I found the discussion of masks and the role they played in civic life as well as on stage in Wyles, R. (2020) Theatre Props and Civic Identity in Athens 458-405 BC. London: Bloomsbury very interesting. In the chapter on Masks she discusses the Bacchae and in connection with Pentheus’ cross dressing she draws attention to the the mask’s potential for drawing the audience further into the horror of the action. This is a brief extract from 138-9 from her book
Tragedy’s awareness of the mask’s potential in this respect and its capability in exploiting it, despite comedy’s handling of the prop, is demonstrated by Euripides’ Bacchae. The theatrical self-consciousness of this play, probably produced in 405 bc, has long been recognized in scholarship. The Agave scene, however, has still more to offer to our understanding of the play’s self- awareness and significance for its audience. By taking the mask’s theatrical and social life into account, the full extent of this scene’s allusion to previous plays can be appreciated and its engagement in the discourse on theatre and citizen identity is revealed. The appearance of Agave on stage holding the head of Pentheus carries its own significance within the play’s symbolic design as the realization of Dionysus’ victory prefigured through his earlier costume change. Pentheus’ appearance on stage disguised as a maenad (Bacch. 913) signifies both Dionysus’ mastery over him as well as the king’s imminent death. This cross-dressing scene also, however, forms a prominent moment in the ‘play within a play’ directed by Dionysus. The same actor, who has exited as Pentheus (dressed in maenad disguise to spy on the women), returns, approximately 189 lines later, as Agave. He is probably in the same costume but is now wearing Agave’s mask while holding Pentheus’ mask in his hand. In the world of the play the mask held by the actor represents Pentheus’ severed head, but the verbal cue from Cadmus (1277) as well as the self-consciousness of the cross-dressing scene, allows it to be simultaneously perceived as a theatre mask by the audience. The use of full ‘helmet’ masks in ancient Greek theatre established the metonymy between head and mask offering symbolic logic to this staging.
The already striking stage image of a mask being handled by a masked actor is enhanced by the visual similarity between the masks. The juxtaposition presents the realization of a comparison cued in the mind’s eye of the audience before Pentheus goes to the mountain, 925–7:116
ΠΕΝΘΕΥΣ
τί φαίνομαι δῆτ ̓; οὐχὶ τὴν Ἰνοῦς στάσιν ἢ τὴν Ἀγαυῆς ἑστάναι, μητρός γ ̓ ἐμῆς;
ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΣ
αὐτὰς ἐκείνας εἰσορᾶν δοκῶ σ ̓ ὁρῶν.
Pentheus What do I look like? Do I not have the carriage of Ino or my mother Agave?
Dionysus When I look at you I think I see their very image.
Dionysus’ reply invites a general visual equation between the disguised Pentheus and his mother or aunt. There is much to be gained dramatically if Pentheus bears resemblance to his mother. It would make Agave’s appearance, alive and well, looking like Pentheus when he had left the stage to go to his death, more painful for the audience. The text confirms details of the visual similarity. Pentheus is promised long hair by Dionysus before he goes into the house (831). When he appears cross-dressed on stage, his hair is arranged in a snood (928–9) that he later removes, as the messenger tells us, when begging his mother to recognize him (1115–6). With the snood removed, Pentheus’ long hair must have flowed down from his decapitated head (mask). It matches Agave’s hair that as a maenad would be hanging loose (as the first messenger confirms 695: καὶ πρῶτα μὲν καθεῖσαν εἰς ὤμους κόμας). The possible visual effect of this similarity is captured by the image of Agave holding Pentheus’ head, preserved on a papyrus fragment found in Egypt (Fig. 25).Even in this crude drawing, the arresting effect of the similar features (wide eyes, brows, straight nose, curly hair) between Agave and the head that she carries can be felt. Moreover, the choice to present Pentheus’ mask frontally in the image responds to the scene’s engagement in the discourse of theatre and identity.
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