ESSAY: BLAST FROM THE PAST: CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY

I THOUGHT I WOULD INCLUDE THESE IN-CLASS TESTS AND ESSAY from a Classical Mythological course I took back in the days of gods and goddesses. I’m not sure if it was exclusively on ancient Greek drama, but that seems to be the focus of the tests and essay I uncovered in the archive. Some of the test results are so-so and the prof’s comments are helpful and give direction. I don't think I'm breaking any new ground excavating these old plays, but I think it's a good idea to touch base with what's gone on before so that the past may help us with what will come. The tests and essay do go a bit into the weeds, and that makes it a bit difficult for anyone not familar with the plays (like, I haven't read them in years!), but you can more or less follow along with some of the points that are made. They're of some relevance, I think. Prof’s comments are in red. 

THINKING ABOUT ANCIENT DRAMATIC FORMS is fascinating. Imagine! Something written over two thousand years ago, yet it somehow survives, and even more interesting is the fact that it remains relevant today! That’s quite an accomplishment, and it says something fundamental about the art form and the themes drama can evoke and explore.  There must be other dramatic conventions in other parts of the world, in other languages and traditions that have survived similar lengths of time. They would be interesting to know about, as well. I think drama, in some form or other, is a universal trait of our species. 

 

I imagine a group of, say, Neanderthals sitting around a fire one evening gazing gap mouthed with rapt attention at one of their own as he writhes and twists on the ground, jumps and gestures and dances, shouts and runs around the camp, showing them the story of how he found a bee hive in an old oak tree by the river; how he'd climbed to the highest, furthest branch escaping the pack of hyenas that had trailed him all day; how he waited and waited, urinating and throwing feces on them as the pack yelped and snapped madly. And he showed those gathered at dusk around their protecting fire how it was much later that he'd climbed down the tree and ran away, but not before scooping a handful of delicious, sweet honeycomb from the hive, and then fleeing a hoard of angry bees that chased after him, stinging him about his head and shoulders. He showed them how he finally escaped the maddening insects by jumping into the river until, at last, he was able to return home with a belly full of honey and painful bee stings, but also with a story! Not quite Shakespearean, but it's a start.

Cheers, Jake.

 

 

Classical Mythology

In Class Test: Discuss the organization and structure of dramatic festivals in classical Athens.

DRAMATIC FESTIVALS OF CLASSICAL ATHENS were part of a general festival in worship of the god Dionysus. There were two dramatic festivals—the “Great Dionysia” or the “City Dionysia” and the “Lenaen” festival. The former was a late spring festival while the later was held in January. Evidence suggests that the dramatic contents of the Great Dionysia took place over a three-day period. Each day, there was presented three tragedies, one comedy and one satyr play. The Lenaen festival had a similar structure. The festivals were an annual event. The Great Dionysia appears to have begun in the early third of the Fifth Century B.C. The Lenaen appears to have developed afterwards.

It seems that the dramatic festivals were strongly influenced by the emergent democratic practices in Athenian society. [This is uncertain.]  For example, the selection of the year’s playwrights was done by vote. Submissions were made, probably by tribe—from various sections of Athenian society. Ultimately an “archon” made the final choice of whose plays would be produced that year. From the population, a choegus or chorus leader was chosen—generally a wealthy patron who could equip and finance the production and organize the chorus. [A choegus for each competing playwright.] Interestingly, members of the chorus were chosen from the general population—they were not professional actors. The two or three actors chosen may originally have been amateurs but, over time, a group of professional thespians would have developed into a professional acting guild. Another interesting point is the fact that the playwright was also initially an actor. He wrote and acted in a major role in his production. Over time, this dual practice was less in evidence.

Dramatic festivals were, as I mentioned, part of the larger festivals in honour of the god Dionysus. They were essentially seen as a religious event and a necessary, civic function. While the dramas produced for these festivals must have originally reflected this function—over time (and especially with the rise of comedy that focused on contemporary events) some of the emphasis on the religious nature of the dramas may have been lost. It is thought that “satyr plays”, with their strict adherence to the mythoi or traditional mythological stories, may have been used to ensure there was enough traditional, mythological content at the festivals. [The satyr chorus pursues the traditional link with Dionysus since in myth they are his followers.] 16/20

 

 

B/ THE ROLE OF THE CHORUS IN THE EUMENIDES PLAY is an interesting one. In this case, the chorus is comprised of supernatural spirits of revenge. (It is suggested in the play that there are twelve “Furies” who would comprise the chorus.) In the other two choruses of the Oresteia, their members are depicted as elderly citizens or female companions to Electra as in the Libation Bearers.

