The Messenger

The Messenger in Greek Drama

The Messenger is essentially a narrator who tells the story of an episode or set of events that have taken place elsewhere and/or at a different time than the location defined by the Skene which is often the outside of the front of a palace or cavern or temple, or the current time in the drama.

angelos [ἄγγελος]
The messenger or herald who brings news from afar, off-scene

exangelos   [ἐξάγγελος]

A messenger who brings out the news from within the palace, cavern, or temple.

Messenger-Rhesis or messenger speech scene

Rhesis [ῥῆσις] Rhesis is the technical term for a speech in a play

Critical news from offstage from either inside a building or from a distant location,  conveyed typically in a scene reporting that news either to the chorus by itself or to any appropriate character present on stage with the chorus. Such a scene would typically appear about two-thirds to four-fifths of the way through a play. Some plays can have two messenger scenes. Typically, the messenger character brings essential news (critical to the drama) narrating about events that have taken place off-set. Typically the messenger gives the essence of the news in a short dialogue, and then he is asked by the actor or chorus to give the whole story, which he does so in a rhesis or long speech or monologue which can be up to 80 or even 100 lines in length.

Bremer (1976) says that messenger speeches made it possible to present events at locations different from where the chorus happened to be: crowd scenes, miracles, and murders all of which were not really feasible to act whilst the chorus was in the arena of the orchestra.

Most of the extant dramas have at least one messenger speech, the device is most conspicuous in the plays by Euripides and Sophocles, less so in the works by Aeschylus.

The stories related in messenger scenes were popular with audiences and found their way as scenes depicted on thousands of vases produced in Greece or its colonies during those times.

References

James Barrett (2002). Staged Narrative: Poetics and the Messenger in Greek Tragedy. Chapter 2: The Literary Messenger, the Tragic Messenger: University of California Press. pp. 23–. ISBN 978-0-520-92793-3.

James Barrett (2002). Staged Narrative: Poetics and the Messenger in Greek Tragedy. Appendix: Messengers in Greek Tragedy: University of California Press. pp. 223–. ISBN 978-0-520-92793-3.

M Dickin (2009) A Vehicle for Performance: Acting the Messenger in Greek Tragedy. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-4355-9.

Irene J. F. De Jong (1991). Narrative in Drama: The Art of the Euripidean Messenger-Speech. BRILL ISBN 90-04-09406-7.

Irene J. F. De Jong (1991). Narrative in Drama: The Art of the Euripidean Messenger-Speech. Why Messenger-Speeches: BRILL. pp. 117–. ISBN 90-04-09406-7.

R. B. Rutherford (10 May 2012). Greek Tragic Style: Form, Language and Interpretation. V Messenger Speech: Cambridge University Press. pp. 200–. ISBN 978-1-107-37707-3.

What maketh the messenger? Reportage in Greek tragedy

S Perris - ASCS 32 Selected Proceedings, 2011 Australia

Arthur Dale Trendall; Thomas Bertram Lonsdale Webster (1971). Illustrations of Greek drama. Phaidon. ISBN 978-0-7148-1492-6.

Oliver Taplin (2007). Pots & Plays: Interactions Between Tragedy and Greek Vase-Painting of the Fourth Century B.C. Getty Publications. pp. 135–. ISBN 978-0-89236-807-5.

  

The Messenger in Greek Tragedy - JStor

News and Messaging in Aeschylean Tragedy and their Impact on Internal and External Audiences
2019 Fitzgerald ES PhD.pdf

J. M. Bremer, « Why messenger-speeches? », in Miscellanea Tragica in honorem J. C. Kamerbeek, J. M. Bremer, S. L. Radt et C. J. Ruijgh ed., Amsterdam, 1976, pp. 29-48.

Pathmanathan, R. Sri. “Death in Greek Tragedy.” Greece & Rome, vol. 12, no. 1, 1965, pp. 2–14. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/642398  [On the taboo of onstage death]

keryx | Meaning, History, & Hermes | Britannica

Staged Narrative: Poetics and the Messenger in Greek Tragedy - James Barrett - Google Books

The messenger is a stock character in Ancient Greek Tragedy who typically arrives on stage to deliver news about events that have occurred offstage. These events are often violent, disastrous, or crucial to the unfolding plot, and are not shown directly to the audience due to the conventions of Greek theatre.

Functions of the Messenger

• To advance the plot: Messengers reveal crucial information that influences the characters' decisions and actions, often creating turning points in the narrative.
• To report offstage action: Greek tragedies adhered to the "unity of place," meaning the main action occurred in a single location. Messengers allowed playwrights to depict events happening elsewhere (battles, deaths, etc.) without violating this unity.
• To evoke emotional responses: The vivid and often graphic descriptions in messenger speeches were designed to elicit strong emotions like pity, fear, and horror from the audience.
• To build dramatic tension: By delaying the revelation of key information and using foreshadowing, messengers could build suspense and anticipation.
• To provide exposition: Messengers sometimes offer background information or context that the audience needs to understand the current situation.
• To comment on themes: The content and delivery of the messenger's report could reinforce the central themes of the play, such as fate, justice, or the consequences of human actions.

Conventions of Messenger Speeches

• Arrival: The messenger often enters abruptly, sometimes out of breath or in distress, signaling the urgency and importance of their news.
• Opening announcement: They typically begin with a brief statement announcing their arrival and the nature of their tidings, often hinting at its gravity.
• Detailed narration (rhesis): Following the initial announcement, the messenger usually delivers a long, descriptive speech (rhesis) recounting the offstage events in detail. This speech often employs vivid imagery and rhetorical devices to create a powerful impact.
• Eyewitness account: The messenger typically presents themselves as an eyewitness to the events they describe, lending authority and immediacy to their report.
• Interaction with the chorus and characters: The messenger may address the chorus or other characters on stage, who often react with questions, lamentations, or expressions of shock. The chorus's response serves as a guide for the audience's emotional reaction.
• Departure: After delivering their news and interacting with the characters, the messenger's role is usually complete, and they often exit the stage.

Examples of Messengers in Greek Tragedy

• In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, two messengers play critical roles. One announces the death of Oedipus's supposed father, Polybus, and reveals that Oedipus was not his biological son. The second messenger, a servant from the palace, vividly describes Jocasta's suicide and Oedipus's self-blinding.
• In Euripides' The Bacchae, multiple messengers appear to report the miraculous and violent events occurring on Mount Cithaeron, detailing the ecstatic rituals of the Bacchantes and the gruesome death of Pentheus.
• In Aeschylus' Agamemnon, a messenger describes the fall of Troy and the arduous journey home for the Greek army, foreshadowing the dangers awaiting Agamemnon.
• In Sophocles' Antigone, a messenger recounts the tragic deaths of Antigone and Haemon, bringing devastating news to Creon.

Significance of the Messenger

The messenger is a crucial dramatic device that allowed Greek playwrights to:

• Overcome the limitations of the stage.
• Present impactful events without staging them directly.
• Control the pacing and emotional intensity of the play.
• Provide crucial information and advance the narrative efficiently.

While often a minor character with no further involvement in the plot, the messenger's speeches are frequently among the most powerful and memorable parts of Greek tragedies. They serve as a conduit for crucial information and a catalyst for the emotional and dramatic climax of the plays.