a*
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Received
Accession No.
Class No.
'
THE STAGE IN THE ATTIC THEATRE
OF THE JTH CENTURY
B. C.
A Thesis presented at the University of Minnesota
as a part of the work done for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy
BY
JOHN A. SANFORD, B. A.
ipress of jfllMnnesota
MINNEAPOLIS
1895
INTRODUCTION
THE PRINCIPAL THOUGHT in this thesis is contained in the third
chapter, and it is this : that in the Greek theatre of the fifth
century B. C. both actors and chorus stood in the orchestra.
In establishing the truth of this thought the chorus is at all
times a prominent element. It is, in fact, in great measure, the
conduct of the chorus, and the relation that it sustains to the
actors, that determine whether the actors as well as the chorus
stood in the orchestra. It has seemed fitting, therefore, to
devote the first chapter to tracing the development of the chorus
from prehistoric times up to the time when it became an impor-
tant element in the drama, and to devote the second chapter to
describing the external characteristics of the chorus.
Many statements are made in the first chapter without
reference to the authoriti^O^ence they are derived. It may
suffice to state here that the works that have been consulted
and read in writing this chapter are the following :
Homer: Iliad, Odyssey, Hymn to Apollo.
Hesiod : Works and Days, Shield of Hercules.
Herodotus : Historiae.
Aristotle : Problems, Ars Poetica.
Catullus: Carmina.
Muller : History Literature of Greece.
Mure: History Literature of Greece.
Mahaffy : History Literature of Greece.
Grote : History of Greece.
Smith : History of Greece.
Jebb : Classical Greek Poetry.
Moulton : The Ancient Classical Drama.
Walford : Hand-book of the Greek Drama.
Haigh : The Attic Theatre.
In writing the second and third chapters there have been
consulted and read, besides some of the works named above,
the following works :
^Eschylus: Supplices, Persae, Seven Against Thebes, Prometheus Vinctus,
Agamemnon, Chcephori, Eumenides.
Sophocles: Ajax, Antigone, Electra, CEdipus Tyrannus, CEdipusColoneus,
Philoctetes, Trachinias.
(3)
UFIVBRSITY
4 INTRODUCTION
Euripides : Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus, Andromache, Heracleidas, Sup-
plices, Hecuba. Hercules Furens, Ion, Troades, Helena, Iphigema in Tauris,
Electra, Orestes. Phoenissae, Iphigenia in Aulis, Bacchae, Rhesus, Cyclops.
Aristophanes : Acharnians, Knights, Clouds, Wasps, Peace, Birds, Lysis-
trata, Thesmophoriazusae, Frogs, Ecclesiazusae, Plutus.
Xenophon : Institutio Cyri, Hiero.
Pindar: Carmina.
Pausanias : Descriptio Graeciae.
Pollux: Onomasticon.
Plato: Symposium, Gorgias.
Aristotle: Politics, Metaphysics,
Plutarch : Vitae.
Lysias : Orations.
^schines: Orations.
Antiphon : Orations.
Demosthenes: Meidias, Philippic I.
Diodorus Siculus: Bibliothecae Hitoricae.
Dubner: Scholia in Aristophanen.
Horace: Ars Poetica.
Muff: Chorische Technik des Sophocles.
Richter: Die altgriechische Tragodie und das altgriechische Theaterwesen.
Schultze: De Chori Graecorum Tragici Habitu Kxterno.
Alberti: De ^Eschyli Choro Supplicum.
Capps: 'The Greek Stage', Transactions American Philological Associa-
tion, 1892.
Pickard : 'The Relative Positions of Actors and Chorus', American Jour-
nal Philology, April, July, October, 1893.
White: "The 'Stage' in Aristophanes", Harvard Studies in Classical Phil-
ology, 1891.
Haigh: 'Dr. Dorpfeld's Theor\ r About the Logeion in Greek Theatres',
Classical Review, May 1890.
Miss Harrison: 'Dr. Dorpfeld on the Greek Theatre', Classical Review,
May, 1890.
Verrall: 'Haigh's Attic Theatre', Classical Review, May, 1890.
Muller: Eumenides.
Harrison and Verrall : Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Greece.
Shakespeare : Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth, Titus Andronicus, Hamlet.
There had been consulted, also, in the course of the work
done before writing this thesis, the following works :
Bergk : Anthologia Lyrica.
Mahaffy : Social Life in Greece.
Gladstone: Time and Place of Homer.
Symonds : Greek Poets.
Tyler: Theology of the Greek Poets.
INTRODUCTION 5
Schmidt: Rhythmic ?;
yyOJ signifying place.
%of)dy where the idea of dancing is prominent.
Adornment at the dance.
%uf)Of transferred to the dancer.
4. Choral Exercises in Homer and in Hesiod :
THE P^EAN: Sung when in Homer.
The Paean in Iliad I.
The Paean in Iliad XXII.
No dancing in the Homeric Paean.
The Paean in later times.
Metrical form of the Homeric Paean.
THE THRENOS: Denned.
Early cultivation of the Threnos.
The Linus-song:
The three characters of Linus.
An extant Linus-song.
Connected with the death of the seasons.
Hesiod says concerning the Linus-song.
The Linus-song in Homer.
Characteristics of.
The Threnos in the Iliad.
Characteristics of.
The Threnos in the Odyssey.
Metrical form of the Threnos.
Later history of the Threnos.
THE HYMEN^EUS: The Hj-menaeus in the Iliad.
The Hymenaeus in Hesiod.
The Hymenaeus in later writers.
THE HYPORCHEME : The Hyporcheme in the Iliad.
The Hyporcheme in the Hymn Apol.
The Hyporcheme in the Odyssey.
The Hyporcheme defined.
Popularity of the Hyporcheme.
Its antiquity.
Its chief characteristics.
PARTHENIA IN HOMER.
The instance in the Iliad.
RESPONSIVE SINGING IN THE ILIAD.
SUMMARY OF CHORAL FORMS IN HOMER AND IN HESIOD.
(9)
10 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
5. The Divisions of Lyric Poetry :
Lyric poetry includes only melic.
The elegiac and the iambic called e~r/ .
Melic poetry divided into two schools.
The distinctions between them.
6. The Cultivation of Greek Music :
The tetrachord.
Terpander.
Olympus.
Thaletas.
7. Choral Exercises of the ^Eolic School of Poets :
SAPPHO : Songs for a single voice.
Songs lor choruses.
ANACREON : His character.
His songs for choruses.
ALC^EUS: No choral poetry.
8. Choral Exercises of the Doric School of Poets :
Further development of the chorus.
THE STROPHE : In choral poetry.
Its origin.
In elegiac poetry.
The melic ; the Doric.
Melic strophe described.
The Doric strophe described.
The epode.
Origin of anti-strophic recital.
ALCMAN: His contemporaries.
His predecessors.
His excellence.
He celebrated secular occasions.
His parthenia.
Features of his chorus.
His other compositions for choruses.
His metres.
Remaining choral poets not at Sparta.
STESICHORUS: His originality.
Size of his chorus.
The epode.
His epico-lyric hymns.
IBYCUS : He belongs to two schools.
His love songs.
These produced on what occasions.
Remaining masters of choral poetry:
Add no new elements.
The hymn of Stesichorus.
Lyric poets compose for pay.
Bacchylides.
Pindar.
Timocreon.
9. The Worship of Dionysus :
A new kind of poetry needed.
Why the dithyramb was popular.
THE GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHORUS 11
9. The Worship of Dionysus (Concluded):
Why the dithyramb was capable of dramatic development:
(1 ) Opportunities for forming plots.
(2) Opportunities for assuming characters.
10. The Dithyramb of Arion :
Cultivated at Corinth.
Arion's chorus.
The iEdftyuw.
The musical accompaniment.
The size of the chorus.
11. The Development of Tragedy from the Dithyramb :
The extension of the part of the zaft%wv.
The extension of subjects.
The dithyramb at Athens becomes tragedy.
The final step the addition of the actor.
12. The Further Development of Tragedy :
The chorus of Thespis.
The chorus of Phrynichus.
The chorus of Choerilus.
Pratinas and the satyr-drama.
Characteristics of the satyr-drama.
AESCHYLUS: Shortened the choral odes.
Added a second actor.
SOPHOCLES: Added a third actor.
Shortened the choral odes.
EURIPIDES : Shortened the choral odes.
Decline of the chorus as a living element.
The ideal chorus.
13. The Subsequent Cultivation of the Ditlryramb, and of Lyric Poetry :
The dithyramb continued in Doric states.
The 'Attic' dithyramb.
The decline of lyric poetry.
orn i
CHAPTER I
THE GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHORUS
1 THE DIVISIONS OF GREEK POETRY
It is customary to divide the poetry of the Greeks into three
classes, the Epic, the Lyric, the Dramatic. Under the second of
these classes is included all the poetry oi the lyre whether a
mournful elegy of Mimnermus or an enthusiastic dithyramb of
Arion, all poetry, in fact, that is neither epic nor dramatic. It
is necessary, however, to emphasize the fact that the lyric
poetry did not suddenly arise at the time when the epic had
lived its day, when no longer poets were found of originality
sufficient to compose epic poems that satisfied the people, and
when weak imitations of the old masters were the only epic
poems produced. At this time the people began to cultivate
lyric poetry, but this kind of poetry existed, and in a state of
considerable development, at the time when the Iliad and
the Odyssey were composed. The drama, the chief elements of
which are dialogue and choral songs, was the culmination of
Greek poetry. It will be admitted that in the epic poetry there
is an abundance of dialogue, and it will be shown that the
choral element exists there, and in many of the forms that it
had in ages subsequent to that of Homer. Furthermore, the
dramatic element is prominent in the Iliad. In the first book,
the quarrel scene between Agamemnon and Achilles is as dram-
atic as is any scene in the plays of the tragedians of the fifth
century. The dramatic instinct of the Greeks, then, appears in
their epic poetry ; dialogue is found there, and instances will be
pointed out where the choral element is prominent in the epic
poetry. It is evident, then, that the drama was a combination
of different kinds of poetry that had existed since prehistoric
davs.
14 THE ATTIC STAGE OF Till: FIFTH CEXTi'KY
2 SINGING BY INDIVIDUALS IN HOMER
111 the Odyssey, when Hermes arrives at the island of
Calypso, on the mission of liberating Ulysses, he
The song of fi d " Q a ] ypso singing with 'beautiful voice.' 1
Calypso J L >t-
The queen is thus beguiling the hours, as she
labors at the loom .
In a similar manner, when Ulysses approaches the cave of
The song of Circe, he finds her within singing beautifully, as
circe sne plies the loom. 2
In the Iliad, the Embassadors to the tent of Achilles find
that prince seated on the ground singing the
The song of Morions deeds of men' to the accompaniment
Achilles fe
of a clear-toned harp. 3
What was the character of the singing on these three oc-
casions we have -no information ; yet it is safe
character of to infer that in the first two instances it did
these songs no t materially differ from that of many of
the songs of Sappho or Alcaeus. The songs of
Calypso and of Circe are not to be considered the direct fore-
runners of the Lesbian school of poetry, but may serve as illus-
trations of the fact that this school did not create a new kind
of poetry, but merely developed a kind of poetry that already
existed . The singing of Achilles was doubtless of a more serious
kind. It can hardly be supposed that a fierce warrior was sing-
ing a song of the Sapphic school. The greater elaborateness of
his song is seen in the fact that he sang with a musical accompani-
ment. Among the earliest kinds of lyric poetry to be cultivated
in the historic age is the iambic of Archilochus. We have a
fragment left us of one of his poems addressed to his own soul, 4
and it is by no means improbable that the Song of Achilles was
an earlier example of this kind of poetry ; not necessarily in
the same metre as that of Archilochus, but merely a kind of
poetry of the seriousness that was afterwards developed hymen
such as Archilochus, or the elder Simonides.
1 61. TJ (T svdov aotdtdotHf 1 o~} xauifj.
2 X 221. Ki>7.r (T IVoov &XHOIW detdoUffl? o~\ 7.0.A. 3 / 182-196.
4> My soul, my soul, careworn, bereft of rest,
Arise ! and front the foe with dauntless breast ; quoted in Sm. Hist. Gr., p. 129.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHORUS 15
3 EARLY MEANINGS OP THE WORD /<>( ^
The word /<>{><>< in historic times signified a band of trained
singers and dancers. The primary signification
of the word has reference not to persons, but to . o ^
place. The use of /"/"^ in the primary sense signifying'piace
occurs in the expression />> 'v > " s s 1 'to level
the chorus', L e., to make the /('"? ready to dance upon ; and in
the expression <>*> //.> IV Y- '/."!>'''' *^~' i^<>^>-^. //>/. >m%zf>6? is, again, used in Homer where the notion of dancing
is prominent. Thus, Alcinous says : uts\ oV;,a,Jf. S s sv a. Y ka.iw ^ znf,,,is where, again, the is ^ rominent
meaning of /"/^ is dances.
That at the dance there was considerable attempt at per-
sonal adornment, as well as gracefulness, on the
part of the dancer may be inferred from the
words of Venus in description of Paris after his
combat with Menelaus :
The transfer of the word %>!><'>$ from the place where the
dancing occurred, or from the dancing itself, , /; ^. ,
to the body of individuals that occupied the transferred
place, and" performed the dancing, was an -
easy metaphor.
4 CHORAL EXERCISES IN HOMER AND IN HESIOD
Whenever we have singing of many voices in unison or
dancing by many to the acompaniment of music, we have a
form of the chorus.
1 260. 2 n 508. 3 cf. // 498. 4 248. 5 Scut. 272. 6 /' 392 flT.
16 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
The Paean in Homer may be taken as an instance of an ele-
mentary choral exercise. The Paean was at all
Stmg . times in Greek history a song of joy. It was
when in Homer sung in Homer either in connection with a feast
of expiation, or, as a joyful song, after a victory
had been won.
In the former use, it is sung by the Achaeans at the end of
the sacrificial feast, after restoring Chr} r seis to
The paean h er father I
in Iliad I.
(>'. os ir
In the latter use, it was sung by the Greeks after the death of
Hector, Achilles saying to the Greeks :
The psean ^ ^ v , ,;_ /V}o>7C ~a'.T<>';a. xnnixi'. " A*/a'.(ir;.
in Iliad XXII
In neither of these instances, is there any mention of danc-
ing ; in the latter instance, the paean is sung as
NO dancing in the the Greeks march back to the ships. Another
Homeric paean example of the singing of the paean by a moving
body of men occurs where Apollo leads the
Cretans to his shrine holding in his hands the lyre. 3
In later times, the paean was sung by an army when about
to make an attack ; 4 in Homer, only after the
The paean attack had been made. In later times, the paean
in later times was commonly sung at convivial meetings also,
the poet Alcman composing pseans for such
occasions ; 5 in Homer its use at convivial meetings is limited to
feasts of expiation.
The paean was first adapted to proper melic form hy the
Cretan Thaletas. Its metrical form in Homer
Metrical form can be inferred to have been the hexameter,
of the Homeric paean^gcg^^ge that was the only metre at that time
sufficientl} 7 " developed for an order of poetry so
high as an ode to Apollo.
1 A 473ff. 2 .V 391f. 3 Hymn to Apollo, Pyth. 336ff
4 cf. e.g. Xen. Cyr., 4, 1, 6. 5 Frag. XI. Bergk.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHORUS 17
The Threnos expresses a state of feelings directly the reverse
of those expressed by the paean. The word
'threnos' signifies a lament of any kind, but is Definition
commonly applied to the lament for the death of the threnos
of kindred or friends. Such being its meaning,
we may expect to learn that it was cultivated at the earliest
stages of civilization. It is here connected with Early cultivation
the mythical hero, or demigod, Linus. of the threnos
This hero appears in three different characters, first as a
beautiful boy who, before reaching manhood, The three
met his death, usually said to have been at the characters
hands of Apollo ; he next appears as a minstrel
who contended with Apollo, and was defeated and killed by
him ; in the third character, he appears as the song celebrating
theyouthfulministrel,and, in this capacity, he is the type of the
order of threnos. The plaintive character of the Linus-song
is attested by the full names of .-//:>';> and Uiruhw* which
signify respectively, 'Alas Linus,' and 'Death of Linus.' An
extant Linus-song is :
o> . l:'vi art',-; Oz.<>~i<7'.v
An extant
os /.('>-<.!> fi (
Similar songs were sung in Ancient Greece, and especially
in Asia Minor. It is evident from the mournful connected with
character of all these songs that they were con- the death
nected with the death of certain seasons of the
year, or with similar natural phenomena. It was an easy task
for the Greek imagination to clothe these phenomena with per-
sonal forms, to represent them as divine or semi-divine beings.
Hesiod, in an extant fragment, 2 doubtless wishing to
emphasize the ephemeral nature of all things Hesiod says
earthly, says that the Linus-song should be sung concerning
at the"beginning, and at the close of all festive
meetings.
1 Fragg. I,yr, p. 1297 Bergk. 2 Cited in Eustathius, p. 1163 ( Fragg. 1, ed.
Gaisford.)
18 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
The Linns-song represented by Homer upon the Shield of
Achilles is as follows :
The Linus-song ^-^ $ ^ n.i^anin^ ->V o/JLiryz AtYsir.
in Homer "
!>.<>/,- r. r ioYff.uJ TC ~o'.w furnishes the music both vocal
oftheLimis-song and instrumental. The chorus skip about (-txr\
ff7Miin>'sTss) , and utter shouts ( iujruti ) . In the word
/wfafj there is reference probably to dancing, not to singing.
>wX-r t commonly refers T.O singing as opposed to dancing, 2 yet it
is used also where there is reference only to graceful motion. 3
In the Linus-song, /.AW/-JJ probably has this latter meaning, and
the chorus are thus represented as dancing gracefully (/W-jj -n<>\
ffzaiiHwrss), and uttering shouts (jw^//w). Whether these shouts
had any connection with the singing of the bo}^ there is noth-
ing in the context to tell us, but it would seem improbable that
such was the case.
A modification of the Linus-song is found in the threnos,
a form of lament found in both the Iliad and the Odyssey.
At the rites performed over the body of Hector, after the
body has been placed in position, the following
The Threnos exercise takes place I
in the Iliad
There is here a step in advance of the primitive Linus-song.
The lament has reached a state of development
its characteristics where the dirge is first sung by professional
singers (Oftr^wv izs), and, while they are
1 -'f(>9n". li 'i.o/,-^ ~" dpfflffTUf, a 152; cf. also:
fjLofaijs T yJiox6f>tj$ y.a>. ct/xu/jtwvoy dpffiff/j.n'io. A 637.
3 fJ.'JTf).> c~ ffi~/~'> //"/-/}. Z 99ff.
4 LI 7 2 Off.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE C7/OAVS 19
speaking, the assembled mourners join in the action so far as
to add their sighs.
The threnos at the burial of Achilles as described in the
Odyssey 1 is a still more elaborate exercise.
There the Nereids form the chorus of mourners, The Threnos
in the Odvssey
and the threnos is led by the nine Muses. The
metrical form of the threnos, as of the paean, was probably the
hexameter. An extension of its metrical forms
was made ag the lyric art was developed, prob-
ably by the Phrygian Olympus.
During a great part of the time of the ascendlKgfof lyric
poetry we hear nothing of the threnos ; yet that
this form of poetry was at all times cultivated
cannot be doubted ; and we know that the last
of the lyric poets, Pindar, devoted some of his time to the
threnos, and that the threnoi of his younger contemporary,
Simonides, were among that poet's greatest productions.
The Hymenaeus is described b\ r Homer in his picture of the
shield of Achilles. 2 The bride is being conducted
to the home of her husband; many a bridal be hl^e^Had
song is raised as the youthful dancers wheel
around amid the sound of pipes and lyres.
The description by Hesiod 3 of a similar scene is more elabo-
rate. The city is given over to festivities and
dances : the bride is being conducted to her fut- : ^"n^Tod
ure home preceded by maidens with torches, and
followed by two choruses, one with pipes, the other with lyres.
There is an advance here over the choral exercise exhibited in
the threnos. In the latter, the chorus accompany their dance
only with sighs, while in the hymenasus the choruses accom-
pany their dances with instrumental music.
The hymenaeus is found, in later times, among the works
of Alcman. Sappho left an entire book of hy-
menasa, which were written in hexameter, and
were intended to be sung by choruses of young
men and women. 4
20 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
The Hyporcheme is mentioned in the Iliad, in the descrip-
tion of the shield of Achilles. 1 Here are dancing
The Hyporcheme yout } ls arf d gailv-attired maidens holding one
in the Iliad J . .
another by the wrist. At times they dance
nimbly around ; at other times they dance in rows opposite to
one another. Within the chorus sits the singer with the /'/' '/'^
and two tumblers (xupurryT^pts).
In one of the Homeric hymns, 2 there is a
The Hyporcheme J .
in the Hymn similar scene. Here the chorus is composed ot
to Apoiio ten goddesses as dancers ; Ares and Hermes are
the tumblers, and Apollo plays on the cithara. In the Odys-
sey, 3 at the home of Menelaus, two dancers
The Hyporcheme / ^ ~ x w ^ ee l around to the music of the
in the Odyssey
These dances fully correspond to the definition of a hypor-
cheme, which is a choral dance in which the ac-
tion described by the singer is represented with
mimic gesture by individuals that come from
the body of the chorus for this purpose.
The hyporcheme was popular during every age of Greece,
and is at the present day performed in various
P arts of Greece at Popular festivals. Thalctas
is said to have composed hyporchemes ; they
were composed also by Baccylides, Simonides the younger, and
by Pindar. They occur also in the works of the dramatists,
as, e. g., the ode to Pan in the Philoctetes, and the closing ode
in the Lysistrata.
The antiquity of the hyporcheme is seen in the fact that
Homer, in describing it, says that it is like unto
of^h^orcheme that danCC which, wide GnOSSUS, DadalllS
contrived for fair-haired Ariadne. 4 Whether we
are to understand these words literally, and believe that the
dance described on the shield of Achilles was patterned after a
similar dance in Crete, or are to understand Daedalus to be the
eponymous genius of all Greece, the fact is clear that at the
time of Homer, the hyporcheme was an old form of dance.
- 590ff. 2 Apol. Pyth., 10-26. 3 o 17ff. 2 490-4-95.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHORUS
21
characteristic
The chief characteristic of the hyporcheme was its mimetic
character; this feature existed to a greater or
less degree in all dancing, but in the hyporcheme
more than in any other kind. The love of imi-
tation, then, of vtwffts, which is so prominent a characteristic in
the last class of Greek poetry, the drama, is seen to be already
existing, in this prehistoric hyporcheme.
Parthenia,& form of poetry that was extensively cultivated
by the melic poets from Alcman to Pindar, are
seen to have been in use at the time of Homer.
In the Iliad is reference to such a dance in honor
of Diana :
t^'Oa^JLOtfftv >3(M na Hsfao'j.&r.w The instance
'' in the Iliad
Respon tTthTi1iad
in Homer
Mention is made in Homer of a choral exercise that bears
resemblance to that of the historic chorus when
just passing into the drama. 2 At the close of
the first book of the Iliad, at the feast of the
gods on Olympus, the Muses are represented as singing respon-
sively :
A^oy, y/ ^ Jrro /./.z>fx'>i>.^
Summary of choral forms in Homer and in Hesiod. It will
be observed that in the choral exercises described
TT i . -,-T . .
in Homer and in Hesiod there is no sure instance
of both singing and dancing by a stationarv
t _ V1 . ,
chorus. Thus in the paean sung by the Achaeans
at the sacrificial feast in the first book of the Iliad, there is no
reference to dancing. In the hymenaeus, the bands of singers
are in motion. In the parthenia, the choruses dance, but do
not sing. In the hyporcheme, also, the chorus dance, but do
not sing. In the threnos, Homer does not assign to the chorus
any dancing, nor are the Muses at the close of the first book of
the Iliad said to accompany their responsive singing with
dance. Whether, in this instance, we should understand that
1 // 182f. 2 Cf. p.4*ft-below. 3 A 602ff.
22 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTl'RY
the Muses accompanied their singing with some kind of gesture,
and, in the threnos described in the Iliad > we should understand
that the mourners accompanied their sighs with gesture, we
have nothing to guide us in forming an opinion. If we consider
that such was the case, we have examples in Homer of both
singing and dancing by stationary choruses. The dithyramb,
the choral song in honor of Dionysus, is not mentioned in either
Homer or Hesiod ; yet it is seen that nearly every kind of choral
poetry that was developed in the historic ages of Greece existed
at the time of the'Homeric poems. All that the ages subsequent
to Homer could do was to develope these elementary poems.
5 THE DIVISIONS OF LYRIC POETRY
There is an interval of centuries between the time of the
Lyric poetry performance of the choral exercises that are
includes mentioned by Homer, and that of the cultiva-
tion of the chorus of historic times. Lyric
poetry may henceforth be understood to include only poetry
The elegiac that is called 'melic/ The distinctive feature of
and the iambic this poetry is its necessary accompaniment of
music, and often of rhythmic movement. The
elegiac and the iambic poetry are thus excluded, and may be
classed, as they were by the Greeks of the fifth century B. C.,
under the head of -r ; .
Melic poetry may be divided into two classes, that of the
^Eolic school of Lesbos, and. that 'of the Doric
choral poetry. These two schools of poetn r
into two schools j-rr , i /TM r-
dmer in every essential respect. The former
received its name from its being cultivated by the ^Eolians,
and especially in the island of Lesbos. The latter received its
The differences name from the fact that it was first cultivated
between under Dorian influences, and in the Doric Pelo-
ponnesus and Sicily, though subsequently it
flourished in all parts of Greece. The dialect of the former
school is the^Eolic, that of the latter is the Doric, or the Epic in
which Doric forms are mingled. The former school is secu-
lar, and is devoted to personal interests ; the latter is often
religious, and is public. The former school is, in general,
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CH OKI'S 23
intended to be sung by a single voice ; the latter is intended for
many voices.
As melic poetry was so intimately connected with music, it
is only to be expected that the time of its first cultivation
should be coeval with that of the improvement of the art of
music.
6 THE CULTIVATION .OF GREEK MUSIC
The foundation of Greek music was the tetrachord. This
sufficed as an accompaniment of the heroic min-
strel, as it sufficed, also, for the elegiac and the The tetrachord
iambic poets, at least early in their hist or y.
But it is evident that such an instrument would have proved
but a meagre accompaniment of an elaborate choral ode.
