![Choregos actors MAN Napoli Inv9986](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Choregos_actors_MAN_Napoli_Inv9986.jpg)
The architectural form of theatre in Rome has been linked to later, more well-known examples from the 1st century BC to the 3rd Century AD.
The theatre of ancient Rome referred to as a period of time in which theatrical practice and performance took place in Rome has been linked back even further to the 4th century BC, following the state’s transition from
monarchy
A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...
to
republic.
Theatre during this era is generally separated into genres of
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
and
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
, which are represented by a particular style of architecture and stage play, and conveyed to an audience purely as a form of entertainment and control.
When it came to the audience, Romans favored entertainment and performance over tragedy and drama, displaying a more modern form of theatre that is still used in contemporary times.
'Spectacle' became an essential part of an everyday Romans expectations when it came to theatre.
Some works by
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...
,
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
, and
Seneca the Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature.
Seneca was born in ...
that survive to this day, highlight the different aspects of Roman society and culture at the time, including advancements in Roman literature and theatre.
Theatre during this period of time would come to represent an important aspect of Roman society during the republican and imperial periods of Rome.
Origins of Roman theatre
Rome was founded as a monarchy under
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
rule, and remained as such throughout the first two and a half centuries of its existence. Following the expulsion of Rome's last king,
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, or "Tarquin the Proud," circa 509 BC, Rome became a republic and was henceforth led by a group of magistrates elected by the Roman people. It is believed that Roman theatre was born during the first two centuries of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
, following the spread of Roman rule into a large area of the
Italian Peninsula, circa 364 BC.
Following the devastation of widespread plague in 364 BC, Roman citizens began including theatrical games as a supplement to the
Lectisternium
The lectisternium was an ancient Roman propitiatory ceremony, consisting of a meal offered to gods and goddesses. The word derives from ''lectum sternere'', "to spread (or "drape") a couch." The deities were represented by their busts or statues ...
ceremonies already being performed, in a stronger effort to pacify the gods. In the years following the establishment of these practices, actors began adapting these dances and games into performances by acting out texts set to music and simultaneous movement.
As the era of the Roman Republic progressed, citizens began including professionally performed drama in the eclectic offerings of the ludi (celebrations of public holidays) held throughout each year—the largest of these festivals being the
Ludi Romani
The ''Ludi Romani'' ("Roman Games"; see '' ludi'') was a religious festival in ancient Rome. Usually including multiple ceremonies called '' ludi''. They were held annually starting in 366 BC from September 12 to September 14, later extended to ...
, held each September in honor of the Roman god
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
.
It was as a part of the Ludi Romani in 240 BC that author and playwright
Livius Adronicus became the first to produce translations of Greek plays to be performed on the Roman stage.
Prior to 240 BC, Roman contact with northern and southern Italian cultures began to influence Roman concepts of entertainment.
The early Roman stage was dominated by:
Phylakes (a form of tragic parody that arose in Italy during the Roman Republic from 500 to 250 BC),
Atellan farces (or a type of comedy that depicted the supposed backwards thinking of the southeastern Oscan town of Atella; a form of ethnic humor that arose around 300 BC), and
Fescennine verses Fescennine Verses (Fescennina carmina), one of the earliest kinds of Italian poetry, subsequently developed into satire and Roman comic drama.
History
Originally sung at village harvest-home rejoicing, they made their way into the towns, and became ...
(originating in southern Etruria).
Furthermore, Phylakes scholars have discovered vases depicting productions of
Old Comedy
Old Comedy (''archaia'') is the first period of the ancient Greek comedy, according to the canonical division by the Alexandrian grammarians.Mastromarco (1994) p.12 The most important Old Comic playwright is Aristophanes – whose works, with the ...
(e.g. by
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...
, a Greek playwright), leading many to ascertain that such Comedic plays were presented at one point to an Italian, if not "Latin-Speaking" audience as early as the 4th century.
This is supported by the fact that Latin was an essential component to Roman Theatre.
From 240 BC to 100 BC, Roman theatre had been introduced to a period of literary drama, within which classical and post-classical Greek plays had been adapted to Roman theatre.
From 100 BC till 476 AD, Roman entertainment began to be captured by circus-like performances, spectacles, and miming while remaining allured by theatrical performances.
