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A UTHOR: 
 
 CAPPS, EDWARD 
 
 TITLE: 
 
 THE STAGE IN THE 
 GREEK THEATRE... 
 
 PLA CF • 
 
 NEW HAVEN 
 
 DA TE: 
 
 1891 
 
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 Tho stage in tho Crook thoatre according to tho 
 
 e:rtant dramas; inaugurjil dissertation presontod.,. 
 
 hy Edward Capps. Hew Ilaven, 1891# 
 
 SO p. 23 on* 
 
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 Thesis (Ph.D.), Yale University, 1391. 
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 philological ansociation, v,.?2,1891. I 
 
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 THE 
 
 STAGE IN THE GREEK THEATRE 
 
 ACCORDING TO THE 
 
 \ 
 
 EXTANT DRAMAS 
 
 Inaugural Bfesertatton 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE PHILOSOPHICAL FACULTY OF YALE UNIVERSITY 
 I FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 BY 
 
 ) 
 
 EDWARD CAPPS 
 
 NEW HAVEN, JUNE, 1891 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ 
 
^^ 
 
 I 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Extracted from the Transactions of the American Philological 
 
 Association^ Vol. xxii, 1891. 
 
 ^^. 
 
 / 
 
 ^>f 
 
 / 
 
 ' n 
 
 'U 
 
 \ 
 
 \% 
 
 i 
 
 PAGE 
 
 5-7 
 
 7 
 
 7-53 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 12 
 20 
 27 
 29 
 32 
 35 
 
 Introduction 
 
 I. Evidence against an Elevated Stage . 
 
 A. Inter-action between Actors and Chorus 
 
 1 . Passing from palace to orchestra 
 
 2. Passing from orchestra to palace 
 /3. Chorus and actors depart together 
 
 '/4. Chorus and actors enter together 
 
 5. Chariot scenes 
 
 6. Assembly scenes 
 
 7. Search scenes .... 
 
 8. Altar scenes .... 
 
 9. Chorus called to the palace, and minor instances — a refutation 
 
 of A. Miiller's argument, based on the non-performance of 
 certain proposed movements of the chorus, that the action 
 was prevented by the difficulty of mounting the "stage " . 37 
 
 10. Encounters between actors and chorus 47 
 
 Results of Preceding Arguments 50 
 
 Table of the Instances of Inter-action between Actors and Chorus 53 
 
 B. General Relation of Chorus to Actors 54 
 
 C. Numbers often brought upon the " Stage " 57 
 
 D. Character of the Scenic Setting in Certain Plays . . . .59 
 
 E. Street Scenes in Aristophanes 60 
 
 II. Consideration of the Evidence adduced in Favor of an Elevated Stage 64-77 
 
 I. Indications of a change of level when there is passing between 
 
 stage and orchestra; 6.va.- and Kara-^aiveLP . . . .64 
 
 * 2. Expressions which are explained by the supposition of a difference 
 
 of level between " stage " and orchestra 69 
 
 ^^3. Scenes whose presentation required an elevation; use of roof of 
 
 proscenium 7' 
 
 Conclusion 7^ 
 
 .^*?h, I . »i ■[■■ii>i 
 
 CD 
 
 129645 
 
r 
 
 It has long been an accepted principle ^ in the study of 
 scenic antiquities that the evidence derived from the ex- 
 tant plays outweighs in value that from all our other 
 sources — the existing theatre ruins, Vitruvius, Pollux, and 
 the scholiasts. An equally important principle, however, has 
 not been distinctly recognized, viz., fhat the plays themselves 
 must be the ultimate test of all theories based on evidence 
 drawn from external sources. Even the results obtained from 
 the existing ruins must be made to conform to the require- 
 ments of the plays,2 in view of the many elements of uncer- 
 tainty introduced by the alteration and decay of the ancient 
 structures. But if ruins are found whose condition warrants 
 definite conclusions, the testimony of the theatre and the 
 requirements of the drama should be in perfect harmony. 
 
 1 First definitely laid down by Gottfried Hermann in his recension of Otfried 
 Miiller's Eumenides. Albert MUUer, BUhnenalterthiimer, p. 107, subscribes to 
 the same principle but fails to foilorv it consistently. See the same author in Phil. 
 Anzeiger, xv, p. 525; Wilamowit^-Mollendorff, Hermes, xxi, p. 603; and Haigh, 
 Attic Theatre, p. 144. 
 
 2 Dorpfeld himself, who bases his new theories entirely on archaeological and 
 architectural grounds, recognizes the plays as our best source of information. See 
 his recension of Haigh's Attic Theatre, Berl. Phil. Woch. 1890, 468. 
 
Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 If this harmony exists, we shall be justified in rejecting any 
 contradicting testimony of Vitruvius, Pollux, or the scholiasts, 
 especially since these writers have often been found in error. ^ 
 / The traditional belief that the Greek theatre had a stage 
 / of from ten to twelve feet in height ^ reserved almost exclu- 
 sively for actors, as the orchestra was for the chorus,^ and 
 connected with the orchestra by a flight of steps,* students 
 of the drama have long felt to be unsatisfactory for an easy 
 and natural interpretation of the extant plays. Three impor- 
 tant attempts have been made to relieve the difficulty caused 
 by so great an elevation. That of Gottfried Hermann, who 
 held that a platform for the chorus was erected in the orches- 
 tra to within a few feet of the stage level, has been most widely 
 received, but has been shown to rest on no sound evidence 
 either literary or archaeological.^ Julius Hopken in 1884, fol- 
 lowing the suggestion of the plays, and finding support in the 
 ancient authorities, announced the novel theory that both 
 actors and chorus moved on the same level in the orchestra, 
 in which was built a temporary platform on the level of the 
 proscenium, while the proscenium, miscalled the stage, was 
 used for the support of the stage machinery.^ Most recently 
 Dr. Wilhelm Dorpfeld, the eminent architect and archaeolo- 
 gist, after study of the best preserved ruins, has reached the 
 
 1 Scholars have often been too ready to attribute error to Vitruvius. He claims 
 (De Arch, v, 6, 7) to treat only of types of theatres. This is shown to be true by 
 Oehmichen, Griechischer Theaterbau, p. 91 ff.; cf. A. Miiller, Biihnenalt., p. 21. 
 Vitruvius, moreover, nowhere says that he is speaking of the Greek theatre of 
 classical times. Kirchhoff, Vergleichung der Ueberreste vom Theater zu Athen, 
 p. 7, has vindicated his accuracy in details. For a general estimate of his work, 
 see Geppert, Die altgr. Biihne, p. 85 ff. Pollux is full of errors; see Hermann, 
 Op. vi, 2, p. 133. On the scholiasts, see A. Muller, Phil. Anz. xv, p. 525. 
 
 2 Vitruv. 5, 7, 2. 3 Pollux, Onom. 4, 123. 4 ^oW. 4, 137 and scholiasts. 
 
 5 Opusc. vi, 2, p. 153, defended by A. Muller, Buhnenalt., p. 129, and by Wie- 
 seler, Ueber die Thymele, who endeavors to prove that this platform was known 
 as the "thymele." For opposing arguments, see Kawerau in Baumeister's Denk- 
 maler, s.v. Theatergebaude; Haigh, Attic Theat., p. 154; Dorpfeld's recension 
 of the same, Berl. Phil. Woch. 1890, 467; and especially Harzmann, Questiones 
 Scaenicae, pp. 15-27. 
 
 6 De theatro Attico, Bonn, 1884, reviewed and severely criticised by A. 
 Muller, Phil. Anz. xv, p. 525 ff., and opposed by Niejahr, De PoUucis loco qui 
 ad rem scaenicam spectat. This theory met with much opposition, largely be- 
 
 
 I 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 conclusion that the theatre had no raised stage in classical 
 times, but that the building usually supposed to be a stage, 
 the proscenium, in reality represented the house before 
 which the action of the piece was supposed to take place. 
 Dorpfeld makes almost the same disposition of the actors 
 as Hopken but offers a different explanation of the purpose 
 of the proscenium. In accordance with the two principles 
 of scenic investigation above laid down, it is my purpose to 
 test this last theory of the stage in the light of the extant 
 Greek dramas in order to ascertain first, what testimony 
 these dramas furnish against an elevated stage, and second, 
 how far they contain evidence in favor of it. 
 
 I. Evidence against an Elevated Stage. 
 
 The arguments to be presented in the first part of this 
 paper will be drawn from five distinct features that have 
 been observed in the extant plays : A, the inter-action or 
 commingling of actors and chorus ; B, the general relation of 
 the chorus to the drama and to the actors ; C, the numbers 
 brought upon the stage ; D, the character of the scenic set- 
 ting in certain plays ; and E, certain street scenes in Aris- 
 tophanes. 
 
 A. Inter-actiofi between Actors aiid Chorus. 
 
 Obviously the most serious objection to the Vitruvian stage 
 is that it renders intimate connection between actors and 
 chorus extremely awkward and difficult. That there was such 
 connection all scholars now agree, but it has been restricted 
 as much as possible ^ on account of the difficulty which it was 
 felt would be involved in the ascending to or descending from 
 the stage. Assuming that the usual position of the chorus 
 was in the orchestra, and that the commingling of actors and 
 
 cause it overthrew the traditional belief, and on account of the method employed 
 in gaining support from the ancient authorities. It was first recognized as prob- 
 ably an attempt in the right direction in the Am. Jour. Phil, v, 253. 
 
 1 A notable exception is that of Harzmann, Quaes. Scaen., who gives a very 
 large number of instances of inter-action, but still contends for an elevated stage. 
 
 I \ 
 
 ws--n, 
 
8 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 chorus made it necessary for one or the other to pass over 
 the dividing line between the so-called "stage " (which term 
 I shall frequently employ to designate the usual position of 
 the actors without reference to altitude) and the orchestra, 
 let us see what a natural interpretation of the plays de- 
 mands. 
 
 i I. From Palace to Orchestra. In several plays the 
 / chorus make their entrance into the orchestra by passing 
 I over the usual station of actors, generally coming from the 
 1 palace in the background,^ as in Choephori 22 : ^ 
 
 The chorus in the Eumenides rush out of the temple in pur- 
 suit of Orestes. They are probably still near the temple 
 when Apollo drives them away, 178 ff. : 
 
 efo), /feXeuo), TcovSe Sco/judrcov rd^o^; 
 
 Similarly in the Troades the chorus come out from the tent of 
 Hecabe, 176 (cf. 154 ff.) : 
 
 OLfioL, Tpofiepa <TfC7]va<; eKiirov, 
 
 We may suppose that they were in the orchestra for the 
 first choral ode, 197 ff. In the Suppliants of Euripides the 
 choreutae are first seen surrounding Aethra ; see 8 ff. (cf. 
 also 94) : 
 
 et9 raahe yap ^Xeyfraa eirrjv^d^rjv rdSe 
 fypav<;, at XcTrovaat Soo/jLar ^ Kpyela^ ^(Oovofi 
 iKTTJpL OaWw TTpoaTTLTVova i/jLov yovu 
 7rd6o<; TraOovaac Beivov • /ere. 
 
 The whole situation is described even more clearly in 100 ff. 
 The first choral ode (42-86), therefore, must have been sung 
 
 ^ Werckmeister, Orchestra u. Buhne in der gr. Tragodie, p. ii, contends, but 
 with insufficient evidence, that this is the case in all the tragedies of Aeschylus. 
 
 2 References are to Dindorfs Aeschylus, Bergk's Sophocles, Nauck's Euripides, 
 and Meineke's Aristophanes. 
 
 1 
 
 Vm 
 
 .\ 
 
 
 • 
 
 on the "stage." The chorus are still in the same position 
 
 in 359: 
 
 a\V w yepaiai, ae/jiv d(j>aLpelT€ crT€<f)7j 
 
 It is not until the choral passage beginning with 365 that 
 we can suppose that they took their place in the orchestra. 
 
 The women who form the chorus in the Ecclesiazusae 
 appear at first as actors, some of them at least ^ coming from 
 the doors in the rear. The house of their leader, Praxagora, 
 is the principal one in the scene. The connection between 
 actors and chorus is very intimate up to 311, — a feature 
 which we shall discuss later. In the Lysistrata, although we 
 have no positive evidence that the chorus of women come 
 out from the citadel in 319, yet the demands of the situation 
 make it probable that they do so.^ They come out as de- 
 fenders of the citadel against the chorus of men. There is 
 more doubt about the parodos of the chorus of Mystae in the 
 Frogs. The words of the chorus (350 ff.) rather favor the 
 view that they come from Pluto's palace : 
 
 (TV Be Xa/jLTrdBc (fyiyycov 
 TTpo^dSrjv e^ay iir dvOrjpov eXecov hditehov 
 '^opOTTOiov fjbdKap 7]/3av. 
 
 Schonborn (p. 356) gives excellent artistic reasons in sup- 
 port of the same interpretation of the passage. He seems to 
 be right also (p. 306) in making the chorus in the Thesmo- 
 phoriazusae appear from the temple. From no other place 
 could they so fittingly come, and the short choral song^ (312- 
 331) suggests a short parodos over the *' stage" rather than 
 a long one through the orchestra. He is wrong, however,, 
 
 1 All of them, according to Schonborn, Skene der Hellenen, p. 329. 
 
 2 So also Droysen, Quaest. de Arist, re scaen., p. 65 ; Schonborn, p. 299, fol- 
 lowing the scholiast, makes them enter the stage from the right. But v. 352, 
 dvpaaiv (io-qdel, favors the view presented above. For this use of BvpacriVy cf. 
 Eur. Elec. 1074, dvpacnv (paiveiv irpbaojirov, 
 
 ^ This short choral ode is characteristic of a parodos from the palace. Cf. 
 Choeph. 22-83; Eum. 140-177 ; Troad. 153 ff.; Lys. 319-351. Contrast Sept. 
 77-180; Pers. 1-158; Supp. (Aesch.) 1-175 ; Agam. 40-263 ; Bacch. 64-169, 
 etc. 
 
10 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 I 
 
 in supposing that they remain on the "stage" during the 
 assembly scene, as we shall show later (p. 29). The narrow 
 stage would scarcely have admitted of such a scene in any 
 case.^ 
 
 2. From Orchestra to Palace. In three plays the exo- 
 dos of the chorus is made from the orchestra to the house 
 which forms the background. In the Choephori,^ since 
 they come from the palace in the beginning of the piece, so 
 they must go back into it at the close, although indications 
 as to their movements are entirely wanting. The chorus in 
 the Persians^ escort Xerxes into the royal palace. At the 
 command tt/jo? S6fiov<; Wt (1038) the chorus begin to move 
 slowly toward the palace. Finally comes the word to enter 
 (1068), €9 B6fjLov<; Kie, and as they disappear they say : 
 
 irefMyjrco roi ae BvcrOpoot^ yoocf;. 
 
 For this conclusion we are prepared by the request of 
 Atossa, 529 ff. : 
 
 Kal iralK idv irep Sevp i/iov Trpoadev fioXrj, 
 TrapT^yopecTe, koI TrpoTTeixireT e? h6^ov<^.^ 
 
 In the Birds a messenger announces the coming of Pisthe- 
 taerus and his bride, and bids the chorus receive them into 
 their new home in Nephelococcygia,^ 1708 : 
 
 he')(eG6e top rvpavvov 6\0LOt<: ^6fjiOi<;, 
 
 * Similar to the instances above cited is Lys. 1239, discussed more fully else- 
 where, where the chorus come from the palace. Dicaeopolis in Ach. 280 goes 
 from his house into the orchestra, as is shown later (p. 73). 
 
 2 Schonborn, p. 225, denies, without reason, that the palace was represented 
 in the scenery, and thus avoids the crossing of the ** stage " by the chorus. See 
 Hermann's arguments on this point in De re scaen. in Aesch. Orestea, p. 9. Al- 
 bert Miiller, p. 125, note 7, favors the above. 
 
 8 Wilamowitz-MoUendorff, Die Biihne des Aeschylus, Hermes, xxi, p. 607, 
 contends that no conventional scenery was used in Supp., Sept., Pers., and Prom, 
 of Aeschylus. His arguments are weaker for the Persians than for the other 
 plays. Sommerbrodt, Scaenica, p. 147, cites v. 159 in favor of the usual scenery. 
 
 * These verses are much better read after 850 with Wecklein. 
 
 ^ We follow Schonborn (p. 322) in supposing a change of scene (but not 
 necessarily a change of scenery) at 1565, as the words of Poseidon, rd fi^v 
 ndXifffM TTjs ii€<f>€\oKOKKvy^as bpav robi irdpeariVf seem to demand. Muhl, Sym- 
 
 Lk 
 
 ■■J 
 
 n 
 
 •T 
 
 k 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage, 
 
 II 
 
 They accordingly arrange their ranks and sing about the 
 pair the hymenaeum, 1720 ff. : 
 
 avaye 5/e;^e irdpayc. 'rrdpe')(e 
 irepLireTeaOe fiuKapa fiuKapa aw TV)(^a, kt€. 
 
 At its conclusion they are invited by Pisthetaerus to follow 
 in the bridal train, 1755 ff . : 
 
 eireaOe vvv ydfxoiariv o) 
 <j)v\a irdpra avvvofxcov 
 irrepocf^op* eVl hdrreSov A^o? 
 Koi X€%09 ya/jLi]XLOV, 
 
 With these last instances may be classed those in which 
 the chorus leave the orchestra and enter the palace during 
 the progress of the play. These are two in number, and of 
 course involve two passings each between " stage " and or- 
 chestra. The situation in the Helen is clearly seen from the 
 following passages, 327 ff. : 
 
 Xo. 6e\co Be Kayo) aol (TVveiaeXOelv Bofxov^ 
 
 Kal avixTTvOeadai irapOevov OeaTriafiara, 
 ****** 
 
 'EX. <f)LXat, Xoyov^; ihe^dfxav ' 
 fidre ^dre K eU BS/nov^;. 
 
 They return in 515 : 
 
 Xo. rjKOvaa ra? OecnrKphov Kopa<^t 
 a ')(^prjaaa e<^dvrj V Tvpdvvoc<; 
 
 B6/JLOL'!;, KT€. 
 
 So in the Lysistrata both the chorus of men and the chorus 
 of women 1 enter the citadel at the invitation of Lysistrata 
 (ii82ff.). That the women as well as the men go in is 
 shown by the character of the following ode sung by the 
 former (cf. I195 ff. : Trdo-tv vfuv Xeyw Xafifidveiv twv ifiMV 
 
 bolae ad rem scaen. Ach. et Av., p. 35, opposes this view. If his view is correct 
 the exit would be made through one of the wings. 
 
 iThis is Schonborn's view (p. 301), strengthened by additional arguments. 
 Droysen (p. 61) holds that only the chorus of men entered, but he gives no grounds 
 for his belief. i 
 
12 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 f 
 
 V 
 
 ')(^p7]/jbdTcov vvv €vho9ev)y by the fact that they do not appear 
 again as a separate chorus, and by the scene of the market- 
 loungers (12 1 6-1 241), which is plainly thrown in by the poet 
 to fill the gap in the action of the piece caused by the dis- 
 appearance of both actors and chorus. The two choruses 
 come out again at 1239, and with them the Laconian ambas- 
 sadors, who now form a third chorus, joining after one choral 
 ode the women of the chorus who are Spartans, while the 
 Athenian men join the Athenian women, and all march 
 together in two bodies from the scene. Lysistrata seems 
 to have become one of the chorus of women. 
 
 As bearing on this same point we may cite here the most 
 striking instance of communication between ''stage" and 
 orchestra in the Greek drama, that in the Cyclops. The 
 decoration of the scene represents the cave of the Cyclops 
 (cf. 33, S2y ^y, etc.). In it are kept his flocks (cf. 35 and 
 388), as in the Odyssey. The chorus of Satyrs come in ac- 
 companied by irpoairoXoi driving the flocks, and are directed 
 by Silenus to bid these servants drive them into the cave, 
 
 82 ff. : 
 
 ai'yrjaaT , w reKV , dvTpa 8' €i9 7r6Tp7jp6(j)rj 
 
 TTOLfjLva^ dOpoLcrac irpoairoXov^; KeXeuaare. 
 
 Their answer shows that the command was obeyed : ^ 
 
 j^wpeiT ' drdp Sr) rlva, irdrep, o'lrovhqv e%e^9 ; 
 
 We may believe that real goats were driven over the *' stage," 
 or else that some attempt was made to represent goats by 
 suitable costumes, as the choruses of birds and wasps were 
 represented in Aristophanes. It would hardly suffice that the 
 actions indicated should be carried out only in dumb show 
 with imaginary flocks. 
 
 3. Chorus and Actors depart together. In a large" num- 
 ber of plays, chorus and actors make their final exit for 
 the same destination, in addition to the three plays already 
 
 1 Bruno i\rnold, De rebus scaenicis in Euripidis Cyclope, p. 19 ff., feeling the 
 absurdity of making sheep cHmb steps to a high platform, tries unsuccessful^ to 
 prove that they and the chorus enter the " stage " by one of the wings. 
 
 '^ n 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 13 
 
 cited where this destination is the palace. In every in- 
 stance it is the natural supposition that they depart together 
 and by the same place of exit, but many writers ^ on this sub- 
 ject, in view of the supposed difficulty caused by the height 
 of the "stage," have supposed the chorus to leave the orches- 
 tra by one of the parodoi, and the actors to leave the "stage" 
 through one of the wings ; the direction in which they depart 
 would be the same, and the spectators must imagine them 
 to meet after their disappearance from view. It is neces- 
 sary, therefore, to bring together from the plays, both from 
 the text itself and from the general situation, all the instances 
 which furnish evidence that the actors and chorus were actu- 
 ally together in making their exit. 
 
