Aeschylean Tragedy Thespis indicate; Sophocles, we are told, was the first dramatist not to perform in person, allegedly because he had a weak voice (Life of sophocles 4). It is significant that a separate prize began to be awarded to the best acts gnv jeath. 19 Curiously enough nothing is recorded in ancient tragedies at the City dionysia about 450, a few years after Aeschylus sources about Aeschylus'own acting: we have various statements about other actors he is said to have employed but most if not all of these probably in fact refer to later performers who took leading roles in revivals or adaptations of Aeschylean plays All the performers wore what are conventionally called masks, but are better spoken of as headpieces, since they combined the functions of mask and wig. The masks in general will not have had the grotesque features found in some later artistic representations of tragic costume: their fund tion was no more than to conceal the actor and identify the character. In most cases they will probably have been straightforward type- repre- sentations in accordance with the usual conventions of portraiture in art mens skin dark, womens pale; young men smooth-faced, men in their prime bearded, old men white-haired and/or partly bald. But many plays will have had some masks of striking individuality: the swarthy complex ions of the Danaids, at once African and unfeminine and surprisingly appropriate as it transpires, to these maidens who first reject marriage and then, when compelled to submit, murder their husbands -and the still darker features(cf. Supp. 719, 745, 888)of their Egyptian pursuers possibly a somewhat feminine appearance for the unmanly Aegisthus, who is more than once called a by his enemies(Ag. 1625, Cho. 304-5) the gashed cheeks of the chorus of Choephoroi (Cho 24-5, 425-6); and the fearsome faces' of the Erinyes(Eum. 990). 20 a Since tragedy was invariably set in a milieu remote in time or (as in pers. ) remote in place from ordinary life its costume also was more elevated than that of ordinary life (or of comedy). In relation to kings we hear in particular of a garment called the xystis, heavy, coloured and richly ornamented, which off the stage was scarcely worn except by charioteers in festival processions. But our Aeschylean texts are sufficient evidence that there was a great deal of variation. The Persian queen, having made her first entry in all the finery that greek imagination could associate with an Asian empress, returns at Pers. 598 plainly dressed(cf. 607-8) Xerxes comes home in torn garments(834-6, 1018, 1030) and presently his counsellors rend their clothes likewise(1060). In Seven Eteocles probably wears shorter and lighter garments than tragic kings usually did; this helps, like his early speeches to the army and to the chorus, to mark him as a vigorous young man of action, and obviates the need for him to remove an outer garment when he arms himself in 676-719(see $5. 2). In Supp. the Danaids and their father. and likewise the herald and those who accom pany him, will have worn a greek dramatist's idea of egyptian costume we hear of a "Sidonian veil of linen(120-1), of barbarian robes and
Thespis indicate; Sophocles, we are told, was the first dramatist not to perform in person, allegedly because he had a weak voice (Life of Sophocles 4). It is significant that a separate prize began to be awarded to the best actor in the tragedies at the City Dionysia about 450, a few years after Aeschylus’ death.19 Curiously enough nothing is recorded in ancient sources about Aeschylus’ own acting; we have various statements about other actors he is said to have employed, but most if not all of these probably in fact refer to later performers who took leading roles in revivals or adaptations of Aeschylean plays. All the performers wore what are conventionally called masks, but are better spoken of as headpieces, since they combined the functions of mask and wig. The masks in general will not have had the grotesque features found in some later artistic representations of tragic costume: their function was no more than to conceal the actor and identify the character. In most cases they will probably have been straightforward type-representations in accordance with the usual conventions of portraiture in art – men’s skin dark, women’s pale; young men smooth-faced, men in their prime bearded, old men white-haired and/or partly bald. But many plays will have had some masks of striking individuality: