Classical Greek Theatre: New Views of an Old Subject

Preface

PREFACE This study began some sixteen years ago. It started with a summer tour of Italy and Greece, one undertaken not only to seek explanations for some of the puzzling contradictions found in the standard histories of Greek theatre, but also to formulate answers to questions that had been posed by my students over the years. Why, for example, was the late-fourth-century theatre of Epidauros built with a complete-circle orchestra when, according to orthodox theory, the complete circle had been abandoned as an orchestra shape more than a century before? Needless to say, a quick swing around the most touristed theatre sites did not provide much in the way of enlightenment ; even now, after countless miles of travel and many years of study, I still cannot answer with any certainty the riddle of Epidauros' complete circle. Is it possible that the theatre, as part of the major shrine of Aesklepius, was used primarily for healing ceremonies? There is, to my knowledge, no evidence of plays ever having been presented there. Perhaps, as part of each day's curative ritual, hundreds of cure-seeking pilgrims descended the shorter-than-average steps to hobble around the full circle in a dance intended to restore their good health. While this first trip did not yield much in the way of startling revelations , it did provide some understanding of just how diverse, scattered, and disconnected were the myriad archaeological and written sources relating to the study of the Greek classical theatre; obviously, any further research would involve more than explorations conducted from a carrel in the library . Soon after this first journey, a year's leave was spent as a senior associate fellow at Athens' American School of Classical Studies; this provided a base of operations, access to a specialized library, and the company of dedicated scholars willing to share their knowledge and understanding. As research progressed, I wrote a series of articles for Theatre Research International and Theatre Survey; these provided starting points for some of the chapters in the present volume. Field research proved a necessity. There were many journeys (usually with my wife) to an assortment of archaeological sites, museums, and collections . These trips first centered on Greece, but quickly expanded to Sicily, southern Italy, Albania, and as far into modern Turkey as Hellenic civilization had penetrated; remaining to be explored are several Greek settlements on the Black Sea, a few sites in North Africa, and single theatres in Afghanistan and Romania. I have visited well over a hundred theatre sites, many several times. These treks, usually by car, to seldom-visited sites offthe beaten track often turned into minor adventures. I revel in driving back country roads; whether in the American West or in nations bordering the Mediterranean, the thrill of wandering unknown terrain is much the same. Narrow, rutted roads are devoid of warning signs or arrows pointing directions; railings seldom guard the edges of curves and precipices; but breathtaking vistas are sure to open up over the next hill, panoramas ofworlds where people live out their lives among the stunning ruins ofvanished civilizations. Many Greek theatres were rediscovered in the course ofthe past century. Usually, they have been excavated, studied, and all but forgotten in out-ofthe -way locations; blowing dirt and vegetation have already begun the work of reinterment. Some theatres, like the one at Stratos, in Greece, have been located, but await the attention of an archaeological team; at Aptera, on Crete, only the edge of one row of seats peeks out from a rocky embankment . Others have been scavenged; only vague outlines on the island of Aegina and at Sardis, in Turkey, remain to show where thousands of spectators once watched the entertainments of the day. Not all pillaging was done in antiquity; the white marble and red porphyry seating ofthe theatre at Samothraki was carted away between 1927 and 1937, and the cult theatre ofApollo Erethemia, on Rhodes, vanished sometime after the site was published in 1932. Some searches were memorable. The two theatres at Balbura, in Turkey, one Greek and the other Roman, were spotted from the road with binoculars only after several fruitless trips up and down the highway. A mile's slog down a muddy trail ended at a steep hill that had to be climbed hand over hand, grasping at bushes and outcroppings. After photographing the strangely uncompleted Greek theatre, there remained the task ofscrambling down over loose rocks, fording an icy stream, and examining what could...