 The closing scene of the Eumenides is a splendid proces- 
 sion in which all take part, — Athene, the Areopagites, the 
 servants of the temple, and the Eumenides. Athene leads 
 the way,2 1003 : 
 
 irporepav 3* e/^e xph 
 
 (7T€L)^€lV. 
 
 The temple-servants follow with lighted torches, serving as 
 an escort to the procession proper. Cf. 1005 • 
 
 and 1024: 
 
 7r/309 (^w? lepov rcovBe irpoiro^TrcSv ; 
 
 ^vv iTpocnro\oL(Ttv, aire (^povpovaiv, ^pira^ 
 Tovjjbov BLKaLa)<;. 
 
 Then come the Areopagites, and lastly the Erinyes them- 
 selves, loio ff. : 
 
 TralBe^; Kpavaov, ralaBe fieroL/coc^. 
 
 ^ Schonborn, pp. 129, 134 and 137, and A. Miiller, BUhnenalt., p. 119. It 
 seems strange that the latter, while seeing the absurdity of supposing that 
 actors and chorus in such passages are seen by the spectators to depart in differ- 
 ent directions for the same destination, should not have realized that it would 
 be almost as absurd for them to be on widely different levels, separated by an im- 
 passable barrier. 
 
 ^ See Wecklein, Orestie, note on Eum. 1032. 
 
/ 
 
 y 
 
 14 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891, 
 
 
 Any interpretation of this scene which would make the rear 
 of the procession depart on a different level and by a differ- 
 ent route from that taken by Athene and the Areopagites 
 would ruin its grandeur and impressiveness. 
 
 Equally repugnant to our ideas of artistic propriety, as well 
 as in direct contradiction to the words of the text, is the sup- 
 position that in the Septem the semi-choruses do not follow 
 directly after Antigone and Ismene in the funeral trains of 
 Polynices and Eteocles respectively. Cf. 1068 ff. : 
 
 H/At^opo? A'. 77/i,et9 yikv 'Ifxev koX avp6dy}rofJL6v 
 
 aiSe TrpoTTo/jiTTol ictL 
 ♦ « « ^ « ^ 
 
 *H/At';)^o/0O9 B'. 7] ^el<^ h^ a fi a rcSSe a, re. 
 
 It is inconceivable that the poet should represent the body 
 and chief mourners as moving off the ''stage," while the 
 principal part of the funeral procession is marching ten feet 
 below, intending to join the body outside. If this division 
 of the chorus was to be at all effective, the second semi- 
 chorus must have openly shared the danger of Antigone. 
 The semi-choruses must have gone over the "stage" or 
 the actors into the orchestra. The analogy of Ecc. 1149, 
 Plut. 1208, and Vesp. 1516 (see p. 18) is decidedly in favor of 
 the latter course. The words of the text alone, apart from 
 aesthetic reasons, demand that all should go out together 
 (cf. TTpOTTOfMiroL aud afMa Tft>8e). 
 
 The correctness of this view is proven conclusively by com- 
 parison of the scene in the Septem with a similar scene in 
 the Alcestis.i Admetus is addressing the chorus, 422 ff. : 
 
 aXX iK<f)opav yap rovSe Orjao^ai veKpov, 
 Trapeare koI fievovTe^; dvrrj^rjaare 
 iraidva rw KarcoOev acnr6vh(o Oeco. 
 
 The funeral accordingly takes place, and, as we expect from 
 the above words, the choreutae follow in the procession (cf. 
 740, arelxcofiev, w? dv iv irvpa Btiijiev ve/cpov). Neither Ad- 
 
 1 Cf. Harzmann's Quaes. Scaen. (Diss. Inaug., Halle, 1889), p. 39. 
 
 s^ 
 
 I ll 
 
 >/ 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 7Vie Greek Stage. 
 
 15 
 
 metus nor the chorus is seen again until they return from the 
 tomb, 861 ff. : 
 
 'A 5. tw, o-TVyval irpoaohoi, aTvyval 3' oylrec^ 
 Xnpf^v fjLeXdOpcov • 
 
 ****** 
 X o . 7rp6/3a irpo/Sa • /SaOL fC€V0o<; olkcov. 
 
 Admetus and the chorus both go out and return together 
 
 The Suppliants of Aeschylus also closes with a procession 
 consistmg of Danaus with his body-guards and the chorus 
 with their attendants. The King bids the chorus go to the 
 city (954 £f.), but before complying they ask that their father 
 be sent to guide them (968 ff.). Accordingly when Danaus 
 arrives (980) with his body-guard (cf. 985 ff.), and after he 
 has given the necessary instructions, we must suppose that 
 they all begin to move off the scene. Danaus, as we should 
 expect, was at their head,i for he was the first to disappear 
 from view, as is shown by the fact that he says nothing in 
 the last sixty verses of the play. 
 
 The chorus of men of Salamis in the Ajax follow the 
 body of their chief in the funeral procession with which the 
 play closes. This cannot be doubted when we remember that 
 the words 141 3 ff., 
 
 dW dy€ ird^;, ^t'Xo? 6(7Tt<; dvrjp 
 (j>r]al Trapelvat, aovaOco, /Sdrco 
 TQ)8' dvSpl TTovcav Tc3 irdvT dyaOco 
 
 could refer to none so well as to the men of the chorus who 
 were devoted adherents of the fallen Ajax. 
 
 In the Philoctetes also we find the same conclusion. Phi- 
 loctetes, Odysseus, Neoptolemus, and the chorus of sailors 
 all go out together. Cf 1469 : 
 
 X^P^f^^v 8rf 7rdvT€<i do\\€i<i, 
 
 1 Schonborn, p. 286, also takes this interpretation here, because he thinks that 
 the chorus was on the "stage" throughout the play. But see p. 36, of this 
 article. 
 
 I I 
 
i6 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage, 
 
 17 
 
 V ! 
 
 I 
 
 It 
 
 It does not satisfy either the word ao\\€c<; ^ or the demands of 
 the situation to interpret these words of the chorus as refer- 
 ring only to themselves. We have here a tragedy with a 
 happy ending, where former enemies become reconciled and 
 leave the scene together in token of their reconciliation, — 
 such a scene as Aristotle ^ comments upon as more suitable 
 to comedy than to tragedy. 
 
 The chorus of Satyrs in the Cyclops follow Odysseus to 
 his ship. There is no reason here to doubt that they join 
 the company of Odysseus in all respects as do his other 
 attendants. Cf. 708 ff. : 
 
 97yLtet9 Be avvvavrai ye rovB* 'OSucrcreo)? 
 6vT6<; TO XOLTTOV 3aK)(^L(p SovX€vaofJL€V, 
 
 In the Suppliants of Euripides the chorus go with Adras- 
 tus from the scene. Cf. 1232 : 
 
 <TT€C')(^COIJL€V, "ABpa(TT€, KTe* 
 
 As will be shown later, Adrastus and the women of the 
 chorus, having the same mission, are together throughout a 
 large portion of the play. It is quite fitting therefore that 
 he, their leader, should conduct them home at the end, just 
 as Danaus leads the chorus in the Suppliants of Aeschylus. 
 
 The chorus in the Ion are servants of Creusa, and we may 
 reasonably believe that they attend their mistress as servants 
 at the close of the play when she sets out for her home in 
 Athens. Although there is no direct evidence that they 
 make their exit together, we have learned from the in- 
 stances already cited that a procession was a favorite con- 
 clusion for a drama, and here the situation demands it ; 
 the very relation of the chorus to the actors requires this 
 manner of exit. 
 
 Although in the Troades the herald of Agamemnon orders 
 Hecabe to follow him (1269), and orders the women of the 
 chorus to wait for the call of the trumpet, yet Hecabe 
 
 1 Cf. ao\\e7s in Trach. 513, oi t6t* ao\\€?s '(ffav is /xeVov, referring to the 
 fierce hand to hand battle of Acheloiis and Heracles. 
 
 2 Poetics, 1453 A, cited by Campbell. 
 
 ^i 
 
 remains until the close of the play, and the chorus leave 
 immediately after her. Cf. 1328 ff. : 
 
 E/c. Tpo/jL€pa rpofjLepa /jueXeaj (fieper 'e- 
 
 ^lov I'x^vof;. It iirl TaXaivav 
 
 SovXeiou afiepav 0lov. 
 X . lo) TaXaiva ttoXl'^ * oyLtw? he 
 
 '7rp6(j)epe iroBa aov eirl irXaTa^ 'A^^aLcov, 
 
 Here we see clearly the poet's fondness for the dramatic 
 conclusion which is under consideration. He detained He- 
 cabe so long after the order to depart for this reason — in 
 order to give the play a more impressive close, by having 
 the former queen Hecabe lead the way for her companions 
 to the life of slavery and humiliation. 
 
 Frequently we have found this conclusion of a play in 
 tragedy, in comedy it is well nigh the prevailing one. In 
 eight of the eleven plays of Aristophanes the chorus go out 
 in procession ^ with the actors. Sometimes the effect would 
 be decidedly ludicrous, as in the Acharnians and Wasps ; 
 again it would be grand and impressive, as in the Frogs, which 
 reminds us somewhat of the closing scene in the Eumenides. 
 But whatever its object in individual plays, we can readily 
 see how extremely effective such a close would naturally be. 
 The case in the Acharnians ^ is clear from 123 1 ff. : 
 
 Alk, eireade vvv a8ovTe<; w TrjveXXa KaXXlviKOf;, 
 X . aXV eyjro/jieaOa arjv x^pLV kt€. 
 
 In the Frogs, Aeschylus is escorted with great pomp from 
 the lower world by the chorus of Mystae, accompanied by 
 Dionysus and Xanthias. Cf. 1524 ff. : 
 
 ^ The same argument is advanced by Professor White in his article The Stage 
 in Aristophanes, Harvard Studies, 1891. The present paper was completed 
 before the appearance of that article, and its conclusions, though similar in several 
 important details, were reached independently. References are given to Pro- 
 fessor White's article in every case, I think, of noteworthy agreement or disagree- 
 ment. 
 
 2 Droysen, p. 8, agrees with this obviously correct view. Muhl, p. 20, fol- 
 lowing Schonborn, opposes, but on very weak grounds. 
 
 
i8 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 19 
 
 JWovTonv , (f>aLV6Te rolvvv v^el^ tovtq) 
 
 \afi7rdBa<; lepdi;, 'X^dfia tt poire /JLTrere 
 
 TolaiV TOVTOV TOVTOV fjLe\€<TtV. 
 
 At the close of the Ecclesiazusae, Blepyrus goes into the 
 orchestra and heads the procession, in which the chorus 
 joins. Cf. 1149 ff. : 
 
 A.. 670; oe TTpo? TO benrvov rjor) irei^ofJiaL' 
 €')(^co Si TOi Kol SaSa Tavrr^vX Ka\cb<i. 
 Xo. TL SrJTa BLaTpL^eL<; €)^(ov, aX}C ovk dy€i(; 
 
 raaSl \a/3(ov ; iv oaco Se Kara^aivei^y iyco 
 i7rd(TOfiao yiteXo? rt /jLeWohecTrvcKOV. 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 KprjTtfC(jt)<; ovv to) irohe 
 
 KoX (TV KLVeC. BX. TOVTO BpCO, 
 
 With these last words,^ Blepyrus takes his position at the 
 head of the line and begins the dance with which the play 
 ends. This is very similar to the action at the end of the 
 Plutus and the Wasps. In the former the choreutae with- 
 draw to one side, while the procession bound for the temple 
 of Athene marches from the house. At the fitting time 
 they attach themselves to the line, bringing up the rear with 
 songs. Cf. 1208 ff. : 
 
 Xo. ovfc en rolvvv elKOf; fieWeiv 01)8* r)fjLd<^, aXV dva')((opelv 
 €9 TovTTLaOev ' hel yap KaroTrcv rovrcov aSovra^; eireaOat. 
 
 In the Wasps the sons of Carcinus appear in response to 
 Philocleon's challenge of tragic poets to a contest in dancing. 
 The contest takes place. That it takes place in the orchestra 
 is shown by the fact that the choreutae draw back to make 
 room for the dancers, just as in the Plutus they make room 
 for those who are coming from the house. Cf. 1516 ff.: 
 
 <^epe vvv r]ixel<^ avTol<^ oXiyov ^vy^copTJcoy/jiev d7ravTe<;, 
 tv e<^' rjcrv^La^ rjfiSiv TrpocrOev ^efi^LKi^coaiv eavTov<;. 
 
 At last, at the conclusion of the contest, they all leave the 
 scene together, dancing. Cf. 1535 ff.: 
 
 1 But see White, I.e. p. 169, who assigns them to the chorus. 
 
 t 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 dXK i^dyer , el tl (pcXelr 6p)(^ov/jL€VOi^ Svpa^e 
 
 We have already shown (p. 11) how the chorus of women 
 and the chorus of men in the Lysistrata leave the orchestra 
 and enter the house in the background, and how at the con- 
 clusion of the feast, after they have again made their appear- 
 ance, they are joined by the Athenians and Laconians who 
 have heretofore been actors. Cf. 1272 ff.: 
 
 Kv 
 
 <T. 
 
 dirdyecrOe ravra^ w Aa/cwz/e?, TacrheKl 
 vfiel<; " dvrjp Se irapd yvvacKa koI yvvrj 
 c-rrjTCt) irap dvBpa, /ctL 
 
 Then follow two choral passages by Athenians and Laconians 
 respectively, during which they all go out together. 
 
 The Peace, like the Birds, closes with a bridal procession. 
 We have seen that in the latter the procession goes into the 
 dwelling represented in the scene. Here, however, the dwell- 
 ing is the starting point, the country is the destination, as we 
 see from 1^16,^ ')(^prj ryv vvpL(f>7jv efo) nvd hevpo ko/xl^€lv, and 
 also from 1329, 8evp^ w yvvac eh dypov. One semi-chorus es- 
 corts the bridegroom, the other the bride (Schonborn, p. 541). 
 Cf. 1339 ff. : 
 
 X . aXV dpdyi.evoi </)-e/7Q)- 
 liev 01 irpoTeTaypievoL 
 Tov vvfi^lov odvSpes;, 
 * * * 
 
 * 
 
 Tp. 
 
 CO x^ipere )(^aLp€T av- 
 Bpe<;, Kav ^vveirrja-O e fioi 
 irXaKovvTa<; eSeaOe. 
 
 To these passages from tragedy and comedy should be 
 added the entirely anomalous exodos of the Prometheus. The 
 Oceanides are with Prometheus, but are warned by Hermes 
 to leave him, lest they too receive harm when he is punished. 
 
 ^ Verse 131 2, aAA' S) wph tov ireivtcvres ififidWeade rccv Kayi^uv is only the mo- 
 tiving of the advance of the chorus toward the " stage." They do not at once 
 attack the viands, for no time is given, and the last verse of the play, quoted 
 above, shows that they have not yet eaten. See, however, White, p. 165. 
 
20 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 'E/3. 
 
 Xo 
 
 They refuse, declaring it their purpose to suffer with him. 
 1058 ff. : 
 
 hiXK ovv v^el<^ 7' al Trrjfiocrvvacf; * 
 
 crvyKafJivovo-ai ral^ rovSe tottcov 
 fierd TTOC '^copelr i/c roivhe Ooco^y ktL 
 * * * * 
 
 fiera rovS" ore -^pr) irdo-^eiv ideXco. 
 
 And so, when the great convulsion of nature comes, they are 
 engulfed along with Prometheus.^ 
 
 VVe have seen that a natural interpretation of the words 
 of the text, assuming that the arrangement of the thea- 
 tre offered no obstacle to free and natural action, reveals 
 the fact that in twenty ^ plays actors and chorus make their 
 exit at the end of the piece together and through the same 
 passage-way. In each one of these plays, therefore, it was 
 necessary for either the actors or the chorus to pass over the 
 dividing line between ** stage'' and orchestra. In still other 
 plays ^ the student may find that purely artistic reasons de- 
 mand the same conclusion, especially since we know that it 
 was decidedly a favorite conclusion with the classical as it is 
 with the modern dramatists. It gives an opportunity to the 
 poet to group together in one suggestive tableau those in 
 whom the interest of the spectators had been centred. 
 
 4. Chorus and Actors enter together. The converse of 
 the dramatic conclusion just mentioned, viz. : for the chorus 
 to make their appearance in company with actors, would 
 serve no such artistic purpose, and is by no means so fre- 
 quent. We have shown that actors and chorus enter together 
 in the midst of the play in the Alcestis. In the Ecclesia- 
 zusae the women who form the chorus are in the early part 
 
 ^ This is the only natural interpretation of the words of the text. So Wil- 
 mowitz-Moellendorf, I.e., p. 610. Wecklein, note ad loc, says that verses 
 1071-79 merely motive the exit of the chorus from the orchestra, to avoid the 
 use of the " machina " again, and that the chorus sink through the avairieaixa. of 
 the orchestra, Prometheus through that of the " stage " ! 
 
 2 In three (Choephori, Persians, and Birds) into the palace. 
 
 3 As for example in the Trachiniae, according to Schonborn, p. 134. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 2\ 
 
 - 
 
 
 of the play actors, or at least not to be distinguished from the 
 actors. They come out from the house (see p. 9) and soon 
 . are in the orchestra, practising for the ecclesia (see p. 29). 
 Later in the play (478 ff.) the same women, both actors and 
 chorus, who participated in the opening scene reappear, re- 
 turning from the ecclesia. They would most naturally come 
 in by the same entrance, even Praxagora, though she entered 
 aft^r the rest (500). In the Plutus Carion is sent out to 
 summon his master's friends. He returns with them, 253, 
 but they do not reach the house of Chremylus until 315, 
 although they hasten (cf. 255-8). They must have come in 
 together through the orchestra,^ just as do Pisthetaerus and 
 Euelpides in the Birds. During the whole scene Carion is 
 evidently hurrying on ; the old men, grumbling at his haste, 
 trying to keep up with him, are all the while closely engaged 
 in conversation with him.2 The words of Carion in 295 and 
 308 {eireaOe) maybe quoted as further proof. In 321 Carion 
 goes into the house. 
 
 We can hardly avoid the conclusion that the chorus enter 
 in a similar way in the Electra of Euripides. Electra has 
 been to the spring for water, and is now slowly returning, 
 chanting her lament. Orestes catches sight of her at 107 ; 
 her song continues until 166. If, as Schonborn believes, she 
 appeared from the right side door of the scene, the middle 
 door representing her home, she would have had scarcely 
 time to sing so long an ode. But when at its conclusion she 
 is accosted by the girls of the chorus, she is still, apparently, 
 at some distance from the house, for she does not see the 
 two men at the door for fifty verses (215). She seems there- 
 fore to be coming slowly from the parodos through the or- 
 chestra when the chorus enter from the opposite parodos, in- 
 vite her to the festival, and express their sympathy. All the 
 
 1 There can be no doubt that they enter together, and the interval between 
 253 and 315 is too long for a parodos from the wings. See note on p. 9. 
 
 2 According to Niejahr, De Poll, loco, p. xi, though he tries to limit the 
 intermingling of actors and chorus, this feature of the passage would in itself 
 decide for our explanation. " Immo quam maximo jure de universis fabulis 
 mihi videor statuere eos qui inter se coUoquantur actores, nisi singularibus de 
 causis disjungendi erant, eodem loco debere versari." 
 
22 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 n 
 
 while, as they converse they are slowly moving towards the 
 house, so absorbed that they do not see Orestes and Pylades 
 until they are near the door. Then Electra, being somewhat 
 in advance, runs toward the house, directing the chorus to 
 flee along the path by which they had come in together. Cf. 
 
 218 ff. : 
 
 ^v^jri av fjL6V Kar olfiov, ek 86fMov<; 8' iyco 
 
 (j)(OTa^ KaKovpyov^ i^dXv^cofMev ttoBL 
 
 Before Electra can enter the house Orestes detains her, and 
 the chorus evidently do not quite leave the scene, for they 
 speak again after Electra's fears are allayed (297). The 
 poet's reason for these movements is clear. The chorus in 
 this play are unessential to the action. The motive for their 
 introduction is very slight, and their long and sympathetic 
 conversation with Electra is required to make it appear even 
 sufficient. They are no longer needed during the recogni- 
 tion scene, and the passage just mentioned is the poet's de- 
 vice for withdrawing them from the main action, bringing 
 the brother and sister into greater prominence. 
 
 In connection with these three plays it remains to consider 
 four others, in which the chorus is in a peculiar relation 
 towards the actors who first appear, which seems to require 
 that they should either appear together or should at least 
 come in by the same entrance, as if they had been together 
 shortly before. In two of these four, the Suppliants of 
 Aeschylus and the Ion, the chorus are the first to speak ; in 
 the other two, the Philoctetes and the Bacchantes, the actors. 
 
 In the Suppliants Danaus is the father and leader and pro- 
 tector of the chorus. We have seen that he acts in this 
 capacity of leader at the close of the play, conducting his 
 daughters from the scene. What more fitting than that he 
 should be at their head when the play begins, when the 
 maidens enter, marching to the accompaniment of the ana- 
 paests, announcing their lineage and their trouble } ^ Their 
 words (12 ff.), 
 
 1 Niejahr, De Poll, loco, p. xi, realizing the incongruity of the situation as he 
 is forced tp understand it in this passage, says : " Haec ipsa res, Danaum, etsi solus 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage. 
 
 23 
 
 Aavao<; Be 7raTt]p koL fiov\ap'^o<; 
 Kol <TTa(TLap^o(;, ktL, 
 
 are to explain to the audience the presence of the old man 
 who is with them, — an explanation all the more necessary 
 since he himself does not speak until 176. That he does not 
 speak, is no objection to our view ; neither does Clytemnestra 
 speak in the Agamemnon until 264, though addressed as pres- 
 ent by the chorus in 83.^ There is no reason why Danaus 
 should speak before. When he does speak, his words bear 
 out our interpretation of the opening scene, for he appar- 
 ently has heard them descanting on their troubles and there- 
 fore warns them to take counsel, 176 ff. : 
 
 7rat8e9, (jypovelv y^prj • ^vv (^povovvri K tj icer e 
 irccTTM yepovTi rw^e vavKkrjpM irarpi. 
 
