Papers by Christina Papastamati-von Moock
XENIA, 2022
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ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ/LOGEION , 2020
Although the ‘theatre of the tragedians’ has attracted more scholarly attention than any other th... more Although the ‘theatre of the tragedians’ has attracted more scholarly attention than any other theatrical structure, and justifiably so, due primarily to the lack of firm archaeological evidence, the arguments presented in the research are often utterly contradictory. Utilizing the recent unprecedented partial discovery of traces left by the much-vaunted ikria bench posts, in conjunction with a re-examination of the monument and the literary and epigraphic evidence pertaining to it, this paper seeks to reconstruct the morphological and functional features of the theatre of Dionysus in the era of the three great tragedians, and the changes made to it between the 6th century and ca. 350 BC. More specifically, it is shown that this innovative theatre was built as a permanent structure ab initio, while matters pertaining to the monumentality of the Periclean theatre are explored, along with the attempt to start building a stone theatre whose design was integrated with that of the Odeum of Pericles (by Ictinus?), the evidence of innovative architectural solutions, and—centrally—morphological and functional issues pertaining to the much-discussed ‘tragic stage’.
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The Theatre of Dionysus: Cavea - kerkis VIII - Archaeological investigation and documentation in ... more The Theatre of Dionysus: Cavea - kerkis VIII - Archaeological investigation and documentation in 2014 / 1st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities
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The Theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus: Illustrating the Role of its main Entrances [Parodoi] throug... more The Theatre of Dionysos Eleuthereus: Illustrating the Role of its main Entrances [Parodoi] through the Restoration of Statue-Bases.
An unfortunate scientific turn of events during the second
half of the 19th century led to the demolition of the
statue bases which had been revealed in the parodoi of the
Theatre of Dionysus during 1862, and this deprived the
monument and future research of some authentic elements
of its history. Although ancient sources, fragmentary
though they are, speak of the existence of honorary
statues of the distinguished poets in the Athenian Theatre
and the original inscribed bases of the statues of Menander
and Astydamas had been found, questions about
the form and original position of these monuments had
been remained desiderata of research for many decades.
The process of partial recovery of the lost bases of the parodoi
together with the research among the surviving
scattered material and the restoration of 5 out of the 8
bases of the western parodos only started in the 1980s.
During the last years, new research has led to the restoration
of the base of the statue of Astydamas in the western
parodos, but mainly to the resolution of the issue of the
position of the honorary monuments of the greatest representatives
of dramatic poetry. The restoration of some
bases of the eastern parodos and especially the ‘didactic
restoration’ of the honorary monument of Menander with
the use of a cast cement copy of the restored statue type
highlights the central role of this entrance, the honorary
monuments of which embodied the perennial value of
the theatre and of classical education in general.
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2ο Συνέδριο: Ιστορία των Δομικών Κατασκευών, Επιμ. Ν. Λιανός, Δημοκρίτειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θράκης, Τμήμα Αρχιτεκτόνων Μηχανικών, Ξάνθη, 5-7 Δεκ. 2014 (http://infoidk.arch.duth.gr/IDK02.html (2017)
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The restoration and fastening projects of the remains of the Theatre of Dionysus on the south slo... more The restoration and fastening projects of the remains of the Theatre of Dionysus on the south slope of the Athenian Acropolis, that is recognized as a monument of special importance and high symbolism, have contributed since the 1980s to the intensive and systematic study of its remains and thereafter to the improvement of our knowledge of it. The first major restoration works were carried out progressively on the most vulnerable parts of the monument, the retaining walls of the eastern and western parodoi, emblematic sloping walls for retaining the artificial earth banks of the auditorium at its southern front.
Along with the implementation of the restoration programs, small-scale excavations were conducted, and important new data and observations emerged, which in many cases altered the hitherto established scientific opinion on various construction issues of the theatre’s retaining walls. This article presents the new observations obtained on the passages’ retaining walls, the interventions on which ensured the static and aesthetic improvement of the auditorium’s southern front and rendered its two main entrances more understandable. Those concern the issues of the walls’ width and foundations, the morphology, the way of adjusting and connecting several structural elements of them, the recording and justification of the existing deformations and displacements of stones, etc. The new data have enriched our knowledge on the monument and rendered safe the rehabilitation and recovery of architectural forms in its southern part.
