roman history/juggling
Skeetzoid
I know this seems a somewhat strange request, but does anyone have any
information about juggling in ancient Rome? I'm talking, before 500 AD. I've
got this project, and I need information like where would they perform, how
were they paid, what was their social status, what they juggled, and what they
would wear. (Somehow juggling in a toga doesn't seem overly practical)Any
information or clues of where to find this sort of stuff would be greatly
appreciated.
-Skeet
Martin Hungerford
Skeetzoid <skee...@aol.com> wrote:
I did some minor research on this about 10 years ago and can remember
some of the details - but not many of the sources!
gigs were either of the busking sort or private parties. Status was
extremely low - the word for juggler also translates as petty thief,
crook, vagabond, trickster. Costume would not have been toga - that was
an upper class garment - but the undershirt. Props: pila, swords and
shields is all I can remember.
I think I got this lot from social histories of the Ancient world and
histories of theatre, who seem to usually throw in some details of other
sorts of performance. The ancient sorces are going to be extremely rare,
since they were all written by rich people - but try Pliny the Elder,
expecially if you can get a searchable form (ie a CD like the Ancient
Library series).
Keep in touch, and I hope this has been some use.
Martin Hungerford
Wolfgang Schebeczek
con...@juggling.org (Andrew Conway) wrote:
>If memory serves me right, in article
><19971115231...@ladder02.news.aol.com>, Skeetzoid
><skee...@aol.com> says...
>> I know this seems a somewhat strange request, but does anyone have any
>> information about juggling in ancient Rome?
>
>Go to www.juggling.org/search and look up Sidonius Apollinaris and
>Septimus Spika, who are, I believe, the only jugglers from this period
>whose names we know.
There is another one: An roman epigraph [1] reports of Publius Aelius
as the best of all (ball) jugglers. But since this is his own opinion
he maybe exaggerates his abilities here. One source [2] says that "he
calls himself boastfully pilarius omnium eminentissimus". K. H.
Ziethen reports in one of his books [3] that an inscription
characterizes P Aelius as the best juggler of his time. It seems to me
that he is referring to the same epigraph giving just a slightly
different translation.
If we don't restrict ourselves to "pilarii" (toss jugglers) there are
two more names I have heard about. Ursus Togatus is said to be the
first "pilecrepus" who used a hollow crystal ball for this kind of
juggling. It's not quite clear what the "pilecrepi" did but it seems
to be some sort of body bounces and/or body catches with one ball
only. We already had a discussion here on r.j. about pilecrepi and
Ursus, so check the JIS archives for further information (Subject:
earliest claimed use of crystal balls for juggling).
Due to [3] we also know the name of a Roman strong man juggler: From
Agathinus it is reported that he threw up a heavy shield and caught it
with his neck and also that he juggled it with his feet lying on his
back.
>Most jugglers in ancient Rome were probably slaves,
>or otherwise socially undesirable.
This seems to be right for the "pilarii". Due to [2] the famous Terra
Cotta sculpture of a negroid juggler (See [4] in the JIS papers
section or [5] for a picture) shows typical characteristics of a
slave: his race, the ring around the neck and the loincloth. Another
pilarius pictured on a Roman grave stone is also dressed with this
loincloth (drawing in [2]). There exists also a picture of a naked
pilarius (drawing in [6]). (I don't know if historians can deduce from
this "dress" the social status.)
Nevertheless I have certain doupts that the pilarii *we know by name*
have been slaves. At least Sidonius Apollinaris must have been a free
Roman since he was officer in a Roman legion. (Juggling only for his
own and his troupe's entertainment. (Sources: [3], [7])) The above
mentioned "pilecrepi" haven't been slaves. Mendner guesses in [2]
that their form of juggling was a sort of upper class amusement or
sport.
Talking about the antique Terra Cotta sculpture: it is usually
interpreted as showing a balancing act (one ball rests on the knee and
one on the head). E.g. K. H. Ziethen compares it with Rastelli's
multiple ball balances. I am not sure about this. The third ball in
the right hand would make no sense (it is not balanced but just hold)
and the two "balanced" balls wouldn't stay in their place but roll
down. While we probably should not attach too much importance to the
latter point (there are a lot of historical pictures which show
juggling feats in a non-realistic manner (Confer Arthur Lewbel's
research on this item [4])) I am still wondering about the third ball.
Sure, it could be a a two ball balance as pause in a 3-ball juggling
act. But wouldn't it be easy and much nicer to balance the third ball
on the palm or back of the hand? (The German juggler Oliver Groszer
does a five ball multiple balance of this sort.)
Mendner gives in [2] a completely different interpretation of the
sculptured juggler: He thinks the three balls are going in a circle:
from the head to the right hand, from there bouncing on the upper leg
and back to the head. Not an easy trick but I think it could be
possible. If I remember right I have seen Andrew Head on a video tape
juggling 3 balls using only one hand and letting them bounce off one
knee. He just would have to add a touch of the rebouncing balls with
his head.
wolfgang
-------------------
Wolfgang Schebeczek <ws...@ping.at>
Ceterum censeo: I wouldn't recommend to Andrew Head that he tries the
modified trick in public. It could give the IJA an excuse for selling
him as slave just to settle their finances ... ;-)
References:
[1] For those who care: Due to [2] the source is: CIL VI 8997
(CIL: Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (Preussische Akademie der
Wissenschaften, 1863-), the standard collection of Roman epigraphs.)
