Prosopon

The acoustical mask in Greek Tragedy

and in Contemporary Theatre

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Form, Function and Appearance of the
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Tragic Mask and its relation to the Actor,

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Text, Audience and Theatre Space

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Thanos Vovolis
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This book is dedicated to Giorgos Zamboulakis

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A research and development in the Arts project
Department for Artistic Development
Dramatiska institutet
Volume no. 5. 2009

Thanks to:
The German Archeological Institute, Athens
The Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm
The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquites, Stockholm

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A special thanks to Gudrun Zachrisson Ones for her belief and support for this project.

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Keywords: masks, acoustical masks, masks in Greek tragedy, cries in tragedy, actor and
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mask, consonance, kenosis, metamorphosis, ecstacy, character,chorus, catharsis, mimesis,

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theatre of Epidaurus
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Cover photograph:
Chorus mask from Euripides ‘Bacchae’, National Theatre of Iceland, 2007
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Stage direction: Giorgos Zamboulakis

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Mask, costume and set design: Thanos Vovolis

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Language check of the Swedish original: Gudrun Zachrisson Ones

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Translation to English: Peter Oxburgh

Photographs: Thanos Vovolis and other specified sources.
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The third edition: Volume no. 5. 2009

Printed by Katarina Tryck, Stockholm

Responsible publisher:
Per Lysander

Dramatiska institutet 2009

© Thanos Vovolis, Dramatiska institutet
Artistic Development at Dramatiska institutet .............................................................................. 7
Foreword ........................................................................................................................................ 9
I. The Theatre and the City
Background ............................................................................................................................. 17
Dionysus, patron of the theatre .............................................................................................. 20
The festivals and the Great Dionysia ..................................................................................... 21
Choruses and actors ................................................................................................................ 24
The theatre of Dionysus ......................................................................................................... 25
II. Actors and Acting
Movement and gesture ........................................................................................................... 27
Voice and Orality .................................................................................................................... 27
III. The Mask
Prosopon, not mask ................................................................................................................ 31
The historical evidence ........................................................................................................... 32
The morphology of the mask ................................................................................................. 42
Birth out of the cries ............................................................................................................... 42

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Kenosis .................................................................................................................................... 46

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The production of the cries .................................................................................................... 48
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The cries and the text ............................................................................................................. 50
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The cries and Dionysus .......................................................................................................... 52
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The mask of Kerameikos ....................................................................................................... 56

The construction of the acoustical mask ................................................................................ 59
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Consonance, not resonance .................................................................................................... 65

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IV. The Mask and the Actor

Meeting the mask .................................................................................................................. 119
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The small eyeholes of the mask ............................................................................................ 121

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Mask, consonance and movement ........................................................................................ 122

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Akroasis, Time and Space ..................................................................................................... 124

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Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 125

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V. The Mask and the Text

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The Mask as projection screen ............................................................................................. 136

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Mask, Character, Ethos and Mythos .................................................................................... 139

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The Mask and the multiplicity of the roles .......................................................................... 143

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The Mask of the chorus ........................................................................................................ 144

Mask and mimesis ................................................................................................................. 146
VI . The Mask and the Theatre Space ........................................................................... 149
The Theatre of Epidaurus .................................................................................................... 150
The Vitruvian vessels ............................................................................................................ 153
VII. Theatre as Sound.Theatre and Catharsis ............................................................... 155
VIII. The Masked Theatre of Greek Tragedy ............................................................... 159
IX. Notes ......................................................................................................................... 162
X. Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 168
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Artistic Development
at Dramatiska institutet
Dramatiska institutet is a university college of the dramatic arts which
offers education in the disciplines of theatre, film, radio and television.
Today the Institute runs 16 programmes, and several courses cover-
ing subjects such as directing, producing, writing and specialised pro-
grammes for documentary films, film sound, mask, set design etc.

The breadth of Dramatiska institutet various courses makes it unique

nationally and internationally. However our mandate is not only to

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provide artistic and professional education, but to seek and spread new
knowledge. To
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The assimilation of knowledge at DI is different from that of traditional

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academic research and scholarship. Above all it is based on reflection

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related to practice. Its forms are more flexible than in academic research
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and aimed at giving teachers, artists and professional practitioners a

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forum for reflection and discussion.

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The existence of this level of reflection is crucial to the Institute’s abil-

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ity to offer education that achieves professionalism and opportunities of

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personal artistic development to students. An artistic university college

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education cannot be limited to simply handing on technical skills to new

generations of students. It must also face them with the decisive issue of
personal choices in the application of these techniques.
Consequently, the work of artistic development is at the centre of
our endeavours. It is here that the ability to act as a force for change is
shaped.

Per Lysander, Rector, DI

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Foreword
In contemporary Western Theatre the mask is often used in a simplistic
and flat manner. The Western Theatre, usually following the theatre
tradition of Realism uses intellectual analysis or psychological manipu-
lation as a means of approaching the dramatic text. Psychological Char-
acter is a dominant dramatic and dramaturgical category antithetical to
the existence of the Mask. On the other hand much of contemporary
theatre still lacks consciousness of the special techniques needed to cre-
ate a heightened scenic presence, a prerequisite for bringing the mask to
life on stage. This failure to understand the possibilities of the mask has

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inhibited the exploration of its full potential in western theatre. Never-

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theless the mask exists on the modern stage because of its visual quali-
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ties.As an object, it creates focus and tension on stage, much more than
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the human face, and at the same time functions as an icon, symbol and
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metaphor. However, most often the mask is on stage not to reveal but
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to conceal.
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This report, from an artistic development study, is about the acous-

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tic consonance mask in Greek tragedy and in contemporary theatre; its

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morphology, appearance, function, and its relation to the actor, text, au-
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dience and the theatre space.

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The study should be regarded as an introduction to those issues con-

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sidered in this text: mask, voice and body, consonance, kenosis, ecstacy,
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mimesis and catharsis.

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It is impossible to imagine the ancient Greek theatre without the mask,

whether it be tragedy, comedy or satyr play. The mask was an organic
element in the form of theatre that originated in the cult of Dionysus
and which was of such great importance in the social and political life
of the city state of Athens - theatre as ritual, ceremony, entertainment,
education, social, political and philosophical discourse.

9
In my work I seek to show how the morphology of the mask is directly
connected to its function; how the mask’s expression, or rather lack of
expression – how its intense, expressionless appearance is born out of
a body/mind state of emptiness and ecstacy originating from the ritual
cries. The cries, breathing phenomena and ritual forms in the Eleusin-
ian mysteries and the cult of Dionysus, were a way of achieving empti-
ness and ecstasy and in this ecstasy experiencing the presence of, and
union with, the god. The cries were also expressed in written form in
the texts of the tragedies.

The mask assumes an internal bond with the actor’s voice and conse-
quently has the potential to act as a musical instrument. It puts the actor

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into a state of attentiveness, listening, presence, alertness – into a com-

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municative condition. It is in this the way that the physical prerequisites
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for a scenic metamorphosis are created – not by intellectual analysis or
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psychological manipulation.
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The mask amplifies the voice, creates resonance and the requirements
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for speech comprehension, and it injects life into the theatre space. It
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prepares the way for communication between the actor, the narrative
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and the audience, facilitates the spectator’s appreciation of the spoken

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word and reinforces the physical, corporeal dimension of the text. The
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mask becomes a screen on which the audience can project the text and
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is at the same time an instrument for the actor – a bridge to the audi-
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ence. It is the naked, essential, mythic face; expressionless and yet most
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forcefully expressive – a manifestation of the tragic archetype. The mask

belongs to a ritual theatre, where citizens join to contemplate the world
and the human being, where it is not the individual role that stands in
the centre, but the narrative of the community, the Mythos.

In my work I have concentrated mostly on the mask of Greek tragedy.

However I hope that my studies may be useful to those who strive to es-

10
cape the customarily oversimplified use of the mask. A major aim of this
work is to extend the principles of the acoustical tragic mask to contem-
porary theatre. That means both to the contemporary performance of
Greek Tragedy and to particular plays that may have the poetic, dramat-
ic and dramaturgical qualities needed for the text to communicate with
the mask and become enriched by it, thereby creating modern forms of
masked theatre.I seek to promote an understanding of the power of the
mask and its often unexploited potential to liberate the actor, channel
his/her energy, intensify the text and the experience of the audience.
This research project was conducted at Dramatiska institutet between
the years 1990–1995. It led me to create the first extended concept of
the mask in Greek Tragedy in modern theatre and to develop a totally

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new concept of mask by creating the notion of the acoustical mask.

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It is seldom that a new concept and way of working with the mask
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is presented in contemporary theater and when it happens, it naturally
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arouses a great interest, as it happened with my work and the concept of

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the acoustical resonance mask.

Mask and set designers in Greece, Sweden, Great Britain and Italy
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have been inspired by the concept of the acoustical mask, something I

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value highly. But sometimes they fail to acknowledge this research as

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the source and origin of their work on the acoustical mask.It should be
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much more creative to present the origins of the concept and the way
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they differentiate their work from my own. Since 1995, I have further
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developed materials and construction techniques which improve the

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resonance properties of the acoustic mask and enhance its performance

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as a musical instrument.

Since the beginning of the 1990 s, I have worked together with the Greek
theatre director Giorgos Zamboulakis to create a method for actors who
wish to work with mask-voice-characterisation. Our interest in Greek
Tragedy and our search for another kind of theatre that organically in-
cludes the Mask in its form became the starting point of our joint work

11
and have led us to create a new method for the actors to work with this
specific mask. Each one of us always starts from his professional point
of view and brings to the dialogue the elements that derive from it and
meets the other in our common field of research, the Greek Tragedy.
Our invention of a contemporary theatrical method for the use of
this particular mask is based upon the archaeological evidence, ancient
sources and the textual corpus of Greek tragedy as well as on contempo-
rary theatre practice.
We have presented our method of work in seminars and workshops in
Sweden, Spain, England, Iceland, Croatia, Egypt and Greece and it has
been the basis of some of our theatre productions during the past years*.
I have also collaborated with other directors as Stavros Doufexis**, Peter

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Oskarson***, Jemma Lopez Martinez**** and Leif Sundberg*****. Need-

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less to say this work is under constant development; a work in progress.
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The first edition of this report was published in 1995. The main part of
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the text that follows is translated from the second edition, published in
Swedish in 2006. For the present English edition I have incorporated
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into the original text some additional parts which have been written be-
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tween the years 2000–2007฀and have been published on different occa-

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sions.
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Parts of the analysis of the visual and acoustical properties of the thea-
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tre of Epidaurus have been presented at the School of Sound seminar

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2000 in London and have been published in the volume of collected

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papers “SOUNDSCAPE.The School of Sound lectures, 1998–2001”,

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Wallflower Press, London 2003.

The detailed presentation of our working method has been writ-
ten together with Giorgos Zamboulakis and has been published in
“METHODICA 2003. The Face and the Mask of the Actor”, Dramatic
Institute, 2004.
A shorter version of the same text has been published at Didaskalia,
an electronic English-language publication about Greek and Roman

12
drama, dance, and music as they are performed today. http://www.di-
daskalia.net/issues/vol7no1/vovolis_zamboulakis.html

Thanos Vovolis

Mask/Costume/Set designer
Visiting Professor
Centre of Mask Research
Dramatiska institutet
May 2009

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*“Desert” by Giorgos Zamboulakis. National Theatre of Greece, Athens, 1998.
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Stage director: Giorgos Zamboulakis,

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Set/Mask/Costume/Make-up design: Thanos Vovolis (fig฀45,฀46,฀47,฀48,฀49)

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“By the Bog of Cats” by Marina Carr, National Theatre of Iceland, 2005.
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Mask/movement/voice director: Giorgos Zamboulakis,

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Costume/Mask/Make-up design: Thanos Vovolis (fig 50,฀51,฀52)

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“Bacchae” by Euripides, National Theatre of Iceland, 2007

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Stage director: Giorgos Zamboulakis,

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Set/Costume/Mask/Make-up design: Thanos Vovolis

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(fig 53,฀54,฀55,฀56,฀57a,฀57b)
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**“ Suppliant Maidens” by Aeschylus, Epidaurus Theatre, Epidaurus Festival 1994.

Stage Director: Stavros Doufexis, Masks: Thanos Vovolis (Fig 38,฀39,฀40,฀41)

*** “Red Dawn” by Bengt Pohjanen, Lulea City Theatre, Sweden, 1993.
Stage director: Peter Oskarson,Masks: Thanos Vovolis (Fig 31A, 31B)

“Dybbuk”, by Bruce Myers, Stage director: Peter Oskarson, Orion Theatre,

Stockholm,1994. (fig฀32,฀33,฀34,฀35,฀36 abcd, 37฀abc)

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**** “Oidipous at Colonos” by Sophocles, Stage director: Hemma Lopez Martinez,
Segobriga Festival, Spain, 2000. (fig฀58,฀59)

***** “Odipous Project”, Messenger, King Oidipous and Oidipous at Colonos by

Sophocles. Research project “DRAKAS-Theatre Languages” Dramatic Institute,
Stockholm, 2002 Stage director: Leif Sundberg, Mask/Costume design: Thanos Vovolis.
(fig 60,฀61,฀62,฀63,฀64)

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I. The Theatre and the City

Background

“Tragedy, as also comedy, was at first mere improvisation. The one originated
in the leaders of the dithyramb, the other with those of the phallic songs which
are still in use in many of our cities. Tragedy advanced by slow degrees; each new
element that showed itself was in turn developed. Having passed through many
stages, it found its natural form and there it stopped.” 1

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So described Aristotle the origin of the tragedies in the dithyramb,
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the ritual song in honour of Dionysus. We won’t become entangled in
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the question of the origins – a minefield of dispute among researchers.

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There are many theories but none that gives a satisfactory explanation.
The stages of transformation between dithyrambic improvisations to
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the tragic performances are unknown. But we know that Pesistratos,

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tyrant of Athens, introduced the tragedy in the city’s Dionysus Festi-

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val in 534 bc. Pesistratos, who fought the aristocracy and prepared the
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way for democracy, supported the Dionysus cult – a popular agrarian

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cult, perhaps the most popular cult of all. He reorganised and widened
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the festival by introducing competitions in the art of tragedy. The poet

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Thespis won the first competition. Although he is often named as the

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creator of the tragedy, other sources rank him number sixteen in the line
of tragic poets.2 This may possibly have been because the meaning of the
word tragedy is not unambiguous. Literally it means “male goat song”.
Thespis developed the chorus-leader role to become the first actor –
hypokrites. Aeschylus went further and used two actors. Sophocles intro-
duced the third. The actors and the text encroached more and more on
the lyrical songs of the choruses.

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In 507 bc a democratic form of government was introduced. The
Athens city-state won the war against the Persians and their Greek allies
in 480–497฀bc, but the city was totally destroyed. Athens lay in ruins.
After the war a huge rebuilding programme was initiated and this was
the beginning of Athen’s period of greatness. Democracy flourished and
the city-state exercised an unequalled economic, political and military
dominance over the entire Greek world. Its power and wealth grew and
the arts developed: painting, sculpture, architecture, music, poetry and
the theatre. Theatre was the invention of this particular community, the
city of Athens, in response to new social and political developments.
The creation of theatre is interconnected with the development of the
Athenian democracy and is one of the fruits of this enormous flowering,

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which can only be adequately described as a quantum leap.

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The 5th century bc was a period of extraordinary theatre production.
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In this period it is estimated that over 1 000 tragedies and 530฀ com-
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edies were written. It is said that Aeschylus wrote 80, Sophocles 120,
Euripides 88 and Aristophanes 44. Of this great number we have only
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33 today – 7 by Aeschylus, 7 by Sophocles, 19 by Euripides, and 11 by

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Aristophanes. All the plays were written to be performed perhaps once

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and at a single theatre, The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens.

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Athens became a large city of 300฀000 inhabitants. Half of these were

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slaves, 30฀000 were metoikoi – resident aliens without full political rights,
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40฀000 were citizens and 80฀000 were women and children. The city al-
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lotted 100 days each year for festivals dedicated to gods, half gods and
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heroes. The drama was no marginal phenomenon.

The expansion of Athens ended with the Peloponnesian War, 431–404฀

bc, which Athens lost to Sparta. After this, Athens fell into decadence
and the same is true of the tragedy. The width of production and the
quality of the works declined. The tragedy’s time of greatness coin-
cided with that of the city. After 386 bc earlier tragedies were revived.

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Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were already considered classics. In
330 bc it became a legal requirement that approved copies of these three
authors’ works were lodged in the city archives, in order to protect the
original texts, as contemporary directors and actors took liberties with
the texts to suit their own interpretations or acting styles. These archives
later became the source of a Roman collection of texts intended for use
in the educational system of the era. Thanks to this and to the institution
of libraries the works have survived to our time.

The material content of the tragedies is culled from Greek mythology

and the epics of Homer, but the plays problematize the ancient myths.
The irrefutable brilliance of the heroes of the archaic period gives rise

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to questions about justice, ethics and the limits of freedom; about love,

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war and death. nd
Theatre, as a form of social discourse, was invented to investigate the
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relations between Society and the Individual, Male and Female, Norm
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and its Deviation, Happiness and Suffering, Life and Death, Human
and Divine.
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These are the kinds of questions that inform the consciousness of the
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tragedies. It was a new thinking, the product of a new time, a time of

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transition; the classical age of Greece.

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We shall not examine the structure of the tragedies; it is enough to say

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that it is very complex and is certainly inspired by older forms. The

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tragedies embrace and reorganize forms from the epics, lyrical poetry,
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hymns, and wedding, funeral and victory songs. They are also influenced
by political debate, speeches in trials and city meetings, of discussions at
markets of rhetoric and philosophy. The text of the tragedies is written
for a chorus, actors and musicians. It is a text to be spoken, recited and
sung, but above all it is a text to be performed, to be played, because the
tragedy – child of a brilliant oral culture which was built on the power of
the spoken word – is theatre.

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“Tragedy, then is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a
certain magnitude; in a language embellished with each kind of artistic orna-
ment, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form
of action, not narrative; though pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of
these emotions. By language I mean language into which rhythm harmony and
song enter.” 3

Dionysus, patron of the theatre

The tragedy grew and its form developed in the Dionysia – the festivals
dedicated to the god Dionysus. Who was this god who became the pa-

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tron of Theatre?

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Dionysus was a particularly remarkable god, unlike all other Greek gods.
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A nomad, his kingdom had no capital city. Always on the move, always
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on tour, he travelled around appearing in towns and villages, mountains

and valleys. In endless transformations, he appeared as bull or male goat,
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lion, wild boar, panther or bear, snake, human, fire or water. Pity the
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person who failed to recognise him in all of his guises. Pity the one who
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neglected to sacrifice to him, who did not honour him as the great god
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that he was. These poor wretches became the prey of the deity and they
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were led to hallucinations, madness, violence and death. Such was the
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fate of Pentheus and Agave in Euripides’ “Bacchae”.4

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This perpetual stranger was the god of madness, hallucinations, wild

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drunkenness, joy, ecstasy, sexuality, violence, inspiration, enthusiasm,

chaos, and death. He was also the god of nature, vegetation, viniculture
and life. He was the liberator, bringer of health, the therapist, the phy-
sician. He taught mankind to make wine and to use it as medicine and
poison. He led his followers, his thiasos of satyrs and maenads into the
mountains for nocturnal orgies in untamed nature, but he was also the
guardian of peaceful family life. The god was androgynous, male and

20
female, mortal and immortal, ever present yet distant.
He combined the ecstatic and the liberation of the wild with the order
and control of civilization. A contradiction, which is contained within the
universe of tragedy.This contradictory, polymorphous, paradoxical god,
was most often depicted as a mask (fig. 1) 5 – a mask mounted on a pole.

It is not the case that the god hid behind a mask; he was the mask, a smil-
ing mask that met the observer’s eye face to face. The god sees you. Eyes
intense, he stares straight ahead with a penetrating gaze. It is quite natu-
ral that the god-mask, the god of hallucinations and metamorphoses be-
came the patron of the theatre. All theatre competitions were arranged
in his honour. The cult of Dionysus was permanently established in Ath-

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ens during the 7th century bc and it soon became the most popular cult

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of all, maintaining its pre-eminence throughout classical antiquity.
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The festivals and the Great Dionysia

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The Athenians dedicated 100 days each year to celebrations and festivals
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in honour of the gods, half-gods and heroes. The festivals were very
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popular religious holidays arranged by the city of Athens and surround-

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ing villages. Four of these festivals were in honour of Dionysus: Agrais

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Dionysia at the end of December/beginning of January, Lenaia at the end

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of January/beginning of February, Anthestiria at the end of February/be-

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ginning of March and the Great Dionysia or the City Dionysia at the
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end of March/ beginning of April. Agrais and Anthestiria were associated

with vegetation and wine making; Lenaia was dedicated to the orgiastic
Dionysus and wine and included theatre performances. However it was
never as important for the theatre as the Great Dionysia. Communi-
cations between towns were poor in January due to bad weather and
Athenians stayed at home, so Lenaia was overshadowed by the Great
Dionysia and the major poets seldom took part in its competitions.

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The Great Dionysia was the largest of all the festivals. It was an urbane
and much more prestigious event than the local festivals around Athens.
As already noted, in 534 bc Pesistratos introduced drama competitions
into the festivals and Thespis won the first of these. During the 5th cen-
tury bc the festival lasted for five days and was of equal splendour and
importance as Panathinaia, the other great festival in Athens in honour
of the city’s guardian goddess Athena. The festival was held in the spring
in the area around the Temple of Dionysus on the Acropolis, where later
the Theatre of Dionysus was to be built. At this time of year the weather
was more favourable, making it easier to travel by sea and many people
came to Athens from other cities. It was therefore a good time to show
off the wealth, strength and culture of the city.

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The first day of the festival started with a procession led by a statue
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of Dionysus to the Temple Dionysus, where great numbers of cattle
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were sacrificed to the god. The festival was consecrated, after which
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the city’s budget surplus was announced. Public honours were bestowed
on deserving citizens and the sons of fallen soldiers were presented and
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awarded fighting equipment. The public stood on the slopes around the
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temple and the circular performance area – the orchestra (fig. 2). 6 In
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the afternoon the dithyramb competition was held. The dithyramb, the
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ritual hymn in honour of Dionysus, was sung by twenty choruses. Each

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of the ten tribes of Athens entered a men’s chorus and a boys’ chorus in
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the competition. There were fifty singers in each chorus and they were
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all accompanied by a flautist. Every dithyramb was written by a poet

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especially for this competition and each chorus had its own sponsor and
director. The choruses had long preparation times and many rehears-
als. They had to learn the texts, the music and a series of special dance
movements to be performed to the accompaniment of the flute. The
members of the dithyramb choruses did not wear masks.