![Roman_Theatre_in_Orange_2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Roman_Theatre_in_Orange_2008.jpg)
The early drama that emerged was very similar to the drama in Greece. Rome had engaged in a number of wars, some of which had taken place in areas of Italy, in which Greek culture had been a great influence.
Examples of this include the
First Punic War (264-241 BC) in Sicily.
Through this came relations between Greece and Rome, starting with the emergence of a Hellenistic world, one in which Hellenistic culture was more widely spread and through political developments via Roman conquests of Mediterranean colonies.
Acculturation
Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and ...
had become specific to
Greco-Roman relations, with Rome mainly adopting aspects of Greek culture, their achievements, and developing those aspects into Roman literature, art, and science.
Rome had become one of the first developing European cultures to shape their own culture after another.
With the end of the
Third Macedonian War
The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman ...
(168 BC), Rome had gained greater access to a wealth of Greek art and literature, and an influx of Greek migrants, particularly
Stoic philosophers
Stoic may refer to:
* An adherent of Stoicism; one whose moral quality is associated with that school of philosophy
*STOIC, a programming language
* ''Stoic'' (film), a 2009 film by Uwe Boll
* ''Stoic'' (mixtape), a 2012 mixtape by rapper T-Pain
*' ...
such as
Crates of Mallus
Crates of Mallus ( grc-gre, Κράτης ὁ Μαλλώτης, ''Krátēs ho Mallṓtēs''; century BC) was a Greek grammarian and Stoic philosopher, leader of the literary school and head of the library of Pergamum. He was described as th ...
(168 BC) and even Athenian
philosophers
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
(155 BC).This allowed the Romans to develop an interest in a new form of expression, philosophy.
The development that occurred was first initiated by playwrights that were Greeks or half-Greeks living in Rome.
While Greek literary tradition in drama influenced the Romans, the Romans chose to not fully adopt these traditions, and instead the dominant local language of Latin was used.
These Roman plays that were beginning to be performed were heavily influenced by the Etruscan traditions, particularly regarding the importance of music and performance.
Genres of ancient Roman theatre
![Actor as Papposilen Antikensammlung Berlin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Actor_as_Papposilen_Antikensammlung_Berlin.jpg)
The first important works of
Roman literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
were the
tragedies
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
and
comedies
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...
written by
Livius Andronicus beginning in 240 BC. Five years later,
Gnaeus Naevius, a younger contemporary of Andronicus, also began to write drama, composing in both genres as well. No plays from either writer have survived. By the beginning of the 2nd century BC, drama had become firmly established in Rome and a
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
of writers (''collegium poetarum'') had been formed.
Roman tragedy
No early Roman tragedy survives, though it was highly regarded in its day; historians know of three early tragedians—
Ennius
Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria ...
,
Pacuvius
Marcus Pacuvius (; 220 – c. 130 BC) was an ancient Roman tragic poet. He is regarded as the greatest of their tragedians prior to Lucius Accius.
Biography
He was the nephew and pupil of Ennius, by whom Roman tragedy was first raised to a posi ...
and
Lucius Accius. One important aspect of tragedy that differed from other genres was the implementation of choruses that were included in the action on the stage during the performances of many tragedies.
[Gesine Manuwald, ''Roman Republican Theatre, (''Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 74.]
From the time of the empire, however, the work of two tragedians survives—one is an unknown author, while the other is the
Stoic philosopher
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
. Nine of Seneca's tragedies survive, all of which are ''
fabulae crepidatae
A ''fabula crepidata'' or ''fabula cothurnata'' is a Latin tragedy with Greek subjects. The genre probably originated in adaptations of Greek tragedy (hence the names, coming from ''crepida'' = ''sandal'' and ''cothurnus'') beginning in the early ...
; a ''fabula crepidata'' or ''fabula cothurnata'' is a Latin tragedy with Greek subjects.
Seneca appears as a character in the tragedy ''
Octavia'', the only
extant example of ''
fabula praetexta The ''praetexta'' or ''fabula praetexta'' was a genre of Latin tragedy introduced at Rome by Gnaeus Naevius in the third century BC. It dealt with historical Roman figures, in place of the conventional Greek myths. Subsequent writers of ''praetexta ...
'' (tragedies based on Roman subjects, first created by
Naevius), and as a result, the play was mistakenly attributed as having been authored by Seneca himself. However, though historians have since confirmed that the play was not one of Seneca's works, the true author remains unknown.
