Greek Theatre

Although the ancient Macedonians had no independent dramatic tradition of their own, from the late fifth century onwards successive Macedonian kings began to sponsor Greek theater productions and professionals with real enthusiasm. Indeed, their patronage was crucial to the post-classical development of the ancient theater into a more international performance.

Im Jahr 480 v. Chr. vernichteten die zahlenmäßig unterlegenen Griechen bei Salamis das vorher nie besiegte Heer der Perser, die unter Dareios (Darius) ein Weltreich aufgebaut hatten. Sein Sohn Xerxes, machtbesessen und vom anfänglichen Kriegsglück verblendet, verlor an einem einzigen Tag seine ganze Flotte von mehr als 200 Schiffen und das gesamte Heer. Nur Wenige, darunter er selbst, überlebten die Niederlage.
An dieser vernichtenden Schlacht nahm auf griechischer Seite der Dramatiker Aischylos teil. 90 Tragödien soll er geschrieben haben, von denen nur 7 erhalten sind,  darunter (neben der Trilogie der „Orestie“) sein wohl berühmtestes Werk „Die Perser“.  Die Uraufführung wird auf das Jahr 472 datiert. Aischylos schildert als Angehöriger der Siegernation in ungewöhnlicher Perspektive das Geschehen aus der Sicht der Geschlagenen.

En lisant pour la première fois Civilisation de Dimitris Dimitriadis à l'époque où la pièce a été écrite, à un moment de prospérité et de progrès apparent (2003), j'avoue que je n'ai vu dans sa composition qu'un jeu dramatique, produit d'un mécanisme de renversement des mythes, qui a été mobilisé une fois de plus comme prétexte de la démarche poétique. L'usage de ce mécanisme semblait particulièrement paradoxal ici: Une des oeuvres les plus subversives de l'Antiquité, Médée d'Euripide, quelle marge laisse-t-elle pour un nouveau renversement ? Constituant l'exemple parfait de la thèse aristotélicienne, selon laquelle les conflits les plus tragiques s'expriment au sein d'une même famille et que ce sont ceux-là que le poète doit rechercher, l'héroïne offre réellement un matériau dramatique rare tant pour le dramaturge de l'Antiquité que pour celui de l'époque contemporaine, d'où la surabondance de transcriptions de ce mythe tout au long des siècles. Naturellement, nous n'incluons pas dans celles-ci les traductions de l'oeuvre antique constituant une sorte de transcription elles aussi. A ce propos signalons à titre indicatif l'excellente traduction de Médée de Yorgos Himonas (en grec moderne), sans doute le seul frère-poète grec de Dimitriadis. Sous l'emprise de son amour pour Jason, qu'elle aide à voler la Toison d'Or, la Médée du mythe, fille de roi de Colchide, non seulement trahit son père et assassine son frère, le démembrant et répandant ses membres dans la mer, mais trahie à son tour par son compagnon qui tombe amoureux de la fille du seigneur de Corinthe dans sa nouvelle patrie, elle a recours au crime suprême pour se venger de lui: elle projette et commet le meurtre de leurs enfants. Un tel effet domino de vengeance irréversible devrait entraîner, conformément à la gestion traditionnelle de la tragédie, la punition de l'héroïne. Sans punition, il n'y a pas de catharsis, ne serait-ce qu'au sens de la symétrie comme l'écrit Himonas : « la catharsis dans la tragédie n'est qu'une question d'analogie en rapport avec la forme complexe du déséquilibre extrême qui a précédé ». Et pourtant, comme nous le savons tous, Euripide pardonne Médée en lui offrant une sortie brillante sur le char du Père....

DIMITRA KONDYLAKI est docteur en littérature comparée (Paris-IV-Sorbonne). Sa thèse de doctorat, sous la dir. de Denis Guénoun, a été consacrée à l'édition du théâtre contemporain en France et en Grèce durant les années 1980-2000. Metteur en scène, essayiste et universitaire, elle anime également l'Atelier de traduction théâtrale de l'Institut français (Grèce) voué au répertoire contemporain. Elle est l'auteur de la première monographie sur le théâtre de Dimitris Dimitriadis (Explorant la possibilité de l'imprévu, Editions Nefeli, 2015).

