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Goldberg, The Fall and Rise of Roman Tragedy PDF
Goldberg, The Fall and Rise of Roman Tragedy PDF
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SanderM. Goldberg
University
ofCalifornia,Los Angeles
I.
In the late summerof 55 B.C.E., Cicero swelteredthroughthe inaugural
ceremoniesforPompey'snewtheater complexin theCampusMartius.The vast
structureitselfwas in manywaysa marvel:Rome's firststonetheater,
designed
to hold perhaps40,000 spectators,incorporated a templeof Venus Victrix
above the cavea, flankedby fourancillarysanctuariesto reveredabstractions
like Honos and Virtus,whilebehindthe stagebuildingstretched an elaborate
porticoand formalgardenconnecting thetheaterwitha new senate-house some
200 metersto theeast.Yet neither
theawningsnortheinnovative water-courses
of thenew buildingcouldrelievetheheatof thatRomanAugustor thetedium
of thatinauguraldisplay.'Cicerodescribedtheprogramwithwrydistastein a
famousletterto his friendM. Marius,himselfcomfortably
installedin a villaon
theBay ofNaples (Fam. 7.1).
The entertainmentsstagedin thenew theateron thatoccasion included
mimes,plays,and farces.Performances were in Greekas well as Latin and
employedbothlocal and importedtalent.Some distinguished veteransof the
stagewere invitedout of retirement forthe occasion,and some,says Cicero,
unwiselyacceptedthe invitation: old Aesopus,the famoustragicactorof the
to theembarrassment
lateRepublic,actuallylosthis voice in mid-sentence, of
all. Related shows in the Circus includedraces and wild animal displays
performed over a five-dayperiod;memoryof an elephanthunttherelingered
downto Pliny'sday.The mostnotoriousspectacleon theprogram, however,or
at leastthespectaclethatmostexasperatedCicero,was thelavishstagingoftwo
classic Romantragedies,Accius' Clytemnestraand theEquus Troianus of (we
think)Naevius.2
kindsofpublicspectacle,inparticular
thetriumph withitselaborateprocession,
deliberately
breath-taking andrelatedsideshows.
ostentation,
Pompeyhimselfmaywell have encouragedtheassociation.Memoriesof
his threefold triumphof 61 over the pirates,Mithridates, and Tigraneswere
literallybuiltintohis new theaterby theallegoricalfiguresof fourteen nations
set on permanent displayalong its perimeter(Plin.Nat. 36.41; cf. Plu. Pomp.
45.2). Even therowsof planetreesthatconnectedthetheaterbuildingwiththe
new Curia beyondit mighthave suggesteda militaryformation: the Romans
inclinedtowardsuch associationsbetweenplantingsand parades(cf. Verg.G.
2.274-83). As so oftenat Rome, politics and art were easily combined,
especiallywhenpoliticscouldassumethegarbofcommunity achievement.
The technicalcapabilitiesof theRomanstagewereby thistimeentirely
equal to the task of managingsuch lavishdisplays.Casts had alreadygrown
quitelarge.Lucullus,forexample,was once askedto furnish100 cloaks fora
tragedy,clear evidence of an impressiveshow as well as his famously
impressivepurse(Hor. Ep. 1.6.40-41). Nor was artisticintegrity an essential
ingredientforsuccess.The Hellenistictendency to sacrificeaestheticcoherence
to histrionic
displaythrough thecutting,
expansion,and reworking of classical
originalsno doubt encouragedthe Romans' own penchantfor improvised
politicaldemonstration. Cicero,forexample,relishedthe memoryof how, at
theFloraliaof 57, thatsame Aesopus,thenpresumably stillin fullvoice,had
turneda line of Accius' Brutusto Cicero's personaladvantage:Tullius,qui
libertatemcivibus stabiliverat(Sest. 123). The crowd loved it (miliens
revocatumest),thoughthegreatmomentsurelycame at some costto Accius'
intendedeffect.We maywell concludethattheRomaninterest in tragedylay,
as Beare remarks,"not so much in the essentialdramaticqualities of the
performance as in externals-impressivestaging,violentutterance and action,
lines whichmightbe takenas topical,the arrivalof distinguished spectators,
and of courseanymishapwhichmightbefalleithertheactorsor anymembers
of the audience."3The disruptiveeffectsof such occurrencesare all well
attestedfor the late Republic.The tragicgenre,havinglost its intellectual
bearings,was easilysubornedbyhucksters andpoliticos.
The verysize ofPompey'snewtheater was a symptom,and perhapseven
a cause,oftheproblem.Notthatitssize was uniqueor unprecedented:
eventhe
3Beare71. Forthepoliticization
oftheatrical
productions
inthelaterRepublic,see Nicolet
363-73andBeacham154-63.
verumequitis abaurevoluptas
quoqueiammigravit
omnisadincertos
oculosetgaudia
vana.
quattuor
autplures
aulaeapremuntur
inhoras,
dumfugiunt equitumturmaepeditumque catervae;
moxtrahiturmanibusregumfortuna retortis,
essedafestinant,
pilenta,
petorrita,
naves,
captivumportatur
ebur,captivaCorinthus.