 It is to be noted that he says ^vv . . . rjKere. But even if they 
 do not all come upon the scene at the same time, we must 
 still believe that they come through the same entrance.. 
 From his first words we see that he has gone in advance of 
 them to this station for the purpose of reconnoitering. 
 
 The beginning of the Ion reveals a similar situation. The 
 chorus enter the orchestra from one of the parodoi, for other- 
 wise they could not have seen so clearly the figures in the 
 metopes (185 ff.). Creusa, their mistress, enters with them; 
 for, not to repeat the general arguments mentioned before, 
 she is spoken of as present when Ion asks whose servants 
 
 they are, 234 : _ 
 
 BjJiwal he TLVcov KXrj^ere Boficov; 
 
 Immediately after the answer of the chorus, 
 
 TlaWdBo<; evoi/ca Tp6(f)tfia /leXaOpa 
 
 Tcov ificov Tvpdvv(ov» 
 
 irapovaa^ 8* a/i^l raaK epwra?, 
 
 dux et custos filiarum inducitur, tamen alio loco atque illas et prodire et per alii' 
 quantum temporis agere (a v. 176-210), omnino explicari non potest, nisi puta- 
 buntur Graeci consuesse actores semper alio loco atque chorum spectare." 
 
 1 Wecklein, Orestie, note on Agam. 83, thinks that she is still in the palace, 
 quoting in support Aj. 134. But in the apostrophe to Ajax there is no such indi- 
 cation of the presence of the person addressed as there is in the Agamemnon; 
 cf. 85 ri xp^os; rl yeov; kt'4. Electra in the Choephori is silent from 16 to 84. 
 
as: 
 
 24 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Ion turns and looks in the direction indicated and at once 
 sees her. The question arises, why has she not either spoken 
 or been referred to before 237 if she has been present since 
 184 ? The explanation is found in the context. Ion refuses 
 the chorus admission into the tempJe unless they have per- 
 formed the necessary rites, 226 ff. : 
 
 el fiev iOvaare iriXavov irpo 86/jlcov 
 Kai TO TTvOeaOac XPV^^'^^ ^ol/3ov, 
 irdpLT 69 Ovfiika^;, ktL 
 
 Creusa had come to consult Phoebus and must needs enter the 
 temple. She therefore has stopped at an altar irpo hoixcov to 
 make the sacrifice. This altar was probably at one side of 
 the scene not far from the parodos by which she entered, so 
 that she might easily have escaped the notice of Ion, absorbed 
 in his conversation with the maidens. Ion's address to her 
 (238-246) shows that Creusa is still at some distance at first, 
 but coming nearer she draws from him the exclamation of 
 wonder ea • a\X' efeVXTyfa? fte. 
 
 In the Philoctetes there is reason to think that the chorus 
 come in with Neoptolemus and Odysseus at the beginning. 
 The office of the chorus in this play was to assist in taking 
 away Philoctetes and to fulfil this purpose it was as necessary 
 that they should be in attendance from the beginning as at any 
 time. There is no intimation of their approach before they 
 speak in 135, nor any point between i and 135 where their 
 entrance would be quite fitting. It has been claimed that we 
 find no other instance ^ of a chorus being silent throughout 
 135 verses after their entrance; but this very fact, and the 
 unusual character of the scene, would have made their silence 
 the more effective. How much more impressive it would be, 
 
 1 Schonborn, p. 267. In discussing this point he admits the force of the 
 arguments which require their entrance before 135, but because " tritt nie eine 
 Person mit dem Chore zusammen so auf, dass sie selbst auf dem Logeion, der Chor 
 in der Orchestra erscheint," he puts their entrance at some uncertain point 
 between i and 135, nearer the latter. But why was it necessary in any case for 
 one to appear in the orchestra and the other on the " stage," when all artistic 
 reasons are against such a division? Schneidewin-Nauck agrees that the chorus 
 were present from the first. . 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 Greek Stage. 
 
 25 
 
 and to how much higher a pitch would the expectation of the 
 spectators be raised, if, while Neoptolemus is following the 
 instructions of Odysseus and approaching silently the cave of 
 Philoctetes (22 irpoaeXOwv (Ttya)y the chorus of men cautiously 
 and speechless wait behind to see if the man is in his home, 
 than if the two main actors alone were seen. The first words 
 of the chorus and their movements throughout show that they 
 are fully informed of what passed between Neoptolemus and 
 Odysseus in the opening scene,i ^nd Odysseus as he leaves 
 uses a plural verb (126 hoicrjre).^ The chorus therefore were 
 not only present from the first, but came in along with the 
 
 actors. 
 
 The reasons given to show that the chorus in the Suppli- 
 ants and Ion appeared either with the actors or following 
 close after through the same entrance, apply also to the Bac- 
 chae, where Dionysus, having spoken the prologue, in 55 
 addresses the chorus : 
 
 dX)C 0) XcTTOvaai T/jlcoXov epvfia AvBla^ 
 Oiaao^ ifi6(;y fyvvalKe^y a? iic fiap^apcov 
 iKOficaa irapehpov^ koI ^vvefiiropovf; ifioL. 
 
 We find no special reason why the chorus should have 
 appeared before this point, and they probably do not, but as 
 the immediate followers of the god, and his fellow-travellers, 
 they must have come by the same way. There is no reason 
 why they should not have come as usual through the parodos 
 into the orchestra as in the Suppliants (Aesch.) and Ion; 
 hence Dionysus probably reached the " stage " through the 
 
 orchestra. 
 
 Though actors and chorus in the Birds do not enter to- 
 gether, yet since the actors at the beginning of that play 
 seem to come in through the orchestra, the passage may 
 be cited here for convenience. Euelpides and Pisthetaerus 
 
 lAs even Schonborn admits. Jebb, who assumes that the chorus did not 
 enter until 135, is compelled to deny (note on 135) that they show any knowl- 
 edge of what had passed in 70 ff. But this explanation of their words is forced. 
 
 2 So we often find servants referred to as present or directly addressed without 
 previous indication of their entrance or presence. 
 
 
26 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 appear, wandering about over a rough, stony country, and at 
 last reach the home of Epops. That this was on ground 
 that was, or was pretended to be, somewhat elevated, is evi- 
 dent not only from the fact that it was the home of a bird, 
 but also from two passages in the play, 49 ff.: 
 
 n i o- . ovTO^. Yjv.tL eo-Tiv; Utcr. 'n KopcovTj fiOL irdXac 
 dvo) Ti (f)pd^€L. Eu. %ct) KoXoiof; ovTOcrl 
 dvco Ke)(7)Kev wcTTrepel heuKVv^ ri jxoi, 
 
 and, after they have reached the spot, 175 ff.: 
 
 li L(T. /SXiylrov /cdrco, Eu. Kal Br) ^Xeirco, Tiid. /SXeire 
 
 vvv dvco, 
 
 Schonborn (p. 318 ff.) is of the opinion that the two actors 
 enter in the usual way, on the '-'stage," and then climb by 
 ladders to a balcony which was in front of the house of 
 the Epops. The difficulty with this view is twofold. In the j 
 first place, the house of Epops is the central point of the 
 action of the play for over a thousand verses ; all ' actors 
 would thus have to mount the ladders at their entrance and 
 descend again at their exit. Secondly, the whole chorus, 
 soon after their entrance into the orchestra, make an attack 
 upon Euelpides and Pisthetaerus, who are supposed to be in 
 the balcony. Now according to Schonborn the chorus would 
 not only have to ascend the high stage, but would also have 
 to ascend the ladders to the balcony, — either of which 
 actions would be out of the question for a large chorus, and 
 which, taken together, are absolutely inconceivable. A bal- 
 cony therefore was not used, and the place to which the two 
 actors ascended was such that it could be readily reached by 
 the chorus also. Since after the opening scene no reference 
 is made to the height of this place, it is probable that the diffi- 
 culty of the ascent was suggested to the spectators mainly by 
 the actions and words of the chorus, and not to any important 
 extent by the nature of the ground. Cf. p. 76. That the actors 
 enter through the orchestra is shown by the time occupied 
 in reaching the door of the house of Epops (from i to 54). ^ 
 
 1 Compare the beginning of the Plutus; see p. 21. These two passages furnish 
 valuable evidence in favor of the view that in all of the plays cited under this 
 hejvd actors and chorus entered together through the orchestra. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage. 
 
 27 
 
 1^. 
 
 5. Chariot Scenes. In four plays actors enter in chariots. 
 The question has been much discussed whether the chariot 
 appeared in the orchestra or on the stage. Hermann ^ 
 claimed that, since actors never reached the stage through 
 the orchestra, chariots also must have come in on the stage, 
 unless it could be shown that there was too little space 
 between the rear wall and the periacti (i.e. in the wings) 
 for the passage of horses and chariots ; and this, he held, 
 could not be shown, because several actors bearing a corpse 
 often enter and depart through these passages. But, as a 
 matter of fact, actors often do reach the " stage " from the 
 orchestra; 2 and the presence of chariot and horses on the 
 very narrow stage in which Hermann believed, would have 
 given rise to endless confusion, especially since they appear 
 occasionally to remain for a long time on the scene.^ But the 
 most conclusive answer is gained by a comparison of the 
 various scenes in which this occurrence is found. In the Iphi- 
 genia at Aulis the context shows that the chariot appeared 
 in the orchestra. The women of Chalcis, who form the cho- 
 rus, when they see Clytemnestra and Iphigenia approaching, 
 propose to assist them from their chariot, 598 ff.: 
 
 CTTMiiev, Ha\KLBo<; eKjova Opififiara 
 Tr)v ^aalXeiav Be^dyfieO^ o^cov 
 diro fir) (T<^aXepoi<i iirl fyalav 
 ayaz/ft)? Be '^(^epolv fiaXaKr} (yv(OfjL7)t 
 
 and so we are prepared for the following words of Clytem- 
 nestra, 607 ff.: 
 
 1 De re seen, in Aesch. Orest.,p. 7. For references to the literature of the 
 discussion on this point see Miiller's Biihnenalt, p. 134, note i. Miiller adopts 
 Hermann's view partly for the reasons quoted above, partly because of the pres- 
 ence of the supposed raised platform in the orchestra. But since this plat- 
 form has been discarded, only Hermann's arguments are left in support of the 
 view. 
 
 2 We have already discussed the instances in the Plutus, Ion and Birds, pp. 21, 
 23 and 25. Niejahr, Quaes. Arist. Scaen,, p. 28 and Comment. Scaen., p. 5, thinks 
 that this occurs only in chariot-scenes. 
 
 8 In the Agamemnon from 728 to 1294 (A. Miiller), in Troades from 569 
 to 789 (Schonborn). 
 
 . ^ 
 
.^-z^;:^;-r 
 
 — • Wk 
 
 ~r- 
 
 28 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 29 
 
 opviOa jjLev TovS* aXcnov TTOLovfieOa 
 
 TOP (jov re 'x^pTja-Tov koI \6ycov €V(^7)iiiav • 
 
 * m * m m 
 
 €^co TTopeveO^ a? ^epco <f)epva<; Koprj^ 
 Koi irefiTreT eh fieXadpov evXa^ovfievoc. 
 <7v B, 0) retcvov /jloi, Xelire ttcoXl/cov^ o^ov^, 
 ajSpov TiOelaa KoiKov dcrdevh 9^ djia, 
 vfxel<; he vecivcSe^; viv d'^icaKai^ ein 
 oe^aaOe koI iropevaaT ef o'^^r^fjbdrojv, 
 
 Schonborn (p. 231 ff.) has shown that even if we follow Din- 
 dorf in rejecting the verses by the chorus (598-606) as an 
 interpolation, we are still obliged to understand the words of 
 Clytemnestra, vfiel^ he vedvche^, as adclressed to the choreutae, 
 whom she has just thanked for their^icind offer. The fact 
 that their services were offered and accepted in this way, 
 which would require that the choreutae should go upon the 
 "stage," combined with the additional awkwardness of hav- 
 ing a chariot and horses upon a high and narrow platform, is 
 enough to establish the view of Schonborn that the chariot 
 here, and consequently everywhere, entered by the orchestra. 
 Accepting this view therefore, Clytemnestra, Iphigenia, and 
 the servants who accompanied them passed from orchestra 
 to ** stage" in the Iphigenia at Aulis ; in the Agamemnon 
 905 ff., Agamemnon and Cassandra; in the Electra (Eur.) 
 998, Clytemnestra and her maids ; in the Troades 568 ff., An- 
 dromache and Astyanax.i If this view is not taken, then 
 the chorus in the Iphigenia must go upon the "stage" in 
 order to assist Iphigenia, — fully as difficult a movement, sup- 
 posing that the "stage" were high, as the other view would 
 involve, by which six actors with their attendants would 
 mount the " stage." From Persians 607 ff. : 
 
 Tocyap KeXevOov rrjvh* dvev r oyrj/jbdrcov 
 X^f'^V^ Te T^9 irdpoidev e/c ho/xcov irdXiv 
 
 €(TT6L\a, 
 
 1 Schonborn, p. 237, endeavors to show that they do not descend from the 
 chariot at all. 
 
 we infer that Atossa, when she enters (at 159), is borne on a 
 chariot, making a possible fifth instance under this head ; and 
 from 1 00 1, rpoxn^f^Toccnv aK7jval<;, that Xerxes enters in this 
 way. Since chariots enter the orchestra, the dfia^/jprj^; Tpl/So^ 
 (Orest. 125 1) would also pass through the orchestra,^ and 
 actors appearing on asses or horses should properly ride into 
 the orchestra ; therefore we may decide that in the orchestra 
 appear Ismene in Oedipus at Colonus 310 (cf. 313 eVl irdiXov), 
 and Xanthias in the first act of the Frogs. 
 
 6. Assembly Scenes. In three plays of Aristophanes, 
 the Acharnians, Ecclesiazusae, and Thesmophoriazusae, we 
 find scenes in imitation of the public assemblies of the Athe- 
 nians, clearly intended to be as realistic as such burlesques 
 could be. The place of assembly is provided with seats for 
 the citizens (Ach. 42, Thes. 292) and with the ^rjpLa for the 
 speakers (Ecc. 104) ; the usual officers are present, — Trpvrd- 
 vei^ (Ach. 40), To^orai (Ach. 54), Kijpv/ce^ (Ach. 43, Thes. 
 295); the regular forms of the ifCKXT^ala are employed, — 
 the purification (Ecc. 128), the prayer (Thes. 295), the read- 
 ing of the 7rpo/3ouX€vjiia (Thes. 372), the call for speakers 
 (Ach. 45, Ecc. 130, Thes. 379), the putting on of the speaker's 
 chaplet (Ecc. 122, 131, Thes. 380) ; formal speeches are deliv- 
 ered, and the adjournment announced (Ach. 173). From a 
 comparison of these plays we are enabled to form a fairly 
 correct idea of the manner in which these representations" 
 were given, and of the movements of the participants. In 
 two, the Ecclesiazusae and Thesmophoriazusae, the chorus 
 form the body of the assembly ; hence it is clear that, as we 
 should naturally suppose, the open and commodious space of 
 the orchestra was the pkce of assembly. The speaker's 
 stand would be near the wall of the scene, so that the 
 speaker should face the audience in the theatre and become 
 in reality an actor, and must therefore have been on the 
 
 ^ Cited wrongly therefore by MuUer (p. 126) as bringing the chorus on the 
 " stage." The chariot of the Oceanides in the Prometheus and that of Athene 
 in the Eumenides do not belong in this discussion, inasmuch as they come down 
 from above. 
 
r 
 
 
 30 
 
 Edivard Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage, 
 
 31 
 
 " stage." In accordance with this view we find that the only 
 actors in the first 280 verses of the Ecclesiazusae, in which 
 we have a mimic assembly, become with their attendants the 
 chorus,! and leave the scene singing a choral ode. The one 
 who plays the leading part in the piece seems to be also 
 the coryphaeus (cf. 491 ?; arpaTT^r^o^), leading the chorus as 
 they march out to the iKKXjjo-ia. On the other hand, in the 
 Acharnians, Dicaeopolis, the principal actor, has a part that 
 is always distinct from that of the chorus ; yet, after ex- 
 amining the other two plays, we cannot doubt that he took 
 his seat in the orchestra as a member of the assembly,^ and 
 that he did not go upon the ''stage" — that is, the usual 
 position for actors — until the assembly was dismissed. He 
 then crossed it to enter his house in the background.^ Cf. 
 202 : 
 
 1 That the women who form the chorus come from the houses in the scene 
 and from the wings, we have shown, p. 9. When, moreover, we consider that 
 this was a street scene, it becomes evident that these were the only directions 
 from which they could come without introducing inconsistency. See on this 
 point p. 62. Niejahr, De Poll, loco, p. vii, contends that those who take part 
 in the assembly scene of the Ecclesiazusae are actors, and therefore on the 
 " stage," and that no chorus appears until 285, because the women of the mimic 
 assembly, when about to leave in 280, say that others *' from the country " will 
 appear at the ecclesia; that the women who sing the choral passage 285-310 
 speak of themselves in 300 as from the country, and hence are those predicted in 
 280. If this is true, the chorus appear in 285 and disappear in 310, — a thing 
 unheard of in extant plays. Niejahr is inconsistent also; for he insists (p. viii) 
 that in the Thesmophoriazusae the assembly scene takes place in the orchestra 
 and yet denies it for the Ecclesiazusae. 
 
 2 Harzmann, p. 56, reaches this conclusion because of the numbers that would 
 otherwise be brought upon the stage; see p. 57. 
 
 3 Droysen, Quaes, de Arist. re scaen., p. 10, after having proved conclusively that 
 Aristophanes regularly uses els-Uuai-epxeadai, etc., with the meaning of '* enter the 
 house " in the background of the scene, tries to make an exception of elaidw in 
 this passage, on the ground that Dicaeopolis was going to celebrate the rura/ Dio- 
 nysia. He would translate it " domum ibo." But in 240 the chorus uses the verb 
 i^epxerac at the reappearance of Dicaeopolis, which Droysen has also shown to 
 mean always " come out of the house." Moreover, the two other exceptional uses 
 of elai^i^ai that he cites, Pax 427 and Lys. 246, are also best taken in their usual 
 meaning (see note p. 76). Muhl, Symbolae, p. 1 1, proves conclusively that here, 
 as often in Aristophanes, the same scenery is used in two successive acts without 
 change, it being left to the spectators to imagine the change of scene from the 
 words of the actors. 
 
 afft) Ta Kar aypov<; elcriotiv Atovvcna, 
 
 This is made certain by comparison with the Thesmophoria- 
 zusae. There Mnesilochus, the principal actor in the play, 
 disguised as a woman, goes into the orchestra and takes his 
 seat among the women who constitute the assembly and 
 who are the chorus. Soon he goes forward to the /Sfjfia 
 and addresses the assembly (466) precisely as two women of 
 the chorus had done before him.i So too in the Ecclesiazu- 
 sae members of the chorus go forward and address the 
 assembly, returning then to their seats. 
 
 The results then of our study of this feature of these 
 three 2 plays are as follows. An actor in the Acharnians\ 
 appears first in the orchestra, remains through 200 verses, 
 and then enters the house in the background. In the Ec- 
 clesiazusae the women who go through the forms of anj 
 assembly before the spectators, come from the houses in the! 
 rear and take seats in the orchestra, with the exception of 
 their leader Praxagora, the iTrco-rdrv^ of the meeting, and * 
 there they begin to practise the forms of an assembly (cf. 57 ' 
 and 121). One speaker after another goes forward to the 
 regular place for the actors, speaks, and again retires into ' 
 the orchestra. Finally they all leave the scene, Praxagora at 
 their head. She also then must have gone into the orchestra. 
 On their return she goes again upon the " stage," and thence- 
 forward is only an actor. In the Thesmophoriazusae the 
 chorus seem to come from the temple, as does also the 
 herald, and enter the orchestra to form the assembly. Mne- 
 silochus, hitherto an actor, goes into the orchestra before 
 them and takes his seat as one of them (cf. 292); with others 
 he goes forward and speaks. That he then returns to the 
 orchestra is shown by the fact that he is soon attacked by 
 the chorus, who are still there (cf. 567 if.). He seems to re- 
 
 1 Geppert, I.e. p. 163, says: "Die ganze Scene von 295 an spielt offenbar in 
 der Orchestra, indem die einzelnen Redner (SS3, 443, 466) wie bei Volksversamm- 
 lungen die Buhne besteigen." Droysen, I.e. p. 68, denies this without reason. 
 
 2 The meeting and discussion of the women in the early part of the Lysistrata 
 is so similar to the portion of the Ecclesiazusae above cited that it might almost 
 be added to these three, but the forms of an assembly are entirely wanting. 
 
 '■4 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 % 
 
 I 
 
 ."^••Jrx^f.Tit ^ 
 
/ 
 
 32 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage, 
 
 33 
 
 f 
 
 main there until 689, when he flees to the altar, which was 
 presumably near the door of the Thesmophorium (see p. 35)- 
 
 Vvvr) a , UTTol av (f>€vy€L<; ; 0UT09 ovto<; ov fievek ; 
 
 Since the further action of the piece was on the "stage," we 
 may be sure that the altar was located where we have sup- 
 posed. During this assembly scene Clisthenes enters, with 
 the information that a man is in the midst of them disguised 
 as a woman. He goes into the orchestra to examine all who 
 are there. Laying hold of Mnesilochus he says, 617 : 
 
 ov ^ahiel hevp w? efxe ; 
 Mi/ 77. Tt hr]Td fju eX/cei^; aaOevovaav ; 
 
 In the following verses he helps to strip Mnesilochus, finally 
 leaving the now broken-up assembly through one of the wings. 
 