Senecan Tragedy
Senecan tragedy refers to a set of ten ancient Roman tragedies, probably eight of which were written by the Stoic philosopher and politician Lucius Annaeus Seneca.
Senecan Tragedies
The group comprises:
* '' Hercules Furens''
* ''Medea''
* ...
put forth a declamatory style, or a style of tragedy that emphasized
rhetoric structures.
It was a style characterized through
paradox
A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...
,
discontinuity,
antithesis, and the adoption of
declamatory structures and techniques that involved aspects of compression, elaboration,
epigram, and of course, hyperbole, as most of his plays seemed to emphasize such exaggerations in order to make points more persuasive.
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
wrote tragedies that reflected the soul, through which rhetoric would be used within that process of creating a tragic character and reveal something about the state of one's mind.
One of the most notable ways that Seneca developed a tragedy, was through the use of an aside, or a common theatre device found within Hellenistic drama, which at the time was foreign to the world of
Attic tragedy
Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy.
Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...
.
Seneca explored the interior of the psychology of the mind through 'self-representational soliloquies or monologues,' which focused on one's inner thoughts, the central causes of their emotional conflicts, their self-deception, as well as other varieties of psychological turmoil that served to dramatize emotion in a way that became central to
Roman tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ...
, distinguishing itself from the prior used forms of
Greek tragedy
Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy.
Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...
.
Those that witnessed Seneca's use of Rhetoric; pupils, readers, and audience, were noted to have been taught Seneca's use of verbal strategy, psychic mobility, and public role-play, which for many, substantially altered the mental states of many individual's.
Roman comedy
![Syria bosra theater](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Syria_bosra_theater.jpg)
All Roman comedies that have survived can be categorized as ''
fabula palliata'' (comedies based on Greek subjects) and were written by two dramatists:
Titus Maccius Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...
(Plautus) and
Publius Terentius Afer
Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
(Terence). No ''
fabula togata'' (Roman comedy in a Roman setting) has survived.
In adapting Greek plays to be performed for Roman audiences, the Roman comic dramatists made several changes to the structure of the productions. Most notable is the removal of the previously prominent role of the
chorus as a means of separating the action into distinct episodes. Additionally, musical accompaniment was added as a simultaneous supplement to the plays'
dialogue. The action of all scenes typically took place in the streets outside the dwelling of the main characters, and plot complications were often a result of
eavesdropping
Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information.
Etymology
The verb ''eavesdrop'' is a back-formation from the noun ''eaves ...
by a minor character.
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...
wrote between 205 and 184 B.C. and twenty of his comedies survive to present day, of which his
farces are best known. He was admired for the
wit of his dialogue and for his varied use of
poetic meters. As a result of the growing popularity of Plautus' plays, as well as this new form of written comedy, scenic plays became a more prominent component in Roman festivals of the time, claiming their place in events that had previously only featured races, athletic competitions, and gladiatorial battles.
All six of the comedies that
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
composed between 166 and 160 BC have survived. The complexity of his plots, in which he routinely combined several Greek originals into one production, brought about heavy criticism, including claims that in doing so, he was ruining the original Greek plays, as well as rumors that he had received assistance from high ranking men in composing his material. In fact, these rumors prompted Terence to use the prologues in several of his plays as an opportunity to plead with audiences, asking that they lend an objective eye and ear to his material, and not be swayed by what they may have heard about his practices. This was a stark difference from the written prologues of other known playwrights of the period, who routinely utilized their prologues as a way of prefacing the plot of the play being performed.
Stock characters in Roman comedy
![Statuette actor Petit Palais ADUT00192](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Statuette_actor_Petit_Palais_ADUT00192.jpg)
The following are examples of
stock characters in Roman comedy:
* ''The adulescens'' is an unmarried man, usually in late teens or twenties; his action typically surrounds the pursuit of the love of a prostitute or slave girl, who is later revealed to be a free-born woman, and therefore eligible for marriage. The ''adulescens'' character is typically accompanied by a clever slave character, who attempts to solve the ''adulescens''’ problems or shield him from conflict.
* The ''senex'' is primarily concerned with his relationship with his son, the ''adulescens''. Although he often opposes his son's choice of love interest, he sometimes helps him to achieve his desires. He is sometimes in love with the same woman as his son, a woman who is much too young for the ''senex''. He never gets the girl and is often dragged off by his irate wife.
