Monday 18 August 2014

Lenaea and The Lenaion

The Lenaea was one of the four festivals in the year dedicated to Dionysos. It probably derives its name from lenai or λήνη, which was another name for the Maenads, the female followers of Dionysos. Its official name was ‘Dionysia at the Lenaion', and was sometimes called the Lesser Dionysia. It was a theatrical festival, celebrated in Athens on the 12th day of the month of Gamelion, which was 7th in the Attic calendar, which corresponded to a winter month, approximately January/February when rents were due, in the agricultural year. It was the time of year when sheep herds were culled of excess rams. The plays [both tragedies and comedies] produced and presented at the Lenaion were meant for attendance by citizens of Athens or metics only probably because foreigners were unable to travel by sea to Athens during the winter months

 The Lenaion or Lenaeum itself was a theatre construction and sanctuary in Athens as part of the Boulet. It is no longer extant. It was where the festival dramas of the Lenaea, both tragic and comic, were staged. The theatre itself was either outside the city or formed a section of the Agora in the centre of the City. Others say that the Lenaion as such never existed as a separate theatre building from the Dionysian Theatre. 

The festival of the Lenaia is frequently depicted on vases, typically showing maenad scenes, Sometimes scenes of aristocrats and wine-mixing rituals are shown. It is unknown exactly which kind of religious rituals took place at the festival, but these may have been in honour of the young Dionysos or his rebirth following his murder by the Cyclopes. They may also have had some connection with the Eleusinian Mysteries, as several of the very same religious officials were involved (for example the archon basileus and the epimeletai or functionaries, who ‘take care of things’ such as organising the secret rituals that took place at Eleusis every year). These officials led the pompe (πομπή) or procession for the Lenaia, which also probably ended with a sacrifice and a feast of some kind.
At the Lenaia comedy had a more important place than tragedy. Several of Aristophanes' plays were first performed there. At the festival, five comedies were usually performed (reduced during the Peloponnesian War to three). There were no contests (agon) for the singing of dithyrambs. It is unknown when the Lenaia was abandoned, but the contests continued well into the 2nd century BC. 

The Lenaion served a purpose on the second day of the Anthesteria [Choes-the Pitcher festival] a secret Symposium would take place here. The wife of the Archon Basilaeos, the Basilinna, would be married in a secret ceremony to the god Dionysos here on that day.

Macurdy, G. H. (1928). Basilinna and Basilissa, the Alleged Title of the “Queen-Archon” in Athens. The American Journal of Philology, 49(3), 276–282. https://doi.org/10.2307/290093 https://www.jstor.org/stable/290093

Peter Wilson (2003). The Athenian Institution of the Khoregia: The Chorus, the City and the Stage. The Lenaia: Cambridge University Press. pp. 27–. ISBN 978-0-521-54213-5.
The Attic Theatre: A Description of the Stage and Theatre of the Athenians

Karl Kerényi (1996). Dionysos. Princeton University Press. pp. 290–. ISBN 0-691-02915-6.

 Pausanias
Pausanias. Pausanias's Description of Greece. Cambridge University Press. pp. 27–. ISBN 978-1-108-04723-4.

Alberto Bernabé; Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui; Ana Isabel Jiménez San Cristóbal (26 June 2013). Redefining Dionysos. Redefining Dionysos from the written sources: The Lenaia ...: De Gruyter. pp. 100–. ISBN 978-3-11-030132-8.

Jeremy McInerney (2010). The Cattle of the Sun: Cows and Culture in the World of the Ancient Greeks. Princeton University Press. pp. 155–. ISBN 0-691-14007-3.

 Christine Schnusenberg (2010). The Mythological Traditions of Liturgical Drama: The Eucharist as Theater. Paulist Press. pp. 152–. ISBN 978-0-8091-0544-1.

Scott Scullion (1 January 1994). Three Studies in Athenian Dramaturgy. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 52–. ISBN 978-3-11-095053-3.

Sir Arthur Wallace Pickard-Cambridge; John Gould; David Malcolm Lewis (1969). The Dramatic Festivals of Athens: By the Late Sir Arthur Pickard-Cambridge. 2nd Ed. Revised by John Gould and D. M. Lewis. Oxford U. P.

Jennifer Lynn Larson (2007). Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide. Psychology Press. pp. 134–. ISBN 978-0-415-32448-9.

Clifford Ashby. Classical Greek Theatre: New Views of an Old Subject. University of Iowa Press. pp. 37–. ISBN 978-1-58729-463-1.

