The Revival of Interest in Representing Plays of Menander in the Late 2nd and Early 3rd Centuries AD: A Historical and Art-Historical Phenomenon
Abstract
An important revival in representing plays of Menander in private homes, in the form of both mosaics and frescoes, occurred primarily in the eastern part of the Roman empire in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD, with a limited echo felt in the west. The present article tries to explain why and how this artistic phenomenon took place, and a review of the relevant works of art and their chronology is presented in this interpretation. The discussion also refers to the frequent depiction of theater masks in well-to-do households, and the related custom of presenting theatrical entertainment at the banquet or “dinner theater.” Also significant for our purpose are the continued vitality of theater festivals throughout the Greek-speaking provinces during the first half of the 3rd century, and the retrospective attitude of the Second Sophistic, with its high esteem for classical drama of the past. This outlook was focused on Athens, and it had great admiration for the plays of Menander and Euripides. One additional feature influencing the artistic renewal in question is the high value placed on Menander’s plays as models of literary expression in the curriculum of schools, especially for training students in rhetoric and declamation. Collectively, all of the factors mentioned above contributed to the Menander revival in the visual arts during the period specified.
Keywords
Menander Ephesos Antioch Zeugma Mytilene theater festivals theater masks Second Sophistic school curricula
References
- Abadie-Reynal – Darmon 2003 C. Abadie-Reynal - J.-P. Darmon, with the collaboration of A.-M. Manière-Lévêque “La Maison et la Mosaïque des Synaristosai (Les femmes au déjeuner de Ménandre)”, J. Humphrey (ed.), Zeugma Interim Reports, JRA Suppl. Ser. 51, Portsmouth, R.I., 79-99.
- Andreae 2003 B. Andreae, Antike Bildmosaiken, Mainz am Rhein.
- Balmelle – Darmon 2017 C. Balmelle - J.-P. Darmon, La mosaïque dans les Gaules, Paris.
- Barov 1970 Z. Barov, Mosaic of the Achaeans in Ulpia Oescus. Historical Data and Artistic Analysis, Sofia.
- Bergmann – Victoria 1994 B. Bergmann - I. Victoria, “The Roman House as Memory Theater. The House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii”, ArtB 76.2, 225-256.
- Bieber 1961 M. Bieber, The History of the Greek and Roman Theater, Princeton, NJ.
- Blanchard 2009 A. Blanchard, Ménandre IV. Les Sicyoniens, Collection des Universités de France, Paris.
- Bowersock 1969 G. Bowersock, Greek Sophists in the Roman Empire, Oxford.
- Charitonidis et al. 1970 S. Charitoidis - L. Kahil - R. Ginouvès, Les mosaïques de la Maison du Ménandre à Mytilène, 6th Beiheft of AntK, Bern.
- Cimok 2000 F. Cimok (ed.), Antioch Mosaics, İstanbul.
- Csapo 1999 E. Csapo, “Performance and Iconographic Tradition in the Illustrations of Menander”, Syllecta Classica 10, 154-188.
- Csapo 2010 E. Csapo, “Cooking with Menander. Slices from the Ancient Home Entertainment Industry”, Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theatre, Malden, 140-167.
- Darmon 2018a J.-P. Darmon, “Nature et fonction du décor domestique”, orig. published in Décor et architecture en Gaule romaine, repr. in Mythes et images en mosaïque antique: Scripta (musi)varia, Paris, 355-370.
- Darmon 2018b J.-P. Darmon, “Zosimos de Samosate, peintre-mosaïste actif à Zeugma autour de 200 après J.-C.”, Mythes et images en mosaïque antique. Scripta (musi)varia, Paris, 579-590.
- Décor I C. Balmelle – M. Blanchard Lemée – J. Christophe – J.-P. Darmon – A.-M. Guimier Sorbets – H. Lavagne – R. Prudhomme – H. Stern, Le Décor géométrique de la mosaïque romaine I, Paris, 1985.