The role of the Furies’ chorus in the Eumenides suggests it was an antagonistic one. They are the forces opposed to and desirous of destroying the matricide, Oresteia. In contrast, the chorus of the Agamemnon, while opposed to the protagonist Clytemnestra by questioning her motivations, are seen as more passive and ineffectual. The Furies of the Eumenides are active (or at least there is a potential for the chorus to interact with the actors in a physical sense.) [It seems to me that this potential is FULLY realized.] However, as with the choruses of the other two Oresteia plays—the Eumenides chorus interacts with the actors primarily in terms of dialogue. [Is there another way (if not, dance may have figured here. i.e. in Clyt’s ghost rousing the Furies?] The chorus’ role is to present the case for the old gods—the old ways of blood feud justice before the court of Athens. 

 

The chorus of the Eumenides is the embodiment—this time in an external/physical sense—of the forces of primitive justice that have motivated the events of the first two plays of the trilogy. Their role is to act as a ‘foil’ for the argument of a more rational and humanist form of justice proposed in Athens—a newer justice. Their role is to be seen as a crossing-over in a sense. The chorus ‘crosses over’ and adopts the humanist dialogues of Athens. [This needs fuller and clearer explanation.] 15/20

 

B.2/ RECOGNITION IS ONE IMPORTANT DRAMATIC DEVICE FOR ADVANCING PLOT. The obvious example of Electra recognizing the hair and footprints of her brother is one way of introducing the two as a pair: they have been separated for years and this—albeit rather awkward device—suggests the process of re-acquaintanceship, the re-establishment of ties, and the suggestion that these physical clues are the natural ties or bond between the two. Their recognition is physical, not intellectual. The plot continues from this point with the two siblings united.

Another kind of ‘recognition’ occurs with the Oedipus play. The entire movement of the play is geared toward the moment when Oedipus discovers who he is. Previously, false facts blinded him as to the truth of his identity. With his moment of truth and his awareness of his true identity and hence his true relationships to his family and society, the climax of the play occurs. His recognition is not physical, as it was for Orestes or Electra, but rather intellectual.

A similar example of self-recognition occurs in the Libation Bearer. When Clytemnestra’s dream is revealed to Orestes by the chorus, the symbol of the snake biting the breast of the mother becomes clear to him. He says that he is the snake. The recognition of himself in terms of his mother’s dream advances the plot further because it confirms for him the role he must play as the killer of his mother. 17/20

 

 

Classical Mythology  

In Class Test: Some Suggestions for a Modern Production of Aeschylus’ The Eumenides.

 

AESCHYLUS’ THE EUMENIDES IS THE THIRD PLAY in a trilogy that deals with the debate over justice–the traditional justice of blood versus the modern concept of justice found in the law. In particular, the play depicts the reconciliation of opposites: of reconciling the irrational with the rational; of “dread with the friendly”, and of the old with the new. I will suggest some staging techniques that might help to highlight this theme. [Good premise.]

The Eumenides is a play that is also concerned with language, with the language of debate, the presentation of argument and the resolution of conflict through rational thought. As with Greek theatre in general, this concern suggests a presentational form of drama versus a representational one. It is a drama of ideas in a theatrical tradition preoccupied with ideas. I will suggest some of the problems arising from this type of drama in attempting to stage such a play. And finally, related to this idea of a presentational drama is the use of symbols found in masks, costumes, formal choral structure, processions, stereotypical characters, that all present, in turn,  challenges for a modern production. I will discuss these issues as well.

 

I would like to begin by reviewing some overall staging concerns of The Eumenides, such as lighting, props, stage design, music etc., and in the second half of my discussion review some of the stage direction concerns of the play such as audience-actor interactions, gestures, characterizations, and stage movements. 

