Reliefs from the Theater of Dionysos at Athens PDF

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The Reliefs on the Theater of Dionysos in Athens Author(s): Mary C. Sturgeon Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 81, No. 1 (Winter, 1977), pp. 31-53 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/503646 . Accessed: 08/10/2014 09:59 Your use of the...

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Reliefs from the Theater of Dionysos at Athens Mary Sturgeon

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The Reliefs on the Theater of Dionysos in Athens Author(s): Mary C. Sturgeon Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 81, No. 1 (Winter, 1977), pp. 31-53 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/503646 . Accessed: 08/10/2014 09:59 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

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The

Reliefs

Theater

the

on

of

Dionysos

in

Athens*

MARY C. STURGEON Abstract

as do parallelsamong a number of Roman reliefs

Four stone reliefs decorate the late Roman stage front, or "Phaedrus bema," of the Theater of Dionysos in Athens. The reliefs depict scenes from the life of Dionysos: I. The Birth of Dionysos; 2. Entrance of Dionysos into Attica; 3. Sacred Marriage of Dionysos and the Basilinna; 4. The Enthronement of Dionysos. The iconography of the reliefs, although related to Dionysiac sarcophagi and to the late Hellenistic Ikarios reliefs, possesses a high degree of originality and independence from established types. An artist well acquainted with the standard modes of depicting Dionysos here creatively adapts old myths to form compositions suitable to a new setting and with increased importance to Attica. The Hadrianic date of the reliefs indicates that they are reused material in their present position. It is here proposed that the original destination of the sculptures was the Hadrianic stage front, rather than an altar near the theater, as formerly supposed. The composition, height of relief, and frontality of the figures support this hypothesis,

known to have been designed as theater decoration. Reliefs securely identified as altar decoration differ significantly in compositional features, such as clarity of outline, amount of decorative detail, and variety of pose. The Athens theater reliefs, although not the earliest example of this type of architectural sculpture, provide the first known instance in which narrative episodes from the life of Dionysos are created for the structure most closely associated with his cult. Their subsequent influence on the tradition of theater reliefs is reflected in the great theaters of Side, Perge, and Hierapolis in Asia Minor. INTRODUCTION

The four relief slabs on the west half of the stage front of the Theater of Dionysos Eleutherios in Athens,1 located on the south slope of the Acropolis, have long been familiar to the casual tourist and philhellene alike (figs. i-7). Bordered

* I would like to express my deep appreciation to Professor Brunilde S. Ridgway of Bryn Mawr College for her helpful suggestions and comments on this paper. In addition to the abbreviations suggested in AJA 74 (1970) Iff, I have also used the following:

Lehmann-

Bieber,

M. Bieber, The History of the Greek and Ro-

Lippold,

Theater Brunn-

man Theater, 2nd ed. (Princeton I96I). H. Brunn, F. Bruckmann, and P. Arndt, Denk-

Hartleben Lippold, Handbuch Vatican

Matz

Bruckmann mdler griechischer und r6mischer Sculptur (Munich 1897).

Cook, Zeus

A.B. Cook, Zeus, A Study in Ancient Religion

EA

(Cambridge 1914). P. Arndt, W. Amelung,

Photographische Graindor, Hadrien Graindor, Trajan Greifenhagen Hanfmann

Helbig, Fiihrer4

and

G.

Lippold,

Einzelaufnahmen

Sktipturen, 1893-1941. P. Graindor, Ath9nes

sous

antiker

Hadrien

(Cairo

'934).

P. Graindor, Ath nes de Tibere a Trajan (Cairo 1930). A. Greifenhagen, "Kindheitsmythos des Dionysos," RdmMitt 46 (0931) 27-43. G.M.A. Hanfmann, "Notes on the Mosaics from Antioch," AJA 43 (i939) 229-39.

W. Helbig, Fiihrer durch die dfFentlichen Sammlungen klassischer Altertiimer in Rom, 4th ed., rev. by H. tors).

Speier

(with

collabora-

R. Herbig, Antike griechische Theaterbauten, Herbig, Skulpturen VI: Das Dionysos-Theater in Athen; II: Die Skulpturen vom Biihnenhaus (Stuttgart 1935). Hill

I.T. Hill, The Ancient don 1953).

City of Athens

(Lon-

Picard PickardCambridge Reinach, Reliefs Richter, Sculpture Roscher Svoronos

Travlos

K. Lehmann-Hartleben

and E.C. Olsen, Dio-

nysiac Sarcophagi in Baltimore (Baltimore 1942). G. Lippold, Handbuch der Archdologie, 3.1: Die Plastik (Munich 195o).