* The ''leno'' is the character of the pimp or 'slave dealer.' Although the activities of the character are portrayed as highly immoral and vile, the ''leno'' always acts legally and is always paid in full for his services.
* The ''miles gloriosus'' is an arrogant, braggart soldier character, deriving from Greek Old Comedy. The character’s title is taken from a play of the same name written by Plautus. The ''miles gloriosus'' character is typically gullible, cowardly, and boastful.
* The ''parasitus'' (parasite) is often portrayed as a selfish liar. He is typically associated with the ''miles gloriosus'' character, and hangs upon his every word. The ''parasitus'' is primarily concerned with his own appetite, or from where he will obtain his next free meal.
* The ''matrona'' is the character of the wife and mother, and is usually displayed as an annoyance to her husband, constantly getting in the way of his freedom to pursue other women. After catching her husband with another woman, she typically ends the affair and forgives him. She loves her children, but is often temperamental towards her husband.
* The ''virgo'' (young maiden) is an unmarried young woman, and is the love interest of the ''adulescens'', She is often spoken of, but remains offstage. A typical plot point in the last act of the play reveals her to be of freeborn descent, and therefore eligible for marriage.
Roman theatre in performance
![Seneca-Cordoba](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Seneca-Cordoba.jpg)
Stage and physical space
Beginning with the first presentation of theatre in Rome in 240 B.C., plays were often presented during public festivals. Since these plays were less popular than the several other types of events (gladiatorial matches, circus events, etc.) held within the same space, theatrical events were performed using temporary wooden structures, which had to be displaced and dismantled for days at a time, whenever other spectacle events were scheduled to take place. The slow process of creating a permanent performance space was due to the staunch objection of high-ranking officials: it was the opinion of the members of the senate that citizens were spending too much time at theatrical events, and that condoning this behavior would lead to corruption of the Roman public. As a result, no permanent stone structure was constructed for the purpose of theatrical performance until 55 B.C.E.Sometimes theatre building projects could last generations before being completed, and would take a combination of private benefactors, public subscription, and proceeds from the summae honorariae or payments for office positions made by magistrates.
To demonstrate their benefactions, statues or inscriptions (sometimes in sums of money) were erected or inscribed for all to see in front of the tribunalia, in the
proscaenium or
scaenae frons
The scaenae frons is the elaborately decorated permanent architectural background of a Roman theatre stage. The form may have been intended to resemble the facades of imperial palaces. It could support a permanent roof or awnings. The Roman scaen ...
, parts of the building meant to be in the public eye.
Building theatres required both a massive undertaking and a significant amount of time, often lasting generations.
Roman theatres, particularly ones constructed in
western-Roman, were mainly modeled on Greek ones.
They were often arranged in a semicircle around an orchestra, but both the stage and scene building were joined together with the
auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
and were elevated to the same height, creating an enclosure very similar in structure and appearance to that of a modern theatre.
This was furthered by odea or smaller theatres having roofs or larger theatres having vela, allowing for the audience to have some shade.
During the time of these temporary structures, theatrical performances featured a very minimalist atmosphere. This included space for spectators to stand or sit to watch the play, known as a ''
cavea
The ''cavea'' ( Latin for "enclosure") are the seating sections of Greek and Roman theatres and amphitheatres
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performanc ...
'', and a stage, or ''scaena''. The setting for each play was depicted using an elaborate backdrop (''
scaenae frons
The scaenae frons is the elaborately decorated permanent architectural background of a Roman theatre stage. The form may have been intended to resemble the facades of imperial palaces. It could support a permanent roof or awnings. The Roman scaen ...
''), and the actors performed on the stage, in the playing space in front of the ''scaenae frons'', called the ''
proscaenium''. These structures were erected in several different places, including temples, arenas, and at times, plays were held in Rome’s central square (the ''forum'').
Societal divisions within the theatre were made apparent in how the auditorium was divided, typically by broad corridors or praecinctiones, into one of three zones, the ima, media, and summa cavea.
These zones served to section off certain groups within the population.
Of these three divisions, the summa cavea or 'the gallery' was where men (without togas or pullati (poor)), women, and sometimes slaves (by admission) were seated.
The seating arrangements of the theatre highlight the gender disparities in Roman society, as women were seated among the slaves.
