§ 3 Costume of the Chorus
The costume of the chorus, as already pointed out, was entirely distinct from that of the actors. The tragic, comic, and satyric choruses all wore masks, in accordance with the usual Bacchic tradition.866 In other respects their costume had nothing in common, but was designed in accordance with the spirit of the respective types of drama. The tragic chorus was usually composed of old men, or women, or maidens. In such cases they wore the ordinary Greek dress, consisting of a tunic and a mantle. No attempt was made to give them an impressive appearance by the use of strange and magnificent costumes, similar to those worn by the actors. Such costumes were perfectly appropriate to the heroes and gods upon the stage, but would have been out of place in the chorus, which was generally supposed to represent the ordinary public. The masks of the tragic chorus would of course be suitable to the age and sex of the persons represented. A special kind of white shoe, said to be the invention of Sophocles, was worn by the tragic chorus.867 Old men usually carried a staff.868 Various little details in dress and equipment would be added according to circumstances. Thus the chorus of bereaved matrons in the Supplices of Euripides were dressed in black garments, and had their hair cut short, as a sign of mourning; and carried branches twined with wool, the symbol of supplication, in their hands. The chorus of maidens in the Choephori, who had come to offer libations at the tomb of Agamemnon, were also dressed in black.869 In some cases the tragic chorus was altogether of an exceptional character, and required a special costume. In the Supplices of Aeschylus the daughters of the Egyptian Danaus appear to have been dressed as foreigners. Probably the same was the case with the Persian Elders in the Persae. The Bacchantes in the play of Euripides carried tambourines in their hands, and were doubtless also provided with fawn-skins and wands of ivy.870 But no tragic chorus ever caused a greater sensation than the chorus of Furies in the Eumenides of Aeschylus. Their costume was designed by Aeschylus himself, and the snakes in the hair, which afterwards became one of their regular attributes, were specially invented for the occasion. As they rushed into the orchestra, their black dresses, distorted features, and snaky locks are said to have inspired the spectators with terror.871 But this chorus was of a very unusual kind. In most cases the tragic chorus was composed of ordinary men and women, and their dress was that of everyday life.
The choruses of goat-like satyrs who sang the dithyrambs in honour of Dionysus were the original source both of tragedy and of the satyric drama. These satyrs appear to have been an importation from the Peloponnesus. They are unknown to the oldest Ionic traditions. Among the primitive Ionians their place is taken by the Sileni—beings of a similar type, but resembling horses rather than goats.872 Thus in the Homeric hymns it is the Sileni who are mentioned as companions of Dionysus, and there is no reference to the satyrs.873 In the earliest Attic vases satyrs are never depicted, but only the horse-like Sileni. That the satyrs, with their goatish horns and tails, were a Doric conception is proved by various indications. In a fragment of Hesiod, where they are mentioned for the first time, the account of their genealogy which is given connects them with Argos.874 We hear of ‘goat choruses’ as an ancient institution at Sicyon.875 Pratinas, the first celebrated writer of satyric drama, was a native of Phlius. As for the costume of the satyrs who formed the chorus of the primitive drama there is not very much evidence of an early date. Vases depicting Bacchic scenes are sufficiently common, but few of them can be shown to have any connexion with a dramatic performance. The earliest reliable testimony is that supplied by the Pandora vase.876 This vase, which belongs to the middle of the fifth century, contains a scene from the Pandora myth, and also a representation of a group of masked satyrs (Fig. 28) dancing round a flute-player. The satyrs are portrayed as half men and half goats. They have goat’s horns upon their heads, and goat’s hoofs instead of feet; and their tails are those of goats. Such seems to have been the appearance of a satyric chorus at the time the vase was painted. The next representation in point of date is that of the Naples vase (Fig. 29), which is about fifty years later. Here there is a considerable change in the make-up of the satyrs. The goatish element is less conspicuous. The goat’s horns and hoofs have disappeared, and the tail is more like that of a horse. In fact the type begins to approximate to that of the old Ionic Sileni, or horse-deities. The only part which resembles a goat is the shaggy skin round the loins. The style of satyr here depicted is the one which eventually prevailed in the theatre. Later representations of satyric choruses portray them in much the same way as the Naples vase, with goat’s loins and horse’s tails, but without hoofs or horns.877 This evidence shows us that the satyr of the fourth and subsequent centuries was a modification of the original conception. The earliest stage satyrs were genuine goat-deities of the Doric type. But in the course of the fifth century there was a reaction in favour of the indigenous Sileni or horse-deities. The two types were mixed together, and so produced the conventional satyr of the later theatre.878 Some scholars maintain that the type was the same from the first, and that the old dancers in the tragic and satyric drama resembled Sileni more than satyrs.879 But this theory is scarcely compatible with the evidence of the Pandora vase. The fact, too, that tragedy was called the ‘goat-song’ seems to prove decisively that the oldest choruses were composed of goat-like beings.880 There is also a fragment of a satyric play by Aeschylus in which one of the chorus-singers is actually addressed as a goat.881 With this evidence before us we can hardly doubt that the Doric satyrs were the original performers in Attic tragedy and satyric drama, and that the Ionic element was introduced later on.
