Carcinus (writer)

This article is about the Greek tragedian. For the crab genus of the same name, see Carcinus.

Carcinus (Greek: Καρκίνος) was an Ancient Greek tragedian from Thoricus, the son of the playwright Xenocles and grandson of Carcinus.[1] Another Xenocles, mentioned by a scholiast on Aristophanes' Frogs, may have been Carcinus' son.[2] The Suda records that he wrote one hundred and sixty plays. He won eleven victories at the Dionysia.[3] His exact dates are uncertain, though he was certainly active in the 370s BC. According to the Suda, his floruit was in the 100th Olympiad (380–377 BC);[4] and his first victory at the Dionysia can be dated to before 372.[5] Dionysius II of Syracuse was a patron of Carcinus.[6] Nine or ten titles of his plays are known: Aerope, Ajax, Alope, Amphiaraus, Medea, Oedipus, Orestes, Semele, Thyestes, and possibly Tyro.[3] His work survives only in fragments.[7]

Carcinus is mentioned briefly by Aristotle. In the Poetics, Chapter 17 (1455a lines 22 to 29), Aristotle discusses the necessity for a playwright to see the composition on the stage, rather than just in print, in order to weed out any inconsistencies. Aristotle points to an unnamed play of Carcinus which had a character, Amphiaraus, exit a temple. For some reason this seemed outrageously inconsistent when viewed on the stage, and the audience "hissed" the actors right off the stage.[8]

In 2004, Annie Bélis published a fragment of a musical papyrus written by Carcinus that contains parts of his Medea (Louvre E 10534). It was identified thanks to a quote by Aristotle. It contains two arias, one by Medea and one by Jason. In this version, Medea did not kill her children, but is unable to prove it.[9]

  1. ^ Zimmerman, Bernhard (2006). "Carcinus [4]". Brill's New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e609190.
  2. ^ Sutton, Dana Ferrin (1987). "The Theatrical Families of Athens". The American Journal of Philology. 108: 18. doi:10.2307/294911. JSTOR 294911.
  3. ^ a b Brown, Andrew. "Carcinus (2)". Oxford Classical Dictionary. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.1365.
  4. ^ Green, J. R. (1990). "Carcinus and the Temple: a Lesson in the Staging of Tragedy". Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies. 31 (3): 281.
  5. ^ Webster, T. L. (1954). "Fourth Century Tragedy and the Poetics". Hermes. 82 (3): 300.
  6. ^ Stewart, Edmund (2016). "An Ancient Theatre Dynasty: The Elder Carcinus, the Young Xenocles and the Sons of Carcinus in Aristophanes". Philologus. 160 (1): 2. doi:10.1515/phil-2016-0001. S2CID 164756784.
  7. ^ Rothwell, Kenneth (1994). "Was Carcinus I a Tragic Playwright?". Classical Philology. 89 (3): 244. doi:10.1086/367418. S2CID 53575987.
  8. ^ Green, J. R. (1990). "Carcinus and the Temple: a Lesson in the Staging of Tragedy". Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies. 31 (3).
  9. ^ Bélis, Annie (2004). "Un papyrus musical inédit au Louvre". Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (in French). 148: 1305–1329.