Sur notes that it wasn’t until Augustus that segregation in the theatre was enforced, to which women had to either sit at or near the back.
Theatres were paid for by certain benefactors and were seen as targets for benefaction, mainly out of the need to maintain civil order and as a consequence of the citizens desire for theatrical performance.
Theatres were constructed almost always through the interests of those who held the highest ranks and positions in the Roman Republic.
In order to maintain segregation of power, those of high rank were often seated near the front or in the public eye (tribunalia).
Individuals who made benefactions to the construction of theatres would often do so for propaganda reasons.
Whether it be at the hand of an imperial benefactor or a wealthy individual, the high cost of building a theatre usually required more than a single individual’s donations.
In 55 B.C., the first permanent theatre was constructed. Built by Pompey the Great, the main purpose of this structure was actually not for the performance of drama, but rather, to allow current and future rulers a venue with which they could assemble the public and demonstrate their pomp and authority over the masses. With seating for 20,000 audience members, the grandiose structure held a 300-foot-wide stage, and boasted a three-story ''scaenae frons'' flanked with elaborate statues. The
Theatre of Pompey
The Theatre of Pompey ( la, Theatrum Pompeii, it, Teatro di Pompeo) was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus). Completed in 55BC, it was the first perma ...
remained in use through the early 6th century, but was dismantled for it stone in the Middle Ages. Virtually nothing of the vast structure is visible above ground today.
Actors
The first actors that appeared in Roman performances were originally from
Etruria. This tradition of foreign actors would continue in Roman dramatic performances. Beginning with early performances, actors were denied the same political and civic rights that were afforded to ordinary Roman citizens because of the low social status of actors. In addition, actors were exempt from military service, which further inhibited their rights in Roman society because it was impossible for an individual to hold a political career without having some form of military experience. While actors did not possess many rights, slaves did have the opportunity to win their freedom if they were able to prove themselves as successful actors.
The open-air declaiming, gesturing, singing, and dancing of Roman stage acting required stamina and agility.
[Gesine Manuwald, ''Roman Republican Theatre, (''Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 73.]
![Actor with a mask](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Actor_with_a_mask.jpg)
The spread of dramatic performance throughout Rome occurred with the growth of acting companies that are believed to have eventually begun to travel throughout all of Italy. These acting troupes were usually composed of four to six trained actors. Usually, two to three of the actors in the troupe would have speaking roles in a performance, while the other actors in the troupe would be present on stage as attendants to the speaking actors. For the most part, actors specialized in one genre of drama and did not alternate between other genres of drama.
The most famous actor to develop a career in the late Roman Republic was
Quintus Roscius Gallus
Quintus Roscius (ca. 126 BC – 62 BC) was a Roman actor. The cognomen Gallus is dubious, as it appears only once as a scholia in a manuscript of Cicero's Pro Archia.
Life
''Constiteram exorientem Auroram forte salutans '' '' cum subito a lae ...
(125BC-62BC). He was primarily known for his performances in the genre of comedy and became renowned for his performances among the elite circles of Roman society. Through these connections he became intimate with
Lucius Licinius Crassus
Lucius Licinius Crassus (140–91 BC) was a Roman orator and statesman. He was considered the greatest orator of his day, most notably by his pupil Cicero. Crassus is also famous as one of the main characters in Cicero's work '' De Oratore'', a d ...
, the great orator and member of the Senate, and
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla ha ...
. In addition to the acting career Gallus would build, he also would take his acting abilities and use them to teach amateur actors the craft of becoming successful in the art. He would further distinguish himself through his financial success as an actor and a teacher of acting in a field that was not highly respected. Ultimately, he chose to conclude his career as an actor without being paid for his performances because he wanted to offer his performances as a service to the Roman people.
Until recently, it was commonly believed, that although the possibility exists that women may have performed non-speaking roles in Roman theatrical performances, historical evidence dictated that male actors portrayed all speaking roles. Later research has shown that, although likely rare, there were women who performed speaking roles.
Bassilla Bassilla (died circa 220), was a dancer, actress and singer in Ancient Rome.
A memorial was made to her memory by her colleague, the actor-dancer Heracleides, at the Roman theatre of Aquileia.
She is described as a stage performer who acted both i ...
and
Fabia Arete
Fabia Arete was a dancer, actress and singer in Ancient Rome.