- Dobbins 2000 J. Dobbins, “The Houses of Antioch”, C. Kondoleon (ed.), Antioch, The Lost Ancient City, Princeton, 51-61.
- Dunbabin 1999 K. M. D. Dunbabin, Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Cambridge/New York.
- Dunbabin 2016 K. M. D. Dunbabin, Theater and Spectacle in Art of the Roman Empire, Ithaca, New York/London.
- Fantham 1984 E. Fantham, “Roman Experience of Menander in the Late Republic and Early Empire”, TAPA 114, 299-309.
- Foucher 1965 L. Foucher, La Maison des Masques à Sousse. Fouilles 1962-1963, Notes et Documents VI, Tunis.
- Grandjouan 1961 C. Grandjouan, Terraccottas and Plastic Lamps of The Roman Period, The Athenian Agora VI, Princeton, NJ.
- Green 1994 J. R. Green, Theatre in Ancient Greek Society, London/New York.
- Guimier-Sorbets 2019 A.-M. Guimier-Sorbets, Mosaïques d’Alexandrie: Pavements d’Égypte grecque et romaine, Antiquités Alexandrines, Alexandria.
- Gutzwiller - Çelik 2012 K. Gutzwiller - O. Çelik, “New Menander Mosaics from Antioch”, AJA 116, 573-623.
- Huskinson 2002-2003 J. Huskinson, “Theater, Performance and Theatricality in Some Mosaic Pavements from Antioch”, BICS 46, 131-165.
- Ivanov 1954 T. Ivanov, Une mosaïque romaine d’Ulpia Oescus: Historical Data and Artistic Analysis, Monuments de l’Art en Bulgarie 2, Sofia.
- Jones 1991 C. P. Jones, “Dinner Theater”, W. Slater (ed.), Dining in a Classical Context, Ann Arbor, 185-198.
- Kabakchieva 2012 G. Kabakchieva, The Splendour of the Villa Armira, Plovdiv.
- Kondoleon 2000 C. Kondoleon (ed.), Antioch, the Lost Ancient City, Princeton, NJ/Worcester, MA.
- Lang - Crosby 1964 M. Lang - M. Crosby, Weights, Measures and Tokens, The Athenian Agora X, Princeton, NJ.
- Levi 1947 D. Levi, Antioch Mosaic Pavements, 2 vols., Princeton, NJ.
- Liebeschuetz 1972 J. H. W. G. Liebeschuetz, Antioch, City and Imperial Administration in the Later Roman Empire, Oxford.
- Markoulaki 2015 S. Markoulaki, “Dining with Menander in West Crete (Greece): A New Mosaic Pavement in Kissamos”, CMGR XII, 281-288.
- Mihailov 1958 G. Mihailov, Inscriptiones Graecae in Bulgaria Repertae II, Serdica.
- Mitchell 1990 S. Mitchell, “Festivals, Games, and Civic Life in Roman Asia Minor”, JRS 80, 183-193.
- Mladenova 1983 J. Mladenova, “Les mosaïques de la Villa d’Ivailovgrad (Bulgarie)”, CMGR III, 149-166.
- MNC 3rd ed. 1995 T. B. L. Webster - J. R. Green - A. Seeberg, Monuments Illustrating New Comedy, 2 vols., London.
- Nervegna 2013 S. Nervegna, Menander in Antiquity: The Contexts of Reception, Cambridge/New York.
- Pappalardo - Ciardiello 2010 U. Pappalardo - R. Ciardiello, Mosaici greci e romani: Tappeti di pietra in età ellenistica e romana, Verona.
- Parrish 1995 D. Parrish, “The Architectural Design and Interior Décor of Apartment I in Insula 2 at Ephesus”, CMGR V, 2, 143-158.
- Parrish 2020 D. Parrish, “The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria”, JMR 13, 219-237.