8The sources are Cic. Brut. 167 (Titius) and Q. ft. (Q. Cicero); Suet. Jul. 56.7 (Caesar) and
Aug.85 (Augustus);Hor.Ep. 2.3.366-90 (thePisones).Fantham5-6 provideshelpfuldiscussion.
9Hor. Carm. 2.1.9-12; Verg. Ecl. 8.9 withServ. ad loc.; Tac. Dial. 21.7. Pollio, however,
did notearninclusionin Quintilian'scanon of Roman tragediansat Inst. 10.1.97-98.
turbafamularis,fores
templirelaxa,festapatefiat
domus.
libetvidere,capitanatorumintuens,
quosdetcolores,verbaquaeprimus dolor
effundataututspirituexpulsostupens
corpusrigescat.fructus
hicoperismeiest;
miserum viderenolo,seddumfitmiser. (901-7)
Servants,loosenthepalace
doors,letthefestive houselieopen.
I wantto see,as he inspects
hischildrens'
heads,
whatcomplexion he shows,whatwordshisfirst
sorrow poursoutorhow,gaspingandshocked,
hisbodystiffens. Thisis therewardofmywork:
I wanttosee himnotwretched, butbecomingwretched.
tosee,as heinspects
I want hischildrens'
heads,
whatfaceheputsonthis:whatwordshisfirst
sorrow
pours outorhow,gaspingandshocked,
hisbodystiffens.
colorem
exaltera
parte,
quaedurior
est,Latroaiebathuncsequendum,
utgravissimarum
iniuriarum
inexorabilia
etardentia
induceremus
odia
Thyesteo
more...
Latrosaidthatontheotherside,whichis moredifficult,
we should
followthecolorof representing
unremitting
andpassionate hatred,
from
arising thegravest
injuries,
Thyestes-wise.
(Sen.Con.1.1.21,tr.
Winterbottom)
sediacetinservicomplexibus autequitis.'dic,
dicaliquemsodeshic,Quintiliane,colorem.'
haeremus.dicipsa.'olimconvenerat,'inquit
'utfacerestuquodvelles,necnonegopossem
indulgeremihi.clameslicetetmarecaelo
confundas,homosum.'nihilestaudaciusillis
iramatqueanimosa crimine
deprensis: sumunt.
THYESTES
reddeiamnatosmihi! 997
ATREUS
ettibiillosnulluseripiet
reddam, dies.
THYESTES
agnoscofratrem...
frater
hicfratremrogo: 1027
sepelireliceat.reddequodcernasstatim
uri;nihiltegenitorhabiturusrogo,
sedperditurus.
ATREUS
quidquide natistuis
superest nonsuperest
habes,quodcumque habes.
THYESTES
utrumne saevispabulumalitibusiacent,
anpascuntferas?
an beluisscinduntur,
ATREUS
epulatusipsees impianatosdape.
THYESTES
Givemebackmysons!
ATREUS
So I shall:no daywillevertakethemfrom
you.
Prepare Father.
yourembrace,
yoursons?
Theyhavecome.Do yourecognize
THYESTES
I recognize
mybrother...
ATREUS
You havewhatremains
of
yoursons,andwhatdoesnotremain
youhave.
THYESTES
ATREUS
You haveyourself
madean impiousbanquetofyoursons.
'Intushabes,quemposcis'ait.circumspicit
ille
atqueubisitquaerit...
ItyosquecaputPhilomela
prosiluit cruentum
misitinorapatris...
WorksCited
Slater,W. J.1995."TheTheatricalityofJustice."
CB 71: 143-57.
Sutton,D. F. 1986.Senecaon theStage.Leiden.
Tarrant,R. 1978."SenecanDramaanditsAntecedents." HSCP 82: 213-63.
. 1979.Rev.ofLefevre, desLuciusVariusRufus.CR 29: 149-50.
Der Thyestes
. 1985.Seneca'sThyestes.EditedwithIntroductionandCommentary. Atlanta.
Williams, G. 1978.ChangeandDecline.Berkeley.
Wiseman, T. P. 1974."Clodiusat theTheatre."
In CinnathePoetand otherRomanEssays.
Leicester.159-69.
. 1994."TheOriginsofRomanHistoriography." and Imagination.
In Historiography
EightEssaysonRomanCulture. Exeter.1-22.
. 1995.Remus.A RomanMyth. Cambridge.
Zwierlein, 0. 1966.Die Rezitationsdramen
Senecas.Meisenheim amGlan.