Table Of ContentTHE POWER OF SPACE:
THE ACROPOLIS, THE THEATRE OF DIONYSOS, AND TRAGEDY IN THE
5TH CENTURY BCE
Copyright 2011
Katrina Bondari
Submitted to the graduate degree program in Theatre and the
Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy.
____________________________________
Dennis Christilles, Chair
____________________________________
Michael Shaw, Co-chair
Committee Members ____________________________________
John Gronbeck-Tedesco
____________________________________
Henry Bial
____________________________________
Jack Wright
____________________________________
John Younger
Date Defended ________________________
ii
The Dissertation Committee for Katrina Bondari certifies
that this is the approved version of the following dissertation:
“The Power of Space: The Acropolis, the Theatre of Dionysos, and Tragedy in the
5th century BCE”
Committee:
____________________________________
Dennis Christilles, Chair
____________________________________
Michael Shaw, Co-chair
____________________________________
John Gronbeck-Tedesco
____________________________________
Henry Bial
____________________________________
Jack Wright
____________________________________
John Younger
Date Approved ________________________
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Abstract
This dissertation explores the effects of the shared space of the Theatre of
Dionysos and the Acropolis during tragic performances in Athens during the 5th
century BCE. The theatre's location on the south slope of the Acropolis allowed the
Acropolis' depiction of Athenian power, I argue, to speak to audience members as
they watched dramatic performances in the theatre space. The theatre's location
provides a way of understanding how the mythic plots of the tragedies could speak to
the contemporary concerns of the Athenian polis. I am concerned with what the
spatial relationship between the Theatre of Dionysos and the Acropolis becomes
during the performances, how it contributes semiotic meaning to tragedies that call
upon it, and how it influences the thematic effect of these performances.
I examine three tragedies historically and ideologically within the context of
their first performances: Aeschylus' Persians, Aeschylus' Eumenides, and Euripides'
Ion. These case studies reveal the semiotic influence of the Acropolis on tragic
performances that refer to its presence within the Theatre of Dionysos. This sampling
of plays that span the course of the 5th century disclose the shifting Athenian
perception of their polis. They effectively demonstrate the changes in the way the
Acropolis presents Athenian power, and the various roles it enact in the performances.
Writing about the role of the Acropolis in tragic performances that took place
in the Theatre of Dionysos is a project aimed at contributing to the conversation on
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the role of spatial semiotics in performance, and in particular, ancient performance.
This interdisciplinary project contributes to a variety of fields including theatre and
performance studies, classics and archaeology, and anthropology.
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Acknowledgments
Naturally the content and errors found in this dissertation are my own, but
there are many who have supported this project, and I would like to extend my
gratitude to them. The Joseph R. Roach Dissertation Research Award given by the
University of Kansas Department of Theatre allowed me to pursue research in the
early stages of this project. The KU Office of Research and Graduate Studies
provided summer research funding to continue my work. With the help of these
monies, I was able to research in Athens for two summers as an associate visiting
member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. I would like to thank
the library staff at the ASCSA for their help, and Bob Bridges for all of his kindness
and advice.
In addition to the financial support I have received, my committee has given
me the utmost support and encouragement throughout this process. I am grateful to
Dennis Christilles for serving as my dissertation adviser. Thank you for being both a
mentor and a friend, and for helping me to persevere and learn to take things one step
at a time. A great thanks to the co-chair Michael Shaw for his unfailing availability
throughout the development of this work. Thank you for taking me into the KU
Department of Classics, and treating me as one of your own. I am eternally grateful to
John Younger for providing images that otherwise would have been unavailable to
me, and for writing my letter of introduction to the American School of Classical
Studies at Athens. Ευχαριστώ πολύ! I would like to thank John Gronbeck-Tedesco
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and Henry Bial for helping me to find the theories that guide this work, and Jack
Wright for encouraging me to keep writing.
I also appreciate the encouragement I have received from my colleagues and
friends, particularly Madison Spencer, Jocelyn Buckner, James Diemer, Joy
Richmond, and Jeff List, for sharing laughs, frustrations, advice, and resources. I
especially thank Paul Streufert and Kazem Mahdavi for taking the time to read this
dissertation, and offer advice as it reached its final stages. Special thanks to my rabbit,
Kouneli, for reminding me to play and enjoy the little things in life.
I owe my gratitude to my family for their continuous support of my education.
You helped make this possible. Thank you.