- Pickard-Cambridge 1968 A. Pickard-Cambridge, The Dramatic Festivals of Athens, Oxford.
- Raynaud – Islami 2018 M. P. Raynaud - A. Islami, Corpus of the Mosaics of Albania I, Butrint intramuros, Bordeaux.
- Scherrer 2000 P. Scherrer (ed.), Ephesus, The New Guide, İstanbul.
- Slavova 2021 M. Slavova, “Menander’s Achaioi in Ulpia Oescus: A New Reading of an Old Mosaic”, ABulg 25/2, 19-33.
- Strocka 1977 V. M. Strocka, Die Wandmalerei der Hanghäuser in Ephesos, FiE VIII/1, Vienna.
- Turner 1963 E. G. Turner, “Dramatic Representations in Graeco-Roman Egypt: How Long Do They Continue”, AC 32, 120-128.
- Valeva 2015 J. Valeva, “La villa romaine près d’Ivailovgrad (Bulgarie): Archives de Yanka Mladenova et nouvelles considérations”, CMGR XII, 445-449.
- Wörrle 1988 M. Wörrle, Stadt und Fest im kaiserzeitlichen Kleinasien: Studien zu einer Stiftung aus Oinoanda, Munich.
- Yacoub 1995 M. Yacoub, Splendeurs des mosaïques de Tunisie, Tunis.
- Zimmerman – Ladstätter 2011 N. Zimmermann - S. Ladstätter, Wall Painting in Ephesos from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Period, İstanbul.
İS 2. Yüzyıl Sonları ve Erken 3. Yüzyıllarda Menander Oyunlarının Temsil Edilmesine İlginin Yeniden Canlanması: Tarihsel ve Sanat-Tarihsel Bir Fenomen
Abstract
Menander oyunlarının özel konutlarda yer alan hem mozaik hem de fresklerde temsil edilmesinde önemli bir canlanma, esas olarak İS 2. yüzyılın sonlarında ve 3. yüzyılın başlarında Roma İmparatorluğu’nun doğu kesiminde meydana gelmiş ve batıda sınırlı bir yankı hissedilmiştir. Bu makale, bu sanatsal olgunun neden ve nasıl gerçekleştiğini açıklamaya çalışmakta ve bu yorumda ilgili sanat eserlerinin ve kronolojilerinin bir incelemesi sunulmaktadır. Tartışma aynı zamanda hâli vakti yerinde evlerde tiyatro maskelerinin sık sık tasvir edilmesine ve buna bağlı olarak ziyafette ya da “akşam yemeği tiyatrosunda” teatral eğlence sunma geleneğine atıfta bulunmaktadır. 3. yüzyılın ilk yarısında Yunanca konuşulan eyaletlerde tiyatro festivallerinin devam eden canlılığı ve geçmişin klasik tiyatrosuna büyük saygı duyan İkinci Sofistlerin geriye dönük tutumu da amacımız için önemlidir. Bu bakış açısı Atina’ya odaklanmıştı ve Menander ile Euripides’in oyunlarına büyük bir hayranlık duyuyordu. Söz konusu sanatsal yenilenmeyi etkileyen ek bir özellik de, okulların müfredatında, özellikle öğrencileri retorik ve nutuk konusunda eğitmek için, edebi anlatım modeli olarak Menander’in oyunlarına verilen yüksek değerdir. Toplu olarak, yukarıda belirtilen faktörlerin tümü, belirtilen dönemde görsel sanatlarda Menander canlanmasına katkıda bulunmuştur.
Keywords
Menander Ephesos Antiocheia Zeugma Midilli tiyatro festivalleri tiyatro maskeleri İkinci Sofistler okul müfredatı
References
- Abadie-Reynal – Darmon 2003 C. Abadie-Reynal - J.-P. Darmon, with the collaboration of A.-M. Manière-Lévêque “La Maison et la Mosaïque des Synaristosai (Les femmes au déjeuner de Ménandre)”, J. Humphrey (ed.), Zeugma Interim Reports, JRA Suppl. Ser. 51, Portsmouth, R.I., 79-99.