[2] Mendner, Siegfried: Das Ballspiel im Leben der Voelker (Muenster
(BRD) 1956)
[3] Ziethen, Karl-Heinz: Die Kunst der Jonglerie (GDR-Berlin 1988)
[4] Lewbel, Arthur: Research in Juggling History (November 1995),
http://www.juggling.org/papers/history-1/
[5] Ziethen, Karl-Heinz; Andrew, Allen: Juggling - The Art and its
Artists (Hasenheide 1985)
[6] Strehly, G.: L'acrobatie et les acrobates (Paris c1977)
[7] Sagemueller, Hermann: Michael Kara. König der Jongleure - Jongleur
der Koenige (Baldingen 1973)
[mailed and posted to r.j.]
Jonathan I. Perry
I was in Italy this summer and visited a town called Tarquinia. In its
necropolis was a tomb entitled : Tomba dei Gioccolieri - Tomb of the
Jugglers. This was an ancient Etruscan tomb which predated the Romans by
a bit (I think this tomb was from 3-4 century BC) but it had frescoed wall
paintings of various people balancing things, spinning rings, and tossing
objects at each other. Not really toss juggling but object manipulation
just the same. Apparently, the main dead guy in the tomb was a fan of
such arts and patronized them appropriately. They also were not wearing
togas but clothing more like that which a slave would have worn.
PS. On the same tomb was a rendition of a guy pissing in the corner too.
I am not quite sure why.
-----
JIP
(Juggle In Peace)
--=--
"If, then, our Courtier is more than fairly expert in such exercises, I
think he ought to put aside all others, such as vaulting on the ground,
rope-walking, and the like, which smack of the juggler's trade and
little befit a gentleman." from _The_Courtier_ by Castiglione
--=--
And cooks had to drag
This prone prince of battle
Into some juggler's booth -
It was the plainest cowardice.
from _Njal's_Saga_ Chap. 145
an ancient Icelandic saga
--=--
Wolfgang Schebeczek
"Jonathan I. Perry" <jpe...@dooley.cc.emory.edu> wrote:
>I was in Italy this summer and visited a town called Tarquinia. In its
>necropolis was a tomb entitled : Tomba dei Gioccolieri - Tomb of the
>Jugglers. This was an ancient Etruscan tomb which predated the Romans by
>a bit (I think this tomb was from 3-4 century BC) but ...
Some time ago I found a paper about games of strength, dexterity and
accuracy in Etruscan civilization, written by an Italian historian,
Gigliola Gori (University of Urbino). Due to the author it is the
first one which studies "entertainment-games" (including what we would
call circus arts). Since it refers to the frescoes you have seen and
it is of interest for us jugglers in several respects I will provide
some information I found there. I am not a historian, so I can't
judge Gori's opinions. I just report what he has written. For more
detailed information check: Gori, Gigliola: Games of strength,
dexterity and accuracy in Etruscan civilization (The international
journal of the history of sport Vol. 5, No. 3 (December 1988), pp 360
- 371). The journal should be available in most universities with
sports institutes.
>... it had frescoed wall
>paintings of various people balancing things,
Gori gives the following description: "[...] there is a female juggler
dancing and balancing a candelabrum on her head, but she is standing
on a spacious board. However, her candelabrum is so large that she has
had to tie her long hair into a bun, in order to make a larger base
for it. The candelabrum is so high that it goes beyond the top border
of the fresco, and it is so heavy that the girl is holding it with
both hands. If it were not for the movement of her skirt, which is
opening out at the bottom as after a spin, we might think that the
dancer is immobile." (p 366)
And about a similar frescoe in another Etruscan tomb: "[...] we must
mention the female juggler who is performing in the Tomba della
Scimmia, in the presence of a dignified seated lady, perhaps a
deceased noblewoman, to whom all the games are dedicated. The female
juggler, with her feet on a board and with a candelabrum on her head,
is twisted and stiff as if performing a dance made difficult by the
limited space and the object that she must balance on her head. Is she
dancing 'a kind of old Etruscan dervish dance'? This 'game' must have
been so common in Etruria that the candelabrum-dance was the
inspiration for the shape of many bronze candelabra which were moulded
in the form of dancers." (p 365)
There are no more references to balance juggling. From the paper's
context I would guess that this is all what historians know about it.
>... spinning rings...
Due to Gori the rings are not spun. He writes: "The male juggler
depicted in the Tomba dei Gioccolieri is a novelty, a unique example
of its kind in the Etruscan world: he is demonstrating a game of
accuracy, a game which consists of throwing rings on to the top of a
candelabrum." (p 366) Another historian is mentioned who believes that
the objects used in this game had been balls or discs.
While this description reminded me of young Anthony Gatto who - while
juggling - threw up rings to catch them on a pole balanced on his head
(actually not the pole but the nose of an stuffed animal fixed to the
pole) the Etruscan juggler does not balance the candelabrum. (And he
does not (toss) juggle either.)
