The translation of Euripidian Cyclops from its dramaturgy

Abstract

Euripides’ Cyclops is the more complete satyr drama that survived into our genera- tion. The satyr drama is a burlesque Greek theatrical genre that was presented in the fifth century BC after the tragedies’ trilogies in the City Dionysia, a festival in honor of Dionysus in in the beginning of spring in Athens. The main feature of this drama is the chorus of satyrs and the presence of Silenus, the old and drunk father of the sa- tyrs, as one of its characters, an aspect easily perceived in the Cyclops. Unlike the cur- rent theatrical texts, the Cyclops has no scenic guidelines in its text, such as the entry and exit of characters, emotion and intonation of speech: this information is explicitly or implicitly in the body of text, that is, in the speech of the characters. Still, some spe- cificities of the genre are articulated in the actions and dances of the characters and the choir, but must be discovered and unveiled through the implicit and explicit in the speeches of the characters. In addition, there are no records of the performance of the play. Therefore, to translate the Cyclops, it is important to understand and consider its dramaturgy, in order to perceive its scenic guidelines and to reproduce them in the translations like they are in the Greek text.