I envision a modern stage setting for the production—a typical theatre stage, with audience facing stage on three sides (more or less). The need for a traditional orchestra-skene arrangement, in a modern enclosed theatre with contemporary lighting and acoustic techniques, is not warranted. The design of the physical representations of the temple of Apollo in the first scene of the play and the temple of Athena at Athens in the second could be accomplished by special graphic lighting arrangements and a platform with steps (on a wheeled frame). [Also, different exterior cult statues would serve. i.e., a projection of them…Another possibility would be to use the same temple building but project different images/symbols on it. Problem: Apollo, as much as Athena, represents the “new” order.] By a graphic lighting arrangement, I mean that the temple characteristics could be displayed by using projected images to indicate differences between the two temples. Stage center right—just off the center—should be the location for the platform representing the temple to Apollo, while later center stage left can represent Athena’s temple.

Lighting could effectively characterize the temple structure by suggesting, in the case of Apollo, a more ancient building: stonework, cobbled-stone walk could be graphically presented with a creative use of lighting techniques. Similarly, Athena’s temple could be suggested through projecting a more modern structure, for example: Greek column work, smoother surfaces and so on. The idea here is to visually represent a difference between old and new ideas of justice and to suggest this difference in the temple structures themselves. Scene changes could be accomplished during a black-out of lighting where perhaps one or two columns could be erected, unseen by the audience, to further represent Athena’s temple.

 

As well, masks of Apollo—as an older man; Athena as youthful [here too] could be used to suggest old vs. new traditions. The element of blood feud might be suggested in lighting techniques by a redder lighting for Apollo’s temple scene, perhaps suggesting sunset, contrasted with Athena’s temple and a more yellowish light, suggesting dawn.

Music could be used to contrast the two: it could be percussive, atonal, and dissonant drumbeats and rasping instruments in the Apollo temple scene, and then increasingly harmonious, melodious, and communal—especially in the ending processional scene for Athena. [Good contrast but Apollo and his temple have to be disentangled from what has occupied his temple—the Furies. It is the occupying power that represents the old.]

These are some suggestions that might point the audience in the direction of seeing contrasts between the old ways of blood justice and new ways of communal law, envisioned by Athena.

The convention of all male actors is a difficult one for the modern audience to appreciate. However, in a theatre that is presentational and non-realistic, this is less an issue. But I feel such a convention works best in modern productions where the characters are—if not typical—at least human. [As another student pointed out, Clyt is presented as an “unnatural woman” with perversely male characteristics and boldness. Thus, a male actor is particularly effective here, or at least comprehensible to us moderns—contrast with Cassandra.] For example, Clytemnestra, in the production we viewed, was very effectively portrayed by a male actor. The audience witnesses her violence, deceit, and gestures in a different light. Such a representation helps the audience withhold the usual identification process whereby audience members might be inclined to associate with male or female characters depending on whether they themselves are male or female. Therefore, the audience can more readily look at the social realities of such gestures, actions, and power conflicts, separate from any consideration of gender roles.

However, with supernatural beings, I think this issue is less important. Here, we are dealing with idealized beings that have been traditionally characterized as male or female. Therefore, I think male actors should play male parts and female actors the female in such roles. For example, the Eumenides are traditionally a group of twelve female supernatural beings that should be played by twelve female actors in a modern production.

 

The use of masks is important as well. The convention traditionally suggested a less individual, more communal response to events, such as when the masked chorus responds as a group, while the actors on stage were either character “types” or specific individuals based on the traditions of the myth. This corporate response of the chorus suggests wilder, more primitive forces of blood justice, where masks preclude individuality and therefore the possibility of debating individual responses. I think the use of make-up and partial masks—half masks revealing lower portions of the face—would be effective. I envision a removal of the chorus’s masks and cloaks (bloody, black, torn) at the end of the play prior to the procession. The chorus could have make-up underneath that suggests they are at peace now with their new roles in society. This could be effective—disrobing and removing the outer, “older” costumes and masks with clothing and make-up underneath that suggest a now peaceful chorus exiting from the theatre.

Some aspects of characterization are important to consider for a modern production. Apollo might be depicted as being a more querulous, argumentative, defensive older man: his ways are somewhat in question, his arguments against the Furies position are not particularly persuasive. [Text does however stress his youth: an assertive, somewhat over-confident young man would be better…] Athena should be seen as new, fresh, and inquisitive. (She asks who the Eumenides are, for example, suggesting they are irrelevant in the new Athens. Her role is of an intelligent, rational observer and mediator.

