《希腊悲剧》课程参考资料：Foley 2003 Choral Identity in Greek Tragedy

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CHORAL IDENTITY IN GREEK TRAGEDY HELENE FOLEY G EORGE WALSH, IN WHOSE HONOR I presented this lecture in February 2001, has written memorably on the greek chorus, above all in his 984 book The Varieties of Enchantment. Walsh's eloquent discus sion of worldly and enchanting choral poetry in Euripides is a hard act to follow, but at least I can feel assured that he would have been sympathetic to later attempts to pursue this complex topic further. In the early nineteenth century (1808-9), August Wilhelm Schlegel fa mously described the chorus of Greek tragedy as the ideal spectator. Many have undertaken to qualify or reassess his nevertheless valuable views since. Among important objections, critics raise the problem of dramatic irony. The actual spectators to the plays often know considerably more than the chorus, whose ignorance, lack of comprehension, or conventionality can lead them into errors of judgment. Second, as John Gould in particular has emphasized, the core tragic audience consisted of male citizens of Athens, despite the presence of others ranging from foreigners and children to(pos sibly) slaves or women. By contrast, the tragic chorus itself is predomi- nantly made up of women, slaves, foreigners, or old men; men of military age far more rarely compose such choruses(all extant cases are soldiers and none are athenian unless we include the chorus of salaminian soldiers from Sophocles' Ajax). *If these marginal groups do not appear to represent he external audience and its politico-religious community directly within the plays, why are they there and what role do they play within the dramas? (trans. [1846] 1973, 69-70). On the role of the Greek chorus more generally, see esp 2001,esp.18-20.38.44: Burton1980 183; Goldhill1996,254-55; Gould1996,219,232, nd1999,89; Rosenmeyer197.esp.36.38-39,and42;1982.145-87;and1993,csp.559,56land571: 45; Hose 1990-91. 1: 32-37; Mastronarde 1998, 59; and 1999, 90, and Fletcher 1999, 30. See Rosenmeyer 1977 on irony and 3. On the question of women in the audience, see Podlecki 1990: Henderson 1991; and Goldhill 1994. ould 1996. 220. with the critic by Goldhill 1996; Silk 1998a; Griffith 1998, P. 42, n. 74; form. Calame's essay attempts to show how a marginal chorus can, through ritual and performance, lead the audience"to be active at the side of the virtual author"(153) Classical Philology 98(2003): 1-30 [C 2003 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved] 0009-837X/03/9801-0001S1000 This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

Classical Philology 98 (2003): 1–30 [ç 2003 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved] 0009-837X/03/9801-0001$10.00 1 CHORAL IDENTITY IN GREEK TRAGEDY helene foley George Walsh, in whose honor I presented this lecture in February 2001, has written memorably on the Greek chorus, above all in his 1984 book The Varieties of Enchantment. Walsh’s eloquent discussion of worldly and enchanting choral poetry in Euripides is a hard act to follow, but at least I can feel assured that he would have been sympathetic to later attempts to pursue this complex topic further. In the early nineteenth century (1808–9), August Wilhelm Schlegel famously described the chorus of Greek tragedy as the ideal spectator.1 Many have undertaken to qualify or reassess his nevertheless valuable views since.2 Among important objections, critics raise the problem of dramatic irony. The actual spectators to the plays often know considerably more than the chorus, whose ignorance, lack of comprehension, or conventionality can lead them into errors of judgment. Second, as John Gould in particular has emphasized, the core tragic audience consisted of male citizens of Athens, despite the presence of others ranging from foreigners and children to (possibly) slaves or women.3 By contrast, the tragic chorus itself is predominantly made up of women, slaves, foreigners, or old men; men of military age far more rarely compose such choruses (all extant cases are soldiers and none are Athenian, unless we include the chorus of Salaminian soldiers from Sophocles’ Ajax).4 If these marginal groups do not appear to represent the external audience and its politico-religious community directly within the plays, why are they there and what role do they play within the dramas? 1. Schlegel 1846, 76–77 (trans. [1846] 1973, 69–70). On the role of the Greek chorus more generally, see esp. Bacon 1994–95, 8–9, 17–18; Bierl 2001, esp. 18–20, 38, 44; Burton 1980, 1–4; Davidson 1986a, 75; Easterling 1997, 163, 165; Gardiner 1987, 3, 5, 183; Goldhill 1996, 254–55; Gould 1996, 219, 232, and 245; Griffith 1998, p. 42 and n. 74; Henrichs 1996, 48–49; Kirkwood 1958, esp. 196; Mastronarde 1998, 57, 71–72, and 1999, 89; Rosenmeyer 1977, esp. 36, 38–39, and 42; 1982, 145–87; and 1993, esp. 559, 561 and 571; and Silk 1998b, 197–202, on nineteenth-century views. 2. See, e.g., Kirkwood 1958, 184; Kaimio 1970, 99; Gould 1996, p. 219 and n. 2, p. 232; Goldhill 1996, 245; Hose 1990–91, 1:32–37; Mastronarde 1998, 59; and 1999, 90; and Fletcher 1999, 30. See Rosenmeyer 1977 on irony and the tragic chorus. 3. On the question of women in the audience, see Podlecki 1990; Henderson 1991; and Goldhill 1994. 4. Gould 1996, 220, with the critical responses by Goldhill 1996; Silk 1998a; Griffith 1998, p. 42, n. 74; and Mastronarde 1998, 56. Goldhill (1996, 255) stresses that the chorus remained a group voice despite its individual character; Silk (1998a, 13) remarks on the lack of contingent background for choruses in comparison with characters, the chorus of Eumenides excepted, and their earlier history as anonymous groups (16). Calame 1999 redefines the ideal spectator as virtual and thus reappropriates Schlegel’s insights in a new form. Calame’s essay attempts to show how a marginal chorus can, through ritual and performance, lead the audience “to be active at the side of the virtual author” (153). This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