Some other points in connexion with the satyr’s costume have still to be mentioned. The phallus, the regular symbol of Dionysiac worship, was invariably worn. The goat-skin round the loins was often replaced by a conventional substitute, consisting of drawers of some woven material, to which the tail and phallus were attached. Drawers of this kind are worn by all the satyrs in the Pandora vase, and by one satyr in the Naples vase, and are also found in a later painting.882 Apart from the drawers and the goat-skin, the satyrs are represented in the works of art as perfectly naked.883 But probably in the theatre they had flesh-coloured tights, similar to those used by the comic actors. Slippers were no doubt also used, and may in early times have been made in imitation of a hoof, as in the Pandora vase. In addition to the regular satyric costume the satyrs occasionally wore other clothes, suited to the part they played in the particular drama. Thus the satyrs in the Cyclops of Euripides, being servants of Polyphemus, were dressed in the ordinary leather jerkin of the serving-man.884 Silenus, the head of the troop, was not a member of the chorus, but appeared upon the stage with the other actors. His dress has been described already. He was a sort of elderly satyr, and is to be distinguished from the old Ionic Sileni, whose appearance was entirely different. His origin is rather obscure; but he may perhaps have been a later development, suggested by the requirements of the satyric drama.
The chorus in the Old Comedy, unlike that of the satyric drama, was of the most varied and fanciful character, and was drawn from every possible source. All classes and professions were introduced at some time or another.885 There were choruses of Poets, Sophists, Athletes, Trades-women, Sorcerers, Knights, Drummers, and so on. Foreign nations were often represented, such as Persians, Macedonians, and Thracian women. Even individuals were multiplied into a species, and produced choruses of Hesiodi and Archilochi. When the members consisted of human beings, they were dressed in the tunic and mantle of ordinary life, with such slight additions as were necessary to mark the different professions and nationalities. The mantle was laid aside for the purpose of dancing, as the dances of the Old Comedy were of a wild and energetic character, and required freedom of action.886 The masks were of a ludicrous type, with the features distorted.887 In addition to the human choruses there were also those composed of mythological beings, such as Furies, Amazons, Sphinxes, and Sirens. These would be dressed no doubt in the traditional costume. Many choruses consisted of fanciful and ridiculous personifications. There were choruses of Towns, Islands, and Merchant ships; of Clouds and Seasons; of Dramas and Epistles. In all these cases the dress and general make-up appear to have been of a grotesque character, and only in a remote degree emblematic of the ideas and objects personified. For instance, the Clouds of Aristophanes appeared as women dressed in gaily coloured garments, and wore masks of a ridiculous type, with long noses and other exaggerations. The only resemblance to Clouds was in the colours of the dresses.888 Probably in other similar cases the personification was carried out in the same rough-and-ready manner. Another class of choruses was composed of various kinds of animals. We have the Birds and Wasps of Aristophanes; and we hear of other poets introducing Goats, Frogs, Vultures, Storks, Ants, Fishes, Bees, Nightingales, and so on. Choruses of this kind appear to have been a favourite institution among the Athenians, quite apart from the drama. A theory has been propounded that they were survivals of an old theriomorphic form of worship, and that they were the original source of the comic chorus.889 As for their connexion with a primitive type of religion, this is a speculative subject with which we have no concern. But the notion that they were the prototype of the comic chorus is not sufficiently supported by evidence. This chorus consisted originally of the ‘comus’, or band of revellers, who led the phallic processions in honour of Dionysus; and there is no reason to suppose that these revellers were dressed otherwise than as men. The varied character of the later chorus was due to the fancy and imagination of the Attic poets, who introduced all kinds of eccentric beings upon the stage, and among them choruses of animals. These latter, however, were only a small proportion of the whole, and it seems hardly justifiable to choose them out from the rest as specially connected with the origin of comedy. As regards the costume of these animal choruses, it would be highly interesting to know how it was managed. There are five vase-paintings of the early fifth century which depict such choruses dancing to the accompaniment of a flute-player; though it is doubtful whether in any case the performance is of a dramatic kind. One of these choruses consists of men disguised as horses, with knights riding on their shoulders; and it has been suggested that the chorus of Knights in Aristophanes was represented in this way.890 Two others depict men riding on ostriches or on dolphins.891 In these pictures, however, the whole conception is far too fanciful and unreal to throw any light on the question of the costume actually used in the theatre. In another vase the dancers are tall figures, with heads like those of a cock, and bodies enveloped in long cloaks.892 A dress of this kind might have been employed upon the stage; but unfortunately the cloaks conceal so much of the dancer’s person that the evidence of the vase is not very instructive. The best painting for our present purpose is one which represents a chorus of birds, and which is here reproduced (Fig. 30).893 The costume is clearly delineated. The bodies of the choreutae are covered with a close-fitting dress, made in rough imitation of feathers. Two long ends hang down from each side of the waist, and a bunch of feathers is affixed to each knee. The arms are provided with wings. A row of upright feathers is attached to the crown of the head, and the mask is made with a long and pointed nose, suggestive of the beak of a bird. From this painting we may obtain a fairly clear idea of the manner in which animals were imitated in the Old Comedy. We see that there was none of the realism one meets with in a modern pantomime. The imitation was only carried so far as to be generally suggestive of the animal intended. The body and legs were left unfettered, to allow of free movement in the dance. At the same time, to judge from the specimen before us, the costumes seem to have been designed with a great deal of spirit and humour, and to have been extremely well adapted to the purpose for which they were intended.