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Imagining the Origins of Drama: Greek Epigram and the Satyrs of Sikyon

  • Rebecca Laemmle
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Chronology and History of the Attic Theatre
This chapter is in the book Chronology and History of the Attic Theatre

Abstract

This paper considers some of the implications of a set of Hellenistic and Imperial epigrams, in particular Honestus VIII Gow/Page, for the history of drama. These epigrams, along with other literary evidence, bear witness to how the history of all three dramatic genres became intertwined in later antiquity and reflect how this, in turn, has impacted the post-classical imagination of the pointedly non-Athenian origins of drama. Thus they offer a history of drama which attributes an important role to the Peloponnesian heartland, especially Sikyon, in the early development of tragedy, comedy and satyr play. The article pays particular attention to how such ideas of literary history may have been reflected in later performance culture and to the links between these developments and Herodotus’ famous remarks about ‘tragic choruses’ at Sikyon.

Abstract

This paper considers some of the implications of a set of Hellenistic and Imperial epigrams, in particular Honestus VIII Gow/Page, for the history of drama. These epigrams, along with other literary evidence, bear witness to how the history of all three dramatic genres became intertwined in later antiquity and reflect how this, in turn, has impacted the post-classical imagination of the pointedly non-Athenian origins of drama. Thus they offer a history of drama which attributes an important role to the Peloponnesian heartland, especially Sikyon, in the early development of tragedy, comedy and satyr play. The article pays particular attention to how such ideas of literary history may have been reflected in later performance culture and to the links between these developments and Herodotus’ famous remarks about ‘tragic choruses’ at Sikyon.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Abbreviations IX
  5. List of Figures XI
  6. Introduction XIII
  7. Part I: Background, Origins, and the Lost Theatre: Cults, Contests, Institutions
  8. Dionysian Rituals in Archaic Athens: The Contribution of Images 1
  9. What Song the Kômos Sang 15
  10. Creating a Context for the Athenian Invention of Drama 43
  11. Archaeological Evidence for the Beginning of the Dionysia in Athens: The Tympanon Relief NAM 3131 57
  12. Protean Satyrs and Silens: Early Greek Satyr Play-Performances and their Adoption in Athenian Dionysian Imagery 65
  13. Dithyramb on Paros, Komoi in Athens: Insights from the Epigraphic Evidence for the Start of Choral Competitions at the Athenian Dionysia 101
  14. Part II: Dionysian Performances: The Athenian Fifth Century
  15. The Fourth Unknown: The Attic Dithyramb 137
  16. Pindar and Tragedy: A Fresh Look at Dochmiac in Choral Lyric 149
  17. Developments and Discontinuities in Tragedy Forms, 458–405 BCE 177
  18. Ancient and Modern Linguistic Approaches to the History of Attic Comedy 195
  19. Joy and Tears in Situ: The Perception of Theatre in Early Greek Sources 217
  20. Part III: Reconstruction of the Past: Post-Classical Views of the Attic Theatre
  21. On History and the History of Tragedy According to Aristotle 237
  22. Phanodemus and the Invention of the Dionysian Chorus 257
  23. Menander and the Citation of Tragedy 301
  24. Daphnis or Lityerses? Pastoral and Satyrical Rusticities 319
  25. Imagining the Origins of Drama: Greek Epigram and the Satyrs of Sikyon 335
  26. Bibliography 355
  27. List of Contributors 383
  28. Index of Names 387
  29. Index of Authors and Quoted Passages 395
  30. Index of Inscriptions 421
  31. Concordance to Vase Publications 423
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111621937-016

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Abbreviations IX
  5. List of Figures XI
  6. Introduction XIII
  7. Part I: Background, Origins, and the Lost Theatre: Cults, Contests, Institutions
  8. Dionysian Rituals in Archaic Athens: The Contribution of Images 1
  9. What Song the Kômos Sang 15
  10. Creating a Context for the Athenian Invention of Drama 43
  11. Archaeological Evidence for the Beginning of the Dionysia in Athens: The Tympanon Relief NAM 3131 57
  12. Protean Satyrs and Silens: Early Greek Satyr Play-Performances and their Adoption in Athenian Dionysian Imagery 65
  13. Dithyramb on Paros, Komoi in Athens: Insights from the Epigraphic Evidence for the Start of Choral Competitions at the Athenian Dionysia 101
  14. Part II: Dionysian Performances: The Athenian Fifth Century
  15. The Fourth Unknown: The Attic Dithyramb 137
  16. Pindar and Tragedy: A Fresh Look at Dochmiac in Choral Lyric 149
  17. Developments and Discontinuities in Tragedy Forms, 458–405 BCE 177
  18. Ancient and Modern Linguistic Approaches to the History of Attic Comedy 195
  19. Joy and Tears in Situ: The Perception of Theatre in Early Greek Sources 217
  20. Part III: Reconstruction of the Past: Post-Classical Views of the Attic Theatre
  21. On History and the History of Tragedy According to Aristotle 237
  22. Phanodemus and the Invention of the Dionysian Chorus 257
  23. Menander and the Citation of Tragedy 301
  24. Daphnis or Lityerses? Pastoral and Satyrical Rusticities 319
  25. Imagining the Origins of Drama: Greek Epigram and the Satyrs of Sikyon 335
  26. Bibliography 355
  27. List of Contributors 383
  28. Index of Names 387
  29. Index of Authors and Quoted Passages 395
  30. Index of Inscriptions 421
  31. Concordance to Vase Publications 423
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