamata. Quorum numerus non definitus ac
certus videtur fuisse, feed quot choreutas tot quasi irapaxopevras fuisse verisimile
est."
Tlie ^ Stage' in Aristophanes. 191
of the poet's contemporaries/ and for the tools and ropes (299, 307,
426, 437, 458, 552, 566 f., 729).
It is instructive to see how self-imposed conditions have been
ignored by the commentators and writers on scenic action in dealing
with this scene. These conditions are a ' stage ' six feet in depth and
a * distegia ' two feet in depth.^ Mr. Green places Trygaeus and
Hermes on "the upper balcony, or pluteum" (the 'distegia'). Here
the action is carried on till verse 728, when Trygaeus descends by a
back staircase. Here too is the mouth of the cave, and here the
goddess Peace ("a colossal image ") and Opora and Theoria appear.
The chorus, however, mount no higher than the 'stage.' From this
they throw ropes up to Trygaeus and Hermes, who attach them to
the image in the cave, pass them over pulleys, and let down the ends
to the chorus. This is practically the view also of Schonborn, but he
notes that the command of Hermes in 426, 427, dAAa rats a/xats ciVt-
ovres wi ra^icna toijs XiOov^ d(f)e\K€Te, really means that the chorus are
to ascend to the upper level above the * stage,' entering (eto-to'vTes) the
main scene and so coming aloft. They get as far as the stage, where
they are stopped by Trygaeus, and there they remain. Kanngiesser ac-
tually brings the chorus upon the Sto-reyta and has them dance there !
3. Lysistrata 387-613. The scene relates the contest of the Mag-
istrate and his policemen with Lysistrata and her attendant women.
It introduces : the chorus ; the magistrate (387 ff.) ; policemen (424-
430. 433 fv 437 f-> 441 fv 445' 449. 45 1> 455. 462) ; Lysistrata (430 ff.) ;
the First Woman (439 f.); the Second Woman (443 f.) ; the Third
Woman (447 (■) ', 3i crowd of women from the Acropolis (456 ff.).
The proof that the chorus are on the ' stage ' at this point is
given on p. 185 f. The services of four different policemen are
called into requisition, but the number of policemen present was
probably greater.^ These four struggle with individual women.
^ Scholiast on Plat. Apol. 19 c: Ka>/j.oo5e7Tai Se, on koI rh ttjj (lpi)vr\s Ko\oa-
aiKhv i^TJpev &ya\fji.a. EuiroAis AvTo\vKCf<, nAoroii' NiKats.
2 See p. 187 f.
^ The words iirLXfAoKp' 6 To^ir-rfs in 449 probably mean " My peeler has the
worst of it" (meaning the one last engaged), not "I have no more policemen
left," as Dobree and Dindorf think. Why Lysistrata says r (Trapes \6xoi in 453
is explained by the scholiast : roZro 54 (pTjaiv on kuI -n-apa AaKtSat/jLOuiots rtcra-apes
vndpxovffi \6xoh ols KexPT^ai 6 0a(Ti\€vs.
192 John Williams WJiite.
When they are worsted, the magistrate ralHes his whole squad
against Lysistrata and the three other women, ofioae ;(wpw/j,£v auraZs
tS '2iKv6aL ^vvTa^dfJievoi. (45 1 f.). Overcome by numbers, Lysistrata
calls, not on the semichorus of women, but on the women within the
Acropohs for help, and these come rushing forth (456 ff.) :
" Forth to the fray, dear sisters, bold allies !
O egg-and-seed-and-potherb-market-girls,
O garlic-selling-barmaid-baking-girls,
Charge to the rescue, smack and whack, and thwack them,
Slang them, I say : show them what jades ye be.