 7. Search Scenes. In four plays the chorus seem to trav- 
 erse the whole available space of the scene in their search 
 for an actor, who twice is at length found upon the ''stage" 
 at the altar. This is the case at the end of the assembly 
 scene just described in the Thesmophoriazusae, where it is 
 the poet's device for breaking up the formal assembly and 
 merging it into the main action of the play. After Mnesilo- 
 chus] on the information of Clisthenes, is discovered disguised 
 as a woman in his seat in the orchestra, the chorus scour the 
 entire region to see that no other man is in hiding among 
 them. Cf. 657 ff. (the entire passage): 
 
 ^r)T€lVy €t TTOV KaX\o<; Tf9 dvrjp eVeXrJXu^e, kuI irepiBpe^ai 
 TTjv TTVKva iracrav k al Ta<; aKTjva^ ical ra^ Bl6Sov<; 
 
 BiaOprjaac. 
 ela Br) TrpcoTLara fiev XPV f<:ov(j)Ov i^opfiav irooa 
 Kol BiacTKOirelv cncoirfj ttuvt a'^fj, 
 
 * m * * ♦ * 
 
 cOOC eoLX W^^ airavrd ttw? Bt€aKe(f)6aL Ka\m, 
 ovx opwfJiev yovv ir dWov ovBev iyKadr/fievov. 
 
 t 
 
 When these last words were spoken they had completed their 
 circuit (cf. 662 rpex^tv kvkKco). We cannot suppose that in 
 their zeal they would leave an inch of ground unexamined. 
 Mnesilochus had taken advantage of their absence and di- 
 verted attention to seize the child of one of them and to take 
 his stand at the altar, as described above. One or more 
 follow him and guard him, probably until the arrival of the 
 Prytanis, 929, When they are about to kindle a fire about 
 him (726 ff.), and when he cuts the wine-skin and one of the 
 women holds a bowl below, some at least of the chorus are 
 very near him. Even during the parabasis it is evidently the 
 presence of the chorus that prevents any attempt to escape, 
 since only one woman was left to guard him (762). 
 
 In the Oedipus at Colonus the chorus on their entrance 
 search carefully for the intruder in the sacred grove. Cf. 
 117 ff.: 
 
 X . Xevaar avrov • irpocyBepKOV, 
 
 Trpoairevdov Travraxfl- 
 * * * * 
 
 ov iycb Xevcracov 
 
 Trepl wdv ovttco BvvafjLac repievo^ 
 
 fyvwvau TTOV pjol 7roT6 vaieL, 
 
 They would leave no spot untraversed except the ground' 
 of the sacred enclosure itself. Oedipus, who shows himself 
 immediately after the words just quoted, probably does not 
 appear until the chorus are in a position to see him, i.e. until 
 they had reached in their search the avTiTrerpo^ ^fjfia (192) 
 which bounded the sacred enclosure. 
 
 Very similar is Eumenides 244 ff. The Furies are track- 
 ing Orestes by the blood-stains on the ground. They must 
 enter the scene over precisely the same route that Orestes, 
 had taken, if we are to interpret strictly their words: 
 
 elev ToS* iarl TavBpo^ €K(f)av6^ reKfiap. 
 eirov Be fiijvvrrjpo^ dcjiOeyKTOv (j)paBal<;, 
 Terpav/xarta/iievov yap &)<? kvcov ve^pov 
 TTpo^ alfia KoX (TTaXay/JLov iKpLarevo/xev, 
 
 that is, we have another violation of Hermann's rule that 
 
 —i -^.^-amMimu 
 
^/- 
 
 34 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 actors must not enter through the orchestra. At any rate 
 the chorus search over the entire scene. Cf. 255 ff . : 
 
 opa bpa fiaX av Xevcrae re irdvTa, fMrj 
 XdOrj (f>vyha /3a9 /JLaTpo(f>6voi; arlra^. 
 
 When at length they discover him they seem to be on the 
 "stage" near Orestes, who is hiding behind the statue ^ of 
 Athene. We have seen (p. 13) that they depart with the 
 actors at the close of the piece. During the trial scene, 
 between this and the closing scene, we may reasonably 
 believe that they remained near Orestes as his accusers and 
 prosecutors. 
 
 The sailors in the Ajax, as they set out in opposite direc- 
 tions in search of their chieftain (805 ff.), so appear again 
 from different directions (865). They are still searching for 
 Ajax, when they hear indistinctly his fall (870), and soon 
 the cry of Tecmessa (891), who, though she had gone more 
 slowly (810), had found him first. She is still at some dis- 
 tance, for her cry is but faintly heard (892) and she herself 
 is not seen immediately. Soon the choreutae come nearer, 
 and ask what is her trouble (897). She points to the body of 
 Ajax, which they now see for the first time (898 Ata? oSe 
 Kelrat. They are not near enough, however, to understand 
 the whole situation (905). Coming nearer, they ask to see 
 Ajax, but Tecmessa has covered him and refuses to let 
 him be seen (915 ff. ovtol Oearo^; kte). From this point the 
 body of Ajax is the central point of the action. It would 
 therefore be in the part called the "stage," and so far back 
 as to be scarcely visible even to the nearest spectators.^ 
 The choreutae, then, are on the "stage" when they ask 
 to see the body, just as Teucer is when he makes the 
 same request ^ (1003). They sing with Tecmessa lamenta- 
 
 iCf. Niejahr De Poll, loc, p. xvi : "In scena, ante ipsum templum illam 
 statuam positam esse demonstratur eo quod chorus Furiarum in orchestram 
 ingressus matricidam non statim conspicit, sed adesse eum praesentiens ad 
 indagandum eum se cohortatur." 
 
 2 That dead bodies were always seen near the rear wall of the scene is shown 
 by Niejahr, De Poll, loc, p. xiv. 
 
 3 This request of Teucer was probably addressed to the chorus — another 
 
 IBWi 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage, 
 
 35 
 
 . \ 
 
 tions^ over the body, and when Teucer leaves he bids them 
 stand by to protect it.^ 1 182 ff. : 
 
 uyLtet? re pLr) ^vvalice^ avr avBpcov TreXa? 
 Trapearar , dW dpt/yer , e? r iyo) fioXco 
 Tacl)ov fMeXrjOei^; rcoSe, kuv /x?;3et9 id. 
 
 We have seen that at the close of the play they help to bear 
 out the body. 
 
 It seems probable that we have a similar situation in the 
 following passage from the Hecabe, although it is the actor 
 here, rather than the chorus, who makes the search. Within 
 the palace Hecabe and her attendants have put out the eyes 
 of Polymnestor and have killed his two children. She her^ 
 self comes from the palace, and seeing him breaking the 
 doors and forcing his way out she avoids hiai, probably hid- 
 ing in one of the passages, 1054 ff- > 
 
 dW iicirohcbv direc/jit Kairocm'jaoijLai, 
 OvfiM ^eovTi SpTjKl Bvo-fia^cordro). 
 
 Since Polymnestor is eagerly searching for the women who 
 injured him, he would traverse all the accessible space, going 
 even into the orchestra (cf. 1000, 65, and 70), following the 
 sound of their footsteps (1070). As soon as he hears their 
 voice (1085), he shouts for help and goes in pursuit (1099 irol 
 TpdircojiiaL; irol TropevOco;). We see at a glance that a scene 
 like this precludes the possibility of a raised stage. But any 
 other action than that we have described would be tame in 
 comparison with the natural suggestions of the context. 
 
 8. Altar Scenes. The altars of the gods, which were 
 near the front of the palace,^ were the place of refuge for 
 
 proof of their presence. So Schneidewin-Nauck, note ad loc. For the oppos- 
 ing view see Piderit, Scenische Analysis des Soph. Dramas Ajas, p. 39. 
 
 ^ Those who lament over dead bodies should always be together ; cf. Sept. ad 
 fin. Compare the pouring of libations in Cho., Pers., and Iph. Taur.; see p. 45. 
 
 - Schonborn, p. 259, gives all these arguments, strengthened also by v. 892, if 
 irdpavXos may mean ^77us, but still holds to the opposite view. His principal 
 objection seems to be the supposed difficulty of mounting the stage. 
 
 ^ Almost all scholars who have adhered to the old view of the stage place the 
 altars and images of the gods always on the stage. But all the arguments given 
 
-■■™--^-yit;^iih i..nii8r^!'?v 
 
 36 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 those in distress or clanger. Orestes in the Eumenides seeks 
 protection at the altar of Athene, and the children of Heracles 
 in the play of Euripides at the altar of Zeus, — in both cases 
 actors. When those who seek protection are members of the 
 chorus, as in three plays, then they must of necessity pass over 
 the boundary between " stage " and orchestra. The Danaids 
 in the Suppliants of Aeschylus sing the first stasimon in the 
 orchestra. At the approach of strangers, Danaus directs 
 them to seek the altars near him, 188 ff . : 
 
 cifJieLVOv icTTt iravTO^ ovveic ^ c5 Kopai, 
 irayov irpocri^eiv rovS* dycovLcov Oewv. 
 Kpeiaacov Se Trvpyov ^co/jl6<;, apprj/cTov aaKO^, 
 aX>J CO? rd^iara fidre, 
 
 Cf. also 208 : 
 
 X o . OeXoLpi av tjSt) crol 7reXa<? 6p6vov<^ '^X^^^* 
 
 to which Danaus replies fxri wv axoKa^e. The chorus remain 
 at the altars until 516 (circ). The king asks them to leave 
 their suppliant boughs there (avrov) and to go back to their 
 former place in the orchestra {Xevpov d\ao<;) ; cf. 506 ff. : 
 
 /cXaSoL'9 fiep avTov XecTre, arj/jLecov ttovov, 
 * * * * p 
 
 Xevpov Kar dXcro^ vvv eTriarpe^ov roBe, 
 KUL TTw? /Se^TjXov dXao<; dv pvocro /xe ; 
 
 * The G7rek Stage. 
 
 37 
 
 X 
 
 o. 
 
 Their fears are soon allayed and they obey, singing the 
 second stasimon immediately following from their usual sta- 
 tion. Again, in 832, they flee to the altars to escape the her- 
 ald of the sons of Aegyptus. The word aX/fr; in the cry of 
 the chorus, ^alve (j)vya 7rpo<; dXKdvy is to be interpreted by 
 the previous commands of Danaus in verses 731 ff. and 773 
 ff., as well as by the words of the herald (852), Xet(^' eSpava. 
 We have already seen that the chorus make their final exit 
 together with Danaus. 
 
 in favor of this (see Niejahr, De Poll, loc, p. ix) prove only that they were near 
 the rear wall of the scene, i.e. in the part of the orchestra most distant from the 
 spectators, according to Dorpfeld's view. 
 
 1^ 
 
 . 
 
 The action of the chorus in the Septem is similar. The 
 sound of the approaching army fills them with alarm, and 
 they flee to the altars of the gods, 96 ff.: 
 
 ceo fiuKape^; eijebpoc, dK/id^ec Pperecov 
 e')(€a6aL, rl /jL€XXo/jL6V dydarovoc ; 
 
 Eteocles sends them back again to the orchestra, 265 ff. : 
 
 ifCTo^; ova dyaXfidrcov 
 evj^ov TCL Kpelaaa). 
 
 We must supposethat they obey, for they at once begin the 
 first stasimon.^ Of the opening scene of Euripides's Suppli- 
 ants we have already spoken (p. 8). 
 
 9. Chorus called to Palace — Libation Scenes, etc. It is 
 a very frequent occurrence for the chorus, whose usual sta- 
 tion was in the orchestra, but near by the palace (see p. 55), 
 to be called into the palace by actors. Often the chorus de- 
 cide, after debate or consultation, to answer the call ; again 
 they refuse through fear; but in no case do they actually 
 carry out their intention of going inside, being checked by 
 some circumstance, such as the arrival of a new actor, while 
 approaching the house. In five plays, however, I think 
 it can be shown that the choreutae advance to a position near 
 the doors of the house, and therefore go upon the "stage." 
 
 In the Ajax, Tecmessa comes out of the tent and asks the 
 chorus of sailors to try to calm her lord. Cf. 328 ff. : 
 
 aXV, w <f)iXoi, TOVTOJV yap ovveK iardXrjv, 
 dprj^ar el(TeX66vT€<;, el hvvaaOe n. 
 
 They accordingly quit the orchestra. When on the " stage *' 
 near the tent they ask that the door be opened (344), to 
 which Tecmessa replies : 
 
 IBov, ^LOLyco ' TTpocrfiXeTretv S* e^eari aoi 
 rd TovSe Trpdyrjy KavTOf; o)? €^cop Kvpel, 
 
 1 " Saepius hoc fit in fabulis, ut si quid aut chorus aut actores facere jubeantur, 
 id ei efficere putandi sint, tametsi hoc ipsum verbis non est indicatum." Niejahr 
 De Poll, loco, p. III. 
 
38 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 39 
 
 They remain there for some time with Ajax. At last he 
 orders the doors closed (of. 579-81 and 93), and despairing 
 of ever diverting him from his purpose, they go back again 
 to their position. They are in the orchestra at the beginning 
 of the next stasimon. In this passage the poet had good 
 reason for allowing the chorus to carry out their intention. 
 Ajax, sitting in the midst of the slaughtered sheep, sur- 
 rounded by blood and filth, could not be shown in all his 
 misery to the spectators. It was enough that these should 
 have an account of these revolting details from others. We 
 notice that the chorus describe all that they see with min- 
 uteness of detail ; they were where they could see what the 
 spectators could not see.^ 
 
 So in the Agamemnon, After long discussion the cho- 
 reutae decide to go to the aid of Agamemnon after they have 
 heard his cries from within. At once Clytemnestra comes 
 out. It is too late to aid the hero, but the poet's purpose is 
 accomplished,, and the chorus is on the '* stage," ^ grouped 
 about the open door of the palace, looking at the bodies of 
 the slain. There are many indications that the bodies are 
 in sight of the chorus (e.g. 1405, 1581, etc.), but none that 
 they were seen by the whole theatre. On the contrary, the 
 chorus is brought near the palace for the very purpose of 
 making it unnecessary that the whole spectacle should be 
 seen by the audience. The aesthetic taste which required 
 that such scenes should be enacted out of the sight of the 
 spectators would surely demand that they should remain out 
 of sight as far as possible. The chorus was probably in the 
 orchestra again at the beginning of the commos, 1447 ff. 
 
 Similarly in the Hippolytus one semi-chorus is inclined 
 to go into the house where Phaedra is attempting to take 
 her own life, ']%2 f. : 
 
 1 It is a widely accepted view that in this and some of the following scenes 
 the eccyclema was employed to show the bodies, and that the chorus need not 
 have been upon the stage, but Neckel, Das Ekkyklema, Prog. Gym. Fried. 1890, 
 has proved that this machine was not used in any of the extant tragedies, except 
 in the Heracles (and this seems to me to be very doubtful). We may follow 
 therefore the natural suggestions of the plays as to the movements of the chorus. 
 
 2 So Wecklein, note ad loc. 
 
 f 
 
 ^iXaiy TL Bpcofiev ; 7) hoKel irepav 86/jlov^ 
 Xvaal T dvaao-av ef iinaTraaToyv jBpo-x^cov ; 
 
 In y^S, before they could have gone far, they infer from the 
 words of the nurse, who is inside the palace, that Phaedra is 
 dead. There was no longer reason for their going in. But 
 they had already advanced toward the house, for they clearly 
 hear the nurse's commands within the house, and speak of 
 themselves as ''just arrived at the house" when Theseus 
 questions them about the outcry. Cf. 790 ff. : 
 
 jvval/ce^, tare tl(; ttot iv Bo/xotf; /3o7] ; 
 ***** 
 X . ToaovTov io-/jL€v ' dpTi yap /cdjo) 3o//,o^9, 
 Srja-ev, TrdpeLfiL ao)v Kaicoiv irevOrjTpta, 
 
 Then the body of Phaedra is shown. It is seen by the cho- 
 rus as well as by Theseus ; but Hippolytus on his entrance 
 does not see it until several sentences have been spoken. 
 This would support the view that the spectators in general 
 were not supposed to have a clear view of the body and its 
 surroundings, but only those gathered immediately in front 
 of it. Even if it be objected that we cannot assume that 
 the chorus actually go upon the "stage," yet it is clear that 
 they are near the door, and that a difference of ten feet in 
 level would make it impossible for them to see what is 
 within. 
 
 The same purpose on the part of the poet, viz. : to use the 
 chorus as a means of avoiding the exhibition of a dis^-ustino- 
 spectacle to the theatre, is still more obvious in the Choe- 
 phori. Although the choreutae in fear keep as far as possi- 
 ble from the scene of the murder (cf. 872 aTroaraOoyfjiev 
 irpdy/iiaTo^;), yet when the deed is done their presence is so 
 desirable as a means of gaining the full dramatic effect of the 
 exposure of the bodies without in reality making these clearly 
 visible to the spectators, that another motive is devised by the 
 poet for bringing them forward. Orestes calls upon them 1 
 
 1 It is true that ^Knivxre may be addressed to servants, but this would not be 
 so natural an interpretation. The scholiast, Wecklein, and others favor that 
 given above. 
 
40 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 to spread out to view the garment in which Agamemnon 
 had been slain. Cf. 980 ff. : 
 
 l'8ecr^e 8* avTe^ rwi/S' eirrjKooL KaKO)Vy 
 4K » ♦ « » 
 
 eKTelvar aurb KaX kvkXw irapacnahbv 
 (rT€yd(TTpov avSpOf; Bel^aO*, Kre, 
 
 They probably do not go again into the orchestra, .for we 
 have seen that they soon retire into the palace. 
 
 In the Heracles, also, it appears that the choreutae advance 
 to see the inside of the palace, although, so far as the text 
 shows, not until the calamity has fallen. They see the palace 
 tottering in 905. Soon the messenger comes out and nar- 
 rates what has happened. Up to this point they have not 
 seen anything inside, but from 1032 ff. they see very dis- 
 tinctly all that has been described before. The natural 
 inference is that, after hearing what has happened within, 
 they advance to the breach in the wall and see what they 
 proceed to describe. That they did approach, and so near 
 that there was danger of their disturbing the sleeping Hera- 
 cles, is seen from the warning of Amphitryon 1042 ff. He 
 drives them away from Heracles, back into the orchestra. 
 
 eKaarepco irpo^are, firj 
 KTVirelre firj fiodre, fMrj 
 lavov0* 
 
 TOV €V T 
 
 VTTVcoBed T evvd<^ iyeipere, 
 
 ^ ♦ » ^ » 
 
 alya, irvoa^ fid6co' (pepe tt/oo? ov? ^dXco. 
 X . evBec ; 
 
 It is to be noticed that the chorus see every detail at first ; 
 but when they withdraw again at the bidding of Amphitryon 
 they cannot see even whether Heracles is sleeping or not, a 
 circumstance which they had before easily noticed (1034). 
 
 In these five passages it is clear that the chorus left their 
 usual position in the orchestra for one nearer the door of the 
 palace. Albert Miiller^ cites several others in which similar 
 
 ^ Biihnenalt., p. 127. His citations are Hipp., Bacch., Cyc, Aj., Hec, And., 
 Supp. (Eur.), and Ion. Of these we claim that Hipp., Aj., and Bacch. are to 
 
 r 
 
 1! 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage. 
 
 41 
 
 action is proposed but not executed, as proof that, though it 
 was always possible for the chorus to reach the stage from 
 the orchestra, it was always inconvenient and avoided by the 
 poet as much as possible. The prevention of the action is 
 caused by fear on the part of the chorus, by the entrance of 
 an actor, or by the direct prohibition of an actor or semi- 
 chorus. A detailed examination of these passages will show 
 that the poet had weightier reasons for preventing the action 
 than merely to avoid an awkward situation. 
 
 The chorus in the Hecabe seem inclined to go to the aid 
 of the queen. Cf. 1042 : 
 
 Xo. ^ovXeaO* iireL(nre(T(opbev ; q}<^ d/cfjur} KaXel 
 'EiKa^rj irapelvau Tpaydatv re avfi/id^ovf;. 
 