La Poética de Aristóteles es uno de los documentos más antiguos que se conserva en relación al teatro griego clásico. Sin embargo, a lo largo de la historia ha predominado un abordaje del tratado que centró su estudio en lo referido a la pieza dramática en tanto obra literaria,  dejando de lado su especificidad disciplinar en cuanto teatro. Este abordaje logocéntrico del tratado –que está en sintonía con una visión
igualmente logocéntrica del teatro de la época– se relaciona, también, con el hecho de que Aristóteles no aborda el espectáculo teatral en la Poética y, por el contrario, lo menciona solo para excluirlo. Ahora
bien, no hay que perder de vista que la representación es en rigor extratécnica y, entonces, es ajena a la poética. Además, al excluirla explícitamente, Aristóteles le está otorgando entidad y la está diferenciando del texto teatral. El presente estudio propone realizar un análisis de la Poética de Aristóteles en relación a la argumentación acerca del espectáculo teatral desde la óptica de los estudios teatrales.
Dicho abordaje resulta pertinente en términos disciplinares en relación al objeto de estudio del tratado.

Aristotle´s Poetics is one of the oldest documents that is preserved in relation to classical Greek theater. However, throughout history an approach to the treaty has predominated that focused its study on
what refers to the dramatic piece as a literary work, leaving aside its disciplinary specificity as theater. This logocentric approach to the treatise –which is in tune with an equally logocentric vision of the
theater of the time– is also related to the fact that Aristotle does not address the theatrical spectacle in the Poetics and, on the contrary, mentions it only to exclude it. Now, we must not lose sight of the
fact that representation is strictly extra-technical and, therefore, is alien to poetics. Furthermore, by explicitly excluding it, Aristotle is giving it entity and differentiating it from the theatrical text. The
present study proposes to carry out an analysis of Aristotles´s Poetics related to the argumentation about the theatrical performance from the perspective of theater studies. Said approach is pertinent
in disciplinary terms in relation to the object of study of the treaty.

In questo saggio dedicato alla teoria della comunicazione teatrale, Elena Marino (Università di Trento) riprende in considerazione il rapporto tra testo e rappresentazione, attarversamento un ripensamento della Poetica di Aristotele e delle forme di composizione e fruizione delle opere teatrali. Il testo teatrale nasce in simbiosi con la comunicazione visuale e solo in seguito trova una riduzione a testo scritto destinato alla lattura: un fatto, questo, che ha indebitamente sminuito la rilevanza dell'opsis, e che spesso ha portato a non comprendere nella giusta prospettiva le indicazioni di Aristotele sul teatro.

Eurípides, entre os três tragediógrafos canônicos da Grécia clássica, é aquele de quem a Antiguidade nos legou maior quantidade de material biográfico. Percorrendo esse material, nota-se a persistente caracterização do poeta como misógino (μισογύνης). A palavra figura em dois dos textos biográficos mais importantes em torno do poeta (a Vida anônima anexada aos manuscritos medievais de sua obra e o verbete do Suda), e sua “aversão às mulheres” é aludida direta ou indiretamente em todas as Vidas que chegaram aos nossos dias. Este artigo apresentará essas ocorrências e buscará analisá-las à luz da comédia de Aristófanes, propondo uma articulação entre as paradoxais recepções da obra do poeta na Antiguidade e na modernidade, quando será construída a imagem de um Eurípides “feminista”.

En Antígona podemos ver como el papel de la mujer a través de confrontarse ante la decisión de respetar las leyes divinas o seguir las leyes humanas toma gran fuerza, puesto que la mujer en el siglo V a. C. no tenía gran importancia como integrante de la sociedad, dado que no participaba en la toma de decisiones, ni tenía un lugar destacado jerárquicamente, como el hecho de no pertenecer a la ciudadanía. Es por ello que la decisión de Antígona de respetar la ley divina ante la de los hombres sin importar las consecuencias que este hecho le acarreara toma gran importancia al ser un contraste destacado en cuanto a la sociedad en la que se desarrolla la historia.

