CLASSICAL GREEKTHEATRE STUDIES IN THEATRE HISTORY &' CULTURE Edited by Thomas Postlewait CLIFFORD ASHBY Classical Greek Theatre NEW VIEWS OF AN OLD SUBJECT v UNIVERSITY OF IOWA PRESS IOWAC ITY University of Iowa Press, Iowa Cit5y2 242 Copyright 0 1999 by theU niversity of Iowa Press All rights reserved Printed in the United Stateso f America Design by Richard Hendel http://www.uiowa.edu/-uipress No part of this book may be reproduceod r used in any formo r by any means, electronico r mechanical, including photocopyinga nd recording, without permission in writing fromt he publisher. All reasonable steps have been takteon contact copyright holderso f material usedi n this book. The publisher would be pleasteod m ake suitable arrangements with any whoitm h as not been possiblet o reach. Printed on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ashby, Clifford. Classical Greek theatre: new views of an old sub/ jbeyc t Clifford Ashby. - p. cm. (Studies in theatre history and culture) Includes bibliographical referencaesn d index. ISBN 0-8745-641-0 1. Theater-Greece-Production and direction-History. 2. Theaters-Greece-History. 3. Theater-Greece-History. I. Title. 11. Series. PA3201.A79 1998 792'.0938--dc21 98-38376 99 00 01 02 03 c 5 3 4 z 1 FOR SYLVIA Companion, navigator, critic, editor, and wi!e This Page Intentionally Left Blank I should not have to warn you that so much dependso n stage business. Everyone knowtsh at plays are written onlyt o be acted, and I wish that this play would be read only by those who thhaev e vision to see in their readingal l the elements of performance. M.OLIBRE, preface to L’Amour mkdecin [Writing of Hannibal] On these pointsI can speak with some . . . confidence as I have personally inspectedt he country and made the passage oft he Alps to learn form yself and see. P o LY B 1u S , Histories, 3.48.12 This Page Intentionally Left Blank This Page Intentionally Left Blank CONTENTS Acknowledgments xi Preface xiii 1 The Limits of Evidence I: The Writings 1 . 2 The Limits of Evidence 11: Physical Remains 15 3 The Shape of the Orchestra: A History and Critique 24 4 Where Was the Altar? 42 5 The Scene House: The Dithyramb, Found Space, and the “Royal” Door 62 6 Stage Machinery 81 7 The Orientation of Greek Theatres 97 8 Dawn Performances: Three Days in a Row? 118 g Ramifications of the Three-Actor Rule 128 10 Validation by Authority: Margarete Bieber’sC omparisons of Hellenistic and Roman Theatres 139 11 Validation by Repetition: The MenanderR eliefs 147 12 Validation (and Discovery) by Experiment: Producing a Three-Actor Ion 165 Bibliography 181 Index 187