The founder of Greek music was Terpander (676 B. C.),
the Lesbian, who reduced to a system the differ-
ent modes of singing that then prevailed. His Terpander
system, though in succeeding ages it was im-
proved, was not materially departed from. His chief glory
consists in his having increased the number of
strings of the lyre to seven. Nearly contempor- oiympus
ary with Terpander was Olympus, whose con-
tribution to the development of music was the improvement
of the flute. Thaletas (620) of Crete marks the
third epoch in the cultivation of Greek music. Thaletas
His work was to carry forward the improve-
ments made by Terpander ; and like him he made his home at
Sparta, the city that was then the musical centre of the whole
world. Chiefly to these three men, Terpander, Olympus and
Thaletas, is due the credit of bringing music to the high state
of development that was not surpassed in the time of Pindar.
Aided by the improvements made in music, toward the close of
the seventh century 7 B. C., melic poetry starts on a course of
cultivation, and within a century and a half from that time
reaches its highest state of development.
24 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
S7 CHORAL EXERCISES OF THE ^EOLIC SCHOOL OF POETS
At the head of the ^Eolic school stands Sappho, whose
poetic activity extended from about 610 B. C.
to about 570 B. C. Her poetry, in general, like
that of the other representatives of this school was intended to
Songs be sung by a single voice. It is, however, well
for a single voice kno wn that during her life-time there were chor-
uses in Lesbos ; accordingly, we are not surprised to find that
she wrote poetry for choral representation. This is certain-
ly the case with her marriage songs. The hy-
foTclforuses menasus of Sappho from which the poem of
Catullus 62 was imitated, was sung by choruses
of men and women. In this poem, as in the imitation of
Catullus, the two choruses advance to meet each other, the
one chorus reproaching, the other praising, the evening star be-
cause he led the bride to the groom. Numerous other frag-
ments of the hymenasals of Sappho remain, all of which are
characterized by the intensity of feeling that is the leading feat-
ure in all of her works.
Anacreon, though an Ionian, of the Island of Teos, must be
classed as a member of the AZolic school, be-
H^chTra^ter cause of the nature of his poetry. He was essen-
tially an 4dle singer of an empty day,' whose
only sorrow was for the approach of 'd/rfaUov Y*I ("**' > a sorrow
that had caused unhappiness to poets and heroes as far back
as the time of Homer. Anacreon had the bent of mind of
Sappho without any of her intensity ; and Ana-
fb^chTruLs creon, too, wrote for choral exercises, for some
at least of his poems were sung by choruses of
women at nocturnal festivals.
There is no evidence that Alcaeus, the re-
poetry maining representative of the ^Eolic school,
composed for choruses.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHORUS 25
8 CHORAL EXERCISES OF THE DORIC SCHOOL OF POETS
Turning to the other division of melic poetry, the Doric
choral poetry, we shall be able to trace the de-
velopment of the chorus to the time when it be- Fu . rth " h de T elop -
ment of the chorus
comes an element in the drama through a suc-
cession of steps in which there will be no break.
A distinguishing characteristic of this kind of poetry is the
complicated, and often artificial, structure of its
strophe. The origin of the strophe is doubtless
coeval with that of lyric poetry. It is essential,
in singing, that the voice be allowed to rest at intervals. We
need not doubt that when Achilles was found
by the visiting chiefs, in the ninth book of the
of the strophe
Iliad, singing to the accompaniment of the lyre,
he divided his song into strophes.
In later times, the elegiac distich serves as
an illustration of the strophe, as the voice rests The str P he
in elegiac poetry
at the close of every other verse.
In a narrower sense, the term strophe is confined to two
varieties, the Melic and the Doric. The chief
characteristic of the former is its brevity, the The Meli de S t c r r i bed
usual number of verses in the strophe beiiig four,
the last of which is commonly catalectic.
The Doric strophe is much more complicated than is the
Melic. The number of verses is not limited to
four, and, with the increase in number of verses, The ^a^Eed
there is a corresponding increase in complexity
of rhythmic form. To understand these rhythmic forms, the
ear frequently needed the aid of the eye, and so the science of
orchestic was required. The climax of this class of strophe was
reached when the epode was added. As the
strophe and its corresponding antistrophe were The Epode
sung by the chorus in motion, so the epode was
sung by the chorus standing in its original position.
It need not be doubted that the origin of antistrophic, as
well as of s trophic, recital can be referred to pre-
historic times. In the responsive recital of the
Muses on Mt. Olympus, as narrated at the close
26 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
of the first book of the Iliad, is seen the germ of the compli-
cated strophe and antistrophe of the most highly cultivated
choruses.
Alcman, the Lydian, represents a period of progress in the
development of choral poetry. While Mimner-
Sofl"c^n rar " mus is s in g in g nis elegies, Sappho her love-
poems, and Solon his elegiac and iambic poems,
Alcman has left his home in Asia Minor, and, like those other
poets who were summoned to Sparta in the seventh century
B. C., has come to that city and is devoting his genius to the
service of Dorian masters.
Alcman is for us the first of the choral poets ; his predeces-
sors, Terpander, Thaletas, Polymnestus, were
Iceman"* 801 " 5 proficient in the training of choruses, in adding
new rhythmical action, and especially in com-
posing music for their choruses ; but Alcman was all this, and
also a poet. His compositions were afterward
read and en JJ ecl by those that had not wit-
nessed their public recital. The words of his
predecessors were subordinated to the music; with Alcman
this relation was reversed.
Terpander, Thaletas and Polymnestus had composed for
only religious exercises ; Alcman devoted most
afo'aslons of his enius to the celebration of secular oc-
casions.
Parthenia were an especial favorite with Alcman. The
term 'parthenia' may be applied to two different
kinds of composition. It may be used to denote
songs executed by choruses of maidens in honor
of certain gods: in this sense they are sacred songs. In the
other sense, parthetiia denote songs in honor of certain maid-
ens : in this sense they are secular. Alcman devoted his genius
to both these classes of parthenia, but chiefly to the secular
class. The parthenia of Bacchylides, Simonides, and Pindar
were exclusively of the sacred order.
The chorus of Alcman differed in an essential respect from
that of Pindar in that with the former poet the
Features of
-s choruses chorus did not become the organ of the poet ex-
THE DEVELOPMENT or THE CHORUS 27
pressing only the thoughts of the poet. This feature, except
in a very few instances, was an invariable characteristic of the
chorus of Pindar. In the choruses of Alcrnan, the maidens
often speak in their own persons, and not unfrequently a lyric
dialogue is carried on between the poet, who was the chorus-
leader, and the chorus.
Besides parthenia, Alcman composed hymns to the gods, a
hymn to Castor and Pollux, paeans, and hymen- His other
seals, as well as erotic songs. Of these, the last compositions
class was sung by a single person, the others
were sung by choruses.
The metres of Alcman show a step in advance of those of
his predecessor, Terpander ; of this latter poet
about twenty verses are extant, all in hexam- His metres
eter or heavy spondaic metres, which are appro-
priate for his nomes. On the other hand, the varied style of
Alcman's compositions required a more varied metre; yet they
are much less complicated than are the metres of the later lyric
poets.
Alcman and his predecessors made their homes at Sparta.
Henceforth, the cultivators of choral poetry Remaining
live in various parts of the Dorian confederacy, choral poets
and none of them have any connection with otats P arta
Sparta.
Stesichorus flourished at about 650 B. C. His originality
led him in a path totally different from that of The originality
Alcman. We find in his productions all the ele- of stesichoms
ments of the most highly developed choral poetry. The chorus
of Alcman was a popular chorus ; that of Stesi- His chorus limited
chorus was limited in size, and consisted of in size
combinations of several rows, with eight dancers in each. The
great accomplishment of Stesichorus was the
jj-x- rxiT Theepode
addition of the epode.
The debt of Stesichorus to the epic was great. In metre,
he varied but little from the hexameter ; in dia- The epico lyric
lect, he used the Epic with but a slight tinge of hymns
Doric; so, also, in subject-matter, he was largely
28 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
indebted to the Epic. Stesichorus lived in an age when the
Epic was becoming vapid; accordingly, people were losing
their taste for it ; yet they still wished to bring into their wor-
ship of the present the legends of the past. The whole tendency
of the age was toward the cultivation of lyric poetry. The
originality of Stesichorus was displayed in uniting these two
kinds of poetry. He adapted the heroic legends to a lyric treat-
ment, composing for the great national festivals of Sicily hymns
the subjects of which covered the whole circle of Epic tradition. 1
Ibycus of Rhegium was born at about the
n ;^ c " s . time of the death of Stesichorus. He devoted
of Rhegmm
choral poetry to two uses. Some of his frag-
ments have Epic titles, showing that he belonged to the school
of Stesichorus, while others are devoted to con-
He belongs to fessions of love. His later life was spent at the
two schools
court of Polycrates in Samos together with
Anacreon, and the love poems are perhaps due to this latter
poet's influence.
Anacreon composed love-songs for recital to the accom-
paniment of a lyre of twenty strings without a
chorus. The similar songs of Ibycus were alwavs
of Ibycus *
for a chorus. This fact is shown by the length
of the strophes, and by the complex structure of the verses.
These love-songs were composed for the celebration of
family festivals, or birth-days, or for similar
occasions, at which times the poet and his
chorus took their positions near the houses
of the persons celebrated.
The remaining masters of choral poetry added no new ele-
AH elements ments ; they merely perfected the elements that
now given already existed, and extended this kind of
to choral poetry poetr y to all varieties of Subjects.
Thus Simonides of Ceos, the most prolific of all the lyric
poets, extended the choral hymn to celebrating
contemporary men. Originally, the hymn had
been devoted to the celebration of the gods ; by
1 Among the subjects of these hymns are: The Fall of Troy, Helena, and The
Oresteia.
Till; DEVELOPMENT OF THU CHORTS 21)
Alcman it had been extended to demi-gods, as in his hymn to
Castor and Pollux ; Stesichorus had extended the hymn to cele-
brating the heroes, and to such hymns was his highest genius
given ; Simonides advanced a step further, and, in his famous
epinikia, devoted the hymn to celebrating contemporary men.
Choral poetry has now completely triumphed over all other
kinds of poetry. A lyric poet makes his home ric oets
iirst in one city, then in another ; and now for compose
the first time he sells his genius for gold. Simon-
ides took the initiative in this direction, and we find him now
with Hiero at Syracuse, now withtheScopadsinThessaly, and,
finally, at the court of Hipparchus at Athens, the 3'ounger con-
temporary at this last place of Anacreon and Lasus.
Bacchylides, the nephew of Simonides, and his contemporary
at the court of Hiero, devoted his choruses to
lighter themes than did his uncle, dealing, in
great measure, with love and wine.
The lofty Pindar, 'the perfect lyric poet,' devoted the chorus
to all uses save that of love. Of his composi-
tions more remains than of any other lyric poet. ^fWndar
His Epinikia are his most famous poems.
In contrast with these later lyric poets stands Timocreon.
He quarreled with Simonides, and his lampoons
and satires, which in substance differed not at all ,,f Thnocreon
from those of Hipponax or Archilochus, were put
in the ponderous choral form ; yet he differed from his contem-
poraries in this respect that while they wrote for pay, he, like
the aristocratic poets of ages before him, spurned to sell his
genius for money.
THI-: WORSHIP OF DIOXYSl'S
It is evident that the poetry of Pindar and his contempor-
aries would not satisfy the hearts of the people
of democratic Athens." The splendor of Pindar's of poe \"^ e ^d
art was high, but the occasions on which he
used it were often trifling. Famed for the celebration of A'ictor-
ies at the great national festivals, he just as freely celebrated a
trivial victory, provided he was paid for doing so. This poetry
30 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CEXTl'RY
was in the hands of the aristocrats. It was composed for pat-
rons, and for pay. Worship was paid the gods, not by the peo-
ple themselves, but for them by professional singers.. The
people, therefore, demanded a different kind of festival, one in
which they could feel that they participated themselves.
This festival in which all could participate was furnished by
the worship of the god Dion\\sus. The reasons
whv the worship of Dionvsus was popular mav
ramb was popular . .
be reduced to two, the enthusiasm connected with
the god, and the fact that he was the wine-god. From the
earliest times, the dithyramb was a JOA^OUS song, character-
ized by license in poetry and music ; it was the turbulent song
of the Greeks. At the time of Archilochus, it had obtained a
position of some importance, for he says :
The paean of Apollo was always solemn and stately ; the paean
of Dionysus retained many of the oriental attributes that it had
before entering Greece.
the drama The dithyramb was the parent of the Attic
drama. We can see in the dithyramb two feat-
ures that rendered it capable of development
into the drama.
The worship of Dionysus was two-fold. It celebrated him
(1) as the god of wine; and, again, it was the form
The dithyramb
supplied oppor- used to convey sympathy with the changing
tunities for form- seasons of the year. The struggles of Dionysus
were seen in the struggles that Nature makes as
she breaks forth from the cold winter into the warm spring.
For this reason, his festivals came in the months nearest to the
shortest days of the year, the Rural Dionysia, the Lenaea, the
Anthesteria, the Greater Dionysia coming in the months corres-
ponding to our December, January, February, March, respect-
ively. As the participants stood at these festivals around the
altars, they thought that they actually saw the god, now dying,
now successful, now put to flight, now returning victorious ;
1 Frag. 72 Bergk.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHORUS 3t
and they all participated in the feelings of joy or sorrow, as the
occasion demanded. In the course of time, as knowledge ex-
tended, this belief in the actual presence of the god vanished,
yet the belief that Dionysus was an anthropomorphic being,
and the sympathy for his sufferings remained. There was, in a
sympathy like this, ample opportunity for constructing imag-
ined methods of escape of the god from death, ample opportun-
ity for constructing plots; and it was from the dithyramb that
sang of these escapes of Dionysus that traged^ r was developed,
It evidently could not have been developed from the dithyramb
that sang of the joys of the god ; and this belief is confirmed by
the tradition recorded by Herodotus, 1 that in Sicyon, Cleisthe-
nes transferred back to Dionysus, as to one to whom they were
due, tragic choruses that had been sung celebrating the sorrows
of Adrastus. We see, then, in the worship of Dionysus, oppor-
tunity for forming plots.
The remaining element in the Dionysiac worship that made
it capable of development into the drama is seen < 2 >
The dithyramb
in the forms assumed by the participants at the supplies opp or-
festivals. This was caused bv their desire to tumties for
,"'...., ing characters.
approach as close as possible to the gods with
whom they sympathized. As he was a nature-god, it was
only natural for his sympathizers to appear as far as possible
in the forms in \vhich nature appears. They therefore assumed
the guise of Satyrs, Nymphs, Panes. They put goat-skins
around their loins, they colored their bodies with juices of
various plants, and put masks upon their faces. Thus they
were more like their god in form, and, accordingly, nearer to
him in sympathy. The festival, thus, afforded opportunity for
assuming various characters. The worship of Dionysus, then,
contained the two elements that made it capable of development
into the drama, (1) occasions for forming plots; (2) occasions
for assuming characters.
1 Herod, v. 67 :
-a Ttatisa anntn Tftaf.xoifft ynfmlai typat/)ov, r /Sv/^/s'V ay* .\V/*!/o? h -
THE DEVELOPMENT OP THE CHORI'S 35
TitfKiit 1 . From this we may infer that Choeriltis was famed for
composing tragedies in which the chorus con-
sisted of satyrs, a practice that had probably His chorus,
been by Thespis in part superseded by that of
presenting a chorus of men. It would appear that this latter
practice rapidly grew in favor, and, with it, the custom of
making the whole exercise more calm and dignified. This we
may infer from the complaint that at about this time arose
among the people, V>'^> -ooc rov J^v^o*,/,' which apparently in-
dicated the discontent of the common people with the practice
of substituting the chorus of men for the chorus
of satyrs. This discontent was respected by the
poet Pratinas, who is said to have brought
forth the satyr-drama as a permanent feature of the festival ;
and from this time it was the custom for a poet to present
three tragedies in which the chorus was composed of men, and
one in which the chorus was composed of satyrs, all four
tragedies being connected in subject.
The satyr-drama has been described as a sportive tragedy.
The subjects of this kind of tragedy were drawn
from the same source as were the subjects of the
regular tragedy, but they were treated in a man-
ner more suited to the presence of satyrs. Any wild, striking
adventure was suited to the satyric tragedy; any scenes drawn
from rude nature were especially appropriate. The adventures
of Hercules were frequently depicted, and in the only extant
satyr-drama, the Cyclops of Euripides, the chief characters
are Ulysses and the savage Cyclops, the scene being laid in
front of the rustic cave of the Cyclops.
We come now to /Eschylus, \vho is the real founder of trag-
edy. The productions of his predecessors had
been hardly more than choral exercises. The ^vschyius.
part taken by the actor had been entirely sub-
ordinate. The tragedies of Phrynichus are said by Aristo-
phanes to be 'exceedingly sv.eet', and, as songs of such a char-
36 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTl'RY
acter, they were popular at the time of the great comedian. 1
./Eschylus shortened the parts of the chorus, yet
in his Suppliccs the part of the chorus is three-
fifths of the whole play. In the other plays of
^Eschylus, except the Prometheus, the choral parts are about
one-half of the whole composition. The great
a second actor. change that ^Eschylus made in the external
characteristics of tragedy was the introduction
of a second actor.
Sophocles added a third actor. The tragedies of ^Eschylus
were presented in tetralogies. Sophocles in-
' dC< creased the vital action in the individual plays
actor
by setting the example of acting his tragedies
each as a separate whole. He further diminished the length of
the choral parts. These vary, in the plays of
thechorai odes. Sophocles, from about one-fourth of the whole
play, in the Ajax, to about one-seventh of the
whole, in the Antigone.
Euripides could add nothing to the external features of
tragedy. The important changes that he ef-
Euripides fected were all internal; vet he reduced still
shortened
the choral odes. further the lengths of the choral parts. They
vary in his plays from about one-fourth of the
whole, in the Bacchae, to about one-ninth of the whole, in the
Orestes.
Before the time of ^Eschylus, the chorus had been practical-
Decline of the ty everything. Its action was the chief part of
choms as the exercise ; but, from the time of ^Eschylus, the
chorus steadily declined in importance. The
decline in amount assigned to it has already been noted ; but
there was another, and a still more important, aspect of its
decline. This aspect has to do with its importance as a living
element in the play. The Supplices of ^Eschylus takes its name
from the suppliant maidens, and the whole interest in the plav
centers in the fate of the maiden choreutae. In the Prometheus,
on the other hand, the choreutae share the fate of the rebellious
1 Arihtoph., Av. 748ff; Vesp. 219ff.
THE DEVELOPMENT or Till- CHORUS 37
Titan, yet the interest in the play centers around him, not
around them. The object of a chorus such as
this one seems to be to comment on the course i(k . a , cno ^
of events and to relieve the action by choral odes
that speak the sentiments of the poet, but that are connected
with the main action. This is the type of chorus seen in the
later plays of ^Eschylus, and is the type seen in Sophocles.
Tragedy is now at its perfect development; this kind of chorus,
therefore, may be considered the ideal chorus. By Euripides
the decline in the importance of the chorus is carried a step be-
yond the position assigned to it by Sophocles and the later
plays of ^Eschylus. In Euripides, the choral odes, far from
invariably being connected with the subject-matter of the plays,
often soar into mythology, at times having no connection at
'ill with the matter in hand. It might almost be thought that
Euripides had these choral odes stored away, and produced at
the time the one that his fancy dictated. This separation of the
chorus may have been one cause of the lack of success of Eurip-
ides, and may help to explain why he gained but five victories
in a life-time in which he is reported to have composed nearly a
hundred tragedies. This separation of thechorus is carried still
further by the tragedians of the fourth century, especially by
Agathon and Ion. Under these poets, the choral odes were
confessedly for the purpose of relieving the stress on the actors
of continuous action, and of supplying music, filling, in fact,
exactly the position occupied by the orchestra in the theatre of
the present day.
13 THE SUBSEQUENT CULTIVATION OF THE DITHYRAMB, AND OF
LYRIC POETRY.
The dithyramb in the form that it had received from Arion
continued for a long time to be sung in Doric The (lithyraml)
states. For a short time after the innovations of continued
Thespis, it continued in favor at Athens, but
riot later than the close of the sixth century B. C. As Thespis
made the dithyramb into tragedy, so L/asus
(503 B. C.), the teacher in music of Pindar, gave
to the old dithvramb a new form, that was
38 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENT CRY
familiarly called the 'Attic' dithyramb. In this form the chorus
of satyrs was abandoned for a chorus of men, and the music
was more highly cultivated, being described as wild and florid,
toward the close of the fifth century B. C. degenerating into a
type that received much censure from temporary critics. In the
4 Attic' dithyramb, the subjects were frequently transferred from
Dionysus to mythical heroes. Simonides is said to have com-
posed a dithyramb entitled 'Memnon', and Pindar was a com-
poser of similar dithyrambs. The fact that dithyrambic
contests took place together with contests in tragedy and com-
edy is further indication of a considerable cultivation of the
'Attic' dithyramb.
After the rise of the drama, lyric poetry, as a separate
branch, existed in but few forms. It is evident
that the parthcnia, which had been so popular
on Doric soil, could find no place in Athens,
where women \vere kept in an almost oriental seclusion ; and
the epinikia, which added such splendor to the national festi-
vals in the latter half of the fifth century B. C., were aban-
doned, as Greece became torn with the strife of war. Thechief
duty of lyric poetry now is to supply an element in the drama.
CHAPTER II
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHOKl.'S
CONTEXTS
1 The Number of the Choreutae:
The tragic chorus of fifteen : the comic chorus of twenty-four.
Sophocles the first to use a tragic chorus of fifteen.
The tragic chorus of fourteen.
The tragic chorus of fiity.
Was the innovation of Sophocles adopted by .Kschylus?
The tragic chorus of fort}- -eight.
The changes in the size of the chorus.
j'J The Position of the Choreutae:
At its entrance the chorus presented its left side to the spectators.
The entrance sometimes by the eastern parodos.
The parts of the chorus.
The entrance called '/.u~u. l~t>'.y*i'>^ . '/.n.~d. *Uffl.
Diagram of a chorus entering y.r /.-(/. <7-'.y^>^.
Diagram of a chorus entering '/.n~<\ "nya.
The YJL~..'/';/<:">; n'.y.n>i.f;y./'/'>//'-' / ' 77 '///. TXr//.'"'/.
Passages in which occurs the word ~a()f/.%O[trjfTj l 'f.fJt.,
l{xamples of -(i.ixi.ydin^'-^'ui.-ii.. and of Tt
$?> The Choreons :
The appointment of the choregus.
The duties of the choregus.
The expenses of the choregus.
40 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
5 The Choregus (Continued) :
Minor details concerning the choregus.
The decline of the choregia.
6 The Delivery of the Choral Parts :
The parodoi.
The stasiina.
Shorter songs of the whole chorus,
Words spoken by the corypretis.
Commoi.
The delivery of the words in certain doubtful instances.
The parabasis.
7 The Costume of the Choreutns;
The costume of the choreutae in tragedy.
The costume of the choreutae in comedy.
The costume of the choreutae in the satyric drama.
1 THE NUMBER OF THE C
Our knowledge of the size of the tragic and the comic
chorus is derived primarily from the state-
* ents of ancient writers - T " he scholiast to JBs-
chorus 15 men; chjlus' EumenideS (585) Says: -<>'>r n -OOY 7ftsh\
cho?u e s C 2 f C ^ a *& *"/>*"< li >'<>!> i**>. The scholiast to
Aristophanes' Equites (589) says: ff^z'.n-^xi: oi (}^ [l't 'l.k's XW/Jl.tXO$~] C a'sOiiO)'; YjO'Sj Y.i. << AifT/nAit^ \-ifa i 'u i 'Mt's'.']. The scholiast
to the Aves( 297) says: <>' ^ -o^-cx./c d -rn- 'i* 7 ^ & '/."/"'"* These statements show that the
comic chorus consisted of twenty-four persons, the tragic of
fifteen.
In two places, Sophocles is recorded as the first one to use
sophocies the first a tragic chorus of fifteen. Suidas says : 2 > */>-
to use a tragic roc //=> rov %npov i'/. iCSVfSXfllfJsxft z'.f>'r l y-<*> oi /.a>. ran^ y<>j>z>>-'>-o-/.<>iT-fj'; irc'Y'i. The evidence of these passages
shows that the chorus of ^Eschylus consisted of twelve men,
and that this number was increased by Sophocles to fifteen.
1 IV:108. 2 v. -tHftix/S,^. 3 p. 2 Dindf.
THE JLXTI-K'XAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE C//OATX 4-1
All authorities are agreed that the comic chorus consisted
of twenty-four persons; 1 but, in three passages, it is asserted
that the tragic chorus consisted of fourteen per-
A nth critics ^ivintf
to the- tm.uk- sons. Inese passages are: %ti(>.o$ os rav Tpayatdcuv
thorns 1 4- ft't^ifT~a~a r . iz ,,}' ^>/J^CM>.- r^v nk ~iii]>.(i:s /.a\ run^ fio.-
members. , , - '
%ufisi.t-<> members. oi mtv Jbnnycs caused so much consternation
on the part of the spectators that a law was
passed reducing the number. This statement, especially as it
is corroborated by no other writer, may be considered an er-
ror on the part of Pollux, and we may accept as true the state-
ments already quoted from Suidas and the Vit. Soph, that
Sophocles increased the size of the chorus of his predecessor
from twelve to fifteen members. Even without the authority
of these ancient writers, there is no difficulty in believing that
Sophocles increased the number of the choreutae. To the other
improvements in tragedy that this poet made, such as present-
ing single plays instead of tetralogies, increasing the number
of actors, and improving the scenic properties, it is easy to be-
1 Cf. Poll. IV:109; Schol. Arist. Av. 297. 2 Bekk. Anccd. p. 7 -HI.
3 Tzetzes, Prolegoin, ad. Lycophron p. 254.
4- Schol. to Dionys. Thrac. Villoiso.i Atiecd. II, p. 17*. ~> I Y:l 1<>.
42 THE ATTIC STAdE or THE FIFTH CEXTl'KV
lieve that he also increased the size of the chorus, thereby add-
ing to the splendor of the singing and dancing, and making
easier the division of the chorus into semi-choruses with their
two leaders.
The question now arises whether the innovation of Sopho-
cles was adopted by ^Eschylus, in his later plays.
Was the innova- . . t t - . . .
tion of sophocies It is impossible to answer this question with
adopted certaint3 r . Alberti 1 maintains that even in the
Supplices of ^Esclwlus the chorus consisted of
fifteen members ; and this belief is based, first, upon the fact
that all the choral songs except the last one are composed of
sets of either three or five strophes, and then upon the assump-
tion that the songs composed of three strophes were sung by
the choreutae as composed of three ff-ni/v>~t. r*i '/<>/><> ~; fifUffTSft^ i~zi/<. The military
precision with which the chorus was drawn up is shown by the
numerous military terms used in connection with the chorus.
y^Eschylus frequently uses the word M'/o$ to indicate the chorus;
in the Agamemnon, 2 he makes the old men of the chorus to ad-
vance against ^Egistheus with hand on sword precisely in the
manner of /"/.