Fall back ! retire ! forbear to strip the slain." ^
This is lively action for so narrow a ' stage,' with a great number of
persons ' on.' It is difficult, further, to see how the injunction cTrava-
XopetTe (461) could have been an appropriate order on such a 'stage,'
V, Argument fi'oin Probability,
I. The chorus in comedy frequently engage in dialogue with the
actors in a very familiar manner. When these scenes are continued
to any length, the situation is intolerably awkward, on the supposition
that the chorus are in the orchestra and the actors above the prosce-
nium. The chorus would be in the position of a person calling out
to another at a second-story window.^ Comparison in the following
typical scenes of the actual situation as conceived by Aristophanes
with the situation imposed by the Vitruvian stage will show the im-
probability that the poet was writing to meet the conditions imposed
by such a stage. In the Acharnians, in a long scene (280-392) in
which the dialogue is exclusively between one actor and the chorus,
the chorus come out of hiding, catch Dicaeopolis before his house,
and are about to stone him to death. The chonis threaten and then
plead, Dicaeopolis pleads and then threatens. Cf. further the lan-
1 From Mr, Rogers's translation of the play.
2 " Denn da, wie Vitruv lehrt und das Theater zu Epidaurus bestatigt, das
Logeion sich iiber die Orchestra um 10 bis 12 Fuss erhob, so wlirde bei der An-
nahme, dass der Chor auf dem ebenen Boden der Orchestra stand, zunachst die
Ungereimtheit entstehen, dass der Chor nur etwa bis zur halben Hohe des Lo-
geions hinangeragt und bei seinem Gesprachen mit den Schauspielern wie aus
einem Keller zu diesen hinauf gesprochen hatte." Miiller, B.-A., p. 128. Mul-
ler is here arguing for the supplementary stage for the chorus. See p. 160.
Tlie 'Stage' in Aristophanes. 193
guage in 291, SvVaofat tt/sos c/a' aTrofSXiTretv. In the Wasps (316-394)
Philocleon is at the window of the house, and concerts with the
chorus a plan of escape.^ In the Peace (301-361) Trygaeus pleads
earnestly with the chorus to keep quiet. In the Birds (801-850) Pei-
thetaerus, Euelpides, and the chorus arrange their plans in the most
friendly and intimate manner.- In the Knights (1111-1150) Demus
and the chorus sing to one another. It seems improbable in scenes
such as these that the barrier of a high stage separated chorus from
actors. What was probably the actual situation is illustrated in the
Plutus (253-321), where Carion and the chorus are in the orchestra
together, whether there was a stage or not.
2. There is great difference of opinion as to the extent to which
the device for exposing an interior, called the iKKVKXijfia, was actually
employed in the Greek dramas now extant.^
Haigh describes the eccyclema as follows : " It was a small wooden
platform, rolling upon wheels, and was kept inside the stage-buildings.
1 Assuming the house to have been of one story (the fact generally for Athe-
nian houses in Aristophanes's time), Philocleon is still twenty feet above the floor
of the orchestra, if there was a ' stage.' From this altitude, he begins to warble
his plaintive strain to the chorus ! It is improbable, moreover, that the son
could have been seen by the chorus from the place where they stood in the
orchestra; but still the old man points him out to them, using the deictic oiiroai
(337). Cf. Thes. 1 171, where the i/iorzis, in conversation with Euripides, point
to the policeman who lies asleep in front of the main scene. Cf. also Vesp.
1208 ff., where Philocleon reclines; Eq. 1 2 14 ff., where the chests are examined;
and Ach. 989, where the feathers are thrown out of doors. It is doubtful in these
cases and in Eq. 98 whether even the first rows of the spectators would have had
an adequate view of what was going on. With the use of the pronoun men-
tioned above cf. Ach. 607-614 (note TturSi), where Dicaeopolis addresses mem-
bers of the chorus in a confidential manner. — The use of the word irapi(TT7]jj.i
also in two places in Aristophanes, in application to the chorus, is worthy of note,
rohs 5' av x'^P^'^'^^^ i]\i6ious irapecrravai (Ach. 443), and iiixus 6' Saai irapfaTar
fVl Toiffiv Bvpais (Eccl. 1 1 14). It seems highly improbable that language like
this could have been used of persons standing ten or twelve feet lower than the
speaker.
2 See p. 199, note i.
^ See Miiller, B.-A., pp. 142-148, with the notes, where full references are
given both to ancient and modern authorities. Neckel {Das Ekkyklema, Fried-
land, 1890) denies its use by Aeschylus and Sophocles. In comedy, he says, it
was used only for purposes of parody. Neckel represents the extreme conserva-
tive view as against O. Miiller, Albert Miiller, and many others.
