Dancing the War Report in Aeschylus’ Seven against Thebes

This chapter reconsiders in its theatrical and narrative-related implications a testimony by Athenaeus (1,22 A), according to whom, at some point in Seven against Thebes , a dancer called Telestes danced the events so skilfully as to make them manifest. Departing from previous views on the subject, the chapter argues that, in Seven , the most suitable moment for Telestes’ dance to take place was not during the spoken lines of the Redepaare but during the lyric parodos , and that therefore Telestes did not perform a pantomime but in all likelihood a war dance. Accordingly, the parodos would consist of two interplaying dances. One was the solo war dance by Telestes, which made visible on stage the military manoeuvres of the Argives beyond the city walls. The other was the choral song and dance of the Theban maidens, who, while expressing the terror of the attacked, also described the siege with visual details and as a real-life experience. By assuming that the lyric parodos was accompanied by a war dance, we gain a new understanding not only of the chorus’ claims to see what is going on beyond the city walls, but also of the classical sources describing Seven as a drama which left the spectators with a craving for fighting.

Ancient history · Art · Chorus · Dance · Drama · Literature · Narrative · Siege · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Organic Chemistry Synthesis Methods

• Narratives in Motion

  Open Access•Laura Gianvittorio-Ungar•Greek and Roman Musical Studies•2020

  Add to list

• Incomplete mimesis, or when Indian dance started to narrate stories

  Elisa Ganser•Asiatische Studien – Études…•2020

  Add to list