22
The following days were devoted to drama. Early in the morning, before
the performances, a pig was sacrificed to Dionysus and the theatre was
cleansed by splashing blood on the audience and the orchestra. Judges
were chosen and lots were drawn to determine the order of perform-
ance. On the first three days tetralogies (three tragedies and a satyr play
written by the same dramatist) were played. On the final day five com-
edies written by five different dramatists were played. This arrangement
was changed during the Pelopponesian War; the festival was shortened
to four days – three tragedies and a satyr play were performed in the
mornings and a comedy in the afternoons. It is estimated that tragedies
took about one and a half hours to two hours and satyr plays took about
one hour to play. So the performances were approximately from five

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to seven hours long. On the evening of the fifth day the winners were

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declared and the following day the city’s governing council evaluated
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the organisation of the festival. The festival was financed by wealthy
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citizens. For each festival twenty-eight sponsors, called chorigos, were

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required – three for the tetralogies, five for the comedies and twenty
for the dithyramb choruses. The dithyramb chorigos were chosen by the
Fre

Athenian tribes and the others were selected by eponymos archon, the
th
wi

leader of the festival. He chose the three competing poets and sponsors
or

for each of them. It was a great honour to be chosen as a chorigos. Lots

dit

were drawn to decide which poet each chorigos would work with. A chori-
FE

gos’ duties included recruitment and organisation of the choruses, pay-

PD

ment of singers, provision of food for all and the financing of production
Fill

costs – of musicians, directors, actors, masks, costumes and stage sets.

PD

He provided a great feast for all participants at the end of the perform-
ances. During the festival chorigos were the centre of attention in the city,
honours were conferred upon them in thanks for their services to the
city and they were awarded places of honour in the theatre. If their pro-
duction won first prize they were presented with a victor’s laurel wreath
and a large three footed vessel called a tripous, which would later be
erected on a marble base at the side of a certain street called Tripodes. On

23
this base was inscribed the sponsor’s name and the date. A festival vic-
tory gave great personal honour and public recognition. The judges of
the tetralogies were not experts but ordinary citizens, who were chosen
by a complicated system which guaranteed their impartiality. The ten
Athenian tribes nominated candidates and when the festival started one
candidate from each tribe was selected by drawing lots. Thus ten judges
were picked who then vowed to make their choices in accordance with
their personal taste. When all the performances had been seen the judg-
es wrote down their lists of choices. These lists were collected and five
of them were drawn out at random and the tetralogy with most votes on
the five lists won the competition.

ols
To
Choruses and actors nd
ra
rite

All choruses were made up of men who were free citizens. They were
eW

amateurs who had to practice their singing and dancing skills. Chorus
training was rigorous – almost military in nature, which is perhaps why
Fre

recent research couples chorus practice with military training. The

th
wi

chorus members were provided with food and daily wages during this
or

period, which might last longer than six months. The tragic chorus had
dit

twelve to fifteen members and the comic chorus twenty-four. The first
FE

actors were initially the authors of the works, but gradually acting de-
PD

veloped into a separate profession. Actors were all men and free citizens.
ill
F

They were called hypokrites, which means he who gives answer. Thespis
PD

introduced the first actor, Aeschylus the second and Sophocles the third.
The convention of three actors in tragedy persisted throughout classi-
cal antiquity, but in comedy three or four actors were used. They each
play several roles, both male and female, in the same play. As the art of
the actor developed during the 5th century bc, some actors, such as the
famous Theodorus, specialised in female roles. In 449 bc an actors’ prize
was introduced into the Great Dionysia in recognition of the actor and

24
his art. The prize went to the protagonist of each tetralogy. Most trag-
edies were based on the shared cultural heritage founded in the myths
and Homeric epics, known to and loved by all. The mythic material was
well-known, but every writer developed a personal version and empha-
sised different aspects of a myth. In this way public interest and curiosity
was kept alive. How would each writer interpret the myths and reflect
the issues of his time?
Plays were also written about historic events, eg. the “Persians” by
Aeschylus, which is about the defeat of the Persians in the war against
the Greeks. It is the only tragedy with a historic theme which has sur-
vived. It is known that others were written, but there were not many.

ols
To
The theatre of Dionysus nd
ra
rite

All tragedies known to us were written for performance at the Dionysus

eW

Theatre situated on the slopes of the Acropolis. Its oldest parts are from
the 6th century bc. In the beginning it probably consisted only of the
Fre

orchestra, the audience standing on the hillside. Later, wooden benches

th
wi

were built. In about 340 bc, the theatre was rebuilt as an architectural
or

entity; the tiered seating and the orchestra were clad in marble and a
dit

permanent stage was erected (fig 3).7

FE
PD

According to N G L Hammond,8 a skene – a permanent stage structure

ill
F

behind the orchestra – was not built until the production of the Orest-
PD

eia in 458 bc. The permanent skene built for the Oresteia was a simple
wooden structure. Behind it actors changed costumes and masks, rested
or prepared themselves. At the front was the proscenium, a corridor
where painted scenic tableaus were hung. In about 440 bc, the large
block of stone was removed. It is estimated that the theatre had a seating
capacity of 14฀000 –17฀000, but in “Symposion” Plato stated that 30฀000฀
could be accommodated. In the front rows sat the Priest of Dionysus,

25
chorigoi, the city’s benefactors, ambassadors, and the children of soldiers
killed in the wars. Certain sections were reserved for the leaders of the
city’s governing council and even for young men undergoing military
service – attendance at the theatre festival was part of their training.
Playgoers paid for entrance tickets, but from the time of Pericles a state
fund, theorika, paid for tickets for the poor so that the festival was acces-
sible to all. The ticket money went to an entrepreneur who kept order
in the theatre and carried out necessary maintenance and repairs. Armed
men were employed as marshals. All free citizens and their families,
foreigners, and perhaps even slaves might accompany their masters to
watch the performances.

ols
The Theatre of Dionysus lay in a south, south-east orientation and the

To
sun rose on the audience’s left and went down on its right. It is thought
nd
that the tragedies began at sunrise, about 6 am in March. In the morn-
ra
rite

ings both the skene and a large part of the orchestra lie in shade, later
eW

they are in direct sunshine. In the afternoon the seating is in shadow.

However, at that time the Attic sky was blessed with a special transpar-
Fre

ency, renowned even in antiquity. This transparency softened the con-

th
wi

trast between light and shade, making details easier to distinguish even at
or

a distance. We saw in fig 3 that the orchestra was surrounded by the shell

dit

shaped auditorium, koilon, the whole being embraced by the landscape.

FE

The theatre and the landscape existed in a dynamic balance. There were
PD

several theatres around Athens, but the Theatre of Dionysus was the
Fill

largest. Of 139 communities in Attica, 14 had theatres.

PD

26
II. Actors and Acting
Movement and gesture

The size of the theatres must have had a certain influence on the act-
ing style. We understand that physical expression was important. This
inference is supported by the great number of movements described and
scene directions given in the texts. They are very varied in type, from
small movements of the head to great leaps. We can also assume that
drama in general and the tragedies in particular borrowed gestures and
movements from religious ritual and social life – movements from soci-

ols
ety’s code of body language which were thus immediately recognisable.

To
For example, striking one’s breast or pulling at one’s hair signified grief
nd
and lamentation. Other gestures were probably associated with wed-
ra

dings, wedding feasts, athletic games and military actions, and so forth.
rite

However, even if these gestures originated in every day life, they were
eW

formalised and refined for the needs of the theatre. They were strictly
Fre

classified: forai – movements in the orchestra, schemata – movements in

th

space, chironomiai – hand and arm movements. These definitions indi-

wi

cate that the repertoire of gestures was codified. The chorus sang and
or
dit

danced in unison, in parts and perhaps there were solo performances

FE

– possibly by the leader of the chorus.

PD
ill
F
PD

Voice and Orality

Voice has a natural importance in all oral societies, so it is quiet natural

that ancient Greek society relied heavily on oral expression.
The Athenians, specifically, were famous for their love of speech,
which in its many forms played a crucial role in constructing civic iden-
tity. To be a citizen meant to participate in the speech of the city in
court, at the agora and at the Assembly.

27
 The Homeric epics were recited and the skills of rhetoric were devel-
oped and employed in public speaking – political discourse, courtroom
argumentation, symposia declamations, festival addresses, funeral eulo-
gies, victory orations, theatrical speeches. Society was permeated by the
speech, the word, the voice.
As actors and spectators in the theatre festivals and all the arenas of
public life, the Athenians, were spectators of speeches and the skills re-
quired for actors and orators were strong voices, capable of modulating
volume, pitch, and rhythm.

Theatre was founded on the voice. Standards were demanding for both
the chorus and particularly for the actors. They should be able to speak

ols
and recite as well as sing. They had to master music and dance because

To
the Greek theatre was not merely a speaking theatre but a theatre of
nd
highly rhythmical text and music, even though the exact nature of tone
ra
rite

intervals and of Greek musical scales is not known. The actors trained
eW

their voices, extended their vocal range and improved their articulation.
The voice had to be flexible in order to express the nature of different
Fre

personalities and feelings.

th
wi
or

Plutarch wrote that it was important that the actor’s voice should com-
dit

mand a wide register of emotions and temperament. He also wrote in his

FE

biography of Demosthenes, the great rhetorician, about the lesson De-

PD

mosthenes learned from Satyrus, the actor, ‘…when he had been rebuffed
ill
F

by the people and was going off homewards disconcerted and in great distress,
PD

Satyrus the actor, who was a familiar acquaintance of his, followed after and
went indoors with him. Demosthenes lamented to him that although he was the
most laborious of all the orators and had almost used up the vigour of his body
in this calling, he had no favour with the people, but debauchees, sailors, and
illiterate fellows were listened to and held the bema while he himself was ig-
nored. “You are right, Demosthenes”, said Satyrus, “but I will quickly remedy
the cause of all this, if you will consent to recite off-hand for me some narrative

28
speech from Euripides or Sophocles”. Demosthenes did so, whereupon Satyrus,
taking up the same speech after him, gave it such a form and recited it with such
appropriate sentiment and disposition that it appeared to Demosthenes to be
quite another. Persuaded, now, how much of ornament and grace action lends
to oratory, he considered it of little or no use for a man to practice declaiming if
he neglected the delivery and disposition of his words. After this, we are told, he
built a subterranean study, which in fact, was preserved in our time, and into
this he would descend every day without exception to form his action and culti-
vate his voice, and he would often remain there even for two or three months
together, shaving only one side of his head in order that shame might keep him
from going abroad even though he wished to do so.’ 9

ols
Aristotle too gave witness to actors’ voice exercises and the fasting that

To
preceded training and performances. “We can see that all those who practise
nd
voice production, such as actors, chorus-singers and the like, perform their exer-
ra
rite

cises in the morning, and fasting.” 10 and he later adds, ”for neither choruses
eW

nor actors rehearse after breakfast, but when fasting”.11

Fre

Actors trained so intensely sometimes that they missed their entrances.

th
wi

The actor Hermon did so and the incident is recorded in Suida’s lexicon.
or
dit

Articulation was also very important. This is illustrated in an anecdote

FE

told by Aristophanes in “The “Frogs” 12 which is also noted in Suida’s

PD

lexicon. The actor, Hegelochus was a tragedian who unfortunately be-

Fill

came famous for a mistake he made. In the tragedy “Orestes” by Euripi-

PD

des he made a small involuntary pause in a verse which gave a syllable

a longer emphasis,rounding it off into a complete word, This in turn
changed the meaning from “I see the calm” to “I see a cat”. This was
enough to reduce the audience to helpless laughter and Hegelochus’
blunder became a popular comic anecdote. Yet another aspect of vocal
usage judged to be important was “naturalness”. In “Rhetorics” Aristo-
tle praised the actor Theodorus for this quality. This naturalness was

29
of course a very artful artlessness. Aristotle wrote, “Wherefore those who
practise this artifice must conceal it and avoid the appearance of speaking artifi-
cially instead of naturally; for that which is natural persuades but the artificial
does not. For men become suspicious of one whom they think to be laying a trap
for them, as they are of mixed wines. Such was the case with the voice of Theod-
orus as contrasted with that of the rest of the actors; for his seemed to be the voice
of the speaker, that of the others the voice of someone else”.13

In Aristotle’s definition, the art of the actor is founded on the voice.

Hypokrisis “is a matter of voice, as to the mode in which it should be used for
each particular emotion; when it should be loud, when low, when intermedi-
ate; and how tones, that is, shrill, deep, and intermediate, should be used; and

ols
what rhythms are adapted to each subject. For there are three qualities that are

To
considered – volume, harmony, rhythm. Those who use these properly nearly
nd
always carry off the prizes in dramatic contests”.14
ra
rite

This applied above all to the actors but it was also important for the
eW

chorus. Voice usage in the comedies was closer to everyday speech and
so actors specialised in either tragedy or satyr plays or in comedy.
Fre

Performers and especially actors were required to have an attractive, un-

th
wi

forced, harmonic and musical voice, clear articulation and great adapt-
or

ability. The voice was the theatre’s most important instrument, “for
dit

words are imitations and the voice also of which all our parts is best adapted for
FE

imitations”.15
PD
ill
F
PD

30
III. The Mask
Ancient Greece was a civilization rich in masked expression and masks
were used in rituals connected especially with the cults of Dionysus,
Artemis and Demeter. Gods that defined and guaranteed the limits of
civilization and guarded the passages between the Civilized and the
Savage, between the Self and the Other.

Prosopon, not mask

ols
During the Classical period The Ancient Greeks used the same word for

To
the mask and the human face, the word Prosopon. nd
The word Prosopon is etymologically composed by the preposition
ra

pros- that means at, towards, for; and the word ops- which in Homeric
rite

Greek means hole, eye, gaze, opening, pupil, voice, word, speech.
eW

Prosopon means: face, that which is before our eyes, between eyes that
Fre

see each other – but also personality, dramatic persona, mask.

th

The word contains the relationship between two subjects, pointing

wi

towards a dialogue, a reflection, contemplation, a meeting or an opposi-

or
dit

tion with the other.

FE

In the mental universe of Ancient Greece there was no distinction

PD

between the mask and the face.

ill

The mask was another face and not an object that conceals and covers
F
PD

the human face. The idea of concealment, that is, the mask as something
that hides the true face was developed later in Europe, as a result of the
monotheistic religions and the Christian civilization.

During the second half of the 4th century bc, around 320 bc Theofra-
stos used for the first time the word prosopeion in his book “Characters”.
The new final syllable -eion implies an objectification which makes a
word meaning an object deriving from a face, ie a mask. However the

31
word prosopon was used throughout classical antiquity to mean both
mask and face.
As I already mentioned the mask was an important element in several
cults. The priests of Dionysus personified the god by means of a mask;
the phallic choruses wore masks and the god, Dionysus, was himself a
mask.

The historical evidence

The earliest source of information about the tragic masks is Suida’s lexi-
con. This was written during Roman times but draws on information

ols
from the classical period. It tells us that Thespis was first to cover his

To
face with white lead paint and later introduced the use of a detachable
nd
mask which he made from linen cloth.16 It is thought that the masks
ra
rite

were white. Phrynichos, a student of Thespis introduced, for the first

eW

time, a woman’s mask in the theatre. It may be that he was also the first
to play women’s roles. Choirilos developed the mask further and a little
Fre

later Aeschylus produced multi-coloured masks. He also presented hor-

th
wi

rific masks, such as those for the Erinyes in the “Oresteia” which caused
or

panic in the audience. Masks, it is said, were made of linen cloth dipped
dit

in plaster which was then laid in or on forms, or pieces of cloth glued

FE

together.17
PD

They were then painted on the outside. Eyes, eyebrows and mouth
ill
F

were emphasised. There is not a single theatre mask surviving from clas-
PD

sical times, which indicates how fragile they must have been. All we have
are images of theatre masks painted on ceramics, marble reliefs, orna-
mental marble copies and a series of votive ceramic copies from the end
of the 4th – beginning of the 3rd centuries bc, found on the southern
Italian island of Lipari, which was an ancient Greek colony. Theatre
masks covered the entire head. All documentation shows that up to the
end of the 5th century theatre masks fitted the head closely. They seem

32
to have been not larger than the head, with rather small mouth and eye
openings. On the masks painted on ceramics both the whites and the pu-
pils of the eyes are painted, suggesting that the eye-holes of the original
masks were as small in size as the pupils.

These early masks had no elaborate coiffure. It is assumed that hair was
represented by linen, or that real hair was used. Masks were secured by
a leather strap under the chin, it is claimed, but this is hard to believe
as such an arrangement would have inhibited both song and speech.
The male masks were darker and reddish in colour than female masks,
which were paler or white. At a guess, it was Aeschylus who abandoned
this polarizing convention and introduced more colours. An actor would

ols
play several roles in a play and so the masks were probably a neces-

To
sary aid to the identification of characters. Masks also provided simple
nd
clues as to the sex, age and origin of characters. Aeschylus in the text
ra
rite

of the “Suppliants” describes the exotic Danaids as dark-skinned. The

eW

facial expression of these early masks is quite remarkable – very inten-

sive and concentrated. The form is pure, simple, abstract and lacking
Fre

physiognomical traits. The masks of the actors of tragedies and satyr

th
wi

plays and those of the members of choruses in tragedies were similar,

or

but the masks of members of choruses in satyr plays were different, hav-
dit

ing flat noses, horses’ ears and red faces. Masks used in comedies were
FE

grotesque caricatures or images of animals as required by the texts.

PD
ill
F

Winning actors dedicated their masks to Dionysus. Presumably those

PD

masks which were not damaged were saved for use in the following year’s
festivals, however, considering the number of roles played each year and
the individual needs of the actors it is obvious that the mask makers,
prosopopoioi, were kept busy. In the Great Dionysia alone it seems that
between 300 and 350฀masks were used each year. Gradually the tragic
mask changed and around 400 bc it became more realistic although it
retained its enigmatic concentrated expression. Perhaps this change

33
reflected the development of the tragedy from the plays of Aeschylus
which were chorus based to those of Euripides which relied more upon
the actors; a change of focus from the group to the individual. A similar
tendency towards realism occurred in the arts of sculpture and paint-
ing. Realism was then superseded by a new form. In the 4th century bc
masks became larger and they were adorned with a high coiffure, onkos,
that made them bigger still. Masks were given larger mouth openings
and wide open eye-holes. This development proceeded during the Hel-
lenistic and Roman eras and finally resulted in a grotesque form – a mask
expressing passion and terror. It is this frozen expression that we, today,
associate with the tragic mask.

ols
There are, of course, reasons for this development. The early simple

To
mask had to compete for attention with increasingly elaborate scenery
nd
which by the end of the 4th century bc had become part of a permanent
ra
rite

building. This building was dressed and decorated more and more as
eW

time went on. Eventually actors played on the proscenium, the narrow
area in front of the stage, rather than in the orchestra. Consequently
Fre

the style of acting became more frontal – there was not room for any
th
wi

other style and so the masks became interesting only from the front, or
or

from a narrow frontal angle. We can see this in contemporary images,

dit

the masks were at their best so, and onkos, the high coiffure, became
FE

important in this frontal view. This was true for the masks of the actors,
PD

but not for those of the chorus who still played in the orchestra; they
ill
F

were not dependent on this frontal view and did not need these new
PD

masks. In this way differences between actors and chorus grew – the
importance of the chorus diminished and performances became centred
on the actors. These changes led to a formalisation in the theatre.Masks
became grotesque. This resulted in a rigid classification which began in
the 4th century bc and a codified system that has survived to modern
times through Pollux’s encyclopaedia, “Onomasticon”. This is an ency-
clopaedia from the 3rd century ad in which Pollux describes 76 types

34
of masks, 28 of which are tragic, 44 are comic and 4 are for satyr plays.
The 28 tragic masks are divided into the following categories – 6 are of
older men, 8 are of young men, 3 are of slaves and 11 are of women of
varying age. Other categories according to hair colour, hair style, beard
shape and colour, facial features, facial colour, facial form, facial expres-
sion are found and special masks of eg. Hybris, Thanatos, Violence etc.
are included.

The series of models of theatre masks that were found on the island of
Lipari were votive objects. Perhaps they were sold to theatre-goers as
souvenirs which might follow their owners to the grave as cherished
possessions. Maybe they were made as templates to be copied by mask-

ols
makers throughout the Hellenic world to help them conform to origi-

To
nals and maintain homogeneity and codification.18 By comparing these
nd
archaeological finds with entries in Pollux’s “Onomasticon” experts were
ra
rite

able to identify most of them.19

eW

A similar development occurred in theatre costume. The costume for

tragedy, the syrma, was ankle-long with long arms. It was richly decorat-
Fre

ed and colourful. Its origin was perhaps the costumes of the Dionysian
th
wi

or Eleusinian priests. They were different from the festive dress of the
or

Athenians which was a long white chiton – a rectangular piece of cloth

dit

without arms or seams which was held together with belts and broaches.
FE

The syrma was a unisex model, perhaps bearing signs to indicate the sex,
PD

origin and social status of the wearer. Herakles appeared in a lion skin
Fill

bearing a club, Danaids were exotically dressed and possibly Xerxes pre-
PD

formed in rags in the “Persians” by Aeschylus. Shoes, kothurns, were soft

low-heeled, long shafted, long-toed shoes. As the mask became larger so
did the body/costume. The chest and abdomen were padded out and the
shoes became high plateau shoes upon which the actors had to balance.
In consequence the acting became more static. This mask/costume de-
velopment may be clearly seen in the following series of illustrations:

35
Fig 4.20 Tragic chorus, 490 bc. Vase painting found in Athens, now in
the Museum of Antiquities, Basle. This is the oldest image of a tragic
mask extant today. Six members of a chorus, arranged in three pairs, are
dancing in step facing a figure on the left placed on an altar. Their arms
are raised in a gesture of adoration. The remarkably clear jawlines which
extend to the ears indicate that they are wearing masks. All the masks are
the same, they completely cover the head. They all wear diadems and
shoulder-length hair. The mouth openings are small. The masks radiate
concentration and are in perfect proportion to the bodies. The whites
of the eyes and the pupils are discernable. The barefooted chorus wear
identical, highly decorated costumes. On the vase itself it is possible to
make out some letters around the masks, indicating the song of the cho-

ols
rus. The figure on the alter has an open mouth which means that it also

To
wears a mask. The scene possibly represents half of a twelve-man chorus
nd
from “Neaniskoi” by Aeschylus – a chorus of young men worshiping
ra
rite

Dionysus. If this is the case, the figure on the alter is Dionysus.

eW

Fig 5฀ab.21 ca 470 bc. Found in Athens. Three very small fragments of
Fre

a painted vase. On the first is part of a kothurn, on the second is the

th
wi

bottom hem of a draped cloth and on the third is part of a half-naked

or

boy holding a mask. The boy, possibly a servant, has a cloth draped
dit

from his left shoulder. Another figure is walking away from the boy to-
FE

wards the right. All that is visible of this figure is a foot and part of its
PD

costume. The mask is that of a young woman. It is oval in shape and is

ill
F

painted white, in contrast to the body colour of the boy. The mask has
PD

short-cropped hair, a sign of grief, and a headband; its mouth opening

is small and pure in form; mouth, nose, eyes, and eyebrows are painted
distinctly. It is about as big or perhaps a little bigger than the adult foot
to the right, that is to say it is as big as a normal head. Talcott has identi-
fied the mask as the ninth in Pollux’s catalogue of tragic female masks,
Kourimos parthenos, “the cropped-haired maiden without an onkos, her
hair painted and cut off right round, her face pale”.22 Talcott suggests

36
that it might be the Antigone mask from “Seven Against Thebes” by
Aeschylus. It has a collected, intensive expression with no signs of grief,
pain, fear or passion.

