Classics Scholar Brings Ancient Theater: Forming Connections Between Neuroscience, History and Theater

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, acclaimed classical scholar, translator and theater director Peter Meineck gave a lecture entitled “The Ancient Greek Theater: New Research and New Directions” in the Charles Chu room. The lecture, which was open to the public, was part of a course on Greek tragedy taught by Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics Nina Papathanasopoulou. During the talk, Meineck presented his research on sixth and fifth century BCE Athenian theater, the peak of Greek and Athenian drama. He made connections between the ancient Athenian theater and theories in modern neuroscience and explained how his research has influenced his own work directing theater.

Professor Meineck began his lecture with an impressive description of ancient Athenian theater. He argued that almost all male citizens in Athens would have participated in the “dithyramb,” a performance competition held at the ancient Athenian theater between the 10 political tribes of Athens. Thus, the members of the audience for the Athenian plays would have been able to relate to the experiences of the performers. Professor Meineck said that ancient Athenian theater was “kind of a cross between community-theater and the most expensive theater that was ever created.”

He also pointed out that the plays were financed by the state mostly through contributions by the wealthiest Athenian citizens. Athenians had two choices when it came to showing off their wealth: fund a warship or fund a theater production. Professor Meineck noted this contrast by saying, “That is like the United States of America spending as much on defense as it does on theater.”

Professor Meineck also debunked the common-held perception of a circular Greek theater. He observed that while such theaters existed, none have been discovered from the sixth or fifth centuries BCE. Round theaters were built around the fourth century BCE. (The famous theater of Epidaurus was not built until 330 BCE.) He then presented evidence that almost the entire theater of Dionysus in Athens was built after the peak period of Greek drama. Pointing to a diagram of the theater, he said that scholars believe that only some areas were built during the sixth or fifth century BCE. Professor Meineck discussed recent scholarship that theorizes that the theater of Dionysus during this time consisted of temporary stadium-style wooden stands.

Professor Meineck then discussed Greek theater in the context of neuroscience. Noting that Greek theaters were positioned so that they would have “fantastic views,” he observed that “the biggest thing you see in these theaters is not the actors and it’s not the set. It’s actually the sky.” Professor Meineck presented evidence that looking up at the sky releases dopamine, a powerful neurotransmitter. He conducted an experiment with his audience in which he showed participants how they would look up if they were prompted to think of their favorite food. Professor Meineck referenced Euripides’ Bacchae in which a character is told to “cast your eye up into the sky.” This results in the character experiencing a significant revelation. Professor Meineck noted that performing in an open-air environment enabled people to “look up and contemplate,” and that it’s difficult to perform a Greek play indoors. To show how powerful an effect the sky has on people Professor Meineck used as an example an open-air performance of Macbeth he had attended at DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) in Brooklyn. The production “failed because you can’t compete with the 7 train crossing the bridge; you can’t compete with the view of New York City,” he said. “Greek Theater doesn’t compete with the view, it incorporates the view.”

Professor Meineck also briefly presented some of the work he has done with veterans. He noted that, because the heyday of Greek theater was during a “time of warfare and plague and disaster,” theater might have served as a form of “cultural therapy.” He noted the findings, of psychologist Jonathan Shay, who believes that “Greek drama was written by combat veterans, performed by combat veterans, for an audience of combat veterans.” Professor Meineck showed pictures from a veterans’ performance of a Greek tragedy that he directed at the White House. He described one of the veterans using Ajax’s suicide speech to “directly speak to [Gen. David] Petraeus.” According to Professor Meineck, “Petraeus looked really uncomfortable.”

Professor Papathanasopoulou had gotten to know Professor Meineck through living in New York City and being involved in productions of Ancient Greek plays. His work complements a course that she is teaching this semester, Classics 204: Greek Tragedy. She explains her Greek Tragedy course as “[analyzing] a selection of Greek plays and [drawing] attention to important political, social and philosophical issues that concern our world today. Through work on these tragedies, students critically engage with conceptions of justice, free will and human responsibility, the clash between aristocratic and democratic values, gender conflicts, confrontations between authoritative figures and their subjects, and conflicts of loyalty between a person’s family and civic community.” Professor Papathanasopoulou felt that he was very successful and that, as an outside speaker, he was able to help the class better understand the concepts that they had been discussing in class.

Students in the class were also impressed by Professor Meineck’s lecture. Ben Esposito ’16 said, “Professor Meineck’s approach to interpreting Greek tragedy was fascinating. He prepared an interdisciplinary discourse that analyzed the tragic plays not only from the theatrical perspective, but from that of neuroscience and sociology. It was certainly an eye-opening lecture that will change the way I read these plays in the future.” Charlotte Weber ’16 also noted that Professor Meineck’s use of neuroscience was fascinating, saying that she had “never felt ancient history so vividly.” •