The entrance of the chorus was generally
by the western parodos ; but f in a few of the ex- The entrance
sometimes by the
tant plays, it was by the eastern parodos. This eastern
was the case in the Supplices, and the Prome-
theus of ^Eschylus; in the Philoctetes of Sophocles, and in the
Phoenissae, the Supplices, the Iphigenia in Aulis, the Bacchae,
and the Helena of Euripides.
- TUB 3^.
1 iii. p. 535 Dind. 2 Agam., 1651. - f(J F I V B R SI T Yj)
46 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
The chorus on its entrance was drawn up in one of two
ways, as is shown by Pollux, 1 who says : !*./>*)
The chorus
consisted of
and t'f' >. z. ,
v, e: xara
There \vere, then, of the tragic chorus of fifteen, five ranks (t>^)
of three men each, and three files (vs when the members
of each stoichus were in line; and xr ^, when
The entrance called _ -i
xara (TTt>r/<>v$ the members of each zugon were in line. In a
, , r . chorus of twelve members, it follows that the
stoichus contained but four men instead of five, as
in the chorus of fifteen.
The An entrance xa-a nri-/^n>^ of a chorus of fifteen
xaTtf ffrofytus members entering the theatre by the western
parodos presented the following appearance :
' . ' r r P a ' i ft
_!> } ^ Il> -",~rfc
. \ . \
An entrance xara ZVYH of a chorus of fifteen members entering
the theatre by the western parodos presented the following
appearance :
1 IV., 108 and 109.
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS- OF THE CHORUS 47
TT' The
arrangement
}>
id.
jvr f
} . \
^, -Co ft^
It is evident that the arrangement *ra Trui*/,,^, a narrow
and long formation, presented a more pleasing
appearance, as the chorus marched in over the The
narrow and long parodos, than did the broad
and shallow arrangement -/.a-d C'y ; yet we
know from Pollux 1 that the -/.a-d ?y arrangement was some-
times used. It was not, however, used in any of the extant
plays of Sophocles, 2 but Arnold 3 has shown that it was used at
the entrance of the chorus in the Frogs of Aristophanes.
We have no authority of ancient writers to
tell us what position the chorus took after ^hechoms
reaching the orchestra. Hermann 4 believes that after reaching
at that time the chorus wheeled completely the orchestra
around, so that the left file, in which was the coryphaeus, came
next to the actors. This was done that the coryphaeus might
carry on the conversation with the actors more easily than
would have been possible if he had stood on the side of the
chorus nearest to the audience. Arnold 5 maintains that t^e
personal relations existing between chorus and spectators in
comedy compelled the coryphaeus to be as near as possible to
the spectators, and that, therefore, the chorus did not wheel
about in comedy, but that it did in tragedy. Muller 6 believes
that the coryphaeus,stood on the tlrymele, thus securing an ele-
vation above that of the remaining choreutae that rendered his
1 IV., 109. 2 Muff Chor. Tech. des Soph., p. 7.
3 Die Chorpartien bei Aristophanes, S. 35. 185. 4 Opusc., VI., 2, p. 144
5 A. a O. S. 187. 6 Eumenides, p. 21.
48 . THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
conversation with the actors easier than would have been pos-
sible, if he had been standing on a level with the other choreutae.
Muff 1 follows the opinion of Hermann in regard to tragedy, and
that of Arnold in regard to comedy, believing that the close
relations existing between coryphaeus and actor in tragedy re-
quired the former to be in front of, not behind, the other cho-
reutae, and that the relations of coryphaeus to spectators as
exhibited in the parabasis required him in comedy to be nearer
to the spectators. In drawing a conclusion amid the differing
opinions, we must be guided by what appears to have been the
most probable arrangement. In the first place, it will be ob-
served that the ancient authorities say nothing concerning a
wheeling around of the chorus after it has reached the orchestra.
With all the notices of the manner of entrance, and the arrange-
ment of the chorus, it is not probable that, had any such ma-
noeuvre taken place, some reference to it would not have been
made. Again, the coryphaeus, while standing on the side of the
chorus next to the spectators, would have had no difficulty in
carrying on the conversation with the actors, for the reason
that the actors stood in the orchestra together with the chorus 2
and not on an elevated stage, as these writers have assumed.
A very serious objection to the belief in the theory that places
the left stoichus farthest from the spectators lies in the fact that
this stoichus was composed of the best choreutae. At the entrance
this file w r as in full view of the spectators, and it seems entirely
improbable that, as soon as the parodos was finished, the file
containing the most skillful men of the entire chorus was made
to take a position w r here it would be less prominently before
the eyes of the spectators.
When the chorus entered by the western parodos, the best
choreutae were in the left stoichus , and were called
SSJtaJJfj <>/>.'*r / ^r,3 'men on the left'. The question
when the chorus arises wrhere these 'men on the left' stood, when
the chorus came from a distance, and, therefore,
eastern parodos '
entered by the eastern parodos. It is evident
that, if they occupied the left file, they were obscured from the
1 Chor. Tech. des Soph., p. 9. 2 Cf. chap. 3 below. 3 Cf. p. 52 below.
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHORUS 49
eyes of the spectators. Schneider 1 believes that this was the
case, and that, when the orchestra had been reached, the chorus
made a revolution, thus bringing the left file next to the specta-
tors. It is, however, unlike^ that this was the case. The
'men on the left' were the 'show' men of the chorus. If at any
time they were to make a good appearance, it would seem to
have been when they were marching in. It is probable, then,
that when the chorus entered by the eastern parodos, the 'men
on the left' were on the side facing the spectators, and, thus,
were, strictly speaking, 'men on the right.'
During the progress of the dialogue, the chorus generally
was stationary. After reaching the orchestra,
it turned about to the right, thus changing its O f the chorus dur-
from '-"-a ffr<>i /ftf ^ tO xr :>y, and, thus, it ing the dialogue
" . and the stasima
faced the actors. During the stasima, as the
song was accompanied by dancing, the choreutas evidently
were not stationary ; nor is it to be thought that they now
faced the actors. As the actors were the chief point of attrac-
tion during the dialogue, so the choreutae \vere the center of
observation during the singing of the stasima. It is impossible
to say exactly what position they took at this time ; we know
only that they were not stationary, and we may infer with
confidence that they were not facing the actors. 2
It is probable that, at the close of the play, the chorus left
the theatre with the same regularity of move-
ment with which it had entered, at the begin-
ning of the plav. In a few instances, the chorus at the close
left the theater during the course of the play,s ^ring^fpu?
and returned later. This departure was called
rjLSTfiffTfjLffif, and the return i-i-a/HK""?.* I n the Septem of JEschy-
lus, at the close of the play, the chorus left in two divisions,
one division following the body of Eteocles, the other that of
Polynices.
1 Att. Theaterwessen S. 15ff., 193ff. 2 Haigh A. T., p. 275.
3 Eumen.. 235; Ajax, 815; Helena, 327ff; Alcest., 746; Eccles, 310.
4 Pollux IV., 108.
50 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
To aid the choreutae in keeping their positions while stand-
ing in the orchestra, Hersychius says: 1 ^////
it? the orchestra ^ ~* ( '!'t r i~! >a ''><'-' <* "<''' '/."('^ ^ ff-oiyw IffraffOat. It
is, however, better to believe with Hermann 2
that such lines were not necessary in order that a well trained
chorus of fifteen or twenty-four persons might stand in rank
and file. It is probable, rather, as Schultze 3 suggests, that lines
were drawn in the orchestra to serve as a guide to the choreu-
tse in making the various evolutions that occurred, as they
were singing the longer choral odes.
When the chorus separated into semi-choruses, the cory-
phaeus stood apart, and left the management of
lr'f' f ''a'^ "^e semi-choruses to their own leaders. 4 This
separation into semi-choruses is especially com-
mon in comedy, where, in the last part of the parabasis, which
Was antistrophical in form, the different parts were given by
the two semi-choruses separately. 5 At this time the semi-
choruses stood facing each other, as may be inferred from
orat -apifiauuv , The only separation into semi-choruses in Soph-
ocles is the one already mentioned as occurring in the Ajax. 7 A
similar division takes place in the Orestes of Euripides, where
Electra stations the chorus in two divisions, one at the eastern,
the other at the western parodos. 8 Pollux says concerning a
division of the chorus : xat f, ,'!.'.%? ftmv oz. xa> '.y<>f>:a. -/.a\ vr.'^//jV/.
a ft'avcafoiow, ^r'.yuj.ia.^ Pollux here makes fa/i'/i'M and r,>tr/ofi'.ov
to be of the same meaning. Schultze 10 conjectures that the term
tit/nfitu should be applied \vhen the half-choruses consisted of
persons of different ranks, or ages, or sexes, or when there was
some other similar difference betw r een them. He would, there-
fore, call the division in the Birds of Aristophanes a '^. ;,<>>-t { n t :> that is ap-
plied to him. PhotiuS SavS : -'r/^5jv=v '.'/<' T^V i>7J//0777JV X. T. X.* It IS
evident that the middle position was occupied by the coryphae-
us, and in the title r//j'r^ ('1^-1^ is additional evidence that the
usual entrance of the chorus was xr rrr^^c, for it is not prob-
able that in a xr/i ^>/-' /: entrance, the position of the coryphaeus
was rfit-i'*. The position of the coryphaeus in a *r ,>;'6c formation of a chorus of fifteen, the position of
the coryphaeus was no doubt that indicated by ' ,?' ' in the dia-
gram. Here the title />cW is applicable to him, though not the
title of -(:-*.
When a chorus of twelve members \vas drawn up xr OTJ-
2'^, the left ff-"i-/"< appeared thus :
,}' Y 3 a The position
v. v v v. of the coryphaeus
There is here no p&N* ^*rt^D, and Schultze 2 in o a f c e
leaves it undecided whether the coryphaeus oc-
cupied the position p or /-'. It is probable that Muff is correct 3
in claiming his position as ,?', and this because of the relation
1 S. V. t/>JTf aptffTepOU. 2 De Ch. Trag. Ext., p. 44.
3 Chor. Tech. des Soph., p. 13.
52 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
existing between the coryphaeus and his two --<'i~7.u A '.<>v ~o~> y^ninr,' T/^ ffTfi(><>>) ^7//vv; 6 and by Hesychius: <>l ?>ffra- : ) <<>.-
<>fT'j>O To's XpOLffltsdlTljV TW 7.nt)lf(l.>.M <7t)';'f' t '/.Oil's e%1l'sTO$-,&
1 Polit., III., 4. 2 Metaph., IV., 11 3 Cf. diagram p. 46 above.
4 Poll., ii., 161 ; iv., 108. Phot. v. AafJfHHtTfira'. J Hesych. v. a/tlffTSfHMTrdrqf.
5 Hesych., II., p. 1471. 6 v. fl/.elf. 7 v. f'.As:*?. 8 Conv., p. 678D.
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHORUS 53
The coryphaeus had several titles. Thus, he was called r/n-
T9, !f.ff"$ uftttr-sftw), as has been pointed out. He
was called also />/,>> rt& //,, >/"" x ,, f ,w,, &i,,- oftlM J e p |^
'/, and s^w'S", 1 as well as x//up'. 2 Sommer-
brodt thinks that the titles ~/<>i><>/^-/.r-r^ and /"/ y "~ '^ a Pply to the
coryphaeus. 3 It is, however, better to believe with Schultze, 4
and with Muff, 5 that these titles refer rather to the trainer.
The cor\rphaeus was called also y<>ixr-d-r^Q This word signifies,
etyniologically, one that arranges the chorus, and, therefore,
is not strictly applicable to the coryphaeus. The \vord is prob-
ably a survival from early days. Schultze 7 believes that after
the ?>->-<>-
f7."57x/9, and that the title y^innrrd-r^ came afterwards to
be applied to the coryphaeus, when his duties were not per-
formed by the bxdt8dtfzaA?.
A passage in Athenaeus shows that the choregus also in
early days performed the duties of the coryphae-
us : ixd/j>u\> w* '' 7 " ; 7."l" >:> ^Y'"'^'-^"^ xa ^ 1
fiit-yfi. When the professional, trainer was appointed to aid the
poet in training the chorus, the latter still exercised a supervi-
sion over the work, as is shown by the words of Photius : 10 '>-<>-
The choregus, it may be assumed, abandoned his duty
1 Cf. Muff Chor. Tech. des Soph., p. 7f. 2 Schol. Arist., Plut., 953, 954.
3 S. 13ff. 4 De Chor. Trag. Ext., p. 47. 5 Chor. Tech. p. 8.
6 Himerius Orat., IX.. 3. 7 De Chor. Trag., p. 48. 8 XIV., 633b.
9 I. 22. 10 p. 627, 10.
54 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
of acting as coryphaeus, when the &^&&*f*rt#? was appointed,
and subsequently the latter also abandoned the task of cory-
phaeus, devoting his time entirely to the training of the chorus,
and leaving the functions of the coryphaeus to be performed by
that person himself.
The choreutae in the left file, inasmuch as they were in the
most conspicuous position, one could believe to
have been the best looking and most skillful
varied men in the chorus, even if special mention of this
in different files * .
fact were not made by ancient writers. 1 The
choreutae in the third file came next in point of skill. If at any
time the chorus wheeled completely around, these men came di-
rectly before the audience, and so it was necessary that they be
inferior only to the choreutae in the first file. Those in the sec-
ond file were the poorest. They were the least exposed to the
eyes of both actors and spectators. This fact is sufficiently
shown by Photius : 2 >>.inov mo %<>(> -V
M-sfnn ds obmt, and by Hesychius: 3
4 A SECONDARY CHORUS
Whatever the choregus provided besides the regular chorus
was called -/y;^y'OT/'-. This might include per-
nt (! Z U F9FW**. sons w ho appeared as mute characters, or per-
zajifJLffxrpuiv . -j > j 1 j
sons who said a ie\\r words only, or a secondary
chorus. If it was necessary for words to be either sung or
spoken by persons out of sight of the spectators, these persons
were called -a//ffx^'v. In some cases, these persons could be
either members of the regular chorus or actors. At other times,
such could not be the case, and then they came under the head
of ~ ( i-(>^>t>f'cpti l -"-i and, as the derivation of the word indicates,
they were supplied by the choregus. 4
1 Cf. Schol. Aristides, quoted p. 45 above.
3 II., p. 434. 4 Cf. Haigh A. T., p. 212f.
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHORUS 55
There are five passages in which the word "/'/"/'ij'/'y/'. oc-
curs. Four of them are scholia ; the other is a
passage in Pollux. 1 The first and second of the Passages where
t 1 . r -, occurs the word
scholia refer to mute persons as parachoregema, -^o^o/,/;^//^/.
the tnird designates a secondary chorus by this
title, and the fourth applies the word to persons who say a few
words. The passage in Pollux says that whenever a choreutes
sings in place of a fourth actor, he is called -///rxTjvr/>, but that
when he speaks he is called -//^o/^'/r / //.. This statement does
not agree with the statements of the scholia, and is, doubtless,
an error on the part of Pollux. The inaccuracy of the passage
in Pollux is still further shown by the statement in it concern-
ing a -aiw/.r^in; in the Agamemnon, while in that play no para-
skenion exists.
As instances of paraskenia in comedy, may be mentioned
the chorus of frosrs in the Frogs, and the chorus
Examples of
of Agathon in the Thesmophonazusae. 2 Ihe -
regular choruses in these tv. o plavs had not vet and of
-ii.iKi.'/ixrf.Y'r. 'i.i/- a
appeared, and so, doubtless, they took the parts
of these special choruses. But an additional chorus was need-
ed in the Wasps, 3 where the chorus of boys appeared at the
same time as the regular chorus; and, in the Lysistrata, four
choruses appear at the same time. In tragedy, in the Hyppo-
lytus, 4 the chorus of huntsmen after singing an ode to Artemis
march out, and the chorus of women, the regular chorus of the
play, at once appear. In the Eumenides, an additional chorus
is present during a great part of the play. In these two ex-
amples from tragedy, then, as well as in the Wasps and the Ly-
sistrata from comedy, we have examples of choruses coming
under the definition of parachoregema.
5 THE CHOREGUS.
As a part of the Dionysiac entertainments, were the con-
tests between dithyrambic choruses. There
were five choruses composed of boys, and five
composed of men. Each of the ten tribes of
1 Scholia to Prom., 12; Eumen., 573; Fro^s, 2O9 ; Pax, 114; Poll., IV., 109.
2 Ran., 209; Thesm., 104. 3 Vesp., 248. 4 Hipp., 61.
56 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
Athens was represented by one of these ten choruses. The vic-
tory of the chorus was considered a victory for the tribe.
With these dithyrambic contests, we have nothing here to do.
The dramatic contests, though the\ r were under the supervision
of the State, w r ere contests between individuals. The poet, the
choregus, the chorus \vere taken from Athens at large, and not
from any particular tribe. In early times, the contests included
only poets and choregi; afterwards actors also were included in
the contests. The success or failure of a play was due in great
measure to the manner in which the choregus performed his
duties. The poets were appointed by the archon ; the plays
were submitted to him and it was his judgement that deter-
mined what plays had sufficient merit to warrant their presen-
tation at the Dionysiac festival. The choregus also was
appointed by the archon. 1 The succession of the office of cho-
regus was determined by law; each wealthy citizen was required
in his turn to take this duty ; but an unusually public-spirited
man could take this office oftener than the law required, if
he so desired. In a speech of Lysias, 2 the defendant states
that he has been choregus to eight choruses in nine years. This
duty was liable to be given to a citizen as soon as he had reached
his twentieth year, though a choregus to a chorus of bo} r s must
have reached his fortieth year. 3 The manner in which choregi
and poets were brought together has not been handed down
us by the ancient authorities. We know only that the archon
selected them. Demosthenes 4 describes the manner in which, in
the dithyrambic contests, the flute-players were assigned to the
choregi by lot, and from this it may be assumed as not unlike-
ly that a similar manner was adopted in assigning the poets to
to the choregi. The importance to the contending poet that he
have a liberal choregus, as well as the importance to the chore-
gus that he be associated with a talented poet, made it neces-
sary that choregus and poet be brought together in some way
that avoided all appearance of partiality ; and this could have
been done in no way better than by assigning to the choregi,
the poets by lot.
1 Demos. Aleid., 13. 2 Orat XXI., 1-5. 3 .-Eschin. Timareh., 11, 12.
4 Meid., 13, 14.
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHORUS 57
After actor, poet and choregus had been brought together,
it remained for these three persons to prepare
the play for presentation. The choregus had, in
general, nothing to do with the actors, nor did
he train the chorus. His main duties were to select the mem-
bers of the chorus, care for them during their term of training,
and pay them for their services. He had, also, at times to pro-
vide a few accessories of the play. He provided a room in
which they were to practice 1 , which was called '5."Wxtt/i?v,2 or
/<>do$ >i.kv i t -/to)-^ /U'r^ o/u
/ofol'L ; and, apart from any evidence of ancient writers, it
is easily seen that the first appearance of the chorus would be
rendered more effective in the sight of the spectators, if all the
members joined in the opening song. The difference between
the parodos and the stasimon consisted in this, that the
former was sung as the chorus was approaching the orches-
tra, the latter was sung by the chorus while it was in the
orchestra; and, again, that the parodos commonly explained
the presence of the chorus and its sympathy with the action of
the play, the stasimon expressed the sympathy of the chorus
as it had been developed by the course of the play. In some
instances, the opening song of the chorus was not sung by the
whole chorus. The chorus in the Alcestis of Euripides at its
entrance is divided into two half-choruses, which sing alter-
nately. The Scholium to Alcestis (79) says: * ys/x'^-o^ vz<> /<'('>?. u'.aifisirai ds ei$ o>>t> r t >).'.-//> t.a. In the Ion, the parodos is
sung by parts of the chorus. In the Frogs of Aristophanes, in
the middle of the parodos 2 occurs a set of anapaests which
were spoken by the coryphaeus, as may be inferred from the
concluding words: {>!i.zis $ ^^Y-'-!'"~ <>.>-^ *. r. /., in which the
chorus is ordered to proceed with the song. In the CEdipus
Coloneus of Sophocles, Muff 3 believes that the parodos was
sung by individual members of the chorus ; and the same
was no doubt the casein the first part of the Eumenides of
^Eschylus where the words: ^"/"^ <*W''^ 4 indicate that the
chorus has reached its regular position in the orchestra. The
remaining part of the parodos was, doubtless, sung by the
whole chorus. In some of the older tradgedians, the parodos
1 roef., c. 12. 2 Vs. 354-371. 3 Chor. Tech., p. 16. 4 V. 307.
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHORUS 6i
begins with a series of anapaests. In these parodi, as, e. g. in
those of the Supplices and the Persae, Richter 1 infers that the
anapaests were recited by the coryphaeus, and that the whole
chorus began only where the anapaests ceased, but it is impos-
sible to prove that such was the case, and the conclusion re-
mains that, except in a few instances, the parodos was recited
by the whole chorus.
Aristotle states that the stasima, as well as the parodos,
belonged to the whole chorus : %o/>ixo> : -/.a} -oo-oo
TO /J.sv icdpodo$ TO dz ffrdfftfJLOV. '/.o'.va <>.kv tc.
4 Muller, Lit. Gr.. vol. 1, p. 413.
62 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
It is, doubtless, safe to follow the authority of Aristotle, and
assign the stasima to the whole chorus. It is not probable
that the effect of these important songs would be lessened by
having them sung by parts of the chorus ; yet it is sometimes
suggested that such was the case. Thus Richter 1 believes that
the strophe was sung by one semi-chorus, the antistrophe by
the other, and the epode by the whole chorus, but epodes are
rare, and there is not the least evidence that the stasima were
thus sung.
There is a third kind of song in which the whole chorus
shorter songs took part. This includes those shorter songs
by the whole which come, not like the stasima at pauses in
the action, but during the course of the dia-
logue. They are expressly distinguished from the stasima by
the scholium to Sophocles' Trachiniae (216) : ro ? fjLehddfHov <">/.
sfTTt ffTfifftfjutVj //' b-xo Tjj? rfiim,* (>f>%owTat. They are frequently used
to express strong but transitory emotions, and, as such, are
designated as hyporchemes. They were united with dances
more animated than the ordinary tragic dance (^ae/t'.)2
The choral parts thus far considered are those in which, in
general, many voices take part. There are
man J instances in which the parts assigned to
the chorus were not taken by the chorus as a
whole, but either by its leader, or by individual choreutae.
When the chorus, in the course of the dialogue, carried on a
conversation with the actors, it is reasonable to believe, though
there is no direct evidence to prove it, that the coryphaeus
acted as spokesman of the chorus. The chorus at these times
is but an actor. Other instances are mentioned by Haigh 3 in
which it is probable that the coryphaeus spoke for the chorus.
These are the anapaests at the ends of choral songs in tragedy
by which the approach of an actor is announced, and which, if
delivered in recitative, would form a gentle transition between
the song that just precedes, and the speech that follows; the
anapaests with which many Greek plays end ; the anapaestic
1 Die Altgriech. Trag., p. 13.
2 '^Es. Sup., 418-437; Trachin., 205-225; Ajax, 693-717, furnish examples of this
kind of song. 3 Att. Th., p. 279.
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHORUS 63
tetrameters in comedy, including the speech to the people at the
beginning of the parabasis ; speeches like the one in the Frogs j 1
and words of exhortation, or remonstrance, that were at times
addressed to the rest of the chorus. 2 In these instances we
may reasonably believe that the coryphaeus alone spoke.
There are other instances, in which there is much doubt as
to the mode of delivery. Aristotle says: ?< de
-a a~-/:f^-7^ xa>. -/M;I.IJ.>) %<>;, <><> yu-sa'./.wv -on* rc Irloa^ cr^.'V. Our information on the
subject, however, is so limited that it may be \vell to leave it
undecided how the choral parts in such cases were sung ; yet in
two instances it seems easy to distinguish the voices of indi-
vidual choreutae. These are the words spoken by the Erinyes
in the Eumenides 7 at their first appearance ; and the words of
the choreutae in the Agamemnon 8 at the time of the murder of
the king.
1 Cf. p. 60 above. 2 e. g., Ran., 382; Vesp., 1516. 3 Poet., ch. 12.
4 907-1O76. 5 Lit. Gr., vol. 1, p. 414. Instances cited are : Eumen., 140-177,
254-275. 777-792, 836-846; theb., 78-181; Sup.. 1019-1074.
6 Chor. Tech. des Soph., p. 15sq. 7 140ff. 8 1344ff.
64 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
In comedy the parodoi are never so long as in tragedy, nor
are they so complicated in structure. The sta-
The parabasis sima, also, are not so long, nor do they, like the
tragic stasima, serve to elevate the minds of the
spectators to a calm consideration of the action of the play.
This deficiency in stasimon is compensated for by an element
peculiar to comedy, the parabasis. Like the stasimon, it was
introduced at a pause in the action, and in Aristophanes the
favorite place for it is at the point in the play where a crisis
seems inevitable. The complete parabasis consisted of three
parts. The first part is that in which the chorus, which up to
that point had been facing the proscenium, turned about, and
advanced toward the spectators. This is the parabasis proper.
