Yunan Ve Roma Tiyatrosu Sahne Binasında İşlev Ve Mimari İlişkisi

Abstract

Tiyatro sanatı, Dionysos kültünün içinde gelişmiştir. Buna göre başlangıçta, tiyatronun Dionysos kültünün bir parçası olduğunu söyliyebiliriz. Dionysos kültü, diğer kültlerden farklı bir çok özelliğe sahipti. Bu kültün dini faaliyetleri Dithyrambos, tragedya, satir oyunları ve komedya gösterileriydi. Bunlar Dionysos festivallerinde yer alıyordu. Thespis adında bir Dionysos rahibinin koronun içinden ilk aktörü ayırmasıyla, Aiskhylos'un buna ikinci aktörü, Sophokles'in ise üçüncü aktörü eklemesiyle, tragedya sanatı oluşmuş ve Euripides tarafından artistik formu verilmiştir. Komedya da Dionysos'a dair komos alaylarından gelişmiş ve Aristophanes'le birlikte en yüksek noktasına erişmiştir. En parlak ve verimli dönemi M.Ö. 5. yüzyılda görülen bu drama formlarının, M.Ö. 4. yüzyılda ilerlemesi durmuştur. Bununla birlikte, Hellenistik dönemde yeni komedya denilen bir tür ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu arada Dionysos kültü geniş bir alana yayılmış, özellikle Anadolu'da korunmuştur. Güney İtalya ve Sicilya draması, değişik formlarda oluşmuş ve bunlar çeşitli yollardan taşınabilir sahnesiyle Roma'ya ulaşmıştır. Bu şekilde Roma draması değişik türlerin birleşiminden oluşmaktadır. Klasik dönemde sahne, tiyatronun en son oluşan kısmıdır. Değişken ahşap formlardan, taşa dönüşmüştür. Daha sonra farklı yapıdaki Hellenistik sahne gelişmiştir. Roma döneminde de Güney İtalya ve Sicilya'nın popüler farslarının taşınabilir sahnesi Roma'ya ulaşarak Roma sahnesinin temelini oluşturmuştur. Böylece Roma sahne konstrüksüyonu farklı bir kaynaktan gelişmiştir. Yunan tiyatrosunun orkestradan gelişmesine karşın, Roma tiyatrosu sahne kısmından gelişmiştir. Bu durumda klasik dönem ve Roma dönemi boyunca, paraskenialı klasik dönem sahne binası, proskenionlu Hellenistik sahne binası ve scaenae fronslu Roma sahnesi olmak üzere başlıca üç değişik tür karşımıza çıkar. Bunların hepsi çeşitli etkenlere bağlı olarak, farklı noktalardan gelişmiştir ve farklı işlev özellikleri göstermektedir