the swarthy complexions of the Danaids, at once African and unfeminine – and surprisingly appropriate, as it transpires, to these maidens who first reject marriage and then, when compelled to submit, murder their husbands – and the still darker features (cf. Supp. 719, 745, 888) of their Egyptian pursuers; possibly a somewhat feminine appearance for the unmanly Aegisthus, who is more than once called a ‘woman’ by his enemies (Ag. 1625, Cho. 304-5); the gashed cheeks of the chorus of Choephoroi (Cho. 24-5, 425-6); and the ‘fearsome faces’ of the Erinyes (Eum. 990).20 Since tragedy was invariably set in a milieu remote in time or (as in Pers.) remote in place from ordinary life, its costume also was more elevated than that of ordinary life (or of comedy). In relation to kings we hear in particular of a garment called the xystis, heavy, coloured and richly ornamented, which off the stage was scarcely worn except by charioteers in festival processions. But our Aeschylean texts are sufficient evidence that there was a great deal of variation. The Persian queen, having made her first entry in all the finery that Greek imagination could associate with an Asian empress, returns at Pers. 598 plainly dressed (cf. 607-8). Xerxes comes home in torn garments (834-6, 1018, 1030) and presently his counsellors rend their clothes likewise (1060). In Seven Eteocles probably wears shorter and lighter garments than tragic kings usually did; this helps, like his early speeches to the army and to the chorus, to mark him as a vigorous young man of action, and obviates the need for him to remove an outer garment when he arms himself in 676-719 (see §5.2). In Supp. the Danaids and their father, and likewise the Herald and those who accompany him, will have worn a Greek dramatist’s idea of Egyptian costume: we hear of a ‘Sidonian veil’ of linen (120-1), of ‘barbarian robes and Aeschylean Tragedy 26
2. Aeschylus'Theatre headdresses'(235, cf. 431-3), and later, in connection with the men, of dark limbs standing out against white clothes(719-20)-which suggests that, for contrast, the Danaids own clothes were brightly coloured. King pelas- 1s,on the other hand, is dressed so plainly that the Danaids cannot tell whether he is ruler, priest or private citizen (247-8). In the Oresteia costume is eloquent in many ways(see $7.6.3)and especially through a three-way colour contrast: white, the colour of rejoicing and of apollo, worn probably by most characters but especially by Cassandra, the Pythia and Apollo himself; black, the colour of death and mourning, worn by electra and the chorus in Choephoroi and later by the Erinyes; and red or crimson (phoinix), a colour with multiple associations (royalty, luxury, blood), prominent among the colours of the cloth on which Agamemnon walks into his palace and probably also of the robes he is wearing, later seen in the blood-stains on the entangling robe through which he was stabbed -and later still, at the end of the trilogy, the colour of the new garments that symbolize the Erinyes' new status as accepted residents(metoikoi) at Athens taking part in a procession like that at the Panathenaic festival. All in all, there cannot have been much risk of monotony as far as costume as concerned in the aeschylean theatre; euripides notorious ragged he b following rather than floutin tradition It is not always easy to draw a line between costumes'and'properties on which side of such a line should we place Orestes and Pylades'travel- bundles(Cho. 560, 675), or Xerxes' empty quiver(Pers. 1020-2), or the Danaids'suppliant-branches? There is no need to attempt to list here the wide variety of properties utilized in Aeschylus'plays, often to enormous dramatic effect: attention will be drawn to some of them in the discussions of particular plays(see especially $7.6.4). A few words may, however, be said here about one kind of "property of which Aeschylus seems to have been particularly fond, namely wheeled vehicles At least twice, and probably three or even four times, an Aeschylean ruler makes his or her entry to the scene in such a vehicle The first such nstance is that of the Persian Queen, and the manner in which it is handled suggests that the convention was already well established: the rehicle is not even mentioned in the scene in which it appears(Pers 50ff ) and we only know about it because in a later scene, when the Queen re-enters in humbler style, she makes a point of mentioning(Pers 607)that this time she has no vehicle. The second certain case is that of Agamemnon. Translators and commentators sometimes speak of him as arriving in a chariot, but in the text (ag. 906, 1039 the vehicle is called an apene, which properly means a four-wheeled carriage or wagon, and this is confirmed by 1054 which indicates that there were seats in it. The third case is that of Pelasgus in The Suppliant Maidens. Nothing is said about his means of transport when he enters at 234, but before his arrival Danaus has mentioned wheels, chariots and horses(181-3), and there 27