It usually consisted of anapaestic tetrameters, at times mixed
with other long verses. It began with a short opening song
called xop/jidTtov, and ended with a long anapaestic system called
xv~iYs, or fjMxpov. In this, the parabasis proper, the poet spoke
of his own aifairs, extolled his own merits and derided his rivals,
the second part of the parabasis was a lyric song addressed to
some one of the gods. Following this came the third part, the
iKippr)iJ.a, which was in trochaic verses of which there should
regularly be sixteen, which contained some reproach against
the city, or some complaint, and which was in some way con-
nected with the subject of the play. Both the lyric song and
the iirtfifypa were repeated antistrophically. There is in comedy
a license in all its parts, and this is seen in the parabasis, which
in some plays is divided into two parts, the anapaestical intro-
duction being separated from the lyrical song, as in the Peace,
the Frogs and the Knights. In the Knights, there is even a
second parabasis, but without the anapaestical introduction ;
and in the Lysistrata, the Plutus, and the Ecclesiazusae
the parabasis is omitted. 1
1 Muller Lit. Gr., vol. ii., p. 13sq. Schol. Aristoph. Equit., 503.
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHORUS 65
7 THE COSTUME OF THE CHOREUT^
The choreutae were dressed nearly like persons in ordinary
life. As only men took the parts either of ac- The costume
tors or of choreutae, it was necessary that masks of the choreutae
be used in the latter instance, as in the former. 1
A kind of shoe, x/^rtV, is said to have been invented by Sopho-
cles for the use of the chorus. 2 The dress was at times varied
to suit the circumstances of individual plays. Thus, the chorus
of suppliant women in the Supplices of Euripides wore black
garments : xoupa} fts -/.al TcTr/w/^ar' on Oswpixd^ and carried in their
hands branches, as a sign of supplication : Ixrijpt OaM& Kpoffmr-
vou(f fyT onrfrupts \ trrefyst yuvatx&v ydpsfftv
fjLSAarztfwt?.* In the Supplices of ^schylus, the daughters of
Danaus were evidently dressed in foreign garb : llodaxov Spdov
TovtJ 1 aveJUii]v6t(Ti fiapffdpotfft xa} JtuxvwfjLCttft %JitQVTat,.& The
old men in the chorus of the Agamemnon carried staffs : vxr;--
rpots IfTo-atoa 'slfjursres -6 and thesame fact occurred in the Hercules
Furens : a/j^t fidxrpms epsta/M Olij.evo>Tor; "ifttnv. i f os r>ftyj(T7'ia. TOO
y_oj><>n. /.. -. A.I Following the authority of these two writers, it
has been the universal belief until very recent years, that the
chorus occupied the orchestra, the actors the stage ; but the re-
cent excavations of theatres at Epidaurus, Assos, Oropus, and
elsewhere, within the last twelve years, and, finally, of the The-
atre of Dionysus at Athens, in 1886, have called into question
the truth of these statements of Vitruvius and Pollux. Recent
writers who believe that the actors stood on a stage neverthe-
less do not accept the statement of Vitruvius which says that
the stage should be not less than ten, nor more than twelve
feet high. Thus, Verrall 2 believes that the plays of ^Eschylus and
his immediate successors were acted on a stage less than six or
seven feet in height. Haigh 3 believes that at the time of the
great dramatists there was a stage six or seven feet in height.
There are five passages in the comedies of Aristophanes, in
which the uses of the verbs fivapabsiv and -/.ara-
,5tf:W.'v are held to prove the existence of a stage. ftom^LrfttoSaaS
If these verbs mean 'to go up,' and 'to go down,' claimed as evidence
respectively, it will have to be admitted that
the plays in which they occur were acted upon
a stage. 4 The passages are :
wz (nnrr t {> -y ~o)^'. '/.at va>'; (favzi^. Eq., 14-8-9
ofjL'r))io)>6yQiov. Vcsp., 134-2.
d/J. , a) ~o<;rjf>(). xcbftC aO)J.(H) aTfx't^j
aii.pn.-s -or-fiv iiMfiav, :' */ sn^-i-a. Achar., 731-2.
., 1514.
ri dij-a fica-ftifis'.s zyvw, fi/.A on/, a}'-'- 1 *
ra9): dyd6aiye ffwrrj/t ry Trotet " 7v, /5o/ov, ol de ? iy Oo;j.i)^ dk TO-
The scholium is thus given in Dubner.
In Suidas (s. v. dydfiatye) we have the following words: iff-clu*
oTt e'Ae^ov ol itaJLeuol TO ~} Xo'fiov efotlvctt dva6atvetv t xaLTt-
The explanation g a ^ tv fe T( ) dnaMdrTeff&at iy
of Suidas
' AptffTOJLa : osnpo dsofi, 10 ^j'/rare, dyd-
6 awe ffwTTjf) Ty TTW/ xa} ywy ayei<$."
It will be noticed that both these scholiasts assume the ex-
istence of a stage. The point of contention with
4!?r them is whether the Sausage-dealer came in
through the parodos and mounted the stage, or
entered the stage through a wing. The second scholiast, as
White points out, corrects the first, and says that it should be
known that to enter upon the stage was called dvafiabetv, and
that to leave the stage was called xaraffabetv, and that these
words arose from the old custom. The 'old custom' referred to
is that which is described by Pollux 1 in the words : c/eo? tf r,y
T/Hixs^a df)%ata : ^ r f y xpo &l3
interpreted 'certain suitors contended for her hand'. This
meaning of the word is recognized by Suidas, who says : %ai
dojva (uiiv' "cVTttD'Va zarafiawst ~
It may be observed, still further, that dvafiabsu is used by
other writers where there is no suggestion of as-
cent. Thus, in Homer, .
supply evidence // r . ft)^ O ). II si, -spiaye rov Tfiffyrjlov. AvGS, 175-6.
The argument from this passage in support of a
stage is based upon the assertion that, if the Epops had been on
the floor of the orchestra, the command jtifyoy -/ATM would have
been meaningless. We know that the scenery in this play was
wild and unusual. Euelpides (v. 20ft*) directs Pisthetairus to
lead somewhere down the rocks, for he sees no path, and his
companion replies that there is, in fact, no path there. We can
easily see the two actors as they stood, on this rocky ground ,
with Pisthetairus on a rock somewhat higher than the ground
on which his comrade was standing. In such a situation, the
command 'look down' is entirely natural, and contains no evi-
dence of a stage.
Another passage quoted as evidence of a stage is the fol-
lowing :
A passage in the ., , v
Lysistrata claimed tt// y Y a P ! wl ~ 7 l$ " ()ot)
to supply evidence Jiotnov (TTl %atfi{ov
TO -f>o$ -o/j.v : TO ffitwv, <>l ff7toodip /<. Lysist., 268-9.
The chorus of old men are advancing toward the citadel. The
remainder of the path they call ?o fft/wv. The scholium on Lysis-
trata 288 is I T^ ffifJLOVj <>l fficoudyv %ct}. (TO ~[>o$ TV^S ajtpoicoXtv} TO
was, then, the ascent leading to the acropolis. We need imag-
ine only a ground sloping up towards the proscenium ; up this
gentle incline these old men go. At other times during the
course of the play, these old men pass over this same ground
and enter the house; the chorus of women come from the house
and re-enter it, yet in none of these movements is there any-
thing in the context that implies ascent or descent. 2 It was
1 Buhnenalt., p. 109; Att. Th., p. 144. 2 Cf. analysis of Lysistrata, ch. III., 5.
THE STAGE 75
quite natural for the old men to think of this part of their jour-
ney as up-hill (<"/'.>), though the incline was but a gentle one.
The end of any journey may seem up-hill, especially when it is
performed by old men who are carrying bundles of wood, 1 and
when it occurs in a Greek comedy. We must always, in fact,
beware lest we take Aristophanes too literally for "no charac-
teristic of his is better recognized than the liberty he took in
drawing on the imagination of his audience. If the actors said
that it was night, to them it was night, though it was in real-
ity midday ; if they said that they were going up-hill, the spec-
tators could be trusted to believe that the way was steep, even
if it were on a dead level." 2
Danaus, in the Supplices of ^Eschylus, says to his daughters :
t-r-4 n -t j A- passage in the
713-14 supplices (^Es.)
The words Ixeraftt'ixon ffxti-1,1? are considered as evi- claimed to supply
. 1 ... evidence of a stage
dence that Danaus was standing upon a stage.
It is, however, quite as reasonable to understand that Danaus
was standing upon an altar. At verse 180, when he sees a
crowd of men approaching, fearing that harm awaits his chil-
dren, he says to them (189): -dyov xpoffi'w r
Likewise, at verse 725 he says to his children :
Oe&v. It is evident, then, that there were altars near to both
Danaus and his children (cf. rwxJs in both passages). Danaus
speaks in both these passages exactly as one would expect him
to speak, if father, children, and altars were all close together
in the orchestra
Muller 3 cites also Peace 564f. as evidence that the chorus
were below the actors. Hermes here says :
^ a. ^ ' \\ \ - ~ / A passage in the
o> IloffSldov, w$ xaAov ro ffritpos w.)TO>v fafsSTai Peace claimed to
xai -uzvov xal yopydv &ffirep /j.d^a xai rcavdatffia. supply evidence
It would seem, however, that the passage af-
fords no evidence either for, or against, a stage. Muller claims,
also, 3 that the conversation between the two Athenians during
the entrance of the chorus in the Birds indicates that the birds
were below the Athenians; but, as in the passage from the
1 Cf. vs. 267, 312. 2 Capps, p. 68f. 3 Buhnenalt., p. 109.
76 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
Peace, there seems to be in this passage no evidence either that
there was, or was not, a stage.
Muller cites four passages in which he thinks that the
chorus withdrew for a short time, and that the
Passages where it 1-1,1 111 -,11
is claimed that the only place to which they could have withdrawn
chorus withdrew was the front wall of the stage. 1 The first pass-
close to the wall
of the stage age IS :
fr
m avatrtat xaxv
the Choephori 872fF
Chceph., 872-4.
Muller, who believes that the chorus stood on an elevated plat-
form, believes that in this instance they descended by steps to
the floor of the orchestra, and then concealed themselves close
by the proscenium wall. It may be observed concerning this
passage that evidently the chorus did not at once withdraw,
for the servant on entering commands them (877 f.) to open the
doors of the palace. Their failure to do as ordered called from
the servant (882) the cry, 'I am shouting to the deaf. Wheth-
er the chorus then retired there is no evidence from the text to
show, but, as they remained during the speech of the servant,
which occupied nine verses, and then made no further mention
of going away, we have no reason to think that they did go.
They next took part with a choral ode at vs. 931ff. Their
opening words in this ode were to bewail the calamity of the
wretched pair. This implies knowledge of the coming fate of
Clytemnestra, which could have been gained only by hearing
the conversation that had just taken place between Clytemnes-
tra and Orestes. They could not have spoken so confidently,
merely trusting to impressions gained from the closing fears ex-
pressed by the servant (882ff ). The conclusion, then, that we
may draw is that the chorus fail to carry out the desire ex-
pressed at vs. 872-4; and remain in their position in the or-
chestra.
1 Buhnenalt., p. 135 and Phil. Anz., 15, 528.
THE STAGE 77
The second passage is :
(2) Passage from
,,-r _. the Hercules
avdp -c^/>o//cVov. Here. Flir., 1081-4. Furens, 1081ff.
Amphitryon here orders the chorus of old men
to hasten from before the house ; but there is no evidence that
the command is obeyed. Hercules, because of whom they were
told to flee, begins speaking at v. 1088, and continues speaking,
though perhaps hardly yet awake, for twenty verses. Amphi-
tryon then (1109) asks the chorus whether he shall tell them
his woes, and they answer him (1110) with assurances that
they will not desert him in his calamitous state. They do not
take part again till they sing the words that close the play
(1427f ); but nothing in the intervening conversation indicates
that they are not in their usual place. If the command of Am-
phitryon (1081ff) proves anything, it would seem to prove
that Hercules was to enter on a level with the chorus, for, if he
was to enter on a stage several feet higher than the chorus, his
separation from them would be so great that it would be quite
unreasonable to expect them to flee from him in fear.
The third passage is :
7T/50? TO rst^tovj ( 3 ) Passage from
the Ecclesiazusae
496ff
fjteraffxsoa^s ffaurr^v a&ftty foep rjafta.. j5cc/., 4-96-9.
Muller claims that the Tst%{oy (497) was the wall of the proscen-
ium, and that the chorus withdrew beneath the platform, upon
which they commonly stood, to the proscenium wall. It is,
however, just as satisfactory to consider that the rst%iov was
the wall of the parodos.
The fourth passage is :
OU~0$ GLUT 6$ , w? ' eotx* t Izfy/srat. ( 4 ) Passage from
1 the Acharnians
Achar., 239-40. 2 39f.
Dicaeopolis is coming from his house to celebrate
the rural Diom r sia. The chorus is marching in by the parodos,
stating (204ff) their desire to find Dicaeopolis. Soon the} r see
him, and give the command 'dsbpo, ixnodtbv' (239f). Dicaeopolis
78 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
and his attendants go forth for their celebration, when sudden-
ly the chorus cry (281) '/Stf/xs ,3v///c ,3//c ,3//'. Concerning the
passage, three facts are clear. (1) Dicaeopolis marches a long
distance before he reaches the chorus, (24-7-280). (2) He ap-
proaches near to the chorus. (3) The chorus are all the time
in a position where they can watch him. The hiding-place of
the chorus, therefore, was in the parodos ; not close to the pro-
scenium wall. 1
Haigh cites three instances in which the chorus did not en-
ter the palace or tent in the background, though
The entrance of the it would naturally have' done so, and he thinks
chorus into the r ,1 * <
palace prevented that the reason lor this failure lay in the fact
that the entrance would have involved the diffi-
cult ascent of a flight of steps. 2 The three instances cited are :
Ajax, 328-9
rapelvatTpwdfftvTffUfj.fJLd%ou9. Hecuba, 104-2-3
>fj.t <
Oavdroo vtv ixh'iffafffts' Andromache, 817-18.
In these passages, although the chorus either is invited to en-
ter the palace or tent in the background, or deliberates doing
so, yet it stays without. In each instance an actor at once ap-
pears, and, therefore, the chorus is not obliged to leave the or-
chestra. Haigh thinks that the poet contrived the appearance
of the actor in order to relieve the chorus from the necessity of
attempting the difficult ascent ; but we may quite as readily be-
lieve that it was because the poet wished the action to continue
before the eyes of the spectators, rather than within the palace
or tent. Again, it will be noticed that in none of the passages
in the verb of motion is there any idea of ascent. Thus, in the
passage from the Ajax, Tecmessa uses the verb stW/>^//j. There
is a clear invitation, in that verb, to the chorus to come in, but
no invitation to come up. Had Tecmessa been standing on a
stage high above the level of the chorus, in inviting them to
come to a level with herself, it is hardly possible that she would
1 Capps, p. 73. 2 A. T., p. 153.
THE STAGE 79
not have used some word denoting ascent. In connection with
the passage from the Andromache, it may be observed that the
nurse, later in the play, says to Hermione (876 f):
The important words in the two passages are :
fiatrat rdtvos ninn.a.-Mv fn for passage 817,
and efffttf rwv oofj.w i><7( for passage 876, and the corres-
ponding words in the two passages are practically synony-
mous. The former passage the nurse addresses to the chorus,
the latter, to Hermione ; and in neither instance is the com-
mand obeyed. It would be quite as logical to claim that Her-
mione, in the latter instance, was kept from entering the palace
because there was a difficult ascent for her to climb in order to
reach it, as to claim that the chorus, in the former instance,
was kept from entering the palace for a similar reason.
A passage in Plato's Symposium 1 has been interpreted to
signify that Agathon mounted a stage. The
reference, in this passage, is to the Odeum, The passage
which was built 'like a theatre'. 2 Agathon is symposium
here said to have mounted i-\ ~w ox//V7>r. This
oxf>tffjis is understood to mean a 'stage', and, therefore, the infer-
ence is .drawn that the theatre had a stage. The weight of the
passage as evidence in favor of a stage depends upon the mean-
ing of the word fafttfas, and this seems to signify only an eleva-
tion in the middle of the Odeum, which resembled the thymele
in the regular theatre. On this oxpifias, at the Proagon, the ac-
tors mounted, who were to take part in the theatre, a few days
subsequently. If it is true that the <*>x;iifia$ was but another
name for the stage of the theatre, the question may fairly be
asked why the word was not oftener used in this sense. 3
l Sympos., 194. B.: dvaffatvovTO? -} rov oxploavra fj.srd rwv bitoxptrtoVj xal
Ivavrta x. r. A. 2 Schol. Aristoph. Vesp., 1109 :
EffTt ro/ro? OsarpoetdTJS x. r. /. 3 Cf. Class. Rev., 1890, p. 276.
80 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
Haigh maintains that the stone border in the circular or-
chestra at Epidaurus would have seriously in-
The stone border _ 1 ... - f 1
would not have terfered with the movements of the actors, if
interfered with they had stood in the orchestra. 1 There is no
evidence to show that there was such a border
in the orchestra of the Athenian theatre, but, granting that
there was, it is difficult to see \vherein it would have caused
any serious impediment to the free action of the actors. There
was plenty of room within the circle for both chorus and actors.
It is urged, also, that, if the actors had stood on a level
with the chorus, the spectators in the lower
distin^rshfn^ac- tiers of seats would haYe been unable to see
tors Yrom chorus them, except as the chorus moved to and fro,
in^he^rchestra thus disclosing the actors. This argument
hardly seems to be a strong one, for we know
that the bodies of the actors were increased in size by cothur-
nus, padding and onkos ; and this was done probably for the
express purpose of making them easily distinguished from the
members of the chorus. 2 We know, also, that on the modern
stage there is no difficulty in distinguishing the principal from
the subordinate actors, though there ma\"be hundreds on the
stage at the same time. It is true that there are no injunctions
handed down to us such as 'the chorus must not obscure the
actors', but neither are there any similar injunctions at the
present da} r .
Haigh states his belief that the Athenians, having deter-
mined upon a high stage, could not make this
sta S e dee P Because, if they had done so, the
spectators in the front rows could not have seen
an actor standing at the rear of the stage. 3 In the existing
ruins of the theatre of Dionysus the lowest step of the auditor-
ium is raised a few inches above the level of the orchestra ; the
seats in the front row are twelve and one-half inches high. The
eye of a person sitting on one of these seats would be about
1 A. T., p. 145. 2 Cf. ch. III., 8.
3 Recent excavations show that the roof of the proscenium of the theatre at
Athens was eight feet deep ; and all of this could not have been used for a stage (cf. p.
89f. below). The suggestion has been made that if the Athenians had wished to have
a stage they would have made it deeper, thus allowing more room for the actors. To
this suggestion Haigh makes the reply quoted above. Class. Rev . May, 1890, p. 279
THE STAGE
81
two and one-half feet higher than the seat, and thus about four
feet higher than the level of the orchestra. The thronos in the
centre of the front row was about twenty-three metres distant
from the proscenium wall. A person sitting in the centre
thronos would have been able to see of a person six feet in
height standing at the rear of a stage four metres high and four
metres deep all except about the lower third of his body. The
accompanying diagram makes this fact clear.
a represents the eye of the occupant of the thronos in the center of the front row ; CD,
the proscenium wall ; De, the stage ; and Eg, a person six feet in height standing at
the rear of the stage. The scale used is m.=9-64 in.
$2 THE THYMELE 1
Some of those that hold to the traditional view that assigns
a stage to the actors, and the orchestra to the
chorus have nevertheless seen the great difficulty ^ent^bvl'wgh
of carrying on a conversation between chorus stage avoided by
and actors thus separated ; they haverecognized ,%
the close relation that existed between actors
and chorus, and have endeavored to meet the difficulties pre-
sented by the stage-theory by assuming that the chorus had
its position on a raised platform. This platform, they have as-
sumed was several feet higher than the level of the orchestra,
1 The word thymele, when used in connection with the theatre, has four different
meanings. From the earliest times an altar of Dionysus stood in the orchestra (cf
Pickard, p. 85). To this altar the name 'thymele' w as "sometimes given, as in the pass-
age quoted below from Suidas. After the beginning of the real drama, the first actor
stood on a table near the altar (Poll., IV., 123)-. To this table the title 'thymele' is
applied in Et. Alag., p. 458, 30. 'Thymele' is used also for 'orchestra' (Haigh A. T., p.
155), as in the epigram of Simmias Thebanus quoted below. It is used, also, for
'stage* in the scholium to Aristoph. Equit., 149 (quoted above p. 72f.), in the words :
(Of i'; OoiJ.i/^ ok TO Oi.vi6o.ivs. That Oofj.t/^ here means stage is shown by the scho-
lium to Aves, 673: to$ iv Oo;j.i)^ Y^-f* ~(> ( >^^~~^^'' 5
Procne (White, p. 166).
eyotffflC- speaking of
82 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
but not so high as the level of the stage. To this platform the
name Ool ll.liJ.Oi. clrot
/xera rr t v dp%ijffTpav ftwijLos yv TOO dtovbffou, TGTpdytovov olxodopyfjia xevov, i~i
TOO tjAffou, o x/?r.' Oo;j.lAr t -aoa TOO Onsiv. [t.STa T^V Oo;j.eXr^ r^ zoviffTpa t
TorjTtffTt TO '/.(ITU) eda(f>o$ TOO Oz(i.T(>oo.
Wieseler argues from this passage that the rsrpd^favov oixM-
i>.f t i>.a xs>v was not the altar of Dionysus, but was
The arguments the platform for the chorus; and, therefore, he
drawn from
this passage calls this platform the thymele. There is, how-
ever, no reason why we should not interpret
the words in the simplest way, and consider that the nlxMwtLa
was the altar of Dionysus. Hermann 2 believes that the <><>yr;f>Toa
\vhich is here said to come //sr ffxr^v was the platform upon
which the chorus stood, but 6/i%rjfrrpa here signifies the Mt-(ti.?//.'. s
Muller 4 cites various passages as evidence that the chorus
stood upon a raised platform. Thus he cites
Passages quoted L
by Muller as show- PollUX IV., 1 23 I xat ffxr^ p*v-, -ir<> idwv. 1} di
ing evidence of>/r^Tf>a, TOO yopon. h r t xat r, Ou^ih,. This passage
of a platform
asserts that there was an altar of Dionysus in
the orchestra. There is no suggestion that it was a platform
upon which the chorus stood. Again, Muller quotes the epi-
gram of Simmias Thebanus :
~6v trs %ofnri$ fi.l%.'OT'T~/', or with Pickard 2 that the only
inference to be drawn from the passage is that the Ou^i/^ and
the ffxr^rj were two important parts of the theatre. Another
passage quoted is Corp. Inscr. Gr.: iv ^n<^ -a^oi-r^
fiftsT-f^ ?r %o(toiff> -o//x.' ^ On;i.i/Mi^. All that can
be claimed here is that the chorus and thymele v; ere associated,
unless we again consider that Oop.1)^ is used with the meaning
of nftyj^-fKi. So other passages are quoted in which occurs the
word Ou,'Mr h but there is in them no suggestion that it was used
as a platform for the chorus. The remark of Hesychius, v. /-'"-
zsftw '.oai^itD', oiia;>.(j. oi kt~'.v b; w ~7 t ^ O');i.i).'f t < ai>y?--? s > tryst ^ rf t ^f/r^-na ^ i o>,.i/.f t states
that the thymele was in the orchestra. Vitruvius, v. 1, 2, says:
actores in scasna peragunt, reliqui autem artifices suas per or-
chestram praestant actiones itaque ex eo scasnici et thymelici
graece separatim nominantur. Here it is stated that the cho-
rus, inasmuch as it took part in the orchestra, received a name
from the thymele, which was placed there. In the Hyporchema
of Pratinas in Athen., XIV., p. 617 C, are the words: rrV <> <>''>!>'>-
o'K" ; ri T(/.tls ~(i. ~/<>t>z!>..', r;V u6pt$ ,ao/iV i~\ Atovuatdfia. m/.fjf/.rayf/. Oo>j.i-
/> ; Here the ~^V ^//:^ is of the musicians \vho desired to lead
rather than accompany the chorus, and the -/y-7^ f yy//^/v
refers to the th3miele which was made to resound to the stamp-
ing of the feet of the musicians . The passage from Isidor Origg. ,
XVIII., 47: th\'melici erant musici scaenici, qui in organis et
lyris et citharis praecinebant, et dicti thymelici, quod olim in
orchestra stantes cantabant super pulpitum, quod thymele vo-
cabatur, states simply that the musicians sang in the orches-
tra standing 'super pulpitum, quod thymele vocabatur', that
they stood on some part of the thymele, and hence received a
name from the thymele, /. e., were called thymelici.
1 A. T., p. 155. 2 p. 74-f.
84 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
From all the passages, then, that are quoted as evidence of
a platform for the chorus, it seems that not one
None of the pass- < 1 -i -1,1 * r
ages supply should be construed to imply the existence of
evidence of a such a platform. There is no passage in any
platform.
ancient writer that either states directly or
implies, that the chorus stood upon a platform. It may be
assumed that, if such a platform had existed, it would have
been distinctly mentioned.
positive evidence The evidence produced thus far has been neg-
a platform ative, but there is positive evidence that the
chorus did not stand on a raised platform. 1
1. An important feature at the CityDionysia were the con-
tests between the dithyrambic choruses. The drama had its
chorus of twelve, or fifteen, or twenty-four
(1) It would have ' . . "f
interfered with members ; the ditr^rambic chorus consisted of
the dithyrambic fifty members who stood in a circular posi-
contests. , " ,
tion. In order that the platform be large
enough to accommodate this circular chorus of fifty, it would
have been necessary that it cover the greater part of the orches-
tra; or, if only the dramatic chorus had occupied the platform,
it would still have been large enough to seriously interfere with
the free movements of the dithyrambic chorus while standing
on the floor of the orchestra. Neither of these arrangements
seems probable.
2. If such a platform had existed , there would
pfatform'remain * s ^ remain marks showing connection between
it and the proscenium. No such marks remain.
3. On the floor of the orchestra of the theatre at Epidaurus
a large circle was marked out. The inference is
the floor of the that the chorus danced \vithin this circle. No
orchestra such circle has been discovered at Athens, vet it
at Epidaurus. . .
may be conjectured that such a circle existed there.
4. The columns of the proscenia of the theatres at Epi-
daurus, Oropos, Eretria, and Athens were high-
ornamented ly ornamented . If in front of them there had been
columns of the platforms, the artistic effect of the ornamented
columns would have been greatly marred. Fur-
1 Cf. Haigh A. T., p. 156sq., and Pickard, p. 7Gsq.
THE STAGE 85
thermore, in the center of each of these proscenia was a door
leading into the orchestra. 1 Such a door would have been
practically useless, had there been a platform in front of it.
5. 'At the close of all the plays of Aristophanes, except
the Thesmophorizeusae and the Knights, as well as at the close
of many of the plays of the tragedians, the
, , f . ,, ,f , . .,/ ,. (.5) The exit of the
chorus left the theatre in company with the chorus at the
actors. There is nothing in the context of these close of
t ... ,11 many plays
plays implying that the chorus made a descent.
In the Wasps, the chorus leave the theatre dancing, a manner
of exit that would have been impossible, if the chorus had
been standing on an elevated platform. In the Clouds, the
chorus close the play with the words, " Lead the way out; for
we have acted sufficiently as chorus to-day." We can easily
believe that this order was executed, and that Socrates, Phidip-
pides, Strepsiades, and Chaerephon went out by the parodos,
followed by the chorus. If the chorus had been on an elevated
platform, and the actors on a stage still higher, in order that
the command be executed, it would have been necessary for the
chorus to wait for the four actors to file down the steps from
stage to platform, and then for all to descend the steps to
the orchestra, and make their exit by the parodos. That such
was the case seems improbable.
