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/termsChoral 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 success￾fully 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 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 (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 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 miscarriages—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’ 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 ac￾tors’ 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