IF THE TRAGEDY IS FEMALE
Photo Source: Antonino Rampulla
The traditional
Cycle of Classical Plays at Syracuse Greek Theatre into its fifty-second edition:
from Friday, May 13 to Sunday, June 19 2016 are taking place every other day of the representations
Elektra Sophocles and
Alcestis Euripides, and ends with the staging of the
Fedra of Seneca on days 23-26 June. As announced by the National Institute of Ancient Drama, presenting the edition,
the woman is the absolute star of this season and is precise and original connotations in the texts chosen. The theater of Syracuse, second in size only to that of Epidaurus, will open the dance with the
Elektra by Sophocles, directed by Gabriele Lavia and the interpretation of Federica Martino. Translation by Nicola Crocetti, Lavia has drawn the deep strong character of Electra, considerably different from the resigned and helpless protagonist of The Libation Bearers of Aeschylus or Euripides gloomy version, which take a wearying and irremediable guilt. Although the plot is unchanged compared to other transpositions and also here entrusted to the brother of Electra, Orestes, the task to avenge his father Agamemnon, by killing his mother, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus, Sophocles has outlined an unexpectedly called female portrait, a Electra determined that rebels against the liabilities of your condition and announces revenge.
Completely different is the pathos that pervades the
Alcestis Euripides' tragedy, as announced from Apollo in the prologue, with a happy ending, according to many scholars, a real satyr play to conclusion a tragic tetralogy. Directed by Cesare Slight enhances the translation of Maria Pia Pattoni and especially enhances the interpretation of Galatea Ranzi in the title role, Stefano Santospago in the guise of Heracles and Danilo Nigrelli, who here makes his debut as Admetus. The legend is told that the sacrifice of Alcestis, wife of the king of Fere, Admetus, for which Apollo is able to mediate with the Fates he is permitted to escape Death, provided you find who is offering in its place. Alcestis is sacrificed, bringing out selfishness, cowardice and deceit also of the closest relatives to Admetus, as elderly parents. To restore the happy endings, you must wait for the jovial appearance of Heracles, who coming accidentally learned of the misfortune of his friend, confronts Hades to bring back the gift of the faithful wife.
If Sophocles 'Electra has already been performed at the Greek Theatre of Syracuse three times, in 1956, in 1970 and 1990 and Euripides' Alcestis has had a previous representation in 1992, the
Fedra Seneca is an interesting novelty, not confined to a few dates in June, but on the contrary will continue in other important theaters and archaeological sites in the name of a real tour of the tragedy in Sicily. The choice of text is bold and unexpected current and urges directed by Carlo Cericiello to contend with the still open debate about the relationship with the Greek models, ie the
Phaedra by Sophocles, but especially the
Ippolito crowned Euripides, renovation of the former
Ippolito veiled always the same author. At the center of the narrative is the unrequited love of Phaedra (here played by newcomer Imma Villa), second wife of Theseus, for her stepson Hippolytus, that is consumed on the scene between similarities and differences with the Greek tragedies and located in the revelation of their secret and incestuous passion and the inevitable suicide, the only possible outcome. Seneca remove it from the story the internecine war between Aphrodite and Artemis, who in Euripides' Hippolytus and Phaedra text move like pawns, contrasting the desire and the blame of the first to the second virginal chastity. The treatment that makes it, therefore, is much more introspective, deep and follows the emergence and maturation of the feeling of love in Phaedra, describing the degeneration in disease, psychosomatic despair, to allow a modern-sharing for the sad resignation of the protagonist.
Greek Theatre are staged, therefore,
unusual women, which deviate from the margin under the thumb of many ancient and transpositions themselves with their experience,
proud of their self-denial and self-sacrifice, determined to carry on burning vengeance and ready to follow their passions to death: the tragedy is served.
Text Source: Sefora Adamovic
ARCHIVE NEWS
CART RUTS CUT FROM QUARRIES
Back to CART RUTS AND A FEW TOO MANY PROJECTIONS
I will skip any preamble, referring to what has already been written regarding the presence of cart ruts in south-eastern Sicily.
The easy academic tendency has been, in most cases concerning cart ruts, to consider them in terms of the latomie, or quarries, with which very often (for example in the cases of the Targia or Pizzuta districts) they share the same territory.
According to this theory, the carraie would have been indirectly created due to the wear of the rock at each passage of carts or sleds loaded with extracted stone blocks. I will not repeat the arguments presented so far in order to demonstrate that this is a theory that has little solid foundations on an in-depth analysis of the cart ruts. However, I will add a piece by demonstrating the implausibility of a connection between them in both chronological and functional...
CART RUTS AND A FEW TOO MANY PROJECTIONS
Read also THE POLISHING OF THE CART RUTS
I will skip any preamble, referring to to what has already been written regarding the presence of cart ruts in south-eastern Sicily.Considering the possibility that the cart ruts were gradually dug by the passage of carts pulled by pack animals, for example pairs of oxen, observing certain sections of the cart ruts present in the Granatari Vecchi district, in Rosolini, and in the Pizzuta district, close to the Vendicari Reserve, two questions arise:
1. Why force the animals to pass over rough surfaces and protrusions high, compared to the base of the furrows, even 60-70 centimeters?