Fig 6.23฀ Actors in rehearsal, ca 460 bc. Athens. Now in the National
Museum, Ferrara. A maenad and a young Dionysus – two actors. One
has just put on his mask and the typical maenad costume of an ankle-
long dress and a deerskin over the shoulder. He is wearing long-shafted
kothurns and performing a dance. The mask has a small mouth opening
and is pure in form. The other actor is looking at the first and holding
a young man’s mask in his hand, perhaps playing the role of the young
Dionysus. The mask is about as big as the actor’s face and it also has a

ols
small mouth opening. It is poorly drawn, but the eyes whites and pupils

To
can be seen. nd
ra
rite

Fig 7.24 ca 430฀bc. Actors putting on stage costumes. The actor on the
eW

left is already dressed. He is wearing flat kothurns. He is wearing his

mask and is handing a cloth to the other actor who is wearing a head-
Fre

band and putting on his koturns. His mask is lying on the ground. It is
th
wi

big enough to cover his head and the mouth opening is small. The eyes
or

and the whites of the eyes are discernable.

dit
FE

Figs 8.25 9.26 10.27 11.28 The Pronomos krater, ca 400 bc. National Mu-
PD

seum, Naples. The krater named in honour of Pronomos,a famous flau-

ill
F

tist who is sitting in the middle of the bottom row of figures, playing
PD

his double flute. The painting illustrates a group of actors who have just
finished performing in a satyr play. However, the actors’ masks and cos-
tumes are the same as they would be for a tragedy. Between Pronomos
and the poet Demetrius, who is sitting on the far left with a book-roll
in his hand, there is a satyr dancing, sikinnis, the dance of the satyrs.
Other members of the chorus have taken off their masks and are holding
them in their hands. In the top row Dionysus is half lying together with

37
Ariadne. Farthest to the right stands Papposelinus, the chorus leader of
the satyrs, (fig 9) He is wearing a woolly costume and holding his white,
long-bearded mask. In the mask’s mouth opening some teeth can be
seen. Beside him stands an actor with the attributes and mask of Herak-
les. He is wearing kothurns, a very richly decorated costume with long
arms, armour, a lion skin and a Herakleian club. He is holding his mask
in his hand. To his left at Dionysus’ couch, sits a young woman who is
holding the only female mask. Her mask has a round, white painted face
– the male masks being ochre in colour. She bears a diadem on her head.
Farthest to the right in the top row (fig 10) another actor is holding his
mask. He is the third actor and wears a highly decorated costume. The
satyr play was probably about the Lydian Princess Omphale and her

ols
love affaire with Herakles. The third actor (fig 10) must in that case

To
have played the role of the King of Lydia, Iardanos, Omphale’s father.
nd
The masks are head sized, realistic and very well painted. Fig 11 shows
ra
rite

a detail from the Pronomos vase – a member of the chorus holding up

eW

his satyr mask.

Fre

Figs 12.29 13.30 The Würtzburg fragment, ca 5th century bc. Originally
th
wi

from Tarentum, Italy, now in the Martin von Wagner Museum, Würtz-
or

burg. Female masks and a flautist. The flautist with his long sleeved
dit

and richly decorated costume is with some actors who are holding their
FE

masks in their hands. The masks are similar with black curly hair. The
PD

mouth openings are wider and larger than in earlier representations.

ill
F

The expressions are intense.

PD

Figs 14, 15.31 The Pireus relief, ca 5th century bc. Found in Pireus, now
in the National Museum, Athens. Three actors stand in front of the half
lying Dionysus. The actor nearest the god, greeting him, holds the mask
of an older man. The actor in the middle holds the mask of an older man
in his right hand and a tympanon in his left. The third actor’s head, and
presumably his mask, is missing. In his right hand he holds a tympanon.

38
M Bieber suggests that they represent three actors playing the “Bac-
chae” greeting Dionysus. The two masks may represent Teresias and
Kadmos while the missing mask might be of Agave. The figure sitting
at the side of the god may be a personification of the bacchae’s cho-
rus. “Bacchae” was performed in Athens in 405฀bc soon after the death
of Euripides. The clothes in the relief are very clearly tragic costumes.
There are no high kothurns. The masks have larger mouth openings and
the mouths, eyes and eyebrows have a more mask-like form than those
of the young actors.

Fig 16.32 The Tarentum fragment, ca 340 bc, painted in Tarentum,

Italy, now in the Martin von Wagner Museum, Würtzburg. An actor

ols
acknowledges audience applause, at the same time saluting his mask.

To
With his broad nose, tired gaze, stubble and unruly grey hair, the actor
nd
stands in stark contrast to the handsome mask he is holding up. This is
ra
rite

a beautiful male mask with luxurious blond hair and beard. It has a small
eW

mouth opening, the whites of the eyes and small eyeholes are visible. It
is the same colour as the actor’s face. The mask displays an intense gaze
Fre

and there is a frown of concentration on the forehead that is emphasised

th
wi

by the shape of the eyebrows. The actor is holding a sword in his left
or

hand and wearing a short red-brown chiton belt and a long cape over his
dit

left arm. The shafts of his kothurns may be seen. E Simon suggests that
FE

the mask may be that of the Thracian king Theseus in the tragedy of the
PD

same name by Sophocles.33

ill
F
PD

Figs 17.34 17฀A. Relief with tragic actor, ca 350 bc, found in Athens, now
in the Carlsberg Glypotek, Copenhagen. A young man stands holding a
tragic female mask in his left hand. The mask has large eyes and mouth.
Its hair is unbound and the mask is bigger than the actor’s head. It ex-
presses passion.

Figs 18.35 19.36 20.37. Fig฀18฀Shows a Hellenistic mask from Pireus. It is

39
a bronze mask of great size, perhaps dedicated to the temple of Diony-
sus. The coiffure is higher, the mouth and eyes larger. It is a grotesque
mask expressing horror. The same developments are seen in the tragic
model masks from Lipari (fig 19) and in fig 20, an ivory statuette from
Imperial Rome, now in the Petit Palais, Paris. This represents the end
of this development – the enormous onkos, the high kothurns, the gaping
mouth, the staring eyes. The expression of fossilised horror is what we
usually associate with the mask in Greek tragedy. We have seen how the
early mask with normal human proportions – small mouth opening, and
eyeholes, the pure almost abstract form and the composed, concentrated
expression – changed over a period of 200 years to a grotesque, over-di-
mensioned mask aesthetically reminiscent of the baroque.

ols
To
The transformation of the mask followed the developments in society
nd
and the theatre. When the social system that gave birth to the tragedy
ra
rite

ceased to function during the 4th century bc, there remained only the
eW

show. The word tragedy became associated with amusement, grandiosity

and pomposity 38. The city which had been the cradle of the tragedy was
Fre

a thing of the past, but the festivals continued to the 2nd century bc. In
th
wi

its time of greatness the festival was an important religious, social, and
or

political manifestation. The city assembled to see itself represented. The

dit

theatre was a mirror of society. Thousands worked together onstage and

FE

behind the scenes and many thousands more attended. The theatre was
PD

a ritual that gave form and expression to the current issues and problems
ill
F

of society – a form of discourse that bound society together.

PD

In all classical antiquity the mask was an organic part of Greek theatre.
All the theatrical forms that developed in Athens during the 6th and 5th
century bc, were all forms of masked drama. Theatre used the mask,
which is the medium per excellence for creating a dialogue between the
Self and the Other.

40
Now the mask is seen rather as a troublesome remnant, a useless attribute
– something of an embarrassment. The mask is said to get in the way,
to be an obstacle in the actor’s efforts to express emotions and establish
relationships. The mask is charged with being expressionless, unable to
respond to the richness of the text and to follow its flow. Through the
eyes of Realism, only discrepancy is seen between text and mask; dishar-
mony between actor and mask. The mask is seen as something static,
something dead. If we do not appreciate the possibilities of the tension
between mask and text, and of the theatre as a form of communication
based upon the “pleasure of signs” 39, we are embarrassed by the mask
and by its form – the tragic mask remains an enigma. Why did it cover
the whole head? Why such small mouth and eye-holes? Why did it have

ols
its special morphology? What was its function? These are questions I

To
shall try to answer in the next part of this work.
nd
ra
rite
eW
Fre
th
wi
or
dit
FE
PD
ill
F
PD

41
The morphology
of the mask
Birth out of the cries

I shall try to answer questions about the form and function of the mask
by recalling, in approximately chronological order, my own journey of
discovery. I hope that this will make it easier for the reader to follow my
train of thought.

ols
As already mentioned in the introduction, I thought, as I worked with

To
masks in the theatre, that they were generally used in a simplified, con-
nd
fused and superficial manner during rehearsals and in performance. The
ra
rite

actors interpreted the text naturalistically and there always arose a con-
eW

flict between mask and actor. In most cases the actors did not command
Fre

the technique required to work with a mask and give it life. They found
it difficult to use themselves, their means of expression, as instruments
th
wi

for the text – they found it difficult to empty themselves in meeting the
or

text. This was not because they were good or bad actors, but because
dit
FE

in our theatre awareness of the special techniques required to create

a stage presence is not very high. Eugenio Barba wrote, “The way we
PD

use our bodies in daily life is substantially different from the way we use them
Fill

in performance. The first step in discovering what the principles governing a

PD

performer’s scenic bios, or life, might be lies in understanding that the body’s
daily techniques can be replaced by extra-daily techniques, that is, techniques
which do not respect the habitual conditions of the body. Performers use these
extra-daily techniques. In the Occident, the distance which separates daily body
techniques from extra-body techniques is often neither evident nor consciously
considered”.1

42
I maintain that the state of emptiness is a necessity in working with
masks and for acting generally. This emptiness cannot be achieved as
long as the method that Peter Brook calls an infinite discussion and
search for safety is pursued. “When he acts well, it comes not from having
previously built a mental construction, but having made a panic-free emptiness
within.” 2 A naturalistic treatment of text does not provide the actor with
the tools to deal with these barriers and overcome them. In my experi-
ence, the necessary emptiness very seldom occurred and when it did it
was by chance and could not be repeated. It is clear that these fleeting
moments were not enough to give life to the mask, or keep it alive on the
stage. The mask existed on stage most often as an unnecessary object.
It was there not because it was alive, a source of energy, but because it

ols
was an exciting visual prop. It was not there to reveal but to conceal. Its

To
exotic surface shielded the actors and drew attention away from other
nd
problems in the performance. The mask itself was quite soulless, it was
ra
rite

a means of hiding shortcomings and this was an abuse, not only of the
eW

mask, but of the actors and the public. The death of the mask is, how-
ever, just a symptom. Lack of interest, indifference and embarrassment
Fre

towards the mask is a symptom of the absence of emptiness, that empti-

th
wi

ness which allows the actor to accept the text and the mask and create
or

a combined energy on stage – a common body – the living body of the

dit

performance. I noticed that even during seminars on the mask, where

FE

work with the mask was the central issue, moments of emptiness, when
PD

the mask was allowed to live, were so short that they would never sustain
ill
F

a whole performance.
PD

It was when I connected the difficulties of working with masks to an

absence of emptiness that my research work began. It happened in the
spring of 1989 when I saw a performance in Stockholm of “Persians” by
Aeschylus in ancient Greek, directed by Mirka Yemendzakis. Then I saw
how the actors applied this concept of emptiness, how it allowed them
come together, to breathe together, and how it created a living organism

43
on the stage. The emptiness left room for the audience’s own imagina-
tion. Although these actors used no masks and costumes, I could see
that, because of their training and their interpretation of the text, they
could have used masks and given them life.

In all pre-Socratic thinking the soul was integral with the body. Body
and soul had not yet been separated. The soul was thought to reside in
the respiratory system, the brain, the thymus gland, the chest and the
phrenic nerves which connected them all. This belief was registered in
tragic texts, “The early Aeschylean psychology can truly be called psycho-physi-
cal because it is based on the physical phrenes, restraining beating kardia and
panting thymos, physically registering the emotions which are restrained by

ols
reason”.3 Contact was held open between the mind,the brain and the

To
thymus gland by means of breathing and the voice. The voice was vital
nd
to the soul. It set the body in vibration and was, like music to the Py-
ra
rite

thagoreans, important because it cleansed the soul/ body, just as water

eW

cleanses the skin.

Fre

We can view the body as a resonance chamber for the voice, but also a
th
wi

sounding board for the feelings, they too being vibrations in the body.
or

Buried emotions dwelling in the body may be recalled by the voice vi-
dit

brating, resonating, in the spaces in which the emotions are hidden, but
FE

first the conditions must be created which will enable the body to vi-
PD

brate. Then the body may act like a musical instrument in which dif-
Fill

ferent resonance chambers call forth different emotions. Feelings are

PD

not produced by intellectual analysis or psychological manipulation but

by physiological, physical realities. The actor can adopt certain physical
attitudes, corporeal forms which will lead the voice to resonate in these
spaces.

By knowing exactly where in the body the actor should direct his voice,
he can change his condition in a few seconds. The body will find the dra-

44
matic form for what is to be said. One must free all these bodily spaces,
empty and make oneself ready for the text and for the forces that the
body can bring about. Like a vessel, the body is filled with the dramatic
text. The text fills the spaces of resonance and the theatrical metamor-
phosis is a fact. The voice and the body become an instrument for the
actor. The human voice possesses forces which are seldom released.
In tragedy, and also in comedy, there are words, sounds, shouts, cries
and wails which are sound formations that translators strive in vain to
explain and interpret. In English translations they often found as “alas!”
or “woe!”. The words mean nothing in themselves. They represent
sounds which correspond with different feelings and spaces in the body.
They lead to emptiness and catharsis.

ols
To
When the actor adopts the appropriate corporeal form required to pro-
nd
duce such cries he/she becomes a resonance chamber for these primeval,
ra
rite

archetypical, thousand-year old sounds which are expressions common

eW

to many cultures. The cries are a path to emptiness and to the metamor-
phosis in which the actor is transformed and expresses raw archetypi-
Fre

cal emotions. He/she can change instantaneously and easily overcome

th
wi

inner barriers and dispel blockages. He/she can express joy, grief, fear,
or

rage, and generate such feelings in the audience, as they resonate with
dit

him/her.
FE
PD

The sound of the voice is mostly determined by the size of the larynx and
ill
F

the length of the vocal chords, but is also influenced by resonance occur-
PD

ring in the chest, the mouth cavity, the nose cavity, throat, the fontanelle
– the whole head, the whole body. The voice’s overall tone is determined
by the quality of the major tone and the number and quality of partial
tones which harmonise with it. A sonorous voice has many partial tones
and these are dependent on resonances in the body. This resonance is
the reverberation of the voice in the body. It amplifies volume, enriches
the voice, gives strength, beauty, shape and intensity, it makes the voice

45
harmonious and enjoyable. The voice is alive and the body is enlivened.
The resonance also gives the clarity which is essential for comprehen-
sion of speech and communication and texts acquire a bodily dimension
and come to life. The resonating body becomes open and receptive and
all blockages to the flow of energy are removed.
“An untuned body is like an untuned musical instrument. Its sounding box
is filled with a confusing and ugly jangle of useless noises that prevent the true
melody from being heard. When the actor’s instrument, his body, is tuned by
exercises, the wasteful tensions and habits vanish. He is now ready to open him-
self to the unlimited possibilities of emptiness.” 4
The correspondence of my search for the principle of emptiness and
the working method of M Yemendzakis decided me to attend her semi-

ols
nar in Berlin in the autumn of 1989. My hope was that her work would

To
be important for my investigation on the use of the mask and that it
nd
would stimulate new possibilities for working with the mask and the
ra
rite

dramatic text.
eW

I hoped that it might lead to a kind of theatre that is not centred

on the individual, the single actor, the single role interpretation, but is
Fre

centred on the narration, a theatre in which the whole ensemble creates

th
wi

a common body for the narrative. I was sure that in such a theatre aes-
or

thetic there would be a natural space for the mask.

dit

In her Berlin seminar M Yemendzakis based her work on the tragic

FE

cries. It was on the third day during exercises with the letter iota, I, the
PD

first vowel in the cries ιω, ια, ιη, ιου, ιοι, ιο that the expression found on
ill
F

the tragic masks recurred on the faces of the participants.

PD

Kenosis

The first sight of this phenomenon was a real shock, because it was im-
mediately obvious to me that this was the origin of the facial expression
of the masks. The body created the appropriate form, taking the right

46
position to produce this iota, and then the voice emitted the cry that in
turn – in a moment’s concentration and emptiness – formed the face into
the appearance found on the tragic masks. The appearance of the masks
was born out of the cries noted in the tragic texts.
The utterance of the cries created a state of emptiness in the partici-
pants and the expression on their faces was an expression of this empti-
ness. To be more precise, this is not about expression. It is not an expres-
sion of an emotion as rage, joy, sorrow, etc. No, in this case very specific
changes in the face occur – the eyes are unfocused, slightly squinting,
there is tension and concentration in the forehead, the mouth is open,
the tongue free and the jaw muscles are slack.
The neck is stretched and the chin drawn in so that the face is directed

ols
forward and the entire face radiates a great intensity and presence.

To
The face is expressionless; it exists in a state – a state of emptiness
nd
and presence. I call this state kenosis, which in Greek means emptying,
ra
rite

emptiness. I use the term kenosis for the appearance of the face and for
eW

the tragic mask – the mask of kenosis. I have observed that all the cries
generate the same kenosis, but the iota brings about a special tension in
Fre

the forehead, in the area above and between the eyebrows. This is what
th
wi

the introduction to this project looked like.

or
dit

In a seminar about the voice and the mask – at the Sami Theatre Beivvas
FE

in Guovdageaidnu, Norway, in spring 1995 – I took a series of photo-

PD

graphs of participants who are uttering this iota. (figs 21,฀22,฀23,24).

ill
F

In fig 21, Jens Klement Stueng comes to the highest intensity and for-
PD

mation of kenosis and beside him is Elisabeth Heilmann.

Fig 22 shows the same phenomenon with Franziska Trefzer and Ce-
cilia Persson and in fig 23 and 24 we see their ecstasy – in the original
meaning of the word. Ek-stasis in Greek means to leave, come away from
a given position.“And stasis signifies the negation of motion”.5 The word
embraces the concept of a movement, a leaving of a sitting or standing
position to come to a new state.

47
 However, whether one is sitting, standing or walking the face retains
the same appearance. That is why I do not use the word ecstasy to de-
scribe the appearance of the mask, for that would imply movement. In-
stead I use the word kenosis to describe the condition.

The production of the cries

I shall now describe the procedure for bringing forth the cries. One
must have an empty stomach and sit on the floor preferably against a
wall. This position keeps the back straight and opens contact with the
pelvis and the os sacrum. It also facilitates the awareness of gravitation,

ols
keeping one in contact with the force of the earth. One maintains the

To
natural curvature of the spine, but keeps the neck stretched, inclining
nd
the head forward slightly, so that the spine is straight all the way to
ra
rite

the point where it meets the head, to the phrenic nerves. The shoul-
eW

ders should be relaxed and rounded and the chest should also be relaxed
so that the thymus gland becomes soft and in contact with the phrenic
Fre

nerves which connect the thymus, the heart and the brain. The tongue
th
wi

should be at rest preferably lying outside the teeth, the mouth open and
or

jaw muscles relaxed. This does not mean that one should relax but that
dit

the body should be alert, be ready. As the spine is straight and the neck
FE

stretched this tilts the head forward directing the face forward. Breath-
PD

ing is thought and thought breathing. One concentrates on the area be-
ill
F

tween the eyebrows and the third eye, behind which the hypophysis is
PD

located. One sends one’s thoughts to this point and one thinks an “ iota”
and slowly the iota is brought forth. It is a very high tone that emerges -
out of nothing. At first it is very weak, but the continuous repetition and
concentration of thought makes it stronger. The monotony, the constant
repetition of a single thought causes the iota to grow to a tremendously
high and loud tone. It stabilises and flows from the fontanelle high up on
the head and out into space.

48
 This iota passes through all matter. “Iota again, he employs for everything
subtle, which can most readily pass through all things”.6 In order to continue
and develop the second vowel, _ – omega, one must lead the whole of
one’s thinking back to one’s body to the pelvis and the os sacrum at the
end of the spine. This, of course is more difficult. One must go with
one’s voice from the body into space and then return to the body. This
requires much training and control of the body. It is this process which
causes the metamorphosis in the appearance of the face. A meta-morpho-
sis, a form that follows another, replaces another. This change is founded
in kenosis, in emptiness. The whole process may be accomplished stand-
ing or walking, but this requires greater control to maintain continuous
contact with the force of gravity and simultaneously remain in ecstasy

ols
– move from the given position. In kenosis a feeling of inner stillness and

To
lightness occurs; a widening of consciousness, presence and control is
nd
experienced. It is akin to standing outside oneself and watching oneself
ra
rite

objectively. One feels free and later, cleansed and renewed. Kenosis and
eW

ecstasy lead to catharsis.

Later on, when I further investigated the state of kenosis in the hu-
Fre

man face I found out that almost the same appearance, with different
th
wi

intensity of course, becomes visible in the face when the person is in a

or

state of total concentration on one single point, a point or a goal outside

dit

him/her self.
FE

Athletes at the peak of their efforts we can see that their faces radiate
PD

great intensity and presence. The faces are expressionless, in a state of

ill
F

meditation, alertness, focusing at a point outside oneself, a state of total

PD

presence, a state of emptiness. Total emptiness is thus total presence.

