The tragedies of Aeschylus “The Seven Against Thebes”, Euripides “The Phoenician” and Sophocles “Antigone” are compared in terms of ideas about the role and mission of education in war and peace. As depicted by the classic playwrights, Thebes is a city where the military takes place outside, and inside is an intellectual confrontation. The clever and the noble are found on one or on the opposite sides of the barricades together with the stupid and misguided sometimes both literally and figuratively. Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles associate what is happening to the city with its origins, in order to be able to build pedagogical bridges between the past, the present and the future. Each tragedy is a different story, which in one way or another represents an archaic scheme of seven pairs of opposite warriors standing in seven gates. The tragedies are different in that the heroes choose different lines of defense of the city, which was threatened with destruction because of the confrontation of their sons. The acts of the Eteocles and Polynices are regarded by some heroes as punishment for the city for its painful past, and by others – as an instruction for a better future. With pedagogical intent, representatives of different generations and social layers turn to the myth of the city foundation, dreaming of how good it would have been to prevent such a plight. Thebes, in the view of the classic playwrights, is a city either narrowed down to a single unique family with a special pedagogy for the home, or expanding to a universal community of citizens who are instructed by its ruler through a wise power or a strong wisdom. This “pulsing” city exists in a tragic circle: the bloody victories of the past have not taught anything to those who crave for new and new victims in the present, thus setting for a special type of pedagogical dreams about the future.

The article is devoted to Plautus’ comedy «The Captives». Plautus, like other Roman comedy dramatists, never acted as a teacher to the audience. This completely did not correspond to the traditions of the Roman Republican Theater, which was purely entertaining. However, the author proves that, among Plautus’ works, the play under consideration is unique both in terms of the plot and techniques. Plautus himself singles out this comedy and claims that it is not written for the entertainment of the audience, like all the rest, but with the aim of improving their morals, that is, Plautus only once appears in the role of the teacher, which is so uncharacteristic of the Roman scene.

Since Cicero’s time and all the way to the modern era, Terence’s plays have been studied for their pedagogical value, located in three particular areas. Foremost, Terence’s works were valued for their choice of language and charm of style (cf. Cicero ad Att. 7.3.10 elegantiam sermonis; also Quintilian, inst. 10.1.90 praised Terence’s prose as in hoc genere elegantissima). From the Renaissance on Terence was a reference source of correct colloquial Latin. Secondly, Terence’s characters were distinguished by their ‘humanity’, meaning their idealized depiction of human character, and were interpreted as exempla of civic conduct and morality. Thirdly, Terence invented the concept of suspense in a dramatic performance. By eliminating from his plays information about the resolution of the plot, and, especially in the Hecyra, by abolishing the traditional plot as such, Terence inspired the rebirth of drama in the modern era. Two less studied aspects of Terence’ dramas, with respect to pedagogical interest, comprise their firm awareness of contemporary politics and social tensions, and tendency to assess and illustrate them. In the present paper, I discuss the different ways in which Terence’s plays engage a) in critical dialogue with the conventions of comic dramaturgy and stereotypical characterization, and b) in socio-political commentary of issues of broad public interest, even though he reproduced the allegedly apolitical plots of Menander’s dramas. Following an overview of the background of Terence’s work (his predecessors and the characteristics of his dramaturgy that set him apart from the earlier masters of the palliata genre, most notably Plautus), and his special attraction to Menander, I will focus on two case-studies that illustrate how Terence’s engagement with dramaturgical conventions and traditional, firmly established social norms may have been employed to provoke, but also educate and instruct.

The article describes the mention of the rivers and the gates of Thebes in the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and shows how the topography was combined with historical and mythological meanings in the mass consciousness of the Greeks of the Classical period. Information of the narrative tradition is correlated with the archaeological data and topographical characteristics of Thebes, in particular the acropolis of Thebes – Kadmeia. In our opinion, the mention of the source of Dirke and the river Ismenos in Attic tragedies conveys the approximate western and eastern borders of Thebes of Mycenaean time. Unlike the opinion expressed by Schober and supported by Symeonoglou that it would be too much for Thebes of the Mycenaean time to have seven gates, on the basis of literary tradition, topographical and archaeological data, we believe that Kadmeia of the Late Bronze Age could have seven gates.