Theatre Practice and Cultural Policy in 21st Century Cyprus

Τhis essay aims to provide a framework for exploring the current cultural landscape of Cyprus, with special emphasis on cultural policy and innovative practices in contemporary theatre performance. It elaborates on the pressing need for Cypriot theatre to forge a revised cultural and artistic identity that takes into account the unique geographical, social, political, and economic circumstances of the country, all through its troubled history. Considering specific instances of recent experimental work in performance as well as dramatic writing, further to presenting viable initiatives undertaken by major cultural and educational institutions of the Cypriot state, the article acknowledges the progress that has already been achieved with regards to current practice’s marked emphasis on more daring thematic, aesthetic and formal criteria for making meaningful theatre.

Il faut sauver la tragédie grecque de toute la gnose philosophique et tragique qui l'accable depuis près de trois siècles. Il faut la sauver de notre conception moderne de la littérature et du théâtre. Il faut la sauver de nous-mêmes pour la retrouver ailleurs, très loin, dans les lieux les plus improbables : le nô japonais, la messe catholique, la psychanalyse freudienne… À moins qu'elle ne soit déjà plus nulle part.
Car la tragédie est aussi introuvable que le tombeau d’Œdipe, ce tombeau que Sophocle prit pour thème de sa pièce ultime, laquelle est également la dernière tragédie grecque connue.
Avec Œdipe à Colone pour fil conducteur, ce livre raconte l’histoire édifiante d’une incompréhension à laquelle nous sommes voués. Il révèle les incroyables trahisons et mutilations dont ces chefs-d’oeuvre furent les victimes et propose en retour quelques thèses - ou hérésies – susceptibles de bouleverser non seulement notre vision de la tragédie, mais notre conception même de la littérature et de ses pouvoirs – sur les lieux, les corps et les dieux.
Nul détour n’est aujourd’hui si troublant ni si salutaire.

The rhetoric code gathers special relevance during the Athenian fifth century. Its presence is evident in the literature of the time, especially in historiography and in drama (also, clearly in the oratory). Sophocles, Electra, 558-609 is a good example of up what point this code is considered in the elaboration of the literary speech. But, this speech and the scene that it belongs to manifest the reflection of the Athenian society about the opposition between this rhetoric and public code and another code with a more private nature.

Η έκδοση αποτελεί αναθεωρημένη και συντετμημένη εκδοχή της διδακτορικής μου διατριβής. Νέα συμπληρωματική έρευνα πραγματοποιήθηκε για τις ανάγκες της έκδοσης, συλλέχθηκαν νέες πληροφορίες από εργασίες που δημοσιεύτηκαν μετά την υποστήριξη της διατριβής μου, ενώ η έρευνα για τις παραστασιογραφικές καταγραφές επεκτάθηκε έως τη λήξη της χειμερινής περιόδου 2014-15. Η έκδοση συνοδεύεται από CD που περιλαμβάνει όλες τις καταγραφές της έρευνας.

The Pronomos krater undoubtedly marks the high point of the production of Greek 'theatre vases'. However, it is perhaps not exaggerated to maintain that this splendid show piece can at the same time be seen as testimony to and a symptom of a great change or – depending on one's point of view – even a crisis in Athenian theatre culture. With regard to its actual imagery, three aspects are particularly noteworthy. First: in not reproducing a scene from the play, the emphasis is transferred from the impact of the actual theatrical performance to the theatre as an institution; second: the disposition of the protagonists emphasises two sources of authority with Dionysos as the inspiring patron of the theatre and the citizens of the polis as the promoters of the performances; third: the emphasis on the satyr play is explained principally by their visual and semantic effectiveness. While it certainly cannot be said that the Pronomos vase 'has nothing to do with drama', it has, I believe, quite a lot to do with a general development in Classical Athens, one that changed dramatic performances into a stage upon which social distinction and advancement could be acquired. My brief survey of the relevant monuments, choregic and otherwise, is intended to give an idea of the enormous dynamics of this process. In retrospect, the festive gathering on the Pronomos krater represents both the farewell gathering for the theatre as a forum where polis citizens engaged in intellectual exchange, and a welcome party for the theatre as a means of individual self-praise and promotion in the public arena of the city of Athens.