2. Why, in the presence of such obstacles, not opt for a detour?
For Mottershead, Pearson and Schaefer such protrusions appeared later, since at the time of the passage of the wagons, a layer of earth covered the rocky bank, thus not making the obstacle...
THE POLISHING OF THE CART RUTS
Read also THE PROBLEMATIC EDGES OF THE CART RUTS
I will skip any preamble, referring to to what has already been written regarding the presence of cart ruts in south-eastern Sicily.
To proceed with this comparison I have chosen a probable capital and the corner of a recess present in a block of the northern walls of Eloro that would seem to resemble a pinax, that is, a niche that would have housed a fresco of the heroa, but which a more careful observation refers to a system functional to the grip of the block through a pincer winch. Both elements, like the curt ruts, have remained at the mercy of the elements for millennia, and are therefore subject to comparable wear and tear due to the passage of time. The finishing of the capital should be of a high standard, since it is an architectural element that also has an aesthetic function. The recess, on the other hand, should have...
THE PROBLEMATIC EDGES OF THE CART RUTS
I will skip any preamble, referring to to what has already been written regarding the presence of cart ruts in south-eastern Sicily.As can be seen in other sites around the world, in some cart ruts I visited, in particular in the Cugni district in Pachino, in the Granati Vecchi district in Rosolini and in the Targia district in Syracuse, a clear border can be seen, a sort of frame, next to the grooves, more marked externally, barely noticeable internally.
The borders I measured have a width of 14-20 centimeters and a height of 8-10 centimeters.
Not all cart ruts have such frames present or particularly evident, regardless of the degree of wear or degradation. They are found above all in cart ruts with less deep grooves.
As already described in detail, given the presence of furrows with a depth of even 65-70 centimeters, the wheels of a possible vehicle would have had to have a...
THE PROBLEM OF CART RUTS IN SOUTH-EASTERN SICILY (PART FOUR)
Click here to return to third part
Clapham Junction
As in the Maltese site Misrah Ghar Il-Kbir, also in the Targia and Granatari Vecchi districts the cart ruts intersect and cross each other in a similar way to the track switches in a railway station. The nickname Clapham Junction that was given by David H. Trump to the Maltese site, derives precisely from the similarity with the famous English railway station. For Sagona these are agricultural furrows and water channels, for Mottershead, Pearson and Schaefer these are abandoned paths due to obstacles and wear. Obviously we do not know what the morphology of the Syracuse and Rosolini territory was at times when the cart ruts were traced, but considering the current context, there certainly would have been no agricultural reason to build them, given the presence of fertile land, springs and fresh water courses just a few kilometers...
THE PROBLEM OF CART RUTS IN SOUTH-EASTERN SICILY (PART THREE)
Click here to return to SECOND PART
Considerations on the theses of Mottershead, Pearson and Schaefer
I find this study extremely interesting, even if I am perplexed by this emphasis on the loss of hardness of the wet rock given that Malta is among the European territories at greatest risk of desertification (as is unfortunately also the south-eastern area of Sicily). We don't know exactly what the climate was like in Malta when the cart ruts were made, as we don't even know for sure how old they were made. However, it might be understandable to take the humidity factor as a starting point. n strong consideration, in relation to a territory constantly subject to rainfall, but why would the ancient Maltese have had to intensely travel with loaded carts right after a downpour, with all the inconveniences that for example the mud would have entailed?
The Maltese territory is...
THE PROBLEM OF CART RUTS IN SOUTH-EASTERN SICILY (PART TWO)
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The Greek chariot
In relation to the faithful reconstructions of the tools used at the time, recently made in Selinunte and in Valle dei Templi, and in comparison with Study of a Roman Cart by Paola Miniero, the axles of Greek carts of the time had to be no higher than half a meter from the ground and the gauge (i.e. the distance between one wheel and the other) had to measure between 140 and 150 centimeters. They had to plausibly be pulled by at least a pair of pack animals (as represented in the numerous numismatic and artistic testimonies that have come down to us) and have wooden but iron-shod wheels. Another reference for estimating the gauge is the width of two oxen side by side: the width of an ox is about 70-80 centimeters, so the minimum gauge between one wheel and the other, to maintain a certain stability, had to be at least 140...
THE PROBLEM OF CART RUTS IN SOUTH-EASTERN SICILY (PART ONE)
Who I am
Rereading the final draft of what I have written, I think it is appropriate to spend a few lines to introduce myself. I am Antonino Rampulla, owner of the agri-campsite whose website hosts this blog, a graduate in philosophy, with a growing passion for archaeology, born from curiosity for the archaeological sites of which, in particular, south-eastern Sicily is rich. Certain of my substantial ignorance on the subject, I try to make up for it by studying in my free time. However, not infrequently, I happen to come across historical certainties, academically shared, that clash a bit with what logic seemed to suggest to me from the observation of some details of the archaeological sites visited. So, simply, I ask myself questions and, with the most scientific approach possible, I try to look for answers. The result is the pretext to search for information, study and publish in...