She was a freedwoman, which was a common background for a stage performer. She is referred to as an ''archimima'', which was the title for the leading lady actress of a Roman theatre, ...
were, for example, two actresses known for their role of Charition in a popular folk comedy.
[Pat Easterling, Edith Hall: ]
Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession
' There were certainly successful women stage performers within dance and singing in theatrical performances, many of whom apparently enjoyed widespread fame, and even a guild exclusively for female stage performers, the
Sociae Mimae.
The public opinion of actors was very low, placing them within the same social status as criminals and prostitutes, and acting as a profession was considered illegitimate and repulsive. Many Roman actors were slaves, and it was not unusual for a performer to be beaten by his master as punishment for an unsatisfactory performance. These actions and opinions differ greatly from those demonstrated during the time of
ancient Greek theatre
Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre w ...
, a time when actors were regarded as respected professionals, and were granted citizenship in Athens.
Notable Roman playwrights
*
Livius Andronicus, a Greek slave taken to Rome in 240 BC; wrote plays based on Greek subjects and existing plays. Rome's first playwright
*
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...
, 3rd century BC comedic playwright and author of ''
Miles Gloriosus
''Alazṓn'' ( grc, ἀλαζών) is one of three stock characters in comedy of the theatre of ancient Greece. He is the opponent of the '' eirôn''. The ''alazṓn'' is an impostor that sees himself as greater than he actually is. The ''senex ...
'', ''
Pseudolus
''Pseudolus'' is a play by the ancient Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus. It is one of the earliest examples of Roman literature. ''Pseudolus'' was first shown in 191 B.C. during the Megalesian Festival, which was a celebration for the ...
'', and ''
Menaechmi
''Menaechmi'', a Latin-language play, is often considered Plautus' greatest play. The title is sometimes translated as ''The Brothers Menaechmus'' or ''The Two Menaechmuses''.
The ''Menaechmi'' is a comedy about mistaken identity, involving a se ...
''
*
Terence
Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
, wrote between 170 and 160 BC
*
Titinius Titinius was an ancient Roman soldier. He was a centurion in the army of Gaius Cassius Longinus at the battle of Phillipi. After the battle was over, he was sent by Cassius to find out what had happened to the legions commanded by Marcus Junius Bru ...
, writing in the second century BC
*
Gaius Maecenas Melissus, 1st century playwright of a "comedy of manners"
*
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
, 1st century dramatist most famous for Roman adaptations of ancient Greek plays (e.g. ''Medea'' and ''Phaedra)''
*
Ennius
Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria ...
, contemporary of Plautus who wrote both comedy and tragedy
*
Lucius Accius, tragic poet and literary scholar
*
Pacuvius
Marcus Pacuvius (; 220 – c. 130 BC) was an ancient Roman tragic poet. He is regarded as the greatest of their tragedians prior to Lucius Accius.
Biography
He was the nephew and pupil of Ennius, by whom Roman tragedy was first raised to a posi ...
, Ennius's nephew and tragic playwright
See also
*
History of theatre
The history of theatre charts the development of theatre over the past 2,500 years. While performative elements are present in every society, it is customary to acknowledge a distinction between theatre as an art form and entertainment and ''th ...
*
Theatre of ancient Greece
Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...
*
Roman theatre (structure)
*
Atellan farce
*
Roman funerals and burial
Roman funerary practices include the Ancient Romans' religious rituals concerning funerals, cremations, and burials. They were part of time-hallowed tradition ( la, mos maiorum), the unwritten code from which Romans derived their social norms. ...
* ''
Ludi
''Ludi'' (Latin plural) were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festivals, and were also ...
''
*
Floralia
*
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...
*
Theatre Area of Pompeii
The theatre area of Pompeii is located in the southwest region of the city. There are three main buildings that make up this area: the Large Theatre, the Odeon (small theatre), and the Quadriporticum. These served as an entertainment and meeting ...
*
Sociae Mimae
References
External links
The Ancient Theatre Archive, Greek and Roman theatre architecture- Dr. Thomas G. Hines, Department of Theatre,
Whitman College
Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacific ...
* Cliff,
The Roman Theatre Clio History Journal, 2009.
Roman Colosseum, 2008.
Mark Damen, Utah State University
A Short History of the Drama, Martha Fletcher Bellinger
Anne H. Groton, Olaf College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre Of Ancient Rome
Ancient Roman leisure
History of theatre