The Student's Mythology / A Compendium of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Hindoo, Chinese, Thibetian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Aztec, and Peruvian Mythologies

by Catherine Ann White

Ques. Did the theatrical representations of the Greeks resemble those of modern times?

Ans. They differed widely, both in the arrangement of the drama, and the mode of representation. The greatest distinction lay, perhaps, in the structure of the theatre itself.

Ques. Describe the general plan of a Greek theatre?

Ans. It was quite open above, and the dramas were always acted in the light of day, beneath the bright canopy of a southern heaven. The Romans at a later period introduced awnings to screen the audience from the sun, but the Greeks would have regarded such a precaution as a mark of effeminacy; and it must be admitted that their milder climate rendered it almost unnecessary. If a storm or a shower came on, the play was, of course, interrupted; the gods and heroes disappeared, and the audience sought shelter in the lofty colonnade which always ran behind their seats. They chose to suffer these occasional inconveniences, rather than shut themselves up in a close and crowded house, and forfeit the sunny brightness of what was to them a national, and even, in some sort, religious solemnity. To have covered in the stage itself, and imprisoned gods and heroes in a gloomy apartment artificially lighted, would have appeared to the ancients in the highest degree absurd.

The great theatre of Bacchus, at Athens, is the only structure of the kind of which a complete description has reached us. It may serve to give a general idea of these edifices.

This theatre stood on the southeastern side of the eminence which was crowned by the noble buildings of the Acropolis. From the level of the plain below, a semicircular excavation ascended far up on the slope of the hill. Round the concavity, seats for an audience of thirty thousand persons arose, range above range; higher still, the whole was enclosed by a lofty portico adorned with statues and surmounted by a balustraded terrace. For the convenience of entering and leaving, the tiers of benches were divided at intervals, by passages extending around the theatre, and again transversely, into wedge-like masses, by flights of steps which radiated from the lowest tier to the portico above. The lower seats, being more conveniently placed for seeing and hearing, were esteemed the most honorable, and were reserved for the high magistrates, the priests and the Senate. Below, was the semicircular orchestra, or pit, which was generally occupied by the chorus. Elevated above the orchestra, and opposite the lower seats, was the stage itself. This had a very wide front and but little depth. The actors usually spoke in the central part, called logeum, or pulpitum. Behind this, the stage grew deeper, and formed a quadrangle called the proscenium. This was enclosed by lofty buildings of stone-work, representing externally a palace-like mansion, and containing within withdrawing rooms for the actors, and receptacles for the stage machinery. When the nature of the play rendered it necessary, these buildings were concealed by painted scenes. In the greater number of tragedies, however, the whole action might be carried on appropriately enough in the portico or court of a palace. There were also contrivances by which a portion of the interior might be exposed to view. The rank of the personages was generally indicated by the particular door at which they entered; that in the centre of the proscenium being reserved for royalty. Wonderful effects were produced by the use of the machinery which was disposed behind the walls of the stage. Supported by ropes, or iron cranes, carefully concealed, gods appeared in the air, descended on the stage, and performed their allotted part in the drama. Heroes also ascended to Olympus, and were hidden at length from view by scenic clouds. In the Prometheus of Æschylus, Oceanus passes through the air, mounted on a griffin, and a choir of fifteen ocean nymphs is introduced in a flying chariot. In another piece, Aurora descends and carries off the dead body of Memnon. Ghosts and infernal deities ascended from beneath the stage, where there were appropriate contrivances for their introduction. When it was necessary to conceal the stage, the curtain was not dropped, but drawn up from beneath the floor.

Ques. Was there anything peculiar in the dress of the actors?

Ans. The costumes were splendid, and carefully adapted to the rank and character of the personages represented. The actors wore masks which covered the entire head. When gods or heroic personages were represented, the masks were larger than life, and the disproportion of the size of the head with the rest of the body, was obviated by two different contrivances. The cothurnus, or buskin, was soled with several layers of cork, which added at least three inches to the height of the actor, and the dress was judiciously padded, so as to give the whole figure the necessary heroic dimensions. Women were not admitted on the Greek stage; the female parts were always performed by men, wearing appropriate wigs and masks.

It has been supposed that the use of masks must have embarrassed the actors, and made them appear stiff and unnatural. This may have been true to a certain extent, but we must remember that, at the distance at which the actors were placed from the greater part of their audience, the changes of expression, and the play of feature would have been quite lost, while the large and finely colored masks may have had a very good effect. Nothing would have seemed more out of place to the Greeks, than to see the part of Apollo or Hercules performed by an actor with strongly marked or ordinary features.

The masks were lined with brass, and so constructed that instead of muffling the voice, they gave it depth and volume, almost as a speaking trumpet would have done.