294 ON THE EEPRESENTATION OF CERTAIN TV<p6fjt.epa Aiov trvpbs 'in ^uxxav (pya dddvaTOv "H/oas fXTjrip' els i/x-qu v(3piv. aluoj 5k KddfJ.ov, d^arov 6s iriSov rdde riOrjcn, BvyaTphs arjKov dfXTreXov di vlv TT^pL^ eyih 'Kdvpa ^OTpvu)dei x^^V- 596 : TTup ov Xevcraecs ovd' avyd^eis Se/iAaj iepbu djj.<pl rdipov. On the left of the palace, but in close contiguity to it (Jul. Poll. IV. § 125 : elpKTrj Se rj Xatd), and between it and a tcXlcnov representing the stable (v. 509 : lirirLKal^ ireXa^ (j^arvaiaiv) , was seen the en- trance to a dark and gloomy dungeon (v. 550: aKOTLat<; iv elpKTah. V. 611: 69 (rK0T6Lva<; op/cava^). On the extreme left the, j)er{actos indicated the road to foreign and distant parts, and on the right the periactos showed a view of Cithseron. If the city of Thebes was at all indicated it must have been between the right-hand ^eriactos and the palace, in the same part of the scene where the auspicial abode of Teiresias was represented. That the road to Cithgeron did not pass through the city is 61ear from v. 840, where Pentheus asks, Kol TTcDs 5i' dcrrecos etpLi Kadfiecovs aduv; and Dionysus answers, 65oi>s iprifiovs tpLev' iyu) S' riyqcrop-ai. If the city was seen at all it must have been that part of Thebes which lay in the direction of the gate called Electra (v. 781 : crTelx iir 'He/cTpa9 Icov irvXa^). The only change in this scenery which is required by the action of the play is the downfal and conflagra- tion of the elpKTr] in which Dionysus is imprisoned. It has been mentioned already that this elpKrrj and the adjoining KXiaiov stood immediately to the left of the palace, and therefore between it and the monument of Semele. According to the description in the play, the architrave of this building falls asunder, and the columns are thrown down by the god as he rushes forth (590: there Xdlva KLocTiv e/jb^oa BcdSpofMa rdSe), At the same time a flame rises from the sacred tomb of Semele and seems to consume the adjoining edifice (vv. 596 sqq., and cf. 623: koI purfTpo^; rdcfxp irvp avrj-^ev). How this was managed does not appear. Probably some light wood- work was allowed to fall, and a smoke was raised at the same time. We are not to conclude from the expectations of the chorus (v. 588: Td^ci rd TievOeco^; p^eXaOpa Siarcvd^eTac irearniaG-iv), that the central building, the palace of Pentheus himself, is involved in
Page:The Theatre of the Greeks, a Treatise on the History and Exhibition of the Greek Drama, with Various Supplements.djvu/320
This page needs to be proofread.