headdresses’ (235, cf. 431-3), and later, in connection with the men, of dark limbs standing out against white clothes (719-20) – which suggests that, for contrast, the Danaids’ own clothes were brightly coloured. King Pelasgus, on the other hand, is dressed so plainly that the Danaids cannot tell whether he is ruler, priest or private citizen (247-8). In the Oresteia costume is eloquent in many ways (see §7.6.3) and especially through a three-way colour contrast: white, the colour of rejoicing and of Apollo, worn probably by most characters but especially by Cassandra, the Pythia and Apollo himself; black, the colour of death and mourning, worn by Electra and the chorus in Choephoroi and later by the Erinyes; and red or crimson (phoinix), a colour with multiple associations (royalty, luxury, blood), prominent among the colours of the cloth on which Agamemnon walks into his palace and probably also of the robes he is wearing, later seen in the blood-stains on the entangling robe through which he was stabbed – and later still, at the end of the trilogy, the colour of the new garments that symbolize the Erinyes’ new status as accepted residents (metoikoi) at Athens taking part in a procession like that at the Panathenaic festival. All in all, there cannot have been much risk of monotony as far as costume was concerned in the Aeschylean theatre; Euripides’ notorious ‘ragged’ heroes can be seen in this respect as following rather than flouting an older tradition. It is not always easy to draw a line between ‘costumes’ and ‘properties’: on which side of such a line should we place Orestes’ and Pylades’ travelbundles (Cho. 560, 675), or Xerxes’ empty quiver (Pers. 1020-2), or the Danaids’ suppliant-branches? There is no need to attempt to list here the wide variety of properties utilized in Aeschylus’ plays, often to enormous dramatic effect; attention will be drawn to some of them in the discussions of particular plays (see especially §7.6.4). A few words may, however, be said here about one kind of ‘property’ of which Aeschylus seems to have been particularly fond, namely wheeled vehicles. At least twice, and probably three or even four times, an Aeschylean ruler makes his or her entry to the scene in such a vehicle. The first such instance is that of the Persian Queen, and the manner in which it is handled suggests that the convention was already well established: the vehicle is not even mentioned in the scene in which it appears (Pers. 150ff.), and we only know about it because in a later scene, when the Queen re-enters in humbler style, she makes a point of mentioning (Pers. 607) that this time she has no vehicle. The second certain case is that of Agamemnon. Translators and commentators sometimes speak of him as arriving in a chariot, but in the text (Ag. 906, 1039) the vehicle is called an apênê, which properly means a four-wheeled carriage or wagon, and this is confirmed by 1054 which indicates that there were seats in it. The third case is that of Pelasgus in The Suppliant Maidens. Nothing is said about his means of transport when he enters at 234, but before his arrival Danaus has mentioned wheels, chariots and horses (181-3), and there 2. Aeschylus’ Theatre 27
Aeschylean Tragedy seems little point in his talking thus if no vehicles are going to appear when the Argive army does arrive. It is not clear whether pelasgus again arrives in a chariot at 911, though in that crowded scene it is perhaps more likely that he does not(see $6.4) The use of vehicles serves different purposes in different plays In Pers it has primarily to do with the stereotype of oriental luxury; it also picks up the picture drawn by the chorus of Xerxes pursuing his enemies in a Syrian chariot'(84), and contrasts with his entry at the end of the play alone, on foot, denuded of men, of wealth, and of the pavilion on wheels (1000-1)in which he set forth In Supp the implications are military: the vehicle is not a travelling