Eric Csapo (1995). The Context of Ancient Drama. University of Michigan Press. pp. 121–. ISBN 0-472-08275-2.

Lenaion
R. E. Wycherley
Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Vol. 34, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1965), pp. 72-76
Published by: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Article Stable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/147138

Lenaion
Walther Judeich
Rheinisches Museum für Philologie
Neue Folge, 47. Bd., (1892), pp. 53-60
Published by: J.D. Sauerländers Verlag
Article Stable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/41248299


NOTES ON ARISTOPHANES'S "FROGS"
W. B. STANFORD
Hermathena
No. 89 (May 1957), pp. 65-72
Published by: Trinity College Dublin
Article Stable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/23039700

Brooklyn College/Classics 0.1/Dionysos at Athens

Lenaean | Online references | cyclopaedia.net

The Lênaia festival - Baring the Aegis blog

The Dramatic Festivals Of Athens: Pickard-Cambridge, Arthur - Internet Archive
Lenaia pp. 25-42

Redefining Dionysos - Internet Archive

 The Lenaean Theatre
N. W. Slater
Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik
Bd. 66 (1986), pp. 255-264
Published by: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn (Germany)
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20186538

The Lenaea, the Anthesteria, and the Temple F5;̓ν Λίμναις
William Nickerson Bates
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
Vol. 30 (1899), pp. 89-98
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
DOI: 10.2307/282563
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/282563

Simon Hornblower; Antony Spawforth; Esther Eidinow (29 March 2012), The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Lenaia: OUP Oxford, pp. 819–, ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8

Slater, N. W. “The Lenaean Theatre.” Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik, vol. 66, 1986, pp. 255–264. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20186538.

Bates, W. N. (1899). The Lenaea, the Anthesteria, and the Temple &#03F5;̓ν Λίμναις Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 30, 89–98. https://doi.org/10.2307/282563  

Boukoleion

Dionysos en Limnais
[Dionysos in the Marshes or Lakes]

Theory that the Lenaean Theatre 
The Play of Space: Spatial Transformation in Greek Tragedy - Rush Rehm - Google Books

Dionysus en Limnais by John Pickard
This paper discusses the literary and physical evidence for the Lenaeum (the sacred precinct of Dionysos in Athens), a site whose location was lost.
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Friday 8 August 2014

Ancient Theatre of Amphipolis

Not yet excavated

Google Maps

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Ancient Theatre of Mytilene

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Acoustics of Greek Theatres


The Greek Theatre Cavea
O. A. W. Dilke
The Annual of the British School at Athens
Vol. 43, (1948), pp. 125-192
Published by: British School at Athens

The Greek Theatre Cavea: Addenda and Corrigenda
O. A. W. Dilke
The Annual of the British School at Athens
Vol. 44, (1949), pp. 328-329
Published by: British School at Athens

Details and Chronology of Greek Theatre Caveas
O. A. W. Dilke
The Annual of the British School at Athens
Vol. 45, (1950), pp. 20-62
Published by: British School at Athens

Robert S. Shankland
Physics Today Online 26 , 10 , 30 (1973)

Assisted Resonance in Ancient Theatres
J. G. Landels
Greece & Rome
Second Series, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Apr., 1967), pp. 80-94

Chapters 3-8

François Canac (1967). L'Acoustique des théâtres antiques: ses enseignements. Édition du Centre national de la recherche scientifique.

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 121 , 2011 (2007) ; 


J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105 , 1043 (1999) ;

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 120 , 3148 (2006) ; 

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 121 , 3129 (2007) ;
 
 

 

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Theatron (the seeing place) is the viewing area of a Greek theatre, where the audience sat to watch the performance of a Greek play.  It derives from the Greek word for the viewing of ritual ceremonies.

βουλευτικόν was the section reserved for members of the Boulè [the Council] at the theatre.

Cavea  [Greek: koilon, a hollow or cavity] the auditorium or banks of seats in a Greek theatre. The hollowing out of a suitably sited, naturally shaped hillside or the erection of a building with a similar shape to create an auditorium. Acoustic quality, that is the shaping of the Cavea as a segment of a horn or megaphone, was a critical feature of its design. In the early theatres the audience stood or sat on the grass of the hillside. Later seats were introduced made of wood called ikrea;  later still benches were cut from the rock out of the hillside or were made from stone. Some such auditoria were also designed to collect rainwater to supply the local community with their water needs and had drainage channels for this purpose which led to underground cisterns.

