Plautus and Roman comedy in times of war

 The comedic plays of Titus Maccius Plautus are said to be mostly adapted from the works of established Greek playwrights like Menander, referred to as Greek New Comedy. The resulting plays, thought to be around 130 works, were written between 205 and 184 BCE. Only 20 have survived to modern times.  

Unlike the Old Comedy of such playwrights as Aristophances with its critical commentary on politics and societal values, New Comedy has been described as "devoid of a serious political, social or intellectual content" and "could be performed in any number of social and political settings without risk of giving offense." Instead, there is much more of a focus on the home and the family unit—something that the Romans, including Plautus, could easily understand and adopt for themselves later in history.

However, Plautus did not ignore the Roman Republic's expansion of power and influence that was taking place during this time.  A. F. West observed that Plautus inserted patriotic passages into his work Miles Gioriosus, composed during the Second Punic War.  At the time, the general Scipio Africanus wanted to confront Hannibal, a plan "strongly favored by the plebs". Plautus apparently pushes for the plan to be approved by the senate, working his audience up with the thought of an enemy in close proximity and a call to outmaneuver him. 

Later, though, when Rome was preparing  to move on Philip V in the Second Macedonian War and there was considerable debate beforehand about the course Rome should take in this conflict considering the recent struggles with Carthage, Plautus incorporates the Roman people's antiwar sentiments into his work, Stichus.   

W. M. Owens writes in his article "Plautus' Stichus and the Political Crisis of 200 B.C.", "There is evidence that antiwar feeling ran deep and persisted even after the war was approved." Owens contends that Plautus was attempting to match the complex mood of the Roman audience riding the victory of the Second Punic War but facing the beginning of a new conflict. For instance, the characters of the dutiful daughters and their father seem obsessed over the idea of officium, the duty one has to do what is right. Their speech is littered with words such as pietas and aequus, and they struggle to make their father fulfill his proper role. The stock parasite in this play, Gelasimus, has a patron-client relationship with this family and offers to do any job in order to make ends meet. Owens puts forward that Plautus is portraying the economic hardship many Roman citizens were experiencing due to the cost of war.

With repeated references to civic responsibility while portraying the desperation of the lower class, Plautus establishes himself firmly on the side of the average Roman citizen. While he makes no specific reference to the possible war with Greece or the struggles of the previous war, he does seem to push the message that the government should take care of its own people before attempting any other military actions.

Terracotta comic mask from Tarentum in South Italy, 300-200 BCE, now in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Image courtesy of the museum. The mask features a rounded skullcap with two holes for hanging in the upper section of the head. The oval face presents a convex forehead with a cleft at center, high arched eyebrows above half-closed eyes, a long thin nose, puffy cheeks, and a broad mouth with an ambiguous smile. Fleshy lips frame the wide-open mouth; the jaw is prominent and features a full, dimpled chin. The hair is painted red and forms a crown of radial striations around the forehead. These characteristics associate the mask with the New Comedy character Colax, an adulator (or vain flatterer).

Greek Terracotta Statuette of a Comic Actor made in Apulia South Italy 325-275 BCE that I photographed at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Roman Terracotta Lamp with Reclining Comic Actor 100-200 CE that I photographed at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Statuette of a Comic Actor Wearing an Animal Mask Roman 100 BCE-100 CE Bronze that I photographed at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Incense Burner (Thymiaterion) shaped as a Comic Actor Seated on an Altar Roman 1-50 CE Bronze and Silver BCE that I photographed at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Bronze Roman Lamp in the Shape of a Comic Mask 75-125 CE that I photographed at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Mosaic depicting theater masks Roman 2nd century CE that I photographed at the Capitoline Museum in Rome.

Carved Marble Relief depicting tragic and comic masks Roman 2nd century CE that I photographed at "The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece" on display at the Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon.

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Ancient theater in Greece and Rome

Nearly every Greek and Roman city of note had an open-air theater consisting of the orchestra, the flat dancing floor of the chorus, and the theatron, the actual structure of the theater building. Vase paintings indicate the stage stood about three feet high with a flight of steps in the center. The actors entered from either side and from a central door in the skene, which also housed the ekkyklema, a wheeled platform with sets of scenes. A mechane, or crane, located at the right end of the stage, was used to hoist gods and heroes through the air onto the stage.  