In this thesis the functional and architectural relations in the stage building of the Greek and Roman theatre is studied. First of all, Dionysus is examined in relation to this subject. Because the art of the theatre was developed in the cult of Dionysus. Therefore we can say that theatre was a part of Dionysiac religion. All other religions, primitive as well as highly developed, have rituals or liturgies, repeating the same story every year, while only the Greek worshippers of Dionysus developed myths and with them the material for the highest form of literature and drama. The Dionysiac religion had characteristics which distinguished it from all other religions of the ancient world. Performances of dithyrambs, tragedies, satyr plays and comedies were acts of this religion. Therefore they took place at the festivals of Dionysus, within the holy precincts of the god. There were four Dionysiac festivals, celebrated in order from mid winter to spring. These were: the lesser or Rural Dionysia, the Lenea, the Anthesteria and the great or City Dionysia. The great Dionysia, however, was more important than the others. Because most of the dramatic activities and performances were given in this festival. In the beginning, the dithyrambs, which were the songs in honour of Dionysus, were sung by the chorus. This chorus represented the satyrs who were followers of Dionysus. Thus the early form of dramatic art was developed from the chorus. In this way Thespis invented the first actor as a responsegiver, opposite the leader of the chorus. This form of dramatic art was brought to Athens, and the first performance was given in the year 534 B.C. by Thespis. In this manner the form of tragedy began to develop and Aiskhylos introduced the second actor. Sophokles added the third actor and its artistic form of tragedy was given by Euripides. These three great tragic poets stand out in the fifth century B.C.: Aiskhylos, Sophokles and Euripides, who was the last great poet of Greek tragedy. We should not forget that drama was a kind of worship in the Dionysiac religion. Comedy was developed from the ritual processions of komos that were closely related to Dionysus and originated from the leaders of phallic ceremonies and the reciters of phallic songs. In literature, comedy was developed later than in other dramatic forms. Aristophanes was the greatest comedy writer in Athens. Comedy reached its highest point in the time of Aristophanes. The fifth century B.C. was very productive for all forms of drama. In the fourth century B.C. the development of tragedy stopped at the same time as the development of Old Comedy. In the Hellenistic period, New Comedy appeared, but it was not as influential as the Old Comedy. The most important poet of New Comedy was Menander. In the meantime, the cult of Dionysus had spread far, and particularly in Asia Minor was protected by the kings. In this way, the Attalids endeavoured to make IV this mystic cult the official religion of their kingdom. Dionysus without doubt became very popular among the Anatolian Greeks, even in the Roman Imperial period. Drama was, however, developed differently in Southern Italy. Comedy in Italy therefore differed greatly from that of Athens. These dramas had neither komos nor chorus. Equally, they were not known as comedies. They were called "mimus" and first given literary form in the fifth century B.C. by Epicharmus. The parody of tragedy was given in literary form in Magna Graecia by Rhinton in about 300 B.C.; it was called hilarious tragedy (hilarotragedy). The actors of this farce were called " phlyakes". These popular farces (phlyakes) of Southern Italy came to Rome as Fabutae Atellanae, that is, in the form which the Oscans in Campania had given them. The nature of Roman tragedy and comedy was complex. The Greek type of tragedya was named Tabulae Crepidatae" and the other type of tragedya, in which Roman writers used native Roman themes, was named Tabulae Praetextae ". In comedy also the Greek type was named Tabulae Palliate" and Tabulae Togate" which included Roman themes. Plautus and Terentius were important Roman comedy writers, but the cult of Dionysus was not established in Rome and Roman social life had not accepted the mystic cult of Dionysus. In the beginning of the early third century B.C. the actors had been organized in to guilds, called ' the union of Dionysiac artists '. In such a manner, a leading actor or musician, often a flautist, who was at the same time a priest of Dionysus, was at their head. These guilds were religious organizations. The actors were protected and were exempt from military service and from taxes. In the Hellenistic period, one of the most important guilds was based in Teos, in Anatolia. The theatre building was also developed in Athens like the artistic form of drama. This architectural development was related to literary development. The chorus chief and then two or three actors were separated from the chorus and came together on the steps of the altar which was in the middle of the orchestra. Thus the development of the stage building was started. Meanwhile the drama presentations had transferred from the agora to the precint of Dionysus at the base of the southern slope of the akropolis. The earliest tragedies and satyr plays after 487-486 B.C. were given in this precint of Dionysus without a background building. In this way wooden skene buildings were built out of the side of the orchestra and the orchestra became only the chorus place. With time, temporary wooden skene buildings were transformed into the stone skene building. At the same time, the audience's part of the theatre (theatron) was developed. The classical stage building was probably one storey with paraskenia. However, in the Hellenistic period, the stage building was erected in two stories with the front building proskenion and decorated with different things. Actors played their performances on the terrace of the first storey in front of the stage building (Logeion). This type of stage building probably developed in the East. The development of the theatre building always followed the development of dramatic literature. Yet both of them were slower in Rome than in Athens. When the popular comedies of Southern Italy, which differed from Athenian Greek comedies, came to Rome as Atellan or Oscan farce, they brought with them the movable phlyakes stage. When, beginning in 240 B. C, the first tragedies and comedies were brought to Rome as translations and adaptations and translated from the Greek, they were performed on this kind of temporary wooden stage. Afterwards the Roman scaenae frons which was the front of the stage house was erected behind the podium instead of the earlier simple back wall of the Phlyakes stage. Initially, the scaenae frons was temporarily made by painting in two dimensions but later it was transformed into plastic and architectural forms combined with great ornamental luxury. Thus the simple phlyakes stage developed into several stories decorated with columns. Finally the first permanent scaenae frons was erected in Pompey theater, which was built in 55 B.C. But contemporary performances were certainly inferior when a luxurious Roman scanae frons was set up behind the figures. The stage building unified with the auditorium in the Roman theatre. This unity is the most important difference between the Greek and Roman theatre. A lot of new Roman theatre buildings were erected in Italy and the provinces during the time of the Empire, and the earlier Greek theatres were changed. Therefore we have to distinguish between these theatres for the time of the Empire. 1. Purely Roman theatres. 2. The older Greek theatres transformed into Roman ones, which can be called Graeco-Roman. The stage building of Graeco-Roman theatres indicate very different characteristics. Although the Roman scaenae frons have three doors, the stage buildings of Graeco-Roman theatres usually have five. Their stage platforms are higher than the Roman stage podiums. The stage platforms of Graeco-Roman theatres kept their Hellenistic heights in contrast to the low and deep Roman stage podiums. In the Roman period some of these theatre buildings were also used for gladiatorial shows and animal baitings, and Roman people forgot the meaning of the theatre. There are important differences concerning stage building between the Hellenistic and Roman theatres. In the Hellenistic theatre, the stage house and orchestra are separated. The stage is high and shallow and the proskenion is decorated with columns and painted panels. The background of the stage has wide openings (thyromata) with painted scenery, while the entrances to the orchestra are open parodoi. On the contrary, the Roman stage house and orchestra are brought into architectural unity. The stage is low and deep, while the proscenium has a closed front wall decorated with niches and sometimes small pilasters. The background is a richly decorated architectural scaenae frons. Finally the side entrances are vaulted and called aditus maximus. In view of these differences, the usage of the stage was also different. The playing space in the Roman theatre was the stage; the orchestra was not used for the performances. Therefore lateral entrances led to the stage. On the other hand, the playing space in the Hellenistic stage house was the terrace of the proskenion, but the orchestra could also be used. In classical drama, however, the playing space was only the flat ground of orchestra. Because in the classical age, there was no such thing as a raised stage and the skene was erected as a background building. But this wide playing space is suitable for the classical dramatic function. In conclusion, three kinds of stage buildings were developed: these were the classical skene building, the Hellenistic stage building and the Roman stage vi building with its scaenae frons, which was developed from the Southern Italian stage. All these stage buildings were developed in different ways, while architectural development of the stage building followed the development of dramatic literature, function and stage design. Althought the Greek theatre was developed from the circular orchestra, the Roman theatre was developed from the rectangular stage. The Greek theatre always protected its ritual and religious function, but the Roman theatre unfortunately lost this characteristic. Thus, architectural construction was affected by this difference. There was good creation and strong imagination in Greek tragedy and comedy. They used every feature of stage art in the meaning of modern theatre, and did not forget the religious aim of the theatre. Therefore the Greek theatre kept its simple form. However, the Romans abandoned the essence, but took only the shape of the theatre. Thus it seems more complex