 But Hecabe herself at once comes out, and soon after her the 
 raging Polymnestor, eager to catch any of the women within 
 reach. Surely the chorus would follow the example of He- 
 cabe, and get out of the way (1054 eKiroBoov aTreifxi). Ac- 
 cordingly we cannot expect any description of what is seen 
 within the palace, and we do not find it. Except for the 
 announcement by Hecabe in 105 1 that the bodies of the two 
 children would soon be seen, and a passing reference to them 
 by Agamemnon in 11 18, we should not know that they were 
 seen at all. Here the poet deliberately gives up the usual 
 grouping of the chorus about the dead bodies for the superior 
 effects of the unique scene we have described above (see also 
 p. 35). In the Medea the choreutae decide to go within the 
 palace, but Jason arrives before they have yet done so, 
 addressing them as yvvaiKe^, at rrjcrh^ iyyv^; earare areyrjf; 
 (1293). How near they are we cannot tell, but there is 
 no need of their being on the *' stage" after Medea ap- 
 pears above in her chariot, and so we may assume that 
 they are not unusually near. In the Andromache, 817 ff., 
 Hermione comes out of the house just after the chorus have 
 been asked to go in to calm her. The reason for entering no 
 
 be rejected, the two former because the action of approaching the palace was 
 carried out, the last because of a misunderstanding of Muller's. I have added 
 Med. and Ach. to the passages for discussion. 
 
w^S^SSI^SSbS^^^^^^ 
 
 42 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 / 
 
 longer existed, so that it cannot be held that any difficulty in 
 the action prevented its execution. The same may be said of 
 Cyclops, 630 ff. The chorus of Satyrs refuse to help Odys- 
 seus against Polyphemus, but the poet's object in this was to 
 make a display of their ridiculous cowardice. In the same 
 play a drove of goats had been driven from the orchestra into 
 the cave, showing that the act of crossing was not in itself 
 inconvenient. The mothers who form the chorus in the Sup- 
 pliants (Eur.) are not permitted to go forward to touch the 
 dead bodies of their sons at 940 ff., but they have once before 
 (815 ff. ; see p. 44) been permitted to embrace them. It is 
 hard to see the reason for the distinction, but it has been 
 suggested that in the later passage the mothers were to do 
 more than to embrace, — they expected to uncover the faces 
 for a last look, — and this is forbidden on account of the foul 
 condition of the bodies (cf. 944-945), which had not yet been 
 washed. The reason why the chorus in the Ion, 219 ff., do 
 not go into the temple (see p. 23) is perfectly good, both from 
 the poet's point of view and from that of the spectators. It 
 would have been offensive to the religious feelings of the 
 Athenians if these servants had been permitted to enter the 
 holy shrine of Apollo from motives of idle curiosity, and 
 the poet needed their presence in order to effect the meeting 
 between Creusa and Ion. I need cite but one more instance 
 of this kind. In the Acharnians, 564, one semi-chorus is 
 about to strike Dicaeopolis, but is prevented by the other 
 semi-chorus; yet in 280 all the chorus had attacked him 
 violently.^ 
 
 In all of these passages the poetic reason for the non-per- 
 formance of the proposed action is strong enough and apparent 
 enough to explain its prevention. Either the poet has special 
 reasons for preventing the action or in the natural progress 
 of the play the action was no longer necessary. Similar 
 occurrences are frequent where going upon the "stage" does 
 not enter into the question, as in Philoctetes Z'^j, where the 
 chorus are probably on the "stage " already ; and yet no one 
 
 lA. MUller quotes also Bacch. 954 ff.; but Dionysus could not be address- 
 ing the chorus, since he had not yet come out of the palace. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 43 
 
 has for a moment supposed in such cases that the proposed 
 action was attended with especial difficulty. 
 
 We have seen, therefore, from the very passages that 
 Miiller quotes in favor of his theory of the stage, that we 
 need not suppose that the poet was hampered in this way by 
 the inconvenient arrangement of the theatre in which his 
 dramas were to be performed, for the action would probably 
 have been the same, however convenient the arrangements 
 for the setting of the play might have been. But in case 
 this proof should seem insufficient, we may approach the 
 question from another side. Miiller would say that the stage 
 was ascended by the chorus where the motive for such action 
 was sufficiently strong; but that in the cases he cites the 
 need is so slight that it is easier for the poet to devise an- 
 other motive for the prevention of the action than to have 
 the action first proposed put into effect. But how slight is 
 the evidence on which Muller bases his theory is shown 
 by the fact that in a number of other passages, although the 
 motive is exceedingly slight, sometimes nothing more than 
 mere curiosity, the chorus are allowed to perform the very 
 action that is forbidden in the passages cited. One of these 
 has already been pointed out (p. 40), Heracles 1032. There 
 are two other instances in the same play. Amphitryon pro- 
 poses to go where he may see the slaying of Lycus, i.e. close 
 to the door of the palace ; the chorus go with him. Cf. 747 ff. : 
 
 Xo. cOOC 0) yepace, koX ra Bco/JLaTOiV eaco 
 
 o-KOTTMfjLev, el TTpdaaei tl<; w? iyo) Oe\(o. 
 
 They return to their usual station in 760 : 
 
 Xo. aiya. fieXaOpa- irpcx; ;)^o/30l/9 TpaircofieOa. 
 
 Afterwards when Heracles is seen awaking, they go again 
 with Amphitryon to his side. 1109-10: 
 
 'A fJL . y€povT€<;, eXOo) tcov ificov /caKcov vreXa? ; 
 Xo. Kciycoye crvv aol, firj irpoBov^; ra? avfi^opd'^. 
 
 From this point the chorus has no part in the play until the 
 last two verses, and we cannot tell its position. It probably 
 
44 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 returned to the orchestra, since it was needed but a short 
 time for the protection of Amphitryon. 
 
 Almost identical with Heracles 1032 ff. is Orestes 137 £f. 
 Electra sees the women of the chorus approaching the bed- 
 side of Orestes, and requests that they step hghtly, but they 
 are not quiet enough to satisfy her, and are ordered away. 
 When, however, by their subdued voices they have reassured 
 her, she bids them come and tell their errand, 147 ff. : 
 
 Xo. tS', cLTpe^alov co? viropo^ov (f)ep(o 
 ^odp. 'H\. val ovTOx; 
 
 Karaye Karaye, irpocnO^ dTpe/jLa<; arpifia^ Wl • 
 \6yov aTToSo? i(j> 6 tl XP^^^ ifioXere irore. 
 
 Before Electra speaks the last words, the choreutae have taken 
 their stand where she had directed. That this station was 
 very near her is proven conclusively by 170 ff. The chorus 
 have seen Orestes stir on his bed, and Electra, accusing them 
 of awakening him, send them away again : 
 
 ovK a(f> rjixcbv^ ovfc air oXkohv . . • 
 7ro8a GOV elXi^ei^ ; 
 X . V7rva)a(T6L, 
 
 They calm her with this assurance, and she permits them 
 to remain. But in 181 she again sends them away for being 
 too noisy, and this time they obey. Cf. 208 ff. : 
 
 opa irapovcra, irapOiv ^HXi/crpa^ ireXa^, 
 fjLT) KarOavciov ae avyyovo^ XeXrjO' oSe • 
 ov yap fi apea-KCC to5 Xlav irapeLfievo), 
 
 showing that they are now too far away to see that Orestes 
 has awakened, yet still near enough to notice the change. 
 They are probably in their usual position when the lyric 
 passage (316 ff.) is given. 
 
 Adrastus in Euripides's Suppliants has the dead bodies of 
 the six leaders brought upon the stage. The mothers of the 
 dead form the chorus. They ask to be permitted to embrace 
 the bodies of their sons, and Adrastus grants it. Cf. 815 ff. : 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 Xo. 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage, 
 
 45 
 
 'AS. 
 
 p^e/oa? irpoaap/jLoaaa i/jLol<; 
 ev ayKwcTL reKva Ocofiai, 
 
 We have seen that soon after this they are probably back 
 again in the orchestra, for Theseus forbids their uncovering 
 and touching the bodies. 
 
 The Trojan sentinels in the Rhesus go from their posts in 
 the orchestra to Hector's tent, seen in the background, and 
 wake him. i ff. : 
 
 Xo. ^dOc TTpo^ evva^ 
 
 Ta? 'FifCTopeov^ tl<; vTraa-Tnarcov* 
 « « « « « 
 
 XeiTre ^^fievvaf; (^vWocrrpwrov^y 
 Se^ai re vicov Kkrfhova fivdcov, 
 '^EiKTop ' Kaipof; yap aKovcrai. 
 
 It seems that they remain here, i.e. on the " stage," until 
 ordered back to their posts in 523 : 
 
 vfid<; Be /3dvTa(; ^PV '^'poTaivl rd^ecop 
 <j)povp€lv iyeprl ktL 
 
 That this station, irpoTaLvl rd^eav, was in the orchestra is 
 shown by the opening scene of the play and by the scene 
 immediately following the passage last cited. 
 
 The chorus in the Choephori, the Persians, and the Iphi- 
 genia among the Taurians assist in pouring libations at the 
 tomb of the dead by handing the bowl to the actor in the 
 last-named play, and in all by chanting as the offering is 
 made. It was this fact in the Choephori that convinced 
 Hermann ^ that the tomb was on the margin of the stage, 
 since Electra and the chorus are together during the liba- 
 tion, as they have been from the time they came from the 
 palace. The chorus are sent out as x^^^ Tr/ooTro/iTro? (23), 
 and are asked by Electra to sing as she pours, 150 : 
 
 1 De re seen, in Aesch. Orest., p. 9: "Non est dubitandum quin sepulcrum 
 Agamemnonis in margine proscenii sit." 
 
 1 
 
46 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 After the libation Electra finds the lock of hair on the tomb. 
 That the chorus do not see the hair at first does not prove 
 that they are not near by, as some have chimed. Electra 
 has ascended the steps of the altar. Upon this, out of the 
 si2:ht of the chorus, the lock is found. In the Persians, 
 Atossa in like manner calls for the chants of the chorus 
 while she pours the libation on the tomb of Darius (619). 
 When the shade of Darius appears, it addresses the choreutae 
 first, 681, not seeing Atossa until 684. 
 
 w TTiara Tncrrwv ijXtKe^ 6^ ^/3??9 e/x^? 
 Uepaac yepatol kt€ . . . 
 Xevaacov S' d/coLTCV rrjv ifjirjv rd^ov 7re\a? 
 Tap^o), X^^^ ^^ TTpevfievrjf; iBe^dfJirjv. 
 vfi6t<i 8e OprjvecT €771/9 karuiTe^ rdcfyov kt€. 
 
 His wife is TreXa?, the choreutae, iyyv<;. That he turns 
 from one to the other so readily in his speech proves that 
 they are near together and both on the side of the tomb 
 toward the spectators — for Darius would not turn his back 
 to these. 
 
 The chorus of Greek maidens in the Taurian Iphigenia 
 are the attendants of Iphigenia, given her by the king for the 
 temple-service. Cf. 63 ff. : 
 
 T (j) . avv irpoaTToXoLatVy a? eBay^ Vf^l'V dva^ 
 'KWr)vi8a<; yvvaiKaf;. dW^ ef atTLa<; 
 01)17(0 TLVo^ irdpeiaLV ; 
 
 When these arrive, Iphigenia proceeds to carry out her pur- 
 pose of making libations to Orestes. In the course of the 
 passage beginning Icb B/jLcoal, addressed to the chorus imme- 
 diately after their parodos, she asks them for the vessel and 
 libation, 167 ff. : 
 
 aW eVSo? fiOL Trdyxpycrov 
 
 It would be forcing this passage excessively to suppose 
 these words to be addressed to any but the chorus, and 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage. 
 
 A7 
 
 I 
 
 J 
 
 i 
 
 furthermore the two similar passages quoted favor this inter- 
 pretation. ^ 
 
 We have seen therefore that in the case of the non- 
 performance of the proposed action of entering the palace, 
 (i) in five instances the chorus advance to a position near 
 the palace; (2) in the others a satisfactory motive for the 
 action as we have it is apparent ; and further (3) that the 
 same action which is proposed in these passages is often car- 
 ried into execution, however slight the motive may be, show- 
 ing that there was no obstacle in the arrangement of the 
 theatre. Muller's arguments based upon these passages con- 
 sequently cannot stand. 
 
 10. Encounters between Actors and Chorus. Strikino-, 
 and also clearly indicated by the text, are the instances of 
 actual conflict between actors and chorus. The course of 
 action in these passages is generally recognized, and the dis- 
 cussion of them may therefore be brief. 
 
 After the chorus in the Suppliants of Aeschylus, 832 ff., have 
 taken refuge at the altars, the Herald arrives and attempts 
 to drag them away by violence (909). The chorus attack 
 Aegisthus with swords in Agamemnon 1650 ff., before the 
 intervention of Clytemnestra. So, too, in Acharnians 280 ff., 
 the choreutae attack Dicaeopolis with stones as he marches 
 across the scene. They are so close upon him that he can- 
 not turn and flee (see p. 73). Euelpides and his companion 
 are charged upon by the chorus in Birds 344 ff., but Epops 
 interferes and persuades the latter to retire (400). In the 
 Knights (see 247, 257, and 471) the Paphlagonian is assaulted. 
 The chorus are still on the " stage " in 490 ff., for they give 
 oil and garlic to the Sausage-seller. Xanthias and Bdelycleon 
 in Wasps 453 ff. find considerable difficulty in beating back 
 the chorus of wasps. 
 
 The chorus in the Rhesus leave the scene in the midst of 
 the play. On their re-entrance, representing now the relief 
 
 1 Further evidence that the choreutae are with the actors in these libation 
 scenes is furnished by the lamentation scene, Aj. 910-975, in which for other 
 reasons the chorus must be by the side of the corpse. 
 
 y 
 
 / 
 
il 
 
 48 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 guard, they fall upon Diomedes and Odysseus, take them 
 captive, and finally let them go again. Cf. 675 ff. : 
 
 X o . ySaXe /3aXe ^uXe ^aXe 
 
 Give dive . . . 
 
 Tovcrh^ ^'%^> '^ovah^ efiapyfra* 
 * * * m * 
 
 Kol ri Brj TO arjfia ; 
 O h . ^ol^o^, X . eixaOov • fcr^^e Tra? hopv. 
 
 They probably then return to their usual position. 
 
 The chorus in Helen, 1627 ff., hold Theoclymenus by the 
 garments to keep him from entering the house and killing 
 his sister. In the Oedipus at Colonus they hold Creon, who 
 with his attendants is carrying off Antigone, until the arrival 
 of Theseus. This is made clear from the text, 724 ff. : 
 
 OeS. 
 
 Xo. 
 
 0) (filXraroi yepovre^, ef v/jlmv ifiol 
 (f)aivoiT av ySr) ripfxa rijf; acnTrjpla^, 
 OdpcreCy irapearai,. 
 
 Cf. 856 ff. also: 
 
 Xo. iirlo-^e^^ avrov^ ^eive. Kp. fxr] yfraveLV \iyco, 
 Xo. ovTOc a a(f>ij(rco, rcjvBi y iareprjiJLevo^;. 
 
 From this point the chorus have little part in the play. 
 They probably remain in the orchestra. 
 
 There is a scene very similar to this in the early part of 
 the Heracleidae, and although the action is less animated 
 and the words of the text less decisive than in the Oedipus, 
 the general similarity is close enough to warrant the same 
 interpretation. Cf. 270 ff.: 
 
 A77. 
 Ko. 
 A?;. 
 Xo. 
 Ko. 
 
 KKaloiv ap' a-^jrec rcovBe kovk e? afx^dXd^. 
 firj TTpoq OeMV KrjpVKa Tokfirjcrr]^ Oevelv. 
 el fiT] y 6 KYjpv^ crco(f)popetu jxaOqaeraL, 
 aireXOe ' Ka\ av rovSe /jlt] Olyrj^y dva^. 
 (JTeiyw • p.Ld^ yap %e^/009 da6evri<; fid-^r]. 
 
 The last verse makes the inference easy that Copreus saw 
 opposing him and ready to attack him not only Demophon, 
 
 V 
 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/te Greek Stage. 
 
 49 
 
 bu also the choreutae. That the latter were in fact on the 
 stage IS made certain by 307 ff., where lolaus tells his 
 wards to join right hands with the Athenians in token of 
 gratitude and lasting friendship.^ 
 
 h6T\ &TeKV, avTo'ii x^'^P"- ^e^iav S6Te 
 v/J.el's Se ■jraia-L, kuI TreXa? vpoaeXeere. 
 
 The last verse, or at least the first half of it, must have been 
 addressed to the chorus. 
 
 With these encounters between actors and chorus we 
 should class Lysistrata 381 ff. The chorus of women come 
 out of the citadel against the chorus of men, who are trying 
 to set the citadel afire. The chorus of women therefore 
 tor the time being represent an actor. When the men 
 threaten to burn them, they respond by drenching them 
 with water. " 
 
 rep. ep.jpr,aov aiTfi<, T^., K6p.a^. T vv . abp ^pyov S>ye\^e. 
 I ep. o'l/jiot, TaKa<;. ' 
 
 They must have been together on the same level at this 
 point. The old men are driven back from the citadel The 
 chorus of women soon follow, going into the orchestra, as 
 IS shown by 539 ff.: 
 
 airaipeT^ & yvvaiKe<; dvo rwv KoX-nlZwv, OTra^ &v 
 
 Therefore the drenching scene took place upon the "sta-e " 
 at the gates of the citadel. Both choruses are together in 
 the orchestra from this point until the dose of the play (cf 
 615 ff. and 1020 ff., and pp. 1 1 and iq).^ 
 
 J The action here is as clear as O. C. 1632 ff. : 56, ^0. ^.,U <r?. „Vx,. 1,^.1,, 
 
 refer to others than those to whom it naturally refers, the chorus, merely because 
 
 of a supposed barrier between " stage " and orchestra. 
 
 2 Droysen's argument (I.e. p. 60) from the obscene passage, 821 ff that the 
 women were higher than the men proves absolutely nothing. MuUer would 
 include Pax 469 ff. also under this class, but by our interpretation of the passage 
 
 I r \ ,, !. ~""'='=''°" °f ^"^""-^ ^"d <:horus does not require that the 
 latter should here pass from the orchestra to the "stage." 
 
 
 I 
 
 H 
 
so 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Our examination of these 44 plays has shown that 36, or, 
 rejecting those that have furnished the most doubtful evi- 
 dence, 32, contain evidence of intimate connection in the 
 action between actors and chorus. In 31 of these (all but 
 the Prometheus) there must have been passing between 
 "stage" and orchestra, sometimes by actors, but in a large 
 majority of cises by the chorus or by both together. This 
 passing between "stage" and orchestra was, so far as we 
 can judge from the plays, perfectly free and unrestricted, 
 and it occurs not only when the action may be slow and 
 deliberate, suited to the ascending of steps, as at the close 
 of Persians, but also, and far more frequently, when the 
 action must needs be hasty and even precipitate. Two illus- 
 trations will suffice. The Danaids in the Suppliants (Aesch.) 
 hasten to the altars as soon as the Herald comes into view. 
 They see him in Z26, begin their flight in 832 {^alve <\iv^a 
 Trpo^ uXkciv), and have reached the altars by 835 (amf irpo- 
 rdcraov). And this scene is no burlesque, such as we might 
 expect in Aristophanes, with which the sight of twelve 
 maidens scrambling in terror and confusion up a flight of 
 steps would be in keeping, but it is dignified tragedy, in 
 which this scene was entirely appropriate. In Helen 1624, 
 Theoclymenus first declares his intention of 2:oino- into the 
 palace. Only four verses later he orders the chorus to get 
 out of his way. Judging from scenes such as these we can- 
 not avoid the conclusion that the height of the "stage" was 
 no barrier to the free passage of the chorus from orchestra 
 to "stage." A stage ten feet high undoubtedly would have 
 been a barrier, and would have prevented such action as we 
 have described, no matter in what way connected with the 
 orchestra. Either the orchestra and the "stage" were on a 
 level, or else the "stage" was very low and easily accessible 
 from the orchestra under all circumstances and in all periods 
 of the classical drama. This, it would seem, would be satis- 
 factorily proven by the eighteen instances of crossing involved 
 in the personal encounters between chorus and actors, in 
 addition to the sixteen required by the parodos from the 
 palace and exodos into it, for these include almost all of 
 
 1 
 
 •i 
 
 - V I li i 
 
 1 
 
 I I 
 
 f1 
 
 I 
 
 r 
 
 Vol. xxii.l 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage. 
 
 SI 
 
 the hasty passages over the « stage " by the chorus But 
 so strong has been the influence of tradition that even 
 those who have admitted all these instances have labored 
 hard to convince themselves either that, though the floor of 
 the orchestra was ten to twelve feet lower than the sta-e 
 yet, to prepare for just such emergencies as these, a platform' 
 was built up for the chorus to within a few feet of the 
 stage level, or else that, after all, we cannot judge of 
 Crreek dramatic art by our ideas of good taste. 
 
 In spite of such expedient,s, however, the adherents of the 
 traditional view have spared no pains to reduce the number of 
 instances of intimate action between " stage " and orchestra. 
 Oehmichen,! the most recent writer, commits himself only 
 so far as to state that "auf der Buhne erschien der Chor 
 zuwcilen im Beginn des Stiickes ; sonst jedenfalls sehr 
 selten, seltener als man annimmt." Haigh^ does not cite 
 lull instances, but says authoritatively that " in all the forty- 
 four Greek plays which have come down to us hardly fifteen 
 certain examples are to be found." Niejahr^ would ^^^x^V 
 about twenty-two, though he follows Pollux closely Albert 
 Muller gives what is supposed to be a complete citation of 
 instances, making the number of crossings of the "stao-e" 
 by the chorus about thirty-eight. But his list is not com- 
 plete, even of the kind of passages he takes into account. 
 It IS difficult to see on what principle, for example, he says 
 hat the chorus in the Choephori come out of the palace' 
 mXro9 Ik iof^cov 'efiav) without including the Troades also 
 (ejo. KOfxiaace oUwv), pc why he does not count Agamemnon 
 1649 among the places where the chorus attack actors 
 
 If my arguments in the preceding discussion have been 
 well grounded, the chorus alone pass over the boundary 
 line between the stage and the orchestra at least 68 times 
 the chorus and actors together 9 times, and actors alone 
 39 times, making a total of jj times for the chorus and 
 116 times for both actors and chorus, rejecting all instances 
 
 ' Das Buhnenwesen d. Griechen u. Romer, 1890, p. 276. 
 
 2 The Attic Theatre, 1889, P- 153. 
 
 » De Pollucis loc, 18S5. He gives no exact enumeration, nor does Muller. 
 