Orchestra orkhestra , comes from the verb ὀρκέομαι, orkeomai , which means dancing; it marked the ground-level area where the chorus performed, where the ritualistic dancing and singing of the chorus took place. Originally it was rectangular, but laterr it became a  circular or semicircular. It was the space located between the lower floor of the auditorium and the stage, and was the central space in a Greek theatre. Generally either at the centre of the Orchestra or to one side was situated the altar dedicated to Dionysus, known as the thymele.

Diazoma ( Greek: διάζωμα "belt") a term used to describe wide annular horizontal corridor or passageway which separated the lower bank of seats from the upper bank of seats, called the epitheatron, in the Cavea of an ancient Greek theatre.

Kerkis [latin Cuneus]  were the wedge-shaped sections of banks of stone seats of the Cavea where the audience sat.  separated by mounting staircases (Klimakes) made from the same material.

Skene (the dressing room) was the Scene building  the flat-roofed stage building, which might be a non-permanent one, placed at the rear of the orchestra. It could represent a palace or a cave. It generally had a door from which actors could emerge.

Proskene [Proscenium] the ground-level portion immediately in front of the skene was used as an acting area; in Hellenistic period, the proskenion was a raised platform in front of the skene; the skene eventually included two levels, a lower level with a roof (the Hellenistic logeion or stage) and the second story skene with openings for entrances (thyromata)

Paraskenion side additions to the skene. These were one or two storey side wings on either side of the proskenion; which could have columns which supporting a frieze.

Parodos the two entrances on either side of the orchestra giving access to it were called the parodoi.

Periaktoi the 3-sided revolving mechanisms placed each side of the stage painted with scenery, which could change as the play unfolded.

Proedria  The marble throne-like seats in the front row, the first circle of seats next to the orchestra. These were seats for VIPs and the priest of Dionysos.

Logeion [latin pulpitum or greek λογεῖον] The raised platform or stage behind the orchestra  in front of the skene on which actors could speak; the roof of the proskenion could be used for this purpose

Thymele Of controversial position and function. Can refer to the mid-point of the Orchestra, which might be marked by a stone or platform. Or it can refer to a small, possibly moveable altar used to make sacrifices to Dionysus; both of these were called thymele. During the action of the play the chorus danced or stood  around the thymele.

The history of Greek theatres as substantial buildings really only begins in the mid-fourth century BC; clearly defined principles of design do not appear before the Hellenistic age, following the death of Alexander and before the conquest of Greece by Rome. It is ironic, but not unparalleled in other periods and contexts, that the evolution of these principles should have coincided with the decline of Greek dramatic poetry, both comic and tragic.

The reasons for this decline are rather complex. Greek tragedy and comedy both grew out of religious celebrations. Especially in the hands of Euripides, tragedy subsequently became more moralizing than ‘religious,’ and also more ‘dramatic’ in character; and the comic productions were of a different nature too.

Early theatres and their orchestras were probably rectangular but much smaller in design. The theatron used wooden seating. Later theatres in the Hellenistic period were much, much larger and were constructed to give every member of the audience which could be tens of thousands an equally good view, and the shape of the theatron as a megaphone or a portion of a horn on a hillside in overall design gave good acoustics too.


Rune Frederiksen; Elizabeth R. Gebhard; Alexander Sokolicek (1 Dec 2015). The Architecture of the Ancient Greek Theatre. Aarhus University Press. ISBN 978-87-7124-996-5. https://bit.ly/2DgQGFc

Eric Csapo; Hans Rupprecht Goette; J. Richard Green (18 June 2014). Greek Theatre in the Fourth Century BC. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-033755-6.

The Attic Theatre: A Description of the Stage and Theatre of the Athenians, and of the Dramatic ...: Arthur Elan Haigh - Internet Archive

The Attic Theatre (3rd Edition): A.E Haigh - Internet Archive

Capps, E. (1891). The Greek Stage According to the Extant Dramas. Transactions of the American Philological Association (1869-1896), 22, 5–78. https://doi.org/10.2307/2935700 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2935700

Cartwright, M. (2016, April 22). Greek Theatre Architecture. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/article/895/Frederick E. Winter; Janos Fedak (1 January 2006). Studies in Hellenistic Architecture. University of Toronto Press. pp. 96–. ISBN 978-0-8020-3914-9.

Judith Winzenz (1999). The Attic Theatre. The Old Wooden Theatres at Athens: Ardent Media. pp. 164–.