194 John Williams White.
When it was required to be used, one of the doors in the background
was thrown open, and it was rolled forward on to the stage. Upon
it was arranged a group of figures, representing in a sort of tableau
the deed or occurrence which had just taken place inside the build-
ing." So practically Miiller and Oehmichen, who add that, although
the eccyclema was narrow, since its width was determined by the
breadth of the door through which it was rolled out, it was still so
long that its surface furnished sufficient sitting accommodation, in
the Eumenides, for the entire chorus, with Orestes in their midst.^
If the Eumenides was brought out on the narrow Vitruvian stage,
the use of the eccyclema in the scene mentioned must have involved
the choreutae and the actor who played the part of Orestes in grave
danger to life and limb.^
That the eccyclema was a part of the machinery of the theatre
in the time of Aristophanes is not a matter of doubt. Its use is
announced in two scenes, and is referred to unequivocally in a third,
and it must have been brought into requisition in other scenes where
interiors had to be presented. We may dismiss from consideration
the instances where it has been thought by learned men that resort
must have been had to it, but in which its use may fairly be regarded
as doubtful.^ The following remain.
In the Acharnians, when Dicaeopolis is about to plead his cause
before the chorus, he desires to present himself to them clad in the
dress of the true Euripidean hero. Euripides's valet refuses to call
his master out of doors. Dicaeopolis, standing before the house,
himself invokes the poet to come forth. The answer is :
EYPiniAHS.
dAA ov cr)(^oXij.
AIKAIOnOAIS.
dX\ iKKVKXiqOrjT .
1 Haigh, A. T., p. i86; Miiller, B.-A., p. 146*; Oehmichen, Buhnenwesen,
P- 243-
2 See Dorpfeld in Berliner Philol. Woch., 29 Nov. 1890, p. 1537.
^ Nub. in init. (see Schonborn, p. 345, and Niejahr, Quaestiones Arist. Scaen.,
P- 37); Nub. 184 (see the scholiast and O. Miiller, Kleine Schriften, I. p. 538);
Eq. 1249 (see O. Miiller, Kl. Sch., I. p. 537, and Schonborn, p. 316, note); Eq.
1326 (see Niejahr, p. 32); Vesp. in init. (see Schonborn, p. 325); Thes. 277
(see the scholiast).
TJie ^ Stage' in Aristophanes. 195
EYPIIIIAH2.
dXA.' dSuvarov.
AIKAIOnOAI2.
oXk 0[X(x><>.
EYPiniAH2.
aX\ (.KKVKXrjCTOfxaL ' KaTa/Satvctv 8' ov cr^oXTy.
Ach. 407-409.
Euripides appears, of course, by means of the eccyclema,^ seated on
some sort of an elevation. He has about him, in great amount, the
paraphernaha of his art, to. paKt ck TpaywStas, io-O^r^ e'Aeetvr/v (412,
413). On the platform by him is the ragged dress of Oeneus, of
Phoenix, of Philoctetes, of Bellerophon, of Telephus, of Thyestes, of
Ino. He bestows upon Dicaeopolis from his store the dress of Tele-
phus, his cap, a staff, basket, cup, potlet, and stale garden stuff. The
scene ends with the indignant command of the poet (479),
when the eccyclema is rolled in and the door is closed.
A similar scene occurs in the Thesmophoriazusae 95-265, where
the significance of the words ovKKVKXovfxevo^ (96)) ei'o"w rt? . . . /a' Io-kv-
KXrjcrdToi (265) is certain. The effeminate Agathon has about him
on the platform a great amount of properties ; on it is a couch (261)
and behind it is sufficient free space to permit an attendant to enter
the house (see 238).
In these two scenes the use of terms makes it certain that the
eccyclema was brought into requisition.^ Its use is equally certain
in the kitchen-scene near the close of the Acharnians (i 003-1 096).
The main scene represents the house of Dicaeopolis at the centre,
that of Euripides on the one side of this, and that of Lamachus on
the other. The entire space is thus occupied. The kitchen-scene
represents an interior in the house of Dicaeopolis. When the scene
closes, his order is (1096), avyKXrje, koI Sclttvov ns ivaKeva^erw. His
dinner-box is then packed outside of the house. The scene intro-
duces on the platform Dicaeopolis as chef, and servants, both men
and women (1003). They braize and roast meats (1005) and weave
^ See the scholiast on 408.