carriage but a chariot of war and when the king drives it he has a retinue of soldiers. In Agamemnon too we might have expected a chariot, since Agamemnon is a military conqueror. But we do not get one. Instead we are presented with another Priam(cf. 918-20 35-6)-or even perhaps with another though a successful, Xerxes; and by giving agamemnon an apene aeschylus makes it possible for Cassandra to ride with him, thus evoking the idea of a wedding procession. agamem non is bringing home a bride -to a house that has a wife in it already There is, by the way, no reason to doubt that these vehicles were drawn by actual animals. Aristophanes refers (Frogs 963) to an Aeschylean Memnon with bells on his horses'harness'; in Supp. 183 Danaus specifi cally mentions that he sees horses approaching, while the chorus of Pers mention horses seven times before the entry of the queen(14, 18, 26, 29, 32, 106, 126). For greeks the horse -which was extremely expensive to keep and was of no practical use except in sport and war-was a symbol both of luxury and, because of the importance of chariots in the iliad, of military prowess, significances one or both of which are appropriate to all the passages discussed above These are not the only animals to appearon stage in surviving Aeschylean drama, for in Eum. one or more sacrificial beasts form part of the final procession(1006) 2.3. The spectators The audience of Aeschylean drama was by most modern theatrical stand- ards (though not by those of, say, Verona) a very large one. Recent excavations suggest that the capacity of the fifth-century theatre may have been considerably less than had usually been thought, but it may still have amounted to seven thousand or possibly more-enough to make quite a respectable football crowd, and perhaps a little like one in other respects as well (average age, overwhelming predominance of one sex, liking for alcoholic refreshment, tendency to make unruly noises and possibly throw missiles at performers who displeased them, need for active policing -by stewards equipped with rods and empowered to use them) They were all, or almost all, male; the fifth- and fourth-century evidence indicates that while women were not formally debarred from attending the
seems little point in his talking thus if no vehicles are going to appear when the Argive army does arrive. It is not clear whether Pelasgus again arrives in a chariot at 911, though in that crowded scene it is perhaps more likely that he does not (see §6.4). The use of vehicles serves different purposes in different plays. In Pers. it has primarily to do with the stereotype of oriental luxury; it also picks up the picture drawn by the chorus of Xerxes pursuing his enemies in a ‘Syrian chariot’ (84), and contrasts with his entry at the end of the play, alone, on foot, denuded of men, of wealth, and of the ‘pavilion on wheels’ (1000-1) in which he set forth. In Supp. the implications are military: the vehicle is not a travelling carriage but a chariot of war, and when the king drives it he has a retinue of soldiers. In Agamemnon too we might have expected a chariot, since Agamemnon is a military conqueror. But we do not get one. Instead we are presented with another Priam (cf. 918-20, 935-6) – or even perhaps with another, though a successful, Xerxes; and by giving Agamemnon an apênê Aeschylus makes it possible for Cassandra to ride with him, thus evoking the idea of a wedding procession. Agamemnon is bringing home a bride – to a house that has a wife in it already. There is, by the way, no reason to doubt that these vehicles were drawn by actual animals. Aristophanes refers (Frogs 963) to an Aeschylean Memnon ‘with bells on his horses’ harness’; in Supp. 183 Danaus specifically mentions that he sees horses approaching, while the chorus of Pers. mention horses seven times before the entry of the Queen (14, 18, 26, 29, 32, 106, 126). For Greeks the horse – which was extremely expensive to keep and was of no practical use except in sport and war – was a symbol both of luxury and, because of the importance of chariots in the Iliad, of military prowess, significances one or both of which are appropriate to all the passages discussed above. These are not the only animals to appear on stage in surviving Aeschylean drama, for in Eum. one or more sacrificial beasts form part of the final procession (1006). 