HELENE FOLEY Does the chorus'identity as a particular, and often partial and limited, con- tituency compromise its tragic authority within the plays and for the core audience? Recent work on the tragic chorus has begun to look more seriously at these questions about choral identity. In this paper I would like both to accord recognition to the state of the discussion and to raise an additional set of considerations. I shall not touch on the question of tragic authority, however, as it is a term hard to define, and ideally addressed in more detail in another paper. 6 This essay represents a highly speculative and preliminary stab at clarifying some aspects of one of the most elusive and to us incom- prehensible aspects of Greek drama CHORAL IDENTITY AND CHORAL PERFORMANCE Before turning to the plays themselves, however, I want to consider the way that the conditions of production of these plays and the role of the chorus in the Attic festivals where tragedies were presented may have influenced horal identity. This move is timely due to the recent and important study by Peter Wilson of the institution of the choregia in Athens that financed and trained both dramatic and dithyrambic choruses in the theater festivals By the mid-fifth century B.C. E, the Athenian polis selected and financed he protagonist, or first actor, and the auletes( double pipe player) for each set of Greek tragedies with its satyr play at the City Dionysia; it also awarded the opportunity to compete, along with honoraria and prizes, to the 5. See above all Gould 1996: Goldhill 1996, Mastronarde 1998 and 1999; and less directly, Sommer- sten1996.53-70and338-53; and Hose1990-91,1:18-31 6. The question of choral authority be ns with the claim by the chorus of old men in Aeschylus'A he choral self-referentiality and chor sion. as has often been claimed. such choruses draw the audience into a more int nce,in which the choral performance in the orchestra merges with more imaginary performances of poly- ce-song in the tic context and ritual an better term. I call this loral self-referentiality-the self-d cially comic)role and ritual, see Bierl 2001. Gould (1996. 221)argues that the chorus marginality depri des; for a similar point, see Easterling 1997, 158-59 and Griffth 1998, P. age, and inteomic (1998a,2) ty(see his general remarks at 1998, 56, and 1999, 89). As Goldhill well summarizes the issue:"It is,in in play as part of tragic conflict. This mobilization and ques- oning of the authority of collective wisdom is one of the most important ways in which tragedy engages with democracy"(255). 8. The third actor seems to have been hired separately by the first actor, whereas the second actor have been a permanent part of the first actor's team. See Csapo and Slater 1995. 223; and wilson 2000, This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

2 Helene Foley Does the chorus’ identity as a particular, and often partial and limited, constituency compromise its tragic authority within the plays and for the core audience? Recent work on the tragic chorus has begun to look more seriously at these questions about choral identity.5 In this paper I would like both to accord recognition to the state of the discussion and to raise an additional set of considerations. I shall not touch on the question of tragic authority, however, as it is a term hard to define, and ideally addressed in more detail in another paper.6 This essay represents a highly speculative and preliminary stab at clarifying some aspects of one of the most elusive and to us incomprehensible aspects of Greek drama. Choral Identity and Choral Performance Before turning to the plays themselves, however, I want to consider the way that the conditions of production of these plays and the role of the chorus in the Attic festivals where tragedies were presented may have influenced choral identity. This move is timely due to the recent and important study by Peter Wilson of the institution of the choregia in Athens that financed and trained both dramatic and dithyrambic choruses in the theater festivals.7 By the mid-fifth century b.c.e., the Athenian polis selected and financed the protagonist, or first actor, and the auletes (double pipe player) for each set of Greek tragedies with its satyr play at the City Dionysia;8 it also awarded the opportunity to compete, along with honoraria and prizes, to the 5. See above all Gould 1996; Goldhill 1996; Mastronarde 1998 and 1999; and less directly, Sommerstein 1996, 53–70 and 338–53; and Hose 1990–91, 1:18–31. 6. The question of choral authority begins with the claim by the chorus of old men in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon about their authority to sing (104, kurios eimi throein) despite their advanced age. See Henrichs 1994–95 and 1996 on the choral self-referentiality and choral projection, which are a source of choral authority. Choruses “assume a ritual posture that functions as a link between their own choral performance and the dramatically constructed rituals performed in the realm of action. Far from breaking the dramatic illusion, as has often been claimed, such choruses draw the audience into a more integrated theatrical experience, in which the choral performance in the orchestra merges with more imaginary performances of polytheism that take place in the course of the play” (1996, 48). “Choruses who draw attention to their ritual role as collective performers of the choral dance-song in the orchestra invariably locate their performance self-reflexively within the concrete dramatic context and ritual ambience of a given play. . . . For lack of a better term, I call this phenomenon choral self-referentiality—the self-description of the tragic chorus as performer of khoreia” (1994–95, 58). For an expanded discussion of the relation between choral (especially comic) role and ritual, see Bierl 2001. Gould (1996, 221) argues that the chorus’ marginality deprives it of choral authority; Goldhill (1996, 252) counters with an emphasis on the chorus’ gnomic wisdom. Silk (1998a, 2) stresses the authority claimed by the higher level of style, language, and intensity of the choral odes; for a similar point, see Easterling 1997, 158–59; and Griffith 1998, p. 42, n. 74. Mastronarde (1998, 55 and 61) argues that Euripidean choruses may have the most limited and problematic claim to choral authority (see his general remarks at 1998, 56, and 1999, 89). As Goldhill well summarizes the issue: “It is, in short, the tension between authoritative, ritual, mythic utterance and specific, marginal, partial utterance that gives the chorus its special voice in tragedy” (1996, 254). “The chorus requires the audience to engage in a constant renegotiation of where the authoritative voice lies. It sets in play an authoritative collective voice, but surrounds it with other dissenting voices. The chorus allows a wider picture of the action to develop and also remains one of the many views expressed. The chorus thus is a key dramatic device for setting commentary, reflection, and authoritative voice in play as part of tragic conflict. This mobilization and questioning of the authority of collective wisdom is one of the most important ways in which tragedy engages with democracy” (255). 7. Wilson 2000. 8. The third actor seems to have been hired separately by the first actor, whereas the second actor may have been a permanent part of the first actor’s team. See Csapo and Slater 1995, 223; and Wilson 2000, 85. This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

CHORAL IDENTITY tragic poets, as well as a prize for the choregos, and a prize to first actors. Yet, as Wilson emphasizes, from an institutional perspective drama was above all a choral performance At the City Dionysia a wealthy citizen named the choregos was chosen by the state to finance choral training and equipment for each set of trage- dies. He also selected choral trainers, financed costumes, extras, and props, paid choral salaries, fed and sometimes housed the chorus for the six-month rehearsal period, and celebrated choral victories with a feast. o(Similar procedures occurred at other theater festivals such as the Lenaia or at deme performances, but I shall leave them aside here. Tragic victories were pres- tigious and could often pave the way for a successful political career wealthy young men often undertook them for this reason. The failure to train and support a successful chorus in style could be socially humiliat ing. 2 We are told in an anecdote about Alcibiades([Andoc ]4.21)that judges for the theatrical contests could be influenced by the identity of the choregos. For reasons to be shown below, I would argue that the judges for the tragic contests were very likely concentrating far more than we might think on choral performance, and that dramatic victories might often have been awarded as much or more for the choral performance and dramatic pentacle as for the content/plot of the plays themselves, especially given the larger context of the festival, where dithyrambic (and comic) choruses played such a central role Prizes were awarded not to plays but to whole productions, and although oet and choregos won their own separate prizes, one decision by the judges determined the success of both together. We know that poets wishing to perform their tragedies asked the archon basileus for a chorus. At Laws 817d, Plato suggests that poets demonstrated songs(oidas) to the Archon to get selected. Athenaeus (22a) reports that the early dramatic poets Thespis Pratinas, Cratinus, and Phrynichus even"relied on the dancing of the chorus for interpretation of their plays. "15 According to late sources the judges from the ten tribes swore an oath"to give victory to the one who sang well. Unlike tragedy, which does not comment on the conditions of its produc n, comedy addresses the ce of the chorus to dramatic victory rectly. At Aristophanes Clouds 1115-16 the chorus promises the judges that hey will receive benefits"if they help this chorus"that is, not the play but 9. Wilson 2000, esp. 6: see also the earlier views of Bacon 1994-95, esp. 6 and 11. Official tragic victory lists include the goi, but victory monuments(erected by the ch m21224431M的缸mh( but they seem to have consisted largely of costumes and masks and celebratory pinakes(tablets ), aspects ved ( Csapo and Slater 142 and Plut De glor. Ath. 348d-49b). Lysias 7 and 21 stress the political credibility that supposed to win from citizens in court cases. 12. Wison 200.139, 146: c sapo and Slater 1995, 1351: and Eupolis, PCG frag. 329 and Plut. Phoc. 19.2-3 14. Cratinus, The Cowherd, PCG frag. 17: Pl. Leg. 817d( Csapo and Slater 1995, 108-9). B. Gulick, Loeb edition(1927) 16. Wilson 2000, P. 99 and n. 229 This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

