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Ancient Performance

Oedipus

APGRD id
987
Year
between 22 BC and 14 AD
Medium of performance
Pantomime
People involved
APGRD Notes
According to Macrobius’ Saturnalia, Pylades criticized his pupil, Hylas, for dancing the role of Oedipus using his eyes (i.e. with more assurance than a blind man). Only in Lucian’s long catalogue of myths that a dancer should know (On the dance, 41) is Oedipus otherwise mentioned as a subject of pantomime. The length of time separating Macrobius’ dialogue (probably composed in the first half of the fifth century AD) from the reign of Augustus makes it impossible to be sure of the historicity of the anecdote.