2 See also the metaphorical reference to the eccyclema in Vesp. 1475.
196 Jolui Williams White.
chaplets (1006). There are, of course, braziers (1014). The scene
is full of life and movement.^
It is noteworthy that in no one of these three scenes an orchestic
movement occurs. All the space needed for the eccyclema on the
floor of the orchestra is at the command of the play^vright. It is
certainly more probable that the machine was rolled out on the floor
of the orchestra than on the narrow space which the roof of the
proscenium would have afforded.
3. Passages occur in Aristophanes in which the distribution of the
parts and the action are in great confusion in the texts, but which
are immediately free of difficulties if we assume that there was no
stage and that the chorus had easy access to the main scene. A
typical case is Lys. 12 16 ff.
On the assumption of a stage, it is im.possible to say in this passage
to whom v/xeis in 121 7 refers. To the " spectatores," Blaydes says.
But the question addressed to them is, ri KaO-qcrOe ; /awv eyw rfj Aa/x-
■jraSt vfxa<i KaTaKavcrw ; Bergler says : " Servus, qui est janitor, quos-
dam vocat, ut sibi sint adjutores in abigendis iis, qui intrare volunt."
Dindorf interprets : " Atheniensis minatur plebeculae, non constat
quot personis representatae, quam chorus invitaverat, vv. 1209-12 15."
Blaydes introduces in this closing scene no fewer than five speaking
persons besides the chorus, two of whom are pure inventions ; Din-
dorf introduces four. Meineke's conception of the action, again,
is altogether different from that of Blaydes, Bergler, or Dindorf.
The editors need not be cited further. The passage is in great
confusion.
All difficulties disappear, if we assume that the main scene opens
directly upon the orchestra without the intervention of a stage. On
this supposition, moreover, we need not depart from the tradition of
the codices in the distribution of the parts. Only two speaking per-
sons are introduced besides the chorus and Lysistrata, — a servant
{Oepdir<i)v) who precedes the revellers with lighted torch, who has
verses 12 16—1220, 1222-12 24, 1239, 1240, and an Athenian who has
been one of the feasters, who has 1225-1227. The chorus have
1221, 1228-1238, and 1241.
1 There are two other kitchen-scenes in Aristophanes, in which also the
eccyclema was probably brought into use, Pax 1191 ff., Av. 1579 ff.
Tlie 'Stage' in Aristophanes.
197
The action, then, is as follows. The servant, coming from the
feast with torch alight, says, inside the door,^ to the door-keeper,
"Open the door! Get out of the way, won't you?" The door
opens, and he sees the chorus, who after the completion of their
lyric number have grouped themselves about the doorway, and says,
" What are you sitting here for? You wouldn't like to have me set
you afire with my torch, eh? Nay, 'tis a vulgar trick, I won't do
it. Still if it must be done, to please you " (with a nod to the audi-
ence), "I'll undertake this task as well." The chorus, with comic
recognition of the situation, answer, " And we, with you, will under-
take the task," that is, they are ready to be made victims, for the
pleasure of the spectators. The scene continues, in Mr. Rogers's
inimitable translation :
Servant. " Hang you, be off ! What are you at ? You'll catch it.
Come, come, begone ; that these Laconians here.
The banquet ended, may depart in peace.
( One of the banqzieters comes out,')
Athenian. W^ell, if I ever saw a feast like this !
W^hat cheery fellows those Laconians were.
And we were wondrous witty in our cups.
Chorus. Ay, ay, 'tis when we're sober, we're so daft.
Now if the state would take a friend's advice,
'Twould make its envoys always all get drunk.
When we go dry to Sparta, all our aim
Is just to see what mischief we can do.
We don't hear aught they say ; and we infer
A heap of things they never said at all.
Then we bring home all sorts of differing tales.
Now everything gives pleasure : if a man.
When he should sing Cleitagora, strike up
With Telamon's song, we'd clap him on the back,
And say 'twas excellent ; ay, and swear it too.
( The chorus again crowd about the doorway.)
^ Cf. the entry of Xanthias, Vesp. 835, who is muttering to himself as he
comes in, and particularly Vesp. 1482 ff., which furnishes a singularly parallel
case to the one under consideration.
198 John Williams White.
Servant. Why, bless the fellows, here they come again,
Crowding along. Be off, you scoundrels, will you ?
Chorus. By Zeus, we must : the guests are coming out."
The chorus hereupon fall back, at each side of the doorway, and the
two supplementary semichoruses appear, with Lysistrata, preceded
by their leaders. In precisely the same manner the chorus fall back
at the close of the Wasps (151 6, 1517), to give the dancers space.