The chorus should be seen as initially unmoving in their positions, augmentative, but genuinely concerned with the need to preserve social order. They address the audience with their concerns that should be seen as legitimate claim. The early scenes should suggest a group that is learning new ways; they are ‘students’, in a sense, of Athena.

Their addresses to the audience are numerous in the text. Again, they reflect the “presentational” type of theatre, as well as suggesting the corporate, educative and religious aspects of Greek theatre. These should be maintained and articulated through gesture and stage movement, for example by having the chorus turn and face the audience with their concerns.

PROF COMMENTS: 85% This is very thoughtful, especially with its concern to get across the ethos of the play. I would quarrel (as you can tell) only with your characterization of Apollo, and what he represents.

 

 

Classical Mythology

Essay: An Examination of Shakespeare’s Use of Mythic Elements in Venus and Adonis

 

SHAKESPEARE’S POEM VENUS AND ADONIS takes the myth of Venus and Adonis and reinterprets several its elements, including a re-examination of the role and character of Venus herself. The poem follows the myth in terms of basic plot and setting but Shakespeare varies from the original with his emphasis on Venus’ thought processes and descriptions of her internal, emotional states. He changes the nature of the relationship between Venus and Adonis, portraying Adonis as the reluctant lover and Venus as his frustrated suitor. The first two-thirds of the poem are the comic efforts of Venus to woo an absurdly reluctant Adonis into lovemaking.

Shakespeare wrote Venus and Adonis in 1592-3 and he probably had as his source for the myth the Latin text of Ovid’s Metamorphoses that may have been available at the time. [I gather there is some controversy as to the extent of Shakespeare’s Latin.]  He would also have had the popular English translation by William Golding, published in 1567. As mentioned, Shakespeare followed the basic plot of the myth found in Ovid but substitutes the original cautionary tale of Atalanta with one of his own. Additionally, Shakespeare allows the comic wooing of Adonis by Venus to give way to a darker, more melodramatic climax than is found in the Greek myth. This is the death and transformation scene comprising the final third of the poem. Here again, Shakespeare reworks the original myth to allow greater scope for his thematic presentation. He reworks the death and rebirth of Adonis and provides a reinterpretation of the role Venus plays that varies significantly from Ovid.

To begin with, the tone of Shakespeare’s poem contrasts with Ovid in suggesting frantic energy and highly charged emotion. It opens in the middle of Venus’ passionate exclamations. She is “Sick-thoughted” (Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis, 1.5) by her desire for Adonis and acts “like a bold-faced suitor”. (1.6) In contrast, Ovid’s version has an almost languid, pastoral quality to it, opening with an orderly, explanatory introduction. Here, reasons are given for Venus’ passion for the mortal Adonis: Her passion acts to avenge or ‘erase’ the incestuous love Adonis’ mother, Myrrha, had with her father. Also, we are told that Venus has been accidentally wounded by one of Cupid’s arrows, causing her to be “deceived/Charmed by Adonis’ beauty”. (Ovid, Metamorphoses, ed. W.H.D. Rousse, 10.29-30) Ovid goes on to suggest their relationship is a mutually compatible one, which contrasts with Shakespeare’s depiction of the relationship. Ovid says that Venus is beside Adonis “always” (10.35), that there is no distance between them, as is found in Shakespeare’s version. [An excellent introduction, elegant in expression and convincing in content.]

 

In keeping with the more ‘disorderly’ passions he ascribes to Venus, Shakespeare depicts the mythological setting of the poem as equally disorderly. By this I mean that the ordering principle of the gods found in Ovid is less in evidence in Shakespeare’s work. For example, while the sun is personified by Shakespeare as a god who looks on the lovemaking of Venus and Adonis, he is referred to only as a “Titan” (1.177), not as “Hyperion” (who was, according to mythic tradition, one of the Titans.) In a sense, Shakespeare has given Hyperion a more generic identification and his presence as a god is less clearly defined. Diana and Cynthia (goddesses of the hunt and moon, respectively) are mentioned—once—and only in terms suggesting meekness and female modesty. Their more powerful aspects are absent in Shakespeare’s poem. As well, no other Olympian is mentioned, not even Zeus. And, Shakespeare uses the word “heaven” (1.730) to suggest an ideal of perfection rather than a specific reference to Olympus. [Sounds neo-Platonic with reference to the Timaeus.] It is true that nature seems to be personified; Venus calls nature a thief for having stolen “moulds from heaven that were divine” (1.730) in creating Adonis. And it is also true that Venus imagines the earth as a lover who is in love with Adonis, that would act to trip him so he falls in order that it may 'kiss' him. But these instances of the presence of gods and goddesses and of personified natural forces are not as specific or systemic as found in the original myths. There is not the same sense of their being ‘in charge’ of the earth and nature. By providing a portrait of a less ordered, less hierarchical universe, of a universe less-filled with gods and goddesses, Shakespeare allows for an expanded conception of the role Venus plays, and I will examine her role in my conclusions.