 ♦ 
 
 \ 
 
52 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 53 
 
 classed as doubtful. We feel safe in saying that all of these, 
 as well as those marked doubtful and many others ^ that 
 would be suggested in the course of the action for the sake 
 of dramatic effect, would be not only accepted, but regarded 
 as necessary if it were not felt that the supposed height 
 of the stage was an obstacle. When we take into account 
 that many of these (even those granted by Miiller) could 
 have been avoided by the poet had there been the slightest 
 difficulty in carrying out the action indicated, and that too 
 without any apparent loss of dramatic force, we cannot 
 believe that there was any barrier in the way. It would 
 be hard to show, for example, what was gained by having 
 the chorus enter the palace during the action in Helen 327, 
 or go upon the "stage" in Heracles 731 and 1009 ; and why 
 the chorus in Iphigenia at Aulis 598 help Iphigenia descend 
 from her chariot, but do not in like manner assist Androma- 
 che in Troades 568. 
 
 The following table is a summary of the instances of 
 interaction between " stage " and orchestra which we have 
 endeavored to establish, arranged in groups, showing those 
 granted by Miiller, who is most natural and liberal in his 
 interpretation, and giving the results of the preceding por- 
 tion of this paper. 
 
 1 One of the clearest indications that actors and chorus were at least very 
 near together is Iph. Taur. 1069, where Iphigenia earnestly begs the choreutae 
 severally to aid her (<r^ koX (xk Uvovfjiai, Kre.). In Aristophanes are many passages 
 that have been cited by all scholars from the scholiasts down. In two the chorus 
 hand actors something (Eq. 490, oil and garlic ; Eq. 921, a ladle). But perhaps 
 these passages are wrongly assigned to the chorus. Meineke gives the former to 
 oiKirrjs d. In Ach. 1224 Dicaeopolis pretends to get a wine sack from the priest 
 in the front row of seats, and in Ran. 293 Dionysus appeals to the priest for 
 protection. In Pax 906 Trygaeus offers Theoria to the prytanes in the theatre 
 and pretends that they receive her. In Pax 965 Trygaeus has barley thrown into 
 the audience. In Nub. 1102 Dicaeus savs that he "deserts to the side of the 
 rogues," referring to the audience. In all of these cases we cannot know how 
 strictly the action was carried out nor how much was broad jest. Hence no 
 argument can be based on them. On the other hand, their interpretation will 
 be much simplified if we find that there was no stage to hinder. Harzmann 
 accepts all the above from Aristophanes (as White does also) and suggests a 
 great many others that we cannot, however, accept on his theory of the stage. 
 
 TABLE OF THE INTER-ACTION BETWEEN ACTORS 
 
 AND CHORUS. 
 
 No. 
 
 Occasion. 
 
 PYom palace to 
 orchestra. 
 
 References. 
 
 From orchestra to 
 palace. 
 
 Chorus and actors 
 depart together. 
 
 Cho. 22; Eum. 140; Troad. 154; Supp. 
 (2)8; Eccl. init.; Lys. 319; jK!afi. 350, 
 Thes. 312; Hel. 515; Lys. 1239; Ach. 280. 
 
 Passing be- 
 tween 
 "Stage" and 
 Orchestra. 
 
 3 
 o 
 
 U o 
 
 >. t; _ 
 
 M <: H 
 
 o 
 
 Cho. fin.; Pers. 1038; Av. 1706; Hel. 
 
 327; Lys. 1182; Cyc. 82. 
 
 Chorus and actors 
 enter together. 
 
 Chariot scenes. 
 
 (Cho., Pers., Av., Hel., No. 2) Eum. 1004; 
 Sept. 1066; Ale. 422; Supp. (i) 954; .Aj. 
 1413; Phil. 1469; Cyc. 708; Supp. (2) 
 1232; Ion pi.; Troad. 1325; Ach. 123 1 ; 
 Ran. 1524; Eccl. 1149; Plut. 1208; Vesp. 
 1516; Lys. 1272; Pax 1339; Prom. 1067. 
 
 I 2 
 
 -2 
 
 e3 
 
 10 
 
 (Cho., Hel., No. i) Ale. 861; PIccl. init.; 
 Plut. 295; Elec. (2) 167; Supp. (i) init.; 
 Ion init.; Phil, init.; Bacc/i. 55 ; Av. init. 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 Assembly scenes. 
 
 L A. 598 ; Agam. 905 ; Elec. (2) 998 ; Troad, 
 568; Pers. 607, 909; O. C. 310; Ran. init. 
 
 Search scenes. 
 
 ID 
 
 Altar scenes. 
 
 Ach. init. ; Eccl. 57 and Thesm. 292 (see also 
 No. i). Cf. Lys. init. 
 
 13 4 
 
 17 
 
 Thes. 657 ; O. C. iii ; Eum. 244 and Aj. 865 
 (see also No. 3) ; Hec. 1054. 
 
 16 
 
 Chorus called to 
 palace — minor 
 instances — li- 
 bation scenes. 
 
 Supp. (i) 188 ; 832 (see also No. 3) ; Sept. 94, 
 
 Encounters be- 
 tween actors 
 and chorus. 
 
 Aj. 328; Agam. 1372; Hipp. 790; Cho. 980; 
 H. F. 1032; H. F. 731,1109; Orest. 137; 
 Supp. (2) 815; Rhes. init.; Cho. 150 (No. 
 i); Pers. 619; LT. 167. 
 
 4 4 
 
 7 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 Supp. (i) 909 (No. 8) ; Agam. 1649; Ach. 
 280 ; Av. 344 ; Eq. 247 ; Vesp. 453 ; 
 Rhes. 675; Hel. 1627; O. C. 856; 
 
 Heracleid. 270; Lys. 381 (No. i). 
 
 //rttV<rj = Doubtful, i.e. without clear proof from text. 
 
 Heavy-Faced Type = Granted by Muller (p. 124 ff.). He counts also 
 Prom. 281 (see p. 59. this art.) ; Orest. 1251 (p. 29) ; Pax 426 (pp. 52 and 76) ; 
 and Eq. 490 (p. 52). 
 
 * Deductions are made for instances that would be counted twice. 
 
 19 
 
 23 
 
 18 
 
 68 39 9 
 
 18 
 
 116 
 
 I! 
 
54 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 B. General Relatioii of Chorus to Actors. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 55 
 
 The conclusion which we have been compelled to reach in 
 view of the preceding considerations, viz. : that the actors 
 played on practically the same level with the chorus, is sup- 
 ported also by the general relation of the chorus to the actors. 
 Following the history of the drama from the early dithyram- 
 bic chorus of fifty members, at which time the chorus alone 
 was the drama, down to the New Comedy, in which there 
 was, as a rule, no chorus whatever, we can trace a steady de- 
 cline in the importance of the chorus, both as to the actual 
 number of verses assigned to it in each play and as to its 
 participation in the action.^ At first the entire performance 
 consisted of dancing and song by the chorus. Then one actor 
 was introduced, so that the songs might be interspersed with 
 dialogue between the coryphaeus and the actor. Then an- 
 other actor was introduced; and now there could be progress 
 in the action, which before this time had necessarily been 
 stationary, and a plot. To this period belongs what seems 
 to be our earliest extant play, the Suppliants of Aeschylus. 
 Here are never more than two actors on the scene at the 
 same time, and throughout several long passages only one, 
 and but three dramatis personae. The plot is exceedingly 
 simple, and, as we might expect, the chorus is very prominent. 
 To it are given fully three-fifths of the whole play. The cho- 
 rus is the centre of interest, and the actors are but the means 
 of giving progress to the action. So we might trace a gradual 
 decline in the functions of the chorus through Sophocles, 
 Euripides, and Aristophanes. In some of the plays of the 
 two last poets it might easily be omitted altogether without 
 seriously affecting the symmetry of the composition. This is 
 particularly true of the last of the comedies of Aristopha- 
 nes, the Plutus. In the New Comedy the chorus had dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 But notwithstanding this manifest general tendency of 
 decline, there is never a period throughout which the chorus 
 
 1 See Haigh, Attic Theatre, p. 259 fif. 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 
 is consistently so unimportant as it is in particular plays 
 which appeared during that period. This is an important 
 fact to note. For example, the Bacchae of Euripides, whose 
 chorus reminds one of that of the older poets, was composed 
 in the same period with the Taurian Iphigenia, in which the 
 chorus is of so little interest that the poet himself at one 
 time actually forgets its presence. And the Ecclesiazusae 
 of Aristophanes, during the early part of which the chorus 
 is as vital to the piece as in the Suppliants of Aeschylus, was 
 written between the Frogs, whose first chorus is not really a 
 chorus and whose second might easily be dispensed with, and 
 the Plutus, of which we have spoken before. The decline 
 of the chorus was so gradual that even toward the end of the 
 classical period there were frequent revivals of its old promi- 
 nence. Therefore we cannot say, with Verrall,^ that after 
 a certain date (431 b.c.) a high Vitruvian stage could have 
 been used. We have seen that Aristophanes demands fully 
 as low a stage as Aeschylus. 
 
 According to this general intimate relation of the chorus tO' 
 the actor throughout the classical drama we should expect, 
 that the usual position of the chorus during the play, when; 
 they were neither mingling with the actors on the one hand, 
 nor engaged with their strictly choral duties in the orchestra 
 on the other, would be the position natural to an interested 
 auditor standing ready to take part in the conversation or, if 
 necessary, in the action ; and we find many indications in the 
 plays themselves that this was the case. The choreutae are 
 generally the first to see and to announce each newly arrived 
 actor ; the incoming actor often apparently sees, and, at any 
 rate, addresses them first, before turning to the actors who. 
 are present.^ 
 
 That this position of the chorus was in that part of the- 
 orchestra nearest to the place for the actors is shown by the 
 
 1 Review of Haigh 's Att. Theat., Class. Rev., 1890, p. 225. 
 
 2 Examples are Pers. 246; Elec. (Eur.) 1442; Bacch. 205; Supp. (Eur.) 87; 
 and Orest. 340. Harzmann, I.e. p. 47, argues from these that the actors in 
 these places entered through the orchestra — an opinion that could hardly be 
 held with the old view of the stage, but which would be in harmony with the new. 
 
 i 
 

 56 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 general expression ^ ol ireka^ or e77U9, by which the choreutae 
 are often addressed by actors, and by the more definite ex- 
 pressions, <yvvaLK€<i, at tcovB* d/jL(f>l Kp7}7rl8a<; hofxwVy Ion 510; 
 vfiel^ O' ocrat irapeaTaT eirl ralcnv Ovpac^, Eccl. III4; iyyu^; 
 iaTcoT€<; Td(f>ouy Pers. 686, where Atossa, who is of course on 
 the "stage," is said two verses before to be also rdcftov TreXa?. 
 Still clearer for the use of the two words irika^ and €771;? are 
 Aj. 1 182, where the chorus, who are already on the "stage" 
 (see p. 34), are asked to stand " near by " the body of Ajax 
 (TreXa? irapecnaTe) ; O. C. 803, where Oedipus speaks of the 
 choreutae as rovahe tov<; TreXa? and we find them soon (856, 
 see p. 48) holding Creon back, as they had promised to do 
 in 724 ; and Supp. (Aesch.) 208, where the Danaids, with the 
 words OeXoijjL dv rjhr] aol TreXa? dpovov^ ^X^^^> S^ ^^ their 
 father's side. 
 
 TreXa? and e77i;9, although, like our "far" and "near," 
 only relative words, seem to mean in these passages either on 
 the " stage " or very near to it,2 — nearer than one could 
 be and still see clearly what was going on upon a stage ten 
 or even six feet above him. We find that when the chorus 
 are farther away from this position than usual they are ov 
 TreXa?, as in Orestes 208. There the .chorus have been by 
 the side of Electra, but have at last been sent away by her, 
 for in 208 they can no longer see Orestes's face distinctly, 
 but Electra is still " near " him (see p. 44) : 
 
 opa irapovo-a, irapOev 'HXeKrpa, TreXa? 
 firj KarOavoov ere avyyovo^; \€\r)0' 68e. 
 
 So in O. C. 165 the chorus are compelled to shout loudly to 
 Oedipus because he is so far away (iroWd KeXeuOo^ iparvet • 
 K\v€i^;). It may be, however, that Oedipus is far back in 
 the grove in the rear of the scene, while the chorus cannot 
 go toward him beyond the limits of the sacred grove which 
 
 1 The following is, I think, a full list of similar expressions. Miiller gives Aj. 
 1182; Ion 510; Med. 1293; Ecc. 1114. To these should be added O. C. 803; 
 O.T. 1047; Hipp. 777; Supp. (Aesch.) 208; and Pers. 686. 
 
 2 So near the actors that the poet does not hesitate to have the chorus hear 
 some one coming from the house and announce him to those who are on the 
 "stage," as in the Electra of Sophocles 1322. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 57 
 
 \ 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 he is desecrating. Again, in Hipp. 565, the chorus have just 
 finished a long lyric song. They are silenced by Phaedra, 
 who hears the angry words of Hippolytus within the house. 
 From the agony and alarm expressed by the words and ges- 
 tures of Phaedra they are filled with dread as they ask, 566: 
 
 t/ 3' eVr^, ^alBpa, Becvov iv Bofioiat crol^ ; 
 and 572 : 
 
 eveire tl^ (^o^el ce (f)dfia, yvvac. 
 
 And so when Phaedra asks them to stand by the doors 
 and hear for themselves what she could not tell them, they 
 naturally excuse themselves with the words : 
 
 (TV irapa Kkrjdpa • aol fiiXet TrofiTri/JLa 
 
 (f)dTL(; Scofjbdrcov, 
 
 eveire 8' eveire fiot, tl ttot ejSa /caKov ; 
 
 insisting still that she should tell them. How far distant 
 they really are, we cannot say. If they are only five feet dis- 
 tant, they could still speak as they do.^ But inasmuch as 
 they have just finished an ode they probably are still near 
 the centre of the orchestra. 
 
 Clearly if the chorus regularly stood so near the actors as 
 these passages indicate, and so often joined in the action 
 with the actors as we have seen, there was either no stage 
 at all, but both actors and chorus played on the same level, 
 or else, if there was a raised stage, it was very low in order 
 that the chorus might be able to fulfil the functions regularly 
 assigned to it. 
 
 C. The Numbers brought upon the ^^ Stage'' 
 
 According to the rules of Vitruvius the depth of the stage 
 in an ordinary Greek theatre would be from eight to twelve 
 feet.2 Haigh^ shows that this extreme narrowness is a 
 direct and necessary result of its height, inasmuch as the rear 
 
 1 Just as in Cyc. 635, k(T\xh fMaKpSrepop irpb tQv dvpQv. This excuse of the 
 satyrs is not to be taken seriously. See p. 42, note. 
 
 2 At Epidaurus the depth is about 8 ft.; at Athens, 12 ft. Considerable deduc- 
 tion should be made from this depth for scenery. ^ Att. Th., pp. 140 and 143. 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
58 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 portions of a deeper stage would be partly hidden from many 
 of the spectators. He also defends this narrow stage on the 
 ground that it was quite consistent with the general taste of 
 the Greeks, which preferred such scenes as are found on 
 temple friezes to the more modern group-scenes. But even 
 if we should grant that the Greeks were ignorant of or 
 disliked the superior effects that lie in the skilful grouping 
 of figures (and this no one who studies the Greek drama will 
 feel disposed to grant), it could still be readily shown that 
 many scenes are found in all the dramatic poets, particularly 
 in Aristophanes, in which the numbers brought upon the 
 stage are too great to be accommodated in so narrow a space. 
 We need mention only the trial-scene in the Eumenides, 
 which we have already seen to have been enacted on the 
 stage, if there was a stage. Orestes still stands by the statue 
 of Athene which had given him protection. On one side of 
 him sit the twelve judges of the court of Areopagus ; on the 
 other, the twelve Furies. Athene presides. There are pres- 
 ent also the servants of the temple, who at the close lead the 
 way out, bearing torches. How many these are we cannot 
 know; but since the poet desired to obtain a splendid spectac- 
 ular effect by the procession they were probably numerous, 
 at least as many, we should say, as the chorus. There were 
 therefore about forty persons on the stage and most of them 
 were probably seated. When we consider that in addition 
 space must have been found for the movable scenery, altars, 
 stage fittings,! etc., we must see the complete inadequacy of 
 a narrow Vitruvian stage for such a play. A deep modern ^ 
 stage would be more in keeping with such a scene, in which 
 so good an opportunity is offered for effective grouping. 
 And yet in this scene there is no movement by the actors or 
 chorus, as in many scenes in which as large numbers appear. 
 It would be much more difficult to set the mock assembly 
 scene at the beginning of the Ecclesiazusae or the Acharnians,2 
 
 1 On the large quantity of scenic apparatus often in use, see Sommerbrodt, 
 bcaenica, p. 150. 
 
 '^ White, p. 188, gives several excellent illustrations from Aristophanes of an 
 overcrowded stage. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 59 
 
 -1 
 
 in which the "stage," crowded with the speaker's stand 
 and with seats for the throng of citizens, must still furnish 
 room for numerous officers and for the coming and going of 
 actors. The argument which decided against the appearance 
 of chariots on such a stage now decides against such a stage 
 itself. If there was a stage at all, it must have been low 
 and broad in order to furnish sufficient space for the scenic 
 apparatus and the large numbers of mute and speaking actors 
 who were often brought upon it. 
 
 D. CJiai'acter of the Scenic Setting iii Certain Plays. 
 
 In certain plays it is impossible to suppose that any stage 
 whatever was used, in view of the character of the scenes 
 represented. These are the plays whose scenes are laid in 
 some wild, desolate region, where only natural objects would 
 be found, and in which anything approaching the conven- 
 tional would be incongruous. The most striking play of this 
 kind is the Prometheus. " Its scene of action is a rocky, 
 desolate region *at the end of the world,' in the north of 
 Scythia, near the ocean. The scenery represents a rocky 
 eminence with a gorge," ^ in which Prometheus was to be 
 bound. The chorus appear in a winged car, and, desiring to 
 hear the story of Prometheus, descend from the car at his 
 request (272). The place where they alight could not well 
 have been the orchestra, at a considerable distance from the 
 Titan. They could have heard his story with greater ease 
 by remaining in their car. But verse 252, \ 
 
 OKpLoeacrrj yQov\ rfjEe TreXw, "^^ 
 
 shows that they were on the same rocky ground near which 
 Prometheus was fettered. They remain near him through- 
 out the play. In the lo scene we can draw little distinction 
 as to position between lo and the chorus, except that the 
 former would occupy the more prominent place. They are 
 both intensely interested listeners to Prometheus, and both 
 take active part in the conversation. At the end of the play 
 
 ^ Wecklein, Prom. Introduction, p. 25. 
 
 I 
 
6o 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 the chorus refuse to move from their position near Prome- 
 theus and so perish with him. A raised stage, or any dis- 
 tinction which would set a barrier between Prometheus and 
 the chorus, would utterly ruin the effect of this superb play. 
 If any attempt was made to represent to the eyes of the 
 spectators the scene as it is indicated by the poet, there was 
 no stage, any more than there would be an altar to Dionysus 
 in that wild, uninhabited region. The same arguments hold 
 good for Philoctetes and Cyclops, whose scenes are laid before 
 caverns ; for Ajax, Hecabe, Iphigenia at Aulis, and Troades, 
 where the scene is before tents, amidst the surroundings 
 of the camp; for Oedipus at Colonus, whose scene is laid In 
 a grove ; for Electra of Euripides, in the country before a 
 farmer's hut ; for the Birds, on a perhaps slightly elevated 
 spot before the nest of Epops ; and perhaps for Aeschylus's 
 Suppliants and Septem, since no indications are found in 
 them of scenery of any kind. It is a striking fact which 
 strongly tends to confirm what has been said about the ab- 
 sence of a stage as distinct from the orchestra in these plays, 
 that in every one of them without exception there is intimate 
 connection between the actors and the chorus. According to 
 our table, which was made on the hypothesis that there was 
 a dividing line between the place for the actors and the place 
 for the chorus, the chorus in these twelve plays cross this 
 boundary line at least twenty-seven times, to say nothing of 
 the Prometheus, in which they are with the actors throughout. 
 Nothing could be more evident, therefore, than that in these 
 twelve plays at least there was no stage whatever, and that 
 the actors were on the same level with the chorus except 
 when the scenery, imitating the nature of the place repre- 
 sented, may have shown one portion of the region somewhat 
 higher than the rest (e.g. in the Birds). 
 
 E. Street Scenes in Aristophajies. 
 
 In Greek tragedy the scene is laid generally in front of 
 a palace or temple, sometimes before a tent or hut, or 
 before a cave in some uninhabited region. In all of them 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage, 
 
 61 
 
 the immediate place of action seems to be more or less 
 isolated from its surroundings. In the Eumenides we find 
 no indications of the bustle of city life at Athens, nor in the 
 Phoenissae are we made to feel that we are in the heart of 
 Thebes. But in comedy the case is quite otherwise. In some 
 comedies we are taken into the midst of the most active city 
 life, see the hurrying of people along the street, the gather- 
 ing together in knots for the discussion of politics and the 
 war with Sparta, and scenes even more realistic than these. 
 The comedies whose scenes are laid in the city are Knights, 
 Wasps, Ecclesiazusae, Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazusae, and a 
 part of the Acharnians. Of these, the scene of the Lysis- 
 trata, excepting act first, is laid before the Acropolis, the first 
 act of the Acharnians in the Pnyx, and the first act of the 
 Thesmophoriazusae before a private residence (the rest before 
 the Thesmophorium). We shall have no need especially to 
 consider these portions of the plays. There remain for dis- 
 cussion Wasps, Knights, Ecclesiazusae, and the opening 
 scene of the Lysistrata. In all of these a street of the city 
 is represented, and in them we may therefore look for a real- 
 istic presentation of the city life of the Athenians. In the 
 background are private dwellings in front of which runs the 
 city thoroughfare. 
 