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2o Πανελλήνιο Συνέδριο Αναστηλώσεων, 21-24 Μαϊου 2009, Περιλήψεις εισηγήσεων, Αθήνα 2009 (Επιμ. Κ. Δρόσου - Κ. Θεοχαρίδου), 2009
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The Theatre of Dionysos; the sculptures of the Roman stage: dating, artistic and interpretative i... more The Theatre of Dionysos; the sculptures of the Roman stage: dating, artistic and interpretative issues
The various reconstruction proposals made to date for the Roman stage of the Theatre of Dionysos coupled with unresolved issues relating to the dating and attribution of the architectural sculpture in it have contributed to a lack of clarity with regard both to the form of the stage and to the historic role played by the Theatre in the Imperial period. This paper attempts a re-examination of these unresolved issues relating to the Roman stage and of the changes that were most likely made to it during the Imperial era by means of new observations on its architectural elements and on the totality of the architectural sculptures found in the vicinity of the stage in the latter half of the 19th century. Interpreting the artistic and semantic nature of these sculptures and examining their technical features in parallel with the architecture of the scaenae frons allows us both to assign the statuary to specific positions on the Neronian scaenae frons as it was renovated during the early Hadrianic period, and to interpret the statues as personifications of the Satyric Dithyramb, Tragodia and Komodia. The programmatic adornment and symbolic significance of the scaenae frons in the spirit of Hadrianic classicism was directly linked to changes wrought to the cavea of the theatre during this same period, and seem to relate to the newly-introduced Imperial cult of Hadrian as Neos Dionysos, the staging of the Hadrianeia and the moves made to legitimize the new ideology by exploiting the extant link in the minds of the Athenians between the major popular festival of the Great Dionysia and the tribal basis of Athenian democracy.
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Ν. Καλτσάς - Γ. Δεσπίνης (επιμ.), ΠΡΑΞΙΤΕΛΗΣ. Κατάλογος έκθεσης, Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο, 25. 7 - 31. 10. 2007
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Conference Presentations by Christina Papastamati-von Moock
R. Frederiksen - E. Gebhard - A. Sokolicek (eds.), The Architecture of the Ancient Greek Theatre
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Το αρχαίο ελληνικό Θέατρο και η πρόσληψή του, Πρακτικά του Δ΄ Πανελληνίου Θεατρολογικού Συνεδρίου
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P. Wilson - E. Csapo - H.-R. Goette - P. Green (eds.), Death and Drama or Birth of an Industry?: the Greek Theatre in the Fourth Century BC
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2ο Πανελλήνιο Συνέδριο Αναστηλώσεων
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Papers by Christina Papastamati-von Moock
An unfortunate scientific turn of events during the second
half of the 19th century led to the demolition of the
statue bases which had been revealed in the parodoi of the
Theatre of Dionysus during 1862, and this deprived the
monument and future research of some authentic elements
of its history. Although ancient sources, fragmentary
though they are, speak of the existence of honorary
statues of the distinguished poets in the Athenian Theatre
and the original inscribed bases of the statues of Menander
and Astydamas had been found, questions about
the form and original position of these monuments had
been remained desiderata of research for many decades.
The process of partial recovery of the lost bases of the parodoi
together with the research among the surviving
scattered material and the restoration of 5 out of the 8
bases of the western parodos only started in the 1980s.
During the last years, new research has led to the restoration
of the base of the statue of Astydamas in the western
parodos, but mainly to the resolution of the issue of the
position of the honorary monuments of the greatest representatives
of dramatic poetry. The restoration of some
bases of the eastern parodos and especially the ‘didactic
restoration’ of the honorary monument of Menander with
the use of a cast cement copy of the restored statue type
highlights the central role of this entrance, the honorary
monuments of which embodied the perennial value of
the theatre and of classical education in general.
Along with the implementation of the restoration programs, small-scale excavations were conducted, and important new data and observations emerged, which in many cases altered the hitherto established scientific opinion on various construction issues of the theatre’s retaining walls. This article presents the new observations obtained on the passages’ retaining walls, the interventions on which ensured the static and aesthetic improvement of the auditorium’s southern front and rendered its two main entrances more understandable. Those concern the issues of the walls’ width and foundations, the morphology, the way of adjusting and connecting several structural elements of them, the recording and justification of the existing deformations and displacements of stones, etc. The new data have enriched our knowledge on the monument and rendered safe the rehabilitation and recovery of architectural forms in its southern part.