VI.

G. Lippold, Die Skulpturen des Vaticanischen Museums

(Berlin

I936).

F. Matz, Die antiken Sarkophagreliefs, IV: Die dionysischen Sarkophage, 3 vols. (Berlin 1968-1969). Ch. Picard, L'Acropole (Paris). A.W. Pickard-Cambridge, The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens (Oxford 1946). S. Reinach, R pertoire de reliefs (Paris 90o91912).

G.M.A. Richter, The Sculpture and Sculptors of the Greeks, 4th ed. (New Haven 1970). W.H. Roscher, Lexikon der griechischen und r6mischen Mythologie (Leipzig 1890-i897). N. Svoronos, Tob v 'AO77vais 'EOVLKbVMOVaOEov (Athens I903).

J. Travlos, Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens

(London

1971).

Turcan

R. Turcan, Les sarcophages romains a reprdsentations dionysiaques (Paris 1966).

Versakis

Fr. Versakis, "Das Skenengebjiude des Dionysos-Theaters," Jdl 24 (1909) 222-23.

1 Svoronos, 233-37, pls. 61-64; Reinach, Reliefs, I, 44-45; Herbig, Skulpturen; Pickard-Cambridge, 259-63, figs. 137, 138; Hill, 123; Bieber, Theater, 18, 215, 223, figs. 53-55; Travlos, 537-39, figs. 687, 688 (slabs I and II); Picard, 7577, pl. 74.

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32

MARY C. STURGEON

[AJA 81

FIG. I

by crouching silenoi and protected by the projecting stage floor, the stately figures often receive only a fleeting glance in an overall view of the theater and its spectacular setting. However, the iconography and the significance of the reliefs for the worship of Dionysos and their possible importance for the tradition of theater reliefs have received little attention. In addition, it has long been a common belief that the reliefs were originally designed for an altar to Dionysos of Early Imperial date which stood within the temenos adjoining the theater and that the relief slabs were transported to their present position several centuries later, ca. A.D. 400, when the so-called bema of Phaedrus was erected. It is with the interpretation and the original function of the reliefs that the present article will be concerned. As the reliefs have received little recent or detailed discussion, it seems best to begin with a description and discussion of the scenes. Next will be considered the problem of the original destination of the reliefs and finally the Dionysiac theme and its relevance to theater decoration. DESCRIPTION AND DISCUSSION

The slabs will be numbered I through IV, reading from the viewer's left to right. I. Slab i. The Birth of Dionysos. P.H. 0.78, W. 1.88 m. (fig. 2). Four figures in high relief face the spectator.The 2 Hom. 11. 6.130-37, and 14.323-25, does not allude to Dionysos's birth; Hymn.Hom.Bacch. 7; Eur. Bacch. 89-10o4, Ov. Fast. 120-34, 242-45, 286-97; Ov. Met. 3.256-315; Nonnos, Dion. 7.I9of and 9.162-66; Oppian, Cyne3.715f; getica, 4.236-48; Apollod. 3.26f; Ap. Rhod. 4.1137; Hyg. Fab. 167, 170, 179, 251; OCD, s.v. Dionysos, Semele; L.R. Farnell, Cults of the Greek States (Oxford 1909) V, 85, 110o, 259; H.J. Rose, A Handbook of Greek Mythology, 2nd ed. (New York, Dutton, 1959) 149f; W.F. Otto, Dionysus, Myth and Cult (Frankfurt 1933); M.P. Nilsson, A History of Greek Religion, rev. 2nd ed. (Oxford 1952); idem, Geschichte der I, 532; idem, griechischen Religion (Munich 1941-1950) The Dionysiac Mysteries of the Hellenistic and Roman Age (Lund

1957);

F. Cumont,

Les religions

semidraped male, who is given prominence by his seated position, can easily be identified as Zeus from the context of the scene. Facing him stands a youth holding a small child, who must represent Hermes with the infant Dionysos. Framing the composition are two nude male figures, each holding a shield. The heads of all four large figures are missing, while the body of Dionysos is preserved only from the waist down. It seems clear that the scene represents the moment after the second birth of Dionysos from the thigh of Zeus. According to the myth,2 Dionysos was born twice, once prematurelyfrom Semele when she was killed by lightning when Zeus appeared to her undisguised, and a second time from the thigh of Zeus, where he had placed the infant until time for its birth. Zeus, turned in three-quarter view to the left, is shown seated on a rock. His seated position and consequent larger size characterizehim as the oldest and most dignified of those present. While his left hand rests behind him on the rock in a familiar gesture, his raised right arm suggests that he was leaning against a sceptre. In contrast to the other figures, Zeus wears a pair of particularly thicksoled sandals, the straps of which were painted. These must representthe thick-soled sandals3worn by and identifying actors in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. These high cothurni, combined with the platform-like plinth on which they stand, paganisme romain' (Paris 1929)