2.3. The spectators The audience of Aeschylean drama was by most modern theatrical standards (though not by those of, say, Verona) a very large one. Recent excavations suggest that the capacity of the fifth-century theatre may have been considerably less than had usually been thought, but it may still have amounted to seven thousand or possibly more21 – enough to make quite a respectable football crowd, and perhaps a little like one in other respects as well (average age, overwhelming predominance of one sex, liking for alcoholic refreshment, tendency to make unruly noises and possibly throw missiles at performers who displeased them, need for active policing – by stewards equipped with rods and empowered to use them). They were all, or almost all, male; the fifth- and fourth-century evidence indicates that while women were not formally debarred from attending the Aeschylean Tragedy 28
2. Aeschylus'Theatre theatre few women of citizen status ever actually went( Sommerstein 1980b: 16, 2001: 223). They were of all ages: characters in comedy address ing the audience, when they refer to the various groups composing it nearly always make special mention of the young boys, and given ancient mortality rates it is likely that those under eighteen formed quite a high proportion of the total. Many will not have been Athenian citizens at all there were many free non-citizens(metoikoi) resident at Athens, and in addition there will have been some visitors from abroad though probably not so many as in later decades when the City dionysia became a show occasion of Athenian imperialism attended by delegations from all the allied'states. The audience will not of course have been perfectly repre- sentative of the Athenian community, even disregarding women and slaves. No self-selected sample could ever be so-and that includes the There is, however, some reason to believe(see Sommerstein 1997) that in Aeschylus' time the citizen part of the theatre audience was much closer to being a fair cross-section of the citizen body as a whole than it became later in the century when comic dramatists like Cratinus and Aristo- phanes repeatedly scored successes with vicious political satire on Peri cles. Cleon. and other leaders in the radical democratic tradition Aeschylus could at all times, with only a mild degree of idealization, think of himself as presenting the actions and ideas of his plays to the whole Athenian people; and in eumenides he makes Athena and the erinyes, all but explicitly, treat the theatre audience as if it were the athenian people Among this audience a special status inevitably attached to the judges of the dramatic competition. These were ten in number; like so many other ten-man bodies in the athenian democracy they were chosen by lot(from a larger panel which had been appointed by the Council, at least partly on the nomination of the khoregoi) and comprised one member of each of the ten 'tribes' making up the citizen body. They constituted a jury'in the literal sense, for they were sworn to judge impartially. At the end of the tragic competition(which may well have extended over three days)the ten judges voted individually for the best chorus-for in theory the competition was, and always remained a contest between choruses, though in practice the judges will have taken all aspects of the productions into account. It became a proverb that victory lay in the lap of five judges,, and this expression, or something like it, probably goes back to fifth-century com edy(Cratinus fr. 177, Lysippus fr. 7); it most likely indicates that only five of the judges' votes(presumably drawn at random) were actually counted This practice may have been seen as a precaution against corruption, or as a means of giving the gods (through the lottery process)a share in determining the winner, or as serving both purposes at once It is not likely that the vote was often close: references to the judges and the judging in by the expressed views of the ordinary spectators(no doubt they wereed comedy and by plato indicate that the jury were often heavily influence
