The 4th century is a period of social, political and economic transformation, and is the true golden age of theatre. However, the theatre of this era has not received proper attention in the history of studies except recently, and in any case in a proportion not comparable with that devoted to the theatre of the 5th century BC.

Yet there are some basic facts that make one understand the importance of this period in the history of theatre: 1) Theatre ‘explodes’: from an Athenian phenomenon it becomes pan-Hellenic and then ‘universal’. Theatres spread throughout the Hellenised world, testifying to a new spectacular dimension and to the pervasiveness of dramatic genres; 2) 4th-century dramaturgical production, as testified by sources and titles, is of enormous quantitative dimensions, far greater than that of the 5th century and the following centuries; 3) Theatre covers new functions in relation to new commissions and new needs; 4) In the dialectical tension between canonisation and innovation, dramatic genres are transformed and begin to contaminate each other, giving rise to new content and formal solutions.

This conference stems from the need for an overall view that reconstructs the theatrical phenomenon over the long term and in its complexity and allows the 4th century to be assigned the role it deserves in the history of theatre, overcoming ‘atomistic’ visions by genre and author. To this end, the availability of new tools, textual, archaeological and iconographic, such as the Fragmenta comica series and extensive mapping of material data, make possible a more conscious and well-founded level of reconstruction and historical analysis. In particular, the aspects of theatre production that we intend to focus on are wide-ranging: society and its changes, the relationship with politics and history in relation to the evolution of dramaturgical forms.

The conference was organised as part of the project: Folklore and oral traditions in the Greek culture. From the Archaic to the Hellenistic period – PRIN 2022. Funded by the European Union NextGenerationEU

ORGANISERS
CNR-ISMed, Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften des Landes Baden-Württemberg, University of L’Aquila, DSU Department of Human Sciences

PATROCINATORS
University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’, DAAAM Department of Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean and Merano Academy / Akademie Meran

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Andrea Ercolani (CNR – ISMed), Laura Lulli (University of L’Aquila), Livio Sbardella (University of L’Aquila), Bernhard Zimmermann (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg)

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
The conference is open to the public, subject to availability of places, after registration by email to the contact addresses.
Remote participation: link
Meeting ID: 850 3878 7534
Access code: 255574

INFO AND CONTACTS
andrea.ercolani@ismed.cnr.it
alessandra.piergrossi@cnr.it
livio.sbardella@univaq.it