Choral Identity 3 tragic poets, as well as a prize for the choregos, and a prize to first actors. Yet, as Wilson emphasizes, from an institutional perspective drama was above all a choral performance.9 At the City Dionysia a wealthy citizen named the choregos was chosen by the state to finance choral training and equipment for each set of tragedies. He also selected choral trainers, financed costumes, extras, and props, paid choral salaries, fed and sometimes housed the chorus for the six-month rehearsal period, and celebrated choral victories with a feast.10 (Similar procedures occurred at other theater festivals such as the Lenaia or at deme performances, but I shall leave them aside here.) Tragic victories were prestigious and could often pave the way for a successful political career; wealthy young men often undertook them for this reason.11 The failure to train and support a successful chorus in style could be socially humiliating.12 We are told in an anecdote about Alcibiades ([Andoc.] 4.21) that judges for the theatrical contests could be influenced by the identity of the choregos. For reasons to be shown below, I would argue that the judges for the tragic contests were very likely concentrating far more than we might think on choral performance, and that dramatic victories might often have been awarded as much or more for the choral performance and dramatic spectacle as for the content/plot of the plays themselves, especially given the larger context of the festival, where dithyrambic (and comic) choruses played such a central role. Prizes were awarded not to plays but to whole productions, and although poet and choregos won their own separate prizes, one decision by the judges determined the success of both together.13 We know that poets wishing to perform their tragedies asked the archon basileus for a chorus. 14 At Laws 817d, Plato suggests that poets demonstrated songs (oidas) to the Archon to get selected. Athenaeus (22a) reports that the early dramatic poets Thespis, Pratinas, Cratinus, and Phrynichus even “relied on the dancing of the chorus for interpretation of their plays.”15 According to late sources the judges from the ten tribes swore an oath “to give victory to the one who sang well.”16 Unlike tragedy, which does not comment on the conditions of its production, comedy addresses the importance of the chorus to dramatic victory directly. At Aristophanes Clouds 1115–16 the chorus promises the judges that they will receive benefits “if they help this chorus”—that is, not the play but 9. Wilson 2000, esp. 6; see also the earlier views of Bacon 1994–95, esp. 6 and 11. Official tragic victory lists include the names of both poets and choregoi, but victory monuments (erected by the choregos) could delete the former and include names of chorus members. Few dedications for tragic victories have been found, but they seem to have consisted largely of costumes and masks and celebratory pinakes (tablets), aspects of the production largely or perhaps even exclusively financed by the choregos (Csapo and Slater 1995, 141; and Wilson 2000, 216, 236, 244–48, 251). Most dedications, perhaps significantly, were found in the local demes. 10. Csapo and Slater 1995, 297; and Wilson 2000, 85–94. Both stress the extraordinary expense involved (Csapo and Slater 142 and Plut. De glor. Ath. 348d–49b). Lysias 7 and 21 stress the political credibility that a record of liturgies was supposed to win from citizens in court cases. 11. Arist. Pol. 1321a31–42; Wilson 2000, 4, 24, 98, and 113. 12. Wilson 2000, 139, 146; Csapo and Slater 1995, 151; and Eupolis, PCG frag. 329 and Plut. Phoc. 19.2–3. 13. Csapo and Slater 1995, 157. 14. Cratinus, The Cowherd, PCG frag. 17; Pl. Leg. 817d (Csapo and Slater 1995, 108–9). 15. Trans. W. B. Gulick, Loeb edition (1927). 16. Wilson 2000, p. 99 and n. 229. This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

HELENE FOLEY the chorus. At Ecclesiazusae 1154-62 the chorus asks the judges not to per- jure themselves but to judge choruses fairly. At Birds 445-47, the chorus swears to abide by its pact with Pisthetairos. If it keeps its oath, the chorus shall win by verdict of all the judges and the whole audience. but if it breaks its oath, it hopes to win by just one vote. The poets themselves, who at least originally served as composers, choreographers, and trainers of their own choruses, were also deeply involved in choral success despite their for mal independence from the choregos during the initial selection process. As comic poet, Aristophanes may also hope, usually in his parabases, for his own victory and preen himself on his clever artistry, but in fact, as these same parabases indicate, the victory also depends on the chorus. 8 In short, both the choregoi and the choreutai (chorus members)had every incentive to make their performance compete with that of actors and poets in the eyes and minds of the audience. The size of the choral group(twelve, later fifteen), its close proximity to the audience in the orchestra, and its opportunity to sing and dance give it some critical advantages in this re- spect. We find choruses difficult, and our students often read them lightly if at all. Yet from the archaic period on, choruses that are challenging for us to interpret were central to Greek civic life. Sources that discuss tragedy em- phasize the critical function of the chorus in civic education, and laws as- sisted choregoi in recruiting participants. Plato (Leg. 654b)pronounce those without experience of choral performance (achoreutos)to be unedr cated (apaideutos) and states that"choral dance is the whole of education (672e: see also Leg. 653c). At Aristophanes Frogs 1419, Dionysus claims that he came to Hades to find a poet"so that the city may be saved and stage (agei) its choruses. 20 Moreover, Athenians themselves almost certainly did not share Aristotle's relative privileging of action over spectacle(opsis) or performance(Poet 6. 1450b16-20). Most of us are used to seeing Greek tragedies with a chorus consisting of a few actors who neither sing nor dance and often look some- what extraneous. Yet anyone who has had the opportunity to see a modern performance that presented a large chorus with brilliant and exotic costumes dancing to electrifying music such as those created by the French director Ariane Mnouchkine in her 1991-92 Les Atrides(a tetralogy including Euri- pides Iphigenia at Aulis before Aeschylus'Oresteia)would have no diffi- culty understanding that a chorus can easily compete with or even overshadow The choregoi for the ten dithyrambic contests at the City Dionysia some lected a group of fifty men or boys from a particular phyle, or tribe. At so Bo swas won with th pigram(G 22 3101 from the theater region of Anagyrous)reports that a choregos'vic- 17. One"comi wetly laughing chorus, whereas actors and poet receive no mention(Wilson 2000, 18. E-g. Ar Ach,64-58 4. 545-50 Vesp 104- 9, ar 736-74 Nub: 519-62 Wilson 2000. 83 stitutions of the young. See He on 1985 on the emergence of song culture in archaic Greece in ain. form in tragedy. This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