The face acquires the appearance of the tragic mask.
So, the appearance of the tragic mask of the classical era is a repre-
sentation of a body/mind state of being. A state of meditation is created
within the mask wearer, either by focusing the gaze at a single point or
by the voice – or, more specifically, by the cries.
This body/mind state of being is the kind of existence that the dra-

49
matic actor is supposed to embody on stage and the particular way that
the actor has to relate to his consciousness on stage.

The cries and the text

The cries are also special forms of breathing for the communication of
the great emotions – sorrow, pain, rage, joy.
They are sound forms that mankind has used from ancient times to
express feelings, communicate, pray to the gods and frighten enemies.
They are archetypical ritual forms which have no linguistic meaning
but evoke different feelings. – eg ololygmos which creates great physical

ols
pleasure.

To
nd
The cries are much older than the tragedies or comedies, they existed in
ra
rite

rituals and in daily life and found their way into the tragic texts. In the
eW

published versions of the tragic texts available to us the cries are often
placed:
Fre

1. at the beginning of a sentence and are followed by a comma.

th
wi

2. between two commas.

or

3. between a comma and a semi-colon.

dit

4. between a comma and a full stop.

FE

5. as a freestanding word between two full stops.

PD

They are often repeated twice, sometimes four times. They are so placed
ill
F

in the text so that one is given time to bring them forth. They are always
PD

to be found at the most dramatic moments – at times of intensity and

in great emotional outbursts. Texts that follow the screams may express
complaint, sorrow, despair, fear, hate, rage, agony, entreaty or great joy
as eg in “Agamemnon” verses 25,฀481,฀496 and “The Eumenides” verses
1043,฀1047. Here the human emotional state is so overwhelming that
speech dissolves into cries. The cries open up the body to express these
feelings so that the text may be heard in full force.

50
The Greek stage director and theatre theoretician, Alexis Solomos,
divides the cries into four categories:

1. Vowels or vowel combinations:

ε, εε, εη, ηε, α, εα, οα, οι, ω, ιοι. ιη, ιω, ιου, οιοι, αιαι
or in combination with pronouns such as:
οιμοι, ωμοι, ιωμοι, ιωμοι, μοι

2. Words which cause assonance such as

ποποι, τοτοι, οτοτοτοι, οτοτοτοτοι, παπαι, παπαπαπαπαι.

3.Invocations and appeals to the gods, forces of nature, forefathers:

ols
μα, γα, ιω ιω θεοι θεοι, ιω γαια μαια, αιε ματερ νυξ, αλιον αλιον

To
αιτω, ελελευ ελελευ, ιτε βακχαι ιτε βακχαι. nd
ra
rite

4. Repetition of words, verses or whole sentences in order to heighten

eW

intensity, delirium, madness such as:

Fre

ναες αναες αναες, νεα νεα δυα δυα, δοσιν κακαν κακων κακοις,
πονος πονω, πονον φερει, ποθι μοι ποθιμοι παις, φρουδα φρουδα γα
th
wi

γα, τις οδω τις οδω τις. 7

or
dit

Solomos widens the concept, cry, to include words but one can imagine
FE

that the same principle applies to both and he shows that change-overs
PD

between recitation, song and cries create constant transformations in

ill
F

the text. The text finds itself in perpetual flux, like a living organism.
PD

When one considers the number of cries to be found in a tragedy, one

can imagine what immense power, energy and intensity they can create
in a performance. We get some idea of the forces released in a perform-
ance swinging between total chaos and order.

51
The cries and Dionysus

The cries not only played a large role in the theatre, but were important
in social and religious life. These ritual cries were, as mentioned earlier,
much older than the theatre. They were used to bring about a state of
ecstasy, to come into union with the god. They were extant throughout
the Asiatic and Greek worlds. Even today we can hear ololygmos, the
women’s joyful cry in Arab countries. However, the cries are most often
associated with the cult of Dionysus.

Iacchos, Iaacchos, Iaochos, Iachos was the name of the divine child of
Persephone and Zeus, who together with Demeter and Persephone

ols
were celebrated in the Eleusinian mysteries.8 Iacchos is identified as the
To
young Dionysus. The myth tells us that the wife of Zeus, Hera, be-
nd
ra
came jealous of the child, who was then called Zagreus, and ordered the
rite

Titans to kill him. The Titans tore him to pieces and Zeus killed the
eW

Titans. Athena gave the child’s living heart to Zeus who swallowed it.
Fre

Thereafter the child was reborn and was given the name Iacchos. It was
he who led the procession in the Eleusinian mysteries from Athens to
th
wi

Eleusis. He was the personification of the cries: ια, ιω, ιαχη which are
or

shouted by believers in the procession.

dit
FE
PD

The feast days of the mysteries began with the transportation of the stat-
ues of Demeter and Persephone together with the sacred objects, iera,
ill
F

from Eleusis to Athens, where the inhabitants could pray to, and praise,
PD

them. This took place on the 14th of the month Voidromion – Septem-
ber and was followed by four days of preparatory rituals and sacrifices.9

On the 19th Voidromion, those who were to be initiated into the myster-
ies, mystai, walked in procession, wearing wreaths, following the stat-
ues and iera back to Eleusis. The statue of Iacchos led the procession
followed by religious, political and military leaders, the mystai and all

52
the people of Athens. The procession stopped at every temple on the
way and prayed, sang hymns and shouted the cry, “Iache”,10 When the
procession reached the sea, the participants bathed and cleansed them-
selves. At the bridge over the river Kifissos on the approach to Eleusis
the ceremony gefyrismoi took place. Masked men from Eleusis awaited
the procession. They allowed the sacred objects and the priests go over
first and then the mystai passed over the narrow bridge one by one.
They were insulted and verbally abused in the most vulgar terms. This
was an apotropaic rite ,to ward off evil,which generated an exhilarated
and euphoric mood. Then the participants sang, shouted, laughed and
bathed together and entered Eleusis. They entered the temple in a state
of ecstasy for the next phase of the initiation, epopteia, a secret rite about

ols
which no one was allowed to speak.11

To
nd
The cleansing processes of the Eleusian mysteries appear to have lifted
ra
rite

the people to a state of ecstasy and further to a new level of conscious-

eW

ness, a new perceptivity. The historian, Herodotus, describes such a

procession. During the Persian war, Athens and the whole of Attica was
Fre

laid waste and Athenians fled from the city. Two traitors, Dicaeus an
th
wi

Athenian and Demaratus a Spartan, serving in the Persian army were

or

in a valley near Athens when they saw, “a cloud of dust proceeding from
dit

Eleusis, as of nigh about thirty-thousand men, and they marvelled exceedingly

FE

what men they should be that made the dust. And straight away they heard a
PD

voice, and it seemed to him that that the voice was Iacchus, which they cry in
Fill

the mysteries. But Demaratus was ignorant of the rites that are done in Eleusis
PD

and enquired of him what this might be that uttered the sound. And Dicaeus
said: Demaratus, of a surety there shall come a great damage to the king’s host.
For thus much is manifest that, Attica being empty, the thing which uttered
the sound is of god, and goeth from Eleusis to succour the Athenians and their
confederates. And if it light on the Peloponnese, there shall be danger to the king
himself and to his army upon the continent; but if it turns towards the ships
of Salamis, the king shall be in danger of losing his navy. Now the Athenians

53
keep a feast every year to the mother and the Damsel, and such of them and of
the order of Greeks who so desire are taught the mysteries; and the voice you
hear is the cry Iacchus, which they raise at the feast. …And while Demaratus
admonished him thus, the dust became a cloud, which was lifted on high and
borne towards Salamis to the camp of the Greeks. And so they perceived that the
navy of Xerxes was to be destroyed”.12

Herodotus’ description gives us some idea of the size of such a proces-

sion and an impression of what it might have looked like, even though,
in this case, only gods took part in the procession. Because of the war, no
people were available to celebrate the mysteries at that time.

ols
There was also a festival in Athens called Iobacheia. Unfortunately little

To
is known about it. It seems to have been a women’s festival with ceremo-
nd
nies arranged by gerarai, fourteen priestesses led by Vassilinna, wife of
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Vasileus , one of the leaders of Athens. Consequently the festival, dedi-

eW

cated to Dionysus, was held under the auspices of the city. Demostenes
describes it as being sacred and ancient. Presumably it was celebrated as
Fre

early as the 7th century bc.

th
wi
or

We also know of Iobachoi, which was a baccheion, a male association under

dit

the protection of Dionysus, which existed in Athens during the 2nd cen-
FE

tury ad, but was probably much older. W Burkert writes that during the
PD

7th and 6th centuries bc, Bacchic and Dionysian mysteries were wide-
ill
F

spread around the Black Sea, Macedonia, Crete, Thessaly, Ionia, and the
PD

ancient Greek cities of Southern Italy.13 These mysteries had the private
character of initiation rites which were organised by charismatic people.
The rites functioned as medical cures and as apotropaic defence against
accidents and they were also coupled to the activities a kind of private
club, thiasoi, that often participated in public entertainments and pro-
cessions. These clubs were very active alongside the official Dionysus
cult organised by the city. Certain of the clubs had a secretive character,

54
others were more open. Presumably the shared experience of ecstasy
was important. We may also assume that they had separate traditions
and theological teachings. Parts of the archives of one of these clubs,
Iobacchoi in Athens, are extant 14 and we learn from them that members
took part in a sort of mystery play about Dionysus and that they used the
ritual cries ιου, ιου, ιω, ιω.
The club was located near to the Temple of Dionysus and enjoyed the
patronage of the wealthy family of Herodes Atticus. If the association
accepted an applicant, he would have to pay a large membership fee.
Iobacchoi was clearly a men’s club for wealthy merchants. H Jeanmaire
writes that the old cult gradually changed within these clubs. The old-
er ceremonies devoted to wine-drinking, singing, dancing and ecstasy

ols
evolved into symbolic mystery plays and in Roman times to entertain-

To
ments with singing and reading of mythological texts. But it is also likely
nd
that other groups, not belonging to exclusive clubs, were faithful to the
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traditional orgies which took place in less elegant baccheia. 15

eW

Iobacchoi was also the name of a poetic form originating in Ionia. It was
Fre

dedicated to Dionysus and was intended to be sung at the beginning of a

th
wi

dithyramb. We know that the poet Archelochus wrote iobacchoi. H Jean-

or

maire notes that the Ionians practiced this poetic form as early as the 7th
dit

century bc. We see that even outside the confines of the theatre, the cries
FE

were very familiar and important, particularly in the Cult of Dionysus.

PD

Apart from ιω, ια many other ritual cries are associated with Dionysus
Fill

eg. evoin, evan, evai, thriambe, dithyrambe – adjectives which correspond

PD

to Dionysus’ other names, Evas, Evastis, Evios, Evsios and eleleu, the war
cry, which gives Dionysus the names Eleleus and Eligeus. The adjective,
vromios comes from vre which means noise, the clamour from the follow-
ers of Dionysus, thiasos. Another of Dionysus’ names, Lyggiis, derives from
lyge and there are, ololygmos, ololygai, alali, alalagi, the ecstatic, joyful cry of
women in countries around the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas.16
We have ialemos, the wild lament we know from the “Persians” by

55
Aeschylus, which is followed by self inflicted tearing of clothes, blows
to the head and breast, rending of hair and beard and scratching of the
cheeks with fingernails.

C Theander traced the origin of the word Ionians, the name of one of
the four Greek folk groups, from the cries ια, ιω- iota alpha, iota omega.
He claimed that the Ionic rhythms and Ionic music had a distinctly or-
giastic and ecstatic character and that devotees emitted these ritual cries
unconsciously during moments of rapture. Eventually they were incor-
porated in religious ceremonies and rituals as a means of stimulating
ecstasy.17

ols
It is obvious that the cries are the archetype, the original archaic form, for

To
prayer and appeal to the gods. They lead mankind to ecstasy, to experi-
nd
ence the presence of the gods and to union with the gods. The cries are
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linked, in particular, with Dionysus. The ritual theatre of classical an-

eW

tiquity borrowed them from the ecstatic, orgiastic Cult of Dionysus and
incorporated them in its texts and the tragedy took the appearance of the
Fre

mask from this cult. The mask was the image of kenosis, of ecstasy.
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or
dit

The mask of Kerameikos

FE
PD

Having traced the appearance of the mask from the state of kenosis de-
ill
F

scribed above I decided to continue my research from another angle

PD

by examining a copy of a theatre mask, there being no original masks

extant. All we have are copies in ceramics or marble made as decorations
for temples and grave monuments, or images on ceramic goods. Most
of these are of rather late origin. I needed to examine the earliest copy
available, the mask having slowly developed away from kenosis towards
an expression of fossilised terror. In the Kerameikos Museum in Athens
I found what I was looking for. It is an exquisite marble mask found in

56
1941 in the Kerameikos district, the graveyard of antique Athens.18 The
mask, presumably from the classical period, is larger than a normal face,
33 cm long and 20 cm wide (figs฀25,฀26). The face and in particular the
hair bear marks of the sculptor’s chisel and traces of red-brown pig-
ment – an indication that it is a male mask. Its form suggests that it was
meant to be placed high up and to be seen from below. Probably it was
mounted high up, perhaps on the wall of the grave monument of a poet,
actor or theatre sponsor, or possibly on a wall in Eleuthereus, a tem-
ple of Dionysus. There is evidence, from Roman times, that the temple
stood near this area, but it has not yet been found.19

K Gebauer, author of the first publication on this mask, states that even if

ols
it was found in an earth layer from 4th century bc, it must be older than

To
that.20 He dates it 450 – 400฀bc. If this is correct, the mask is from the
nd
time of the classical tragedy. However, G Krien-Kummikow compares
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the Kerameikos mask with the 4th฀century masks from Lipari, specially
eW

the mask of neaniskos panchrestos, the perfect youth. In “Onomasticon”,

Pollux places the perfect youth in both the mask catalogues of the trag-
Fre

edy 21 and the comedy 22. The tragic mask is described as the oldest of
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all youthful masks – with no beard, fresh colouring, dark complexion

or

and with thick, dark hair. The comic mask is described as – reddish,
dit

sporty and suntanned, wrinkled forehead, with a rolled fringe of hair and
FE

raised eyebrows. Fig 28 shows a panchrestos mask from Lipari for the new
PD

comedy.23 It is impossible to compare the colours of the masks, the paint

ill
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of the Kerameikos mask is all but gone, only hint of red-brown pigment
PD

is detectable. Differences between the tragic and the comic masks seem
to have been minimal. This supports the hypothesis that the masks of
the new comedy must have been influenced by the older tragic masks
and that the new comedy took over the forms of the tragedy when it
abandoned the grotesque, often animalist masks common in the older
comedy. This is true, at least for the masks of the young heroes and
heroines in Menander’s plays.

57
The Kerameikos mask has some wrinkles on the forehead and a rolled
fringe, but it displays a simplicity missing in the Lipari mask. The big
differences are that the Lipari mask has wide-open, staring eyes and the
mouth is rather large in proportion to the rest of the face. We recognise
these enlarged eye and mouth characteristics from masks of the Hellen-
istic period (figs 17–20). The Kerameikos mask has an intense gaze, but
no wide-open eyes and a smaller mouth opening than the Lipari mask.
This indicates that it is a tragic youthful mask, a neaniskos panchrestos
from the classical period and it supports K Gebauer’s dating to 450 –400฀
bc. It is plain that the mask is formed so as to be seen from below. I did
an experiment to ascertain the angles of view at which the mask is most
effective, from the front and from the side. With the permission and

ols
assistance of the museum I cast a copy of the marble mask. The mask

To
is shown in fig 26 from the side and in 27D from the front at the angle
nd
it was intended to be hung. Here we see that viewed horizontally, large
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parts of the head and hair can be seen, but most of the face is hidden. Fig
eW

27 shows various suggestive, frontal angles of view. From an angle of 15

degrees below the horizontal, fig 27 C – lower left, we see more of the
Fre

face but the jaw and chin are obscure. From 25 degrees, fig 27 B – upper
th
wi

right, we see the whole face clearly and meet its gaze. This seems to be
or

the best angle of view. From 30 degrees, fig 27 A – upper left, the mask
dit

seems to lean backwards, the chin dominates, the face appears distorted
FE

and we loose eye contact. If we compare the Kerameikos mask viewed

PD

from 25 degrees with the kenosis displayed by the seminar participants at

ill
F

Guovdagealdnu, we see that their expressions coincide. We see the same

PD

concentration at “the third eye”, the same tension in the eyebrows, the
same clear forward inclination. The eyes of the mask are so placed that
we experience an impression of a slight squint which we also find in the
faces of the seminar participants. We see the same open relaxed mouths
and cheeks, the same intensity and feeling of presence. The Kerameikos
mask has large eyes. I suggest that this enlargement might have been
a convention to render the eyes more clearly seen from the side. The

58
Kerameikos mask has a very sparse form. This quality is important in all
mask design, but it may also be a response to prevailing lighting condi-
tions at performances. A more abstact form assumes an even greater
clarity in stark sunlight. This simplicity coincides with the character of
the classical masks discussed in part one.

The construction of the acoustical mask

When the work of identifying the tragic mask as the mask of kenosis was
done, I decided to work with this mask. However I wanted to approach
its construction without any preconceived ideas in order to have control

ols
over such problems as might occur. I established three goals:

To
1). The mask must not inhibit the voice in any way.
nd
2). I would find out why the masks had such small eyeholes.
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3). I would experiment with a variety of materials. In order to understand

eW

what was required to achieve the first goal, I contacted Jan Ohlsson,
teacher at the radio education programme at the Dramatic Institute. He
Fre

gave me three principles to follow:

th
wi

1. The closer the actors’ mouth is to the mask’s mouth opening, the
or

better it is for the voice, which does not need to traverse such a big
dit

gap before it is released.

FE

2. The larger the mouth opening is, the better it is for the voice.
PD

3. The thinner the construction material is, the lesser the impact on
ill
F

the voice will be.

PD

It is also important to steer the voice towards the mouth opening so that
the sound is not lost in any cavities.

With these principles in mind I made a mask that was smaller than the
actor’s face (fig 29 a). The mouth opening was larger than the actor’s
mouth both horizontally and vertically and there was hardly any space

59
between mask and face so that sound would not leak into any cavities.
The mask was in contact with the face at the forehead, the temples, and
at the tip of the nose between the nostrils. The eyeholes were very close
to the actor’s eyes. The actor’s appearance, wearing the mask, was quite
satisfactory. I made this first mask with papier-mâché and gypsum gauze.
This mask had no effect on the sound of the voice, but it sat too close
to the face and interfered with cheek and jaw muscles when the actor
spoke and it was too close to the chin. I went on and made another mask
(fig 29b). I shifted the mask out from the face to give enough space
for the facial muscles to move freely behind it. However such a change
would allow the sound to leak into spaces between the mask and the ac-
tor’s face. The only way to retain the minimal distance between mouth

ols
and mouth hole, and move the mask outwards, was to tilt the mask for-

To
ward a little. This allowed me to keep the mask-face contact at the tip of
nd
the nose and give the chin more room. I had found a form that did not
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disturb the facial muscles nor interfere with the voice, but it took the
eW

eyeholes further away from the actor’s eyes.

Fre

So my next task was to find out why the masks had such small eyeholes. I
th
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knew that masks used in Japanese Noh theatre had this kind of eyehole.
or

I examined a series of Noh masks at the Museum of Ethnography and

dit

The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. They were all

FE

smaller than normal face-size and were concave in form. This directed
PD

the view of the wearer forwards and downwards. The distance between
ill
F

the eyes was no more than 5.5– 6 cm. The concave form and the closer
PD

than normal distance apart of the eyeholes restricted the angle of sight
downwards and the focus to a single point at short range. The form of
the masks imposes on the wearer the impression of seeing through a
single hole located somewhere between the eyebrows – ”the third eye”.
I experienced this very tangibly when I tried them on. The more con-
cave the mask was the more the gaze was directed and concentrated by
its form to a point on the floor just a few metres in front of me. This is

60
a position for meditation, known to all who have ever practiced Zen, or
any other kind of meditation.24

According to these traditions of meditation one should not stare, nor

hold the head too high, for this generates tensions and mental unease.
Neither should one tilt the head too far forward, nor close the eyes,
for this induces drowsiness and tiredness and one becomes introvert.
The design of the mask directs the head and the gaze to a position of
balance, to a state of meditation, awareness and presence. The form of
the Japanese Noh masks had the same effect as the masks I had made in
accordance with a concept from an entirely different source – my goal
to give the mask the best possible acoustic properties. The Noh masks

ols
too appear to induce a slight squint in the wearer – the two eyes being

To
directed in slightly different a direction – which occurs in kenosis and in
nd
the Kerameikos mask. My work had produced a specific design form:
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eyeholes 5.5–6 cm apart, a slight forward tilt, more room between mask
eW

and face, mouth opening very close to the mouth, contact point between
mask and face at the tip of the nose between the nostrils, the appearance
Fre

of kenosis, the slight squint, intensity and forward focus.

th
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or

I made seven such masks for my first cooperation with M Yemendzakis

dit

for her staging of “ Murderess” based on a novel by the well-known and

FE

loved Greek writer, Alexandros Papadiamandis. Written at the begin-

PD

ning of the 20฀th century, it tells the story of an old woman who kills
ill
F

sickly baby girls, her own grandchild among them, on the island of Skia-
PD

thos in the middle of the 19฀th century. She committed the murders in a
state described as “when her soul was elevated”. The play was performed
by a chorus of seven actresses and an actor-narrator. We used the masks
in fig 30 a and b when the chorus goes through a metamorphosis in mo-
ments of ecstasy. The premiere was in Athens in the summer of 1991.
The whole work was concentrated on the voice, the text and on the ac-
tors’ experiences of working with the masks. My ideas were confirmed

61
– about the form of the mask being an instrument which could lead the
actors into a state of meditation and create a heightened state of pres-
ence.