6. A weighty objection to the belief in the existence of
a platform is that it would have seriously interfered with
the view that the occupants of the thronoi in the
front row would have had of both actors and (6
choreutae. If the choreutae had stood at the of the front thronoi
front of a platform that was two and one-half ^j^
metres in height, and extended twelve metres
from the proscenium, 2 the occupant of the center thronos in the
front row would have been unable to see any part of an actor
standing on the stage. (Cf. diagram on p. 81). The line yx
represents the choreutes standing at the front of the platform,
1 Cf. ch. III., 4-.
2 The height of the platform is assumed to have been two and one-half metres.
As the object of the platform was to bring chorus and actors near enough to each other
to make conversation easy, and as the stage at Athens was four metres high, in order
to accomplish the end desired, the platform must have been :iL least two and one-half
metres high. It is assumed t-j have extended twelve metres from the- proscenium.
TJHIVBRSIT7
86 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
and a the eye of the priest in the center thronos of the front
row. If we suppose the choreutes to have stood, not at the front
of the platform, but half way back, and the actor to have
stood at the front of the stage, hardly more than one-half of the
choreutes would have been seen by the priest, and of the actor
the priest would have seen not more than the head. Ts repre-
sents a choreutes, Ld an actor standing thus. The view of the
occupants of the thronoi at the ends of the front row would
have depended upon the nearness of the platform to their
thronoi. Their view would probably have been no better than
that of the occupant of the center thronos ; and the only \vay
in which their view could have been made more favorable would
have been to have the platform slope toward the sides, from
the center line (xo). But even this would not have proved
entirely satisfactory, for, in this case, a priest in the end thronos
would not have had a favorable view of a choreutes on the side
of the platform sloping away from him. Likewise, the view of
the priest in the center thronos would have been aided by hav-
ing the platform slope toward him also. Thus, to aiford the
priests who occupied the thronoi in the front row a view
of both actors and choreutae,it would have been necessary that
the platform slope from the proscenium toward the front, and
from a center line toward the sides. It would not have been
easy for the chorus to dance upon such a platform.
In the ruins of the extant cavea at Athens, the thronoi
in the front row, sixty-seven in number, are seen to have
been occupied bv men of the highest dignitv.
Inscriptions on fifty-four of these seats show
that they were occupied by priests, or ministers
connected with religion. In the center thronos sat the priest
of Dionysus Eleuthereus. Other seats in the front of the
theatre were occupied by other dignitaries ; and the seats in the
rest of the theatre were occupied by ordinary citizens. 1 It
seems highly improbable that the arrangement of the theatre
was such that the ordinary citizen had a better view of cho-
reutse and actors than the priest of Dionysus had.
1 Haigh A. T., p. 305sq. This arrangement existed in the time of Hadrian ; but
there can be little doubt that a similar arrangement existed in the fifth century B.-C.
THE STAGE . 87
7. In the theatre at Eretria, which belongs to the fourth
century B.C., there has been discovered a flight (7) The ste g at
of steps leading from the centre of the orchestra Eretria and
to an underground passage, which leads to a
position back of the proscenium, and, at this point, is a flight
of steps similar to the flight leading down from the center of
the orchestra. 1 ''The work of the walls of this tunnel is excel-
lent; it is older than the stone 'stage'-front which corresponds
to the similar structures at Epidaurus, Oropos, and Athens". 2
It is quite impossible to imagine more than one use for this
passage. Pollux 3 tells us of 'Charon's Steps'. We have in this
flight of steps leading down from the center of the orchestra the
Charon's Steps of Pollux. A similar passage has been found at
Magnesia, and at Tralles. At Sicyon, 4 the passage served as a
drain. No such passage has been found at Athens, but it is
probable that such a passage existed there. A platform for
the chorus would have destroyed the use of such a passage.
Finally, if we are to believe that there was a platform for
the chorus, we must assume that the Greeks first
constructed an orchestra for the chorus, and then J*^ 1
a stage twelve feet high for the actors ; but, find- preferred to
ing that the distance between the two levels was
too great to suit the necessities of the drama,
that they next built a platform for the chorus, which brought
actors and choreutae nearer to each other. It seems incredible
that the Greeks, had they made the mistake of constructing a
stage too high, would have gone on doing so year after year,
when the simple device of lowering the stage would have ac-
complished all that was aimed at by a high stage and a plat-
form.
1 Cf. Reprints Amer. Journal Arch., VII., No. 3. 2 Pickard, p. 80.
3 IV., 132. 4 Cf. Amer. Journal Arch., vol. V., fig. 9.
88 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
S3 THE STEPS ; THE DISTEGIA
It is generally admitted that there were instances where the
chorus, or its leader, came into personal contact
If there was pass- .
ing between orches- with the actors. Haigh 1 admits such personal
tra and stage, contact in the Helena, where the leader of the
chorus detained Theoclymenus, who was about
to enter the palace and kill his sister, 2 or in the CEdipus Colo-
neus, where the chorus restrained Creon from carrying oif An-
tigone, 3 or in the Knights, where the coryphaeus handed to the
sausage-seller an oil flask and some garlic. 4 Haigh admits,
also, that in the Prometheus the chorus entered by the stage,
that in the Eumenides, at the opening of the play, the chorus
of Erinyes were on the stage, and that in the Supplices (Eurip.)
the chorus of matrons appeared in the opening scene, kneeling
at the feet of ^Ethra. It is evident that, if in these instances
there was passing between orchestra and stage, this must have
been accomplished by means of steps connecting the two levels.
The authority for the existence of such steps is Pollux. 5
Concerning these steps, it may be observed that no traces of
any such steps have been discovered by modern archaeologists. 6
If, as Haigh claims, 7 these steps in the fifth cen-
ep7an 8tICh tur y R C - were made of wood, and, therefore,
have been destroyed, the question remains, wh}%
after the stone proscenium was constructed, the steps were not
made of stone. Traces of them would then still remain.
Again, if there had been steps connecting stage and orches-
tra, they would have extended a considerable distance into the
orchestra, 8 presenting not a pleasing appearance, and, also,
probably interfering with the free action of the
would have chorus. These steps could not have been placed
hindered free action .
of the chorus. against the center ol the front of the proscenium
and parallel to it, for, in that case, they would
1 A. T., p. 152. 2 Helena. 1621ff. 3 CEd. Col., 856f. 4 Khights, 49Off.
5 IV., 127: eiffekftovTSf (Ji '/.ard ~j^ "l > y.' / 'j fj ~ !'"'') ^~ J "^ Txr^^v o'.a 7./.:;id-
xw; avaffafauutfi. ~^$ '5s x/U'/jiaxf/f <>[ fldJliun, xJLt/iazTijftsy xa/jn^ra'.,
6 Cf. Class. Rev., 1890, p 275. 7 Class. Rev., May, 1890, p. 280.
8 Cf. Pickard, Amer. Journal Phil., April, 1893. p. Slf.
77/7; S'I.\<;i; 89
have seriously interfered with the use of the door in the center
of the proscenium. 1
The existence of these steps is defended by the vases found in
Magna Graecia. 2 On these vases are representations of scenes
from comedy, and from the center of the stages flights of steps
lead down; but Dorpfeld has shown 3 that these vases date
no further back than the third century B. C.,
and that no such vases have been found", except
in lower Italy. No vase painters of Athens had
set the example of painting such scenes, and this is no reason, if
they had, why the painters of Southern Italy should have gone
back more than a century for the scenes of their pictures. No
chorus is ever found in these lower Italy paintings. These
vases, then, seem to have no bearing upon the present question.
Recent excavations show that the depth of the stage at
Athens was about eight feet. 4 The nitr-sri* was a ledge, or plat-
form, on \vhich might appear several persons.
, . f*T- r r t. - The depth of the
It represented, in general, the roof of a house. o^r^ia.
How deep this distegia was we have not been
told by ancient authorities, but must let the plays indicate.
The watchman, at the opening of the Agamemnon, represents
that he has spent a year on the distegia. We would naturally
conclude that the distegia in this instance was of considerable
area. Toward the close of the Clouds, Strepsiades climbs to
the roof of the phrontisterion. He says (1495f.) that he
is chopping logic with the beams of the house, and (1503) that
he is walking on air. Presumably he is not free from violent
motions w r hen he thus speaks. In both these instances, then,
we must infer that the distegia was large enough to allow con-
siderable freedom of action. 6 It seems hardly possible that this
freedom could have been obtained on a distegia less than three
feet deep. The stage-scenery was as far front of the back wall
as the distegia was deep. Allowing, then, three feet for the
distegia, and what one may wish for the scenery, there remains
less than five feet for the depth of the stage. Those that believe
1 .Cf. p. 93 below. 2 Haigh, Class. Rev., 1890, p. 280.
3 Class. Rev., 1890, p. 275. 4 Cf. Pickard, p. 8Of. 5 Pollux, IV., 129.
6 Cf also Orestes, 1573ff.; Wasps, 14-3ft"; Peace, 223ff. In the last instance the
chorus appears on the distegia.
90 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
that the stage was used for the actors must believe that on this
stage, less than five feet deep, appeared at the same time several
actors, many attendants, even horses and chariots.
The construction of the auditorium of the theatre of Diony-
sus was such that while all the spectators had an excellent view
of the orchestra, many of them had only a poor
Many would have view of the stage. Thus, a person sitting
of the act r rs. ieV near the place indicated by the letter F (cf. plan
p. 91) would have been able to see but little
that was taking place on the stage, if anything at all. The
plans of the theatres at Epidaurus, Eretria, and Megalopolis,
show a method of construction similar to that of the theatre at
Athens. These three theatres belong to the fourth century
B. C. It cannot be contended that they were constructed
to suit plays in which the chorus was the predominant feature,
for, in the fourth century, the importance of the chorus was
greatly diminished. If we believe, then, that the actors stood
on the stage, we shall be compelled to believe, also, that
the Greeks built theatres that gave to many of the spectators a
very poor view of the actors.
4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
In deciding the question whether the actors stood on the
stage, or in the orchestra, we must draw our evidence from
three sources ancient writers, the existing ruins,
the plays themselves. Of these sources, the last
outweighs in value the other two. 1 Before
examining the plays of the dramatists, it remains to see what
evidence is afforded by the investigations of the ruins on
the site of the theatre of Dionysus. 2
1 Dorpfeld himself in his recension of Haigh's Att. Th., Berl. Phil. Woch., 189O,
468, recognizes the fact that the plays are ottr best source of information.
2 The results of Dorpfeld's investigations are given by Pickard, Amer. Journal
Phil., April, 1893; and by Miss Harrison, Class. Rev., 1890, pp. 274sq.
THE STAGE 91
The oldest of the existing ruins are the remains of an
orchestra, HKM(cf. plan) . There are remains, also, of a cavea,
of stage-buildings, and of a second orchestra.
That the first-mentioned orchestra has no con- Tbe ancient
... ., . , r orchestra; other
nection with the cavea is seen, at a glance, from
the relative positions of the two. That there is
no connection between this orchestra and the stage-buildings is
evident from the fact that the stage-buildings cross the orches-
tra. The construction of the supporting walls of this ancient
orchestra belongs to some period not later than the fifth century
B. C., as is clear from the fact that they are built of irregularly
shaped pieces of Acropolis limestone, a material for building
that was not used later than the fifth century. These support-
ing walls are made necessary because the level of the earth
is about six feet lower on the southern side than on the other
sides of the orchestra. We know that there were no stage-
buildings in connection with this orchestra, because the walls
on their outer surface are finely dressed on all sides. If on one
side there had been stage-buildings tangent to the walls, on
that side it would have been unnecessary to have the walls so
finely dressed. These walls present just the appearance that we
should expect to find, if the audience was seated on all sides of
the orchestra. The inference is strong that it was on this
orchestra that the plays of the four dramatists were produced,
and, with the picture of this orchestra before us, we can easily
see how, in the final catastrophe of the Prometheus, the Titan
and his s\ r mpathizing chorus were made to disappear from the
sight of the spectators.
92 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
The walls of the oldest stage-buildings, and of the cavea,
belong to the same period of construction.
" Wherever these walls were not exposed to view
belong to the as in the inner supporting walls of the cavea
ort^ro d n f * and in the lower foundations of the stage-
buildings, they are constructed of blocks of brec-
cia of the same size, shape and method of working throughout.
If exposed to view, as in the outer cavea wall and in the upper
courses [of the stage-buildings], Peiraieus limestone was used.
When any portion of the superstructure remains, the Peiraieus
limestone is covered by Hymettos marble." 1 It is evident,
then, that the stage-buildings and cavea belong to the same
period of construction. That this period is the fourth century
B. C. is shown by three facts: (1) No ruins in Atnens con-
structed as these are belong to a period prior to the fourth cen-
tury. (2) At the point A in the supportiug-wall of the cavea
are found the letters & and <>, the former of which is of the shape
in use after the time of Eucleides. (3) At the point B in the
supporting wall is an inscription, 2 the date of which is uncer-
tain, but which certainly falls somewhere within the period
450-400 B. C. That the inscription could not have been made
after the stone which bears the inscription was put in its pres-
ent position is clear from the fact that above it are two layers
of stone. It is only reasonable to believe that the stone re-
mained in its former position some length of time, before it was
removed to the cavea wall. The longer we may believe it to
have remained in its former position, the later do we bring the
construction of the cavea walls. Dorpfeld points, further, to
the fact that the fourth century was the great theatre-building
time in Greece, and to the improbability^ that so important a
structure as the theatre of Dionysus, had it been built in the
fifth century, could have escaped mention by classic writers. 3
1 Pickard, p. 71. 2 Published in CIA, I., 499.
3 Haigh (A. T., p. 123f.) opposes these views of Dorpfeld, and, relying on the tra-
dition recorded by Suidas (v. 7r j oo>? />?' (184). The use of
this last word indicates that he was close to his children. At
verse 189, Danaus commands his children : -tifM -pofftZsiv rtiwY
aytavtwv Oscw. The word -fatis indicates that the altar was near
to the speaker. The command is repeated (191): w/rr^rra pare,
and the chorus in reply state their desire to be near their father,
in the words: Olhnit liv rfiy './
upas a-zoaitfiffas x6//.r^ (909). The king tells the herald (940f.) that
he may lead away the willing maidens. It is evident, then, that
the herald, also, was near to the children and the altar. He,
also, was in the orchestra. The king (954f.) bids the children
go to the city. They ask (968ff.) that before they go their
father be sent to them. He arrives at v. 980, and then leads
the way to the city, followed by his children. It can hardly be
1 Many of the arguments advanced in the following pages have been produced by
White, in "The 'Stage' in Aristophanes", Harv. Studies in Class. Phil., 1891 ; by Capps,
in 'The Greek Stage', Trans. Amer. Phil. Ass., 1891 : and by Pickard, in 'The Relative
Positions of Actors and Chorus in the Greek Theatre', Amer. Jour. Phil., July, Oct.,
1893. The conclusions reached in the folio-wing pages have, however, been arrived at
by an independent study of the plays, and before reading the articles above mentioned.
In all cases, where suggestions have been received from those writers, credit has been
given to them.
THE STAGE 95
believed that in this procession the father marched out by the
stage, the children by the parodos.
No scenery was needed for this play. All that was required
was an orchestra in which were many altars (Cf. 465), and in
which actors and chorus took part.
Persas
At her second entrance (598), Atossa announces that she
conies without her chariot : >so r o/^tjArw^ (607).
Because she thus specifies, we may infer that at Pers
her first entrance (159) she came in her chariot.
It may be safely assumed that in the instances where actors ar-
rived on chariots they entered by the parodos into the orches-
tra. We have seen that the depth of the stage at Athens was
eight feet, or, allowing for distegia and scenery, a trifle less than
five feet. 1 There was not room for a chariot on a stage such as
that. Though Xerxes arrived in sorry garb (907), it was
probable that he was accompanied by attendants, and that he
entered on a chariot. He, therefore, as well as Atossa, entered
into the orchestra ; and it is evident that Atossa expected her
son to come to this place, for, before she left to prepare the liba-
tion in honor of her husband, she urged the chorus (529) to es-
cort her son to the palace, if he should come in her absence. Evi-
dently, the chorus could not act as an escort to Xerxes, if he
was to enter upon a stage, while they were in the orchestra.
At verse 598, Atossa returns with the offerings in honor of
her husband. The chorus participate with her in offering the
libation (623ff.) 2 The tomb of Darius, therefore, was near to
both Atossa and the chorus, a fact that is further shown by the
words of the ghost (684-): foiMFffatv rr; rr^ ifjeqv rdtpou tc&kaSi
and (686): > r >,ueis 3s Oftr^si-i ^u? f/rrwres 1 r
speak in his presence. They say (694f.): 0*60 pat t nsv xptHTid&ff&ai, \
fftfioimt S 1 a-;~ia )*i=ai. Darius, after conversing with the chorus for
twenty-two verses (681-702), turns to Atossa and bids her
speak (703ff.) The conversation then is between Darius and
Atossa, and extends to v. 784, when heagain addresses the cho-
1 Page 89 above. 2 Cf. Pickard, p. 202.
96 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
'rus: i.wn zuvrjh%s$ (784). This turning, first to one, then to the
other, plainly indicates that all were together.
The chorus (671ff.) call Darius from the lower world. He
appears at verse 681, and at once addresses the chorus, though
Atossa is present. The underground passage with a flight of
steps leading from it to the center of the orchestra in the theatre
at Eretria has been described. 1 No such passage has been dis-
covered at Athens, but the inference is strong that such a pass-
age existed there, and that by means of it the ghost of Darius
entered in the present instance, for, if the entrance had been to
the stage upon which Atossa was standing, the first words of
the ghost would naturally have been addressed to her, not to
the chorus. Atossa, in the text, is not recognized b} r the ghost
till v. 703.
At verse 1038, Xerxes says to the chorus : npo$ do/mus 8* .''/><,
and he repeats the command at v. 1068 : $ dopou? xts. The play
closes with the words of the chorus (1076): -li^w rot vs duffftpAois
roots, with which words Xerxes and the chorus leave the theatre
together.
No scenery was needed for this play. The #,? evidently
was not in the background. When Atossa enters at v. 598,
presumably she came from her house, and this was so faraway
that she might have come on her chariot ; else she would not
have specified that she had come without it. At the close of
the play, when the chorus was ordered to lead to the <5//s, the
command was evidently not to lead to a do/w? in the back-
ground . This plaj r required only an orchestra upon \vhich both
actors and chorus stood.
1 Cf. p. 87 above.
THE STAGE 97
Seven Against Thebes
The play opens with the wordsKad/wv -<>).i-m, ThatEteocles
is here addressing many of the citizens is evident
from his words : against
hi.. (10, 11, 14).
and A/' 9 r' t/rAc9 xal
0a)()ax~ia x. r. A. (30-33).
The question may fairly be asked whether all these persons
would not have more than filled the stage.
In several places the choreutas are represented as clinging to
the altars. At v. 96f., they say: x,ue pfterltuv \ e'/exptoffff% %fhm (282). It is evi-
dent that during the time of speaking these verses (128-282)
the chariot, with the choreutae within it, was not suspended in
the air. They state in v. 130 that they have come r* (3). In the speech that opens the play,
the \vatchman states that on the roof of this Agamemnon
palace he has kept watch for a 3^ear. The roof
of the proscenium would have afforded a more suitable place
upon which to keep so long a \vatch, than would a distegia of
three feet in depth.
The herald, v. 524, cautions the chorus to warmly welcome
Agamemnon on his arrival: zo w aff-dtraffH^ and in verse 601
Clytemnestra states it as her intention to welcome back her
husband : ff-sb ,WKT nizafffta>. As he is, thus, to be wel-
comed by both actor and chorus, we may expect him to come
to a place common to both actor and chorus. He arrives (782)
in his chariot, and we need not doubt that he entered the or-
chestra. The chorus in saluting the king states its desire not to
fall short in showing him affection, xaipov %dptru$ (787). This
affection would have seemed rather a cold one, if the king had
been high above the chorus, on a stage.
At verse 906, the queen invites Agamemnon to alight, and
(908f.) calls upon her attendants to spread tapestry for him to
tread upon. If this action took place upon the stage, there
\vere upon the stage a chariot, the attendants of Clytemnestra,
the attendants of the king, for, though no such persons are
mentioned, a king would not have come unattended, besides the
queen herself, and space upon which to spread the tapestry.
At the cry of Agamemnon, after he has received his death-
blow, the chorus exclaims (1350): i'to} 8* 8-to$ rdyttrrd f i;j~s(r^
doxst. Such a sentiment as this would not have been expressed
if there had been a difficult ascent to climb in order to reach the
palace; nor, in this case, would the verb used have been^.-^iv.
Some verb expressing ascent would have been used.
When Clytemnestra re-appears, she points out tothechorus
1 Cf. p. 91 above.
100 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
the body of the slain king, with the words: <>UTI*S .ii^^^
&/JLOS | -/n9, Xf)u? ixT{/>6xa>Kov v(5//o? dlzaffO" , and with
these words we may understand that he handed the robe to the
chorus.
Eumenides
The chorus (140ff.) rush from the temple of Apollo in search
of Orestes. At v. 179, Apollo says to the cho-
Eumenides TUS : ^tt>, X/.si)cu J TttmJe dwfj.(i~toy ~fi%o$ I ywpGtT , W"e
may, therefore, infer that they lingered near the
temple.
1 Cf. Capps, p. 45. The fact that Electra and the chorus were together during thivS
libation convinced Hermann that the tomb was on the margin of the stage. De re.
seen, in ^Esch. Orest., p. 9: "Non est dubitandum quin sepulcrum Agamemnonis in
margine proscenii sit."
THE STAGE 101
At vs. 244ff., the chorus of Furies are searching for Orestes.
They must have entered the theatre b} r the same route by which
he had entered. Their words are:
/-,';> TOO' iy lxfj.aretjofi.ey.
That the Furies search in all places where Orestes would be like
ly to be is shown by their words (255f.):
opa opa f
He is at last found at the altar of Athena: -sp\ ppiret Tr
dijf)f>(',Too (259). The chorus, thus, in this search scene are on the
stage, if there was a stage.
At the trial scene, we may believe that all the participants
\vere together. The Furies, as prosecutors of Orestes, would
naturally be near him. The judges, the men of the Areopagus,
would not be separated from either plaintiff or defendant. Be-
sides these, there were present Apollo, Athena, who presided,
the servants of the temple, who at the close of the play led the
procession, and altars, of Earth (2), of Themis (2), and of
Athena (446). There was room for this trial scene only in the
orchestra.
At the close of the play, Athena says (1003f.): xporipav d' l/j.s
/j>rj | <7Tr/cw OaXd!J.oos dxode{~ouffa<;. At the head of the procession
proper are the servants of the temple with lighted torches, (cf.
1005): ~/>o9 ^o>9 ispov rtivde rrpoxofj-a)';. Nextin theprocessioncome
the Areopagites, who are followed by the Eumenides, (cf. lOlOf.) :
-aides Kpavaou ralffde /i.eToixoi$.
It seems highly improbable that the splendor of this clos-
ing scene was marred by having different parts of the proces-
sion leave the theatre on different levels.
SOPHOCLES Ajax
When the chorus returned from their search for Ajax (866),
as they were still searching for him, it is only
reasonable to suppose that they looked in the Ajax
places where he would likely be. The search
102 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CEXTl'KY
continued till Tecmessa found him (891). That the chorus
roamed for so long a time on the stage is not probable, nor is
it probable that Tecmessa was searching on one elevation, and
the chorus on another. The extent of the place in which the
search occurs is shown by the circumstances of the finding
of Ajax. Tecmessa finds the body, and exclaims: id> ;>.<>i ;un
(891.) The cry is heard by the chorus, but at first they do not
see Tecmessa (892). Finally they cry : nnf>>>.<>i>nv w^w <, f x (894.)
The search for Ajax then takes place in the orchestra.
At v. 984 Teucer asks where the son of Ajax is. The chorus
reply (985) that he is in the tent. Teucer says (986) : ^r 1 ,>-!
a'lcj? dsupo; Though the order is not executed, it would not have
been given if great difficulty had stood in the way ol its execu-
tion. Finally, the boy comes from thetent (1168); Teucertakes
him to the corpse of his father (1172), and intending himself to
depart, in order to prepare for the burial of Ajax, he commends
him to the care of the chorus. Cf. 1182f.:
It is evident that during this scene chorus and actors were to-
gether.
At v. 329 Tecmessa says to the chorus : //^7^ sitrsMvTs?.
They do not obey the command, yet they go very near to the
tent. At v. 344 the chorus ask Tecmessa to open the door, and
at v. 346 she opens it, adding: -/^xrff/^-sjv F s'= &"$ "*''
Till-: STA(rI- 103
Antigone
When Ismene enters, she approaches so near to the chorus
that the\- notice closely her troubled counte-
nance. Cf. 526ff.: Antigone
y.a\ n. : f^ ~in> f>/.(0's ~/i<) 'JiffHj^jj
<>;i.i-;~f t '
When Creon enters with the lifeless body of his son, the
chorus are the first to see his approach, and his first words are
to them. Cf. 1261ff.:
(FTSftStt
HOW T near the chorus at this time drew to the body of Harmon,
it is impossible to say, but it is only natural to believe that
they actualty surrounded it.
At the conclusion of the play, Creon saj r s (1339):
Creon has been conversing with the chorus since v. 1317, and
the command we may believe is addressed to them, and that
with the closing words of the chorus vs. 1347-1353, chorus and
actors leave the theatre together.
Electra
The sympathy that the chorus felt for Electra was so great
that we do not naturally think of them as
separated from her in position. This sympathy Electra (soph.)
is displayed in the conversation that takes
place between them vs. 121-327. At v. 130 Electra calls the
chorus her solace (-/>a/jF/>vi/), at v. 229, her comforters (-/>-
yoftot.) During vs. 804-874 Electra and the chorus are again
alone, the chorus here (cf. 828 if.) trying to comfort Electra.
At v. 1204 Orestes would speak in their presence, if convinced
of their friendliness, and at v. 1204 Electra assures her brother
that thev are friendly.
104 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
When the attendant arrives (660), he addresses his first
words to the chorus, asking whether he is at the palace of the
king. Clytemnestrais at the time present. Had the attendant
entered on a stage, on which an actor was present, he would
not have directed his first words to the chorus. Similarly,
when Orestes arrives (1098), he addresses the chorus first,
though Electra is present. In the latter instance, after the
chorus (1102) have assured Orestes that he is at the palace of
.^Egistheus, Orestes asks them, v. 1103 f.:
'fjif.a)'; 1tO$6tvi)V XOtVOTCOUV TTC
It is evident from this question that it would not have been
difficult for a member of the chorus to go from orchestra to
palace. It is true that no member of the chorus actually
does go into the palace, but, as in all the instances where the
chorus is ordered to enter, or deliberates doing so, the failure
to enter the palace can in no way be construed as evidence that
there were steps to climb, in order to reach it. The fact that it
is suggested that they enter is sufficient evidence that to do so
is not unusual, or difficult. In none of the cases that occur of
a deliberated or an ordered entrance, is there any suggestion of
difficulty, or any verb used implying that an ascent would have
to be made. In the present instance, the chorus turn to Electra,
and (1106) bid her go within the palace; but she also fails to
go. It could not be claimed that her failure was due to the
difficulty of reaching the palace.
