著者

カクリディス テオファニス・J 広川 直幸

出版者

日本西洋古典学会

雑誌

西洋古典学研究 (ISSN:04479114)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.54, pp.97-106, 2006

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Besides being fit to meet all functional needs of tragic and comic performances, the Greek theatrical setup, having reached its final state towards the end of the 5th century B C, fulfilled a symbolic function which influenced the reception of the plays During the performances, when the seats were occupied by spectators and the plays were going on, the hemispherical edifice, together with the sky above it, constituted an image of the world, an ideogram of the universe as we might call it On close inspection this image proves to be very orderly, everybody being assigned a place according to his nature, status and function on the side of the audience, starting with women, children and slaves in the perimeter we pass first to young men, then to grown-up citizens, to members of the Council, finally to high-priests and officials, and on the side of the play, starting with the anonymous crowd of the chorus, we ascend one step to the venerable heroic characters of the stage, and another step to the gods on the roof, while real gods were thought to watch from the sky above Hierarchical and genealogical as it was, the entire arrangement represented a world where all beings are separated by the two world-regulating principles, law and nature, into distinct and yet interrelated groups, a world where everybody has his proper place, which he rightfully occupies, feeling himself an integral part of the universal order Inside this world-like frame, when the tragic plays began, an action unfolded an action that apart from being elevated, complete and of magnitude (Aristoteles), constituted a disturbance of the world-order, a transgression of the set boundaries, a violation of human and divine law If we examine tragic misdeeds as such, we will not be surprised to find them in conflict with exactly the same principles that governed the world-order nature and law What usually follows in Tragedies is that the heavenly and human powers controlling the universe, powers bound to guard and maintain those regulating principles, cooperate to punish the offender and reaffirm the worldorder Things work differently in Comedy On the side of the audience, discipline remained strict, the contrast to Tragedy lay on the side of the plays comic characters were not supposed to be heroic ancestors of the heroic age, but ordinary contemporary people Hierarchical allocation was totally disregarded, and the main characters were allowed to break all principles and rules without scruple-and go unpunished' In Comedy regulating forces he mostly dormant, and even when they intervene, they not only fail to punish the evil-doer and uphold law and order, but they often make fools of themselves The disorder persists, the trouble-maker achieves his goal and triumphs This line of events, leading from the disruption of the world-order to either its tragic re-establishment or to its comic deformation, is much more effectively experienced by an audience which, together with the theatrical edifice around it, constitutes in itself a μιμησιζ, an imitation of the worldorder, an ideogram of the universe as we called it