 The opening scene of the Ecclesiazusae has already been 
 described. One after another enter from various quarters 
 of the city, and gathering together before the house of Prax- 
 agora, they hold their meeting. That they afterwards fulfil 
 the functions of a chorus is incidental — no one of the specta- 
 tors would have thought of the disordered crowd of women 
 as a substitute for the well-trained, orderly chorus to which the 
 theatre was accustomed, and in fact they were not a chorus 
 in any true sense until they joined for their exit in 285. This 
 is shown by the early part of the Lysistrata, which is in 
 every respect similar to this part of the Ecclesiazusae, except 
 that the forms of an ecclesia are not imitated. The women 
 who enter into the lively discussion which resembles the 
 more formal meeting in the Ecclesiazusae fulfil throughout 
 the functions of actors. In the Lysistrata every scholar 
 
 
 ♦ ■ ■ 
 t 
 
 • >>| 
 <l 
 
62 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 / 
 
 admits that all the participants in the action come in by the 
 doors m the scene and by the wings. That this is the case 
 m the Ecclesiazusae we have already seen, and the similarity 
 of Its openmg scene to that of the Lysistrata makes it still 
 more certam that the movements of the actors are the same 
 The reason for this lies beyond the rules of Pollux and the 
 scholiasts. It is that the scene presented to the eyes of the 
 spectators is a street scene, approaching as nearly as possible to 
 a realistic representation. Now in a street scene actors could 
 enter from but three directions, -from the doors of the 
 houses which faced the street, or from the right or left 
 of the street which ran in front of the houses. For any 
 persons connected with the action to enter from the parodoi 
 into the orchestra facing the spectators, and then, turning to 
 converse or commingle with others in front of the house 
 would be altogether incongruous, -just as if during a similar 
 scene in a modern theatre a troop of actors should come out 
 ot the doors connecting the auditorium and the win-s and 
 passing around to the front of the stage, should then take 
 part in the action. It would be ruinous to the illusion of 
 a street scene. It should be remembered that the so-called 
 parodoi were parts of the theatre, and not of the scenery 
 But if we assume that the Greeks would have tolerated so 
 great an incongruity, we must face at once a still greater 
 difficulty ; for the incoming chorus would then find them- 
 selves far below the level of the street in which they were to 
 take their stand. Therefore in at least the four plays under 
 discussion all the dramatis persons, both actors and chorus 
 must have entered either from the houses or from the winces' 
 If this IS true, then we at once meet with another difficulty if 
 we are to believe in a raised stage. We have preserved the 
 Illusion, but ,n doing so we have brought upon a platform 
 from eight to ten feet in depth a number too great to be 
 accommodated. In the first act of the Ecclesiazusae are seen 
 the fifteen women of the chorus and several actors ; and yet 
 we must believe that after the women have taken their seats 
 for the mock assembly there is still room left for the passing 
 to and fro of actors. Even more are on this " stage " toward 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 (>z 
 
 the end of the piece and move about freely upon it ; for 
 Blepyrus, at the summons of the maid-servant, moves off the 
 scene accompanied by the chorus and perhaps many others, 
 all dancing as they go (cf. 1 149 ff.). So also in the Wasps and 
 in the Knights the fifteen choreutae make their charge upon 
 the actors on this narrow platform ; and in the Wasps, while 
 the chorus is still present, the mock trial scene takes place. 
 This is impossible. These actions require as much space as 
 would be furnished by a narrow street in the city. A narrow 
 stage of any considerable height is out of the question. 
 
 Reference to a plan of the stage-buildings and orches- 
 tra of a Greek theatre will explain the setting of these 
 plays. If instead of supposing the action to take place on 
 the shallow roof of the proscenium we place it in front of the 
 proscenium, on Dorpfeld's theory, every movement is simple 
 and natural. There is ample room for any number. All 
 who enter come from the doors in the rear or through the 
 side wings. The side wings and the parodoi are one and the 
 same thing and well represent the streets of the city, opening 
 upon which are the houses in the rear. The orchestra is 
 merely a widening of the street.^ When the chorus disap- 
 peared from the drama and less space was needed for the 
 presentation, a portion of the orchestra was occupied by the 
 seats reserved for the nobility, and, .in order that the place 
 for spectators might be distinct from that for the actors, this 
 reserved portion was reduced in level so that the inner part 
 of the former orchestra presented the appearance of a low 
 and broad platform. This was the Roman stage of Vitruvius. 
 The Greek "stage" of Vitruvius was the proscenium, which 
 he wrongly supposed to be the place for actors. The scenes 
 from Aristophanes which we have here examined are fore- 
 runners of the new comedy as we know it from its Roman 
 adaptations. These street scenes are the stock scenes of 
 Plautus and Terence. The entrances used in them are the 
 same as in the Roman poets. 
 
 1 See Dorpfeld's Recension of Haigh's book in Bed. Phil. Woch. 1890, 470. 
 

 / 
 
 / 
 
 64 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 II. Direct Evidence adduced in Favor of an 
 
 Elevated Stage. 
 
 We have seen that in many plays the character of the 
 scene and, in the whole classical drama, the relation of the 
 I chorus to the actors, their numbers and movements during 
 the action declare strongly against a stage of any considerable 
 height. It remains to consider the evidence that has been 
 or may be drawn from the plays in favor of the opposing view. 
 Although in view of the preceding arguments the existence 
 of the Vitruvian stage could hardly be proved, yet possibly 
 some support may be found for Haigh's theory that during 
 the early classical period the theatre had a stage of moderate 
 height, so low as not to hinder to any great extent the move- 
 ments required in the presentation of the play, yet high 
 enough to distinguish the actors from the chorus, and that 
 this stage was gradually increased in height as the impor- 
 tance of the chorus declined. We have seen that the stage 
 of Aristophanes must have been fully as low as that of Aes- 
 chylus. Perhaps the supposed increase in height took place 
 during the period of the Middle Comedy. However this may 
 be, if there was a stage of any height during the classical 
 period, we may reasonably expect to find in the plays pro- 
 duced during that period (i) words of direction accompanying 
 the ascending to or descending from this stage, (2) expres- 
 sions which can be explained only on the supposition of 
 difference of level, and (3) scenes which could have been 
 presented only on an elevation. 
 
 I. Though both chorus and actors in tragedy often, as we 
 have found, have occasion to pass from the portion of the 
 theatre that lies nearest the rear wall of the scene to the 
 open space of the orchestra, and vice versa, and though in 
 many other passages also words of command that would 
 require such movements are given but not obeyed, yet there 
 is not one word of direction, either prepositional or adverbial, 
 that indicates a change of level. On the contrary, the prepo- 
 sitions airo, eV, et?, eV/, irpo, Trpo^, and irapd, alone and in 
 
 \ 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage, 
 
 65 
 
 verbal compounds, and their corresponding adverbs, or even 
 in many cases the simple verb unaccompanied by preposition 
 or adverb, are found when the action is such as we have 
 described, but never ava and KaTa. This is at least a singu- 
 lar fact and difficult to explain except on the supposition that 
 there was no difference between the level of actors and chorus. 
 At other times when an actor ascends or descends, the action 
 is made evident by some word or expression in the context, 
 as in the Suppliants (Eur.) 1045 and in the Phoenissae 193. 
 The poet could have had no desire to avoid indicating a dif- 
 ference of level if there was such a difference. 
 
 The same general rule holds good for comedy. In at least 
 forty instances of inter-action between actors and chorus in 
 Aristophanes no word is used which might indicate a change 
 of level. But believers in the Vitruvian stage have found 
 six passages whose positive testimony, they claim, outweighs 
 the unanimous negative testimony of tragedy and the gen- 
 eral rule in comedy. Three times the verb ava^alveiv is 
 found where it has been made to refer to the height of the 
 stage, and twice KaTa^aiveiv and once (see p. 6%) a similar 
 expression.! First we shall examine the occurrences of ava- 
 ^aiveiv. 
 
 In Knights 148 the Sausage-seller as he enters is hailed by 
 OlK€T7]<i a as follows : 
 
 Sevpo Bevp M <f>[\TaT€' 
 avdffatve crcoTrjp rfj iroXeu Koi va>v ^avel^. 
 
 Two scholia upon this passage give the two explanations, 
 which have since prevailed. I. tW, (f^rjcrlvy e/c t% irapoSov 
 eirl Tov Xoyelov dva/3fj. II. Sea ri ifc r^? irapohov ; tovto- 
 ryap ovK dvajKalov. XeKreov ovv on ava^alveiv iXiyero to iirl 
 TO Xoyelov elatevaL, o koi irpoo-KeiTaL XeyeTao yap KaTa^ai- 
 V6LV TO cLTraWdTTeaOac ivTevOev drro tov TraXacov e6ov<;. 
 
 In Acharnians 732 the Megarian who has just arrived ad- 
 dresses his daughters : 
 
 1 These passages have often been cited and discussed. See Professor White's 
 clear and convincing discussion of the first five in Harvard Studies II., p. 164 fif. 
 Though my conclusions are practically the same as his in the case of ava- and 
 Kara^aiviLv, they are given in full for the sake of completeness. 
 
 n 
 
MS 
 
 66 Edward Capps. [1891. 
 
 aW* w TTOvrjpa Kopia KaOXico 7raTpo<;, 
 dfi^are ttottclv fidSSav, at ')(^ evprjre ira. 
 
 Finally in Wasps 1342 Philocleon, who is just entering from 
 one of the wings, calls to the music girl : 
 
 avd^aLve Bevpo y^pvaopLrfKoXovOiov. 
 
 It is to be noticed with regard to these three passages that 
 the commands are all addressed to newly arrived actors ; that 
 the action of the piece does not require that they should enter 
 in any but the usual way ; and that only the occurrence of the 
 word ava^aiveiv has given rise to the explanation of Scholi- 
 ast I and his followers, that the actors entered through the or- 
 chestra and then ascended the " stage." If, therefore, we can 
 find any suitable meaning of ava^aivetv in these passages we 
 shall be justified in rejecting an interpretation which seems 
 artificial, and in following the natural suggestions of the text. 
 The interpretation of Scholiast II, that ava- and Kara- 
 fialveiv have the meanings elcnevai and aTraWdrreadat, is 
 at first thought attractive. It admits of an explanation 
 on historical grounds also. As Dorpfeld ^ shows, dva^aiveiv 
 would be the natural term for the " entering " of an actor in 
 the early days of the drama, when the spectators sat on the 
 level ground and the single actor mounted the table or plat- 
 form. When in the course of the development of the drama 
 rising tiers of seats were erected and actors and chorus freely 
 mingled on a level surface, these terms would still continue 
 to be used, though now as stereotyped terms. But in the 
 three passages under discussion even this interpretation, 
 which avoids the supposed mounting of the stage, is not 
 the natural one. In each of these passages the actor to 
 whom the word dva/Saivetv refers has already appeared upon 
 the scene, so that the technical meaning of the word cannot 
 properly be used. If we look once more at the passage from 
 the Knights, we shall see that dva- adds nothing whatever to 
 the Sevpo of the preceding line, and that the whole meaning 
 of dva^aiveiv is again expressed in hevp i\6e of the line fok 
 
 1 Recension of Haigh's Att. Th., Berl. Phil. Woch. 1890, 468. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 67 
 
 (! 
 
 f, 
 
 lowing. oLKeTT}^ d calls to the Sausage-seller, " Here, here, 
 my dear fellow, come up (or over) here and show yourself a 
 saviour to the city and to us; come here;" dvd/Sacve seems 
 to mean no more than "approach." This meaning satisfies 
 Wasps 1342 also. The music girl has come in after Philo- 
 cleon through one of the wings, and he, turning to her, tells 
 her to "come up" to him. Simply Sevpo jBalve might have 
 been used. The same rendering fully satisfies Acharnians 
 732. This force of the preposition dvd, conveying the idea 
 of direction to or over, is not uncommon.i We may compare 
 Acharnians 245 dvdho^ Sevpo rrjv irvrjpvaiv, "hand over here 
 the soup ladle," and Xenophon's Symposium 2, 8 TrapearrjKm 
 Si Ti9 TTJ opxvo-rplSc dvehihov rov^ rpoxov^ and the use of 
 dva^atvetv a.nd dvaxfopelv with the meaning of "pass over," 
 Herodotus 7, 205 e? AecovlSrjv dvejBaivev /; ^aaiX'qtr) (cf. Hdt, 
 7, 5 dvaxcopelv) and dvtevat in the Iliad 22, 492 : 
 
 B6v6fi€vo<; Be T dv€Lcn irdt^ e? irarpo^ eralpov^. 
 
 We may, therefore, dismiss the traditional rendering of these 
 passages from our discussion, without passing judgment 
 against the statement of Scholiast II, that ava^alvecv was 
 used dirb rov iraXacov eOov^ with the meaning of elo-ievai. 
 
 The two occurrences of Kara/Saivecv are as follows : In 
 Wasps 1 5 14 Philocleon has challenged tragic poets to a con- 
 test in dancing. The sons of Carcinus appear. With the 
 words 
 
 arap KarajBareov y iir avTov<; /jlol 
 
 he enters into the contest while the chorus draw back to 
 make room. Toward the end of the Ecclesiazusae the 
 chorus alone are on the scene. A servant enters, inquires for 
 the master, and on his entrance invites them all to dinner. 
 The invitation is accepted, and the chorus in 1151 say : 
 
 TV Srjra ScaTpL0€t<i ^xo^v, dXX* ovk dy6t<; 
 raaBl Xa^cov ; iv oaa he KaTafiaivei^y iyo) 
 eiraaofxai fjueXo^ n fieXXoheLirviKov, 
 
 Then follows a dance, during which all go out together. 
 
 1 See Niejahr's arguments on this point, Quaes. Arist. Scaen., p. 28. 
 
 i 
 
68 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 It happens that in both these scenes there xS dancing at 
 the close of the play. This would certainly have taken place 
 in the orchestra. Moreover, in both cases an actor mingles 
 with the chorus. Hence so long as men believed in a raised 
 stasfe it was natural that the verb should have been thousrht to 
 be an indication of its height. But as regards the first in- 
 stance, scholars from Stephanus down have giv^en the verb the 
 undoubtedly correct meaning of "descendere in certamen," 
 as if we had in the text Kara^areov et? aycov iir avrov^, for 
 which we have the authority of several classical writers. As 
 to the second passage, which is the only passage remain- 
 ing which can be quoted as evidence of a raised stage 
 because it contains dvd or Kara, we must rest upon the state- 
 ment of the scholiast and give it the meaning of dTraWdrre- 
 adai, though we can furnish no other example of this use, 
 and must admit that the whole situation is puzzling. 
 
 The one other instance under this class that has been 
 
 quoted to prove a raised stage is Lysistrata 286 ff. The 
 
 chorus of old men are making their entrance and advancing 
 
 towards the citadel, complaining of the difficulty of the 
 
 journey : 
 
 aW avTO yap jjlol ttji^ ohov 
 
 \0LTr6v icTTi '^COpLOV 
 
 TO 7rpo9 ttoXlv to ai/Jbov, 01 cnrovStjV eyo)* 
 
 TO ai/JLov, the scholiast says, was ovofia ')(^copLov tov Trpo? ttjv 
 ufcpoTToXtv TO crt/jLov clvtI tov 7rp6(ravT€<;, and Niejahr,^ going 
 still further, adds : " scalas, ni fallor, quibus ex orchestra 
 in proscenium escendebatur, per jocum significantes." But 
 the fact that this chorus and the chorus of women passed 
 over this same ground again and again during the course 
 of the play, and without another reference to the difficulty, 
 shows that there was no such "pulpitum " to ascend as Droy- 
 sen and others believed. We must beware of taking Aris- 
 tophanes too seriously. No characteristic of his is better 
 recognized than the liberty he took in drawing on the imagi- 
 nation of his audience. If the actors said that it was nio:ht. 
 
 ^ De Poll, loc, p. VI. 
 
 -•SLl 
 
 1 1' 
 
 ■I 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 69 
 
 to them it zvas night, though in reality it was midday; if 
 they said they were going up hill, the spectators could be 
 trusted to believe that the way was steep, even if it were 
 on a dead level. This was comparatively but a slight de- 
 mand upon them. Precisely the same thing is found in 
 tragedy. In Electra (Eur.) 489 ff., the old servant com- 
 ing through one of the wings complains of the steepness of 
 the path : 
 
 w? irpoa^aaiv tmvS* opOiav o'lkcov e)^6i 
 pvau) ykpovTi tmSc irpoo-^Yjvai ttoBL 
 
 No one has ever yet, on the strength of these words, advanced 
 the view that the actor entered through the orchestra and 
 uttered these words as he climbed the steps to the stage, 
 and yet it indicates an ascent much more clearly than any 
 of the cases from comedy which we have quoted. The actors 
 in all these cases kept the same level. 
 
 2. We now come to our second class, — references by 
 actors to the elevation of the position they occupy. Albert 
 Mulleri cites Peace 564 as showing that the chorus were on a 
 lower level than the speaker. Hermes sees the chorus with 
 their mallets and mattocks, and says : 
 
 (o UocreiSov co? Kokov to (TTl(f)0^ auTcov (palveTai 
 /cat TTVKVov /cal jopyov axrirep jxa^a Kal TravSaca-la. 
 
 It is difficult to see what evidence can be gained from these 
 words one way or the other. Muller's second passage, Birds 
 268 ff., is fully as weak, He claims that the conversation 
 between the two Athenians during the entrance of the chorus 
 of birds indicates that the birds were below them ; cf. 263 ff. : 
 
 Uta-. opa^ Tiv opvLV ; Ev . fia tov ^AttjWco *ya) /xep ou, 
 KacTOL Kexv^d y e? tov ovpavov fiXiircoVf 
 
 and 296 ff. : 
 
 E V . cova^ ^'AttoWov tov ve^ov^ • lov lov, 
 
 ovB IBelv eT eaO' vir avTwv ireTOfJuivwv ttjv ecaoSov. 
 
 1 BUhnenalt., p. 109. 
 
70 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 
 liter. 
 'Ett 
 
 If we can infer anything from the above, it is that the birds 
 were adove the actors, "like a cloud." Miiller cites further 
 from the same play 175 £f. Pisthetaerus is talking to Epops : 
 
 Tito-, ^Xeyfrov Kcirco • * E tt . Kal Br) ^Xeirco, 
 
 Hi a. /SXeire vvv dvco. 
 Trepiaye tov rpd^ifXov. 
 * * * 
 
 Ta<; V6(f)€Xa<; ye /cal tov ovpavov. 
 
 If all were on a level, it is claimed, the command to "look 
 down" would be absurd. But this is pushing the words 
 quite toQ far again. These commands are intended to be 
 ridiculous. It is not impossible, however, since the scenery 
 of the Birds is wild and unconventional, that there was 
 a rising ground to represent the home of the birds and the 
 city in the air, but we cannot make this passage the basis 
 of such a view. 
 
 Danaus in Suppliants (Aesch.) 713 tells the chorus of the 
 approach of the ship of their pursuers : 
 
 LKeraSuKOU yap rrjah' cnro cTKOTrrj^ 6p(a 
 TOV ttXoIov. 
 
 This UeTaBoKOf; o-kott?] was near the altars of the gods and 
 therefore on the "stage." Was Danaus necessarily above 
 the chorus; and if so, was it his position on the " stage"! 
 that made him so ? Both these questions, we think, can be 
 answered in the negative. In the first place, again we do 
 not know how much in such a case was left to the ima^-ina- 
 tion. In 180 Danaus, from probably the same position, not 
 only saw the cloud of dust made by the approaching army, 
 which the chorus does not see, but also hears the avptyye^ 
 d^ov/jXaTOL, which the chorus does not hear. Is this too 
 made possible by his holding a higher position .? Secondly, 
 supposing that it should still seem necessary that Danaus 
 in 713 should be higher than the chorus, why should he not 
 
 1 No argument can be based on rdvde irdyov in 189, which refer to the station 
 of Danaus, any more than in Prom. 130. irdyos is not necessarily a " hill." Cf. 
 Muller in Phil. Anz. 15, 528, where he takes up other passages here discussed. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage. 
 
 n 
 
 have mounted the steps of the altar ?i In support of this 
 proposed alternative is Knights 169, where the Sausage- 
 seller, by mounting the small table which he had brought in 
 with him, is said to have beheld all the outlying islands : 
 
 aXX liTavdfii]6i kclttX TovXeov TohX 
 
 /cal KaTiBe Td<; vr]crou<; aTracra? iv kvkXo), 
 
 In either case no argument can be based on this passage. 
 
 3. Muller 2 gives four passages in which the chorus disap- 
 pear for a short time from the view of the actors, and endeav- 
 ors from these to show that the only place where they could 
 have been completely hidden without leaving the scene alto- 
 gether was under the front wall of the stage twelve feet high. 
 The passages are Choephori 8y2 ff. : 
 
 aTTOCTTaOay/jLev 7rpdy/JLaT0<; TeXovfievov, 
 OTTft)? BoKMjJuev TW^S' dvaLTcac KaKcov 
 
 elvat. 
 