The various reconstruction proposals made to date for the Roman stage of the Theatre of Dionysos coupled with unresolved issues relating to the dating and attribution of the architectural sculpture in it have contributed to a lack of clarity with regard both to the form of the stage and to the historic role played by the Theatre in the Imperial period. This paper attempts a re-examination of these unresolved issues relating to the Roman stage and of the changes that were most likely made to it during the Imperial era by means of new observations on its architectural elements and on the totality of the architectural sculptures found in the vicinity of the stage in the latter half of the 19th century. Interpreting the artistic and semantic nature of these sculptures and examining their technical features in parallel with the architecture of the scaenae frons allows us both to assign the statuary to specific positions on the Neronian scaenae frons as it was renovated during the early Hadrianic period, and to interpret the statues as personifications of the Satyric Dithyramb, Tragodia and Komodia. The programmatic adornment and symbolic significance of the scaenae frons in the spirit of Hadrianic classicism was directly linked to changes wrought to the cavea of the theatre during this same period, and seem to relate to the newly-introduced Imperial cult of Hadrian as Neos Dionysos, the staging of the Hadrianeia and the moves made to legitimize the new ideology by exploiting the extant link in the minds of the Athenians between the major popular festival of the Great Dionysia and the tribal basis of Athenian democracy.
Conference Presentations by Christina Papastamati-von Moock
An unfortunate scientific turn of events during the second
half of the 19th century led to the demolition of the
statue bases which had been revealed in the parodoi of the
Theatre of Dionysus during 1862, and this deprived the
monument and future research of some authentic elements
of its history. Although ancient sources, fragmentary
though they are, speak of the existence of honorary
statues of the distinguished poets in the Athenian Theatre
and the original inscribed bases of the statues of Menander
and Astydamas had been found, questions about
the form and original position of these monuments had
been remained desiderata of research for many decades.
The process of partial recovery of the lost bases of the parodoi
together with the research among the surviving
scattered material and the restoration of 5 out of the 8
bases of the western parodos only started in the 1980s.
During the last years, new research has led to the restoration
of the base of the statue of Astydamas in the western
parodos, but mainly to the resolution of the issue of the
position of the honorary monuments of the greatest representatives
of dramatic poetry. The restoration of some
bases of the eastern parodos and especially the ‘didactic
restoration’ of the honorary monument of Menander with
the use of a cast cement copy of the restored statue type
highlights the central role of this entrance, the honorary
monuments of which embodied the perennial value of
the theatre and of classical education in general.
Along with the implementation of the restoration programs, small-scale excavations were conducted, and important new data and observations emerged, which in many cases altered the hitherto established scientific opinion on various construction issues of the theatre’s retaining walls. This article presents the new observations obtained on the passages’ retaining walls, the interventions on which ensured the static and aesthetic improvement of the auditorium’s southern front and rendered its two main entrances more understandable. Those concern the issues of the walls’ width and foundations, the morphology, the way of adjusting and connecting several structural elements of them, the recording and justification of the existing deformations and displacements of stones, etc. The new data have enriched our knowledge on the monument and rendered safe the rehabilitation and recovery of architectural forms in its southern part.
The various reconstruction proposals made to date for the Roman stage of the Theatre of Dionysos coupled with unresolved issues relating to the dating and attribution of the architectural sculpture in it have contributed to a lack of clarity with regard both to the form of the stage and to the historic role played by the Theatre in the Imperial period. This paper attempts a re-examination of these unresolved issues relating to the Roman stage and of the changes that were most likely made to it during the Imperial era by means of new observations on its architectural elements and on the totality of the architectural sculptures found in the vicinity of the stage in the latter half of the 19th century. Interpreting the artistic and semantic nature of these sculptures and examining their technical features in parallel with the architecture of the scaenae frons allows us both to assign the statuary to specific positions on the Neronian scaenae frons as it was renovated during the early Hadrianic period, and to interpret the statues as personifications of the Satyric Dithyramb, Tragodia and Komodia. The programmatic adornment and symbolic significance of the scaenae frons in the spirit of Hadrianic classicism was directly linked to changes wrought to the cavea of the theatre during this same period, and seem to relate to the newly-introduced Imperial cult of Hadrian as Neos Dionysos, the staging of the Hadrianeia and the moves made to legitimize the new ideology by exploiting the extant link in the minds of the Athenians between the major popular festival of the Great Dionysia and the tribal basis of Athenian democracy.