The Greek tragic mask was the focus of the entire visual and emotional experience of ancient drama. The close coordination of masked movement with music, song, and spoken word allowed the ambiguity of the mask to provoke a highly personal response in the mind of each individual spectator. Their neural processing mechanisms would have been stimulated by the context of what was presented, and then fired to create a deeply personal emotional image. In this way, the visual ambiguity of the mask greatly enhanced the presentation of tragedy. Thus, the tragic mask was far more powerful that the real face of an actor, as it constantly changed, reflecting the emotional realities of each person sitting before its compelling gaze.

En el origen de esta reflexión se encuentran dos obras cuyas coincidencias queremos suponer más que fortuitas: el mismo año, ése que para nosotros es el 405 a.C., Dioniso, el dios bajo cuyo patrocinio religioso se desarrollaban las representaciones teatrales atenienses, es llevado casi simultáneamente a escena en las Ranas de Aristófanes y en las Bacantes de Eurí-pides, durante la realización de los festivales de las Leneas y las Grandes Dionisias, respecti-vamente. Concomitancia fundamental en cuanto a la elección del protagonista, contingencia sintomática en cuanto al momento en que Dioniso es convocado para que actúe por sí mismo los dramas que él preside desde el theologeion, se trata de pensar estas concordancias en rela-ción con la situación política ateniense de esa época, aunque está claro que esto no puede hacerse de manera alusiva. Sostendremos la hipótesis de que la presencia de Dioniso, dios de la alteridad, sobre el escenario de su teatro en la Atenas del fin de siglo supone la puesta en escena de las alteraciones a que está siendo sometida la propia ciudad.

Το άρθρο παρακολουθεί τη διαδρομή της δραστηριότητας του Θεατρικού Οργανισμού «Μορφές», που λειτούργησε υπό την καλλιτεχνική διεύθυνση του Δημήτρη Καταλειφού, του Τάσου Μπαντή και της Ράνιας Οικονομίδου στο θέατρο «Εμπρός», από την ίδρυσή του το 1988 έως τη διάλυσή του το 1999. Στη μελέτη επιχειρείται η χαρτογράφηση της ιστορίας του θιάσου, που διαδραμάτισε σημαντικό ρόλο στο θεατρικό τοπίο της δεκαετίας του 1990, καθώς και μια συνοπτική αποτίμηση των παραστάσεων του. Το άρθρο κλείνει με την εξαγωγή συμπερασμάτων για τη φυσιογνωμία και το καλλιτεχνικό στίγμα των «Μορφών». Επίσης, στο τέλος του, παρατίθεται παράρτημα που περιλαμβάνει την παραστασιογραφία του θιάσου, την κριτικογραφία των παραστάσεων, λίστα δημοσιευμάτων του Τύπου (άρθρα, ρεπορτάζ, συνεντεύξεις) για τη δραστηριότητα του Οργανισμού, καθώς και τις πηγές και τη βιβλιογραφία που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν κατά τη συγγραφή.

The Fragments of Crates Comicus. Introduction, translation and commentary.

This volume of the series «Fragmenta Comica» is devoted to one of the major names in the first generation of comic poets, Crates. Mentioned by Aristophanes in the Knights among his predecessors ill-treated by the audience, and credited in Aristoteles’ Poetics of a key-role within the history of the comic genre, Crates appears to have received significant attention in antiquity. Yet tradition has not been kind with him and the remains of his production are very scanty and in many ways problematic. Almost half a century after the last monograph devoted to Crates, the volume offers a new close analysis of the testimonia and the sixty surviving fragments, translated and commented in detail. The picture that emerges is of a much more nuanced profile than previously described.