The most obvious departure from traditional Ovid myth is Shakespeare’s depiction of the relationship between Venus and Adonis. In his version, Venus is desirous of sexual union while Adonis is not. It is interesting that, while the relationships are different in the two versions, both outcomes remain the same, at least in terms of transformation. In both stories, Adonis is transformed into a flower. In Ovid’s version, Adonis is depicted as a willing participant of sexual union. In Shakespeare, on the other hand, Adonis tenaciously clings to his virginity. But whether he is a willing partner or not, in the end after his death, he is still transformed into a flower.

In terms of the general theme of the myth, there is a linking of sex with death. Sex is seen as a prelude to death, and death in turn is a prelude to rebirth. By engaging in sex, one participates in the most fundamental process of the natural world—a processes that is cyclical and temporary by its nature and is, at the same time, regenerative. Shakespeare seems to suggest through his reluctant Adonis that we all participate in this process, whether we are aware of the fact, or wish to participate. Such a force, Shakespeare tells us, is beyond our control and our desires. The myth is as much about the psychological adjustment to such a reality as it is a depiction of the physical realities of the cycle of sex, death, and rebirth. Where Shakespeare adds to the myth is in his emphasis on the inexorableness of these processes and the fact that no one is exempt from them.

Shakespeare underscores the unnatural reluctance of Adonis to participate in the procreative cycle with a cautionary tale of his own, replacing Ovid’s original tale of Atalanta. Ovid’s tale warns against impiety and inappropriate sexual activity. It depicts two humans copulating like animals in a sacred shrine and as a result they are punished by the gods. Shakespeare, on the other hand, portrays a copulation ritual between two horses that suggests the naturalness of sexual union. [Good] The image of the two horses suggests the processes of the natural world I have mentioned, processes that are inevitable and uncontrollable. Here is sexuality unharnessed and in the raw, Shakespeare seems to say and, he says, these processes must be acknowledged and embraced for they are as much a part of our natures as they are the horses—again, whether we like it or not.

 

The final third of both poems are concerned with the death of Adonis. Adonis must die to be transformed. The sense of the myth is that it is only through death—a death of the old self—that a new self can be reborn. In the physical processes of sex, the begetting of new life depends upon the death of the old; the old gives way to the new. Both poems share this image but there are several significant differences in Shakespeare’s version. For example, there are obvious Christian elements in his death and transformation scene: Adonis is a virgin—like Christ—who dies and is reborn. At one point, Venus looks at the dead Adonis and through her tears she sees his body blurred into three images: “Upon his hurt she looks so steadfastly/That her sight, dassily makes the wound seem three;” (1.1603-64). This suggests a reference to the Christian symbol of the Holy Trinity. As well, the nurturing image of Venus holding the Adonis flower to her breast calls to mind Mary holding the bleeding body of Christ in her arms. Additionally, there is a suggestion of the biblical reference to the lion laying down with the lamb in Venus’s description of the effect Adonis’ beauty has upon the creatures of the natural world. (1. 1095-1104) Such Christian elements add the theme of a spiritual death of the old self and a rebirth to the new that is not obvious in Ovid.

