The Revival of Interest in Representing Plays of Menander in the Late 2nd and Early 3rd Centuries AD: A Historical and Art-Historical Phenomenon

Year 2021, Issue: 14, 233 - 257, 30.11.2021

David Parrish

https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1014560

Cited By: 1

Abstract

An important revival in representing plays of Menander in private homes, in the form of both mosaics and frescoes, occurred primarily in the eastern part of the Roman empire in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD, with a limited echo felt in the west. The present article tries to explain why and how this artistic phenomenon took place, and a review of the relevant works of art and their chronology is presented in this interpretation. The discussion also refers to the frequent depiction of theater masks in well-to-do households, and the related custom of presenting theatrical entertainment at the banquet or “dinner theater.” Also significant for our purpose are the continued vitality of theater festivals throughout the Greek-speaking provinces during the first half of the 3rd century, and the retrospective attitude of the Second Sophistic, with its high esteem for classical drama of the past. This outlook was focused on Athens, and it had great admiration for the plays of Menander and Euripides. One additional feature influencing the artistic renewal in question is the high value placed on Menander’s plays as models of literary expression in the curriculum of schools, especially for training students in rhetoric and declamation. Collectively, all of the factors mentioned above contributed to the Menander revival in the visual arts during the period specified.

Keywords

Menander, Ephesos, Antioch, Zeugma, Mytilene, theater festivals, theater masks, Second Sophistic, school curricula

İS 2. Yüzyıl Sonları ve Erken 3. Yüzyıllarda Menander Oyunlarının Temsil Edilmesine İlginin Yeniden Canlanması: Tarihsel ve Sanat-Tarihsel Bir Fenomen

Abstract

Menander oyunlarının özel konutlarda yer alan hem mozaik hem de fresklerde temsil edilmesinde önemli bir canlanma, esas olarak İS 2. yüzyılın sonlarında ve 3. yüzyılın başlarında Roma İmparatorluğu’nun doğu kesiminde meydana gelmiş ve batıda sınırlı bir yankı hissedilmiştir. Bu makale, bu sanatsal olgunun neden ve nasıl gerçekleştiğini açıklamaya çalışmakta ve bu yorumda ilgili sanat eserlerinin ve kronolojilerinin bir incelemesi sunulmaktadır. Tartışma aynı zamanda hâli vakti yerinde evlerde tiyatro maskelerinin sık sık tasvir edilmesine ve buna bağlı olarak ziyafette ya da “akşam yemeği tiyatrosunda” teatral eğlence sunma geleneğine atıfta bulunmaktadır. 3. yüzyılın ilk yarısında Yunanca konuşulan eyaletlerde tiyatro festivallerinin devam eden canlılığı ve geçmişin klasik tiyatrosuna büyük saygı duyan İkinci Sofistlerin geriye dönük tutumu da amacımız için önemlidir. Bu bakış açısı Atina’ya odaklanmıştı ve Menander ile Euripides’in oyunlarına büyük bir hayranlık duyuyordu. Söz konusu sanatsal yenilenmeyi etkileyen ek bir özellik de, okulların müfredatında, özellikle öğrencileri retorik ve nutuk konusunda eğitmek için, edebi anlatım modeli olarak Menander’in oyunlarına verilen yüksek değerdir. Toplu olarak, yukarıda belirtilen faktörlerin tümü, belirtilen dönemde görsel sanatlarda Menander canlanmasına katkıda bulunmuştur.

Keywords

Menander, Ephesos, Antiocheia, Zeugma, Midilli, tiyatro festivalleri, tiyatro maskeleri, İkinci Sofistler, okul müfredatı

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