4 Helene Foley the chorus. At Ecclesiazusae 1154–62 the chorus asks the judges not to perjure themselves but to judge choruses fairly. At Birds 445–47, the chorus swears to abide by its pact with Pisthetairos. If it keeps its oath, the chorus shall win by verdict of all the judges and the whole audience . . . but if it breaks its oath, it hopes to win by just one vote.17 The poets themselves, who at least originally served as composers, choreographers, and trainers of their own choruses, were also deeply involved in choral success despite their formal independence from the choregos during the initial selection process. As comic poet, Aristophanes may also hope, usually in his parabases, for his own victory and preen himself on his clever artistry, but in fact, as these same parabases indicate, the victory also depends on the chorus.18 In short, both the choregoi and the choreutai (chorus members) had every incentive to make their performance compete with that of actors and poets in the eyes and minds of the audience. The size of the choral group (twelve, later fifteen), its close proximity to the audience in the orchestra, and its opportunity to sing and dance give it some critical advantages in this respect. We find choruses difficult, and our students often read them lightly if at all. Yet from the archaic period on, choruses that are challenging for us to interpret were central to Greek civic life. Sources that discuss tragedy emphasize the critical function of the chorus in civic education, and laws assisted choregoi in recruiting participants.19 Plato (Leg. 654b) pronounces those without experience of choral performance (achoreutos) to be uneducated (apaideutos) and states that “choral dance is the whole of education” (672e; see also Leg. 653c). At Aristophanes Frogs 1419, Dionysus claims that he came to Hades to find a poet “so that the city may be saved and stage (agei) its choruses.”20 Moreover, Athenians themselves almost certainly did not share Aristotle’s relative privileging of action over spectacle (opsis) or performance (Poet. 6.1450b16–20). Most of us are used to seeing Greek tragedies with a chorus consisting of a few actors who neither sing nor dance and often look somewhat extraneous. Yet anyone who has had the opportunity to see a modern performance that presented a large chorus with brilliant and exotic costumes dancing to electrifying music such as those created by the French director Ariane Mnouchkine in her 1991–92 Les Atrides (a tetralogy including Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis before Aeschylus’ Oresteia) would have no diffi- culty understanding that a chorus can easily compete with or even overshadow actors and action. The choregoi for the ten dithyrambic contests at the City Dionysia selected a group of fifty men or boys from a particular phyle, or tribe. At some 17. One “comic” epigram (IG 22.3101 from the theater region of Anagyrous) reports that a choregos’ victory was won with the sweetly laughing chorus, whereas actors and poet receive no mention (Wilson 2000, 246). 18. E.g., Ar. Ach. 641–58, Eq. 545–50, Vesp. 1048–59, Pax 736–74, Nub. 519–62. 19. See e.g,, [Andoc.] 4.20; Antiph. 6.11; Dem. Meid. 15, and Against Biotus 1.16; Xen. Hier. 9.4; and Wilson 2000, 83. 20. Wilson (2000, 3) stresses that the term choros was used in many Greek cities for the educational institutions of the young. See Herington 1985 on the emergence of song culture in archaic Greece in a new form in tragedy. This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

CHORAL IDENTITY point in the fourth century, comic choruses also began to be selected from these tribes([Arist. Ath. Pol. 56.3). Yet there appear to have been no such restrictions on the choregos'recruitment of tragic choruses I the tragedies were not, as was the case with dithyrambs, judged by tribe and their chore goi were selected from among all Athenians(Ath. Pol. 56.3). Choregoi may have selected members of their own demes for their tragic choruses(there is one example that suggests such a case),but it seems far more likely that they would have competed to get those citizens who were best and perhaps also more experienced at choral performance within a certain age group confine myself here to a limited age group because Plato [Leg. 657d, 665b 665d-e] suggests repeatedly that choral performance was too strenuous for those over thirty. Dramatic choruses offered the most virtuosic opportuni ties for choral display, since they not only wore costumes and masks spe- cific to their identity, and sang and danced, but engaged with the actors both in iambic trimeter scenes and in joint lyrics and laments. Court cases that refer to the infiltration of foreigners into dramatic choruses both as chorus trainers and leaders and as chorus members again suggest a stiff competition to recruit skilled choral performers Dramatic competition may have encouraged an emphasis on representing different identities in performance. Although we have more direct evidence on the performance of actors than of chorus members on this point, I would suggest that both groups were probably judged on their success in repre senting the Other in performance. In acting traditions comparable to that in Athens where male actors play all the parts, such as Japanese Kabuki, rep- utation for outstanding performance is built in part on versatility in role playing generally, and on the ability to play the Other(e. g, women) rather than characters like oneself. the slim and often late ancient evidence that we have on such questions at least suggests that something similar obtained for Greek actors. first. all sources agree that the actor 's use of his voice was critical to his performance(e. g, Arist Rh. 1403b31-35: [Plut. ]Xorat 848b Both actors and choreuts underwent extensive voice training(e. g, [Arist Pr. 11.22; Pl Leg. 665e; and Antiph On the Choreut, a case involving a boy who was given a potion to improve his voice in a dithyrambic perfor mance and died). The art of acting apparently developed and was refined po and Slater(1995, 139), Antiphon(On the Choreut 11 13) and Wilson(2000. 82-83)stress the di 22. Wilson 2000. 82-83. Socrates of ous(IG 13969) apparently recruited his chorus from his local deme Until the abolishing of the choregia in the late fourth century(Csapo and Slater 1995, 351), choruses ional. Increas 995,351). By the choruses consist of the same people on different occasions, and this cryptic remark suggests that choreuts were se- Slater 1995. 358; Plut. Phoc. 30: [Andoc. Against Alcibiades 20-21; Dem Meid. 56 and 58-61- and Wilson 2000. 80: Wilson su than for any other choruses. Moreover, there is some evidence that tragic choral performers nal. The sons of Carcinus were known as tragic dancers, and the trainer Sannion an probably also starred in the choruses that they trained (Dem. Meid 58-61; Wilson 2000, 129 and 131) This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

