Ricostruire il coro di una commedia perduta: il caso di Cratino

The chorus was the key element in any ancient drama. Its importance goes beyond the stage performance itself, and is underscored by the fact that the playwrights would apply for a chorus to the archōn in charge of the festival months in advance, and if their play was selected they were »granted a chorus«, according to the standard technical expression. The reconstruction of the choral parts in fragmentary plays is only possible by considering three elements: the drama’s title, which, if in the plural form, may allude to the choreutai; hints and information preserved by the fragments; possible external evidence. This paper focuses on the possible identity of the choruses in the fragments of Cratinus, one of the greatest poets of Attic Old Comedy (490–420 BC circa), and a rival of Aristophanes. Most of the surviving titles of his works are in the plural form, and likely alludes to the members of the chorus. Among these titles, some present a person’s name in the plural form (e.g. Archilochoi and Cheirōnes): this infrequent feature has been interpreted as evidence of the fact that the chorus might have comprised the protagonist’s supporters. In the case of other two dramas, Dionysalexandros and Pytinē, the reconstruction of the chorus is only possible through external evidence, which needs to be assessed by taking into account a variety of literary, philological, and historical factors. Bearing these considerations in mind, I will discuss the possible identification and reconstruction of the chorus in each of Cratinus’ known dramas, analysing the extant evidence available and discussing the various scholarly interpretations.