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Cratinus' Διονυσαλέξανδρος and the head of Pericles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Martin Revermann
Martin Revermann
Affiliation:
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
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Extract

The hypothesis of Cratinus' Διονυσαλέξανδρος (POxy 663), one of the most important pieces of evidence for non-Aristophanic comedy, raises many problems, some of which, notably the reconstruction of the pre-parabatic plot and the staging problems in the κρίσις-scene, have received a fair amount of scholarly attention. I propose to look at a feature of this play to which much less thought has been devoted in print, but which, I believe, is central to an appreciation and understanding of it: the significance of costume and costume-change.

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Notes
Information
The Journal of Hellenic Studies , Volume 117 , November 1997 , pp. 197 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1997

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References

1 To the literature mentioned in Austin CGFP p. 35 and Kassel-Austin vol. IV p. 141 add Ameling, W., ‘Komödie und Politik zwischen Kratinos und Aristophanes: Das Beispiel des Perikles’, QC iii (1981) 383–424Google Scholar, Lerza, P., ‘Alcune proposte per il Dionysalexandros di Cratino’, SIFC liv (1982) 186–93Google Scholar, Tatti, A., ‘Le Dionysalexandros de Cratinos’, ΜĤΤΙΣ i (1986) 325–32Google Scholar, Bona, G., ‘Per un' interpretazione di Cratino’, in: Corsini, E. (ed.), La polis e il suo teatro ii (Padova 1988) 181–211, esp. 187-94Google Scholar, Vickers, M., Pericles on stage: political comedy in Aristophanes' early plays (Austin11 1997) 193–5Google Scholar.

2 Published by Trendall, A.D. in: A passion for antiquities. Ancient art from the collection of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman (Malibu 1994)Google Scholar (The J. Paul Getty Museum in association with the Cleveland Museum of Art) no. 57, p. 129 f., cf. also Taplin's remarks on p. 23.

3 Hardly the last word, but important on disguise in fifth-century drama, particularly tragedy, is Muecke, F., ‘I know you by your rags. Costume and disguise in fifth-century drama’, Antichthon xvi (1982) 17–34CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

4 Apulian bell-crater ca. 370, also attributed to the Rainone Painter (A.D. Trendall, Phlyax Vases (London 2 1967) (BICS suppl. no. 19) [= PhV2 in the following] no. 59 and pl. IVa, Taplin, O., Comic angels and other approaches to Greek drama through vase-painting (Oxford 1993)Google Scholar fig. 21.22 and line-drawing on p. 84.

5 Taplin (n.4) fig. 11.4 and p. 36-40.

6 It is worth noting in this context that, by contrast with Plautus, Molière and Heinrich von Kleist in their Amphitryon-plays completely dispensed with such distinctive visual markers (Iuppiter and Mercurius appear ‘sous la figure d'Amphitryon/de Sosie’ and ‘in der Gestalt Amphitryons/des Sosias’).

7 The best discussions of ἔμΦασισ are to be found in the still invaluable book by Volkmann, R., Die Rhetorik der Griechen und Römer in systematischer Übersicht (Leipzig2 1885)Google Scholar (reprint Hildesheim/Zürich/NY 1987) 445 f., and in Janko, R., Aristotle on comedy: towards a reconstruction of Poetics II (London 1984) 202 fGoogle Scholar. The LSJ-entry on ἔμΦασισ is poor in this respect, with the 1996-supplement being no improvement.

8 Koerte, A., ‘Die Hypothesis zu Kratinos' Dionysalexandros’, Hermes xxxix (1904) 481–98Google Scholar who aptly adduces (490 with n.1) Σ Aristophanes V: 248a (ὠ πάτερ): παρέπονται αὐτοῖς παῖδες λύχνον ϕέροντες. καὶ πιθανῶς, ἴνα ἡ ὀρχήστρα πληρωθῇ, Hyp. Ran. Ia 25-7 Dover: καὶ τέλος, πάντα ἔλεγχον καὶ πᾶσαν βάσανον οὐκ ἀπιθάνως ἐκατέρου κατὰ τῆς θατέρου ποιήσεως προσαγαγόντος, κρίνας παρὰ προσδοκίαν ὀ Διόνυσος κτλ. and Plut. Quaest. conv. IX 15 (747B): ὠρχήσατο γὰρ πιθάνως τὴν πυρρίχην κτλ. See also Σ Ar. Pax 849.

9 On the problem see Kassel-Austin on the passage, Luppe, W., ‘ΠΕΡΙ ὙΩΝ ΠΟΙΗΣΕΩΣ?’ ZPE lxxii (1988) 37 fGoogle Scholar. and Kassel-Austin vol. VIII p. 435 on fr. adesp. 1109. Koerte's (n.8) suggestion (p. 484) to read περὶ τῶν ποιητῶν, endorsed by Luppe, is the most plausible one.

10 I did not have access to Bona's article (n.1) until I was finalizing the draft for publication. On p. 189 he remarks: ‘Se poi esteriormente il personaggio [i.e. Dionysus] presentasse qualche tratto anche fisico ad evocare alla mente di chi ascoltava la figura dello statista non sappiamo, ma non è affatto da escludere: forse bastava che venisse in qualche modo richiamata la caratteristica forma del cranio di Pericle che anche altra volta Cratino ha dileggiato’. I am therefore not the first one to have brought Pericles' head into the game, but Bona remains indeterminate and does not go into depth about how the point was actually made or put the phenomenon into the wider context of visual humour in Old Comedy. I would also take issue with his earlier formulation (188) ‘Pericle non compariva di persona sulla scena’.

11 Pickard-Cambridge, A., The dramatic festivals of Athens (Oxford2 1988)Google Scholar (reissued with supplement and corrections by J. Gould and D.M. Lewis) [= DFA2 in the following] figs. 34, 49, 54a, 78, 85 and 88.

12 DFA2 191, Stone, Laura M., Costume in Aristophanic comedy (New York 1981)Google Scholar (reprint Salem/New Hampshire 1984) 21f. Plato comicus (fr. 151) used the expression ὀθόνινον πρόσωπον (‘face (or mask) made of fine linen’).

13 DFA2 fig. 54a, Bieber, Margarete, The history of the Greek and Roman theater (Princeton2 1961) 45Google Scholar, fig. 184, PhV2 no. 6.

14 Those readers who are well acquainted with German politics will recall how the label ‘Birne’ (pear), again derived from the peculiar shape of the head, continues to stick to Chancellor Kohl, and how it has been exploited by cartoonists ever since the early 80s.

15 It is at least possible that in his Νέμεσις Cratinus resorted to the same stratagem of combining political comedy with mythological burlesque by visual double-identity. If so, the double-identity would have been Zeus-Pericles (fr. 118). The play may well have been produced in 431, only one year before the Διονυσαλέξανδρος (see Kassel-Austin vol. IV p. 179).

16 I am indebted to an anonymous referee for forcing me to clarify my general remarks on disguise in comedy.