Theatrical performances were usually part of a seasonal festival and were accompanied by processions, sacrifices in the theater, parades, and competitions between playwrights. Almost all Greek tragedies were based on heroic myths although the dialogue between actor and chorus sometimes served an instructional purpose and reflected current debate in the public assembly.

"Unlike the Greek tragedy, the comic performances produced in Athens during the fifth century BCE, the so-called Old Comedy, ridiculed mythology and prominent members of Athenian society. There seems to have been no limit to speech or action in the comic exploitation of sex and other bodily functions. Terracotta figurines and vase paintings dated around and after the time of Aristophanes (450–ca. 387 BCE) show comic actors wearing grotesque masks and tights with padding on the rump and belly, as well as a leather phallus." - Art historian, Colette Hemingway

Comic characters and their masks eventually became standardized indicating the popularity not of a specific figure but of types—the old man, the slave, the courtesan, etc.—that appeared repeatedly in different plays. Terracotta or bronze figurines of these popular characters were often sold as souvenirs. Fourteen such figurines were found in one burial in Attica. Apparently the deceased was either an actor themselves or an avid theater-goer!

"In the second half of the fourth century BCE, the so-called New Comedy of Menander (343–291 BCE) and his contemporaries gave fresh interpretations to familiar material. In many ways comedy became simpler and tamer, with very little obscenity. The grotesque padding and phallus of Old Comedy were abandoned in favor of more naturalistic costumes that reflected the playwrights’ new style. Subtle differentiation of masks worn by the actors paralleled the finer delineation of character in the texts of New Comedy, which dealt with private and family life, social tensions, and the triumph of love in a variety of contexts." - Art historian, Colette Hemingway.

Read more about it:

Hemingway, Colette. “Theater in Ancient Greece.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/thtr/hd_thtr.htm (October 2004)

Terracotta Lamp with seated Comic Actor Greek made in Egypt 125-100 BCE that I photographed at The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Roman Terracotta Lamp with Reclining Comic Actor 100-200 CE that that I photographed at The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Statuette of a Comic Actor Wearing an Animal Mask Roman 100 BCE-100 CE  Bronze that I photographed at The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Incense Burner (Thymiaterion) shaped as a Comic Actor Seated on an Altar Roman 1-50 CE Bronze and Silver that I photographed at The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Detail from a red-figured Bell Krater with a scene of Phlyax actors Greek made in Apulia South Italy 370-360 BCE attributed to the Cotugno Painter Terracotta that I photographed at The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California.

Bronze furniture decoration in the shape of theater masks Roman Imperial Period that I photographed at the Palazzo Massimo in Rome.

The Decumano Max leads to remains of the ancient Roman theater I photographed at Ostia built at the end of the 1st century BCE 

Architectural elements depicting theater masks that I photographed at the ancient Roman theater in Ostia Antica.

Male comic theater mask Roman 2nd century CE that I photographed at the Terme di Diocleziano in Rome.

Roman Actor dressed as Papposilenus father of the satyrs from the Villa of Torre Astura 1st century BCE-1st century CE that I photographed at the Palazzo Massimo in Rome.

Panoramic view of the ancient Roman theater in Orange, France, a World Heritage Site, 1st century CE that I photographed.

A theater mask carved on the corner of a Roman funerary monument that I photographed at the Musèe de l'Arles Antique in Arles, France.

Terracotta scent bottle in the form of a squatting man, perhaps a comic actor  Corinthian from Camirus Rhodes 600-575 BCE that I photographed at The British Museum.

Masked actors perform Dyskolos "The Grouch" by Menander at ancient Alexandria's theater, a screenshot I took in Assassin's Creed Origins Discovery Tour.

Cleopatra leaves the Greek theater in ancient Alexandria, a screenshot I took in Assassin's Creed Origins Discovery Tour.

Terracotta statuette of an actor, late 5th–early 4th century BCE, Greek, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Terracotta statuette of an actor, late 5th–early 4th century BCE, Greek, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Terracotta statuette of an actor, late 5th–early 4th century BCE, Greek, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Terracotta statuette of an actor, late 5th–early 4th century BCE, Greek, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Terracotta statuette of an actor, late 5th–early 4th century BCE, Greek, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Terracotta statuette of an actor, late 5th–early 4th century BCE, Greek, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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