Papers of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (6.1890-1897 (1897))

100

THE THEATRE AT EEETRIA.

extending from the upper outer corner of the vertical side stones to
the bottom of the passage. At the stage end all these six steps are
perfectly preserved; at the north end only the lower block, with its
three steps, remains. The missing portion, however, may easily be
restored. The line of inclination of the lower steps, prolonged by the
length of a second block, exactly reaches the corresponding corner of
the upper side stones. It is, of course, possible that the missing steps
may have been of wood, or for some reason may not have been neces-
sary at all. The steps at the stage end are 0.83 m. long; at the north
end 0.87 m.; in both cases 0.12 m. less than the width of the blocks
in which they are cut. A ledge 0.06 m. wide is thus left on both sides
of the steps. The steps are 0.17 m. wide and 0.27 m. high. The low-
est is about 0.50 m. above the original soil which formed the floor of
the passage. ~No trace was discovered of paving. At eacli entrance the
lower exterior edges of the slanting roof-blocks are splayed to afford
easier entrance. The passage is now lighted by a vesica-shaped aper-
ture in the roof, 1.24 m. long and 0.35 m. wide, distant from the north
end 3.34 m. I do not feel sure that this is not an accidental breaking
away; but the roofing seems too firm at every other point to make
this probable. No mortar was used in the construction of the passage,
and the workmanship throughout is excellent. I owe to Dr. Dorpfeld
the judgment that the whole is Greek and belongs to a good period.

What, then, Mas the purpose of this passage? If it had been a
drain, it would surely have extended further, under and beyond the
stage-structure; moreover, it is very much larger than a drain need have
been. It is thus clear that its object was to make a way by which
passage could be had unseen from behind the proscenium to the centre
of the orchestra, or vice versa. It would thus supply the means for
chorus or actors to appear suddenly in view of the audience in the
orchestra, or to disappear just as suddenly. The notion that the pass-
age was ever used by the chorus, may be dismissed. One of the most
essential purposes of the parodoi was to furnish for the chorus an
entrance to the orchestra. The effect produced by their appearance
one by one from below would have been ridiculous. Extant plays
and scholia afford abundant evidence to prove the impossibility of such
a conception. The purpose of the passage, then, was to allow the actors
to pass between the orchestra and their dressing-rooms in the rear of the
proscenium. After his appearance, the actor may have kept his place
in the orchestra or ascended a raised stage such as Vitruvius describes.