Even more interesting than Shakespeare’s Christian reworking of Ovid’s myth is his reworking of the figure of Venus. In Ovid, Venus reproaches Fate for the death of Adonis. She goes on to declare that there will be an annual reminder of her sorrow—his spilled blood will become a flower each spring. Then she performs a ritual act of pouring nectar over his blood, and soon his flower appears. In Shakespeare’s version, Venus does not perform a ritual to affect the transformation of Adonis. Instead, she prophesizes the future course of love. “Hereafter,” (1.1136) love will be filled with contradictions and paradoxes: It will be pleasurable as well as painful. It will be long-lasting and short-lived. It will ennoble as well as debase, and so on. Following her prophesy, Adonis is “melted like a vapour from her sight” (1.1166) and is immediately transformed into a flower. [Yes. This is an interesting and original aetiology for the bitter-sweet nature of eros, something the Greeks seem to have take utterly for granted.] Venus then picks the flower, addressing it as Adonis’ heir. She holds it to her breast and departs in her chariot.

 

In Ovid, Venus transforms Adonis into a flower as a reminder of her sorrow. In Shakespeare, Adonis’ death is seen as the cause of sorrow in the world. His death has a more universal implication—its effects are ‘part and parcel’ with the effects of love. Shakespeare may be adding this element to the myth to suggest the necessity for death to be seen as part of life. In Ovid, the use of libations to effect the transformation of Adonis suggests there is some form of appeasement or ‘appeal’—some bargaining—that is going on. Venus, in Ovid, ‘appeases’ the gods or the dead to gain new life for Adonis in the form of a flower. His Venus is seen as a supplicant, appealing to the gods for rebirth or asking forgiveness from the dead before new life can grow. [I don’t see that in Ovid. She reproaches the Fates and demands equal consideration with Persephone; if exceptions to the law of mortality are being made for other goddesses, then they should be made for her as well. The tone seems defiant, even imperious, to me, rather than supplicatory.] For Ovid, death is a fact apart from life. Shakespeare, on the other hand, suggests death is an intimate part of life. Throughout the poem he uses images of death, most noticeably in his final scene where he depicts Venus’ obsessive fears over the possible death Adonis as he goes to hunt the boar. And of course, at the end of the poem, the image of Venus picking the Adonis flower as it drips green sap, is a final image of death. [What do you make of the fact that Shakespeare’s Venus treats the flower as Adonis’ CHILD (cf. 1177, 1183 ff.) the offspring of which was balked [sic.] by Adonis’s sexual rejection and premature death? This seems to make the flower less a metamorphosis, a commuted death sentence, than an unusual form of reproduction.]

 

Shakespeare’s Venus does not act as supplicant, but as a consort with the inexorable (and mysterious) forces of death and generation. Her role is considerably different, then, from Ovid’s. Her wildness, her rash actions, her unexplained passion for Adonis, her sensual preoccupation with his beauty; her erratic emotionalism, [What evidence is there in Shakespeare that V. CAUSES the springing up of the flower?] and finally, the powerful image of her as both the creator and destroyer of life (as seen in her picking of the Adonis flower) all suggest for her a more primal nature—that of the Mother Goddess.

She is seen at the poem’s end as the One Source. She plucks the Adonis flower and says, “but know it is as good/to wither in my breast as in this blood.” (1.1181-82) Her breast then is the elemental Source—it is the source of both life and death. The forces that Ovid’s Venus appeals to at the end are seen, in Shakespeare’s version, to be embodied in Venus herself. Ovid’s Venus is ‘gatekeeper’ to the garden. Shakespeare’s Venus is the garden.

_______________________________________________________

 

Works Cited

 

Ovid, The Metamorphoses, ed. W.H. D. Rouse. W.W. Norton and Co. Ltd. New York, 1966

 

Shakespeare, “Venus and Adonis” in The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works, Eds. Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor. Claredon Press. Oxford, 1986

 

 

PROF COMMENTS: The previous line: “To grow unto himself was his desire” (l. 1180) makes him a Narcissus-like character, self-absorbed and sexually introverted. “And so ‘tis thine”: the flower, too, would happily feed on its father’s blood, rejection all others. Venus is suggesting, I think, that [life] is bound to WITHER there for lack of a nurturing relationship with another. It will wither also in Venus’ breast. Admittedly, her argument seems to be the “To his coy mistress” theme so popular in works of the period: whether you cling to your virginity or give it away, the blossom of your youth will fade all the same, so you may as well, while your may, give pleasure to another and to yourself. So, I don’t see the mother-goddess theme you describe, however eloquent your argument for it.