One day, during voice training rehearsals with the masks, a phenomenon
occurred which led the work forward. One of the actresses created a
voice resonance in her mask, for the first time. She used her own reso-
nance in the forehead and that immediately started a resonance in the
space between her forehead and the mask. Her voice became at once
concentrated, forceful and amplified. For the first time the mask worked
as an acoustic instrument – not because of any megaphone formation
at the mouth hole, but internally – the space between the face and the

ols
mask acting as a soundbox. Now it became clear why the tragic mask

To
covered the whole head. The mask was an extra resonance chamber for
nd
the voice. It had an acoustic function. Unfortunately I discovered this
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too late in the rehearsal period to exploit these acoustic possibilities in

eW

the performance. I decided to make a new mask. Once again I contacted

Jan Ohlsson at DI to discuss how my new mask might best function
Fre

as a resonance chamber. He said the mask could work as a Helmholtz

th
wi

resonator. In its simplest form it works like a bottle; when one blows
or

across the opening, starting a resonance, it produces sound. The volume

dit

of such a resonance chamber is significant (the smaller the volume the

FE

higher the pitch, the greater the volume the lower the pitch) and large
PD

holes in the chamber can inhibit the build up of resonance. Therefore

ill
F

the sizes of nose and eyeholes were quite critical. The sizes I had al-
PD

ready adopted were adequate. The next stage was to make a new mask
of greater volume (fig 29 c). The mask now extended back to the crown
of the head and gave more room between the front of the face and the
mask. I reworked the contact point at the tip of the nose to a kind of
funnel on the inside of the mask, which would always lead the voice out
of it. If one’s voice was directed inwards towards the masks’ resonance
chamber it sounded as if one were talking into a pot, but when it was di-

62
rected outwards, it was the resonance in the forehead which stimulated
the resonance in the resonance chamber and the acoustic effect of the
mask was best. The internal funnel hindered the voice from sounding
in the mask so that the only source of resonance was that in the wearer’s
head. Later I discovered that this funnel acted as transmission board
conveying the vibrations of the mouth directly to the shell of the mask,
in the same way that the wooden bridge of a violin transmits the vibra-
tions of the strings to the body of the instrument’s soundbox. This was
the birth of the acoustic resonance mask.

I used the same mask form in the production of Bengt Pohjanen’s play
“Red Dawn”, at Norbottensteatern in the spring of 1993 (fig 31฀a and

ols
b). I tried to retain the intensity and frontal concentration of the tragic

To
mask while working with a simplified and abstract form.
nd
ra
rite

I also experimented with materials to achieve the best acoustic results.

eW

I used various materials, glues and types of paint. I examined thickness,

hardness, porosity and other properties. I found that the construction
Fre

material should be hard and rigid, dense and strong; its surface should
th
wi

be hard and preferably glossy; it should not be porous as porous mate-

or

rials absorb sound; thick materials are also sound absorbent and they
dit

also inhibit reverberation characteristics. The mask must be of a certain

FE

resilience but it must not be so thin as to risk its durability; it must be

PD

stable and strong without being thick. It is a question of balance between

ill
F

thickness/stability and thinness/fragility. Certain acrylic glues are very

PD

elastic and deaden resonance and same applies to some types of paint.
Varnishing is important. Hair may be glued to a mask or represented by
painting. The painted hair gives better sound quality.

The results of my experiments were used in the next stage of my work,

the whole head mask, the fully developed form of the acoustic resonance
mask. My intention was that the whole mask should resonate, not just

63
the nose and the forehead sections, but parts covering the fontanelle on
the top of the head. I made three of this type of mask for a production of
“Dybbuk” by Bruce Myers, directed by Peter Oskarson and Mirka Yem-
endzakis at Orionteatern, Stockholm, January 1994. Two actors, Peter
Oskarson and Susan Taslimi narrated the story of Dybbuk using seven
masks (figs฀32,฀33,฀34,฀35,฀36฀a,฀b,฀c,฀d,฀37฀a,฀b,฀c). Three of these were
acoustic resonance masks (fig 36฀a, b,฀c), one mask covered the face to the
crown of the head( fig 36d) and three others were smaller than the face
(37฀a,฀b,฀c). It is of course more difficult, requiring long training, to reso-
nate the back of the head and the phrenic nerves than other resonance
chambers. This is because the sound of the voice travels in a certain
direction determined by the anatomy of the head. “The sound intensity

ols
of the human voice has directivity caused by diffraction by the head.

To
Although over the whole frequency range the difference is only -5 dB for
nd
the back of the head compared to the front. In the more important range
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for speech above 2฀000 hz the difference is –15dB”.25฀(Fig 43)

eW

In the summer of 1994 I was asked to make the masks for the production
Fre

of Aeshylus “Suppliants” produced by Desmoi (Research and practical

th
wi

applications Centre of the Ancient Drama, Athens) for the Epidaurus

or

Festival (figs 38,฀ 39,฀ 40,฀ 41). It was to be performed at the theatre in
dit

Epidaurus. I followed the same principles for all the masks but one, the
FE

Danaos mask (fig 40), which I preferred to make covering only the face
PD

to the crown of the head. In the ensemble none of the actors and actress-
ill
F

es knew how to work with an acoustic mask. But I was happy enough to
PD

get the chance to see my masks used at Epidaurus. There was one week’s
rehearsal time at Epidaurus and I followed all the rehearsals. For all the
actors but one it was impossible to activate the resonance chamber of
the masks. The actor who played Danaos,Yannis Dalianis, had a clear,
unconstrained voice with resonance and a decided directional delivery,
an extrovert voice and he succeded in creating resonance in his mask.
I listened to him in rehearsal from different locations in the theatre.

64
His voice sounded almost too loud and intensive in the lower part of
the auditorium, but when I went higher up it improved. When I was
right at the top and farthest away his voice held its full force, intensity
and clarity. It was as if he was just in front of me or whispering in my
ear, though he was standing far away. This paradox, seeing someone far
away and hearing him as if he was just a few feet away felt rather like a
miracle. From such a distance it is difficult to see anyone or anything
and the actors’ size is of no importance. What matters is that one should
hear extremely well. One of the mask’s functions is to make this possible
in these outdoor theatres

ols
Consonance, not resonance
To
nd
There is an acoustic phenomenon that the Roman architect, Vitruvius,
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has called consonance. In his book”De Architectura” he describes the

eW

architecture of the Greek theatres. He notes their acoustic properties

and writes a short analysis, “For there are some places which from their very
Fre

nature interfere with the course of the voice, as for instance the dissonant, which
th
wi

are termed in Greek κατηχουντες ; the circumsonant which with them are
or

named περιηχουντες, again the resonant, which are termed αντηχουντες

dit

and the consonant, which they cal συνηχουντες. The dissonant are those plac-
FE

es in which the first sound uttered that is carried up high, strikes against solid
PD

bodies above, and, being driven back, checks as it sinks to the bottom the rise of
Fill

the succeeding sound. The circumsonant are those in which the voice spreads all
PD

round and then is forced into the middle where it dissolves, the case-endings are
not heard and it dies away there in sounds of indistinct meaning. The resonant
are those in which it comes into contact with some solid substance and recoils,
thus producing an echo, and making the terminations of cases sound double. The
consonant are those in which it is supported from below, increases as it goes up,
and reaches the ears in words which are distinct and clear in tone”.26

65
W C Sabine translates these terms to modern nomenclature as follows,
“for dissonance, interference; for the word circumsonance, reverberation; for the
word resonance, echo. For conconance, we have unfortunately no single term,
but the concept is fundamental” 27 and later in the text “consonance is the
process whereby due to suitably placed reflecting walls the voice is supported and
strengthened, it is the one acoustical virtue that is positive”.28
To simplify the analysis: when sound strikes a surface which is far from
its source its reflection time may be so long that the reflected sound re-
turns to a listener who is still hearing sound direct from its source. The
reflected sound mixes with the direct sound and overlaps it. In speech,
what happens is that syllables overlap making words difficult to under-
stand. If, however, there is no resonance we experience sound as dead

ols
and dry, the room seems lifeless and listening is neither interesting nor

To
attractive. But when a reflection surface is near the sound source, the
nd
reflection time is so short that the reflected sound reinforces the direct
ra
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sound from the source. Regarding the effect on speech of the acoustic
eW

resonance mask, the interval between direct speech and its echo is so
short that the echo boosts and gives force to the direct speech. Instead
Fre

of an audible and confusing overlap of syllables, the voice is amplified

th
wi

and the words distinct. “Two identical waves arriving at the same point at
or

the same time combine to produce the sum of their effects”.29 So the most ap-
dit

propriate word for the acoustic phenomenon that occurs in the maks is
FE

not resonace but consonance.

PD

One experiences a different quality. The speech becomes richer, at-

ill
F

tractive, alive, enjoyable and even one’s surroundings are experienced in

PD

the same way. The use of the mask, covering the whole head, can accom-
plish this. The mask is the actor’s own resonance chamber and its use
gives life to the entire theatre space. Consonance generates a living and
pleasant space but it also endows the voice with a clarity that is necessary
for communication with an audience. The mask also helps to achieve
this desired and essential clarity by making consonants more distinct.
The sounds of human speech consist of consonants and vowels. Vowel

66
sounds are a blend of several sound wave frequencies. In certain vowels,
“i” and “e”, high frequencies dominate, while others such as “a” and
“o” are dominated by lower frequencies. Vowels with lower frequencies
require a larger space in which to resonate and do so in the lower parts
of the body, such as the chest. However, many consonants, “d, b, v, z, l,
m, n” and “r”, in which high frequencies dominate, resonate in the head.
The high frequencies in speech sounds play an important role in the
communication of content and meaning and these high frequencies are
important components in the structure of consonants. This is why the
consonants are so important in the understanding of speech… how they
strike the mask… how the consonants become strong, clean, vibrant,
both in the head and in the mask. Consonance and speech comprehen-

ols
sion create highly effective and pleasing communication and a living,

To
vibrant space. nd
ra
rite

Now we see why the mask has this specific form. This kenosis mask is the
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face of the ritual cries, the Dionysian path to ecstasy. The mask induces
in the actor a state of awareness, attentiveness, alertness and intensity.
Fre

The mask creates the conditions for the actor’s theatrical metamorpho-
th
wi

sis and improves communication and enjoyment of speech by increas-

or

ing comprehension and consonance. It is an acoustical mask. It is now

dit

clear why the tragic masks had such small eyeholes. This feature helped
FE

the actor to concentrate. A large gaping mouth hole was not required.
PD

A trained voice does not need a large opening for its sound to be de-
ill
F

livered, it is projected inwards into the body, to the pelvis, and so the
PD

mask does not need a large mouth opening. In projection outwards the
bodily opening is sufficient. The mask does not need to be much larger
than the head – a large increase in the size of the resonator changes the
frequencies of the resonance. The appearance, size and form were deter-
mined for very particular reasons. The mask has special functions which
have influenced its physical form and properties. The kenosis mask acts as
a lens to focus the actor’s attention and as a consonant instrument.

67
 As I already mentioned since the beginning of the 1990 s I have worked
together with the theatre director Giorgos Zamboulakis and together
we have created a method for actors who wish to work with mask-voice-
characterisation.
In the following pages I summarise our method and the experiences of
the actors in our performances and of the seminar participants in their
use of the mask – how they react to working with it and how the mask
becomes as an instrument for the actor.

ols
To
nd
ra
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Fre
th
wi
or
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FE
PD
ill
F
PD

68
PD
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70

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fig฀1

bild 1

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 34

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72
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fig฀44
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fig฀5฀a,฀b
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 36
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fig฀7
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74
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fig฀8
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 38

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76
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bild
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fig฀11,฀12
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39
40

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 78
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fig฀14,฀15
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 42
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80

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fig฀17

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17

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 44

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 82

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45
46

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84

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 48
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fig฀21,฀22,฀23
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bild 21, 22, 23

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86
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fig.฀24
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fig฀25,฀26
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 50
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fig฀27฀a฀b฀c฀d
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88

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 52
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bildfig฀29
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28 a b c d
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90

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 54

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92

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56

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 PD
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96

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 PD
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bild 33 och 34
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108

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116

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PD
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IV. The Mask and the Actor
The mask is an external instrument that helps the actor to transform
him /herself into a member of the chorus and the stage figure of the
role. It creates the poetic reality of tragedy on stage at a corporeal and
mental level.
According to our work methodology we usually start with warming-
up the muscles of the body warming-up using the breath and the voice
creating Awareness of the body’s axes.
In our work with the actors, the creation of a mental state of inner ac-
ceptance of the mask by the actor is of great importance. An acceptance

ols
which operates on a physical, psychological and mental level and which

To
at the same time creates a new field in the way the actor has learned to
nd
express him/herself according to the realistic theatre praxis. One of the
ra

basic principles in our work with the actors is the development of the
rite

greatest range of the voice of the actor. Our starting point is that in
eW

tragedy three actors with the use of masks played all the roles, male and
Fre

female, young and elders, nobles and slaves. In accordance with this,
th

each role uses another part of the totality of the vocal range, in analogy
wi

with the role. The issues that the actor meets in his first account with the
or
dit

tragic mask are very specific.

FE
PD
ill

Meeting the mask

F
PD

The first step in introducing the actor to the mask is to create an appro-
priate framework for the meeting, a ceremony – to create time and space
in which one can escape the conditions of everyday life and come to a
heightened state of awareness – to stimulate breathing and concentra-
tion – to open oneself to communication with others in the same space
– to achieve a state in which it is possible to accept the mask.
The actors sit on the floor, their backbone straight, with the masks

119
placed on the floor in front of them. Each actor starts to utter a tone
directed at the mask in front of him/her. The mask is at first seen as an
object. By holding the tone continuously, while looking at the mask, the
actor begins to make contact with it. The surface of the mask has a mag-
netic impact and the actor focuses his/her gaze on the small eyeholes or
the mouth opening. The gaze wanders over the surface of the mask and
inspects its appearance. The mask, an image of kenosis, acts as a projec-
tion screen. The actor notices its intensity, its gaze, its relaxation and
projects new expressions upon it. The mask smiles, shouts, laughs, is sad,
glad, mocking. Everything is there. A dialogue ensues.

The mask takes on life and is experienced as a responsive face. Uncon-

ols
sciously, the actor tries to imitate the face opposite. The mask shows

To
the way. The chin drops and relaxes, the eyes focus on the gaze of the
nd
mask. The mask and the face mirror each other. When such a dialogue
ra
rite

arises, the actor is ready to put on the mask. If the actors, helped by the
eW

utterance of their continuous tones, keep in contact with each other, a

common rhythm ensues and all the actors don their masks at about the
Fre

same time. With their masks on the actors feel, at first, isolated from
th
wi

each other, they think they can neither see nor hear the others and that
or

no one can see them. They feel alone behind their masks and devastated.
dit

The faces are not exposed as usual. The individual faces, the personal
FE

expressions, the looks, are gone as if they had never existed. No one
PD

judges them – in the beginning they feel as if they have disappeared.

ill
F

Another anxiety, on wearing the mask for the first time, is that breath-
PD

ing will be restricted, resulting in panic. But if one breathes open-

mouthed, sufficient air is available through the nose hole, the mouth and
the opening under the chin. The chanting of tones leads to greater ob-
jectivity; it regulates breathing by controlling the length of exhalation.
The tones give a palpable and physical understanding of what extrovert
direction means to both voice and thought and breathing becomes calm-
er and deeper. Contact with one’s pelvis is accomplished.

120
By maintaining the continuous tone steadily the actors keep in touch
with their bodies and the initial discomfort gives way to a feeling of free-
dom. They begin to see and hear better, become aware of their breath-
ing and regain contact with the group. In this way they become familiar
with their masks, accept them and rely on them. On first acquaintance
with the mask the actors feel the space between face and mask. They feel
the limitations. But then it feels as if the continuous tone fills the space
in between.
If they can resist staring or blinking (both of which lead to introver-
sion and negation of presence behind the mask) but remain calm and
look out through the eyeholes, experiencing their masks not as obstacles
but as a new potential, then they start becoming extrovert, they feel

ols
liberated, they feel that they grow into their masks and fill the space

To
between face and mask. Face and mask unite to from a single entity and
nd
this is enhanced by the resonance between mask and head which creates
ra
rite

confidence.
eW
Fre

The small eyeholes of the mask

th
wi
or

The small size of the eyeholes affects the field of view which is much
dit

smaller than the actors are used to. At first they think they cannot see,
FE

but soon they realise they can see all they need to. The eyeholes play
PD

a significant role by functioning as lenses for the gaze of the actor. As

ill
F

the gaze is directed through this construction, the optic field becomes
PD

very narrow and after a while the actor has the feeling that he is look-
ing through a single eyehole – a ‘third eye’ – placed in the area between
the eyebrows. This arrangement works because the gaze is directed to
a point, rather like a lens focuses rays of light. Close objects are seen to
be larger than normal and distant objects appear to be further away. The
general effect is that one sees more clearly, the gaze is focused and the
field of view is narrow but specific and concrete. The normal field of

121
view that is wide and diffuse is cropped to a smaller view that is clearer,
because peripheral vision is lost.
The strong extrovert direction given by the new field of view promotes
an increased awareness of the body’s axis, the spine and the pelvis.
This construction puts the actor in a meditative state and he develops a
more conscious feeling for the body’s axes, the spine (vertical) and the
pelvic area (horizontal). The actor becomes more aware of a series of
physical actions such as the angle of the head, the drop of the shoulders,
the position of the spine and the pelvis. This awareness influences the
control of the voice because all the above are closely related to the pro-
duction of a powerful and free voice.
Below we shall see how minimizing the range of vision also induces

ols
a sharpening of other senses resulting in a maximizing of bodily aware-

To
ness, hearing, the awareness of space and the presence of others
nd
ra
rite

Mask, consonance and movement

eW
Fre

We have seen how the mask brings about sharpened awareness, now
th
wi

we must find the resonance of the mask. One tries to strike the inner
or

surface of the mask with the consonants and vibrate the vowels. One
dit

can feel the resonance, the vibrations, in the mask. This dissociation
FE

of the intellect assists the actor to concentrate and concentration helps

PD

to create an extrovert direction. When one finds one’s resonance one

ill
F

willingly forgets oneself – the voice gets bigger and bigger. One fills the
PD

room more forcefully; every consonant and vowel gains its own bodily
dimension. It is, however, important not only to maintain the volume
but also the intensity and the extrovert direction. One may be very noisy
behind the mask and yet fail to project the voice so that it can be heard
at a distance. One can enjoy one’s own resonance without delivering it
outwards. One must resonate continuously, maintain the intensity and
send the consonance out – be always extrovert. When the voice is not

122
projected through the mask it sounds as if one’s head is in a can. If one
does not feel the consonance the voice has no direction. The mask is
an instrument designed to control the resonance, the direction and the
intensity of the voice.
It is important that the process described above is carried out in a sit-
ting position. This is how we keep contact between the pelvis and the
forces of gravity, find our direction and resonance. Once this has been
achieved, we can leave this position, and begin to move – stand up and
walk. However it must always be done with the help of a tone. This
helps to maintain contact between body, direction and resonance.
In order to see where we are going, we must, because of the narrow
field of view turn the head and body, not just the eyeballs. This need

ols
to check on the other actors and one’s surroundings requires greater

To
concentration and our movements become more deliberate, precise and
nd
larger than in everyday life. A more rhythmic movement pattern devel-
ra
rite

ops which becomes distinct, concrete and extrovert. Because it is easier

eW

to be in rhythmic movement when wearing the mask, it is also, in some

enigmatic way, easier to develop movement in accord with others. This
Fre

is not a case of individuals imitating each other, this union occurs at a

th
wi

deeper level. By listening to each other’s voices and tones we hear each
or

other’s breathing and gradually the group breathes in unison. So a group

dit

rhythm is created – a common rhythm. Concentration enables us to

FE

sense each other’s bodies, to feel each other’s breathing – we listen to

PD

each other. We are all dependent on each other and our sensitivity for the
ill
F

others grows. Rehearsal and performance of the chorus which is based

PD

on breathing in unison and the building of a common body is easier us-

ing masks than without. The common resonance helps the actor to build
a relationship with the space, to respond. In this way the mask helps the
actor to escape from everyday life in which we generally are easy-going
and do things with the minimum of effort. The mask excises the private
face and brings a new state, a new dimension, it brings us to emptiness.
In this emptiness there is room for the text and space for other actors

123
and so we may grow into, and together with, others and become greater
than ourselves. A whole new world is created in which no fear exists. But
we must be careful not to relapse into slackness, believing that the mask
is hiding us. The mask can deceive us. Laxity can be seen in the body, it
is heard in the voice which becomes monotonous and introvert – it can
be seen on the mask as it dies. We must always be present behind the
mask, always awake, always alert, always in a state of kenosis.

Akroasis, Time and Space

The minimization of sight leads to the maximization of listening to

ols
the other actors, to a different awareness of their presence based not so

To
much on seeing but on hearing. It leads the actor to the act of akroasis,
nd
the act of conscious and active listening.
ra
rite

Another important field which is heavily influenced by the lack of

eW

peripheral vision and being behind the mask, is the individual sense of
Time, which is always a distortion of the objective time .The individual
Fre

sense of Time of each of the actors is enlarged by the changes of vision

th
wi

imposed by the mask, which are the lack of the peripheral vision, the
or

creation of a tunnel vision and the meeting with an internal vision.

dit

Another important issue that arises and is based upon the changes in vi-
FE

sion imposed by the mask is the perception of Space and the orientation
PD

in Space.
ill
F

The actor has to conceive the acting space and create points in the
PD

space that function as compass points. Points that make it possible for
the actor to navigate inside the limits of the acting space and make him
confident of his bodily presence, movement and action in space.
I have presented the most crucial aspects of the first meeting of the actor
with the mask. I shall go to present in detail our working methodology

124
Methodology

The method we have developed is based upon the issues we have catego-
rized in four basic units:

First Unit
Perception of Time/ Perception of Space/ Perception of Sound .Creation of com-
mon breath. Creation of the common body of the Chorus.

1. The development of the common breath.

The alteration of the breath of the actor and the creation of a differ-
ent system of breathing that affects both the internal breathing space in

ols
the body and the time aspect of the breath. Altering breathing creates

To
the prerequisites for the transformation of the voice and the produced
nd
sound.
ra
rite
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2. The common perception of Time

The first element of importance is the individual sense of time, which
Fre

is always a distortion of ‘objective’ linear time. The individual sense of

th
wi

Time of each of the actors is enlarged by the changes of vision imposed

or

by the mask which are the lack of peripheral vision, the creation of tun-
dit

nel vision and the adoption of an internal vision. The first element is the
FE

enlargement of the individual sense of time and the distortion of the ob-
PD

jective time. Exercises are employed to create a common sense of time at

ill
F

an individual and group level and to create a consensus about the Time
PD

that is going to be common to all during the perforrmance.