Choral Identity 5 point in the fourth century, comic choruses also began to be selected from these tribes ([Arist.] Ath. Pol. 56.3). Yet there appear to have been no such restrictions on the choregos’ recruitment of tragic choruses;21 the tragedies were not, as was the case with dithyrambs, judged by tribe and their choregoi were selected from among all Athenians (Ath. Pol. 56.3). Choregoi may have selected members of their own demes for their tragic choruses (there is one example that suggests such a case),22 but it seems far more likely that they would have competed to get those citizens who were best and perhaps also more experienced at choral performance within a certain age group.23 (I confine myself here to a limited age group because Plato [Leg. 657d, 665b, 665d–e] suggests repeatedly that choral performance was too strenuous for those over thirty.) Dramatic choruses offered the most virtuosic opportunities for choral display, since they not only wore costumes and masks specific to their identity, and sang and danced, but engaged with the actors both in iambic trimeter scenes and in joint lyrics and laments. Court cases that refer to the infiltration of foreigners into dramatic choruses both as chorus trainers and leaders and as chorus members again suggest a stiff competition to recruit skilled choral performers.24 Dramatic competition may have encouraged an emphasis on representing different identities in performance. Although we have more direct evidence on the performance of actors than of chorus members on this point, I would suggest that both groups were probably judged on their success in representing the Other in performance. In acting traditions comparable to that in Athens where male actors play all the parts, such as Japanese Kabuki, reputation for outstanding performance is built in part on versatility in role playing generally, and on the ability to play the Other (e.g., women) rather than characters like oneself. The slim and often late ancient evidence that we have on such questions at least suggests that something similar obtained for Greek actors. First, all sources agree that the actor’s use of his voice was critical to his performance (e.g., Arist. Rh. 1403b31–35; [Plut.] X orat. 848b). Both actors and choreuts underwent extensive voice training (e.g., [Arist.] Pr. 11.22; Pl. Leg. 665e; and Antiph. On the Choreut, a case involving a boy who was given a potion to improve his voice in a dithyrambic performance and died). The art of acting apparently developed and was refined 21. Wilson 2000, 22, 77; MacDowell 1982. Csapo and Slater (1995, 139), Antiphon (On the Choreut 11– 13), and Wilson (2000, 82–83) stress the difficulty of recruiting choruses. 22. Wilson 2000, 82–83. Socrates of Anagyrous (IG 13.969) apparently recruited his chorus from his local deme. 23. Until the abolishing of the choregia in the late fourth century (Csapo and Slater 1995, 351), choruses were selected from among ordinary citizens, whereas actors were clearly becoming more professional. Increasingly harder music and more complex plots may have favored actors (Csapo and Slater 1995, 351). By the mid-fourth century, choregoi may have been able to choose from a class of professional singers (PickardCambridge 1988, 90). At the same time, Aristotle (Pol. 3.3.1276b) notes that comic and tragic choruses might consist of the same people on different occasions, and this cryptic remark suggests that choreuts were selected from a limited group, since they acted in dramatic choruses more than once. 24. Csapo and Slater 1995, 358; Plut. Phoc. 30; [Andoc.] Against Alcibiades 20–21; Dem. Meid. 56 and 58–61; and Wilson 2000, 80; Wilson suggests (82) that competition for tragic choruses was probably more intense than for any other choruses. Moreover, there is some evidence that tragic choral performers were more professional. The sons of Carcinus were known as tragic dancers, and the trainer Sannion and others probably also starred in the choruses that they trained (Dem. Meid. 58–61; Wilson 2000, 129 and 131). This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

HELENE FOLEY radically during the fifth century: the performance was probably more amateurish when poets like Aeschylus were their own first actors. Never theless, by the fourth century a good actor, says Aristotle in his discussion of delivery in the Rhetoric, wins prizes by suiting his voice to different emotional modes and varying both the volume and pitch(depth or shrill ness)of his voice and his vocal rhythms(1403b26-33. In his view, a suc- cessful contemporary actor like Theodorus could make his voice seem to be he voice of a particular speaker and not someone else(1404b18-22) The voices of females and old men were generally thought to be shriller than those of mature males and appropriate for the higher pitch of lamentation.25 In comedy at least we know that actors such as Euripides relative in Aris- tophanes' Thesmophoriazusae amused by adopting an exaggeratedly fem nine voice when disguised as a woman(gunaikieis, 267-68) Presumably actors, like the Japanese onnagata(an actor specializing in womens parts), could carry off a more refined and naturalistic version of this same vocal difference. Aristotle remarks that Callipides and others were censured fo their acting style when representing lower-class women(Poet. 1462a8-10) Plutarch(Quaest. conv. 7.71lc)uses standard theatrical language when de- scribing slaves trained to perform Platonic dialogues by suiting the charac ter(ethei), modulation of the voice(phones plasma), gesture(schema), and delivery to the part (existing masks, hupokeimenon prosopon). Epictetus praises the late-fourth-century actor Polus for his brilliance in performing Oedipus as both king and beggar; o when Sophocles Trachiniae offered the protagonist the opportunity to play both the very feminine heroine Deianeira and her hypermasculine spouse Heracles, it is hard to believe the actor did not welcome a comparable chance to display his versatility. Lucian speaks of the talents needed to produce walking(badizon), speaking(boon he roikon), and glancing in a fashion suitable to a dignified tragic hero(Pis cator 31). He makes clear in two passages(Piscator 31, Nigr. 11) that a womanish actor with a weak womanish voice is also not suited even to im- portant tragic female(as well as male)roles, but he does seem to distinguish in his discussions the acting and voice required for male and female parts nevertheless: "Even Helen or Polyxena would never suffer such a man to resemble them too closely, let alone Heracles(Piscator 31, trans. A.R. Harmon, Loeb edition). The kinds of gestures spoken of in these two Lucian passages, such as characteristic ways of walking or glancing, were also thought to be critical to acting throughout antiquity and we can infer from he texts of the tragedies themselves that certain gestures were more ofte used by some characters than others. For example, supplication or gestures involved in lamentation were more characteristic of women or old and for- eign men, whereas military gestures were more characteristic of younger men 25. [Arist. I Pr. 11.16. 11.62; see Hall 1999, 117. Terms such as orus. gunaikophonos, gunaikodes, mikros, I l(in Schenkl 1916. 412): P offer similar onidge1988 give actors opportunities for the display of their acting skills. wiles (2000, 160) also agrees that Greek actors must have adjusted their voices to suit different roles This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