195; H. Heydemann,

"Diony-

sos' Geburt und Kindheit," Hallisches Winckelmannsprogram no. io (1885); G.E. Rizzo, Dionysos Mystes (Naples 1915).

3 Bieber, Theater, 26-27, 84, notes that the cothurnus became

increasingly thicker-soledin the Hellenistic and Roman periods. A late Hellenistic relief in Dresden, Bieber, fig. 307, depicts a similar shoe with a thick sole and leather boot indicated by decorative designs in low relief; by analogy Zeus's bare feet may have received similar decoration in paint to give the impression

of a high boot. For cothurni see the referencesin Bieber, Theater, 277, n. 42, and especially M. Bieber, Das Dresdner Schauspielerrelief (Diss., Bonn, 1907) 42-69.

orientales dans le

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1977]

THE RELIEFS ON THE THEATER OF DIONYSOS IN ATHENS

FIG.

33

2

give the figures the appearanceof actors and sug- Hermes and Dionysos at Olympia must have formed gest that they may allude to some unknown panto- the immediate reference for second-century A.D. mime, mime, or popular farce.4Zeus was probably audiences.6 As Pausanias tells us (5.I7-3), at this further characterized as king of the gods by the time the group was displayed in the Temple of type of hair style and full beard which may have Hera in the Altis and visitors were told it was derived from the famous cult statue by Pheidias at an original by the fourth-centurymaster Praxiteles. Hermes, in his aspect as messenger of the gods, Olympia.5 Zeus's attention must have been directed toward often appears in both literary and pictorial conthe group to our left for which the Praxitelean texts as the god who carries the new-born infant For general references to the drama of this period, see, e.g. Bieber, Theater, 227ff, and J.W. Duff, A Literary History of

Rome in the Silver Age, from Tiberius to Hadrian, 2nd ed. (London 1960) 126-27, I98f. However, I have found no specific reference to a play about the life of Dionysos in the Roman period. 5Paus. 5.II.If; Plin. HN 36.I8; Dio Chrys. Or. 12.5If; Quint. Inst. 12.10.9; Strab. 8.353; Richter, Sculpture, 171-73, figs. 649, 650, where, however, Zeus's left arm is raised to lean against his sceptre, while his right is held forward and down to support the winged Nike in his right hand. See further, G.M.A. Richter, "The Pheidian Zeus at Olympia," Hesperia 35 (1966) 166-70, pls. 53-54. Compare also, e.g. the represen-

tation of Zeus in the metope from Temple E at Selinus, Richter, Sculpture, fig. 440, where the pose is nearly identical, with only minor variations. 6 Although the group remains controversial, recent scholarship has produced convincing arguments against a fourth-century B.C. date. See, especially, S. Adam, The Technique of

Greek Sculpture in the Archaic and ClassicalPeriods (London The wide-spread use of this type is 1966) Appendix, 124-28. emphasized by a relief in Augsburg, Maximilian Museum, EA io65, where Hermes stands in very high relief on a similar plinth, holding an infant seated on a round globe. Although the child has been identified as Eros, the similarity in pose points to derivation from the same type.