3. Orientation and Perception of Space.

The changes in vision imposed by the mask alter the perception and ori-
entation in space. We help the actor to comprehend the acting space and
create points in the space that function as compass points. Points that
make it possible for the actor to navigate inside the limits of the acting

125
space and make him/her confident with his bodily presence, movement
and action in space

4. Creation of the Mythical Topos

We inspire the actor to have in mind that through his physical and men-
tal presence the mask transforms the actual acting area into a Mythical
Topos; the mental and symbolic space where the dramatic act of My-
thos is unfolded. It is both the general theatrical convention but also
the presence of the mask that enables a stage to be transformed into the
space in front of the tomb of Darius, the deceased king of Persians, as it
does in Euripides’ “Persians”.

ols
5. Perception of Sound and Akroasis

To
Besides the compass points that help the actor to define his position in
nd
space, the actor has to perceive in an active way the sound produced by
ra
rite

the voices of the other actors so he can discern the different voices, place
eW

them into space and thus have the ability to orientate himself, communi-
cate and co–create with the others the actual soundscape.
Fre

The minimization of sight leads to the maximization of listening to

th
wi

the other actors, to a different awareness of their presence based not so

or

much on seeing but on hearing. The lack of vision is the prerequisite for
dit

the development of an active, and conscious listening, the act of akroa-

FE

sis. The actor has to learn to perceive in an active way complex qualities
PD

of sound, such as pitch, intensity, volume, tone, music, melody, timbre,

ill
F

sound color, etc. Production of sound/speech and aspects of speech,

PD

including text, metre, and rhythm, must be distinguished. The goal is

the creation of common breath, and particularly the creation of the
common body of the chorus.

Second Unit
Production of sound/ Speech and differentiated aspects of speech / Text/ Meter/
Rhythm/Logos

126
1. Improvisation of the actors in development of the musical scales.
Everybody takes his own time, tuning the voice first separately and then
together with others. The development of the collective perception of
the produced sound.

2. Consonants
Placement of the consonants and development of the produced sound
in different parts of the head. The production and the perception of
resonance.

3. Vowels
Placement and strengthening of the production of vowels in different

ols
resonance chambers of the body.

To
Sound production and its connection to different energy centers of
nd
the body.
ra
rite
eW

4. Acoustical Chaos
The use of this exercise permits the actors to speak simultaneously what-
Fre

ever text each one chooses. Each actor has his own speed, rhythm, pitch,
th
wi

and level of intensity creating a feeling of safety behind and inside the
or

mask. This feeling helps the actor to accept the mask totally. Using
dit

this exercise the actors create tension and bodily intensity on a personal
FE

level and on a collective level.

PD
ill
F

5. Canon
PD

Division of the body of the chorus in two parts. Both subgroups per-
form the same text in a loop with different starting points but with the
same chronicity. It is a kind of organized chaos that grants the audience
a new perception of speech and for the actor is the beginning of
creative confrontation with Logos.

127
6. Unison
The mark of the starting points in the text where the voices of all the
members of the chorus occur together, simultaneously and at the same
pitch in unison creating the solid body of the chorus unison.

7. Heterochrony
The performance of the same text by the chorus, where each member
has his own chronicity, his own timing. The development of the pres-
ence of the individual as a part of the common group of the chorus.

8. Rhythm
Exercises in different rhythms that can become parts of the synthesis of

ols
elements.

To
nd
9. Metre
ra
rite

Production of different metres of tragedy. First only with the body by

eW

literally walking the metres, Secondly, walking and clapping the metres.
Third, standing and clapping the metres then with sound and fourth
Fre

with the use of speech. The metre as a phenomenon connected to dif-

th
wi

ferent energy centers of the body of the actor. The importance of the
or

continuous change of the metre for the actors and the spectator.
dit
FE

10. The Cries

PD

The cries as elements for the change of the corporeal and mental state
ill
F

of mind of the actor and creation of scenic tension and means of the
PD

metamorphosis of the actor.

11.The voice of the main actor

Definition of the main voice, the voice of the actor and the creation of
the role, the birth of the role and its emergence from the body of the
chorus. The dialogue of the role with the chorus.
The mask enables the actor to express the totality of his being and not

128
simply express variations or diversions of the human behavior.
When other kinds of theatre use the mask as a means to present differ-
ences in character and human behaviour, the tragic mask focuses not on
the differences but the commonality of the human species. And when it
comes to the roles tragedy presents the deviation of the human behavior
and as such it has to to be discussed.

12. Overtones
Overtones are sharply resonating multi-dimensional sounds – a series of
tones which are higher in pitch than the base tone. The harmonic series
may often develop up to 40 overtones and although we may not be able
to hear them all we are aware of a large number of them as subliminal

ols
sound, that is, sound not perceived by hearing but by other senses such

To
as touch. Together with the base tone they constitute a harmonic sound
nd
which is experienced as polyphonic singing.
ra
rite

Recitation and ceremonial chanting are a form of vocal meditation

eW

which does not require vituoso voice control like opera, but rather a
relaxed body, free breathing and a meditative state of mind.
Fre
th
wi

Third unit
or

Geometrical analysis of the movement/Sculptural composition -Development

dit

and unfolding of the whole created by the bodies/Choreography

FE

The actor wearing a mask immediately is transformed into a living

PD

sculpture and a masked chorus becomes a sculptural composition that

ill
F

continuously and perpetually evolves on stage. The very existence of this

PD

sculptural composition presupposes a different kind of movement and a

different kind of the development of the movement on stage.
In the beginning we analyze the choreography exactly, the sequence
of movements and then we practice so the actors can perform this se-
quence, a development of basic forms, schemata: line, parallel lines, tri-
angle and circle. A series of exercises include the execution of:

129
1. Three different steps, bemata:
Steps as preparation of movement, steps of transition, steps of corporeal
oscillation.

2. Positions of the arms and the hands, Cheronomeiai

Six different positions of the arms and the hands and the importance
of the transition from one position of the arms and the hands to the
other in relation to the mask as a means to creating dramatic meaning.

3. Immobility
The dramatic and dramaturgical meaning of immobility. Immobility
as a basic component for the creation of a continuous and dynamic

ols
image. Immobility as the phase in between the completion of the funda-

To
mental formation of the chorus and its transition to the next formation.
nd
Immobility as a means of creation of scenic tension. As with our work
ra
rite

with speech, Logos, there are several forms that can be applied when we
eW

work with movement.

Fre

4. Kinetic Chaos
th
wi

Each actor improvises a series of movements that create a pattern which

or

he/she follows alone without reference to the movement patterns of the

dit

other actors. All movement patterns are different.

FE
PD

5. Kinetic Canon
ill
F

The chorus is divided in two sub-groups and each group performs

PD

the same movement pattern but starting at a different time.

6. Kinetic Unison
Simultaneous movement when every member of the chorus performs
the same movement pattern at the same time.

130
7. Kinetic Dialogue
A dialogue created between the movement pattern of the actor playing a
role and the movement pattern of the chorus performed simultaneously.
All these forms may happen simultaneously with their corresponding
forms of the Logos in accordance or in discordance with them

Fourth unit
Composition and Synthesis of all the elements. Creation of the act of Theatre.
The synthesis of all the elements presented above into a unity. Body/
Breath / Voice / Rhythm /Metre/ Logos / Movement, all these elements
are brought together and become dramatic and dramaturgical material
with the mask as the basis and the focal point of this synthesis.Thea-

ols
tre encompasses several Art forms as: Poetry, Dance, Music, Sculpture,

To
Painting, and Architecture. Theater performance is a multi artwork. In
nd
respect to this the tragic mask is a focal point, an epicenter where all the
ra
rite

Arts converge. In contemporary theater terms we can deconstruct all

eW

the art forms that constitute the theatre performance but not the Mask.
The Mask can not possibly be deconstructed and it exists as a symbol for
Fre

the synthesis of the Arts. It is only as such that it can reveal its hidden
th
wi

dynamics. The prerequisites for the creation of this synthesis on stage

or

and the revelation of the hidden dynamics of the Mask are the absolute
dit

respect of the individuality of each actor on a personal level, the full and
FE

complete understanding of the problems that each actor is confronted

PD

with when he/she is masked and the creation of solutions for each one of
ill
F

these problems. In conclusion, for the actor to be inspired and encour-

PD

aged in order to reach his/her optimum, he has to be surrounded by

relationships full of acceptance, affection and loving kindness. Prerequi-
sites for the creation of the dialogue around Tragedy’s primary material
and question, the human existence.

The actor’s first metamorphosis is to become a part of the chorus and

then to transform him/herself into the role. The experience of the actor

131
behind the mask is that he is present in his body and at the same time
he is aware of observing himself from the outside. Behind the mask, the
actor develops a double awareness. Instead of the expressivity of the mod-
ern actor, we can talk about the actor’s existence on stage and his meta-
morphosis.Working with the acoustical mask, the actors go through a
comprehensive re-training that leads them into another way of working,
into another area of work. The acoustical mask is the instrument that
creates a new web of relations that involve the text, the actor, the chorus,
the creation of the roles, and the relationship between the stage and the
auditorium. Techniques of working with the mask that have been cre-
ated during the 20th century are mostly based upon the assumption that
the mask is a device for the development and liberation of the expressive

ols
potential of the actor. Even though in our work there is a great place for

To
improvisation and the development of the expressive potential of the
nd
actor our method requires that the actor find freedom within a well-de-
ra
rite

fined form. In our work, it is the actor who has to accept and become the
eW

instrument of the mask. The actor behind the mask accepts the mask,
adapts himself to the restrictions required by the mask, reveals himself
Fre

thereby, and achieves creative freedom. The development of the expres-

th
wi

sive potential of the actor is an added bonus as the somatic impulses are
or

given precedence to the cerebral ones during the creatice process. The
dit

body/mind state of kenosis is the kind of existence that the dramatic ac-
FE

tor is supposed to embody on stage and the particular way that the actor
PD

has to relate to his consciousness on stage.

ill
F
PD

Thus the mask helps to inspire a style of high energy acting and it being
in perfect union with the voice and speech, we can understand that the
Greeks could not think of acting without the mask, and that theatre did
not exist without the mask. The mask and the voice were two sides of
the same coin. It is thought, energy, voice and speech, it is logos, that
keeps the mask alive. Without this the mask merely hides the face, it
becomes detached and dies. But if we are in a state of kenosis and pres-

132
ence behind the mask, then the face becomes like the mask! The face is
no longer private behind the mask, it becomes a mask. The face and the
mask change places. We get the feeling that our skin has been moved out
to the mask so that our blood circulates around it. The mask becomes
transparent like the human skin. The mask is alive. A fusion of mask and
body occurs.

A new reality comes into being. In it we can see the voices in space, how
they stream like water out of the masks, how they unite with each other,
how they fill space. In this way the mask is an instrument with which we
can together create a living organism which is something much greater
than individual roles, individual achievements, individual actors. The

ols
mask is above all the instrument of the narration. It is a strict narrow

To
channel which leads all energy to the creation of this new organism – the
nd
narrative. The mask stands in its service and it receives, in return, a
ra
rite

reward of great importance – life. An empty shell is transformed into a

eW

living face.
Fre
th
wi
or
dit
FE
PD
ill
F
PD

133
PD
Fil
lP
DF
Ed
ito
rw
ith
Fre
eW
rite
ra
nd
To
ols
V. The Mask and the Text
Mask and voice exist in mutual engagement, in reciprocal dependence,
in symbiosis. Behind the security of the mask, the actor dares to take
risks and he/she is led away from everyday life to a state of concentra-
tion, awareness, attentiveness, alertness, heightened presence and physi-
cality. The whole body speaks, listens, exists in a state of communica-
tion. The actor becomes accessible and is directed towards his/her full
capability. The pelvis, the spine, the whole body radiates, is in readi-
ness, in tension, in control. The actor accepts the limitations imposed
by the mask, welcomes the mask, adapts to it and achieves freedom.

ols
The mask becomes an instrument for the control of voice, rhythm and

To
direction; for the development of articulation and resonance; for the
nd
creation of consonance; for the achievement of emptiness in the actor
ra

which is a prerequisite for bringing life to the theatre. In that emptiness,

rite

in the interspace that arises, the actor makes space for the tragic heroes
eW

and heroines – in the actor’s presence the tragic archetype is born. In

Fre

that emptiness the archetype is given a face. It is the face of the Other,
th

whether it be the mythic hero or half-god such as Agamemnon, Orestes,

wi

Prometheus, the barbarian as in the “Persians”, or the woman such as

or
dit

Medea, Klytemnestra, Antigone and Electra.

FE
PD

These incarnations of Otherness were presented in the theatre by the

ill

male citizens of Athens – the hero, the barbarian and the woman. In the
F
PD

theatre men could participate in these representations – the theatre itself

stood under the protection of the Other above all others, Dionysus. In
the theatre the Otherness found its place in the bodies of the actors and
in doing so found place at the centre of social and religious life of Ath-
ens. Even for a short time and only in the limited and liminal space of
theatre the city literally incorporated the Other in its own body. In this
way the mask of tragedy, of kenosis – emptiness and presence at the same
time– is the face of the Other.

135
The mask as a projection screen

The mask exists always in a relationship of tension with the text. The
mask with its lack of a definite expression and with its open inexpressive
face becomes a projection screen for the text.The expressionless appear-
ance of the mask allows the projection of different expressions upon it.
Kenosis creates a stream of ever changing expressions, the mask acting as
a projection screen. When the mask is in use by an actor, it is in constant
flux because of its relationship to that individual. Every movement of
the body, every change in tone, voice, gesture and energy transforms the
appearance of the mask. Voice/body/mask are in constant transition, in
response to another stream of changes in the text.

ols
To
These continuous changes correspond to the chain of perpetual changes
nd
ra
that are contained it the text. The poetic texts have the capacity of ema-
rite

nating constant visions, images in the imagination of the audience.

eW

An obvious characteristic of the tragic text is its capacity to call forth vis-
Fre

ual images. In long passages the text induces a continuous stream of im-
ages in the imagination of the audience, not ready-made pictures shown
th
wi

on stage for easy consumption, but images in the mind’s eye stimulated
or

by the text to activate the imagination The mask never illustrates these
dit
FE

changes. The mask is in continuous dialogue with the text, in continu-

PD

ous tension, resisting the text.The mask becomes a projection screen for
the audience to project the text upon.A medium, on which the audience
ill
F

“sees” all the emotions and all the expressions that the text produces
PD

through the actors. The mask does not actually change, but because it
is always without expression it is open to constant reinterpretation. The
mask becomes a projection screen on which the text is projected for the
audience. It becomes the topos where the energy of the voice and the
body meet, the topos upon which the gaze of the audience and the tragic
text meet.

136
Examples of such passages are the speeches of the messengers which ex-
ist in all the tragedies. A high point in this category is found in Aeschylus
“Persians” in which the messenger’s description of the outright defeat
of the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis releases the lament of the
Persian chorus over the horrors of war. This kind of text also includes
descriptions of appearance, or change of mood and facial expression, of
the characters in the play. Descriptions of settings and scenery may also
be included. Here follow some examples:

Descriptions of appearance
Aeschylus, “Eumenides”, verses 51–54
Pythia: “but these are wingless, sable and altogether

ols
detestable,

To
Their snorting nostrils blow forth fearsome
nd
blasts, and from their eyes oozes a loathy rheum”.1
ra
rite
eW

and verses 68 – 69
Pyth: “these loathsome maidens, beldames, aged children”.2
Fre
th
wi

Changes in appearance
or

Aeschylus, “Cheophore”, verses 24–25

dit

Chorus: “My cheek is marked with bloody gashes where my

FE

nails have cut fresh furrows”.3

PD
Fill

Changes in mood and facial expression

PD

Aeschylus, “Prometheus Bound”, verses 399 – 401

Chorus: “Shedding from my eyes a coursing flood of tears
wet my tender cheeks with their moist streams”.4

Aeschylus, “The Persians”, verses 1064–1065

Xerxes: “Let tears moisten thine eyes”
Chorus: “I am steeped in tears”5

137
 Aeschylus, “Agamemnon”, verse 270
Chorus: “Joy steals over me, giving challenge to my tears”.6

Aeschylus, “Agamemnon”, verse 520

Messenger:“give fitting welcome now with gladness in these
your eyes”.7

and verse 587

Clytemnestra: “I raised a shout of triumph in my joy

evewhile”.8

ols
To
Aeschylus, the “Cheophoroe”, verses 186–187
nd
Chorus: “From my eyes thirsty drops of stormy flood fall
ra
rite

unchecked”.9
eW

The texts are full of such images. We can therefore say that there are
Fre

two kinds of mask present during a performance. Those worn by the

th
wi

actors and those which belong to, and are brought forth by, the text.
or

The actor’s masks do not illustrate the text’s masks, the relationship
dit

is not naturalistic, instead there occurs a tension between them. The

FE

mask responds, opposes, illuminates the text, exists in unbroken tension,

PD

in continuous dialogue. Of course we do not see tears on the mask of

ill
F

Xerxes, nor joy on the masks of the chorus in “Agamemnon” – and yet
PD

we see them. The text projects onto the masks so that we can picture
what it describes. This works because the tragic mask was an image of
kenosis with only a mere indication of sex, age or status and no expression
any sort. A more specific appearance would have limited the openness
and fluidity of the mask. We can find support for this thinking in images
of the Erinyes which are contemporaneous with Aeschylus.

138
Fig 42 shows an Erinys,10 but not as the terrifying creature described
in the text. On this ceramic vase from about 450 bc (the “Oresteia” was
performed 458 bc) we see no hideous face. The only remarkable feature
of the image is that the Erinys bears snakes in her arms and on her head.
Nothing suggests the existence of a mask capable of creating the horror
that was noted in the performance of the “Oresteia” when the Erinyes
appeared. The horror was probably engendered by the text and the act-
ing – not by the actors’ masks. The mask was the place, topos, where the
energies of voice and body converged, where the gaze and the text were
projected.

ols
Mask, Character, Ethos and Mythos
To
nd
I would like to emphasize the fact that the kenosis mask is by no means
ra
rite

a neutral mask nor it is a character or expressive mask.

eW

The notion of character which derives from Greek and means “an
instrument for marking and graving, impress, stamp, distinctive mark”
Fre

was created in Hellenistic Times.

th
wi

Theophrastus’ “Characters”, 320 bc, is the earlier extant example of

or

a literary genre which was based upon the description of fixed character
dit

types and it describes wicked and depraved people.Types that belong

FE

to the genre of comedy and not tragedy. But Theophrastus still defines
PD

human character not from appearance but from actions and behaviour.
ill
F

There is no physiognomy. The tendencies to define human types from

PD

appearance first appear later in the Hellenistic period. In “Physiogno-

monica” by Pseudoaristoteles (ie, an anonymous writer, presumably of
the school of Aristotle) from sometime in the 4th century bc, such a
theory is presented. In it parallels are drawn between the appearance
of animals and humans and between different races and conclusions are
reached based on forms of the face, colour, expressions and bodily char-
acteristics. Strong facial colouring might indicate a hot tempered person

139
while a milder complexion signalled calmer temperament. Raised eye-
brows pointed to pride, wavy hair to courage and curly hair to an en-
ergetic disposition. Thus categories and stereotyping were introduced
and when society became categorised theatre masks were adapted to suit
the stereotypes. We can study the codes of categorisation in the “Ono-
masticon” by Pollux. The masks made in accordance with this code were
mostly used in the new comedy, but possibly the tragic masks were also
influenced. The audience could read on the mask the character of a role
as soon as the actor made his entrance. The heroes were transformed
into characters and social types.
The genre of New Comedy that was very popular during this era pro-
vided the Western theatre with a cast-list of human types which survived

ols
through the centuries to our time.

To
The Hellenistic mask, in particular the mask of the new comedy, indi-
nd
cated sex, age, status, origin and character. Instead the mask of tragedy
ra
rite

does not represent any individual identity or character but its features
eW

correspond only to indications about sex, age, ethnic origins, social sta-
tus, and other dichotomies as human/divine, dead /alive. These elements
Fre

together with the notion of kenosis create the notion of Ethos.

th
wi
or

Ethos was defined by Aristotle as one of the elements that constitute

dit

Tragedy. In “Poetics”, Aristotle defined tragedy not as a representation

FE

of men but of action and the end aimed at is not the representation
PD

of character but of action, because “it is men’s actions that make them
ill
F

happy or the opposite”. They do not act to represent character but char-
PD

acter study is included for the sake of the action. That leads us to the
fact that the actor seeks the actions and not the coherent personality that
commits them .The task of the actor is to inhabit the actions with such
presence that the stage figure becomes alive and truthful. It means that
any character drawing is not created on stage by the mask at the begin-
ning of the performance but in the mind of the audience and by the
totality of the performance at the end of it .The actions define character

140
drawing of the roles. The mask does not give the audience any key to
read the character but becomes a projection screen for the actions of the
role. The mask creates empty space for the reflection of the spectator.
Thus, the mask is a part of an aesthetic system that creates Ethos. It does
this through the choice of what to present and what not to present on
stage, what to show on the surface of the mask and what to leave outside
this field, what to include and what to exclude, what to define and what
to leave undefined.
The mask of kenosis has no physiognomic traits that enable the au-
dience to define the character of the stage figure. The mask does not
present on stage any fixed human types. The idea that it is possible
through the face of the human being to define its fixed character is alien

ols
to the mental universe of Classical Tragedy.

To
Of course, the lack of character or neutrality and the presence of emp-
nd
tiness are connected to the fact that on a textual level the Greek tragedy
ra
rite

doesn’t operate on the level of psychological realism and the idea of

eW

characters but archetypes.

The human being was an organic part of the community without the
Fre

psychological autonomy that marks the modern man. The notion of

th
wi

tragedy is born when the individual, being part of the community be-
or

gins to search for the truth outside the community, outside the common
dit

faith.
FE
PD

The central themes of tragedy are choice and action, not character. The
ill
F

plot defines the character even if the character may be one of the ele-
PD

ments of the plot. The main focus is in the action represented by the
plot, mythos. Aristotle stated that tragedy could exist without characteri-
sation, but not without mythos.

