Helladia (stage artist)

Last updated

Helladia (5th-century) was an Ancient Roman stage artist - an actress and dancer. [1] [2]

She is mentioned as a famous stage actor within pantomime in several epigrams [3] [4] which praised her skill. [5] She appears to have been well known by her contemporaries. One of her most celebrated roles were the role of the male hero Hector of the Trojan War, which illustrates that women could play male parts on stage in antiquity. [2] [5]

She was possibly the same Helladia who was depicted on an ivory comb which is kept at the Louvre. [4] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selene</span> Ancient Greek goddess of the Moon

In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, and sister of the sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos. She drives her moon chariot across the heavens. Several lovers are attributed to her in various myths, including Zeus, Pan, and the mortal Endymion. In post-classical times, Selene was often identified with Artemis, much as her brother, Helios, was identified with Apollo. Selene and Artemis were also associated with Hecate and all three were regarded as moon and lunar goddesses, but only Selene was regarded as the personification of the Moon itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermaphroditus</span> Son of Aphrodite and Hermes in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus was a child of Aphrodite and Hermes. According to Ovid, he was born a remarkably beautiful boy whom the naiad Salmacis attempted to rape and prayed to be united with forever. A god, in answer to her prayer, merged their two forms into one and transformed him into a hermaphrodite, he being considered the origin of the name. His name is compounded of his parents' names, Hermes and Aphrodite. He was one of the Erotes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anyte</span> Hellenistic poet

Anyte of Tegea was a Hellenistic poet from Tegea in Arcadia. Little is known of her life, but twenty-four epigrams attributed to her are preserved in the Greek Anthology, and one is quoted by Julius Pollux; nineteen of these are generally accepted as authentic. She introduced rural themes to the genre, which became a standard theme in Hellenistic epigrams. She is one of the nine outstanding ancient women poets listed by Antipater of Thessalonica in the Palatine Anthology. Her pastoral poetry may have influenced Theocritus, and her works were adapted by several later poets, including Ovid.

Elephantis was a Greek poet and physician renowned in the classical world as the author of a notorious sex manual. Due to the popularity of courtesans taking animal names in classical times, it is likely Elephantis is two or more persons of the same name. None of her works have survived, though they are referenced in other ancient texts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quinctilia gens</span> Ancient Roman family

The gens Quinctilia, also written Quintilia, was a patrician family at ancient Rome, dating from the earliest period of Roman history, and continuing well into imperial times. Despite its great antiquity, the gens never attained much historical importance. The only member who obtained the consulship under the Republic was Sextus Quinctilius in 453 BC. The gens produced numerous praetors and other magistrates, but did not obtain the consulship again for over four hundred years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nossis</span>

Nossis was a Hellenistic poet from Epizephyrian Locris in Magna Graecia. Probably well-educated and from a noble family, Nossis was influenced by and claimed to rival Sappho. Eleven or twelve of her epigrams, mostly religious dedications and epitaphs, survive in the Greek Anthology, making her one of the best-preserved ancient Greek women poets, though her work does not seem to have entered the Greek literary canon. In the twentieth century, the imagist poet H. D. was influenced by Nossis, as was Renée Vivien in her French translation of the ancient Greek women poets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philaenis</span> Author of an ancient sex manual

Philaenis of Samos was supposedly the author of a famous ancient sex manual. According to a surviving fragment of a treatise which claims to have been written by her, she was from Samos, and her father was called Ocymenes. However, many modern scholars consider "Philaenis" a fictional character whose persona may have been adopted by a variety of erotic writers. Two satirical Greek epigrams from the Palatine Anthology by the poets Aeschrion of Samos and Dioscorides purport to defend Philaenis's reputation by insisting that she did not write the treatise attributed to her. Aeschrion instead insists that the treatise was written by the Athenian sophist Polycrates. The reputed writings of Philaenis were well known throughout classical antiquity and scholars believe that they may have influenced Ovid's Ars Amatoria.

Julia Balbilla was a Roman noble woman and poet. Whilst in Thebes, touring Egypt as part of the imperial court of Hadrian, she inscribed three epigrams which have survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creusa (wife of Aeneas)</span> In Greek mythology, daughter of Priam

In Greek and Roman mythology, Creusa is the wife of Aeneas, and the mother of Ascanius. According to Apollodorus, she is the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She is described as being present during the sack of Troy, with her often fleeing the city alongside her husband. In Virgil's Aeneid, Creusa is lost in the confusion while their family is trying to escape, leading Aeneas to turn back to look for her; there he is met with her shade, which foretells of his future journey to Hesperia, where he is told he will marry a different woman.

Licinia Eucharis was an adolescent Ancient Roman stage actress, who died at the age of 14. According to the epitaph on her tomb, which was written by her father, she was a star of the Theatre of ancient Rome. She is one of the few ancient actresses known to have achieved fame and respect in her profession during the Roman Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vera Collum</span> Journalist, anthropologist, photographer, radiographer and writer.

Vera Christina Chute Collum, was a British journalist, suffragist, anthropologist, photographer, radiographer and writer.

Bassilla, was a mime actress in Ancient Rome.

Diana Ponti, also known as Lavinia Ponti, was an Italian stage actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Clifford</span> British playwright

Jo Clifford is a British writer, performer, poet and teacher based in Edinburgh. In 2017, she was inducted into the Saltire Society's community of Outstanding women of Scotland, and was given the Olwen Wymark award by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain in 2021.

Angelica Martinelli also known as Angelica Alberghini was an Italian stage actress.

Quintilia was an Ancient Roman stage performer - a pantomime dancer and actress.

Lucrezia Di Siena, was a stage actress active in Rome and other locations in the Italian peninsula. She is known as one of the first, and possibly the very first, identified female actor in Europe since antiquity; at the very least, she is believed to have been the first woman in Europe to sign a theatrical contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibasis (dance)</span> Dance at ancient Sparta

The Bibasis was a common dance at ancient Sparta, which was much practised both by men and women.

Venzella Newsome Jones (1893–1973) was a black actress, orator, playwright, drama teacher, and theatre director.

Ritsuko Mori was a Japanese actress. As a woman from a respected family, her entry into the acting profession was considered disreputable, but her success improved the opportunities and social standing of professional actresses in Japan.

References

  1. Duncan, Anne (2019), Sewell, Jan; Smout, Clare (eds.), "The Roman Mimae: Female Performers in Ancient Rome", The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 21–49, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-23828-5_3, ISBN   978-3-030-23828-5 , retrieved 2024-03-10
  2. 1 2 Cosgrove, Charles H. (2022-12-01). Music at Social Meals in Greek and Roman Antiquity: From the Archaic Period to the Age of Augustine. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-009-20484-2.
  3. Dunbabin, Katherine M. D. (January 2017). "Athletes, acclamations, and imagery from the end of antiquity". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 30: 151–174. doi:10.1017/S1047759400074067. ISSN   1047-7594.
  4. 1 2 Webb, Ruth (2008). Demons and Dancers: Performance in Late Antiquity. Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-03192-0.
  5. 1 2 Smith, Steven D. (2019-05-16). Greek Epigram and Byzantine Culture: Gender, Desire, and Denial in the Age of Justinian. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-1-108-48023-9.
  6. Sewell, Jan; Smout, Clare (2020-04-29). The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage. Springer Nature. ISBN   978-3-030-23828-5.