In this and similar passages that interpretation of the action would
seem to be probable which solves the difficulties of the scenic situation.
The universal belief in the existence of a stage in the time of
Aristophanes has introduced grave errors into the text of the poet's
plays and into their interpretation. Scholars have been forced to
assume that the chorus were not an intimate part of the action, and
have thought of the chorus as a compact body, moving throughout the
play, with some inevitable exceptions, in stiff military order and with
that military precision with which they did, doubtless, generally enter
the orchestra.^ But almost any one of the plays will furnish scenes
that contradict both assumptions.
From the very plot of the play, if we may use this word which has
special modern connotations in application to the Greek drama, we
should expect to find the chorus engaging intimately in the action.
In the Knights they come in with a rush, in answer to an earnest
appeal for help (242 ff.), to bear aid to OiKexT^; A and OIk€T7]<; B, and
are throughout the play the relentless and active opponents of the
Paphlagonian. When Agoracritus leaves to encounter Cleon in the
Senate, the chorus equip him with their own hands for the fight
(490 ff.). In the Wasps they actually fight hand to hand with
Bdelycleon and Xanthias in defence of Philocleon (403 fif.) ; and
when the truce occurs are made the arbiters (521) in the following
discussion. In the Peace they are the direct agents by which the
1 Haigh is very bold (A. T., p. 268) : " Except on rare occasions the dra-
matic choruses were drawn up in forms of military regularity, both on their
first entrance, and during the progress of the play. They presented a perfectly
symmetrical appearance in the orchestra." Miiller is more cautious (B.-A., p.
212): " Ueber die Stellungen, welche der Chor nach seiner Ankunft auf der
Thymele einnahm, sind vvir bei dem Mangel eingehender Nachrichten fast ganz
auf Vermuthungen angewiesen."
The 'Stage' in Aristophanes. 199
main purpose of the plot of the play is accomplished, and work
shoulder to shoulder with Trygaeus and Hermes (427 ff.). Even
in the Plutus, which was written at a time when the importance
of the chorus in the drama was beginning to wane, they are sum-
moned to receive their share in the blessings which Plutus is to
bestow (223 ff.), and actually make their entrance into the orchestra
in company with one of the actors (253 ff.). In those plays, more-
over, where they are at first in opposition to the protagonist, they
become reconciled and afterwards give him hearty support. So in
the Acharnians (626 f., 929 ff., 1228, 1230) and in the Birds (627 ff.,
1 189 ff., 1330 ff., 1720 ff.).^ In_s uch plays as the Clouds and Frogs
the chorus are not so intimately _£Pnnected with the action as in
^her plays, first because "tHe purpose of the play forbade it, and
secondly because of the peculiar character of the chorus ; but the
interlocutory scenes in each {e.g. Nub. 427 ff. Ran. 431 ff.) clearly
show how intimate the relation of actors and chorus was felt to be.
In two of the comedies of Aristophanes the relation of the chorus
to the actors is strikingly intimate, — they constitute with them mem-
bers of an assembly. In the Ecclesiazusae, first Praxagora enters,
then the chorus (30 f), whose leader speaks here and at 43 ff.,- then
Praxagora's neighbour (35 ff.), then seven other women who are
^ Even the codices are frequently in error in the ascription of the parts. In
the scene in the Birds (8oi ff.) where the great City in the Air is given a name
and its guardian god selected, the internal evidence makes it clear that the
chorus had their part. In this scene the chorus question, Peithetaerus answers,
Euelpides is foil. Verses 809 (first half), 812, 817 (first half), 820, 826, 827,
832, belong therefore to the chorus. Koch, with his well-knowTi acumen, saw
this; Meineke, less clearly.
Many passages which have caused great perplexity might be cited which
become easy of interpretation if we reject the theory of a stage. If the theory
that there was no stage be accepted, the comedies of Aristophanes in particular
will need careful and thorough-going revision.
■^ The codices do not recognize the presence of the chorus till 285, but then
only N, it should be observed. R has the lineola and B r are silent. The ascrip-
tion of the parts in this play in the codices is notoriously uncertain. Of the
recent editors, Meineke, Bergk, von Velsen, from internal evidence, recognize the
presence of the chorus at 30. Even Blaydes, who follows A N in giving 30, 31
to one of the women, quotes with approval (p. 209 of his edition) Dindorf's sug-
gestion, who in speaking of the woman to whom 30, 31 are assigned says, "quae
fortasse chori Kopvtpaia fuerit."