A thoughtful, sophisticated, and enjoyable piece of writing. Well done. 8/10 N.C. 

 

[My own response to the prof's comments above, in reviewing my essay, is that I am probably in agreement with her analysis. I think I may have made 'too big a play' for the role of Venus as the "Mother Goddess" in Shakespeare's V&A. Venus probably plays a role more in keeping with the "coy mistress" meme found in the dramas and writings of the time. Though I will withhold final judgment until I do some re-reading. (If ever!) I'm glad the prof found my essay enjoyable to read. Ed.]

 

 

 

 

Classical Mythology

In Class Test

 

IN PAUL CARTLEDGE’S ESSAY ENTITLED GREEK RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS, he describes two types of festival events found in ancient Greece: the “Olympic” festival and the Athenian festival of the “Great Dionysia” or the “City Dionysia”. He begins his essay by discussing two aspects that promote a sense of national unity for the ancient Greek peoples: One was the common heritage of language; the second unifying feature was religion. Cartledge goes on to describe Greek religion in terms of the practices and rituals found in such events as the Olympic Games and the dramatic festivals of Athens. Interestingly, he contrasts modern Christianity—with its emphasis on abstract dogmas and symbols—with Greek religious practices, suggesting that in the universe envisioned by the ancient Greeks (polytheistic, full of gods and goddesses) piety was seen not so much in terms of an individual’s relationship with an omnipotent god (the Christian conception) but rather, it was seen in terms of public duty, public actions, as a corporate response and supplication to the gods. Hence, he states that the Greek festivals I’ve mentioned and numerous others (Athens may have had as many as 144 separate festival events throughout the Athenian calendar year!) were the means by which Greeks practiced their religious beliefs—both as individuals and as a community. He also states that next to language, the corporate practice of festivals was the most important element for the maintenance of Greek nationalism. The festivals were important at an individual level of personal piety and acknowledgement of one’s place in the universe—as well as for the maintenance of society.

In describing the City Dionysia as an essentially religious event, Cartledge notes that most festivals—including the athletic festivals—had their origins in agricultural rites. For example, he suggests that the idea of the Olympic athletic event of the 200m race suggests an earlier agricultural rite that saw a "race" as somehow maintaining the agricultural cycle (the race symbolizing the movement of planting, growth, and harvest.)  A second interesting point he suggests concerns the idea of “competitive excellence” in both Olympic events and Athenian dramatic festivals. He says that the emphasis on competition (for example, in the dramatic festivals, over the best playwright, actor, comedy or chorus) might suggest another primitive agricultural rite of which the festivals were a more formal construction—namely, the competitive excellence with respect to fertility. The idea of the best of the best struggling to survive and reproduce is, Cartledge suggests, perhaps part of an ancient agricultural ceremony. The point I’d like to suggest is the ancient history of festivals, that they are connected to much earlier rites and, given the Greek’s polytheistic conception of the universe, have a religious significance. The ancient rites were religious ones, as were the festivals of the Olympic Games and Athenian dramas.

 

Another point that Cartledge raises is in terms of the actual festivals. He says the dramatic events were couched within a religious framework. And they were. The drama festival of the City Dionysia was a four-day event. Prior to the actual presentation of tragedies (as well as comedies and satyr plays) were events or rituals such as processions (for example, a wooden statue of Dionysus, for whom the festival honours, was paraded through the city.) Again, this reflects older, agricultural rites and ceremonies. Prayers, hymn-singing, feasts, sacrifices, as well as public speaking events, political meetings, initiation ceremonies (for example, a ceremony involving orphaned boys coming of age was often performed during this time.) All these activities occurred prior to the plays being performed. For Cartledge, this suggests a “context” that is both religious and political--in the sense I mentioned earlier that the dramatic festivals provided the disparate Greek city states with a sense of corporate unity and community. [good]

 

The festival is in honour of Dionysus who is a fertility god and the god of wine. Dramas given in his honour suggest a connection to earlier agricultural rites. Cartledge’s stresses, of course, that since these agricultural rites were, in essence, the Greek religion, so too are the later festivals and public ceremonies that follow.

 

PROF COMMENTS: A very thoughtful treatment of an assignment which of itself does not leave much scope for creative thought or response. Your own mind and ideas are clearly operative in your analysis—excellent work A= 17/20 N.C.