Mythos is the soul of tragedy. This is because Greek individuals, of that

time, were a part of a community - social beings who understood them-
selves to be so. They did not see themselves as autonomous personalities

141
with their own subjective psychological truths. Ethics were coupled to
society, to the group to which they belonged, not to a personal psychol-
ogy. That is the background to the lack of psychological development of
the heroes and to the fact that the persons portrayed in the tragedies are
not named unless they are kings, queens, princes, half gods or heroes.
Others are identified by their characteristics or functions, eg. messen-
ger, shepherd, wet-nurse. As the ethos of a person would be revealed
through his/her actions and choices, it is entirely logical that the tragic
mask should not display character. That possibility was not a part of the
thinking of the dramatists of tragedy. Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripi-
des give us no interpretations of character based on physical appearance,
no hint of a connection between facial expression and character.

ols
To
The conclusion that the foundation of the tragic mask is kenosis and not
nd
characterisation may also be drawn from Aristotles’ description of the
ra
rite

nature of tragedy, “Tragedy is then a representation of an action that is heroic

eW

and complete and of a certain magnitude – by means of language enriched with

all kinds of ornament, each used in the different parts of the play; it represents
Fre

men in action and does not use narrative, and through pity and fear it effects
th
wi

relief to these and similar emotions.” 11

or
dit

Aristotle also described the essential parts of tragedy, “Necessarily then

FE

every tragedy has six constituent parts and on these its quality depends. These
PD

are plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle and song…”.12 Finally, he de-
ill
F

fined the most important of these, the cornerstone of tragedy is the plot,
PD

the story line, the action. “The most important of these is the arrangement of
the incidents, for tragedy is not a representation of men but of a piece of action,
of happiness and unhappiness, which come under the head of action and the end
aimed at is the representation not of qualities of character but some action; and
while character makes men what they are, it is their actions and experiences
that make them happy or the opposite.
They do not act therefore to represent character, but character study is in-

142
cluded for the sake of action”.13 Aristotle made it quite clear that tragedy
was a representation of actions, mimesis, and not of character, ethos.
Characterisation exists to support the plot. The tragic heroes were nei-
ther good nor evil. They are heroic figures who go under not because
of character or morality, but because in a given moment they choose the
wrong course of action.

The mask and the multiplicity of the roles

Each role had a different mask but each role didn’t have a different
actor. In the beginning, one, later two, and from the middle of 5th฀c.

ols
bc and on, three actors, all male, played all the roles. Each actor played

To
several roles, by changing masks. The mask was, of course, the vehicle
nd
that permitted them to play all the roles, even the female parts.
ra
rite

Because of the mask and the convention of the three actors playing
eW

all the roles, each actor was able to play many different, contradictory,
complementary and deeply interrelated roles, involving moves between
Fre

extreme dichotomies: male/female, sacrificer /victim, human /divine,

th
wi

free man/slave, noble/commoner, citizen/foreigner, living/dead. Roles

or

that together created a field of interweaved relations and a unity that

dit

surpassed each individual role. A totality much bigger than the simple
FE

addition of its parts.

PD
ill
F

These roles together created a field of interwoven relations and a unity

PD

that surpassed each individual role – a totality much bigger than the
sum of its parts. For example, in the case of the panoramic composition
of Aeschylus trilogy Oresteia, the actor playing Clytemnestra in Agam-
emnon has the potential also to play Electra in Libation Bearers and the
Ghost of Clytemnestra and Athena in Eumenides:
In the same way the second actor can play Agamemnon and
Aegisthus in the first play, Orestes and Aegisthus in the second and Or-

143
estes in the third play. The actor plays then the husband and the lover of
Clytemnestra, the sacrificer and the victim; the son and the father, and
the son and the lover of Clytemnestra.
The third actor can play Cassandra in the first play and the God
Apollo in the third play .
The same actor plays victim and sacrificer, mother and daughter, liv-
ing and dead, human and divine. In this way the human and divine exist-
ence is united in the presence of the same actor.
These roles are interrelated within the frame of a greater cosmologi-
cal cycle and present levels of the human and the divine that underlie
the connection between them.One of the basic assumptions in our work
with the actors is the development of the greatest possible range of their

ols
voice. We have as a starting point the principle of the three actors who

To
with the masks play all the roles. In accordance to this principle, each
nd
role uses another part of the total vocal range, analogous to the role.
ra
rite
eW

The mask of the chorus

Fre
th
wi

One of the characteristics of tragedy is the part of chorus. Performances

or

of tragedy in Ancient Greek theatres always had choruses. The tragic

dit

chorus had 15 members and performed as an indivisible whole, in vocal

FE

and physical union.

PD

As I already mentioned it is easier to develop a rhythmic movement

ill
F

pattern together with other people when all are wearing masks, because
PD

the mask prevents them simply from imitating each other. The only
alternative then left is to listen to the voice and breathing of the others
and in this way develop little by little a common rhythm, a common
breath, usually based upon the rhythm of breath of the text. Everybody
then depends on each other and develops sensitivity for each other. This
is how a tragic chorus is born. Common breathing and the creation of a
common body are the basis of the Greek tragic chorus and the mask is

144
the medium for the birth of the chorus.The mask is an external instru-
ment that helps the actor to transform himself first into a member of the
chorus and then into the stage figure of the role and creates the poetic
reality of tragedy on stage in a corporeal and mental level.
But there is another aspect connecting the idea of the mask to the
idea of the chorus.In the context of the play the chorus is a multi-voiced
persona, a single organism and not simply an accumulation of individu-
als The chorus experiences and represents moments of collective feeling
merged sometimes in critical distance and other times in ecstatic com-
munion. It is in dialogue with the roles of the play. The actors playing
the roles merge from the chorus and dissolve back to it. The chorus has
a structural place within the world of the play and is not detached from

ols
the time and place of the action. Through its continuous presence on

To
stage the chorus creates the unity of Action, Space and Time.. The par-
nd
ticularity of the mask of the chorus is that all the members of the chorus
ra
rite

have identical masks. We have to think what meaning can be derived

eW

from the presence on stage of fifteen bodies with the same mask, the
same stage face. This is unique in the World theatre.
Fre

It is very recently, during the last century that through science and
th
wi

more specifically Quantum Physics, Biology and Genetics that we are

or

presented with ideas about the human being that correspond to the idea
dit

of the human being as it is presented by the tragic chorus.Quantum

FE

physics present the fact that electrons and all other species of elementary
PD

particles exhibit no individuality. In Biology the different individuals in

ill
F

a certain species differ slightly, though not so much as to pass certain

PD

bounds that define the species. According to Genetics the human beings
are genetically very like each other and we differ around 0,1% of our
genetic code. Each one of us is genetically like the others 99,9%. The
chorus presents the two unmistakable traits of the theory of Fractals; self
similarity – where every part of the fractal resembles every other part
and scaling – the fractal pattern is made up of smaller copies of the same
pattern. Each individual is a mode of a single universal substance, a field.

145
In the complex interweaving of identity that join us, each of us may be
an aspect of the other. To exist is to participate and to be interdependent
of each other. These ideas about the human being, common to the pre-
Socratic philosophers have never been better represented on stage than
with the presence of the tragic chorus.The tragic chorus lacks individu-
ality and the chorus mask /costume stresses this fact. It unites the indi-
viduals but at the same time creates automatically variations of its form
by the ways these unifying elements (mask /costume) meet the actual
bodies of the chorus members. The mask always keeps alive the tension
between the One and Other, the whole and the part. While other kinds
of theatre use the mask as a means to present character differentiation
and human behaviour, the mask of the tragic chorus focuses not on the

ols
differences but on the unifying aspects of the human species.

To
nd
ra

Mask and mimesis

rite
eW

Tragedy is according to Aristotle a representation, mimesis, of heroic

Fre

actions of a certain importance and magnitude. But mimesis is not just a

th
wi

representation. Mimesis originates in the mimetic actions of the priests

or

in the cult of Dionysus. Thus on the textual level the poet creates a story
dit

which reveals, subliminally, the condition of mankind presented at its

FE

deepest level. He by-passes the simplest levels of realism and searches in

PD

the borderlands of life. He discloses cosmic laws and truth. In this way,
ill
F

he presents not just a poetic private truth; he seeks to tell universal truths
PD

about life and the cosmos. Mimesis, then, does not mean a representa-
tion of reality, but the creation of a new reality, a new living organism,
in which the onlooker comes into contact with the laws that rule human
life. In a performance, the text must depend on physicality in order to
present this new reality to the audience. The entire construction of the
mask leads the actor towards a metamorphosis. A fusion occurs between
the actor and the mask, and a new reality, a new organism, comes into

146
existence: an organic gestalt, mimesis. On the level of the performance
the text is dependent upon the presence of the body, upon the energy of
the actor so it can be transformed and participate in this new reality. It
is through the body that tragedy becomes understandable,painful ,indis-
pensable and unbearable. If tragedy is a theatrical form based upon the
suffering human body, then the voice and the speech constitute one of
the basic elements of the presence of the body and the mask is a channel
for the creation of this new organism, which is not simply a representa-
tion but a new reality. The mask enhances the voice, creates good con-
ditions of understandingspeech, strengthens the corporeal dimension
of the text and is an instrument for the creation of the chorus and the
metamorphosis of the actor. The entire construction of the mask leads

ols
the actor to a body/mind state of emptiness and controlled ecstasy. A fu-

To
sion occurs between the body of the actor and the mask and a new reality
nd
comes into existence; an organic gestalt.
ra
rite

The organic gestalt has as its prerequisite, the fusion between actor
eW

and mask into one whole form an organic gestalt. A whole organism
that needs an change of energy breath bodily and mental changes and a
Fre

changed state of body mind. A double directed consciousness that per-

th
wi

mit him to come to a state of ecstasy without losing his control over his
or

characterization.
dit

And one understands why the kenosis mask is the only possible mask
FE

that can be used in performance of the tragedies. Anything else is too

PD

small, too subjective, too private. Without a mask the audience sees a liv-
ill
F

ing face and cannot but become interested in every small change – signs
PD

drawn by emotion on the face. It is an almost perverse interest – one

feels a sentimental gratification in an other’s suffering. Actors may exag-
gerate their facial expression of emotions which sometimes descends to
the pathetic.
In conclusion, we can say that the appearance of the tragic mask is
based upon the notions of emptiness and ethos as opposed to expression,
neutrality and character. The form and function are closely interrelated

147
as two sides of the same coin; its helmet form based upon its function as
a resonance chamber and the small eyeholes contribute to the creation
of a new corporeal and mental state in the actor.
The Mask becomes a projection screen for the audience to project
text upon.
The Mask becomes the Topos where the energy of the voice and the
body meet, the Topos upon which the gaze of the audience and the
tragic text are projected

ols
To
nd
ra
rite
eW
Fre
th
wi
or
dit
FE
PD
ill
F
PD

148
VI. The Mask and the
Theatre Space
The theatre space is the unity created by the acting space and the space
for the spectators. The Greek word is theatron; etymologically it means
a space not just to watch but also to examine and contemplate. Up to
now, I have emphasized the close interrelation between the mask, the
voice, the metamorphosis of the actor, the creation of the chorus and
the text. Now, I would like to discuss the relationship between the mask,
the voice of the actor, and the theatrical space. A very important a aspect

ols
of the mask already presented is its acoustic function as a consonance

To
instrument. However, it is not only the mask that can create conso-
nd
nance. I believe that the acoustical mask was an element in a systematic
ra

improvement in the acoustics of classical Greek theatre. If we follow

rite

the development of the theatre architecture from the 5 th to the 4th

eW

century bc, it is obvious that there is a desire to develop a theatre space

Fre

with better acoustics and better visibility.

th

Theatres were usually built on the side of a hill, with a hollow recess
wi

that sloped down at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. They gener-

or
dit

ally had quite good acoustics. The choice of place gave a shape to the
FE

auditorium that matches almost perfectly the directivity of the human

PD

voice, which presents an almost unvarying sound distribution within the

ill

angle of 180฀degrees.
F
PD

There are other constructions in Greek theatre architecture which

produce beneficial effects. The skene, built of wood and later of masonry
was situated less than three metres behind the orchestra and so very
close to the performers and it acted as both an acoustic reflector for their
voices and an acoustic shield for unwanted external noise.

B Hunningher reports that comparison between the theatre at Syracuse

where the skene construction is destroyed and the theatre at Taormina

149
where a large part of it is still standing shows that the skene is very im-
portant in the generation of consonance. He goes as far as to suggest that
the skene was built first and foremost to improve acoustics rather than
to define an arena for action.18 The same function is ascribed to paraske-
nia, side-wings to the skene, extensions of the skene which embrace the
orchestra and almost unite the skene and the auditorium. Only two pas-
sages remain, one on each side of the skene, between the paraskenia and
the orchestra, for the entrances and exits of the chorus. The paraskenia
were presumably as high as the skene. The orchestra floor was always
flat. In the early days it was of compacted earth and later it was covered
with marble – possibly for acoustic reasons.

ols
The theatre of Dionysus in Athens seems not to have had such excellent

To
acoustics but it underwent many changes during the centuries and is not
nd
well preserved. The dimensions of the theatre of Dionysus best resem-
ra
rite

ble the dimensions of Epidaurus, which is very well preserved.

eW
Fre

The theatre of Epidaurus

th
wi
or

I suggest that the development towards better visibility and acoustics

dit

culminates with the theatre of Epidaurus (fig 44). Built about 320 bc it is
FE

not representative of the 5th century bc theatre buildings but contains in

PD

its architectural form the essence of the concept of theatre as conceived

ill
F

and developed by the Ancient Greeks. it is attributed to the architect

PD

Polykleitos, follower of the Pythagorean School and is is located in the

sanctuary of Asclepius, the god of Health and medicine in Peloponis-
sos. The building is the expression of an age that saw the flourishing of
mathematics and acoustics, the influence of Pythagorean science.
It is the best preserved of the classical Greek theatres and nearly all the
seats are in their original places. It has remarkable acoustics for speech
intelligibility, solo delivery or unison chanting and for solo musical in-

150
struments. Rather than a single factor it is the cumulative effect of many
refinements that contribute to its acoustical excellence.
The theatre can accommodate 14฀000 people, it is 387 feet in diam-
eter and the orchestra is a complete circle 67 feet in diameter.The build-
ing is based on a single module. The dimensions of all parts correspond
with each other in a system based on multiples of that module, which is
a cubit,a unit of measurement related to the human body .The center of
the orchestra is occupied by a stone with a radius of 35 cm.This seems
to be the unit and all the measurements are multiplications of this basic
unit in an elaborate system of corresponding measures. There are totally
55 rows of seats, 34 rows below the horizontal cross aisle and 21 rows
above.The relationship between these numbers, 34 to 21฀and 55฀to 34,

ols
is based upon the Pythagorean golden section.Which is a reciprocal re-

To
lationship between two unequal parts of a whole in which the small part
nd
stands in the same proportion to the large part as the large part stands
ra
rite

to the whole. The horizontal lay out of the orchestra is planned on the
eW

pentagram, a Pythagorean symbol for health.The perfection of the geo-

metrical arrangement of seats, results in many early reflected sounds
Fre

being received by all listeners in the auditorium almost together with

th
wi

the direct sound

or
dit

The lower part of the auditorium circle extends to 210 degrees and the
FE

upper part to 192 degrees. The central sections of seats have their focus
PD

at the center of the orchestra. But the extensions of the radiating aisles
ill
F

of the two wedges of seats, at either side below the diazoma, have their
PD

focal points located at either side of the center of the orchestra. This
seating layout with three foci has the important acoustical effect in that
there is a much less pronounced echo tone near the center of the orches-
tra than in theatres were the rows of seats are located on perfect circles
with only one common center at the middle of the orchestra.
In cross-section, the tiered seating is inclined at an ever increasing
angle as it recedes from the orchestra towards the back of the audito-

151
rium. An imaginary straight line drawn from back to front passes over
the concave curve of the seating below. On plan, the tiers of seats are
also curved giving the auditorium the form of a shell. The audience is
held together in this shell, or bowl like form, as close as possible to the
orchestra. This form retains sound, minimizes the sound energy loss
during sound production and facilitates resonance .It also ensures that
spectators’ lines of view are unobstructed by the rows of people in front
of them. The perfection of the geometrical arrangement results in the
acoustical and visual excellence. Both visual and acoustic criteria domi-
nate the design of the theatre. Reflected sounds reach the listener within
50 milliseconds after the initial sound, and a consonance phenomenon is
generated. It produces in the listener’s consciousness a single acoustical

ols
image of greater intensity and enhanced quality than that of the direct
sound alone. 14
To
nd
ra
I’d like to talk shortly about the visual aspects of Epidauros.
rite

The lines of the auditorium converge in the area of the orchestra,

eW

where the focus of the thymele at the center of the orchestra has a mag-
Fre

netic force.This focused space produces an enormous concentration of

th

the spectators who all look downwards being focused and at the same
wi

time, being able to see the fellow citizens. The Greek theatre, in gen-
or

eral and Epidauros in particular is a democratic space that permits the

dit
FE

creation of the union of the audience in a common body. A space that

PD

permits its inhabitants to contemplate together, a space based upon the

unity of thought and emotion. The actors can not look away from the
ill
F

audience or over their heads. The actors are in full contact with the au-
PD

dience and get energy from it without being in a dominant position, but
more in a position of unity with the audience, embraced by it.
The theatre architecture focuses the audience, centers the bodies of
the actors and unites them in a common body. It becomes clear that the
interest the Greeks developed in the acoustics maybe surpass the plain
level of simply hearing and understanding the dramatic texts.

152
The Vitruvian vessels

That’s why I’d like to add to this presentation the possibility for even
further reinforcement of theatre acoustics, proposed by Vitruvius.
There is some evidence that vessels of bronze or earthenware were
placed on the tiers of seating to improve acoustics. Vitruvius devotes a
whole chapter to these sounding vessels, with detailed instructions on
where and how they were to placed – in niches between the seat rows
with suitable clearance to the surrounding walls.15 He writes about the
necessity for further improvement of the tonal quality as well the ampli-
fication of the voice by the use of sounding vases arranged in the audi-
torium. The intention was that these vessels would amplify and improve

ols
the quality of sound like a Helmholtz resonator and “bring theatre to
To
perfection, from the point of view of the nature of the voice, so as to give pleasure
nd
ra
to the audience”.16
rite

These bronze or earthenware vases should be made in mathematical

eW

proportions to each other ,taking into account the size of the theatre and
Fre

they should be designed so that, when they were touched they sound a
series of tones at intervals corresponding to seven fixed notes of one of
th
wi

the Greek scales (the enharmonic scale).

or

The niches should be built among the seats and the vases placed in
dit
FE

them in such a way that, they should not be in contact with surround-
PD

ing stonework, but have a free space around and above. They should
be placed upside-down with wedges not less than six inches high under
ill
F

them, on the side facing the stage.

PD

There should be 13 vases in small theatres. The two outermost should

resonate in response to the highest note, the next two tuned to the next
interval and so on to the single central vase to be tuned to the lowest
note of the scale.
In bigger theatres the vases should be placed in three rows, corre-
sponding to all the three Greek scales in total, 38 vases.
The effect would be to pick up and reinforce the various notes so that

153
the higher ones would resonate from the sides of the auditorium and the
low notes from the middle. According to Vitruvius, by this arrangement,
the voice radiating from the stage, creating resonance in the vases, pro-
duces an increased clarity and a series of notes, in harmony which give
pleasure to the audience.
The archeological findings that would confirm the existence of such
vases are very rare, but they exist in some theatres in North Africa and
middle East. So I do not think we can simply dismiss this theory.
Even if Vitruvius meant this passage, as prescription rather than an
actual description, its importance is not altered. It shows a way of creat-
ing an architectural unit, a theatre building that can function as a huge
musical instrument oscillating in harmony with the human voice.

ols
It becomes clear that the Greek theatre had a number of construc-

To
tional characteristics and devices to support this desire to create this
nd
kind of theatron, an architectural unit oscillating in harmony with the
ra

human voice.
rite

The mask is part of this: it is the first external resonance chamber,

eW

a link in a chain of sound that starts with the actor and ends with the
Fre

theatron and its surrounding landscape.

th
wi
or
dit
FE
PD
ill
F
PD

154
VII. Theatre as Sound

Theatre and Catharis

One might think that the Greeks interest for the voice and for acoustics
was excessive were it not for the fact that this interest was coupled to
another aspect of speech,music and sound. In Greek culture knowledge
was conveyed primarily by speech. Speech was the bearer of the myths,
history, the epics, philosophy, poetry, the whole cultural continuum,

ols
but it also had another function. The word held therapeutic powers.

To
There is evidence that from the time of Homer the Greeks used prayer
nd
(euché, magic spells and epodé, invocations) and encouraging exhortations
ra

(terpnós, thelkterios logos) for therapeutic purposes.17. These magical

rite

formulas,these mantras were recited, sung and noted down and put into
eW

amulets. They were used to cure sickness and mental disorders and to
Fre

give psychosomatic cleansing – catharsis. They are found in the Orpfic

th

teachings and with the Pythagoreans, in Hippocratic medicine, in the

wi

Eleusinian mysteries, in the cults of Asclepios and Dionysus. They were

or
dit

known to Plato and Aristotles. The formulas were usually coupled to

FE

the healing power of music. We must not forget that until late Hel-
PD

lenistic times the meaning of words in Greek was wholly dependent on

ill

their pronunciation. Different emphasis, rhythm and length of vowels

F
PD

gave entirely different meanings. Word and rhythm were interlinked;

they formed a rhythmic musical entity. Sicknesses were cured, but above
all isonomia, psychosomatic balance, was achieved. Depressions, grief,
rage, negative feelings were relieved and happiness was bestowed. “in the
case of Aristotelian verbal catharsis the action of the word is so intensive that it
operates as though the speech itself were an actual medicament”, says P Lain
Entralgo.18

155
In “Politics” (1341–1342) Aristotle describes the cathartic power of mu-
sic and in “Poetics” (1496)฀ he notes that the tragedies have the same
power. By engendering feelings of sympathy and fear, the tragic texts
bring forth catharsis. We may therefore assume that the performance of
the tragedies, combining the powers of speech and music with that of
the text, stimulated similar feelings of cleansing in an audience. There
is yet another aspect of catharsis – the feeling of cleansing which may be
experienced through the pulsating rhythm of the human voice, through
the vibrations of the body of a fellow human being. The great interest
for acoustics supports the credibility of this assumption. I suggest that
this interest goes far beyond concern that what is said should be under-
stood. There is much more to it than that. It is indeed reminiscent of

ols
modern research into the therapeutic effects on the body of music and

To
sound. nd
ra
rite

We can see then that text, voice, song, music – most of the elements of
eW

the performance of tragedy – can have a therapeutic effects which not

only stimulate intellectual, moral and aesthetic cleansing but above all
Fre

grant psychosomatic catharis. Dionysus the patron of the theatre was,

th
wi

after all, the great specialist in catharsis. He led his followers to cathar-
or

sis through ecstasy, hallucinations and intoxication. He was the libera-

dit

tor, the source of health, the therapist. It is clear that the experience of
FE

cleansing was central in the Dionysian rituals. The description of the

PD

effects of Dionysian initiations by the musicologist, Aristides Quintilia-

ill
F

nus may be said to apply to the tragedies, “This is the the purpose of Bacchic
PD

initiation,that the depressive anxiety (ptoiesis) of less educated people,produced

by their state of life, or some misfortune,be cleared away through the melodies
and dances of the ritual in a joyful and playful way”.19

As Burkert writes in his book ‘Ancient Mystery Cults’ in this description

there is a social aspect of the cleansing process. It was especially im-
portant for the uneducated poor because ptoiesis, a feeling of tiredness,

156
depression and lack of vitality caused by a difficult social situation, or
an accident could be alleviated with the help of ritual song, music and
dance. Well-being, happiness and the will to live returned. Perhaps this
applied to the tragedies and theatre because they were both founded
in the body, in physicality. They did not only stimulate intellectual or
aesthetic pleasure.