Rappresentazione teatrale | dal 31 luglio al 28 agosto 2021 Valle dei Templi - Agrigento | 18 agosto 2020 Valle dei Templi - Agrigento | 20 luglio 2019 Segesta | 5 gennaio 2019, Teatro Massimo Comunale - Siracusa | 1 agosto 2018, Teatro romano - Ascoli Piceno | 14-15 luglio 2018, Valle dei Templi - Agrigento | 25-26 agosto 2017, Valle dei Templi - Agrigento | 9 agosto 2017, Fano |  | 30 luglio 2017, Sarsina, Arena Plautina | 21 febbraio 2008, Teatro Goldoni - Venezia  | 27 agosto 2005 Gipsoteca canoviana, Possagno

Con Sebastiano Lo Monaco.
Testo di Monica Centanni.
Da Omero, Eschilo, Lucrezio, Virgilio.

Un nuovo rapsodo ci racconta, ci ricorda, la guerra di Troia. La voce del cantore riannoda e ricompone i fili della narrazione omerica e la storia della spedizione achea contro la rocca di Priamo viene narrata così dall’inizio alla fine: dagli amori di Elena e Paride, fino all’inganno del cavallo, la conquista e l’incendio della città.

Storie di eroi – Achille Ettore Aiace Ulisse Diomede – che nell’impresa mettono alla prova il limite e la qualità del loro singolare valore e intanto, insieme, disegnano la variegata costellazione dei valori su cui si fonda, nel bene e nel male, la nostra civiltà occidentale: amicizia, coraggio, lealtà, carattere, astuzia, passione, ragione.
Storie di dei – Atena Poseidone Ares Afrodite – che si schierano in battaglia al fianco degli uomini per dar prova non solo del loro potere, ma della loro stessa esistenza.

L’attore si presenta nelle vesti di un moderno cantore che cuce in una nuova rapsodia i brani degli antichi racconti; ma presta anche corpo e voce agli attori del mito, dei ed eroi. Il testo è composto incastonando nel racconto epico dell’Iliade anche brani tratti dall’Odissea, dall’Agamennone di Eschilo, dal De rerum natura di Lucrezio, dall’Eneide di Virgilio, e dai poemi epici minori sulla conquista di Troia.

Προγραμματικές σημειώσεις (άνευ περικοπών) για την αναβίωση της οπερέτας του Αλέξανδρου Γκρεκ "Μυριέλλα" (Αλεξάνδρεια, 1932). Κέρκυρα, 6, 7 και 8 Δεκεμβρίου 2019. Παραγωγή: Φιλαρμονική Εταιρεία Κερκύρας.
Programme notes (non-pruned version) for the revival of Alexandros Grek's operetta "Myriella" (Alexandria, 1932). Corfu, 6, 7 kai 8 December 2019. Produced by the Vorfu Philharmonic Society.

The first history of acting theory in the West, from antiquity to the eighteenth century when the specific characteristics of the actor’s art were established. An account of the long cultural journey to understanding every aspect behind an actor’s on-stage transformation. 

Summary:

ACTING THEORY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
Divine Possession. Alteration and Contagion. Development of Dramatic Forms. Acting as a Specialized Activity. Emotional Tension and Frenzy. Persistence of “Ion’s” Doctrine. Moderation and Self-Control. The Emergence of the Character. The New Form of Emotional Involvement. The Actor’s Art and the Orator’s. The Use of Emotion. Emotion and Expression. The Techniques of Identification. Control and Perfection of Expression. Possibility of an Anti-Emotional Theory.
FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
Theatre as a Source of Irrational Impulses. The Condemnation of Christian Authors. The New Image of Acting. The Humanist Ennobling of Theatre. Humanist Experiments and Court Performances. Professional Actors and the Commedia all’Improvviso. The Revival of Religious Opposition and the Actor’s New Status.
THE EARLY ITALIAN TREATISES AND THE THEORETICAL ACTING MODEL
The Academicians Establish the First Rules of Acting. Giraldi Cintio’s “Discorsi”. Angelo Ingegneri. Stage Characters as Reality Perfected. Leone de’ Sommi’s “Dialoghi” and Theory Based on Stage Experience. The Writings of Pier Maria Cecchini. The Theoretical Model of Acting. Flaminio Scala and the Decline of the Early Treatises.
THE WORLD OF ORATORY. PERRUCCI, GRIMAREST AND GILDON
The Theatre Controversy. The Horizons of Oratory. Recitation: the Mysterious Difference. The New Treatises. Andrea Perrucci, Recitation, Oratory and “Commedia all’Improvviso”. Experience, Rules and the Insufficiency of “Actio”. Grimarest. Gildon.
THE BIRTH OF EMOTIONALISM
The Dramaturgic Function of Recitation. Natural Recitation. The Beginnings of Emotionalism. Luigi Riccoboni. Acting by Improvisation. First Formulation of the Emotionalist Theory. Criticism of Riccoboni. Reform of the Code and Franz Lang’s Treatise. Jean-Baptiste Du Bos.
THE CRITIQUE OF ACTING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONALISM. D’AIGUEBERRE, CIBBER, AARON HILL AND RÉMOND DE SAINTE-ALBINE
D’Aigueberre and the Founding of the Critique of Acting. Cibber’s Autobiography and Garrick’s and Foote’s Essays. Aaron Hill. Rémond de Sainte-Albine’s Treatise. The Functions of Technique. The Problems of Emotionalism.
ANTIEMOTIONALISM. ANTOINE-FRANÇOIS RICCOBONI, LESSING, DIDEROT
English Versions of “Le Comédien”. Antoine-François Riccoboni’s “L’art du Théâtre”. Lessing’s project. Sticotti and Diderot. Artistic Creation. The “Paradoxe” and Its Reasoning. The Characteristics of Sensibility. Real Life-Theatre Difference. Actors and Characters. The Problems of the “Paradoxe”.
THE END OF CENTURY DEBATE. ENGEL, BOSWELL AND TOURON
The Late Eighteenth Century: a Profusion of Treatises. The Work of the Author, the Creation of the Actor. Performing the Part. Study, Observation and Imitation. The Function of Sentiment. Engel’s Treatise. Boswell and the Levels of Interiority. Touron. Epilogue.

Le Amazzoni vivono fra mito, leggenda e storia: sono topos, luogo comune, e tropos, figura retorica. Donne violente e terrificanti, contrapposte all’ordine sociale, talvolta private di caratteri sessuali e propense a considerare il maschio mero strumento riproduttivo, le Amazzoni sono oggetto di disprezzo, paura e desiderio. Apparse nell’Iliade come esponenti di una femminilità barbarica, Erodoto le inserisce nella tradizione dei cavalieri delle steppe. Sono regine, guerriere ed eroine tragiche come Ippolita, Antiope e Pentesilea: sono simbolo delle ribelli alla legge della polis, metafora delle orde selvagge di periferie desolate, minaccia scongiurata dal kosmos ordinatore ellenico, simbolo della ferinità che si sposta ai margini del mondo. L’Amazzone greca evolve in personaggi come Camilla, Giovanna d’Arco, Clorinda: accanto a tali epifanie di classico respiro, nei pantheon celto-germanici emergono dee di morte e d’amore, Valchirie e skjaldmær. Dal XVI secolo, il Rio delle Amazzoni è una delle grandi frontiere degli esploratori europei. “Altre” Amazzoni si manifestano nell’Islam, con sovrane e profetesse, e in Oriente, con Hua Mulan, onna-bugeisha e kunoichi. Ogni donna-guerriera cavalca tra fascino e paura della diversità: il suo valore porta con sé privazioni ed emarginazione. Oggi l’Amazzone esiste ancora: trasformata in prodotto, incarna la duplice natura di oggetto del desiderio e di manifestazione di aspirazioni sociali. Dal fumetto al cinema, l’Amazzone vive in Wonder Woman, Lady Oscar, Xena, Lagertha di Vikings. Sia pure trivializzata, essa conserva il fascino di un mito multiforme: sulle sue origini si può ancora riflettere, alzando i veli di stereotipi e clichés letterari.