6 Helene Foley radically during the fifth century; the performance was probably more amateurish when poets like Aeschylus were their own first actors. Nevertheless, by the fourth century a good actor, says Aristotle in his discussion of delivery in the Rhetoric, wins prizes by suiting his voice to different emotional modes and varying both the volume and pitch (depth or shrillness) of his voice and his vocal rhythms (1403b26–33). In his view, a successful contemporary actor like Theodorus could make his voice seem to be the voice of a particular speaker and not someone else (1404b18–22). The voices of females and old men were generally thought to be shriller than those of mature males and appropriate for the higher pitch of lamentation.25 In comedy at least we know that actors such as Euripides’ relative in Aristophanes’ Thesmophoriazusae amused by adopting an exaggeratedly feminine voice when disguised as a woman (gunaikieis, 267–68). Presumably actors, like the Japanese onnagata (an actor specializing in women’s parts), could carry off a more refined and naturalistic version of this same vocal difference. Aristotle remarks that Callipides and others were censured for their acting style when representing lower-class women (Poet. 1462a8–10). Plutarch (Quaest. conv. 7.711c) uses standard theatrical language when describing slaves trained to perform Platonic dialogues by suiting the character (ethei), modulation of the voice (phones plasma), gesture (schema), and delivery to the part (existing masks, hupokeimenon prosopon). Epictetus praises the late-fourth-century actor Polus for his brilliance in performing Oedipus as both king and beggar;26 when Sophocles’ Trachiniae offered the protagonist the opportunity to play both the very feminine heroine Deianeira and her hypermasculine spouse Heracles, it is hard to believe the actor did not welcome a comparable chance to display his versatility.27 Lucian speaks of the talents needed to produce walking (badizon), speaking (boon heroïkon), and glancing in a fashion suitable to a dignified tragic hero (Piscator 31). He makes clear in two passages (Piscator 31, Nigr. 11) that a womanish actor with a weak, womanish voice is also not suited even to important tragic female (as well as male) roles, but he does seem to distinguish in his discussions the acting and voice required for male and female parts nevertheless: “Even Helen or Polyxena would never suffer such a man to resemble them too closely, let alone Heracles” (Piscator 31, trans. A. R. Harmon, Loeb edition). The kinds of gestures spoken of in these two Lucian passages, such as characteristic ways of walking or glancing, were also thought to be critical to acting throughout antiquity and we can infer from the texts of the tragedies themselves that certain gestures were more often used by some characters than others. For example, supplication or gestures involved in lamentation were more characteristic of women or old and foreign men, whereas military gestures were more characteristic of younger men. 25. [Arist.] Pr. 11.16, 11.62; see Hall 1999, 117. Terms such as oxus, gunaikophonos, gunaikodes, mikros, and ichnos are used to describe female voices. 26. Epictetus Dissertationes, frag. 11 (in Schenkl 1916, 412); Pickard-Cambridge 1988, 169. 27. Aeschylus’ Persae and Euripides’ Bacchae or Hippolytus offer similar opportunities. See Demetr. Eloc. 195 on the general need to give actors opportunities for the display of their acting skills. Wiles (2000, 160) also agrees that Greek actors must have adjusted their voices to suit different roles. This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

CHORAL IDENTITY The art of choral dance(including a tradition of performing the Other that we see in vase paintings) was undoubtedly far more developed when tragedy began than the art of acting, even though actors came to compete success- ully with or perhaps even overshadow the chorus toward the late fifth and early fourth centuries. Hence it seems likely that Greek tragedy offered not only actors but also choruses an opportunity to demonstrate on a regular basis their dramatic skills at characterization, perhaps including choral equivalents or approximations of the acting techniques discussed above Plato calls choral performance mimemata tropon(Leg. 655d), or imitations of character. The texts themselves clearly indicate that choruses employed traditional age-and sex-linked gestures in representing lamentation or age, for example. Much is known from both visual and textual evidence about he gestures and movements characteristic of maenads or satyrs. In contrast to the dithyrambic choruses, tragic chorus members were masked and cos tumed like actors and to some extent served as actors; again, according to Plato (Leg. 654c), a chorus ideally serves its purpose with body(somato) and voice (phone).In the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, a chorus of Delian Maidens is famed for its ability to imitate the voices of all human beings (162-63). The choregos would probably have welcomed the opportunity to show off the training of his choruses not only through the precision of their ovement and song, but through their playing of the Other; moreover, the costumes, music, and choreography appropriate to women, foreigners, gods, or high-status old men may have offered more opportunities for varied and character-appropriate visual and aural display than would be the case with ordinary citizens and soldiers, who, to the degree that they were linked with Athenians, might have had to observe the restraint in dress and movement pparently common to this group(at least ideally) in the classical polis. 3 If the opportunity to display choral virtuosity was critical to success in the dramatic contests, few poets would have produced a set of three trage dies with the same choral identity in each play: the very sparse and statis- tically meaningless evidence( see appendix a)that we have at least does not contradict the possibility this could often have been the case In Aeschylus Oresteia, for example, the chorus becomes increasingly exotic and visually arresting, as we move from old men to wildly lamenting slave women dressed in black to the terrifying Furies, whose first appearance on stage was said to have caused shock-even nges--in the audience( vit. Aesch. 9).Aes- chylus was known for his spectacular dramaturgy in respect to costume and choral performance(choregia, Vit Aesch. 2). Indeed, the rest of Aeschylus 8. On the vases showing choruses performing in the of women, old men and others, which ca even predate tragedy itself, see Trendall and Webster 19 ic dance(emmmeleia)may have been solemn, haracterization already suggested by the chorus'masks an 1986a, 38). At the same time, choral identity can fade intermittently or sequentially during a tragedy until it becomes almost generic (Kranz 1933, 222) See Geddes 1987 on Attic dress This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

Choral Identity 7 The art of choral dance (including a tradition of performing the Other that we see in vase paintings) was undoubtedly far more developed when tragedy began than the art of acting, even though actors came to compete successfully with or perhaps even overshadow the chorus toward the late fifth and early fourth centuries.28 Hence it seems likely that Greek tragedy offered not only actors but also choruses an opportunity to demonstrate on a regular basis their dramatic skills at characterization, perhaps including choral equivalents or approximations of the acting techniques discussed above. Plato calls choral performance mimemata tropon (Leg. 655d), or imitations of character. The texts themselves clearly indicate that choruses employed traditional age- and sex-linked gestures in representing lamentation or age, for example. Much is known from both visual and textual evidence about the gestures and movements characteristic of maenads or satyrs. In contrast to the dithyrambic choruses, tragic chorus members were masked and costumed like actors and to some extent served as actors; again, according to Plato (Leg. 654c), a chorus ideally serves its purpose with body (somati) and voice (phonei).29 In the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, a chorus of Delian Maidens is famed for its ability to imitate the voices of all human beings (162–63). The choregos would probably have welcomed the opportunity to show off the training of his choruses not only through the precision of their movement and song, but through their playing of the Other; moreover, the costumes, music, and choreography appropriate to women, foreigners, gods, or high-status old men may have offered more opportunities for varied and character-appropriate visual and aural display than would be the case with ordinary citizens and soldiers, who, to the degree that they were linked with Athenians, might have had to observe the restraint in dress and movement apparently common to this group (at least ideally) in the classical polis.30 If the opportunity to display choral virtuosity was critical to success in the dramatic contests, few poets would have produced a set of three tragedies with the same choral identity in each play; the very sparse and statistically meaningless evidence (see appendix A) that we have at least does not contradict the possibility this could often have been the case. In Aeschylus’ Oresteia, for example, the chorus becomes increasingly exotic and visually arresting, as we move from old men to wildly lamenting slave women dressed in black to the terrifying Furies, whose first appearance on stage was said to have caused shock—even miscarriages—in the audience (Vit. Aesch. 9). Aeschylus was known for his spectacular dramaturgy in respect to costume and choral performance (choregia, Vit. Aesch. 2). Indeed, the rest of Aeschylus’ 28. On the vases showing choruses performing in the costumes of women, old men, and others, which can even predate tragedy itself, see Trendall and Webster 1971. Tragic dance (emmeleia) may have been solemn, elevated, and noble, or even static, as ancient sources suggest, but this nobility did not necessarily preclude the characterization already suggested by the chorus’ masks and costumes. 29. Aristotle considers the chorus an actor (Poet. 1456a25), even if less mimetic than the actors ([Pr.] 19.15); for discussion see Rosenmeyer 1993, 560. The chorus may also have mimed or danced to the actors’ words (schol. Ar. Nub. 1352 and Ran. 896), but these sources remain highly controversial (Davidson 1986a, 38). At the same time, choral identity can fade intermittently or sequentially during a tragedy until it becomes almost generic (Kranz 1933, 222). 30. See Geddes 1987 on Attic dress. This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

