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THEATRUM.

THEATRUM.

sum bessern Vcrstdien der GriecJt. Dramatik&r; Stieglitz, Archaologie der Baukunst der Griech. und Romer ; Ferrara, Storm e descrip. de1 princip. teatri ant. c moderni, Milano, 1830 ; the Sup­plement to Stuart's Antiq. of Athens. A general outline is also given, by Miiller, Hist, of Gr. Lit. i. p. 299, slc. ; and by Bode, Gesch. der dramat. Dichtkunst d. Hetten. i. p. 156, &.c.

It remains to speak of a few points respecting the attendance in the Greek theatres. Theatrical representations at Athens began early in the morn­ing, or after breakfast (Aeschin. -c. Ctesiph. p. 466; A then, xi. p. 464) ; and when the -concourse of people was expected to be great, persons would even go to occupy their seats in the night. The sun could not be very troublesome to 'die actors, as they were in a great measure protected by the buildings surrounding the stage, amd (the spectators protected themselves against it by hats with broad brims. (Suidas, s. vv. HeTacros <and Apa/cwj/.) When the weather was fine, especially at the Dionysiac festivals in spring, the people appeared with garlands on their heads ; when it was cold, as at the Lenaea in January, they used to wrap themselves up in their cloaks. (Suidas, .1. c;) When a storm or a shower of rain came on sud­denly, the spectators took refuge in the porticoes' behind the stage, or in those above the uppermost row of benches. Those who wished to sit com­fortably brought cushiong with them. (Aeschin. c. Ctesiph. I. c. ; Theophr. Clwr. 2.) As it was not unusual for the theatrical performances to last from ten to twelve hours, the spectators required re­freshments, and we find that in the intervals be­tween the several plays, they" used to take wine and cakes. (Athen. xi. p. 464; Aristot. Eth. Nicol. x. 5.)

The whole of the cavea in the Attic theatre must have contained about 50,000 spectators. The places for generals, the archons, priests, foreign am­bassadors, and other distinguished persons, were in the lowest rows of benches, and nearest to the orchestra (Pollux, iv. 121 viii. 133; Schol. ad

Aristopli. Equit. 572), and they appear to have been sometimes covered with a sort of canopy. (Aeschin. I. c.) The rows of benches above these were occupied by the senate of 500, those next in succession by the ephebi, and the rest by the people of Athens. But it would seem that they did not sit indiscriminately, but that the better places were let at a higher price than the others, and that no one had a right to take a place for which he had not paid. (Plat. Apolog. p. 26 ; Aelian. V. H. ii. 13 ; Demosth. in Mid. p. 572.) The question, whether in Greece, and more especi­ally at Athens, women were present at the per­formance of tragedies, is one of those which have given rise to much discussion among modern scho­lars, as we have scarcely any passage in ancient writers in which the presence of women is stated as a positive fact. But Jacobs ( Vermisclit. Schriften, iv. p. 272), and Passow (in Zimmermann's Zeitschr. fur die Alterih. 1837. n» 29), have placed it almost beyond a doubt, from the various allusions made by ancient writers, that women were allowed to be present during the performance of tragedies. This opinion is now perfectly confirmed by a passage in Athenaeus (xii. p. 534), which has been quoted by Becker (Charikles, ii. p. 560), in corroboration of the conclusion to which the above mentioned writers had come. In this passage we find that at Athens, and at the time of the Peloponnesian war, the spectators in the theatre consisted of men and women. We have, however, on the other hand, every reason to believe that women were not present at comedies, while boys might be present both at tragedy and comedy. (Theoph. Charact. 9 ; Isaeus, de Ciron. hered. p. 206 ; Aristoph. Nub. 537, &c. ; Lucian, de Gymnast. 22.) The seats which women occupied in the Greek theatres appear to have been separated from those of the men. (Gottling, in the Rheinisch. Mus. 1834, p. 103, «&c.)

For the purpose of maintaining order and pre­venting excesses, the ancients had a sort of theatre-police; the persons who held this office were called