§ 6 Ruins of the Stage-buildings at Athens
The third and last division of the theatre consists of the stage-buildings, the ‘skene’, as they were called. This word has a curious history in connexion with the drama. Originally it meant the booth or tent in which the single actor of the Thespian period used to change his costume. Then as this booth gradually developed into a large and elaborate structure, the word ‘skene’ extended its meaning at the same time, and came to be the regular term for the stage-buildings of a theatre.381 Later on it began to be applied not only to the whole of the buildings, but also to the more important parts of them. It was used to denote the stage or platform on which the actors performed382; and also the back-scene, with its painted decoration, in front of which they stood.383 Eventually it was employed as a general term for the scene of action, or for the portions or scenes into which a play was divided.384 These last three meanings of the word are still retained in its English derivative.
The question as to the structure of the stage-buildings in a Greek theatre is one of the greatest interest, because of its intimate connexion with many disputed points of dramatic history. Unfortunately, it is a subject upon which the information supplied by the existing ruins is very defective. In all the remaining theatres of purely Greek origin little has been left of the stage-buildings beyond the mere foundations, and it is impossible from such evidence to go very far in the process of conjectural reconstruction. Our knowledge of the upper part of the building has to be derived mainly from casual notices in the old grammarians. In treating this question it will be best to follow the same arrangement as in the case of the orchestra, and to begin by giving a short account of the ruins in the theatre of Dionysus at Athens. The stage-buildings at Athens were very frequently altered and reconstructed in the course of their history, and the task of distinguishing between the confused remains of the different periods has been by no means an easy one. The recent investigations of Dörpfeld have for the first time placed the matter in a fairly clear light. The results of his discoveries are indicated in the plan of the theatre already given.
The oldest stage-buildings, which Dörpfeld dates soon after the middle of the fourth century and Puchstein at the end of the fifth, are marked by cross-shading in the plan, and denoted by the letter n. They consisted, as will be seen, of a long and narrow rectangular structure. In the front, towards each end, were two projecting side-wings. The length of the building was 152 feet, and its depth, measured between the wings, 21 feet. The wings themselves were 25 feet wide, and projected about 17 feet on the inside. The roof of the building was originally supported by a line of columns running along the centre, of which some traces still remain. At the back of the building there was a low narrow wall, running immediately in front of the supporting wall, and fitted with square holes at regular intervals. The purpose of the wall is very obscure; but Dörpfeld conjectures that the upper story was of wood, and not of stone, and that it rested on wooden beams which were placed in these holes. Puchstein, on the other hand, believes that there was an upper story of stone. The evidence is not sufficiently clear to render a decision possible.385 As regards the appearance of the building in the front nothing can be ascertained with certainty. The space between the side-wings evidently contained the stage, but no traces of it are to be found. It must therefore have been a temporary erection of wood. Dörpfeld supposes that the front of the two side-wings, and the front of the wall between them, were decorated with columns and entablatures about thirteen feet high.386 But the evidence for this opinion is far from conclusive. It is founded on the fact that the stylobates used in the later side-wings were not originally designed for that position, but had obviously been used somewhere else before. Dörpfeld supposes, perhaps correctly, that they stood at first in front of the Lycurgean side-wings.387 But this is no justification for assuming that the wall between the wings in the Lycurgean building was also decorated in the same way. The stylobate used for this part of the later building was a new one, and not an old one rearranged; and this fact seems to show that there was no such stylobate in the building of Lycurgus. Otherwise there would have been just as much reason for using it, as for using the two stylobates from the wings. On the whole then it is clear that we know very little about the old stage-building of the fourth or late fifth century beyond the shape of its ground-plan. As to its height, the material used in its upper stories, and the manner in which its front was embellished, there is no certain evidence.
The history of the stage-buildings during the next two hundred years or so is a blank. Nothing can be ascertained on this subject from the ruins. The first great alteration of which traces remain was carried out in the course of the first or second century B.C. according to Dörpfeld, the fourth century according to Puchstein. A permanent stone proscenium was then erected in the space between the wings. It is marked o in the plan. The front of this proscenium consisted of a row of columns supporting an entablature. Its height, as may be calculated from the traces of the columns, was about 13 feet; its depth between 9 and 10 feet. It was covered on the top with a wooden platform, resting on beams, the holes for which are still visible in fragments of the architrave. In the centre of the front part of the proscenium was a door leading out into the orchestra. This door varied in width at different periods from 4½ to 5½ feet, but there is nothing to show which was the earlier and which the later of the two widths. Traces of a smaller door, to the west of the central one, have also been discovered; but there are no traces of a door to the east. As this new stage was only about ten feet deep, smaller side-wings were required. The old wings of the earlier theatre were therefore thrown back about 5½ feet, thus adding several feet to the width of the ‘parodoi’. Beyond the construction of the stone proscenium no further remains of new erections belonging to this reconstruction have been discovered; but it is probable that the upper part of the building was considerably altered at the same time.
The second great reconstruction of the stage-buildings took place in the reign of Nero, after a lapse of perhaps two hundred years. The whole of this part of the theatre was then adapted to the Roman fashion. An elaborate architectural façade, consisting of columns and entablatures, was erected at the back of the stage, the old Lycurgean wall n being used as a foundation. A portion of the frieze from this façade is still in existence, and contains the dedication to Nero which has already been referred to.388 Two of the columns are also preserved in part. Behind the columns and frieze a wall was erected, according to the Roman custom; and at the same time new side-wings were built, slightly diminishing the length of the whole structure. The foundations of these erections are marked p in the plan. In Roman theatres, as we have seen, the stage projected much further forward than in the Greek. It was also reduced in height to five feet, so that the spectators in the orchestra might be able to see over the top. A stage of this type was doubtless erected in the Athenian theatre at the time of these reconstructions, though it has now entirely disappeared. But part of it seems to have been used for the existing stage, that of Phaedrus, by which it was replaced in the third century A.D. This stage, which is four feet three inches high, is adorned in front with a bas-relief. The bas-relief has obviously been constructed out of old materials, and has been much cut about, and curtailed several inches in height, before being placed in its present situation. It seems clear that it was intended originally for the Neronian stage, which must therefore have been about five feet high. The position of the front-wall in the Neronian stage cannot be determined from the ruins, but was probably much the same as in the stage of Phaedrus (h-h). One peculiarity of the Neronian reconstruction is the fact that the old Greek side-wings, with their rows of columns, were allowed to remain. But how they harmonized with the new Roman wings and columns it is difficult to conjecture.389
The last change of which we have any trace or record was that effected by Phaedrus about two centuries later. The stage was then lowered several inches, and the front-wall erected in its present position. Half of it still remains, together with a flight of steps leading down from stage to orchestra. Such steps were common in Roman theatres, and had no doubt existed previously in the Neronian theatre. The bas-relief, which had formerly been a continuous one, was cut into sections, and arranged with recesses at intervals, the recesses being filled with stone figures. One of these—a kneeling Silenus—has been preserved. As to the purpose of this reconstruction by Phaedrus there is much uncertainty. But Dörpfeld conjectures that it may have been due, partly to the ruinous condition of the old Neronian stage, partly to a desire to make the orchestra water-tight for the purpose of holding mimic sea-fights in the manner already described.390