Eucharis (actress)
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Licinia Eucharis (fl. 1st century BC) was an adolescent Ancient Roman stage actress, who died at the age of 14.[1] According to the epitaph on her tomb, which was written by her father, she was a star of the Theatre of ancient Rome.[1] She is one of the few ancient actresses known to have achieved fame and respect in her profession during the Roman Republic.
Eucharis would most likely have primarily performed as a dancer, as few other roles were open to women.[2] Her epitaph states that she had recently danced at "the games of the nobles",[3][4] and that she had performed on the Greek stage before the People.[5]
Eucharis was originally a slave, then a freedwoman, of the Roman woman Licinia.[6] In contrast to Greece, where only male actors were allowed, the Romans allowed female performers. However, many prestigious theatres still barred women actors, and the majority of actresses performed on smaller stages as mimae, pantomime dancer-actresses, which was not regarded as a respectable profession, and therefore often performed by slaves or freedwomen.
Eucharis made a remarkable career. She came to belong to the minority of ancient Roman actresses to be allowed to perform in prestigious theatres and earn a respectable income on acting alone. She achieved fame and recognition and respect for her acting ability, and it was said that she performed so well as if she was “taught as if by the Muses’ hands.”[7] She reportedly took pride in her profession and in the respect she earned.
Eucharis belonged to the handful of actresses known from the Roman Republic, including Antiodemis from Cyprus (2nd century BC), Arbuscula, Bacchis, Dionysia, Emphasis, Fabia Arete, Galeria Copiola, Sammula and Lucceia, Tertia, and Volumnia Cytheris.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Lefkowitz, Mary R.; Fant, Maureen B. (2005-08-23). Women's Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8310-1.
- ^ Wiseman, Timothy Peter; Wiseman, T. P. (1987). Catullus and His World: A Reappraisal. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-31968-3.
- ^ Wiseman, T. P. (2015-09-24). The Roman Audience: Classical Literature as Social History. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-102814-4.
- ^ Fantuzzi, Marco; Morales, Helen; Whitmarsh, Tim (2021-05-27). Reception in the Greco-Roman World: Literary Studies in Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-51858-8.
- ^ Hall, Edith; Wyles, Rosie (2008-11-20). New Directions in Ancient Pantomime. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-155257-1.
- ^ Beare, W. (2024-08-28). The Roman Stage: A Short History of Latin Drama in the Time of the Republic. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-040-03636-5.
- ^ Mary R. Lefkowitz, Maureen B. Fant: Women's Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation., Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005
Sources
[edit]- Mary R. Lefkowitz, Maureen B. Fant: Women's Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation., Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005
- Matthew Dillon, Lynda Garland, Ancient Rome: A Sourcebook
- Edith Hall, Rosie Wyles, New Directions in Ancient Pantomime
- Pat Easterling, Edith Hall, Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession
- War, Women and Children in Ancient Rome (Routledge Revivals)