Note 533 — Chapter III · THE THEATRE (continued 2)

[Frei, De certaminibus thymelicis, traces back to the second half of the fourth century the distinction of θυμελικοὶ and σκηνικοὶ ἀγῶνες, and so proves the existence of a stage at that time. Engelmann, Archäol. Stud. zu den Tragikern, supports Dörpfeld’s view by reference to vase paintings, which he thinks were suggested by theatrical scenes, and represent actions taking place in the orchestra, with the columnar προσκήνιον as background. But the background could in most cases be equally well the back of the stage; and it is not certain that the vases in question present dramatic scenes at all. Columns, &c., are common on all vases to indicate a house or a temple, where there is no reference to a stage; and in black-figured vases, where all such reference is out of the question, we find Prometheus and Odysseus tied to columns instead of to a rock or a mast. See E. A. Gardner, Class. Rev. 1901, p. 432.]