Finally, I wish to thank my husband, Brian Bondari, for his undying support
throughout every stage of this dissertation. I could not have succeeded if it were not
for him. I would not continue to succeed without him. Thank you more than I can
ever say.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One Page
Introduction:
The Spatial Relationship of the Acropolis and the Theatre of Dionysos 1
Chapter Two
Literature Review:
The Acropolis' Semiotics at Play in the Theatre of Dionysos during the 16
City Dionysia
Chapter Three 37
Creating Identity, Constructing Power:
The Role of the Acropolis in Aeschylus' Persians
Chapter Four 66
Imperial Justice, Divine Right:
Athena, Athens, and the Acropolis in Aeschylus' Eumenides
Chapter Five 92
Identity in Crisis:
Mortal Chaos and the Acropolis in Euripides’ Ion
Chapter Six 120
Conclusion
Appendix A 127
A Note on Comedy:
The Function of the Acropolis in Aristophanes' Lysistrata
Appendix B 133
Images
Appendix C 155
An Index of Acropolis References in the Dramas of the 5th Century BCE
Bibliography 162
1
I. Introduction: The Spatial Relationship of the Acropolis and the Theatre
of Dionysos
Today in Athens, Greece, the Acropolis still sits above the city, its ruins
artistically lit at night to fully display its mystery and magnificence (Plate 1). Anyone
walking through the Acropolis complex during the day can feel the strength and
power of the ancient society that constructed such glorious monuments. Looking
north from the precipice of the Acropolis one has a view of the ancient Roman forum
and Greek agora, as well as the touristy restaurants, cafes, and souvenir shops that
surround the area. Beyond them is the smoggy, noisy city of modern Athens that
extends beyond the horizon. The view to the south presents similar contemporary
sights, but rather than a view of the ancient markets, one looks over the Dionysos
precinct. This area contained many structures during antiquity, but the most
recognizable to the untrained eye today is the Theatre of Dionysos that rests on the
south slope of the Acropolis (Plate 2).
This structure and its location on the slope of the Acropolis piqued my interest
when I visited Athens for the first time in 2006. It was the first ancient Greek theatre
of several in which I would set foot that summer, and its location at the center of
ancient Athens intrigued me. Here this open-air theatre sat on the slope of the polis'
nucleus while functioning as part of a religious precinct. Having just read Marvin
Carlson's Places of Performance: The Semiotics of Theatre Architecture, I found the
theatre's location in the overlap between the Acropolis and the Dionysos precinct
2
significant to any performance taking place there in antiquity. This sent me on a
search to find plays that make reference to this unique location, thus drawing the
structures of the Acropolis and their meanings into the performance. Briefly in 2008
and more extensively during the summer of 2010, I was able to return to Athens as an
associate visiting member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens to
further examine the physical relationship of the Theatre of Dionysos to the Acropolis.
This time I had in-hand the texts of plays that refer to its relationship to the Acropolis.
How could this relationship between the Acropolis and the Theatre of Dionysos
influence performances in this space? My time spent in the theatre space, the
surrounding Acropolis complex, and at the new Acropolis Museum greatly affects this
dissertation. This on-site experience guides my analyses of the plays along with
relevant critical scholarship in theatre, classical literature, and archaeology.
* * * * *
An understanding of the Acropolis and the Theatre of Dionysos as they exist
today does not provide a steadfast basis for examining the semiotic meanings of these
structures in relation to performances during antiquity. The Acropolis today looks
little as it did in the 5th century BCE, and the ruins of the Theatre of Dionysos are
mostly from its reconstruction during the Roman empire. While the spatial
relationship between Acropolis and theatre remains, one must peel back the layers of
time to reveal the state of the Acropolis at the time of each performance as well as the
appearance of the theatre during the classical period.
3
The state of the Acropolis varied widely throughout the course of the 5th
century BCE, and its thematic focus shifted somewhat with its current condition.
Prior to the Persian invasion in 480 BCE, the Acropolis housed the archaic temple to
Athena Polias where the sacred, olive-wood cult statue was kept. Also located there
was the Old Parthenon, which Robin Francis Rhodes suggests was the most important
temple of early Athenian democracy through its commemoration of the battle of
Marathon in combination with its roots in archaic religious traditions.1 Thus, the early
5th century BCE Acropolis reflects the emerging democracy by presenting the close
relationship between the Athena and the Athenians. As Jeffrey M. Hurwit notes, the
Athenians identified themselves with Athena, claimed her as their own, and took her
attributes to be their ideal such as military valor, boldness, love of the beautiful, and
the love of reason, moderation, and knowledge. Because the Athenians could easily
combine religion and patriotism, Athena and Athens were seen as one.2
That the Persians sacked the Acropolis in 480 BCE and destroyed the temples
located there was an atrocity like no other for the Athenians. Due to the close
association between Athena and Athens, to breach the walls of the Acropolis, as
Hurwit explains it, was to violate Athena.3 After the Athenians took control of the
town again in 480/479 BCE, they fortified the city, but did not rebuild the shrines on
1 Robin Francis Rhodes, Architecture and Meaning on the Athenian Acropolis (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1995) 32.
2 Jeffrey M. Hurwit, The Athenian Acropolis: History, Mythology, and Archaeology from the
Neolithic Era to the Present (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999) 11.
3 Hurwit, The Athenian Acropolis: History, Mythology, and Archaeology from the Neolithic Era to
the Present 15.
Description:Page. Introduction: The Spatial Relationship of the Acropolis and the Theatre of
Dionysos The Function of the Acropolis in Aristophanes' Lysistrata the 5th
century BCE,43 it is more widely accepted that the performances were . Page
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