Judith Winzenz (1999). The Attic Theatre. The Stone Theatre: Ardent Media. pp. 86–.

The Ancient Theatre Archive: Greek and Roman Theatres - Whitman Edu

Greek - Roman Theatre Glossary (Ancient Theatre Archive Project).

Greek Scenic Conventions in the Fifth Century BC: Peter Arnott - Internet Archive

“The Architectural Development of the Theatre from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Period.” Das Theater Von Ephesos: Archäologische Befunde, Funde Und Chronologie, by Gerald E. Weissengruber et al., 1st ed., Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, Wien, 2017, pp. 475–512. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8d5sk4.16.

Side-Entrances and ΠΕΡΙΑΚΤΟΙ in the Hellenistic Theatre
W. Beare
The Classical Quarterly
Vol. 32, No. 3/4 (Jul. - Oct., 1938), pp. 205-210








Karl Otfried Müller (1835). Dissertations on the Eumenides of Aeschylus: With the Greek Text and Critical Remarks. Thymele: Printed at the Pitt Press, by John Smith, for J. and J.J. Deighton. pp. 249–.

George Harrison; Vayos Liapis (1 March 2013). Performance in Greek and Roman Theatre. BRILL.  ISBN 978-90-04-24545-7.

Chapter Title: The Architectural Development of the Theatre from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Period
Book Title: Das Theater von Ephesos
Book Subtitle: Archäologische Befunde, Funde und Chronologie
Book Author(s): FRIEDRICH KRINZINGER and PETER RUGGENDORFER
Published by: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. (2017)
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv8d5sk4.16


The Altar in the Fifth-Century Theater
Joe Park Poe
Classical Antiquity
Vol. 8, No. 1 (Apr., 1989), pp. 116-139 (24 pages)
Published by: University of California Press
DOI: 10.2307/25010898
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25010898

Thymele und Skene
Wilhelm Doerpfeld
Hermes
37. Bd., H. 2 (1902), pp. 249-257
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag

On the Thymele in Greek Theatres
Arthur Bernard Cook
The Classical Review
Vol. 9, No. 7 (Oct., 1895), pp. 370-378

The Relative Position of Actors and Chorus in the Greek Theatre of the V Century B. C. Part I. Consideration of the Extant Theatres
John Pickard
The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1893), pp. 68-89
Article DOI: 10.2307/287689

The Relative Position of Actors and Chorus in the Greek Theatre of the V Century B. C. Part II. Consideration of the Extant Dramas
John Pickard
The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 14, No. 2 (1893), pp. 198-215
Article DOI: 10.2307/288105

The Relative Position of Actors and Chorus in the Greek Theatre of the V Century B. C. III. The Period of Euripides and Aristophanes
John Pickard
The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 14, No. 3 (1893), pp. 273-304
Article DOI: 10.2307/288072

The Side-Entrances to the Greek Theatre
Edward Capps
The Classical Review
Vol. 8, No. 7 (Jul., 1894), pp. 318-320

Thymeliker und Skeniker
E. Bethe
Hermes
36. Bd., H. 4 (1901), pp. 597-601
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag

On the Meaning of the Word ΘΥΜΕΛΗ
A. S. F. Gow
The Journal of Hellenic Studies
Vol. 32, (1912), pp. 213-238

To Dance in the Orchestra: A Circular Argument
Author(s): Kathryn Bosher
Source: Illinois Classical Studies , No. 33-34 (2008-2009), pp. 1-24
Published by: University of Illinois Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/illiclasstud.33-34.0001

Dr. Dörpfeld's Theory about the Logeion in Greek Theatres
A. E. Haigh
The Classical Review
Vol. 4, No. 6 (Jun., 1890), pp. 277-282

Wilhelm Dörpfeld; Emil Reisch (1896). Das griechische theater. Barth & von Hirst. pp. 276-305
http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/doerpfeld1896/0291
Das griechische theater

Margaret M. Miles (8 August 2016). A Companion to Greek Architecture. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-1-4443-3599-6.

Carlo Ferdinando Russo (2002). Aristophanes: An Author for the Stage. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-73538-9.


ASHBY, C. (1999). THE SHAPE OF THE ORCHESTRA: A History and Critique. In Classical Greek Theatre: New Views of an Old Subject (pp. 24-41). IOWA CITY: University of Iowa Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt20q201q.7

Clifford Ashby (1999). Classical Greek Theatre: New Views of an Old Subject. Chapter 3: The Shape of the Orchestra: University of Iowa Press. pp. 24–. ISBN 978-1-58729-463-1.

