THE BOOK WAS DRENCHED - OUDL Home

xvi General Introduction
a semi-circular, curved bank of seats, resembling in some respects the
closed end of a horseshoe stadium. He has climbed up the steps (klimakes)
to reach his seat, which is in a section (kerkis). Probably he has in the
process walked along the level aisle (diazoma) which divides the lower
and the upper parts of the theatron. Below him, in the best location in
the theatre, is the throne of the priest of Dionysus, 1 who presides in a
sense over the whole performance, which, as we shall see later, is essentially
religious in character. The theatron is large—in fact, the one in
Athens, in the Theatre of Dionysus, with its seats banked up on the
south slope of the Acropolis, seated approximately 17,000 persons.
The spectator sees before him a level circular area called the orchestra,
which means literally the "dancing place" (deriving from the Greek
verb, to dance). In the centre of the orchestra stands an
altar, which figures frequently as a stage-property in a number of the
plays. A part of the dramatic action will take place in the orchestra, as
well as the manoeuvres and dance figures performed by the Chorus as
they present their odes. To the right and left of the theatron are the
parodoi, which are used not only by the spectators for entering and
leaving the theatre, but also for the entrances and exits of actors and
the Chorus.
Directly beyond the circular orchestra lies the skene or scene building.
2 At first, and probably during the balance of the fifth century B.C.
the skene was a wooden structure, which later gave way to a permanent
stone building, after its form became sufficiently stabilized. In most
plays the skene represents the fagade of a house, a palace, or a temple.
Various devices 8 were developed from time to time which made it possible
to denote to the audience the nature of the building or general
background which the skene was supposed to represent. By the use of
these devices likewise changes of scene could be effected in the relatively
few instances in the plays which demand such treatment. The skene normally
had three doors which served as additional entrances and exits
for the actors. Immediately in front of the scene-building was a level
platform, in the fifth century B.C. in all probability only a single step
above the level of the orchestra. This was called the proskenion or
1
Cf. Aristophanes, The Frogs, line 294, where the poet has his character, Dionysus,
rush over to address the priest.
2
In some of the earliest plays this was probably not used at all. Cf. the frontispiece
to Volume I.
3
The exact nature of these devices is very difficult to determine. They may have
been painted panels, which were movable. In the later theatres there were periakti,
or revolving prisms, set in the wall of the skene. Each of the three sides of the
periaktus was painted differently. By turning them about, a change of scene
could easily be indicated.