HELENE FOLEY prominent extant choruses, which consist of virgins who initially rush fran- tically onto the stage in Seven against Thebes, exotic Persians, dark-skinned Danaids from Egypt in Supplices, and divine, winged Oceanids in Prome theus Vinctus (if the play is by Aeschylus) make my point about how choral identity may have contributed to a tragic victory quite handily. Even if not all the titles of Aeschylus'lost plays indicate the presence of such arrest- ing choruses, it may be significant that these seven extant plays with their exciting, typically Aeschy lean choregia were among those most revived, reperformed, and preserved. As we shall see, even Sophocles, who may unlike Aeschylus, have preferred to use more male than female choruses, apparently compensated for his more sober choruses by gradually moving toward permitting them to engage in a higher proportion of exciting lyric dialogues with the actors(see his late Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus Coloneus).3 Euripides, who, in comparison with his predecessors, to some extent reduced the prominence of act-dividing choral stasia or revised the way that these stasia were integrated into the action, seems to have made foreign choruses as well as the exciting"new music. 32 Among those few plays for which Euripides won first prize, the choruses for Bacchae(foreign women)and Hippolytus(with both a female chorus and a contrasting sup- plementary chorus of huntsmen) are certainly especially interesting from the perspective of choral performance. In sum, even though the success of a chorus depended on factors beyond its identity, the poet's choice of choruses had at the very least to offer the choregos a promising opportunity for victory in the tragic contests. Since playing the Other would have been more challenging, a poet would have had a built-in incentive to select such choruses for his plays have important implications for theories concerning the identity of the chor most expenence sively inexperienced ephebes makes sense(Winkler 1990; see Wilson 2000, 78-79; and Wiles 1997, 93) uovo, Pagli 81673)showing the cast of a satyr play depicts the choreuts(if not the )arg nd ephebes were premilitary (Wilson 2000, 79). Both wilson (83)and Csapo and Slater(1995, 352) ask why there was exemption from military service for choral participation as well as laws assisting the choregos in n the ly th unlike names of the choreuts on the Pronomos vase, as well as their long hair, would suit members of rs of the elite for the chal- ary paid to chorus members during their training, or remarks in Demosthenes(De cor. 18.265)and th Old Oligarch(1. 13)that differentiate the elite choregos from his demotic choreuts Ober(2000)stresses th both possibilities cannot be the case. This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

8 Helene Foley prominent extant choruses, which consist of virgins who initially rush frantically onto the stage in Seven against Thebes, exotic Persians, dark-skinned Danaids from Egypt in Supplices, and divine, winged Oceanids in Prometheus Vinctus (if the play is by Aeschylus) make my point about how choral identity may have contributed to a tragic victory quite handily. Even if not all the titles of Aeschylus’ lost plays indicate the presence of such arresting choruses, it may be significant that these seven extant plays with their exciting, typically Aeschylean choregia were among those most revived, reperformed, and preserved. As we shall see, even Sophocles, who may, unlike Aeschylus, have preferred to use more male than female choruses, apparently compensated for his more sober choruses by gradually moving toward permitting them to engage in a higher proportion of exciting lyric dialogues with the actors (see his late Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus Coloneus).31 Euripides, who, in comparison with his predecessors, to some extent reduced the prominence of act-dividing choral stasima or revised the way that these stasima were integrated into the action, seems to have made up for it in performance with a preference for female and other more exotic foreign choruses as well as the exciting “new music.”32 Among those few plays for which Euripides won first prize, the choruses for Bacchae (foreign women) and Hippolytus (with both a female chorus and a contrasting supplementary chorus of huntsmen) are certainly especially interesting from the perspective of choral performance. In sum, even though the success of a chorus depended on factors beyond its identity, the poet’s choice of choruses had at the very least to offer the choregos a promising opportunity for victory in the tragic contests. Since playing the Other would have been more challenging, a poet would have had a built-in incentive to select such choruses for his plays.33 31. See, e.g., Kirkwood 1958, 192–93; Esposito 1996, 85 and 107; and Taplin 1984–85 (1988). In the first part of Ajax the chorus is similarly deeply engaged in lyric dialogue. Burton (1980, 264–65) argues that late Sophoclean choruses become more actorlike and less prone to gnomic comments. 32. For ancient evidence on the new music, see Csapo and Slater 1995, 333–34, with documents 267–88. 33. These assumptions have important implications for theories concerning the identity of the choral performers themselves. If the choregoi for tragedy had free choice to pick the best and most experienced performers for their choruses, it seems less likely that Jack Winkler’s theory that tragic choreutai were exclusively inexperienced ephebes makes sense (Winkler 1990; see Wilson 2000, 78–79; and Wiles 1997, 93). True, the famous Pronomos vase (Attic red-figure volute krater from Ruovo, Paglia, c. 400 b.c.e., Naples, Museo Nationale 3240 inv. no. 81673) showing the cast of a satyr play depicts the choreuts (if not their leader Papposilenus) as beardless and two of the actors as bearded. Wiles (2000, 131) argues that the ritual and educational traditions of choral dance explain the youthful images. Moreover, we also hear that chorus members, presumably including tragic chorus members, could be exempted from military service to perform, and ephebes were premilitary (Wilson 2000, 79). Both Wilson (83) and Csapo and Slater (1995, 352) ask why there was exemption from military service for choral participation as well as laws assisting the choregos in recruitment if choral performance was part of ephebic training. Winkler argues that the tragic choreuts or tragoidoi received their name from the goatlike, breaking voices of the adolescent ephebes, who could be nicknamed tragoi, or “goats.” Again, however, these are precisely the voices a competitive choregos would be unlikely to want in his chorus (Wilson 2000, 79). In addition, Wilson also notes that all but two of the names of the choreuts on the Pronomos vase, as well as their long hair, would suit members of aristocratic families (129). He suggests that choregoi may have preferred to recruit members of the elite for the challenging tragic choruses because of their additional experience in the song and dance of symposia (128–29; similarly, Griffith 1995, p. 74, n. 48; see Ar. Ran. 727–29). Yet this intriguing theory does not square with the salary paid to chorus members during their training, or remarks in Demosthenes (De cor. 18.265) and the Old Oligarch (1.13) that differentiate the elite choregos from his demotic choreuts. Ober (2000) stresses that both possibilities cannot be the case. This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