- Andreae 2003 B. Andreae, Antike Bildmosaiken, Mainz am Rhein.
- Balmelle – Darmon 2017 C. Balmelle - J.-P. Darmon, La mosaïque dans les Gaules, Paris.
- Barov 1970 Z. Barov, Mosaic of the Achaeans in Ulpia Oescus. Historical Data and Artistic Analysis, Sofia.
- Bergmann – Victoria 1994 B. Bergmann - I. Victoria, “The Roman House as Memory Theater. The House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii”, ArtB 76.2, 225-256.
- Bieber 1961 M. Bieber, The History of the Greek and Roman Theater, Princeton, NJ.
- Blanchard 2009 A. Blanchard, Ménandre IV. Les Sicyoniens, Collection des Universités de France, Paris.
- Bowersock 1969 G. Bowersock, Greek Sophists in the Roman Empire, Oxford.
- Charitonidis et al. 1970 S. Charitoidis - L. Kahil - R. Ginouvès, Les mosaïques de la Maison du Ménandre à Mytilène, 6th Beiheft of AntK, Bern.
- Cimok 2000 F. Cimok (ed.), Antioch Mosaics, İstanbul.
- Csapo 1999 E. Csapo, “Performance and Iconographic Tradition in the Illustrations of Menander”, Syllecta Classica 10, 154-188.
- Csapo 2010 E. Csapo, “Cooking with Menander. Slices from the Ancient Home Entertainment Industry”, Actors and Icons of the Ancient Theatre, Malden, 140-167.
- Darmon 2018a J.-P. Darmon, “Nature et fonction du décor domestique”, orig. published in Décor et architecture en Gaule romaine, repr. in Mythes et images en mosaïque antique: Scripta (musi)varia, Paris, 355-370.
- Darmon 2018b J.-P. Darmon, “Zosimos de Samosate, peintre-mosaïste actif à Zeugma autour de 200 après J.-C.”, Mythes et images en mosaïque antique. Scripta (musi)varia, Paris, 579-590.
- Décor I C. Balmelle – M. Blanchard Lemée – J. Christophe – J.-P. Darmon – A.-M. Guimier Sorbets – H. Lavagne – R. Prudhomme – H. Stern, Le Décor géométrique de la mosaïque romaine I, Paris, 1985.
- Dobbins 2000 J. Dobbins, “The Houses of Antioch”, C. Kondoleon (ed.), Antioch, The Lost Ancient City, Princeton, 51-61.
- Dunbabin 1999 K. M. D. Dunbabin, Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Cambridge/New York.
- Dunbabin 2016 K. M. D. Dunbabin, Theater and Spectacle in Art of the Roman Empire, Ithaca, New York/London.
- Fantham 1984 E. Fantham, “Roman Experience of Menander in the Late Republic and Early Empire”, TAPA 114, 299-309.
- Foucher 1965 L. Foucher, La Maison des Masques à Sousse. Fouilles 1962-1963, Notes et Documents VI, Tunis.
- Grandjouan 1961 C. Grandjouan, Terraccottas and Plastic Lamps of The Roman Period, The Athenian Agora VI, Princeton, NJ.
- Green 1994 J. R. Green, Theatre in Ancient Greek Society, London/New York.
- Guimier-Sorbets 2019 A.-M. Guimier-Sorbets, Mosaïques d’Alexandrie: Pavements d’Égypte grecque et romaine, Antiquités Alexandrines, Alexandria.
- Gutzwiller - Çelik 2012 K. Gutzwiller - O. Çelik, “New Menander Mosaics from Antioch”, AJA 116, 573-623.
- Huskinson 2002-2003 J. Huskinson, “Theater, Performance and Theatricality in Some Mosaic Pavements from Antioch”, BICS 46, 131-165.