 Heracles 1081 ff . : 
 
 (fyvya (pvya, yepovTS^;, cnroirpo BcofidTCOV 
 Bid>KeT€ (f)evy€T€ fidpyov 
 dvSp^ iweyeopofjievov, 
 
 Acharnians 240 ff. : 
 
 ovTO(; avTo^ iaTiv ov ^rjTOVfiev. dXXd Bevpo Tra? 
 €K7roSd)V ' Ovaroov yap dvrjp co? eocK i^ep')(6TaLj 
 
 and Ecclesiazusae 496 ff. : 
 
 aXX eta oevp eiri (TKia<; 
 
 iXOovaa 7rpo<; to tcl^^lov 
 
 Trapa^XeTTOva-a OaTep(o 
 
 irdXiV pLeTacTKeva^e aavTrjv avOi^; rjirep rjcrOa* 
 
 Miiller believes that a platform was erected in the orches- 
 tra to within a few feet of the stage level. Therefore he 
 is compelled to suppose that the chorus in these scenes 
 descend from this platform to the ground of the orchestra 
 
 1 As Muller suggests, and Niejahr De Poll, loc, pp. IX and xxi. 
 
 2 Biihnenalt, p. 135 and Phil. Anz., 15, 528. 
 
, ,„....-i,. w ~S'?- ""i;;"-ii.-. ■"-.■■ s.'.'J.-'-^-:*«-ft^iif«i™n 
 
 a^ifSSM^^S^^ 
 
 V *c*^'^P»-'^i-tA - ■■■tf*. ■»«■ -" 
 
 72 
 
 Edward Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 (except in Ach. and Eccl., where they are just entering) 
 and then pressed close to the wall of the proscenium. Since 
 this raised platform, which he terms the "thymele," has 
 been discarded, and since our preceding arguments have 
 shown that there was no raised stage which would afford the 
 shelter here needed, it rests with us only to explain how 
 these passages were presented in order that the last difficulty 
 in the way of accepting the new theory of the stage may 
 disappear. 
 
 To the four citations of Miiller should be added Hippoly- 
 tus from 601 to 608, during which interval the chorus are 
 supposed not to be present,^ Electra (Eur.) 220-297, if the 
 chorus obey the words of Electra 218 ff. : 
 
 ^v^ri (TV fiep Kar oJ/uLov, et? SoyLtOf? 3' iyo) 
 (l)a)Ta<; KaKovpyov; e^aXv^wfiev ttoBl, 
 
 and perhaps Hecabe 1055 ff., where it is probable that 
 the chorus would follow the example of Hecabe herself 
 1054 ff.: 
 
 aW iKTToBcov direifiL KaTroaTrjaofiaL 
 6v[Mu> ^eovTL ^p7j/cl Bua/JLaxcoTcira), 
 
 In none of these passages, I agree with Miiller, do the 
 chorus leave the scene entirely. I cannot agree, however, 
 that they went to a position where they could not them- 
 selves see the actors, as the theory of Miiller requires. 
 Indeed, as the context of the first passage cited by him 
 shows, the chorus in the Choephori are seen by the servant 
 who comes out to give the alarm (because they do not 
 answer she complains that she is "shouting to the deaf," 
 Ka)(j)ol<i dvTO)), and as soon as they see Clytemnestra led into 
 the palace and the last danger to them removed, they sing 
 the choral ode from their usual station. In the Heracles also 
 Amphitryon with the chorus sees his son awake. The 
 words of Heracles as he first awakes, 1106 ff. : 
 
 1 It is possible, however, that here again Euripides simply forgets the presence 
 of his chorus. Very similar is the hiding of Orestes and Pylades in the early part 
 of the Choephori; they undoubtedly withdrew into the wings. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 T/ie Greek Stage. 
 
 71 
 
 d)r], TL<; iyyv^ 97 TTpocrco (f)i\cDV ificbvy 
 Bvayvotav oaTi^ rrjv ifirjv Idaerac ; 
 
 are to be considered only the words of a man not yet fully 
 awakened from sleep. We must remember, too, that he is 
 lying bound to a pillar, not in the usual station of actors. 
 
 But all of the features peculiar to hiding scenes that are 
 found in the other passages are combined in that of the 
 Acharnians. Let us accordingly examine it more at length. 
 The scene is as follows : Dicaeopolis is marching from his 
 house following his slaves and daughter, preparing to cele- 
 brate the "rural Dionysia," while his wife is an interested 
 spectator from the roof of the house. The chorus have just 
 been entering from a parodos in eager pursuit. Seeing 
 Dicaeopolis coming out of his house and feeling certain that 
 he is the man they want (239), they withdraw from his sight. 
 Xhen they await their chance. Dicaeopolis marches a con- 
 siderable distance, all intent on making the finest possible 
 display with his parade, and happy in the thought of the 
 pleasure still to come, when without a word of warning the 
 chorus spring up and pelt him with stones. 280 ff. : 
 
 OVTO^ avTo^ icTTtv, OVTO<;. 
 fiaXXe fidWe ffdXXe /SdWe. 
 
 Though they do not lay hands on him, they apparently hem 
 him in on all sides, giving no opportunity of escape. Three 
 facts are clear : (i) That the chorus are in a position to watch 
 him closely while they are in hiding from him ; (2) that Dicae- 
 opolis marches a long distance (247-280) from his house ; 
 (3) that he comes very near the hiding-place of the Achar- 
 nians, so that there is no way of escape for him on their 
 sudden attack. The only hiding-place that would fulfil all 
 these conditions is the parodos of the orchestra. To be sure, 
 Dicaeopolis could have seen them after he had gone some 
 distance in the orchestra ; but, if the poet so wished, he could 
 also easily avoid seeing them without injury to the illusion. 
 We have only to recall such scenes on the modern stage to 
 realize how simple this explanation is. The recx^lov in Eccle- 
 
t '^a»'''w mmf'mn im m -mssttv3^^''maev 
 
 iasss^ J-*- -4 
 
 74 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 7S 
 
 siazusae 497, which Muller claimed could be nothing but the 
 wall of the proscenium, may just as well be the wall of the 
 parodos. That this conclusion is correct is estabHshed by 
 comparison with Clouds 324 ff. : 
 
 St/?. (f)6p67rov; hel^ov, X co . '^copova avrat wdvu iroWai. 
 Bia T(DV KolXcov Kal roiv Saaicov, avrac TrXdycaL Xrp, ri to 
 XPVf^a ; 
 
 ft)9 ov KaQopoi. tco. irapa rrjv eiaoBop. trp. rjhrj vvvl 
 
 ^6\i^ OVTCO^. 
 
 The chorus of clouds are just entering, of course through the 
 parodos, where they had been for some time singing in con- 
 cealment. Lest objection be raised that by this explanation 
 of the scene in the Acharnians Dicaeopolis, an actor, is made 
 to go into the orchestra, it may be well to add that, now that 
 we are sure that there was no stage, all former objections 
 to the movement of actors and chorus out of what has been 
 considered their appropriate positions now disappear. We 
 may now interpret much more freely, and in many instances 
 we see how the action is rendered much more simple and 
 effective, if actors may enter through the parodos and the 
 chorus through the wings, and if both move about the whole 
 available space with perfect freedom. 
 
 One entire play still remains, the Birds, and a large por- 
 tion of the Peace, which we are told would require an ele- 
 vation. As to the former, it is doubtful if the home of the 
 birds was represented as above the earth. As we have seen, 
 this play is one of those in which the scenery must have been 
 wholly unconventional in character, representing a rough, 
 stony region in the foreground, and in the background The 
 home of Epops, a cavern among the rocks (54) or a hut in the 
 midst of bushes and shrubbery. As Euelpides and his com- 
 panions toilingly make their way from the parodos through 
 the orchestra to this hut, though they speak much of the 
 difficulty of the way, they say nothing about its steep- 
 ness. When at last they draw near to the house of Epops, 
 still uncertain of their way, they are directed to his house 
 by the raven, 49 ff. : 
 
 nr^ 
 
 n^o". 97 /copcovT) fjLOL iroKat 
 dvco TL (f)pd^€0. El). ;)^ft) KoXocb'i ovroal 
 dvo) Kexv^ev oaaTrepel heLKvv<; rl fxoc. 
 
 At once they beat the wall with a rock, and Trochilus comes 
 out. This pointing of the birds is the only indication of 
 height in the play. But there is nothing in this to prove that 
 the Athenians ascended. The raven looked up to the nest of 
 the birds ; without going further the travellers knocked. If 
 some height seems requisite, however, it could easily have 
 been made by building up the space in front of the rear wall 
 in imitation of natural scenery. This supposition would 
 satisfy those who would interpret strictly the words, kuto) 
 AeVo) (175). 
 
 The following is the situation in the Peace : At the close 
 of the farmyard scene Trygaeus mounts a huge beetle, and 
 after a perilous passage in the air reaches safely the home 
 of Zeus. Learning that the goddess Peace is imprisoned 
 in a deep cave covered with stones, which was probably rep- 
 resented at one side in the rear, he summons farmers from 
 the earth to assist in dragging her out. They at once ap- 
 pear, forming the chorus. Trygaeus, Hermes, and the chorus 
 all (490 ff.) lay hold of a rope, and finally draw Peace forth. 
 The farmers go back to earth as they appeared, but Trygaeus, 
 when ready to descend, cannot find his beetle and is at a loss 
 how to reach the earth, 725 ff.: 
 
 Tp. TTw? B)]T iyo) Kara/Stjaofiai ; 'Ep. 6dppeL» KoXm* 
 Trjhl irap aurrjv rrjv Oeov, 
 
 Following the direction of Hermes he soon after appears 
 below, before his own house. 
 
 On the old view of the stage the natural interpretation of 
 this interesting scene, viz. : that Trygaeus actually ascended 
 to an elevation representing the court of Zeus, presented 
 great difficulties. This elevation would be the distegia above 
 the stage. The chorus would be compelled first to mount 
 the stage and then to ascend by some means to this narrow 
 platform, where the lively action described took place. This 
 would be impossible. Hence Schonborn argues that the 
 
^fvsmmi^ 
 
 76 
 
 Edivard Capps. 
 
 [1891. 
 
 chorus and actors were not actually together when they 
 hauled out the goddess, but that a rope passing over a pulley 
 above was thrown to the chorus in the orchestra. This is 
 too fanciful. It would not only ruin the illusion if Trygaeus 
 in heaven were conversing with the choreutae on earth, 
 but every circumstance of the scene demands that all should 
 be together; (i) the chorus are told to be quiet lest they dis- 
 turb Polemus who is within the palace (309 ff.) ; (2) the cho- 
 I reutae and Trygaeus are about to carry away the stones from 
 the cave, when Hermes interrupts them (301); finally (3) 
 when Hermes grants permission to proceed, he instructs them 
 (427) to go intoi the avTpov ^aOv, in order to take away the 
 stones which are piled on the goddess. Geppert's^ view 
 seemed on the whole the most satisfactory. "Der Held des 
 Stuckes selbst erscheint auf seinem Kafer in der Luft um 
 ■ in den Himmel zu fliegen. Die Illusion des Steigens aber 
 wurde dadurch hergestellt, dass die Scene um ihn herabge- 
 lassen wurde und eine neue Decoration sich zeigte, die den 
 
 Pallast des Zeus darstellte Sobald dies geschehn 
 
 war, stieg Trygaos von seinem Mistkafer ab und befand sich 
 vor der Wohnung des Zeus." This explanation obviated the 
 difficulty about the chorus. The main objection to it was 
 that it was not a natural explanation. Too severe a strain 
 through too long a time is laid upon the imagination of the 
 spectators, who are compelled to believe that the house of 
 Trygaeus, before which the sty of the beetle had just been 
 seen, and where the servants and family had just watched 
 with anxiety the exciting voyage in the air, represents a 
 moment later the palace of Zeus. Moreover, the alarm of 
 Trygaeus on finding his beetle lost would be almost too ludi- 
 crous if he were in reality in front of his own house on earth. 
 On Dorpfeld's view of the "stage," these difficulties dis- 
 
 1 «VtoVres. Since the chorus are, in my opinion, on the same level with the 
 actors, Bachmann's conjecture of e? iSvr^s is gratuitous (Conj. Arist, p. 133, cited 
 m Berl. Phil. Woch., 1 891, 166). The cave was " deep," hence the usual meaning 
 of daL^va,. (Droysen, p. 1 1) satisfies. The stones need not have filled the cave. 
 
 ' Die altgr. Buhne, p. 167. Niejahr, Quaes. Arist. Scaen., p. 21, adopts this view 
 except as to the change of scenery. White, p. 175, gives practically the same 
 interpretation as Geppert, with the difference that the former knows no stage. 
 
 Vol. xxii.] 
 
 The Greek Stage. 
 
 77 
 
 % ^ 
 
 p 
 
 appear and the natural explanation becomes possible. Try- 
 gaeus ascends to the roof of the proscenium, on which the 
 whole heaven scene is enacted. The chorus of farmers ap- 
 pear on it to help in the release of Peace. How did they reach 
 this elevation .? Obviously not by a ladder or stairway from 
 the orchestra, for if this means were at hand Trygaeus would 
 not have needed a beetle for his ascent nor have been 
 alarmed at its disappearance when about to descend. They 
 must have entered through one of the doors leading from the 
 ends of the proscenium into the stage buildings. By this 
 way they again disappear, and it is probable that Hermes 
 points to this means of exit with the words Trjhl irap avrrjv 
 6e6v. There still remains the objection that it would be 
 injurious to the illusion for Trygaeus in heaven to shout to 
 the earth for help, but this objection may be made to any 
 other view. It is no more possible to avoid confusion 
 between heaven and earth in this play than between earth 
 and Hades in the Frogs.^ The only objection which still 
 remains is that a very large number of persons would be 
 made to appear at the same time on the roof of the prosce- 
 nium. This may have been large enough for them, but at any 
 rate it is noticeable that during this scene there is no song 
 by the chorus that would require dancing. If we are right 
 in the above explanation, then this is the only instance of 
 any considerable use of the roof of the proscenium ^ in the 
 extant dramas of the Greeks. 
 
 I have endeavored to show that the evidence drawn from 
 the mgvements of the actors and chorus in the extant plays 
 
 1 On such license in the Old Comedy, see Niejahr, Com. Scaen., p. 13. 
 
 2 The other occasions are as follows : The watchman in the Agamemnon is 
 first seen upon the roof of the house. In the Phoenissae (cf. 193), Antigone and 
 her attendant ascend to the roof to see the approaching armies. In the Suppli- 
 ants (Eur.), Euadne climbs a height from which she may leap upon the funeral 
 pyre (cf. 990-1070). In the Lysistrata, Myrrhina looks down from the battle- 
 ments and parleys with those below (cf. 870-85). In the Wasps, Bdelycleon is 
 seen upon the roof guarding against his father's escape (cf. 136 ff.). The wife of 
 Dicaeopolis views the procession from the roof, in the Acharnians (cf. 262). 
 Lastly, in the Clouds, Strepsiades mounts a ladder to set fire to the roof of the 
 phrontisterion (cf. 1485 ff.). 
 
 ( 
 
:-*i 
 
 78 
 
 Edward Capps, 
 
 [1891. 
 
 \ 
 
 IS decidedly in favor of the supposition that there was no stage 
 in the Greek theatre of classical times ; that the want of posi- 
 tive evidence in favor of a raised stage strengthens this 
 supposition ; that the slight evidence which may be adduced 
 in favor of an elevated stage can be satisfactorily explained 
 away by what seems to me to be a more natural and reason- 
 able interpretation ; and that there is no scene in any of the 
 extant dramas that could not be readily set without any stage 
 whatever. As the archaeological evidence from existing ruins 
 in favor of this view is becoming more and more convincing 1 
 we may fairly believe that this vexed question will soon reach 
 a definite settlement. 
 
 J- For accounts of the recent discoveries at Megalopolis and Eretria see Berl. 
 Phil. Woch., 1891, 418, 514, and 673, and Jour. Hell. Stud., 1890, p. 294. 
 
 
 <>l 
 
 r 
 
 INDEX 
 
 OF 
 
 SITUATIONS DISCUSSED. 
 
 Acharnians: Dicaeopolis goes into orchestra, lo, n. i, and 74; closing scene, 17; 
 assembly scene, 29; action of chorus prevented, 42; similar action executed, 
 47; Dicaeopolis approaches priest in audience, 52, n. 2; inadequacy of a 
 "stage" for opening scene, 61 ; dva^aiueip v. 733, 65; chorus hide from 
 actors, 71; roof of proscenium used, 77, n. 2. 
 
 Agamemnon: long silence of Clytemnestra, 23; chariot scene, 28; chorus go 
 to aid Agamemnon, 38; they attack Aegisthus, 47; roof of proscenium used, 77, 
 n. 2. 
 
 Ajax: closing scene, 15; finding of body of Ajax, 34; chorus called to tent, 37; 
 
 scenic setting, 60. ' 
 
 Alcestis : chorus join actors in funeral procession, 14. 
 Andromache : chorus prevented from entering palace, 41. 
 Bacchae: entrance of chorus, 25 ; importance of chorus, 55. 
 Birds: closing scene, 10; actors enter through orchestra, 25; chorus attack 
 
 actors, 47; scenic setting, 60 and 74; inference as to height of stage 'from 
 
 vv. 1 75 ff, and 263 ff., 69. 
 Choephori: entrance of chorus, 8; their exit, 10; chorus called to "stage," 39; 
 
 libation scene, 45; hiding of chorus, 71. 
 Clouds : actors communicate with audience, 52, n. 2; entrance of chorus, 74; roof 
 
 of proscenium used, 77, n. 2. 
 Cyclops: goats driven over "stage," 12; closing scene, 16; action of chorus 
 
 prevented, 42; scenic setting, 60. 
 Ecclesiazusae : chorus enter from houses in background, 9 and 30; chorus 
 
 depart and return with actors, 18 and 20; assembly scene, 29; importance 
 
 of chorus, 55; numbers in opening scene, 58; street scene, 61 ; Kara^alveLV 
 
 V. 1 151, 67; hiding of chorus, 71. 
 Electra (Eur.) •' entrance of chorus, 21; chariot scene, 28; scenic setting, 60; 
 
 inference as to height of "stage" from v. 489, 69; brief withdrawal of 
 
 chorus, 72. 
 
 Electra (Soph.) : chorus announce to actors those coming from palace, 56. 
 Eumenides: entrance of chorus, 8; closing scene, 13; Orestes tracked by chorus, 
 
 23; numbers in trial scene, 58. 
 Frogs: entrance of chorus of Mystae, 9; closing scene, 17; entrance of Xan- 
 
 thias on the ass, 29; unimportance of choruses, 55; necessary confusion 
 
 between earth and Hades, 77. 
 Hecabe: Polymnestor pursues Hecabe, 35; action of chorus prevented, 41; 
 
 scenic setting, 60; hiding of chorus, 72. 
 
 79 
 
-ry 
 
 80 
 
 Index. 
 
 \ 
 
 Helen: chorus enter palace, 11 and 52; chorus lay hold of an actor, 48; hasty 
 action of chorus, 50. 
 
 Heracleidae : chorus on " stage," (.8. 
 
 Heracles: chorus approach palace, 40 and 43; enter with Amphitryon, 43 and 
 52; brief withdrawal of chorus, 71. 
 
 Hippolytus: chorus go to Phaedra's aid, 2,%^ distance of chorus from "stage," 
 57; brief withdrawal of chorus, 72. 
 
 Ion: closing scene, 16; chorus enter with actors, 23; chorus prevented from 
 entering temple, 42. 
 
 Iphigenia at Aulis: chariot scene, 27 and 52; scenic setting, 60. 
 
 Iphigenia in Tauris : libation scene, 45 ; chorus approached in supplication, 52, 
 n. 2; unimportance of chorus, 55; scenic setting, 60. 
 
 Knights: chorus attack actors, 47; street scenes, 61 ; dva/Sa/i'ai' v. 149, 65. 
 
 Lysistrata: entrance of chorus, 9; chorus enter citadel, ii; closing scene, 19; 
 resemblance of opening scene to assembly scene, 31, n. 2; fight between the 
 choruses, 49; street scene, 61; inference as to height of "stage" from vv. 
 289 ff., 68; roof of proscenium used, 77, n. 2. 
 
 Medea: advance of chorus to palace prevented, 41. 
 
 Oedipus Coloneus: Ismene on horseback, 29; search by chorus, ly, chorus lay 
 hold of Creon, 48; scenic setting, 60. 
 
 Orestes : the dixa^ripTi^ rpi^os v. 125 1, 29; chorus by the bed of Orestes, 44 and 56. 
 
 Peace : closing scene, 19; communication of actors with audience, 52, n. 2; infer- 
 ence as to height of "stage" from vv. 564 ff., 69; setting of heaven scene, 75. 
 
 Persians: closing scene, 10 and 50; chariot scene, 28; libation scene, 45. 
 
 Philoctetes: closing scene, 15; entrance of chorus, 24; action of chorus pre- 
 vented, 42; scenic setting, 60. 
 
 Phoenissae : clear indication of height, 65 ; roof of proscenium used, 77, n. 2. 
 
 Plutus: closing scene, 18; entrance of actors through orchestra, 21 ; unimpor- 
 tance of chorus, 55. 
 
 Prometheus: closing scene, 19; scenic setting, 60. 
 
 Rhesus : chorus approach Hector's tent, 45 ; chorus seize actors, 47. 
 
 Seven against Thebes: closing scene, 14; chorus flee to the altars, 37; scenic 
 setting, 60. 
 
 Suppliants (Aesch.) : closing scene, 15; opening scene, 22; chorus flee to altars, 
 36; actor assaults chorus, 47; hasty action of chorus, 50; importance of 
 chorus, 55; scenic setting, 60; inference as to height of "stage" from vv. 
 713 ff., 70. 
 
 Suppliants (Eur.): opening scene, 8; closing scene, 16; action of chorus pre- 
 vented, 42; same action executed, 44; roof of proscenium used, 77, n. 2. 
 
 Thesmophoriazusae : entrance of chorus, 9; assembly scene, 29; search by 
 chorus, 32. 
 
 Trachiniae : chorus probably depart with actors, 20, n. 3. 
 
 Troades: entrance of chorus, 8; closing scene, 16; chariot scene, 28; scenic 
 setting, 60. 
 
 Wasps: closing scene, 18; chorus attack actors, 47; street scene, 61; di/ajSa/mv 
 V. 1342, 66; Kara^alveLV v. 1514, 67; roof of proscenium used, 77, n. 2. 
 
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