CEdipus Tyrannus
When the chorus bow as suppliants before the king (40f.),
and, again, when they prostrate themselves be-
cEdipus Tyrannus fore thepricst (327), we may believe that chorus
and actors \vere not separated. The priest
assumes that the suppliants were with him : (& -aidss, iffra> l 'j.e rwv ra/>v -;/?. This freed om of con versa-
1 Pickard, p. 211.
7 HE STAGE 105
tion implies closeness of position. Had the messenger (924) en-
tered upon a stage, inasmuch as Jocasta was standing there,
he would not have directed his first words to the chorus.
Though nothing in the context leads us to think that the
chorus ascended from orchestra to stage, they were there, if
there was a stage, when CEdipus ordered them to take him
away, and when he ordered them to touch him. Cf. 1340 f.:
//,
v it.i-fav and 1410ff.:
Also Creon orders the chorus to take GEdipus awa}-. Cf. 1429:
CEdipus Coloneus
The scene of this play was the grove of the Eumenides,
csv; Os(M (10), a*Mo$ (98), in which were the bay,
the olive, the vine (17). Into this grove Antigone (Edip
had conducted her father. At the entrance of
the citizen of Coloneus, CEdipus retired from the sacred grove
(36if.). If, at this time, he was on the stage, as the grove must
have occupied the greater part of it, we must believe that he
withdrew to one end of it; and we must believe, also, that all
the actors in the play stood at one end of the stage, for they,
also, would not tread on hallowed ground. If this was the
case, it is difficult to see where the attendants of Creon stood
(723), or now Ismene entered on horseback (324).
After the chorus have ordered CEdipus to withdraw from the
grove, the following conversation takes place (178, 180 f.) :
CEd.: -f)t>6oj] Chorus: i-if>a&t -o/xnn.
CEd.: err; Chorus: vpodiSa^Sj nodpa^ \ -6/tfrw
Such a movement as that could have taken place only in the
orchestra.
When the chorus enter, they search for CEdipus, xfwfftifyzorj,
Isnffffi w, | xfwffxsnftou -rvrs\ At v.
861 the chorus describe the look on the face of Philoctetes ; at
v. 866 Neoptolemus notices that he is moving his eye. In these
instances chorus and actor are equally near to the tent.
THE STAGE 107
The chorus, in this play, have a part to perform that is the
same as that of Neoptolemus and Ulysses : we therefore expect
to find no separation in position. At v. 48 Neoptolemtis says
that Philoctetes is approaching, and that the path shall be
watched [by him]. At vs. 150ff. the chorus speak of their duty
of watching for the coming of Philoctetes, adding their fear lest
he approach to them unobserved. It is clear, then, that Phil-
octetes was to approach to a position occupied by both
chorus and Neoptolemus.
At v. 825 Neoptolemus brings the chorus into the action
with himself; /// ia<7t>>.z';, ^7of,he says. When Philoctetes vents
his rage (927-962), the chorus reply (963), ri dpA/iev; two other
actors being present at the time. When Philoctetes appears
(219), his opening words are to both chorus and Neoptolemus
(cf. &<>f)dv y toode 0TJffo/j.a,t vsxpoo.
~df)ffT '/Ml fJ.lv OVTSf dvTrj%rj(TfJt.T.
7Tttva TW x7w'/v ouTicovdw //soi j and, again,
(606ff.)l avftpuw fopatwv nfj.';rj? -aftooffia,
vizov /j.sv rjdrj -ndvr zynv-a. itpoffftohn
tplpoofftv apdijv s>$ rdtpov TS xa} -nj>?xl'xw; zEw. At v. 820 Medea savs to
the chorus : /./' s7 /w/' - -/.a} xo>t.i? Vv, and that one of the cho-
rus actually did go to the house for Jason may be inferred from
the latter's first words on entering (866): i t xw /-/^W>^V.
When Medea is about to kill her children, the chorus medi-
tate entering the house (cf. 1275, -/>?/ Vw W/ju/u?;), and the sons
call to them to come to their aid (cf. 1277, >;'. -<>o* Ozar,, a^a-").
The chorus, at this time, were standing near the house, as may
be inferred from Jason's words (1293): Y'""- 1 - 7 -^ '- '?,<*<*" */
Tc tfTi'^C.
Hippolytus
Phsedra says to the chorus in vs. 575ff.:
UltUtAOfJLSffftoL) Tdlffd iltlffTOLffat ~''i/.a'.^.
fkxouffatrft <>^ X;/,^.ooc iv dofjmt$- oi - ; '/^ i-o,,.o^ (777). The chorus de-
liberate whether the shall enter the house. Cf. 782f.:
)J>rj ; to which they reply (804): T"tfoDTo
aprt yap zdfo) dfwt$. From this we may infer that, though they
did not enter, they approached near to the house.
Hippoh^tus was certainly not on the stage, when he asked
the chorus to conduct him away. Cf. 1098f.:
Andromache
A stage would not have been large enough to contain the
shrine of Thetis, at which Andromache was sit-
Andromache ting at the opening of the play. It is referred
to by several different names : Va//jt (115), f-
Aaov dpav (135), ft u> !>.rjOo? ^.as, 880). When he arrives his first words
are to the chorus (881f.). He states that he is present to learn
concerning Hermione (cf. 887ff.). Hermione is herself present,
and answers him (891ff.). He, thus, does not observe Her-
mione, till ten verses after his arrival. This scene is rendered
clear, only on the assumption that the chorus see Orestes com-
ing to ward them over the parodos, and that he sees them before
he sees Hermione, and, therefore, addresses them first. When
Peleus enters, v. 547, his first words are to both chorus and
Menelaus: "/'-? c//wri rwv /.. r. /.
The sympathy that the chorus feel for Andromache may in-
duce us to believe that they were not separated from her. (Cf.
xr//rr, 141; tjjz~stf>\ 421).
The nurse requests the chorus to enter the palace and render
aid: w^iV ds fiatrai ra>>3s $>>w-(,r; strw (817). The entrance of Her-
mione makes it unnecessary for the chorus to obey the com-
mand, yet, if to do so had involved either difficulty or ascent, it
is natural to believe that something in the text would have so
implied.
1 Pickard, p. 278,
THE STAGE 111
Heracleidae
At vs. 69f. lolaus calls on the chorus to defend the sons of
Hercules: <*> ~? *Afti[va$ Sanov olxoovres gpovov | d/j.u-
vetf. Copreus threatens, despite the protests of Heracieid*
Demophoon, to drag away these children : ruus dtrOsvijs fj.fr/rj. It is evident that the
chorus could not have thus inspired Copreus with fear, if they
had not been near to him.
The children were certainly near to the choreutae, when lo-
laus ordered them to extend to the choreutae their hands, and
the choreutae to extend theirs to the children. Cf. 30 7f.:
doT j (o Ti/'/, ai)~oi yzlpa dzziav do~s :
W/ieFff ~ ItOLtfft) XfJLt ~t/9 ~(>0(Tl)Mz.T.
When lolaus saw Copreus coming, he called to the children,
(vs. 4-8f.): oj rtxva Ti'/vr/, oeofiOj Xa}j.dvefff? t//)v | Trt/rAwv It is evident
that they then took their seat at the altar. Cf- 61 :
oo d^r^ j i~z{ ;j.oi fttu/Jior), aiiw dyainzi-z fs-i^ \>j.rjTf><>$. On this
assumption, they sang the long ode (42-86) on the stage. At
no place is mention made of their descending into the orchestra.
At v. 279 the are evidentl near to Theseus. Cf. 277f.:
At v. 81 Iff. Adrastus orders the bodies of the slain to be
112 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
brought in. At v. 815ff. the chorus, who are the mothers of the
dead, ask that the bodies of the children be placed in their arms,
and their request is granted. 1
At v. 941 Adrastus orders the mothers to draw nigh to their
children; this Theseus opposes (942if.), and Adrastus then
promises the mothers that they shall at last receive the bones
of their SOns: orv 8s -nvafts -/toffftw/jisy -u/>{, I tiff TO. XftoffriZefftf (948f.).
These bones they see brought in at v. 1114f., and receive them
from the boy that brings them : ii>\ "!>?} >>.r^ b-opd/M tr-odov
(1160).
At the close of the pla}~, v. 1232, the chorus say,
"Adpafftf, and with those words chorus and actors leave the the-
atre together.
Hecuba
Hecuba enters with the chorus saying (59ff.)r
W^cT^, O> KGLtd$) ~ij\> yftfJL"')'; ~f>u dofJLWVj
Hecuba wz~ di&ovffat r> 6J.6dou)iov
Hecuba, thus, enters the orchestra, and it was entirely appro-
priate that she who was a captive should appear in the imme-
diate company of the chorus, who were composed of captive
women.
Talthybius enters at v. 484, and addresses the chorus ask-
ing where he may find Hecuba. The chorus reply that she is
lying on the ground near him : ".''>-f l -DM$
p>.<; ai(7fh>.',<>!w.>. -fiws yuwixaw 1070f.). He is now in the orches-
tra, though no mention has been made of his descending a flight
of steps, which, in fact, would not be an easy task for a blind
and enraged man. The evident explanation is that when Hec-
uba fled from Polymnestor she withdrew to a remote part of
the orchestra. Thechorusalso fled from Polymnestor, and aft-
er he had roamed over all parts of the orchestra, he came upon
them (1070), as they were treading with muffled step.
At the close of the play, all leave the orchestra together.
Agamemnon says (1288f.):
' and the chorus reply,
VS. 1293ff.I :'T -<>o$ /!/*>? ffxr^tis re, y}^<> h vo/>w> (527), and he states his intention
of drawing nigh to them (529). As, before this, no mention has
been made of a crowd of men, we may believe that Hercules
found his children close by the chorus.
At v. 747f. the chorus say :
At v. 761 they express their intention to withdraw, and at
v. 763 they begin a choral ode. It is evident, therefore, that the
chorus did not mount the stage, for, on that assumption, we
should be obliged to think either that the time of speaking a
114 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
single verse was all that they required for passing from the
stage to their positions in the orchestra, or else that they began
the choral ode before reaching the orchestra. Either of these
suppositions is improbable. The chorus, then, merely moved
toward the wall of tne proscenium. There is no evidence that
they saw what was taking place within the house.
At v. 1031 the chorus have again approached the house, and
this time they see many things that are within it. Amphitryon
orders them to withdraw, that Hercules ma3 r continue sleeping
( 1042ff . ) ; he tells them to withdraw still further ( 1 047ff. ) . This
they do, and are no longer able to see what is within thehouse,
for, while at v. 1034 they notice that Hercules is sleeping, after
withdrawing from the house they say to Amphitryon (1060)
Ion
Creusa calls the chorus her faithful servants: (dou^.sufj.a -urrovj
748). The chorus declare to Creusa that they
ion desire to share her fate (857f.). With such sym-
pathy existing between Creusa and the chorus,
we may believe that they were not separated in position.
Ion says to the chorus, v. 510: -^'x^-o^n ywaixes, ai rdtwY d<>.-
'-' ,'*"'. ~ft\ ~l<7'.'; t/././.n'.^ O.t%fl.aA(OTidt0V uym.
In vs. 1266ff. he commands them to go to the ships :
v rra:occ. (>titw <',rav
At v. 1269 he commands Hecuba also to go :
ft'') r ? OJ ~i'Z)'/'/.:.
These orders are obeyed and chorus and actors leave together.
Cf. 1331f. I '('> ~< I-/*' !.'.';< I. ~o/>'.^' (>!>.^ ok
-(f2[>z -oda ffu'; i~\ -/.(/.-a^ \\y uk -/.ayoj ft<>\ an*^>.r>z)Jt^ <]<>!>.^,
Helen in reph^, vs. 330f., calls the chorus her Helena
friends, and bids them enter the house: /Jars ^drs
o > oo'i.uos. After the close of this dialogue (385), neither cho-
rus nor Helen appears again till the chorus speaks at v. 515
saying: yzuuffa r^ Usv-uptiw) -/.<'> t>^, Helen says, v. 528f.:
IfS* d.n ~('/.(f<> Tttud l'.^ sdf)ty yQ} 7TAtV
f7-i ! .-/<.i>, >i.(/.ih^>fT(/. ^iovo^c e{/j>u /J'>YO>)^. It is clear,
therefore, that Helen and the chorus enter the palace in com-
pany.
In another passage, the chorus and an actor are very near
each other. At v. 1628, Theoclymenus bids the chorus stand
aside. They then refuse to let go his garments (1629). He or-
ders them to let him go (1631). This they refuse to do (1631 ).
Finally they say to him, (vs. 1639f.): arses' ffi
a/.A IV'
116 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
Iphigenia in Tauris
Iphigenia calls the chorus her attendants (-/^IT-O/O^V, 63),
fyjLwat (143), dearest women, ((piXrarat yuvauss,
iph. inTaur. 1056). She beseeches them to keep her plans
secret. Cf. 1068ff.:
icpoq ffe ds;:ta$ y
Her she beseeches the members of the
chorus individually, even grasping them by the knees.
At v. 342 Iphigenia orders the strangers brought in. The
chorus first see them coming (456f.); and at v. 468 Iphigenia
orders the chorus to release them from their bonds : //^VSTS ~&v
At v. 470 Iphigenia orders the chorus to go within the
temple, and make ready the sacrifice : v?> o erroj ffTsfyiivrss '*>-/>*-
TTf'Csrs, and a similar command is given at v. 1079 : /^v y>//
xai ffov elfffiatvetv dofj.ous'
At v. 636 Iphigenia says that she is going into the temple,
and calls upon the chorus to guard the strangers : fFu/0vrsr' ''>'/ r i ~ f i^ c/'-ftJ 1 ' ~c~/wv. (184f.)
At the entrance of Clytemnestra on her chariot (988), the
chorus first address her, as was natural on the assumption that
she entered the orchestra. At v. 1004 Electra comes forward
and offers to help her mother alight.
Orestes
On their entrance, the chorus approach near to the palace
in front of which Orestes is lying asleep. Electra
(136ff.) addressing them as dearest women (^t'x- Orestes
rarac ywaixs?) bids them proceed with gentle step,
lest they awake Orestes. The chorus promise quiet, (144).
They are so near to Orestes at v. 173 that they notice that he
is sleeping, (^-vaWcO. Electra has already ordered them to
withdraw (170), and at v. 180 she again orders them to retire
from his couch. This time they obey, and at vs. 208f. they request
Electra to draw nigh to the couch, in order to see whether her
brother still lives. Although this scene could have been acted
with a stage five feet in height, with a stage of the Vitruvian
1 Cf. Capps, p. 21.
118 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
height the chorus could not have approached near enough to
Orestes to see that he was sleeping.
At v. 356 Menelaus enters, and at vs. 375ff. asks thechoru^
where Orestes is. The latter is present, and replies (380ff.) to
the words of Menelaus. At v. 470 Tyndareus enters, and in-
quires of the chorus where he can find his son-in-law, Menelaus.
The latter is present and replies to the words of Tyndareus. If,
in the former instance, the claim should be made that Menelaus
asked the chorus for the information he desired, because, al-
though he saw Orestes, he did not recognize him (cf. 377ff.), the
claim could hardly be made, in the latter instance, that Tyn-
dareus failed to recognize his son-in-law. The true explana-
tion doubtless is that, as the chorus are the first to see the in-
coming actors (cf. 348, 456ff.), so, on arriving, the actors see
the chorus before seeing other actors present, which would have
been possible only on condition of their entering the orchestra.
In the case of Menelaus, that he came into the immediate pres-
ence of the chorus, is still further shown by his command to
them to conduct him to his son, ay"^ i>^ (474).
Electra arranges the chorus in two divisions. Cf. 1251f.:
ffrijJP >.kv f)t).a)v to*s$ (iiiMziffWi TpifftWj
~/.-avzlv (Too Bu^OLf^p . st ffouXst /JLttfts'tv,
Menelaus had already said (1573ff.):
' 5 A.afj.itd3wv 6{>a> ffl^Ctf.
axpetv Tofrfffa
THE STAGE 119
Phcenissae
When the chorus prostrate themselves before Polvnices, we
may believe that he was in the orchestra near
them. Cf. 291ff.:
The chorus (296ff.) summon Jocasta from the house, that she
may embrace her son. Jocasta comes forth at v. 301 and be-
gins addressing the chorus, not catching sight of her son till she
has spoken three verses. Cf. 304ff.:
Iphigenia in Aulis
Ch r temnestra enters on her chariot at v. 607. After thank-
ing the chorus for their words of welcome 1 she
speaks as follows (610-618): iph. in Aulis
d/J? Ojfrjfj.fi-w;
k'zd) Ttosbsiy '/c (ftrsd^ '/-<' >r
fft) O ? (D ~'/.';0'; ;!.';> d
til's afrits '/-a\ -utts'xTar i!~ fr/r^w.-
ffdxooy disijVTjS iu$ d-; ixJiiit
These words were spoken to the chorus ; and the\ r would have
been meaningless, unless Clytemnestra had been in the orches-
tra at the time of speaking them. Crytemnestra next greets
Agamemnon (633f.); Iphigenia does likewise (cf. 635if.). 2 We
may, therefore, infer that Agamemnon also was in the orchestra.
At vs. 11 If. the Presbeus is ordered by Agamemnon to go
to Argos with a letter. The command is repeated at v. 139,
1 The verses of the chorus spoken in welcome to the approaching Clytemnestra
(598-606) are bracketed in the Nauck edition, as well as vs. 619-632 which fnclude part
of Clytemnestra's opening speech, and the words of Iphigenia stating her desire to go
to greet her father. 2 These verses also are bracketed in the Nauck edition.
120 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
when the Freshens replies (140), (T-SOOM, $iw./.d. Then follows a
conversation between Agamemnon and the Freshens (141-161),
in which the former gives parting instructions, and the latter
assents to the former's injunctions. During this conversation
the two were doubtless moving slowly aw r ay ; but it would
have been impossible to consume the time of speaking (twenty-
two verses) while walking from the center to the side of the
stage. Agamemnon and his deputy, then, as they spoke these
verses, were moving slowly down the parodos.
Bacchae
The sympathy existing between Dionysus and the choreutae
would lead us to believe that they were not sep-
Bacchze arated in position. When Dionysus is away
from them, they call him to come into their band
(582ff.), and when he comes, they express their desolateness in
his absence (609), and call him their guardian (614).
The play opens with a speech by Dionysus. At vs. 58ff. the
god bids the chorus take their drums, and beat them around
the palace of Pentheus. This order would imply that the pal-
ace was within easy reach of the chorus while standing in their
usual position. Dionysus says (56f.) that he brought the women
of the chorus as his assistants and companions. We may infer,
therefore, that at the opening of the play Dionysus marched in-
to the orchestra followed by the chorus.
The entrance of Pentheus at v. 215 was into the orchestra.
After entering he speaks for thirty-three verses (215-247), and
then exclaims (248f.) : '/~/ y ~ ( >" **" -'/^ }//-"- Tzifisffiuv o/>*.
Had Pentheus entered on a stage on which were Cadmus and
Teiresias, the latter could not have escaped the attention of
Pentheus, while he was speaking thirty-three verses.
Agave was in the close company of the chorus during her
conversation with them (1168-1201). The chorus call her a
fellow-reveler (1172) ; presenting the head of the lion she bids
them (1184) partake of the feast ; The chorus comment on the
hair on the head in the hands of Agave (1188).
At vs. 974ff. Dionysus states his intention of leading Pen-
theus to the mountains. It is probable that their exit was by
THE STAGE 121
the parodos, for the choral ode that follows (977-1023) is but a
farewell to Dionysus and Pentheus, the final words of which
are : l'ti\ <
On the assumption that Dionysus and Pentheus made their ex-
it from the stage, by a side door, they were out of the theatre,
before the ode was hardty more than begun; but considering
that they made their exit from the orchestra, the spectacle in
which two men were going forth, one to obtain his vindica-
tion, the other to meet his death, while the chorus looking at
their slowly retreating figures sang to them a parting ode, and,
when, at last, they were well nigh out of hearing, uttered a
final hope of the success of Dionysus, was an extremely express-
ive one.
At the close of the play, Agave bids her home and city fare-
well (1368f.); she bids her father farewell (1379), and then says
to the chorus: V- ( ' } -,'*-! vs (1381). The chorus sing a final
ode (1388-1392), and we may believe that then chorus and act-
ors leave the theatre together.
Rhesus
The chorus act as a guard to the tent of Hector. (Cf. vs.
15, 524-, 813). Their proper position, then, W T as
near to the tent. At the opening of the pla\- Rhesus
they go to the tent (Iff.), to which they announce
(50) that they have come as a messenger.
At vs. 523f. Hector orders the chorus to go a little forward
to keep guard. When the charioteer of Rhesus approaches, the}'
think (730) that perchance 'some one falls into the net.' It
would appear, then, that the charioteer was coming directly
tow r ard the place w^here the chorus were standing.
The chorus on re-entering (674) encounter Ulysses, and cry
(675f.): ,5v//t, ,irtis, ,5'tis, ,3 fits,
u&s, (>^s- r:V <"''>" v?j/' : Ulyses replies
(683): 0>;f /'"/' f!-i t n.tin^ oix'i.<7\v n'.fi. trc^ftvwv (wXs.lv ;
122 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
When Ulysses finally gives the watchword, the chorus with-
draw with the words (688): e,ua#v I'v/s -a? Mpu. At v. 877 Hec-
tor commands the chorus to seize the charioteer, and conduct
him within the tent. During these two scenes it can hardly be
claimed that chorus and actors were on different levels.
At the close of the play, Hector says to the chorus (986f.)r
avto^fyz Arjft(i7>y r' aw^vaf ^uvwptdwv, The chorus re-
spond 993f.): ~siftou fiafT'.Asf' rtrziyu) ;>.<; <>-/.<>t$
xoffpi]ffd/j.evw -/.at zufjLjjLazfa /.. r. /.; and, with the clos-
ing words of the chorus, we may believe that actors and chorus
leave the theatre together.
Cyclops
The cave of the Cyclops is in the background. The chorus
enter attended by servants who drive the flocks
Cyclops (36ff.). Silenus orders the chorus to bid the ser-
vants drive the flocks into the cave. Cf. 821.:
-o{rwa$ afy(nriffat icpopeiT . drap drj rA>, -arsft^ fficaudijv ^/cCs";
Whether these flocks appeared as real goats or as men assuming
the guise of goats, we have no means of knowing; but it is evi-
dent that they actually entered the cave from the orchestra.
We can hardly believe that they scrambled up a flight of steps,
in order to reach this cave.
The chorus tell Ulysses (471) that they desire to aid him in
subduing the Cyclops. They ask themselves (483ff.) who will
be the first to lay hold of the brand that is to put out the Cy-
clops' eye. Ulysses urges them to aid him (590ff.). He tells
them to seize the brand, and enter the cave (630f.) They again
say that they wish to share in the task of subduing the mon-
ster (632ff.) At last, they begin to find reasons why they can
not join in the work. Some are standing too far away from the
portals (635O; others have just become lame (637); others also
are lame (638f.); the eyes of others are filled with ashes (640f.);
but it is noticeable that none of them urge the difficulty of climb-
ing steps, which would have been a natural reason to urge, if
THE STAGE 123
there had been any steps to climb, especially for those that had
just become lame. The true reason for the failure of the cho-
orus to enter the cave may probably be ascribed to the poet's
desire to make a display of their ridiculous cowardice. 1
Ulysses must have been in the close company of the chorus,
when he threatened to strike them. Cf. 210f.:
ddxpua
At the close of the play, it is probable that chorus and actors
left the theatre together. At vs. 441f. Ulysses tells the chorus
that he has a plan for their escape from slavery; at vs. TOlff.
he says that he will go to the shore to launch his ship ; and, in
the closing words of the play (708f.), the chorus speak of them-
selves as the fellow-voyagers of Ulysses.
ARISTOPHANES Acharnians
At the opening of the play is represented an assembly on the
Pnyx. Dicasopolis says (20ff.) that, although
the Pnyx is then empty, when the Prytanes ar- Acharnians
rive they will jostle each other for the first seats,
rushing down in a body. The Prytanes enter at v. 40, and, as
Dicaeopolis had prophesied they \vould do, they crowd for the
first seats (42). At v. 91 Pseudartabas arrives, and with his
attendants he withdraws at v. 122. A tfr/mro? 'Odopdyrutv enters
at v. 156. There were present, also, others, Ixxfyfftav (56). The
assembly is called to order by the herald (43), and is dismissed
by him (172f.). For this scene, which was made to resemble a
regular assembly on the Pnyx, it seems hardly possible that
there was room on the stage.
The chorus w r ere very near to Dicasopolis when, as he was
going forth to celebrate the rural Dionysia, they meet him, and
cr (280ff.):
<>o /Sa/cF?, on /3/cFf;
He fears that they may break the pitcher that he carries, (cf.
284): '' H/tdxists, ryrj rj' iffrt- ry/ %u?pa. ffuvrptysrs, but they reply at
1 Capps, p. 42.
124 THE ATTIC STAGE OP THE FIFTH CENTURl
v. 285 that it is not the pitcher, but he, that they will harm :
ffs rj.ev ouv ndTftXeifffofisv. (I) iLtaftd 7.i(paAr t .
The chorus were at another time near enough to Dicaeopolis
to threaten him with personal violence. Cf. 564f.:
ttOTy (TO -ot #?9, <>'> /j'-=v?9 ; ? i Osysls
TOV dvdpa. TO>TOV avroy dpftrjffei rdya.
When Dicaeopolis is to make trial of his skill in speaking, the
chorus order him to bring the chopping block from the house,
adding (365) :
Oz\$ dibfH) Touittzrjvov i'f'^st/t-t /.lye'.';.
When he brings the chopping block, he says (366) :
Idou BloLfffLt. TO fjLev litti]vov To3i m
We may infer, therefore, that he brought the block near to
the chorus, and, standing on it, make his speech.
At the close of the play, Dicasopolis says (1231) :
%ns$ ' ; ~ a&Sfttuv ~'>~<>t>.a'. E >)'; ID ;>.<>- wv .
The chorus then (258ff.) defends itself for making the attack.
Again the chorus strike the Paphlagonian. At v. 451 they
cry: -r' vfy>x>, to v^hich he replies (451f.): w, j'?\ | ->>--ti(>su-at -fdp /JLSTftiius TO ys r^fj.epo'; fjfj.iv (1510), and, with these
words, it is probable that all march from the theatre together
with the actors leading the way.