view of constructing the mise en scène and searching for an answer to the question that is usually overlooked by the researchers of this text. Namely, is it possible to play “The Saturnalia” in a modern theatre in which literary works with their subjects and psychological portraits of heroes play an important role, constituting the basis for stage direction and acting? In the appropriate context, the characters of “The Saturnalia”, belonging to the Roman aristocratic environment of the 4th century, are analyzed. All of them are identified with the real historical figures (prominent statesmen Vettius Augorius Praetextatus, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, Virius Nicomachus Flavianus; grammarian and commentator of Vergil’s texts Servius, physician and natural philosopher Disarius, philosopher-cynic Horus, philosopher-platonist Eustahius, fabulist Avienus, scientists Caecina Albinus and Furius Albinus, Greek rhetorician Eusebius, critic Evangelus. Through Macrobius’ text, the psychological characteristics of all personas are identified with the reference to their probable source. The actual mise en scene of “The Saturnalia” is discussed, its anachronism is noted. A conclusion is made about the possibility of considering Macrobius’ “The Saturnalia” as an essay for a theatrical action.

The theatre of Chaeronea, in Boeotia, has always been of great interest due to the rectilinear plan of its early structure. Excavations carried out in 2009 have enabled us to observe previously undiscovered phases of construction and parts of the building. Thanks to these surveys, we can now discuss the monument’s creation and architectural evolution, concentrating on the redefinition of the theatre’s koilon. This article aims to re-examine the structures of the theatre of Chaeronea, starting with an examination of some of the most interesting rectilinear koila in Greece. In recent years, excavations in continental Greek have led to a revival of the endless debate on rectilinear plans and on the relationships between fifthcentury theatres exhibiting plans with rectilinear staircases. Following the canonisation of the semi-circular plan, did all theatres suddenly take up the new model? When did the theatre of Chaeronea abandon its rectilinear shape to imitate the semi-circular theatres of the fourth century BC?

This article is devoted to the analysis of the early stage work of one of the first tragedians of the Greek theatre. Aeschylus is called the father of tragedy since he transformed the original theatrical performance with one actor and the cantata choir, released solemn choral lyric poetry from the dithyrambic genre to a full-fledged drama. Aeschylus was first to realize the importance of a dramatic conflict for the show on the stage of the heroic mythical legends. He introduced a second actor to make this show possible. The dramatic conflict was initiated and resolved in front of the audience, involved them in the action. Aeschylus gave the audience the possibility of empathy to heroes of the tragedy in their thoughts and doubts before they act the way it was known from the mythical stories.

The article attempts to consider the theater (including the ancient one) as a specific pedagogical space and instrument of education, as well as the use of game and theatrical elements in the school practice of the 16th-17th centuries. The names of the domestic specialists who develop the theme of the theater from different approaches and positions are provided. Theater and school are regarded as institutions related to the leisure activities of the Hellenes and Romans. In their interpretation, the author relies on the terminology used by Johan Huizinga, first of all, the words s???? and ludus, which are considered in various interpretations. Also, special attention is paid to the dialogue as a genre of dramatic activity and pedagogical literature

The article considers the place and significance of the theater in the thinking of German humanists and writers of the humanistic circle before and after the Reformation, mainly on the basis of the analysis of printed dramaturgy, commentaries drama and pedagogical essays. The author shows that the fascination of humanists with classical dramaturgy (Terence, Plautus, etc.) was invariably associated with the practice of the play. “School Theater” pursued certain tasks related to the education of students and the enlightenment of the audience. At the heart of the humanistic conception of the theater was the idea of learning through the game (German “Spiel”), which is clearly seen in the example of the theatrical pedagogy of Sixt Birk. In this case, it is both the training of “actors” and spectators. The school theater, as shown in the article, was widespread in humanistic circles and schools, although the practice of productions was almost not reflected in the school orders. This problem is also considered by the author.

Education for Citizenship: the Uses of Antigone

Antique dramaturgy appears to be one of the sources for the emergence of School theatre. The article considers the primary stage of this process in the XVIth century. The use of ancient themes by school dramaturgists in the middle of the XVIIth century is shown on the example of J.A. Komensky’s play about Diogenes of Sinope. The source materials about Diogenes that were avaliable to J.A. Komensky are analized;  the article also defines the place of ancient thematics in Latin school programmes, including Komensky’s pansophical school, as well as his ambiguous attitude towards ancient authors in educational process and on the school theatre stage.By comparing the image of Diogenes of Sinope in D. of Laertes’s treatise and Komensky’s play, the author comes to the conclusion that the interpretation of Diogenes image by Komensky starts with the selection of material for the play and sequencing it in chronological order

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The grammarian’s choice: the popularity of Euripides’ Phoenissae in Hellenistic and Roman education

The Terentian Doctrine of Education, The Classical Weekly