Ekkyklema
Wheeled platform used to reveal interior scenes in ancient Greek theatre.
The ekkyklema, whose name translates to “roll-out machine,” was a wheeled platform employed in ancient Greek theater. It was used from at least the mid-fifth century BCE to display events that were imagined to have occurred inside the skene—the stage backdrop that typically represented an interior space like a house, palace, or cave. Because early manuscripts of Greek plays lack stage directions, modern scholars must deduce its use from clues in the dialogue and from scholia, or marginal notes, added by later scholars to surviving texts.
The platform was small and wheeled, and could be rolled out through the skene’s doors with one or more actors on it. Some ancient sources suggest it might have been rotated or turned. In the Hellenistic period (323–30 BCE), a similar device called the exostra (“out-shover”) was also used. The ekkyklema is not mentioned in Aristotle’s *Poetics*, a fourth-century BCE work on dramatic theory. The word itself first appears in the *Onomastikon*, a second-century CE dictionary by Julius Pollux, though the verb *ekkykleo* (“I roll out”) is used in Aristophanes’ comedy *Acharnians* (first performed in 425 BCE). Pollux’s dictionary defines the ekkyklema as a device for revealing events imagined to happen inside a house behind the stage. The same definition appears in the tenth-century CE Byzantine encyclopedia *Suda* and in a Hellenistic scholium on a manuscript of Euripides’ *Hippolytus*.
Scholars debate how often the ekkyklema was used in original performances and whether it appeared in the works of Aeschylus, the earliest surviving tragedian. Most agree it was used in Sophocles’ *Ajax* (first staged in 442 or 441 BCE) and in certain tragedies by his contemporary Euripides. In tragedy, its function was often to reveal the aftermath of violent acts that could not be shown onstage—especially corpses of characters killed inside the skene. More direct evidence comes from three fifth-century BCE comedies by Aristophanes, where dialogue references the device, often parodying its tragic use. Its use may have increased after the fifth century BCE, and it has been conjectured to appear in a fourth-century BCE New Comedy by Menander.
- Type
- theatrical device
- Period
- at least middle of the 5th century BCE
- First attested word
- 2nd century CE in Onomastikon by Julius Pollux
- Earliest secure evidence
- 425 BCE in Aristophanes's Acharnians
- Primary function
- revealing interior scenes, especially corpses, in Greek tragedy
- Related device
- exostra (Hellenistic period)
Lore & Background
The ekkyklema was a small, wheeled platform that could be wheeled out into the performance area through the doors of the skene with an actor or actors upon it. Some ancient sources suggest that it may have been revolved or turned. The word ekkyklema is first attested in the Onomastikon, a second-century CE dictionary written by the lexicographer Julius Pollux, though the corresponding verb ekkykleo is used to describe its operation in the comedy Acharnians by the Athenian Aristophanes, first performed in 425 BCE. The Onomastikon describes it as used to reveal events imagined as taking place within a house behind the stage, a definition also found in the Suda and in a marginal note in a manuscript of Euripides's Hippolytus.
Reader's Guide
The ekkyklema is significant as one of the stranger conventions of fifth-century stagecraft, according to John Gould. Its use must be inferred from clues in plays' dialogue, as early manuscripts lacked stage directions. In tragedy, its function was often to reveal the aftermath of violent scenes which could not be shown on stage, particularly corpses. Most scholars agree it was used in Sophocles's Ajax and in certain plays by Euripides. Its use is debated for Aeschylus, with some scholars conjecturing its presence but Oliver Taplin rejecting these suggestions. More direct evidence comes from three fifth-century BCE comedies by Aristophanes, where it is referenced in dialogue often parodying tragic drama. Its use may have increased after the fifth century BCE, and it has been conjectured as featuring in a later fourth-century BCE work of New Comedy by Menander. The Theatre of Dionysus underwent renovations around 350 BCE that included a stone platform possibly intended to support the ekkyklema, though this is disputed.
Did You Know?
- The earliest secure evidence for the ekkyklema's use is in Aristophanes's Acharnians (425 BCE).
- The word ekkyklema is first attested in the second-century CE Onomastikon by Julius Pollux.
- In tragedy, the ekkyklema was primarily used to reveal corpses of characters killed offstage.
- A similar device called the exostra was used during the Hellenistic period (323–30 BCE).
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