Wasps
There is an extensive use of the distegia in this play . The
house of Philocleon is represented in the back-
ground. At the opening of the play, Bdelycleon wasps
is on the roof; at v. 143 a rumbling in the chim-
ney tells him that Philocleon is trying to reach thereof; the son
drives back his father (147f.); at v. 207 the latter appears on
the roof. The chorus enter at v. 230, along a city street (cf.
246). ! The conversation that follows, in which Philocleon
and the chorus take part, was evidently carried on in front of
the house of the former. If, at this time, the chorus were in the
orchestra, and Philocleon was on the traditional distegia, he
was on a level about twenty feet above that of the choreutas. 2
The scene becomes morenatural if we assume that, at this time,
Philocleon was on the roof of the proscenium.
The chorus at v. 383 promise Philocleon that they will de-
fend him. He reminds them of their promise (402) when Bdely-
cleon attempts to prevent his escape. They prepare to abide
by their promise. Cf. 423:
1 Cf. Pickard, p. 292. 2 Cf. White, p. 193.
TJHIVBESIT
126 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
They again threaten Bdclycleon. Cf. 437:
They finally rush against Bdelycleon, and he exclaims (456):
-alt -al\ Co av#ta, -t)fj.sv<>t Oijf>a"=:
Peace
At v. 80 Tyrgasus mounts a beetle, and, after a journey
through the air, reaches heaven. Finding that
Peace the goddess, Peace, has been cast into a cave
(W/yov pfM, 223), he calls upon all to aid him in
drawing her out (296ff.). At once the chorus appear. At 490
ff. Hermes, Tyrgasus, and the chorus all lay hold of the rope,
and draw Peace forth. It is evident that chorus and actors are to-
gether in this scene, for ( 1 ) the chorus are told by Ty rgasus ( 309ff. )
to be quiet lest they disturb Polemos, who is in the palace, and
(2) when Hermes grants permission to thechorus to drag away
the stones that covered Peace, he tells them to go within the
cave. Cf. 427: siffwvrss w$ rdyw-a rm>$ xcV/oo? ^/x=^c. Finally, it
would have ruined the illusion, if Tyrgseus and Hermes had been
in heaven pulling on the rope, while the chorus were on the
earth pulling on the same rope. The traditional view must as-
sume that Tyrgaeus ascended to the distegia above the stage,
and that the chorus climbed first to the stage, and then to the
distegia. This would, however, seem to have been impossible.
The probable explanation is that Tyrgaeus ascended to the roof
of the proscenium, and that on this level the chorus entered, re-
maining there till Peace had been drawn from the cave, and
then withdrawing, and appearing in the orchestra. There may
remain the objection that too many may have thus appeared
on the roof of the proscenium, but this objection applies still
more forcibly to the view that would hold that so many
appeared on the traditional distegia ; and it is noticeable, fur-
THE STAGE 127
ther, that during this scene there is no song by the cnorus that
would require dancing. 1
Tyrgaeus declares (881f.) that he will lead Theoria among
the spectators; and he apparently does this. Cf. 905f.:
//' at xftrjrdvzts, dfysfftts ry/ (-hinftia^,
Oiad w<$ icpo&ufjui)? o -ftnrw^ -aftso^aru.
The chorus are opposed to the offering of an ox (926), lest it
should be necessary that they render assistance. Tyrgaeus,
then, was making his sacrifice in the orchestra. This fact is
further made clear by his suggestion (962): xa\ rms Osara^ /n^re
raw zptftajv. It would not have been easy to throw barley to the
spectators from a position so far away from them as was the
stage.
At the close of the play, actors and chorus leave the theatre
together. Tyrgaeus (1316ff.) orders the bride to be brought
forth that all may join in the rejoicing, and dance in her honor.
She comes forth at v. 1329. The chorus wish to escort the
bridegroom also (1339ff.); and the chorus speak the final words
of the play (1354ff.):
Birds
The scenery represented in this play is a hillside and a cav-
ern (cf. 54, 92, 202, 207). The path over which
Euelpides enters is one with rocks without a Birds
beaten track (20ff.). This scenery was unsuited
to a stage.
Euelpides and Pisthetairus, at the opening of the play, are
entering engaged in conversation. They do not reach the house
of the Epops till v. 54. It is evident that they could not have
occupied the time of speaking fifty-three verses in walking half
way across the stage.
When the chorus see the two strangers present, they medi-
tate attacking them. Cf. 344 :
1 Capps, p. 75f.
128 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
They express in strong words their intention of attacking them
Of. 364f.:
In the meantime, the strangers deliberate on their condition.
Euelpides asks where he can flee, that he may not be torn to
pieces (354), and his comrade advises that they remain and
fight (357). Finally, the chorus withdraw (400). It is evi-
dent that, in this scene, chorus and actors were together.
When the messenger enters (1122), he asks where Pisthe-
tairus is. The latter is present and replies, obroffi (1123). If
the two actors had been on the stage, the question of the mes-
senger would have been unnatural.
When Pisthetairus and Basileia are seen by the chorus to
be approaching, the latter move aside to make way for them.
Cf. 1720ff. W r c dts%s t 7r>7~
fj.xafH ffv ~'>/.
At the conclusion of the play, the chorus following the act
ors leave the theatre. Cf. 1755if. :
Lysistrata
The chorus of men enter at v. 254 carrying billets of wood,
and pans of charcoal. They express their inten-
Lysistrata tion ( 31.0ff. ) of setting fire to the house, if the wo-
men do not allow them to enter. It cannot be
doubted that, with their preparations to burn the house, they
move forward toward it. The chorus of women come from the
citadel to defend it at v. 319. They perform now the part of act-
ors; their place therefore, was on the stage, if there was a
stage. It is evident, however, that in their encounter with the
chorus of men they were very near to those men. The chorus
of men threaten to break their cudgels in beating the women
(357) ; the women threaten to beat the men (364) ; the men will
burn the hair of the women (381). The women drench the men
with water (cf. 381ff.). The women, therefore, at this time,
THE STA<;i- 129
were in the orchestra, and that they went directly to this place,
on their entrance from the citadel, is clear from the fact that
two verses after their entrance, orchestral movements began ;
but there would not have been time, while they were speaking
two verses, for them to descend a flight of steps, and arrange
themselves in the orchestra. 1
Lysistrata (1182ff. ) invites the two choruses into the cita-
del. They return at v. 1239, and, with them, come the third
chorus, that of the Spartans, and the fourth chorus, that of the
Athenians. Lysistrata invites the Spartan and Athenian cho-
ruses to lead the way. Cf. 1273if.:
ayz wv, i-s'^TTf ra/J.a -zrctn^rai xa/o>9,
These two choruses reply that they will do so (1279ff., 1296ff.),
and choruses and actors leave the theatre together.
Thesmophoriazusae
In the first part of the play is represented an assembly scene.
Mnesilochus, soon after entering, sacrifices a
cake to the goddesses Demeter and Persephone Thesmophoriazusse
(284f.), and offers prayers to them (286ff.); he
looks for a good seat, that he may hear the orators (292f.).
The herald calls the assembly to order : sfxpr^ia V, ey^/ju'w V
(295). The chorus offer prayer (312fD. The herald reads the
preliminary decree (372ff.). At v. 379 he asks who wishes to
speak. A wom,an of the chorus speaks first (383ff.) ; she is fol-
lowed by a second woman (443ff.),and by Mnesilochus (466ff.).
It is not probable that, in this scene, different parts of the as-
sembly were on different levels.
There are two search scenes in the play, in the course of
which the chorus pass over every foot of space where an actor
would be likely to be. In the first of these scenes, Clisthenes on
entering tells the chorus (574ff.) that a man disguised as a wo-
man is present. After some discussion, the chorus declare (597
ff.) that they must search for him. After finding Mnesilochus,
they decide (655ff.) that they must search to see whether an-
other man is concealed among them. They now examine all
1 Pickard, p. 297.
130 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
places closely, cf. 660: *> dtaaxo-^ (ru-r t rr>r^'; they runabout
in all directions, cf. 662: // ~ip Tzprn-r^ rfifysiv yjn] i>i.f J:V.
,a;> it : s a) trot c6>//~or^9.
Xanthias recalls him (301), dsfyo ^sV, ^ ^^~"~.
At the close of the play, the chorus escort ^Eschylus from
the lower world . Cf . 1 524ff . :
a$ ^ft^^ yan.a. nnn'Kf
TOUTOU TOMTOV /.;/c<7r>
The chorus sing a brief ode, and then actors and chorus make
their exit from the theatre together.
THE STAGE 131
Ecclesiazusae
During the first two hundred and eighty-four verses of the
play, the women of the chorus are not to be dis-
tinguished from actors. Some, at least, of them Ecciesiazusse
come from a door in the rear (cf. 33if.). At the
close of the mimic assembly, these women, with their attendants,
form themselves into a chorus, and leave the theatre singing an
ode (285if.).i
The assembly is made to resemble a regular assembly. There
are present seats (57, 103), and a ,3/7/>. for the speakers (104) ;
the purification is performed (128ff.) ; chaplets are put on (122,
131) ; Praxagora asks who wishes to speak (130).
The chorus return to the theatre at v. 478. Praxagora en-
ters at v. 504, and, during the course of an address to the cho-
rus, bids them thro w off their cloaks, ^wrttre^aeVa? (507). These
cloaks she orders a servant to put in order : xai >>.^T(>I m> >dv \ -ab-
r9 xaTsnT(>->? (509f.). We may infer then that Praxagora and
the servant entered the orchestra.
At vs. 1149f. the maidservant says :
The chorus reply (1151f., 1163ff.):
a) atfta
The reply of the Despotes is, -r<> 3 ( ,(o (1166), and, with these
words, he leads out the procession that ends the play.
Plutus
At v. 253 Cario enters with the chorus of country-people,
bound for the house of his master, Chremylus.
He urges the choreutae to hasten, n-znntntf (255), piutus
3^et they do not reach the house of Chremylus
till v. 315. That Cario is, in fact, leading in thechorus is made
1 Cf. Capp, p. 29.
132 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
clear by his command to them, ^s^V (295), and Hxeff&e (308).
The long walk over the parodos to the orchestra (253-315),
during which Cario and the choreutae are conversing, is easily
pictured to the mind.
The closing scene is one with which we are familiar; all leave
the theatre in procession together. Cf. 1208f.:
ovz ere roj'vuv sr/.o? //tA/ecv ootT f/V-d-?, //' v^w^s?v
e/9 ttwrnaftev del faf) xaroxtv TOUTCUV adovra? ?-
6 EVIDENCE AGAINST A STAGE FROM CERTAIN FACTS CON-
NECTED WITH THE ENTRANCE OF ACTORS AND OF CHORUSES
A consideration of certain facts connected with the entrance
of actors, and, in a few instances, of choruses,
^L^orchestra wil1 establish the fact that all actors when not
either by a parodos entering from the palace in the background en-
fr tered b J the parodos, and will confirm the fact
already proved, that the palace was in the rear
of the orchestra, and on a level with it.
There will be considered (I) the instances where choruses
Four aspects announce in-coming actors; (II) the instances
of the entrance where actors announce in-coming actors; (III)
the instances where actors announce in-coming
choruses ; but (IV) the instances where actors come from the
palace in the background will be considered last.
/. Instances where Choruses Announce In-Coming Actors
Following are the instances in which choruses announce
approaching actors r 1 Persas, 150, 5; 246, 3.
Septem, 369, 6. Agam., 493, 10. Ajax, 1042,
the approach 5 Antig., 155, 7' 376, 3; 526, 5; 626, 5; 1257
4. Electra (Soph.), 1428, 14. CEd. Tyr., 297,
1 The first numeral after the name of the play designates the number of the verse
at which the chorus state that they see the actor" coming ; the second numeral desig-
nates the number of verses that elapse after he is seen, before he begins speaking. Ac-
count is taken hereof only those instances in which the choruses say that they see actors
approaching, or in some other way indicate that they actually see them. A case, there-
fore, like that in the Prometheus where the hero hears lo coming (555), but probably
does not see her is not here included. There is omitted, also, the instance where the
chorus is vEsch. Septem (861) see Antigone and Ismene coming. One hundred verses
elapse after the chorus see them, before they arrive, which is an abnormally large num-
ber. Similarly in the other classes there are included only instances where the actors
or choruses are spoken of as if actually seen.
THE STAGE 133
3; 1416, 6. CEd. Col., 549, 2. Philoc., 539,3. Trachin., 178,
2; 222, 7; 868, 3; 964, 18. Alcestis, 233, 11; 611, 3; 1006, 2.
Medea, 269, 2. Hipp., 899, 3; 1151, 2; 1342, 5. Androm.,
545, 2; 879, 2. Heracl., 118, 2. Supp. (Eurip.), 980, 10; 1031.
3. Hecuba, 216, 2; 724, 2. Here. Fur., 138,2; 442,8. Troades,
230, 5; 568, 4; 1118, 5. Iph. in Taur., 236, 2; 456, 17. Elec-
tra (Eurip.), 339, 2. Orestes, 348, 8; 456, 14; 850, 2; 1013, 6;
1504, 2; 1549, 5. Phoenissae, 443, 3; 1307, 2. Iph. in Aul.,
591, 7; 1619, 2. Bacch.,1165,3. Rhesus, 85,2; 806, 2. Achar.,
1069, 2. Thesmo., 571, 3.
It is found in the above instances that the number of verses
that elapse between the time of announcement
-, , , r . 1 f 1 j Average number
and that of arrival varies from two to eighteen, O f verses spoken
the average number of verses being five (very while actor
is approaching
nearly).
The question necessarily arises, how long a time an actor
would have consumed in passing from a door in
, T . -, Jt -TV , . , The time required
the side-wing to the center of the stage, which f or walking hair
way across
may be considered the position that he would
i , i i -. i , ,1
have taken, provided his position was on the
stage. The width of the stage in the theatre at Athens was
about twenty m., and it may be considered that for an actor to
pass over one half of this distance would have taken the time
of speaking not more than two verses. 1
It may be observed, in the first place, that there is every rea-
son to believe that the chorus actually saw those
that they described as approaching. The verbs
here used are the ordinary verbs of seeing, such
as o/>, AsbffffM, dgfiofixa, and slno f>fiiu' ffrsfyw occasionally is used.
If, in these instances, the choruses saw the actors just as
they were about to enter on the stage, from a
. Actors probably
door in the side-wing, the actor frequently was not just about to
in his position at the center of the stage, and enter on the stage
, f i i t. r At. fr m a d r
ready for speaking, several verses before the in the side wing
chorus finished their announcement of his ap- when first seen
bv the choruses
1 If the time of two verses seems not sufficient, as many as four can be allowed.
The arguments based upon the former number hold equally good if based upon the lat-
ter. Certainly nobody would increase the number beyond four. It is an easy matter
for one to make a practical test of the time required to" walk this distance.
134 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
proach. Thus, in the Agamemnon (493) the chorus saw the
herald coming ten verses before he began speaking. If, when
first announced, he was just setting foot on the stage, he stood
still in his position at the center of the stage for eight verses,
while the chorus were describing his appearance, and wonder-
ing whether he brought joy or sorrow. That such was thecase
seems improbable.
It sometimes happens that between the time of announce-
ment, and that of arrival, a conversation takes
no^ca^redTn 8 P lace that evidently was not carried on in the
in the presence presence of the in-coming actor, as e. g. in Soph-
ocles ' Electra, where the following conversation
occurs (1428ff.):
xauffafffte' /.zbnr-ot yd{> Atyiffdov ix icpodyJLov.
tp ~Tjji.v tt~tt$ x
%u>(>l ysrybax!
XO . ftarz xar" a.VTt'S-'Jptov <'KT<>V rdy>.(r~(/. J
OP. OdjHTst.' r/o'j//v. //,). r t vast? Sitftfl vov.
OP. y.a< dr t ft^j/^xa. HA. TwfldfT v ft.l/jn? i~wt,
AO. df wro$ av auiid j w^ 7j~iu)<$ cWcTrsjv
T^V ojdev btj.a)v on x. r. /.
It is clear that it was not intended that ^gistheus hear a
word of this conversation, and that, with their final words, the
chorus gather around Electra, lest ^Egistheus, who was at that
time near at hand, might hear. Assuming, however, that ^Egis-
theus was seen by the chorus just entering on the stage, we
shall have to believe that he heard all of the conversation.
It is evident, then, that the chorus do not see the actor as
he is just about to enter on the stage from a door in the side-
wing.
THE STAGE 135
The only place left for the actor when first seen is without
the stage-buildings. Bv referring to the plan on
* . , . ' - j 1 The actor when
page 91, it is seen that the chorus could have first seen was with-
commanded a view of the parodos as far as the out the sta e e -
11 11 -, . ,1 . buildings
eye could reach, by standing at or near the posi-
tion indicated by the letter W. If the actor had approached the
stage from without the stage-buildings, intending to reach the
stage through a paraskenion, he could not have been seen by the
chorus, after he had approached nearer to the stage-buildings
than is the position indicated by the letter P. The time required
for passing from the side to the center of the stage is assumed to
be that of reciting two verses. The time, then, required for pass-
ing from P to the center of the stage would be a little more than
that of reciting six verses. It follows, therefore, that, when the
chorus said that they saw an actor three, four, five, or six verses
before he began speaking, he was at some point between P and
the door leading onto the stage, providing he was to reach the
stage through the paraskenion, and, if this was the case, we
are compelled to believe that at times the chorus said that they
saw those that in reality they did not see. That such was the
fact seems improbable.
The actor, then, when first seen by the chorus was not just
about to set foot on the stage, and he was not
approaching the stage from without the stage-
buildings. He was, therefore, when first seen by the parodos
the chorus, in the parodos, and drawingnigh to ^the^rchestm
the orchestra. As he approached in this manner
the chorus had no difficulty in seing him, whether he was far
away, or near at hand.
Understanding, no w, that the actor entered b} r the parodos,
we see why at times the chorus saw him more
quickly than did an actor already present, as This view explains
e. -., in the Ajax, where the chorus announced ^ISS""""!
(1042f.) that thev saw a foeman coming, and times seen by the
Teucer asked who it was (1044): the chorus re- **%
plied (1045) that it was Menelaus, and Teucer present
then (1046) saw him, the reason for this being
that, while the view dov. n the parodos of the chorus was un-
136 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
obstructed, that of Teucer was for the moment obstructed by
the chorus.
We see also why newly-arrived actors often direct their first
and why words to the chorus, though other actors are
the choms present, and why at times actors on entering are
unable to see other actors who are present (cf.
Birds 1122f., and Orestes 356ff., 470ff.)
//. Instances where Actors Announce In-Coming Actors
Prom., 941, 3. Ajax, 1223, 3. CEd. Tyr., 78, 9; 1110, 11.
CEd. Col., 28, 5; 311, 13; 722, 6; 1249, 5. Tra-
chin., 58, 3; 594, 4. Alcestis, 24, 4. Medea, 46,
nounce in-coming 3; 1118, 3. Hipp. ,51, 7. Heracl., 48, 7. Sup.
(Eurip.), 395, 4. Hecuba, 52, 7. Her. Fur., 513,
10; 1153, 10. Ton, 392, 9. Troades, 706, 3. Electra (Eurip.),
107, 5; 964, 24. Orestes, 725, 4; 1313, 8. Phoenis., 695, 2;
1332, 3. Iph. in A., 1337, 7. Baccha, 212, 3; 657, 3. Cyclops,
85, 11. Acharn., 40, 3; 61, 3; 175, 1; 908, 2; 1083, 1; 1189,
4 words. Knights, 234, 1; 691, 3. Wasps, 1324, 2; 1415, 2;
1504, 4. Birds, 1121, 1. 1168, 2. Lysist., 65, 25; 727, 1.
Plutus, 332, 3.
The instances in this class bear a general resemblance to
This class resem- those in the preceding class. The number of
ties the preceding verses that elapse between the time when the
actor is seen to be approaching, and the time
when he arrives varies from one to twenty-five, 1 the average
number being five and one-half (nearly).
It cannot be claimed that the actor when first seen was
about to set foot on the stage. Occasionallv a
Actors not about .
to enter conversation takes place that evidently was not
on the stage carried on in his presence, as e. g. in the Hercules
when first seen _ .
Furens, where, after Hercules is seen drawing
nigh (513), Megara calls the children to her side.
1 Omitting Achar., 1189.
THE STAGE 137
It may be claimed that in this class the actor announced as
approaching was waiting in the paraskenion,
and so was actually seen ; and it must be ad- Actors may have
mitted that such may have been the case. It i n the pT^askenion
cannot, however, be claimed that in the preced-
ing class the chorus saw the actor in the paraskenion awaiting
the proper moment for entering.
If we believe that in this class the actors entered the orches-
tra, we shall understand wh vat times they failed
.. . , n " ., Actors fail to ob-
to observe other actors already present, as e. g. ser ve other actors;
in the Here. Fur., where Hercules speaks two they address
, c i i i -i i j_i i the chorus first
verses before seeing his children, and then, as he
spies them exclaims (525) -i />; -=*/ <'(>& -/"> ow//rwv, and
we shall understand why, at times, actors on entering address
first the chorus, rather than other actors present.
On the assumption that, in both this and the preceding
classes, the actors entered the orchestra, we shall
understand why the choruses heralded the ap- C ^^^^.
proach oftener than did the actors. In the one n ounce the ap-
hundred and three instances in the two classes P roachof Doming
the approach of actors is announced by choruses
fifty-six times, by actors forty-seven times. It would appear,
therefore, that the position of the chorus was where it had a
clear view of the parodos, while the position of the actor was
nearer to the wall of the proscenium, and where the view of the
parodos, while not obstructed, was not quite so favorable as
was that of the chorus.
III. Instances where Actors Announce In-Coming Choruses
GEd. Col., Ill, 6. Phcenissae, 196, 6. Cy-
clops, 36, 5. Birds, 294, 15. Knights, 242, 5. JSSSZZ
Clouds, 323, 5. nounce in-coming
Iii the instances that come under this class
there is an added element to be considered. When men f ^t'ciSs
actors entered, it is reasonable to believe that,
in general, they did not begin speaking, till they were at the
center of action. Usually, the chorus began singing while still
in the parodos, the march in being accompanied by the chanting
of the entrance-song. At what place in the parodos this en-
138 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
trance-song was begun, we have no information to tell us ; jet
we may not unreasonably conclude that it was generally begun
soon after the chorus entered the parodos, and thus came in
sight of the spectators.
In the Phoenissas, the Pedagogue at v. 196 says that he sees
The entrance the cnorus approaching. Six verses later, the
of the chorus chorus begin singing the parodos. If the Peda-
in the Phcenissae gO g Ue had been on the stage at v. 196, we can
believe that by looking through open doors he could have seen
the in-coming chorus when they were at or near the position in-
dicated by the letter D. Assuming this to be the case, the cho-
rus would have had just about sufficient time during the six re-
maining verses of the Pedagogue's announcement to reach a
place within the parodos at which we may believe them to have
begun the words at v. 202. Every case, however, will not be so
satisfactory, on the assumption that the actor took his view-
from the stage.
At v. Ill in the CEdipus Coloneus, Antigone sees the cho-
The entrance rus ^ ^ men drawing nigh. If, at this time An-
of the chorus tigone was on the stage, and, by looking through
doors in the paraskenion, saw the chorus ap-
proaching, the chorus when first seen, it would appear, must
have been near the position indicated by the letter D, for it
would not seem probable that Antigone could have seen any
part of the parodos that was much nearer the orchestra than
that indicated by the letter D. The chorus enter six verses after
being seen. Their first words are (117ff.) :
It is clear that these words were not spoken, as the chorus
drew nigh over the parodos, as was the case in the example
quoted above from the Phcenissae, but when they were near to
the place from which CEdipus had just been led. The chorus,
then, when they began speaking were at or near the position
indicated by E. From D to E is about seventy -five m. That
the chorus could have passed over so great a distance while An-
tigone was speaking six verses seems improbable. They would
THE STAGE 139
naturally, while the six verses were being spoken, pass over a
distance equal to about that from Fto E; and we may believe
that, when Antigone announced the approach of the chorus,
they were at or near F,but it seems improbable that by looking
through doors in the paraskenion she could have seen the cho-
rus when they were at F, and the assumption in hand compels
us to believe that Antigone announced as approaching a chorus
that she did not see. This conclusion is unsatisfactory.
It may be claimed that Antigone looked directly into the
parodos from the stage, and thus saw the cho-
rus approaching. In order to see as far as V, it A ^oM n *
would have been necessary that she advance to directly into
the front of the stage, and lean far over, and,
even then, it may be doubted whether she could
have seen as far down the parodos as V.
The only position, therefore, that we can assign to an actor
A who announces the entrance of a chorus, in
* . ., 1,1 ,11 In tllis class
which we can be sure that he sees the chorus the the actor was
approach of which he announces, is the orches- probably
in the orchestra
tra.
IV. Instances where the Approach of Actors (and in One In-
stance of a Chorus) from the Palace in the Background is
Announced.
Choeph., 10, 12; 731, 3. Antig., 1180, 3. Electra(Soph.),
324, 4; 1324, 2. (Ed. Tyr., 531, 1; 631, 3. Al-
cestis, 136, 5; 509, 1. Medea, 1121, 3. Hipp.,
170, 6; 1156, 1. Androm., 822, 3. Ion, 78, 4. come from
Troades, 306, 1. Helena, 858, 6. Iph. in Tau.,
724, 1. Electra (Eurip.), 549, 4. Orestes, 1367, 2. Peace,
1265, 3. Lysist., 5, 1; 1106, 6. Thesmophor., 36, 3; 95, 6.
If the actor that came from the palace entered on a stage,
he was in his position, and ready to take his
part, almost as soon as he was seen. If this was
the case, an announcement of his approach co v- ^Yas in his
ering several verses was manifestly out of place, m
for, as in previous cases, it would have com-
pelled him to stand in his position most of this time, waiting
140 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURl
for the announcement of his approach to be finished, that he
might speak.
When an actor is announced as coming from
The actor
in this class the palace, we must believe that he is actually
was actually seen coming forth ; in these announcements tipdat,
seen approaching , .
iiw.vw, epzo/jMt, and similar words are used.
An allowance may be made for the time con-
Time needed for .
him to reach his sumed in passing through the door-way, and
position, if this closing the door, but it will not be contended
was on the stage
that the time of more than one verse was re-
quired for this, and for the actor to reach his proper position,
granting that he entered on the stage.
