Pompeii, Its Life and Art

by August Mau

When plays were presented, the front of the palace at the back of the stage was concealed by painted scenery. As several pieces might be produced one after the other, it was necessary to arrange for the shifting of scenes. This was accomplished by drawing one set of decorations off to the sides, thus bringing the next set into view (scaena ductilis); the ends were changed by turning the periactoi, huge three-sided prisms, each side of which was suited to a different scene (scaena versilis). In spite of the clumsiness of the arrangements, as contrasted with those of the best modern theatres, the mounting of plays was artistic and impressive, and compares favorably with that of Shakespeare's time.

The only allusions to matters connected with theatrical representations at Pompeii are in inscriptions relating to actors, as Sorex [(p. 176]). A number of graffiti scratched on walls in various parts of the city mention an Actius Anicetus, whose name is given in full in an inscription found at Puteoli, C. Ummidius Actius Anicetus. He seems to have been a very popular actor of pantomime, at the head of a troupe. One of the inscriptions reads: Acti, a[mor] populi, cito redi,—'Actius, darling of the people, come back quickly!'

The theatre in antiquity was by no means reserved for scenic representations alone. It was a convenient place for bringing the people together, and was used for public gatherings of the most varied character. In the theatre at Tarentum the memorable assembly met which heaped insults upon the Roman ambassadors and precipitated war with Rome. At Pergamos King Mithridates was to be crowned in the theatre by a descending Victory, but by some mishap the wreath fell to the floor, an omen of evil. When the Ephesians, stirred up by Demetrius the silversmith, wished to take measures against Paul and his companions, "They rushed with one accord into the theatre." On such occasions we may suppose that the front of the palace at the rear of the stage served as a background without other decoration. This use of the theatre for general purposes was a Greek rather than a Roman custom, but the theatre itself in Italy was an importation from Greece; and we may suppose that the theatre at Pompeii was on more than one occasion the scene of notable demonstrations.

Our Theatre, as is evident from the character of the construction, in its original form belonged to the Tufa Period, but was rebuilt in Roman times. Some particulars in regard to the rebuilding are given in an inscription: M. M. Holconii Rufus et Celer cryptam, tribunalia, theatrum,—'Marcus Holconius Rufus and Marcus Holconius Celer (built) the crypt, the tribunals, and the part designed for spectators,' that is, the vaulted corridor under the gallery, the platforms over the entrances to the orchestra, and the cavea.

The two Holconii lived in the time of Augustus. The elder, Rufus, was duumvir for the fourth term in 3-2 B.C. The work on the Theatre was probably done about that time; for soon afterwards, before his fifth duumvirate, a statue in his honor was erected in the Theatre, as we learn from an inscription. Later, in 13-14 A.D., the younger Holconius also, when he had been chosen quinquennial duumvir, was honored with a statue. The masonry of the corridor and of the exterior arches supporting it, as well as of the tribunals, well agrees with that in vogue in the Augustan Age; we find brick-shaped blocks of tufa and reticulate work. The marble seats in the cavea may be assigned to the same period; in the original structure the benches must have been of tufa. About the same time the present wall at the back of the stage was built, in the place of an older and much simpler façade, but not by the Holconii; if this also had been rebuilt by them, it would have been mentioned in the inscription.

Possibly the tribunals were an addition due to the Holconii. The corridor under the gallery, however, must have been built in the place of an earlier corridor, for the piers on the outside rest on foundations similar in character to the oldest parts of the building. As these piers served no other purpose than to sustain the passage opening into the section of seats above the corridor, this must have formed a part of the original plan.

The statues of both the Holconii probably stood in niches in the wall at the back of the stage. Holconius Rufus was further honored with a monument of some sort in the cavea. The lowest seat of the media cavea had at the middle, directly opposite the stage, a double width for a distance of about five feet, gained by removing a portion of the next seat above. Here was an inscription in bronze letters: M. Holconio M. f. Rufo, II. v. i. d. quinquiens, iter[um] quinq[uennali], trib[uno] mil[itum] a p[opulo], flamini Aug[usti], patr[ono] colo[niae], d[ecurionum] d[ecreto],—'[Dedicated] in accordance with a decree of the city council to Marcus Holconius Rufus the son of Marcus, five times duumvir with judiciary authority, twice quinquennial duumvir, military tribune by the choice of the people, priest of Augustus, and patron of the colony.' The object placed here was of bronze, and was made secure by fastenings set in twelve holes; what it was is altogether uncertain. The ancients had the custom of conferring lasting honor upon a deserving man after death by placing in the theatre a seat inscribed with his name. We should be glad to believe that a 'seat of double width,' bisellium, the use of which was allowed to members of the city council, was placed here, but the arrangement of the twelve holes is difficult to reconcile with this explanation.

The architect employed by the Holconii, a freedman, was not honored with a statue, but his name was transmitted to posterity in an inscription placed in the outer wall near the east entrance to the orchestra: M. Artorius M. l[ibertus] Primus, architectus,—'Marcus Artorius Primus, freedman of Marcus, architect.'

The plan of the Theatre could not have been taken from a Roman model; it conforms, as we should have expected, to the Greek type. In the Roman theatre the orchestra was in the form of a semicircle, of which the diameter was represented by the stage. In Greek theatres, on the contrary, the stage according to Vitruvius was laid out on one side of a square inscribed in the circle of the orchestra; the orchestra, as shown by existing remains, in most cases was either a complete circle or was so extended by tangents at the sides that a circle could be inscribed in it. The latter is the case in our Theatre, of which the orchestra has essentially the same form as that of the theatre of Dionysus at Athens.

The stage falls under the limit of height,—five feet,—allowed by Vitruvius for the stage of the Roman theatre, not to mention the height of ten to twelve feet specified for that of the Greek type. The reason assigned for the moderate elevation of the Roman stage is that the orchestra was occupied by the seats of senators, whose view would be obstructed if more than a moderate elevation should be given to the front of the stage. The orchestra of our Theatre was apparently from the beginning intended for the use of spectators, not for a chorus.