Prescribed sources

Question 1

Cheiron Vase (1)

Answer 1

• Italy
• 390-370 BC
• Bell krater by McDaniel painter
• depicts a scene from comedy –> unknown
• thought to show a parody of the myth of the centaur Cheiron, healed by Apollo
• illustrates the role that farce and slapstick played in Comedy
• a static image, so much of the effect that slapstick and farce may have played in Old Comedy = is lost to us
• Fact that it portrays a PARODY –> further insight into OLD COMEDY and what may have been popular during this time, today we still use parody as a comedic technique in many tv shows and comedies
• Top of the steps up to the stage shows a comic actor and the writing above inscription = XANTHIAS –> common name for enslaved person in Greek Comedy
• Cheiron = famous as a wise centaur who was a great teacher and healer.
• Myth = Cheiron = terribly wounded by the arrows of Hercales and this is perhaps a feature of the plot in this play.
• Behind him in the image = another actor who is pushing him up, this actor plays ‘rear’ of Centaur SIMILAR TODAY PANTOMIME
• Imagine how RIDICULOUS this looked on stage –> FARCE
• no inclusion of PLAY in inscription = presumed to reflect practices that = familiar to buyer
• SET OF STAGING ON STAGE OF COMIC PLAY
• STEPS ON LEFT LEADS TO WOODEN STAGE SUPPORTED ON POSTS (though may not be accurate, other vases show columns under stage)
• SIDE-VIEW of a doorway with a projecting porch ornamented with egg-moulding and a scroll pattern, represent the temple of Apollo at DELPHI
• COMIC COSTUME –> Xanthias is wearing a short, bordered tunic over the top of an undergarment with sleeves and tights in a one-piece suit
• CLEARLY VISIBLE PHALLUS and MIDRIFF = HEAVY PADDED
• PHALLUS = KEY FEATURE IN COMEDIC THEATRE AS THEY FLOPPED ABOUT BETWEEN ACTORS KNEES, ADDED TO HILARITY OF SCENE AND OUTRAGEOUSNESS
• MASKS OF COMEDY –> indicated by the snub nose and large mouth of XANTHIUS
• CHERION’S COSTUME = SIMILAR, BUT HIS MASK HAS DIFFERENT FEATURES…tells us how ancient Greeks may have used masks to differentiate between the characters
• CHERION’S = white hair, shaggier eyebrows, eyes closed to INDICATE blindness.
• AGE = USE OF PROP, his STAFF to walk
• 2 NYMPHS present on the vase, with masks shown by PROTRUDING LIPS and OPEN GAPING MOUTHS

Question 2

2 CHORUS MEMBERS DRESSED AS BIRDS

Answer 2

• Vase is from ATTICA
• 510-480 BC
• marginally older than the first known comedy, NOT FROM BIRDS BY ARISTOPHANES
• Black-figure onichoe vase, perhaps painted by a Geia painter.
• Depicts an auletes on the left, playing his aulos which = MOTIF commonly used by painters to indicate theatrical or choral use, so this vase can tell us about the CHORUS of the Classical Greek WORLD.
• Dancing to the tune = two bearded figures dressed as birds with crests on their heads and feathers attached to their knees
• DAPPLED SKINS with tails hanging down behind and huge wings clearly visible on their arms
• INSIGHT onto the costume of EARLY Greek Theatre ? DITHYRAMB
• CLEARLY = costumes in comedy = outlandish, flamboyant and spectacular. Animal costumes = common for choruses, especially in comedy.
• Sometimes the play is named after chorus’ animal, but…ARISTOPHANES BIRDS 441 BC = too late to be represented on the pot.
• HELPS US UNDERSTAND WHAT COSTUME OF THE PLAY MIGHT HAVE LOOKED LIKE
• Indicates that animal choruses and bird choruses in particular predate Aristophanes by many decades
• Vines and branches depicted on the pot = suggestive of Dionysus –> importance of the religious context within Ancient Greek thratre
• They were performing these plays for DIONYSUS, festivals of RELIGION
• dated early 5th century = chorus worship = well-known by then
• predates first known comedy, does present indications to origins of comedy which probably began with CHORAL WORSHIP
• arms raised identically and feet moving in the same way –> choregraphed, dance routine
• However, static image = cannot fully capture the movement of the sound, don’t know what the dance would have consisted of or looked like or what the song sounds like.
• may not be representative of later choruses.

Question 3

FRAGMENT OF A SINGLE ACTOR

Answer 3

• Fragment of a single actor and 2 audience members dated to 420 BC
• artist is ATHENIA and it is an ATTIC red figure vase
• Left = two characters shown = ambiguous and unidentified, could be 2 priests, or two judges or even Dionysus and his consort Adriande.
• Right of the vase is much more explicit, it is PERSEUS as he killed Medusa with a sickle. This fragment in particular tells us a lot about the use of costume.
• Perseus is portrayed with nudity with phallus –> OUTRAGEOUS to prompt laughter from audience. Phallus dangling as he appears to be dancing would have induced comedic affect.
• PHALLUS = common theme in comedic costume.
• He is wearing an exaggerated mask with grotesque features again showing us the outrageous and spectacle of comedic theatre.
• Contextually masks worn as many people would watch theatrical performances and couldn’t see clearly
• EXAGGERATED MASK = highly effective not like today where u can see exaggerated facial expressions.
• TWO CHARACTERS ON THE LEFT TELLS US HOW ELITE PROHEDRIA WAS, VIP seating at the front of the theatre. FIGURES ARE IMPORTANT
• STAGING EQUIPMENT - Klismoi and RAISED PLATFORM - shows audience present and sue of props - Perseus holds cut off head of Medusa
• evidence of dramatic movement as PERSEUS moves about –> static image
• DAMAGED VASE, only shows 2 members would have been thousands more.

Question 4

WOMEN AT THE THESMORPHIA

Answer 4

• Vase red figure bell krater 380-370 BC
• wine-skin and boots from Women at the Thesmorphia = parody of a scene in Euripedes’ tragedy TELEPHUS
• tells us COMEDY = PARODY OF TRAGEDIES
• Woman = running up to catch. the wine in a bowl for fear of wasting wine cared so much more for wine than baby = as vase also shows man kneeling on religious altar holding wine sack hostage (believing it to be a baby)
• AMUSING TO GREEK AUDIENCE, women = social function = primarily marriage and producing a male heir = COMEDY LIKED TO REVERSE THE NORMATIVE ROLES FOR COMEDIC VALUE
• IRONIC expected for woman to care more about baby than wine sack
• COMEDY gives serious advice to the city, women irrational creatures in need of PROTECTION from themselves and from others, demonstrating of the hysterical, wild nature in women.
• Man does not have BEARD, which was typical of GREEK COMEDY , sene reverses sexual stereotypes where men dress as women and women = men
• Actors wear decorative robes and masks but because red-figure can’t see COLOURFUL or not
• PROPS - religious altar, mirror, bowl, wine sack, knife - GREEK COMEDY = elaborate, extensive and expensive costumes and props = SPECTACLE.
• VASE MADE IN South Italy –> THEATRE PANHELLENIC