If the actor entered the orchestra from the palace, and had,
A longer time con- thus, a considerable distance to pass over, before
sumed, if he entered he was in his proper position, a larger number
into the orchestra of Yerses wou]d natll rally be spoken between the
time when he was first seen and that when he was in his
position, and ready to take his part, than would be spoken if
he entered on the stage. In the instances cited above, it is seen
that the number of verses thus spoken varies from one to six 1 ,
the average number of verses being three and one-half ; and this
nnmber of verses must represent the time consumed by the act-
or in walking from the palace door to a position well within
the orchestra.
In six instances, actors are present at the close of a single
verse after they are seen. In four of them we
In a few instances . .
actors are present may believe either that their approach was not
soon after observed till they were near at hand, or that the
needs of the plays did not require that their com-
ing be sooner announced ; yet in the Troades, where Hecuba
says that her daughter is rushing forth in a frenzied condition,
pawls Ood^s> dsvpo Ka
counter between chorus and actors, or possibili-
ty of such encounter. Cf. Sup. (^Es.), 836, 852,
883, 940f. Persae, 529. A gam., 1651f. Chceph., 983f. Ajax,
361. CEd. Tyr., 1349f., 141 Off., 1429. CEd. Col., 176f., 491,
834ff. Philoc., 1003, 1174-1205. Hipp., 777. Heracl., 69f.,
274, 307f. Sup. (Earip.), 1160. Here. Fur., 2 6 If., 52 7ff. Hel-
ena, 1628ff. Iph. in Tau., 468, 1068ff. Orestes, 474. Bacchae,
1184. Rhesus, 675if., 730, 877. Cyclops, 210f., 471ff., 590ff.
Achar.,280ff.,564f. Knights, 251f, 451ff, 491ff, 922. Wasps,
383, 437if. Birds, 344, 364f. Thesmophor., 690f, 726ff.
Chorus enter the palace. Cf. Medea, 820, 866. Cyclops,
82ff. Lysist., 1182if.
Chorus approach the palace, but do not enter. Cf. Ajax,
354ft'. Hipp., 804. Here. Fur., 747ff., 1031ff. Rhesus, Iff.
Chorus deliberate whether they will enter the palace, or are
invited to do so. Cf. Agam., 1350. Ajax, 329, 986. Electra
(Soph.), 1103f. Medea, 1275ff. Hipp., 575ff, 782. Androm.,
146 THE ATTIC STAGE ( F THE FIFTH CL\\TL'RY
817. Hecuba, 1042. Ion, 219ff. Helena, 32 7ff. Ipb. in Tau.,
470, 1079.
The position of the chorus is near the palace. Cf. Philoc.,
207. Alcestis, 86f., lOOf. Medea, 1293. Ion, 510. Orestes,
136ff., 173ff. Bacchae, 58ff. Lysistrata, 310ff.
Chorus act as guard. Cf. Ajax, 1182f. Philoc., 150ff.
Iph. in Tau., 638.' Orestes, 1251ff. Rhesus, 15, 524, 813.
Chorus observe actors closely. Cf. Antigone, 526ff. Philoc.,
861. Trachin., 964ff. V Here. Fur., 130ff. Electra (Burip.),
184f.
Chorus enter orchestra from palace. Cf. Eumen., 140ff.
Troades, 176f. Lysistrata, 319, 1239. Eccl., 33ff.
Search scenes, in which the chorus pass over the space us-
ually occupied by the actors. Cf. Eumen., 244if., 255f. Ajax,
891ff. CEd. CoL, 121f Thesmophor., 597ff., 655ff.
Actors enter orchestra with chorus. Cf. Sup. (^Es.), 1.
Choeph., lOff. Hecuba, 59ff. Plutus, 253ff.
Actors leave by a parodos. Cf. Iph. in Aul., lllff. Bacchae,
974ff.
Actors on entering do not see other actors present. Cf. An-
drom., 881ff. Hecuba, 484ff. Iph. in Tau., 1152ff. Electra
(Eurip.), 112ff. Orestes, 356ff., 470ff. Phcenissae, 301ff. Bac-
chae, 215ff. Birds, 11223". '
Actors enter in chariots. Cf. Persae, 159(?),907(?)<. Agam.,
782. Electra (Eurip.), 988. Iph. in Aul., 607.
Actors have contact with spectators. Cf. Peace, 881ff.
Progs, 296ff.
Actors on entering address the chorus, though other actors
aie present, and would be naturally first addressed. Cf. Persae,
681ff. Electra (Soph.), 660, 1098~. CEd. Tyr., 924. CEd. CoL,
728, 1500. Philcctetes addresses his first word^ to both cho-
rus and actor: cf. Philoc., 219ff.
Libation scenes in which both chorus and actors partici-
pate. Cf. Persae, 623ff. Choeph., 149ff. Iph. in Tau.. 159ff.,
179ff.
Assembly scenes which were, no doubt, made to resemble
real assembly scenes. Cf. Achar., 20f., 42ff., 56, 91, 156, 172.
Thesmo., 284ff., 292ff., 312ff., 372ff., 383ff., 443ff. Eccle., 57,
103, 122ff.
THE .STAGS 147
The numbers present were at times greater than could find
room on a stage. Cf. Septem, Iff., 30ff. Again., 906ff. .Trial
scene in the Enmenides. Trachin., 202f., 299f. Androm., 115,
135, 161. Sup. (Eurip.), 10. A stage in some plays was un-
suited to the scene represen ted : cf. Prom., 2, 31, 55f. ' CEd. Col.,
10, 17, 98. Philoc., 1, 16, 21, 28f., 1262. Cyclops, where the
scene is a cave. Birds, 54, 92, 202, 207.
The distegia at times represents a large area. Cf. Agam.,
Iff. Orestes, 1573ff. Clouds, 1490ff. Wasps, 143ff. Peace,
223ff.
At the close of many plays, actors and choruses leave the
theatre together. Cf. Sup. (^Es.), 980ff Persae, 1038ff Sep-
tem, 1068ff. Eumen., 1003ff. Ajax, 1413ff. Antig., 1339ff
Philoc., 1469. Sup. (Eurip.), 1232. Hecuba, 1288ff. Troades,
296f, 1266ff, 1331f. Bacchse, 1381ff. t Rhesus, 986ff. Cyclops,
441f., 701ff. Achar., 1231ff. Clouds, 1510. Wasps, 1535ff.
Peace, 1354ff Birds, 1755ff. Lysis., 1273ff. Frogs, 1524ff.
Eccl., 1149ff. Plutus, 1208f.
In many plays there was a sympathy existing between cho-
rus and actors such as would lead us to believe that all were
together. Cf. Ion, 748, 857. Iph. in Tau., 63,143, 1056. Bacchae,
582ff, 609ff. The chorus are instructed to warmly welcome
Agamemnon : cf. Agam., 524; cf. also the conversation between
the chorus and Cassandra, vs. 1053-1300, in the same play. Cf.
the sympathy of the chorus for Electra, as displayed in the con-
versation vs. 121 327, of the Electra (Soph.), and, again, in the
same play, where the chcrt:s try to comfort Electra, vs. 804-
874. CEdipus trusts the chorus, in the CEd. Col., v. 175; he
calls them his allies, v. 815. Deianira, in the Trachiniae, tells the
chorus her v. oes in private, vs. 531ff: and the chorus in the
Persae dread to speak in the presence of Darius, vs. 694f.
The chorus bow before the king in the CEd. Tyr. Cf. vs. 40f.
and 327. They prostrate themselves, in the Phcenissae. Cf. 291
ff. In the Here. Fur., when Hercules enters, he finds his chil-
dren in the orchestra. Cf. 527ff. Dicasopolis,intheAcharnians,
brings a block into the orchestra. Cf. 365ff. Polymnestor, in
the Hecuba, goes into the orchestra from the tent. Cf. 1070f.
In the Alcestis, occurs a funeral procession. Chorus and actor
148 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
leave the theatre together, and return together later. Cf . 4-22
ff., 606ff., 740, 861, 872.
$8. THE MISTAKES OF YITRUVIUS
Assuming, now, that the actors stood in the orchestra, to-
vitruvius states gether with the chorus, it remains to see how it
that the actors was that Vitruvius came to be mistaken, for he
I on a stage gayg distinctly l that tbe actorg stood Qn the
stage, and that the stage had the name /^s?v.2 Vitruvius is
exact in all his statements ; but we must remember that he lived
in the first century B. C., and that the only theatre that he
could have become acquainted with was the so-called Roman
theatre. From the facts that he saw concerning the stage in
that theatre, he inferred other facts concerning a stage in the
Greek theatre of the fifth century.
The historical facts relating to the theatre, both Greek and
some historical Roman, are dear. When tragedy arose from the
facts relating dithyrambic^ chorus, and an actor was intro-
duced, this actor stood on a tabled By ^Eschy-
lus a second actor was introduced, anda^-/^/; became necessary ,
that the actors might have a place in which to ciiange their
dresses. Before this time, the table had been used, in order to
give elevation to the actor ; now the cothurnus was invented,
which served the purpose that before that time had been served
by the table. The assumption that the cothurnus, and other
means of artificial dress were used in order to give the actors the
appearance of superior beings is not correct, for, if such had
been the case, they w^ould not have been used by all the actors
alike. They were, in fact, used by nurses, and slaves, and her-
alds, as \vell as by heroes. The only object, then, of cothurnus,
onkos, flowing robes, and padded bodies was to give to the act-
ors a prominence that would distinguish them from the cho-
reutas.
1 Vitruv., 7, 2 ; quoted above p. 70.
2 For the views of Dr. Kaweran, which are adopted by Dr. Dorpfeld, and are here
set forth, cf. Miss Harrison, Class. Rev., May, 1890, p. 274sq. Cf. also Pickard, Am.
Jour. Phil., April, 1893, p. 68ff.
3 Poll., IV., 123: i/soc '? '>,'>> r;tf-i!Ttf aiaia 1 V ""' ( ~>^-'.o<>^ =K" "^
THE STAC,/-; 149
During the fifth century, then, actors and chorus stood in
the orchestra. There was a ffxr^rj to which the-
actors retired when they were to change their . J he p sitions
& of chorus, actors,
dresses. The scenery used was variable. It was scenery and
for each plav what the requirements of that play
^ * ~ 111 the V. century
demanded. The position of the ffxr^rj was, nat-
urally, on the side of the orchestra the more remote from the
spectators ; .there, also, was the scenery, and there, also, stood
the actors, directly in front of the ffxr^rj.
In Roman times the chorus had disappeared ; therefore the
whole of the orchestra was not needed in the Theiowerin-
presentation of the plays. Vitruvius tells us of the orchestra
that in the half of the orchestra thus not needed
the senators sat. But, if they had sat on the level of the orches-
tra, the senators in the rear rows could not have seen the act-
ors over the heads of the senators in front of them. According-
ly, it was necessary to either raise the half of the orchestra up-
on which the actors stood, or to lower the half upon which the
senators sat. The latter course was followed. The part of the
orchestra that was lowered received the name of /"-^V-^,: the
part on which the actors stood was called, and rightly, /;'">,
for it was the place on which the actors spoke.
In support of this view is the fact that in many of the thea-
tres that were altered in Roman times the low-
est row of circular seats is on a level with the The above test
ATM /TV aS a PP^ e( ' to
MtystHV. ThlS IS the Case at AlZani, lelmCSSCS, certain theatres
Patava, Aspendos, Pergamos, and Assos. If, in
these theatres, the semi-circular x?-// should be filled up to the
level of the lowest row of seats, \ve should have the original or-
chestra of the fifth century.
The orchestra, then, of the fifth century was divided, in
later times, into two parts, the /."^>v, the wic-
' . The, assumption
-". In view of this fact we understand how it that the orchestra
was that the word ty,/^-^/ came to be applied was divided makes
clear various lacts
to either of these two parts. \\e understand,
also, how it was that the ^c/-/. which belonged in the center
of the old orchestra, when this latter was divided, was placed
in either the /."/'?//> or the x>:'/rr^. It becomes clear, also, why
150 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
in the Roman theatre the audience entered not, as in the Greek
theatre, by the parodoi; but by underground passages. The
parodoi led to the higher part of the old orchestra; accordingly,
the audience could not enter by them ; they were reserved for
the actors. It may be added, further, that it was entireh- ap-
propriate that the part of the orchestra that was occupied by
the senators, who were spectators, should be distinct from the
part that was occupied by the actors.
Thus, the mistakes of Vitruvius are understood. He saw
the Roman stage, and, in its rear, the prosceni-
22^ um columns twelve feet high with a platform
ing a Qreek stage, on top of them. He assumed, therefore, that in
from^th, ian the fifth century also the actO rs performed on a
stage ; but he remembered that in the fifth cen-
tury there was a chorus. Accordingly, he assumed that the
actors stood on the roof of the proscenium, and to this roof he
gave the name by which the stage of his ow r n day was desig--
nated he called it the biysiov ; while the facts are seen to be that
the actors both of the fifth century and of the time of Vitruvius
stood on the same spot, that in front of the proscenium.
There has been quoted above 1 a passage fromSuidas, which
may be taken as a correct description of a
The description Roman theatre of the time of Vitruvius. Suidas
of a Roman . .
theatre mentions first the ffxr^ which is here called the
center door (in the proscenium), and is men-
tioned first, perhaps, because it w^as the most prominent object
before the eyes of the spectator. On both sides of the ffxr^rj are
the -aitafixrjv'.a. After these comes the orchestra, which he might
have called by its new name of /^*v. At this place, he says,
the actors contend. The next object named after the orchestra
is the altar of Dionysus; and, finally, is mentioned the part
most remote from the stage, the xvjVr//.
The words of the scholiast in the introduction to the Clouds
are a further confirmation of the belief that the
of the scholiast half of the orchestra of the fifth century which
in the introduction xvas mor Q remote from the spectators became
to the Clonds
the Aosrov of the Roman theatre. The words are:
1 Page 82.
THE STACK 151
Iv rf; o -jn'^'.
Yafjp6$ signifying place ... 15
YOf)6$ -where the idea of dancing is prominent . 15
Adornment at the dance .... 15
yopv* transferred to the dancer . . . lo
4. Choral Exercises in Homer and in Hesiod :
THE P^SAN: Sung when in Homer . . 16
The Paean in Iliad I . . . . .16
The Paean in Iliad XXII . . 16
No dancing in the Homeric Paean . . .16
The Paean in later times .... 16
Metrical form of the Homeric Paean . . .16
THE THRENOS: Defined , . 17
Early cultivation of the Threnos . . . 17
The Linus-song: .... 17
The three characters of Linus . . .17
An extant Linus-song . . 17
Connected with the death of the seasons . . 17
Hesiod says concerning the Linus-song . 17
The Linus-song in Homer . . .18
Characteristics of . . . 18
The Threnos in the Iliad . . .18
Characteristics of ... 18
The Threnos in the Odyssey . . . .19
Metrical form of the Threnos 19
Later history of the Threnos . . .19
THE HYMEN^EUS: The Hymenaeus in the Iliad . 19
The Hymenaeus in Hesiod . . . .19
The Hymenaeus in later writers ... 19
THE HYPORCHEME : The Hyporcheme in the Iliad . 20
The Hyporcheme in the Hymn to Apollo . 2O
The Hyporcheme in the Odyssey . . .20
The Hyporcheme defined . 2O
Popularity of the Hyporcheme . . 20
Its antiquity . 20
Its chief characteristics . . 21
PARTHENIA IN HOMER 21
The instance in the Iliad . . 21
RESPONSIVE SINGING IN THE ILIAD ... 21
SUMMARY OF CHORAL FORMS IN HOMER AND IN HKSIOD . 21
(153)
154 THE ATTIC STAGE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
5. The Divisions of Lyric Poetry : PAGE
Lyric poetry includes only melic . . 22
The elegiac and the iambic called ~r/ . . 22
Melic poetry divided into two schools . . 22
The distinctions between them . . .22
6. The Cultivation of Greek Music :
The tetrachord ..... 23
Terpander ...... 23
Olympus ..... 23.
Thaletas .... .23
7. Choral Exercises of the ^Eolie School of Poets:
SAPPHO: Songs for a single voice ... 24
Songs lor choruses ..... 24
ANACREON His character .... 24
His songs for choruses . . . 24
ALC^SUS: No choral poetry .... 24
8. Choral Exercises of the Doric School of Poets:
Further development of the chorus . . 25
THE STROPHE: In choral poetry . . .25
Its origin ..... 25
In elegiac poetry . . . . .25
The melic ; the Doric .... 25
Melic strophe described .... 25
The Doric strophe described . . 25
The epode . . . . . .25
Origin of anti-strophic recital . . . 25
ALCMAX: His contemporaries .... 26
His predecessors .... 26
His excellence . . . . .26
He celebrated secular occasions ... 26
His parthenia ..... 26
Features of his choruses . . . .26
His other compositions for choruses' . . . 27
His metres . . . . . 27
Remaining choral poets not at Sparta . . 27
STESICHORUS: His originality . . . 27
Size of his chorus . . . . . 27
The epode ..... 27
His epico-lyric hymns . . . 27
IBYCUS: He belongs to two schools . . . 28
His love songs . . . . .28
These produced on what occasions . . 28
Remaining masters of choral poetry : . . . 28
Add no new elements .... 28
The hymn of Stesichorus ... . . 28
Lyric poets compose for pay . . , 29
Bacchylides . . . . . .29
Pindar ...*... 29
Timocreon ...'... 29
9. The Worship of Dionysus :
A new kind of poetrj^ needed . . . 29
Why the dithyramb was popular . 3O
THE GENESIS AXD DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHORUS 155
9. The Worship of Dionysus (Concluded):
Why the dithyramb was capable of dramatic development : 3O
(1) Opportunities for forming plots . . 3O
(2) Opportunities for assuming characters . . 31
10. The Dithyramb of Arion :
Cultivated at Corinth .... 32
Arion's chorus . . . . . .32
The idp%aty . . . . . 32
The musical accompaniment .... 32
The size of the chorus .... 33
11. The Development of Tragedy from the Dithyramb:
The extension of the part of the izdftfttav . . 33
The extension of subjects .... 33
The dithyramb at Athens becomes tragedy . . 34.
The final step the addition of the actor . . 34
12. The Further Development of Tragedy :
The chorus of Thespis . . . . .34-
The chorus of Phrynichus .... 34
The chorus of Choerilus . . . . .35
Pratinas and the satyr-drama ... 35
Characteristics of the satyr-drama . . .35
AESCHYLUS: Shortened the choral odes . . 36
Added a second actor . . . .36
SOPHOCLES: Added a third actor ... 36
Shortened the choral odes .... 36
EURIPIDES: Shortened the choral odes . . 36
Decline of the chorus as a living element . . .36
The ideal chorus ..... 37
13. The Subsequent Cultivation of the Dithyramb, anJ of Lyric Poetry:
The dithyramb continued in Doric states . .37
The 'Attic' dithyramb .... 37
The decline of lyric poetry . . . .38
CHAPTER II
THE EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHORUS
CONTEXTS
U The Number of the Choreutae: PAGE
The tragic chorus of fifteen : the comic chorus of twenty-four 40
Sophocles the first to tase a tragic chorus of fifteen . . 40
The tragic chorus of fourteen . . . 41
The tragic chorus of filty . . . .41
Was the innovation of Sophocles adopted by vKschylus ? 42
The tragic chorus of forty-eight . . . .43
The changes in the size of the chorus . . . 44
2 The Position of the Choreutae:
At its entrance the chorus pi-esented its left side to the specta-
tors . . . . . .45
The entrance sometimes by the eastern parodos . 45
The parts of the chorus ..... 46
The entrance called tar a (J-o'.y^n);. -/.a~a 'C'rfd . 46
Diagram of a chorus entering- 7.ia . 5O
Position of the coryphaeus in a chorus of fifteen . 51
Position of the corA'phreus in a chorus of twelve . . 51
3 The names of the Chorentse:
Their names derived from their positions . . 52
The titles of the coryphaeus . . . .53
The choregus as coryphaeus .... 53
The poet as trainer; the choregiis, the <;~<>i)'.fir>.(T/.(J.)j>\\
as coryphaeus . . ^ . . 53
The skill of the choreutae varied in different files . 54
4- A Secondary Chorus .
II (!.*/(> t>-f t Y-fi<>.tl. ; 7.-r'i^'.i)V . . . 54
Passages in which occurs the word ^(i.ini.y^iirr^'r^n^J. . 55
Examples of afifS.^iifirjfrjfj.aTf/, and of ~ a. [> y Wicseler and Hermann as evidence of
a platform . ...
The arguments drawn from this passage
Passages quoted bv M tiller as shov/in evidence of a plat-
form . . . . . 82
None of these passages supply evidence of a platform . 84
Positive evidence against the existence of a platform : 84
(1) It would have interfered with the dithyrnm bit-
contests .... 84
(2) No traces of such a platform remain . . 84
(3) The circle on the floor of the orchestra at Kpidaurus 84
(158)
THE STAGE 159
2 TheThymele: (Concluded.)
(4) The ornamented columns of the proscenium . 84
( ~> ) The exit of the chorus at the close of many plays 85
((>) The view of the occupants of the front thronoi . 85
The occupants of the front thronoi . 86
(7) The steps at Eretria, and elsewhere . . 87
(8) A low stage would have been preferred to a high
stage and a platform ... 87
S3 The Steps ; the Distegia :
If there was passing between orchestra and stage, steps
were needed ..... 88
No traces of such steps remain . . . .88
Steps would have prevented free action of the chorus . 88
The vase-paintings in Magna Grrecia . . . 89
The depth of the distegia .... 89
Had the actors stood on a stage, many o!' tl:e spectators
would have had but a poor view of them. . 90
4- Archaeological Investigations:
Three sources of information ... 90
The ancient orchestra ; other ruins . . .91
The stage buildings and cavea belong to the same period of
construction ..... 92
The proscenium more recent than the stage buildings . 93
The columns of the proscenium ; the doors . . 93
No fixed type of stage-buildings in early times . . 93
>f> Evidence Against a Stage from the Extant Pla3 7 s:
."Kschylus :
Supplices ..... 94
I'ersae . . . . . .95
Seven against Thebes .... 97
Prometheus Vinctus . . . 97
Agamemnon . . 99
Clucphori ...... 1OO
Eumenidcs ..... 100
Sophocles :
Ajax ...... 101
Antigone . . . . .103
Klectra ...... 103
(Kdipus Tyramms . , . 1O4
(Kdipus Colotieus ... . 1O5
PhiloctcU-s . . 106
Trachinke . . . . . 1O7
Euripides:
Alcestis ...... 108
Medea ...... 1O9
Hippolytus . . 109
Andromache . 110
Heracleida- . . . 111.
Suppliees . .111
Hecuba . 112
Hercules Furciis . . .113
Ion ...... 114
Troades ... .115
Helena . . 115
Iphigenia in Taurus . . . 116
1()0 7777: ATTIC STAC, It Ol< Till-: /7/-T/7 CHXTl'RY
Sf> Evidence against a stage from the Extant Plays:
Kitripides: (Concluded.)
Electra . . . . . 117
Orestes . . . . . .117
Phoenisso.- , . . .111)
Iphigenia in Atilis . . . . 110
Bacchae . . . . . 1 2<)
Khesus . . . .121
Cyclops . . . 1 22
Aristophanes :
Acharni.'ins . .... 1 2.".
Knights . . .124-
Clouds . . . . .125
Wasps ..... I2f>
I'c-ace- . . . . .120
Birds .... 127
Lysistratu . . . . . 12S
Thesrnophoriay.us.'u . . 129
Frogs . . . 130
Kcclcsiazusa? . . . 131
I'lutus . . . . . . .131
SO Evidence Against a Stage from Certain Facts Connected with the
Entrance of Actors and of Choruses :
All actors entered into the orchestra either by a parodos,
or directly from the palace in the background . 132
Four aspects of the entrance considered : . .132
(1) Instances where choruses announce in-coming act-
ors . . .132
Average number of verses spoken while actor is ap-
proaching . . . 133
The time required for walking half wav across the
stage . 133
Actors actually seen . . . .133
Actors probably not just about to enter on the
stage from door in side-wing when first seen by
the choruses . . . .1 33
Conversations not carried on in the presence of the
in-coming actors .... 134
The actor when first seen was without the stage-
buildings .... 1 3f>
The actor when first seen was in the parodos, and
approaching the orchestra . . .135
This view explains various facts . . 135
(2) Instances where actors announce in-coming actors 130
This class resembles the preceding class . 136
Actors not about to enter on the stage when first
seen . . . 13G
Actors may have been waiting in paraskenion 137
Actors fail to observe other actors ; they address
chorus first . . . . .137
Choruses oftener than actors announce approach
of in-coming actors . . . 137
(3) Instances where actors announce in-coming cho-
ruses ..... 137
An added element in this class . . 137
The entrance of the chorus in the Phoenissa- . 13S
The entrance of the chorus in the CEd. Col . 1 3S
Antigone probably was not looking direct! v into
the parodos from the stage . . . 130
Tin; STACK 101
6 Evidence against a Stage from Certain Facts Connected with the
Entrance of Actors and of Choruses : (Concluded.)
(3) Instances where actors announce in-coming cho-
ruses: (Concluded) :
In this class the actor probably in the orchestra 139
(4) Instances where actors come from the palace . 139
If the actor came on the stage he was in his posi-
tion soon after being seen . . 1 :;'.)
The actor in this class was actually seen approach-
ing . . . . .14-O
The time needed fur him to reach his position, if this
was on the stage . . . 1 1<>
A longer time consumed if he entered into the or-
chestra . . . . .140
In a few instances actors are present soon after
being seen . . . . 14O
In a few instances an unusually long time is con-
sumed . . . . .14-1
In the plays of Shakespeare actors are present soon
after being seen . . . . 14-1
A comparison of Shakespeare with the Greek drama-
tists shows that in the former the actors had a
shorter distance to pass over . . 141
Titus Andronicus Alcestis . . 141
Titus Andronicus Hip*polytus . . 141i
Antony and Cleopatra Helena . 142
Additional examples from Shakespeare . 14'".
The inference to be drawn from the comparison 144
Actors that entered un-announced . . 144
The entrance of actors a pleasing feature . 144
>; 7 Summary of Chapter III. ..... 14-f>
S The Mistakes of Vitruvius :
Vitruvius states that the actors stood on a stage . 148
Some historical facts relating to the theatre . 14S
The positions of chorus, actors, scenery and T/r / v^ in the
V. century ... .14*)
The lowering of orchestra in Roman times . 149
The above test as applied to certain theatres 140
The assumption that the orchestra was divided makesckar
various facts . . . .149
Vitruvius drew his inferences concerning a Greek stage from
the Roman stage . .150
The description of a Roman theatre . . . 15O
The words of the scholiast in the introduction to thcClouus ISO
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