theatre, few women of citizen status ever actually went (Sommerstein 1980b: 16, 2001: 223). They were of all ages: characters in comedy addressing the audience, when they refer to the various groups composing it, nearly always make special mention of the young boys, and given ancient mortality rates it is likely that those under eighteen formed quite a high proportion of the total. Many will not have been Athenian citizens at all: there were many free non-citizens (metoikoi) resident at Athens,22 and in addition there will have been some visitors from abroad, though probably not so many as in later decades when the City Dionysia became a show occasion of Athenian imperialism attended by delegations from all the ‘allied’ states. The audience will not of course have been perfectly representative of the Athenian community, even disregarding women and slaves. No self-selected sample could ever be so – and that includes the sovereign Assembly which in theory comprised all adult male citizens. There is, however, some reason to believe (see Sommerstein 1997) that in Aeschylus’ time the citizen part of the theatre audience was much closer to being a fair cross-section of the citizen body as a whole than it became later in the century when comic dramatists like Cratinus and Aristophanes repeatedly scored successes with vicious political satire on Pericles, Cleon, and other leaders in the radical democratic tradition. Aeschylus could at all times, with only a mild degree of idealization, think of himself as presenting the actions and ideas of his plays to the whole Athenian people; and in Eumenides he makes Athena and the Erinyes, all but explicitly, treat the theatre audience as if it were the Athenian people. Among this audience a special status inevitably attached to the judges of the dramatic competition. These were ten in number; like so many other ten-man bodies in the Athenian democracy, they were chosen by lot (from a larger panel which had been appointed by the Council, at least partly on the nomination of the khorêgoi) and comprised one member of each of the ten ‘tribes’ making up the citizen body. They constituted a ‘jury’ in the literal sense, for they were sworn to judge impartially. At the end of the tragic competition (which may well have extended over three days) the ten judges voted individually for the best chorus – for in theory the competition was, and always remained, a contest between choruses, though in practice the judges will have taken all aspects of the productions into account. It became a proverb that victory ‘lay in the lap of five judges’, and this expression, or something like it, probably goes back to fifth-century comedy (Cratinus fr. 177, Lysippus fr. 7); it most likely indicates that only five of the judges’ votes (presumably drawn at random) were actually counted. This practice may have been seen as a precaution against corruption, or as a means of giving the gods (through the lottery process) a share in determining the winner, or as serving both purposes at once. It is not likely that the vote was often close:23 references to the judges and the judging in comedy and by Plato24 indicate that the jury were often heavily influenced by the expressed views of the ordinary spectators (no doubt they were as 2. Aeschylus’ Theatre 29
Aeschylean Tragedy likely to be booed for an unpopular verdict as boxing judges are today) Above everything else, Greek tragedy was an art-form for the people Thi does not preclude great sophistication and subtlety in its construction,on a large and a small scale. But if we find ourselves having to assume that an idea essential to the understanding of a play is one that would in al probability have gone far over the head of the man in the Athenian street, we are probably on a wrong track. 1. Except for Rhesus, which is abnormal in other respects also and is probably a fourth-century composition(see Liapis forthcoming) 2. Such as Sophocles' Philoctetes, and Euripides'Andromeda (parodied by Aristophanes in Thesmophoriazusae; cf. Eur. fr. 118= Thesm. 1018) 3. Similarly in Aeschylus' Myrmidons achilles, for most of the early part of the play, was sitting silent and muffled on stage(Aristophanes, Frogs 911-24), and the audience were in effect informed at the start that he was sitting inside his hut (Aesch. fr. 131.3-4); this scene was echoed in the third play of the same trilogy, Th Phrygians(Life of Aeschylus 6) 4. Goette does not actually state these dimensions, but they can be read off hi scale plan of the theatre (p. 117) 5. The circle of the agora appears to have been a poetic cliche( Sophocles, Oedipus the King 161; Euripides, Orestes 919) 6. Pratinas GL 708.2(from a dithyramb or satyr-play): what outrage has come gainst the noisy thymele of Dionysus? 