200 JoJm Williams White.
named, then erepat TroXAal -ko-vv yvvaiKe-; (53 f.). They seat themseh'es
(5 7, cf. 130, 144, 152, 169), and Fraxagora drills them in the part that
they are presently to play in the assembly on the Pnyx. They go off
together, Praxagora and the other women first, the chorus following
(285) with a quick orchestic movement (289-310). The chorus in
this scene are in their function undistinguishable from the actors and
mutes, except at the very close.^ In the Thesmophoriazusae the rela-
tion of chorus to actors is still more intimate than in the scene just
mentioned, but still the chorus here better maintain their lyric and
orchestic function. They constitute, in fact, the meeting, and repre-
sent the commons to whom the orators address themselves (384,455,
466, cf. 533, 540). The orators are the First Woman (Micca, 380,
760), the Second Woman, who presently retires (458), and Mnesilo-
chus. Philiste, a friend of Micca, is named (568), and Micca has the
aid of her slave woman (728, 739, 754). Besides these, the nurse is
present with the baby (608, 609). How many others were present
with the speakers (cf. ras oAAas, 607) is uncertain, but probably the
number of those introduced in addition to the chorus was small.
This supposition accords with the economy of the play, since the
chorus appear prominently as such, and since the meeting is pres-
ently broken up by the discovery of Mnesilochus and is merged into
the general action. The presence of a large number of mutes would
be both unnecessary and disturbing. But this prominence of the
chorus as central figures in the action makes the intimacy of their
relation to the actors only the more prominent. When the herald
proclaims that prayer is to be made to the gods (295, 310), the
chorus answer (312 ff.) and offer the prayer. (Cf. also 332, 351 with
352 ff.) When the first speaker is about to begin, the chorus say,
" Silence, silence ! Give attention. She's clearing her throat, just as
the orators do. Belike she'll speak at length" (381 f.). The chorus
express approval or disapproval of the views of the speakers (434 ff.,
459 ff., 520 ff.). When Cleisthenes enters, the chorus take up the
dialogue in the most familiar manner (582 ff.)."
1 This is, of course, a scene which could not have been acted on the Vitruvian
stage (cf. the argument in IV., p. 188 ff.), and it confirms the view advanced on
p. 182.
2 The action in this scene of the Thesmophoriazusae was managed as follows.
The background is the Thesmophorium (278). Euripides, Mnesilochus (dressed
Tlie ^ Stage' in Aristophanes. 201
The choras, then, were an intimate part of the action. No less
certain is it that the chorus did not maintain a stiff military formation
during the entire course of the action of the play. In the first place,
the instances are not rare in comedy where they certainly broke rank
and file. Cf. Vesp. 415-462; Pax 458-519, 970-972, and 1305-
1315 ; Lys. 306-318 and 1216 ff. ; Thes. 730-738; Eccl. 30-284.
When, further, we remember how intimately they were associated
with the action of the play, it seems somewhat absurd, especially in
comedy, to keep them standing bolt-upright and stock-still, in mili-
tary order, in long scenes where they have no orchestic movement.
Cf. for example the close of the scene that precedes the parabasis in
the Knights (409-497, note especially 490 ff.') or a scene that fol-
lows in the same play (843-972, note especially 921 -). Still, when
we recall the origin of the dramatic chorus, and observe the fre-
quency of orchestic movements in comedy, we realize that the func-
tion of the chorus was different from that of the actor. If we follow
the indications given in the plays, we shall suppose that the chorus
could break rank and file on occasion in a manner which did not
seem unnatural to the spectators, and that at other times, when not
dancing, they were generally grouped in semichoruses on each side
of the main action. The division of the chorus into semichoruses is
generally recognized in the Acharnians (557 ff.) and in the Lysi-
strata (254 ff. and 1247 ff.). So in R in the Ecclesiazusae (1263 ff.).