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34

MARY C. STURGEON

off to the nymphsof Nysa7 where the child is to be raised,far from the jealouseyes of Hera. Hermes stands in nearly frontal view, turned somewhat toward the center, with his weight on his left leg; in additionto the chlamyshe may also have worn the petasosor traveller'shat and carriedhis kerykeionor staff;his sandalsarecarvedin low relief. Two nude, barefootedmales borderthe scene; each holds a shield in his left hand and probably a sword in his missing right. They may also have been helmeted.Both figuresplace their weight on the legs nearestthe edges of the slab so that the inner, free legs describecurveswhich continuein the raisedinnerarms.As a resultthe inneroutlines of bothfiguresparenthetically enclosethe sceneand their armsdirectthe viewer'sattentiontowardthe central,more importantfigures.The limbs on the outer sides of both figures are straight,forming lines parallelto the torso,hence effectivelyclosing off the composition.The left-handfigure, who is in such high relief that a three-inchwedge connectshim to the background,holdshis shieldaloft, suggestingthe actionof a cymbal,which is probably the manner in which the shields were used. Who would have been presentat such an event as Dionysos'sbirth? Literarytraditionindicatesthe existenceof two very similar and often confused groups of figures: the Korybantes,"who banged their swordsagainsttheir shieldsto drownout the cries of the infant Dionysos, and the Kouretes,9 who performeda similarfunction at the birth of Zeus. It seems highly probablethat the birth of Dionysosis patternedafterthatof Zeus. The two typesof armedfiguresare very similar in regardto their functionat the birthof the two divine infants,that is, to protectthem from jealous deities.Their iconographyis indistinguishable, and their identityis usuallymade clearby the context of the scene.As a result,when they appearwithout 7There have been a number of suggestions about the location of Nysa. Compare, e.g. RE, Ist series, vol. 17A, cols. 162861 (A. Herrmann). 8 For discussion of the Korybantes, see, e.g. EAA, II, s.v. Coribanti (G. Cressedi) 837. In actual practice, these terms are often interchanged. See also Roscher, II (0. Immisch), s.v. Kureten und Korybanten, cols. 1587-1628. 9 For discussion of the Kouretes, see, e.g. EAA, II, 979-80, s.v. Cureti (G. Cressedi); Hom. 11. 6.617, 8.591; and J.E.

Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion (Cambridge 1903) 491-92, 499-500; W.K.C. Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion (London 1935) II8-i9 and no. 40, points out the confusion as to the identity and purpose of the noise-makers

[AJA 81

the representation of the infant, either type (the Korybantes or Kouretes) could be inferred. Possibly as a result of this confusion, Pausanias (8. 37.6) refers to representationsof both the Kouretes and Korybantes in relief on the base of the cult statues at Lycosoura. Either type of figure could well be intended on the relief in the Vatican from Palestrina"owhich shows a row of dancing armed figures. The derivations and religious associations of the two figures, however, are more distinct. In origin, the Kouretes are Cretan divinities and followers of Rhea, while the Korybantes are followers of Cybele and Attis, with whom they are often represented.' Some literary sources provide more specific references. Euripides, Bacchai, I .120o-3o,notes the Kouretes' noisy singing after Zeus's birth and the Korybantes'after the second birth of Dionysos. The later writers Nonnos and Oppian refer specifically to the noise-making as a means of concealing Dionysos's cries.12 The subject of Slab I also alludes to the Birth of Athena depicted in monumental architectural sculpture in the East pediment of the Parthenon on the Acropolis above the Theater, where Zeus was rendered as a majestic seated figure. Such a comparison would surely have been inevitable to Athenian audiences. The depiction of this scene on the Athens theater relief appears highly unusual in its choice and rendering of various motifs, both mythological and artistic. In the Roman period scenes from the birth and childhood of Dionysos were very popular and frequently depicted on neo-Attic reliefs and sarcophagi, especially those intended for children, where the religious importance was particularly strong.13 However, in very few instances is the infancy of Dionysos represented together with the Korybantes. In such cases, all poorly known, it does not seem to be the story of the birth that is in ancient times; more recently see A.H. Borbein, Campana-

reliefs, Typologische und stilkritische Untersuchungen, 14. Ergdnzungsheft, RomMitt, 1968, 143-57, notes 774-80. 10 Lippold, Vatican, III, pt. I, 4-7, no. 489, pl. 28. Compare also the relief of Pyrrhic dancers in the Acropolis Museum, Reinach, Reliefs, II, 372, 5. 11 Supra notes 8, 9. 12E.g. Nonnos, Dion. 9.162-66 (Korybantes) and Oppian, Cynegetica, 4.246-48, who seems to transfer the noise-making function to Ino, Autonoe, and Agave. 13 F. Cumont, Recherches sur le symbolisme jundraire des Romains (Paris 1942) 284-85, 343-44, 491, n. 5.

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THE RELIEFS ON THE THEATER OF DIONYSOS IN ATHENS

1977]

35

the main theme, but rather the childhood, since Zeus and Hermes are not present. The most securely identified example showing Dionysos and the Korybantes is a fragment from a sarcophagus cover in the Vatican Magazine, dated to the second half of the second century A.D.14 Here the infant Dionysos is shown seated on the ground with two figures actively beating their shields abov...