7. Scullion 1994: 72 acutely notes that according to Cho. 322 Agamemnons tomb is 'in front of the palace'; cf already Garvie 1986: xli-xliii The only ghost-character in surviving later tragedy, Polydorus in Euripides Hecuba, does not emerge from underground but appears aloft(Hecuba 30-2) probably by means of the methane (he speaks of himself as aioroumenos'sus- ded as if on gedy used the side doors very little if at all; later dy is tem fr. 48), produced in 420 10. The earliest textual evidence is probably in Aristophanes'Wasps(1341-4) produced in 422, and in Euripides Electra(489-92), datable on metrical ground c. 420. The earliest artistic evidence is a chous from Anavyssos(Attica), dated c. 20, showing a comic performer on a stage approached by steps (illustrated e. g. in Taplin 1993 pl. 8.25A) 11. The ancient name for this device is unknown: the word ekkvklema ' wheel ing-out' is late in attestation, and strictly it denotes not the device but an occasion on which it is used. However, the verb ekkyklein 'to wheel out' was a familiar heatrical term by 425(Aristophanes, Acharnians 408-9) 12. Along the lines of ' open the doors, so that you/l may see . .'(cf. Euripides, Hippolytus 808: Sophocles, Electra 1458ff. 13. Apart from Prometheus Bound and The Weighing of Souls, the earliest clear evidence for the use of the methane is in Euripides' Medea(1317ff.), produced in 14. In Platos Laws(665b), the character Cleinias(a Cretan) finds the idea absurd that a chorus in honour of Dionysus might be composed of men over thirty
likely to be booed for an unpopular verdict as boxing judges are today). Above everything else, Greek tragedy was an art-form for the people. This does not preclude great sophistication and subtlety in its construction, on a large and a small scale. But if we find ourselves having to assume that an idea essential to the understanding of a play is one that would in all probability have gone far over the head of the man in the Athenian street, we are probably on a wrong track. Notes 1. Except for Rhesus, which is abnormal in other respects also and is probably a fourth-century composition (see Liapis forthcoming). 2. Such as Sophocles’ Philoctetes, and Euripides’ Andromeda (parodied by Aristophanes in Thesmophoriazusae; cf. Eur. fr. 118 = Thesm. 1018). 3. Similarly in Aeschylus’ Myrmidons Achilles, for most of the early part of the play, was sitting silent and muffled on stage (Aristophanes, Frogs 911-24), and the audience were in effect informed at the start that he was sitting inside his hut (Aesch. fr. 131.3-4); this scene was echoed in the third play of the same trilogy, The Phrygians (Life of Aeschylus 6). 4. Goette does not actually state these dimensions, but they can be read off his scale plan of the theatre (p. 117). 5. ‘The circle of the agora’ appears to have been a poetic cliché (Sophocles, Oedipus the King 161; Euripides, Orestes 919). 6. Pratinas GL 708.2 (from a dithyramb or satyr-play): ‘what outrage has come against the noisy thymelê of Dionysus?’ 7. Scullion 1994: 72 acutely notes that according to Cho. 322 Agamemnon’s tomb is ‘in front of the palace’; cf. already Garvie 1986: xli-xliii. 8. The only ghost-character in surviving later tragedy, Polydorus in Euripides’ Hecuba, does not emerge from ‘underground’ but appears aloft (Hecuba 30-2), probably by means of the mêkhanê (he speaks of himself as aiôroumenos ‘suspended as if on a swing’). 9. Later tragedy used the side doors very little if at all; later comedy used them extensively. The earliest comedy known to have used all three doors is Eupolis’ Autolycus (fr. 48), produced in 420. 10. The earliest textual evidence is probably in Aristophanes’ Wasps (1341-4), produced in 422, and in Euripides’ Electra (489-92), datable on metrical grounds c. 420. The earliest artistic evidence is a chous from Anavyssos (Attica), dated c. 420, showing a comic performer on a stage approached by steps (illustrated e.g. in Taplin 1993 pl. 8.25A). 11. The ancient name for this device is unknown; the word ekkyklêma ‘wheeling-out’ is late in attestation, and strictly it denotes not the device but an occasion on which it is used. However, the verb ekkyklein ‘to wheel out’ was a familiar theatrical term by 425 (Aristophanes, Acharnians 408-9). 12. Along the lines of ‘open the doors, so that you/I may see !’ (cf. Euripides, Hippolytus 808; Sophocles, Electra 1458ff.). 13. Apart from Prometheus Bound and The Weighing of Souls, the earliest clear evidence for the use of the mêkhanê is in Euripides’ Medea (1317ff.), produced in 431. 14. In Plato’s Laws (665b), the character Cleinias (a Cretan) finds the idea absurd that a chorus in honour of Dionysus might be composed of men over thirty, Aeschylean Tragedy 30