It is noteworthy that von Velsen, an editor of great critical acumen,
has divided the chorus into semichoruses also in the Thesmophoria-
zusae. Frogs, and throughout the Ecclesiazusae.^ The supposition
as a woman), and Thratta appear at the right (277 ff.). Euripides leaves as he
came (279), Mnesilochus seats himself, in a convenient place, between the wings
in front of the proscenium (292), and the maid retires (293). The herald, cho-
rus, and other women enter at the right (295 ff.)- The latter also take their
seats (cf. 384) between the wings, and here they stand when addressing the
assembly, that is, the chorus, who occupy the orchestra. — This scene also could
not have been acted on the Vitruvian stage, and it confirms the view advanced
on p. 177.
1 This passage is commented on, pp. 173, 174.
"^ This passage is commented on, p. 174.
3 Von Velsen edited the text of these three plays in 18S3, 18S1, 1883 respec-
tively; that of the Knights, in which he does not recognize the semichorus, in
1869. He edited the text of the Plutus in 1881, but the omission of choruses in
202 JoJm Williams White.
suggested above completely meets the objection that if the actors
played on the same level with the chorus, the chorus obscured them
from view. Scenes such as Eq. 1151-1262, Vesp. 1122-1264, and
Ran. 830 ff. can thus be perfectly managed. Any one who has sat in
the theatre at Athens and looked down into the great space of the
orchestra cannot doubt that even the details of the action were
clearly seen. The performance was in broad daylight and in the
open air. Dorpfeld, whose careful study of the theatre of Dionysus
at Athens gives his words great weight, states the facts cogently.
" Aber der Chor verdeckte die Schauspieler keineswegs : er war
gewohnlich in zwei Halbchore geteilt, welche sich nicht unmittelbar
vor den Schauspielern, sondern seitwiirts aufstellten ; er war nur
klein im Verhiiltniss zu der grossen Flache der Orchestra, auf welcher
gespielt wurde ; er war durch einfachere Tracht wohl unterschieden
von dem Schauspieler, welcher durch Kleidung und Kothurn [in
tragedy] als Hauptperson leicht kenntlich war ; und schliesslich diirfen
wir nicht vergessen, dass schon die unterste Sitzreihe vielfach etwas
uber dem Fussboden der Orchestra liegt, und dass die Bewegungen
der Spielenden, je hoher man sitzt, um so mehr von oben, also im
Grundriss, gesehen werden. Obwohl in unsern modernen Theatern
ein grosser Teil des Pubhkums tiefer sitzt als die Biihne, scheut man
sich nicht, sehr viele Nebenpersonen auftreten zu lassen, durch welche
oft genug die Hauptpersonen wenigstens fur einenTeil der Zuschauer
verdeckt werden."^
The arguments presented in this paper have been in the main
negative and destructive. I have endeavoured to show that the com-
edies of Aristophanes could not have been played on the Vitruvian
stage. It would be unfortunate to close the discussion without
leaving a positive impression. The ease with which, on the assump-
tion that actors and chorus were on a common level and that there
was not the barrier of a ' stage ' between them, any comedy can be
* set ' is one of the strongest arguments in support of the proposition
that in the time of Aristophanes the ' stage ' did not exist. The play
the Plutus throws it out of the consideration. — Von Velsen was not influenced,
of course, in his conclusions by the consideration that there was no ' stage ' in the
time of Aristophanes.
1 Berliner Philol. Woch., 12 April, 1S90, p. 470.
The * Stage ' m Aristophanes. 203
that gives the greatest trouble on the old theory is the Lysistrata. I
shall, therefore, close this paper by indicating in broad outline what
I conceive the course of the action in this play to have been.
We have before us the temporary wooden proscenium on which
the scenery was hung, the big circular orchestra, and the two broad
parodoi.
The play falls into two acts. The scene of each is Athens. The
time is daybreak.
In the first act, the special scene represents the house of the chief
person of the play, Lysistrata, at the centre. At the right or left of
centre is the house of Calonice.
At the beginning of the play Lysistrata enters from her house, with
an attendant.^ Calonice enters from her house at 5. Women enter
at the left^ at 65, 66, among whom is Myrrhina, Lampito enters at
the left at 77 with other Laconian women, and is followed by a young
woman from Boeotia (85 f.) and a girl from Corinth (90 f ). Lysis-
trata's attendant enters her mistress's house at 199, and returns with
a cylix and stamnion. Lampito retires at the left alone at 244. At
253 all the other women troop off at the right to the Acropolis.
