Page:History of the Literature of Ancient Greece (Müller) 2ed.djvu/323

LITERATURE OF ANCIENT GREECE. 301 former, heroes of the mythical world, whose whole aspect hespoke some- thing mightier and more sublime than ordinary humanity; the latter, generally composed of men of the people, whose part it was to show the impression made by the incidents of the drama on lower and feebler minds ; and thus, as it were, interpret them to the audience, with whom they owned a more kindred nature. The ancient stage was remarkably long, but of little depth. It was but a small segment cut from the circle of the orchestra; but it extended on either side so far that its length was nearly double the diameter of the orchestra.* This fonn of the stage is founded on the artistical taste of the ancients gene- rally ; and again, influenced their dramatic representation in a remark- able manner. As ancient sculpture delighted above all things in the long lines of figures, which we see in the pediments and friezes, and as even the painting of antiquity placed single figures in perfect outline near each other, but clear and distinct, and rarely so closely grouped as that one intercepted the view of another; so also the persons on the stage, the heroes and their attendants (who were often numerous), stood in long rows on this long and narrow stage. The persons who came from a distance were never seen advancing from the back of the stage, but from the side, whence they often had to walk a considerable dis- tance before they reached the centre where the principal actors stood. The oblong space which the stage formed was inclosed on three sides by high walls, the hinder one of which alone was properly called the Scene, the narrow walls on the right and left were styled Parascenia, the stage itself was called in accurate language, not scene, but Pro- scenium, because it was in front of the scene. Scene properly means a tent or hut, and such was doubtless erected of wood by the earliest beginners of dramatic performances, to mark the dwelling of the prin- cipal person represented by the actor. Out of this he came forth into the open spate, and into this he retired again. And although this poor and small hut at length gave place to the stately scene, enriched with architectural decorations, yet its purpose and destination remained essentially the same. It was the dwelling of the principal person or persons; the proscenium was the space in front of it, and the continuation of this space was the orchestra. Thus the scene might represent a camp with the tent of the hero, as in the Ajax of Sophocles ; a wild region of wood and rock, with a cave for a dwelling place, as in the Philoctetes; but its usual purport and deco- • Those readers who wish for more precise information about architectural mea- sures and proportions may consult the beautiful plan given by Donaldson, in the supplemental volume to Stuart's Antiquities of Athens, London, 1830, p. 33. It should, however, be observed, that the projecting sides of the proscenium, which Donaldson has assumed with Hiit, are not supported by any ancient testimony, nor can they be justified by any requirement of the dramatic representations of the Greeks. The space required for these projections ought rather to be allotted to the side entrances of the orchestra, the <xa.eoboi.