Η παρούσα εργασία επιχειρεί να παρουσιάσει τις πολιτιστικές όψεις της Μεταξικής δικτατορίας και ασχολείται κυρίως με το θέατρο ως καθοριστικό στοιχείο της πολιτιστικής αναγέννησης που προκρίνει το καθεστώς της 4ης Αυγούστου. Η μεθοδολογική προσέγγιση που χρησιμοποιείται είναι η βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση σε συνδυασμό με την παράθεση πρωτογενούς υλικού, όπως εφημερίδες και περιοδικά της εποχής.
  Αντικείμενο της ανά χείρας εργασίας αποτελεί η ίδρυση και δημιουργία θεσμικών μορφών καλλιτεχνικής έκφρασης και πιο συγκεκριμένα αυτών που συντελούνται στην θεατρική σκηνή. Τέτοια είναι η εμφάνιση του λαϊκού θεάτρου μέσα από τους θιάσους που οργανώνει το Βασιλικό θέατρο με αφορμή την εξάπλωση της τέχνης στην επαρχία (Α’ Άρμα Θέσπιδος). Η εκπολιτιστική προσπάθεια που επιχειρείται με κινητήρια μηχανή τους θιάσους, αποτελεί στοιχείο της ιδεολογικοπολιτικής ανάδειξης του καθεστώτος. Ο πατερναλιστικός χαρακτήρας που χαρακτηρίζει το ελληνικό θέατρο της δεκαετίας του 1930 κορυφώνεται με την δημιουργία του Άρματος Θέσπιδος και κλειδώνει αυτό που το καθεστώς θεωρεί καθήκον: η καλλιτεχνική έκφραση και ο πολιτισμός να βρίσκεται υπό την προστασία του Νέου Κράτους. Θα αναλυθεί περαιτέρω σε επόμενα κομμάτια της εργασίας ο ρόλος της θεατρικής σκηνής και ο ρόλος τους καθεστώτος σε αυτήν.
  Σε αυτό το σημείο είναι αναγκαίο να διευκρινιστεί, ότι περισσότερο επιχειρείται μια συνθετική αποτύπωση του φαινομένου αυτού, το οποίο μοιάζει με έναν εκπολιτιστικό εθνικισμό, παρά μια αναλυτική εργασία πάνω στο θέατρο και τον πολιτισμό ως στοιχεία της δεκαετίας του 1930 με πλήρη ιστορική καταγραφή. Η ερμηνευτική προσέγγισή που επιχειρείται δεν έχει στόχο επιστημονικά συμπεράσματα αλλά στοιχειωθετεί μια βάση για μελλοντική έρευνα.

Il terzo episodio dell’Antigone sofoclea, dal quale ho scelto di trarre questo passo (parafrasi e commento) contiene il lungo dialogo tra Creonte ed il figlio Emone. Propongo in questo saggio i versi 626-725, dunque la parte iniziale del dialogo sino all’inizio della sticomitia che chiude l’episodio.
Secondo Kurt von Fritz, Emone è “una delle figure più belle di Sofocle”. Personaggio problematico, diviso fra l’amore per un padre cui non vuole rinunciare, e l’amore per Antigone, egli si trova a questo punto della tragedia, dopo che il padre ha decretato la condanna a morte della sua amata, e promessa sposa, in una condizione estremamente difficile. In tutta la prima parte del dialogo egli cerca disperatamente di far ragionare il padre, mettendo in evidenza come la sua posizione, eccessivamente rigida, non possa portarlo che al disastro, anche se – in questo momento – non è ancora chiaro in che cosa consista questo disastro: questo comincerà a delinearsi solo alla fine della sticomitia che segue.
Nel discorso di Emone in difesa di Angone non compare – come sostiene ancora von Fritz – alcun elemento personale, erotico: qualsiasi elemento siffatto avrebbe inevitabilmente banalizzato e ridotto la portata politico-morale del dialogo tra Emone ed il padre. Ma è proprio nel corso di questa intensa polemica che Emone “perde suo padre”, e che il suo suicidio finale – uno dei tre suicidi che chiuderanno drammaticamente la tragedia – si pone come l’unica soluzione possibile.
Come osserva George Steiner nel suo profondissimo saggio Le Antigoni, la successiva ode corale dedicata ad Eros (vv. 781 sgg.) si rapporta al legame tra Antigone ed Emone solo in conseguenza di un volgare equivoco, sottolineando ancora la miopia – la calcolata miopia – dei vecchi Tebani e la solitudine spirituale nella quale i due personaggi subiscono il loro destino.