Rune Frederiksen; Elizabeth R. Gebhard; Alexander Sokolicek (1 December 2015). The Architecture of the Ancient Greek Theatre. Aarhus University Press. ISBN 978-87-7124-996-5.

Carlo Ferdinando Russo (2002). Aristophanes: An Author for the Stage. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-73538-9.

Eric Csapo; Hans Rupprecht Goette; J. Richard Green (18 June 2014). Greek Theatre in the Fourth Century BC. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-033755-6.

Ronald W. Vince (1984). Ancient and Medieval Theatre: A Historiographical Handbook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-24107-9.

The Form of the Orchestra in the Early Greek Theater
Author(s): Elizabeth Gebhard
Source: Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1974), pp. 428-440
Published by: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

DEME THEATERS IN ATTICA AND THE TRITTYS SYSTEM
Jessica Paga
Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Vol. 79, No. 3 (July-September 2010), pp. 351-384 (34 pages)
Published by: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40981054

The 'Stage' in Aristophanes
Author(s): John Williams White
Source: Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Vol. 2 (1891), pp. 159-205
Published by: Department of the Classics, Harvard University

Recent Scholarship on the Greek Theatre
Author(s): George R. Kernodle
Source: Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2 (May, 1951), pp. 129-134
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Reviewed Work(s): Teatri Greci Arcaici, da Minosse a Pericle by Carlo Anti Review by: William A. McDonald 
Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 53, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1949), pp. 412-414 
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America 
Marcel Lysgaard Lech
Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 49 (2009) 223–226


Frank Sear (20 July 2006). Roman Theatres: An Architectural Study. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-814469-4.

Ronald W. Vince (1984). Ancient and Medieval Theatre: A Historiographical Handbook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-24107-9.

William Bell Dinsmoor; William James Anderson (1973). The Architecture of Ancient Greece: An Account of Its Historic Development. Biblo & Tannen Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8196-0283-1.

Oscar Brockett; Franklin J. Hildy (July 2002). History of the Theatre. Allyn & Bacon, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-205-41050-7.

James Fredal (2018) A Distinctly Rhetorical Space; Eusynoptos and the Greek Council-House, Advances in the History of Rhetoric, 21:1, 97-103, DOI: 10.1080/15362426.2018.1419746

The staging of suppliant plays - PDF
R Rehm - Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 1988 - grbs.library.duke.edu

Bernhard Zimmermann (25 January 2017). Griechisch-römische Komödie und Tragödie. Anchoring Thebes: Defining Place and Space in Ancient Greek Theatre by Nurit Yaari: Springer-Verlag. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-3-476-04216-3.

https://www.oxfordartonline.com/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7000084345#7000084350

Ancient Hellenistic and Roman Amphitheatres, Stadiums, and Theatres: The Way ... - Raymond G. Chase - Google Books

Stricker, B. H. (1955). The Origin of the Greek Theatre. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 41, 34–47. https://doi.org/10.2307/3855235 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3855235

Trapido, J. (1949). The Language of the Theatre: I. The Greeks and Romans. Educational Theatre Journal, 1(1), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.2307/3204106 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3204106

The Men Who Built the Theatres: Theatropolai, Theatronai, and Arkhitektones by Eric Csapo
Csapo_2004-libre.pdf

On the Origin of the Architect: Architects and Xenía in the Ancient Greek Theatre by Simon Weir

The Shape of the Athenian Theatron in the Fifth Century: Overlooked Evidence  - Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies

Revermann, M. (1999). The Shape of the Athenian Orchestra in the Fifth Century: Forgotten Evidence. Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik, 128, 25–28. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20190507

The Play of Space: Spatial Transformation in Greek Tragedy by Rush Rehm - Google Books
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Thursday 7 August 2014

Theatre of Stratos


References

 Theatre of Stratos - Theatrum

Diazoma - Theatre of Stratos

Wikimapia.- Theatre of Stratos

Stratos - Hellenica
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Tuesday 5 August 2014

Pergamon [Turkey]






References

Wilhelm Dörpfeld; Emil Reisch (1896). Das griechische theater. Barth & von Hirst. pp. 150-.
http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/doerpfeld1896/0165
Das griechische theater

Perseus - Pergamon

Pergamon.Acropolis.Theatre

Wikimapia - Theatre of Pergamum

Burgtheater - Theatrum.de




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