The scene changes. The scene in the second act represents the
Propylaea of the Acropolis.
The semichorus of men enter at the right at 254, carrying logs of
wood and a pot containing fire. Their movements are in the orches-
tra until 306, when they turn to the main scene between the wings,
put down their logs, and light their torches.^ The semichorus of
women also enter at the right at 319. They too execute a dance,
and, this concluded, at 350 discover the men, who now return to
the open space of the orchestra. The two semichoruses face one
another.* The Magistrate enters at the right at 387 attended by
policemen. He takes his place at centre with the semichoruses
grouped in front of him at each side. He is in full view of the spec-
tators. After the conclusion of his bitter denunciation of the women,
he sets his men to work with levers on the gates of the Acropolis,
1 Facetiously called ^Kvdatva at 1S4. See Brunck's note.
2 These entrances (right and left) were probably all made through the paro-
doi. See p. 171, note 2, and p. 183, note 2.
^ See p. 176, note.
* See p. 185.
204 Jo Jin Williams White.
when they open and Lysistrata appears at 430. The following scene
is full of movement.^ Three women appear from the Acropolis one
after the other at 439, 443, 447, to the aid of Lysistrata and of one
another. When the policemen charge in a body, other women come
pouring out of the Acropolis (456) and there is a general melee,
in which, however, the semichoruses take no part. The Magistrate
and policemen are worsted and fall back. The semichorus of men
address the Magistrate, the semichorus of women answer, both in
iambic rhythm, and then the men execute a short orchestic move-
ment (476-483). The dialogue between Lysistrata and the Magis-
trate follows. The grouping is effective. At right of centre stand
Lysistrata and the women, at left of centre the Magistrate and police-
men. The semichoruses are grouped in front of these at each side
as interested spectators of the action, of which the audience also
have a clear view. The dialogue is broken (541-548) by a short
orchestic movement of the semichorus of women, corresponding to
the dance of the men mentioned above. Each half of the dialogue
practically ends with an anapaestic system (531 ff., 598 ff.). During
the first the Magistrate receives a wimple and instruments for spin-
ning; during the second he is equipped with the habiliments of
a corpse. The scene finally ends at 613. The Magistrate and
policemen retire at the right, Lysistrata and the women within the
Acropolis.
The semichoruses bring forward the substitute for the parabasis.
Lysistrata enters from the Acropolis at 706, followed later by three
women, who enter respectively at 727, 735, 742.^ The four retire
within the Acropolis at 780. After antistrophic songs by the semi-
choruses, Lysistrata appears at 829 on the Acropolis wall ; that is, on
the top of the proscenium. She is immediately joined by Myrrhina
and other women (830) . Cinesias is seen at the same time to be
approaching at the left below, with a child, and attended. The
other women retire from view at 844, and a dialogue ensues between
Lysistrata and Cinesias. Lysistrata leaves the wall at 864, where
Myrrhina appears at 872. She leaves the wall at 884, and enters
through the main scene at 8S9. The attendant goes off with the
1 See p. 191 f.
2 Verses 760, 761 should be assigned to the First Woman.
TJie ^ Stage ' tu Aristophanes. 205
child at 908. Myrrhina goes within the Acropolis at 918, 924, 927,
935> 939> 945> returning immediately after each exit at 920, 925,
929, 937, 941, 947 respectively. She makes her exit for good at
951. Cinesias retires at the left at 979. The herald from Sparta
enters at the left at 980, the Athenian magistrate at the right at 982.
Each retires as he came in, the magistrate at 1012, the herald at
1013. The men and women of the chorus are finally reconciled in
a humorous scene full of comic action, ending in a joint dance.
Envoys from Sparta enter at the left at 1073, Athenian ambassadors
at the right at 1082. Lysistrata enters from the Acropolis at 1107,
with a ' muta persona ' who represents Reconciliation. All go within
the Acropolis at 1188. The united chorus execute a dance which
repeats the movement of 1043-1072. The servant enters from the
Acropolis at 1216/ and one of the Athenian banqueters at 1225.
The Laconian and Athenian supplementary semichoruses with Lysis-
trata appear at 1242. The original chorus is grouped on both sides
of the entrance. After the dance movements in which each supple-
mentary semichorus shows its skill, all retire, the Laconians at the
left, the Athenians at the right.
1 See p. 196 ff.
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