CHORAL IDENTITY If this is correct, current assumptions shared by many scholars concern- ing choral dance need some reconsideration. For if we accept these assump- tions, the chorus capacity and range to play the Other would be heavily compromised. We are generally told in late sources that tragic choruses danced in rectangular formation, which placed the best performers in front and the weakest in the middle. with fifteen chorus members this meant three rows of five. with the chorus leader in the center of the front row If we look more closely at this late evidence, however, this rectangular formation seems strongly associated with choral entrances rather than with choral dance across the board. True, Socrates is said by Athenaeus (628e-f) to have remarked in his poems that"those who honor the gods most beautifully with choruses are best in military matters. Various dance formations could be good for military training or for times of peace,or manly in terms of their disciplined style(Ath. 628e-f, Pl Leg. 7.814e-16d) without being consistently rectangular. Given the apparent lack of restric- tions concerning choral recruitment for tragedy faced by the choregos, there is no a priori reason beyond competition why any tragic chorus members of he fifth century should have had to be weak. More important, however, to assume that all choral dance was performed in rectangular formation does not sit well with other possible evidence, to say nothing of common sense-women, old men, foreigners, and soldiers dancing in the same fashion throughout the varied songs and events of the plays, especially since pretragic choral tradition had already established conventions of choral dancing for different social groups. For example, when describing the Spartan necklace dance, Lucian(Salt. 12), describes the ephebe as leading the dance with steps he will later use in war, whereas the parthenos follows, demonstrating how to dance a woman's role in a deco rous fashion. The dance thus weaves together female sophrosyne(chastity and self-control) and male andreia(courage and manliness). Furthermore pretragic archaic choruses are often linked with circular formations or pro- cessions; the visual evidence on choral dance presents dancing groups in lines, often with linked hands, and perhaps in linked circles, not in ranks dancers. Moreover, regardless of whether the orchestra was circular or pproximately rectangular, some choral passages in drama apparently refer to the chorus encircling characters during its song or action; for ex- ample, the Furies ominously encircle Orestes during their binding song in ster 1970, 112: Davidson 1986b, 41(who thinks this possibility is in itself too rigid): Csapo nd Slater 1995, document 308: and Aclius Aristides On Behalf of the Four 154. 36. The Athenaeus passage suggests that early choral dance shared the magnificence and elegant move- ments of m 37. Webster 97.235 BCE(whether circular, rectangular has been reviewed most recently in Wiles 1997, 23-86 Revermann 1999: and Rehm 2002. 37- orchestra would best accommodate the large circular dithyrambic choral dances. This content downloaded from 145.97 173 155 on Wed. 01 Feb 2017 10: 50- 30 UT Allusesubjecttohttp://aboutjstor.org/terms

Choral Identity 9 If this is correct, current assumptions shared by many scholars concerning choral dance need some reconsideration. For if we accept these assumptions, the chorus’ capacity and range to play the Other would be heavily compromised. We are generally told in late sources that tragic choruses danced in rectangular formation, which placed the best performers in front and the weakest in the middle. With fifteen chorus members, this meant three rows of five, with the chorus leader in the center of the front row.34 If we look more closely at this late evidence, however, this rectangular formation seems strongly associated with choral entrances rather than with choral dance across the board.35 True, Socrates is said by Athenaeus (628e–f) to have remarked in his poems that “those who honor the gods most beautifully with choruses are best in military matters.” Various dance formations could be good for military training or for times of peace, or manly in terms of their disciplined style (Ath. 628e–f, Pl. Leg. 7.814e–16d) without being consistently rectangular.36 Given the apparent lack of restrictions concerning choral recruitment for tragedy faced by the choregos, there is no a priori reason beyond competition why any tragic chorus members of the fifth century should have had to be weak. More important, however, to assume that all choral dance was performed in rectangular formation does not sit well with other possible evidence, to say nothing of common sense—women, old men, foreigners, and soldiers dancing in the same fashion throughout the varied songs and events of the plays, especially since pretragic choral tradition had already established conventions of choral dancing for different social groups.37 For example, when describing the Spartan necklace dance, Lucian (Salt. 12), describes the ephebe as leading the dance with steps he will later use in war, whereas the parthenos follows, demonstrating how to dance a woman’s role in a decorous fashion. The dance thus weaves together female sophrosyne (chastity and self-control) and male andreia (courage and manliness). Furthermore, pretragic archaic choruses are often linked with circular formations or processions; the visual evidence on choral dance presents dancing groups in lines, often with linked hands, and perhaps in linked circles, not in ranks of dancers.38 Moreover, regardless of whether the orchestra was circular or approximately rectangular,39 some choral passages in drama apparently refer to the chorus encircling characters during its song or action; for example, the Furies ominously encircle Orestes during their binding song in 34. See Csapo and Slater 1995, 353; and Aelius Aristides On Behalf of the Four 154 and the scholion to this passage; Phot. Lexicon, s.v. tritos aristerou, aristerostates, and laurostatai; Hesychius, s.v. aristerostates and laurostatai; Poll. 2.161. 35. See Webster 1970, 112; Davidson 1986b, 41 (who thinks this possibility is in itself too rigid); Csapo and Slater 1995, document 308; and Aelius Aristides On Behalf of the Four 154. 36. The Athenaeus passage suggests that early choral dance shared the magnificence and elegant movements of men in arms; see also Ath. 628c and 629b. 37. Webster 1970, 200–201; and Di Benedetto 1997, 235. 38. Webster 1970, 1–45, and Crowhurst 1963. 39. The lengthy controversy over the shape of the orchestra at the City Dionysia during the fifth century b.c.e. (whether circular, rectangular, or trapezoidal), has been reviewed most recently in Wiles 1997, 23–86; Revermann 1999; and Rehm 2002, 37–41. A circular orchestra would best accommodate the large circular dithyrambic choral dances. This content downloaded from 145.97.173.155 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:50:30 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

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