Greek interest in acoustics and in the human voice could be due to sound
as a major creational and healing form. Modern research describes the
World and the Cosmos in terms of Rhythm and Sound. Sound consists
of vibrations or oscillations in particles and these vibrations are found
throughout the Universe.

ols
On a macro- and microcosmic scale, sound is a universal and invisible

To
force which is always present and actual. nd
These insights stemming from discoveries in physics suggest that the
ra
rite

Earth and the Universe-organic and inorganic, plants, animals and hu-
eW

man beings-not only produce vibrations but are in fact vibrations, as vi-
brations exist in both waves and particles. Actually, Material is vibration
Fre

in proportional relationship-that is rhythm and sound. Sound causes

th
wi

changes on the physical, the emotional, mental and spiritual plane.

or

The human body is formed in harmonic proportions and can be like-

dit

ned to a very complex, unique and finely tuned musical instrument. The
FE

human voice always produces a base tone containing overtones that are
PD

harmonic frequencies.
ill
F

Harmonic resonance, when the overtones are in harmonic proportion

PD

to the base tone, is a way of creating and maintaining good physical and
mental health.

This way of perceiving the world can be applied to the Theatre .Sound
is a force and a basic component in theatre. Theatre is both a visual and
an acoustic phenomenon and encompasses several art forms.In many
cultures theatre is synonymous with music and dance. Western theatre

157
is based on text and dialogue, and for a long time it has been dominated
by a psychologically realistic attitude. This has resulted in the fact that
knowledge of, and expressive use of, sound /voice/acoustics are under-
developed in the mainstrean of modern theatre in our culture
In contemporary theatre Character and Plot are still two dominant
categories appealing to the logical and emotional level of the audience
and its desire to understand and feel. Both are connected with the se-
mantic levels of language but they do not necessarily awaken the other
more subtle levels of human consciousness that I suggest theatre did for
the ancient Greeks. The fact that the theatre was a highly political art
form of social discourse which was developed during the creation of the
Athenian democracy doesn’t mean that we have to neglect its ritual and

ols
religious/cosmological and cathartic aspects.

To
The political and the religious /ritual aspects coexist; as also the ago-
nd
nistic and cathartic aspects do. Some parts address the intellectual per-
ra
rite

ception and conscious understanding of the audience and other parts

eW

address an unconscious perception which is based upon bodily osmosis.

I understand these oppositions as complementary parts of a dualism
Fre

and not mutually exclusive; and the tension created by the opposites is
th
wi

the most creative relationship that is developed when we try to embrace

or

the differences and keep the tension in between them.

dit
FE

Based on the energy of logos and the vibration of sound, and without
PD

betraying its semantic and visual aspects, theatre restores the soul and
ill
F

the body. It provides a way to bring people to peace, to restore the body/
PD

mind balance, to purge, to purify, and to heal. It provides a democratic

space, a space that through the exchange of energy, osmosis, creates the
unity of the audience and the actor in one body. Theatre becomes the
embodiment of the principle of catharsis.

158
VIII. The Masked Theatre of
Greek Tragedy
The mask creates consonance and amplifies further the natural head
resonator of the actor. The mask turns out to be an instrument for the
actor to control the direction and the volume of the voice, the rhythm,
the articulation and the tone, to achieve maximum resonance, to project
the voice into space. Speech becomes powerful, clear, attractive. The
theatre space ‘answers’ to the actor, it vibrates.

The mask strengthens the corporeal dimension of the text and is an

ols
instrument for the creation of the chorus and the metamorphosis of the
To
actor. The entire construction of the mask leads the actor away from
nd
ra

everyday life into a body/mind sate of emptiness, kenosis. The faces

rite

of the actor and the mask change places. The face becomes the mask,
eW

intense, aware, and present and the mask becomes the face transparent,
Fre

human, and real. A fusion occurs between the body of the actor and the
th

mask and a new reality comes into existence, mimesis.

wi
or
dit

The mask with its lack of a definite expression and with its open in-
FE

expressive face becomes a projection screen for the text. Every move-
PD

ment, every tone, every change of the voice and the body alters even the
ill

experience of the mask. These continuous changes correspond to the

F
PD

chain of perpetual changes that are contained it the text. The mask is in
continuous dialogue with the text, in continuous tension, resisting the
text. The mask becomes a projection screen for the audience to project
the text upon.

The acoustical mask is the initiator of a new web of relations that involve the
text /the actor/the creation of the chorus/the relation of the chorus to the roles/
the creation of the roles/the relation between the stage and the audience.

159
The mask becomes the Topos where the energy of the voice and the body
meet, the Topos upon which the gaze of the audience and the tragic text
are projected. The mask is a channel that leads all the energy to creation
of a new organism, the narration of the Myth.
The tragic mask is an instrument, a projection screen, a bridge but is
mainly the naked, essential, mythical face, expressionless and yet greatly
expressive.
Tragedy has nothing to do with sentimentality or the pathetic. The
private face of the actor is hidden behind the mask and the audience,
spared from the pornography of sentimentality, listens to the text and is
moved on a deeper level of humanity, more essential and archetypical.
Behind the mask the actor disappears and the tragic arhetype emerges.

ols
As perceived and created by the tragic Universe, the Mask is the human

To
face par excellence nd
ra
rite

Prosopon means: face, façade, mask, person, appearance, that which there
eW

is to be seen, that which is before one, that which meets the eye, that
which is before the eyes of an other. The word suggests a relationship
Fre

between two subjects, between two persons. It indicates a communica-

th
wi

tion, a dialogue, a mirroring, an encounter with the Other – a mutual

or

gaze, an extrovert direction, contemplation of the world.In Greek to see

dit

and to know are the same verb, oida. As Socrates said, in Plato’s dialogue
FE

“Alcibiades”, “If an eye is to see itself, it must look at an eye, and at that region
PD

of the eye in which the virtue of an eye is found to occur: and this I presume is
ill
F

sight”.20
PD

But the voice also finds a place in prosopon. The word ops- means
hole, eye, gaze, opening, pupil, but also voice, word, speech.The voice
like the gaze is a way of communicating, of turning to the other, of gain-
ing knowledge.

The mask is a indispensable part of the theatre of tragedy, a political,

ritual agonistic and cathartic theater form based upon the Mask; a

160
masked theatre devoted to the narration of Myth, a theatre where the
citizens joined together to form a common body in order to contemplate
the world; a place where questions were asked about society, politics,
justice, ethics, freedom, love, war, life, death, the divine and human des-
tiny. Dedicated to the god Dionysus, theatron, was the place for therapy
and catharsis , the place in which to feel the presence of the god, where
the invisible became visible. Theatron was the mental and actual space
where the actor, the text, the voice, the mask, the theatre architecture,
the audience and the landscape, the one inside the other, created the art
form we still call theatre.
Theatron-theatre, Therapia-therapy, Theoria-contemplation, Theos-god,
are words derived from common etymological roots in Sanskrit.Roots

ols
that mean: air, breath, soul, pulse, life.

To
nd
ra
rite
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Fre
th
wi
or
dit
FE
PD
ill
F
PD

161
IX. Notes
Part I
1. Aristotle: Poetics. iv. 1449฀a, 9–15.฀Loeb Classical Library,
Harvard University Press, 1983.

2. O G Brockett: History of the Theatre. Boston, 1968, p.17.

3. Aristotle: Poetics. vi. 1449 b, 23–28.

4. Euripides: Bacchae.Harvard University Press, London 2002

5. F Frontisi-Ducroux: Le dieu masque. Editions la decouverte. Paris 1991.

ols
6. Horst Dieter Blume: Einfuhrung in das antike Theaterwesen, Darmstadt. 1978.

To
nd
7. As above.
ra
rite

8. N G L Hammond: Illustrations of Early Tragedy at Athens.

eW

American Journal of Archeology, 82, 1978. p.371–383.

Fre

9. Plutarch: Demosthenes. vii. 1–3. Loeb Classical Library,p. 17–18

Harvard University Press, 1982.
th
wi

10. Aristotle: Problems. xi 22. Loeb Classical Library, p.267,

or

Harvard University Press, 1982.

dit
FE

11. Aristotle: Problems. xi. 46. Loeb Classical Library, p.285,

PD

Harvard University Press, 1982.

ill

12. Aristophanes: The Frogs. verses 303–304, p.325, Loeb Classical Library,
F
PD

Harvard University Press. London 1950.

13. Aristotle: Rhetorics. iii. 1404 b,4. Loeb Classical Library, p.353
Harvard University Press. London 1983.

14. Aristotle: Rhetorics. iii. 1404, 4. p.347. As above.

15. Aristotle: Rhetorics. iii. 1404 a, 25. As above.

16. Horatius wrote that Thespis used the dregs of wine to paint the faces.
Ars Poetica, 277.

162
17. Aristophanes: The Frogs. Loeb Classical Library, London 1950. p.406.

18. D Wiles: The masks of Menander. Cambridge University Press 1991. p. 80–85.

19. L Bernabo Brea: Menandro e il teatro Greco nelle terracotta liparesi.

Sagep Editrice. Genova 1981.

20. E Simon: The Ancient Theatre. Menthuen. London 1982. p.10

21. L Talcott: Kourimos parthenos. Hesperia 8,฀1939. p. 267–273.

22. L Talcott: As above, p. 270.

23. E Simon: As above, p.14, plate 1,฀1.

24. G Ley: A Short Introduction to the Ancient Greek Theatre.

ols
The University of Chicago Press. Chicago 1991. plate 2.

To
nd
25. E Simon: As above, plate 9.
ra
rite

26. Greek Classical Theatre and its Influence in Europe. Exhibition Catalogue.
Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Athens. Athens 1993. p. 30.
eW
Fre

27 & 28. Images from C E Bryld: Den graeske tragedie. Gyldendal. Copenhagen 1984.
th

29. M Bieber: The History of the Greek and Roman Theatre.

wi

Princeton University Press 1961. p. 11.

or
dit

30. E Simon: As above. plate฀4,฀2.

FE
PD

31. M Bieber: As above, p. 32.

ill

32. P Chiron-Bistagne: Recherches sur les acteurs dans la Grèce antique.

F
PD

Les Belles Lettres. Paris 1976.

33. E Simon: As above, p. 4.

34. C E Bryld: As above. p. 63.

35. M Bieber: As above, p. 82.

36. L Bernabo Brea: As above, p. 34.

37. E Simon: As above, plate 16.

163
38. A Lesky: Die tragische Dichtung der Hellenen. Göttingen.
Greek translation 1987. p. 438.

39. Anne Ubersfeld: L’École du spectateur. Paris 1981. p. 332.

Part II
1. Eugenio Barba & Nicola Savarese: The Secret Art of the Performer.
A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology. Routledge. London 1991. p. 9.

2. Peter Brook: The Open Door. Pantheon Books.

New York 1993. p. 25.

3. T B L Webster: Some Psychological Terms in Greek Tragedy.

Journal of Hellenic Studies. 1957. p. 149–154.

ols
To
4. Peter Brook: As above, p. 24. nd
ra
5. Plato: Cratylus. 426. p. 145. Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press,
rite

London 1988.
eW

6. Plato: Cratylus. p. 145. As above.

Fre

7. Alexis Solomos: Ti pros Dionyson. Difros, Athens 1972. p. 77–80.

th
wi

8. P M C Forbes-Irving: Metamorphosis in Greek Myths. Clarendon Press,

or

London 1992. p. 69–72฀& 211– 216.

dit
FE

9. H W Parke: Festivals of the Athenians. Thames and Hudson, London 1977.

PD

p. 65– 69.
ill

10. Panagis Lekatsas: Dionysos.Scholi Moraiti, Athens 1971. p.178,฀186,฀195,฀219.

F
PD

11. C Kerenyi: Eleusis. Princeton University Press, New Jersey 1991. p.฀94,฀155–156.

12. Herodotus. viii, 65, p. 593. Oxford Clarendon Press

London. 1949.

13. W Burkert: Bacchic Teletai in the Hellenistic Age. In the volume:

The Masks of Dionysus, Ed. T H Carpenter & C A Faraone.
Cornell University Press, Ithaca 1993. p. 259.

14. F Sokolowski: Lois sacrées des cités grecques.

164
 Paris Editions Boccard 1962, supplement 1969, and also,
L Moretti: Il regolamento degli Iobacchi Ateniensi. In the volume:
L’association dionysiaque dans les societés anciennes.
École Francaise de Rome 1986, p. 247–254.

15. H Jeanmaire: Dionysos. Histoire du culte de Bacchus. Payot, Paris 1951,

p. 65, 306–307,฀340,฀536.

16. P Lekatsas: Dionysos. As above. p. 40– 42.

17. C Theander: Ololygai und Ia. Ein Sprachanalytischen Beitrag zur Geschichte der
Ägäisch – Hellenischen Kultur. Del i, Vol. xv, 1917, p. 94–160.
Del ii, Vol. xx, 1921, p. 1–50. Eranos, Acta Philologica Sveca,
Gothenburg.

18. Kerameikos Museum. Athens, no. 5634.

ols
19. G Krien-Kummrow: Ein Theater Maske aus dem Kerameikos. Studies in Honour

To
of T B L Webster. Vol II, Bristol Classical Press 1988, p. 69–74.
nd
ra
20. K Gebauer: Archäologische Anzeiger, Berlin 1942. p. 252–259.
rite

21. Pollux: Onomasticon. iv. p. 135.

eW
Fre

22. Pollux: As above. p. 146.

th

23. L Bernabo Brea: Menandro e il teatro Greco nelle terracotte liparesi.

wi

Sagep Editrice, Genova 1981. p.159.

or
dit

24. Taisen Deshimaru: Samtal med en zenmästare. Åsak, Hudiksvall 1984.

FE

p. 140–148, 176–179, and also, Kathleen McDonald: How to Meditate.

PD

Wisdom Publications. London 1984. p. 34-36.

ill

25. Z. Maekawa & P. Lord: Environmental and Architectural Acoustics.

F
PD

E &F N Spon. London, Great Britain. 1994. p.28.

26. Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture. Chapter viii,

On Acoustics. Harvard University Press 1914. p.153.

27. W C Sabine: Collected Papers on Acoustics. Harvard University Press 1923,p.163.

28. W C Sabine: As above. p. 197.

29. R Berg & D Stork: The Physics of Sound. Prentice Hall, USA 1982. p.41.

165
Part III
(NB. “Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press. London 1983” is shortened to
“Loeb 1983”)

1. Aeschylus: Eumenides. Loeb 1983. p. 277.

2. Aeschylus: As above. p. 279.

3. Aeschylus: The Libation Bearers . Loeb 1983. p. 161.

4. Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound. Loeb 1983. p. 253.

5. Aeschylus: The Persians. Loeb 1983. p. 205.

6. Aeschylus: Agamemnon. Loeb 1983. p. 25

ols
7. Aeschylus: Agamemnon. Loeb 1983. p. 45.

To
nd
8. Aeschylus. Agamemnon. Loeb 1983. p. 51.
ra
rite

9. Aeschylus: The Libation – Bearers. Loeb 1983. p.179.

eW

10. D Knoepfler: Les imagiers de l’Orestie. Akanthys,

Fre

Zurich. 1993. p. 71.

th
wi

11. Aristotle: Poetics. 1449, b. Loeb 1983. p. 23.

or

12. As above. 1450 a, 9. p. 25.

dit
FE

13. As above. 1450 a, 9 –12. p. 25.

PD

14. A Fossum: Harmony in the Theatre of Epidauros.

ill

American Journal of Archeology, 30. 1926. p. 70–74.

F
PD

And also, W Lepik: Mathematical Planning of Ancient Theatres.

Travaux de la Societé des Sciences et des Lettres de Wroclaw, seria A, no. 22,
Wroclaw 1949.
R Shankland: Acoustics of Greek Theatres.
Physics Today, Oct. 1973. p. 30–35.
F Canac: L’acoustique des theatres antiques.
Editions du centre national de la recherche scientifique.
Paris 1967. p.173–175.
B Hunningher: Acoustics and Acting in the Theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus.
Medelingen der Kon Nederl Acadamie van Wetenschapen.
Deel. 19. No. 9. Amsterdam 1956. p. 15.

166
15. Vitruvius: De Architectura, v. Harvard University Press. 1914.

16. Vitruvius: De Architectura. Harvard University Press. 1914. p. 145.

17. P Lain Entralgo: The Therapy of the Word in Classical Antiquity.

Yale University Press 1970.

18. P Lain Entralgo: As above. p.245.

19. W Burkert: Ancient Mystery Cults.Harvard University Press,

Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1987. p. 113.

20. Plato: Alcibiades. Loeb 1988. p. 211.

ols
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167
X. Bibliography
Classical texts

(NB. “Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press. London” is shortened to “Loeb”)

AESCHYLUS: 1฀&฀11. Loeb. 1983.

ARISTOPHANES: Frogs. Loeb. 1950.

ARISTOTLE: Poetics. Loeb. 1983.

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ARISTOTLE: Problems. i–xxi,฀xvi, Loeb. 1970.
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ARISTOTLE: Rhetorics. Loeb. 1983.
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HERODOTUS: viii. Oxford Clarendon Press. London 1949.

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PLATO: Alcibiades. i. Loeb.1988.

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PLATO: Cratylus. Loeb. 1988.

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PLUTARCH: Lives, vii, Demosthenes and Cicero. Alexander and Caesar Loeb. 1982.
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POLLUX JULIUS: Onomasticon, ex recensione Immanuelis Bekkeri, 1846.

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VITRUVIUS: De Architectura. The Ten Books on Architecture.

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Other texts
P D Arnott: Greek Scenic Conventions in the Fifth Century bc. Oxford 1962.

P C Arnott: Public and Performance in the Greek Theatre. Routledge. London 1991.

168
A Athanassakis: The word __ in Homer and Hesiod. American Journal of Philology.
Baltimore 1968. p. 77–82.

D Bain: Actors and Audience. Oxford Clarendon Press. London 1972.

H C Baldry: The Greek Tragic Theatre.Chatto and Windus. London 1971.

E Barba & N Savarese: The Secret Art of the Performer.

A dictionary of theatre anthropology. Routledge. London 1991.

R Berg & D Stork: The Physics of Sound. Prentice Hall, USA 1982.

C Berry: Voice and the Actor. Virgin. London 1973.

L Bernabo Brea: Menandro e il teatro Greco nelle terracotte liparesi. Sagep Editrice.
Genova 1981.

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M Bieber: The history of the Greek and Roman Theatre. Princeton University Press.

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O G Brockett: History of the Theatre.4th ed.Allyn and Bacon. Boston and London 1982.
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P Brook: The Open Door. Pantheon Books. New York 1993.

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C E Bryld: Den graeske tragedie. Gyldendal. Copenhagen 1984.

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The masks of Dionysus. Ed. T H Carpenter & C A Faraone.

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W Burkert: Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual.

University of California Press. 1979.

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Editions du centre national de la recherche scientifique. Paris 1967.

Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Athens:

Greek Classical Theatre and its Influence in Europe. Athens 1993.

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T Deshimaru: Samtal med en zenmästare. Åsak. Hudiksvall 1984.

M Detienne: Dionysos à ciel ouvert. Hachette. Paris 1986.

E R Dodds: The Greeks and the Irrational. University of California Press 1951.

Ecole Francaise de Rome: L’association dionysiaque dans les societés anciennes.

Rome 1986

P Lain Entralgo: The Therapy of the Word in Classical Antiquity.

Yale University Press 1970.

E C Evans: Physiognomics in the Ancient World.

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol 59, part 5. 1969.

F A Everest: The Master Handbook of Acoustics. Tab Books Inc.1994.

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F Frontisi-Ducroux: Le dieu-masque. Editions la decouverte. Paris-Rome 1991.

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P Ghiron-Bistagne: Recherches sur les acteurs dans la Grèce antique.

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R Girard: De l’expression des masques dans les drames d’Eschyle. Paris 1895.

H G L Hammond & W G Moon: Illustrations of Early Tragedy at Athens.

American Journal of Archeology 82, 1978.

J Herrington: Aischylus. Yale University Press, 1986.

B Hunninger: Acoustics and Acting in the Theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus.

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H Jeanmaire: Dionysos. Histoire du culte de Bacchus. Payot, Paris 1951.

M B Johnson: The Mask in Ancient Greek Tragedy. A re-examination based on the

principles and practices of the Noh theatre of Japan.
Dissertation, University of Wisconsin – Madison 1984.

P Kapleau: Zens tre pelare. Livskraft, Stockholm 1983.

C Kerenyi: Eleusis. Princeton University Press, New Jersey 1991.

D Koepfler: Les imagiers de l’Orestie. Akanthys, Zurich 1993.

K Koulouris & A Petridis: Echotechnia. i฀&฀ii 10N Athens 1993.

G Krien-Kummrow: Eine Theater Maske aus dem Kerameikos.

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Studies in Honour of T B L Webster. Vol ii. Bristol Classical Press, 1988.

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et des lettres de Wroclaw, seria a. nr 22. Wroclaw 1949.

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T Lignadis: To zoon kai to teras. Herodotos. Athens 1988.

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E Macklin: Speech for the Stage. Routledge London 1980.

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K McDonald: How to Meditate. Wisdom Publications. London 1984.

M McDonald: Ancient Sun, Modern Light,

Columbia University Press. New York 1992.

R B Onians: The Origins of European Thought about the Body, the Mind, the Soul,
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A Pickard-Cambridge: - Dithyramb, Tragedy and Comedy. Oxford 1962.

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R Shankland: Acoustics of Greek Theatres. Physics Today, Oct 1973.

E Simon: The Ancient Theatre. Menthuen, London 1982.

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F Sokolowski: Lois Sacrées des cités grecques. Paris Editions Boccard, 1962,

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PD
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DF
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To
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DF
Ed
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Fre
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ols
PD
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Fre
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ols