The conclusions reached by Dr. William Doerpfeld in regard to the stage of the Greek theatre, if borne out by the facts, would necessitate a complete abandonment of previous views on the subject. His theory, in brief, is, that not only the chorus but also the actors went through their parts not on the stage but in the orchestra, which had the form of a circle, and that what we are accustomed to consider the front wall of the stage was rather the rear wall of the platform in the orchestra on which the actors and chorus stood, this wall being laid out on a tangent of the circle and having a height of twelve feet, as we may understand from Vitruvius and from the remains of the theatre at Epidaurus.

The main reasons advanced in support of this theory are that the platform currently regarded as the stage, which according to Vitruvius and the existing remains was hardly more than ten feet wide, must have been too narrow to allow free movement on the part of the actors, and that the height above the orchestra was too great to admit of the close relation between the actors and the chorus, of which there is abundant evidence in the extant dramas. According to Dr. Doerpfeld, the stage came into existence in Italy first, and in the Roman period, when there was no longer any chorus; a platform five feet high was built for the actors, extending to the middle of the orchestra, so that this now took the form of a semicircle and could be used for the seats of spectators.

To undertake the examination of Dr. Doerpfeld's theory in detail would not be pertinent here; yet we cannot bring our description of the Theatre at Pompeii to a close without inquiring whether this structure, which is perhaps a century older than the oldest Roman theatre, shows any trace of the arrangement which the theory assumes. Unfortunately, the evidence is not conclusive for either a negative or an affirmative answer. Just as this second edition goes to press a joint investigation of the whole matter has been undertaken by the author and Dr. Doerpfeld, whose work is being facilitated by excavations. It is yet too early to anticipate the conclusions to which the evidence thus gained will lead; we may hazard a tentative statement in regard to only one or two points.

It now appears probable that the present stage was not constructed at the same time with the other parts of the Theatre, but that it is a later addition. There is no trace of an earlier stage, and there is nothing to indicate that this was built against the part of the structure designed for the spectators. We might assume that this earlier stage was placed at a slight distance from the other parts of the building, and that the entrances of the orchestra, the parodoi, lay between, were it not for the fact that the outer doorways of the present parodoi—notably that on the west side with the head of a satyr on the keystone—unquestionably belong to the original structure; and we should not be warranted in assuming two entrances to the orchestra on each side. At the same time it is evident that the construction of the tribunalia must have involved a rebuilding of this part of the Theatre, and it is possible that originally passages led from the outer doors of the present parodoi, not to the orchestra, but to the ranges of seats. In that case, assuming that the stage was slightly removed from the rest of the structure, we may freely grant that the acting may have gone on in front of it rather than upon it, and that this may have been a Greek theatre according to Dr. Doerpfeld's view. But we are here dealing only with possibilities; it is to be hoped that further investigation will bring to light data for a final solution of the problem.

In the open space between the Theatre, the Forum Triangulare, and the Palaestra there is a deep reservoir for water (D), square on the outside and round within. It was evidently used for the sprinklings, sparsiones, with saffron-colored water, by which on summer days the heat of the Theatre was mollified. That such sprinklings were in vogue in Pompeii is known from announcements of gladiatorial combats, painted on walls, in which they are advertised together with an awning as part of the attraction,—sparsiones, vela erunt.

CHAPTER XXII
THE SMALL THEATRE

The names of the builders of the Small Theatre are known from an inscription which is found in duplicate in different parts of the building: C. Quinctius C. f. Valg[us], M. Porcius M. f. duovir dec[urionum] decr[eto] theatrum tectum fac[iundum] locar[unt] eidemq[ue] prob[arunt],—'Gaius Quinctius Valgus the son of Gaius and Marcus Porcius the son of Marcus, duumvirs, in accordance with a decree of the city council let the contract for building the covered theatre, and approved the work.' Later the same officials, when, after the customary interval, they had been elected quinquennial duumvirs, built the Amphitheatre 'at their own expense' [(p. 212]).

Fig. 66.—Plan of the Small Theatre.
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