- Ivanov 1954 T. Ivanov, Une mosaïque romaine d’Ulpia Oescus: Historical Data and Artistic Analysis, Monuments de l’Art en Bulgarie 2, Sofia.
- Jones 1991 C. P. Jones, “Dinner Theater”, W. Slater (ed.), Dining in a Classical Context, Ann Arbor, 185-198.
- Kabakchieva 2012 G. Kabakchieva, The Splendour of the Villa Armira, Plovdiv.
- Kondoleon 2000 C. Kondoleon (ed.), Antioch, the Lost Ancient City, Princeton, NJ/Worcester, MA.
- Lang - Crosby 1964 M. Lang - M. Crosby, Weights, Measures and Tokens, The Athenian Agora X, Princeton, NJ.
- Levi 1947 D. Levi, Antioch Mosaic Pavements, 2 vols., Princeton, NJ.
- Liebeschuetz 1972 J. H. W. G. Liebeschuetz, Antioch, City and Imperial Administration in the Later Roman Empire, Oxford.
- Markoulaki 2015 S. Markoulaki, “Dining with Menander in West Crete (Greece): A New Mosaic Pavement in Kissamos”, CMGR XII, 281-288.
- Mihailov 1958 G. Mihailov, Inscriptiones Graecae in Bulgaria Repertae II, Serdica.
- Mitchell 1990 S. Mitchell, “Festivals, Games, and Civic Life in Roman Asia Minor”, JRS 80, 183-193.
- Mladenova 1983 J. Mladenova, “Les mosaïques de la Villa d’Ivailovgrad (Bulgarie)”, CMGR III, 149-166.
- MNC 3rd ed. 1995 T. B. L. Webster - J. R. Green - A. Seeberg, Monuments Illustrating New Comedy, 2 vols., London.
- Nervegna 2013 S. Nervegna, Menander in Antiquity: The Contexts of Reception, Cambridge/New York.
- Pappalardo - Ciardiello 2010 U. Pappalardo - R. Ciardiello, Mosaici greci e romani: Tappeti di pietra in età ellenistica e romana, Verona.
- Parrish 1995 D. Parrish, “The Architectural Design and Interior Décor of Apartment I in Insula 2 at Ephesus”, CMGR V, 2, 143-158.
- Parrish 2020 D. Parrish, “The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria”, JMR 13, 219-237.
- Pickard-Cambridge 1968 A. Pickard-Cambridge, The Dramatic Festivals of Athens, Oxford.
- Raynaud – Islami 2018 M. P. Raynaud - A. Islami, Corpus of the Mosaics of Albania I, Butrint intramuros, Bordeaux.
- Scherrer 2000 P. Scherrer (ed.), Ephesus, The New Guide, İstanbul.
- Slavova 2021 M. Slavova, “Menander’s Achaioi in Ulpia Oescus: A New Reading of an Old Mosaic”, ABulg 25/2, 19-33.
- Strocka 1977 V. M. Strocka, Die Wandmalerei der Hanghäuser in Ephesos, FiE VIII/1, Vienna.
- Turner 1963 E. G. Turner, “Dramatic Representations in Graeco-Roman Egypt: How Long Do They Continue”, AC 32, 120-128.
- Valeva 2015 J. Valeva, “La villa romaine près d’Ivailovgrad (Bulgarie): Archives de Yanka Mladenova et nouvelles considérations”, CMGR XII, 445-449.
- Wörrle 1988 M. Wörrle, Stadt und Fest im kaiserzeitlichen Kleinasien: Studien zu einer Stiftung aus Oinoanda, Munich.
- Yacoub 1995 M. Yacoub, Splendeurs des mosaïques de Tunisie, Tunis.
- Zimmerman – Ladstätter 2011 N. Zimmermann - S. Ladstätter, Wall Painting in Ephesos from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Period, İstanbul.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Archaeology |
| Journal Section | Article |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | November 30, 2021 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2021 Issue: 14 |