>... and tossing ... objects at each other. Not really toss juggling but object manipulation
>just the same.
Whenever Gori refers to jugglers or juggling he always means either
balancing or the mentioned ring throwing game. There seems to be no
evidence for toss juggling in Etruscan civilization. But also not for
what I would call object manipulation. Concerning 'tossing objects'
Gori mentions besides of ball games (likely to be played, but no
testimony in Etruscan iconography) a game of accuracy, where the last
drops of wine left in a cup where thrown to a target ('kottabos',
originating from Greece). In the Tomba Cardarelli of Tarquinia a
frescoe shows a young man spinning a cup in preparation for his throw
of wine. Concerning other Etruscan 'circus' games Gori writes about
somersaulting, contorsionism, horse acrobatics, clowning, animal shows
and a sort of equlibristics (jumping onto a greasy vase full of wine
and balancing there).
None of these games are brought in connection with the Tomba dei
Gioccolieri. Besides of the above mentioned 'jugglers' Gori only
speaks of an onlooker and a musician playing a double flute.
Jonathan, could it be that you misinterpreted some details of the
frescoes? Or is there any hint that new frescoes have been found or
parts of older ones have been restored? (Gori's paper is 9 years old.)
The paper does not contain photographs or drawings of the frescoes. I
found a picture in: Croft-Cooke, Rupert; Cotes, Peter: Circus. A World
History (London 1976), p 8. No exact source given there but comparing
it with Gori's description it is very likely that it is a detail of
the frescoe from Tomba dei Gioccolieri showing the balance juggler,
the ring thrower and the musician. Would be nice to have photographs
in the JIS Museum pages though. Jonathan, did you happen to take some?
>Apparently, the main dead guy in the tomb was a fan of
>such arts and patronized them appropriately.
Of course you could be right here. But Gori supposes that in Etruria
music, dance and 'circus' games where *generally* held in high favor,
in contrary to Greece where they were only side shows during sporting
events. Relying on an analysis of Etruscan iconography and other
sources he opposes the common hypothesis that the Etruscans here just
took over the Hellenistic model of sporting events.
>They also were not wearing
>togas but clothing more like that which a slave would have worn.
No direct comment by Gori to the social status of the pictured
performers, but he writes: "Generally, the sporting events and various
games were performed by athletes who were of servile rank, but not
always slaves [...]" (p 368) And in connection with his hypothesis of
a higher estimation of 'circus' games in Etruscan society he also sees
evidence for athletes and jugglers having been on the same social
level (in contrary to Hellenic world).
From that we may conclude that juggling and other circus arts would
have played a more important role in later history (and maybe even
today) if European civilization had been more influenced by Etruscan
than Hellenic world. Gori seems to regret slightly the actual historic
development as he closes his paper with: "With their silent images,
where among gesticulating spectators we can see jugglers, clowns,
boxers, discus throwers and chariots in exciting races, the Etruscans
give us a model not without charm." (p 368)
wolfgang
-------------------
Wolfgang Schebeczek >ws...@ping.at>
[mailed and posted to rec.juggling]
Jonathan I. Perry
I just realized that I have misspelled Gioccolieri. It is actually
spelled - Gio_c_olieri. Pardon me. There goes that academic integrity.
:)
Jonathan I. Perry
Wow, thanks for the great source info. I hardly claim such scholarly
attention. I wish I could have paid more attention while I was there but
I was still a bit in travel-shock. I wish I could say that I brought
newly restored frescoes to light but I am afraid my description was
probably from faulty memory. I think your analysis of the article
from 9 years ago seems very accurate.
From what I have studied, Etruscans had celebrations to
commemorate the memories of the deceased and this was a very festive time.
While we know very little of the living society of the Etruscans because
so much has been destroyed and built over, there is more evidence of
burial rituals. I would completely agree that there is hardly any
evidence of toss juggling, but I think the question of whether or not
juggling was present is different. We have had this debate many times in
rec.juggling and I would maintain that many of these ancient Etruscan
games, if played today, would still be enjoyed by jugglers. I can just
imagine a wine throwing workshop listed at the next IJA fest. Semantics
aside, I think these frescoes certainly represent a predecessor to modern
juggling if not juggling itself. Also, through the limitation of Italian,
it is also certainly possible that the Tomba dei Gioccolieri could
translate to something other than Tomb of the Jugglers.
I really wish I had taken better notes when I was there. I didn't
take any pictures on the inside because I was afraid of further damaging
the ancient frescoes. In one of the pictures I have from the outside
(besides the one of me juggling in front of the sign) there is a picture
of the inside visible on the close up of the sign. It is very blurry
though and not very visible but it is possible to make out general figure
positions. I'll see if I can get my professor to take a better picture for
me next time she goes back.
It's times like these when I am really glad I read rec.juggling.
Jonathan
PS. In Sicily, in the Villa Romana del Casale, in Piazza Armerina, there
are also some surviving floor mosaics that show bikini women playing games
and being wreathed. In room 27 - Sala Ragazze in Bikini - two of the
women appear to be passing a ball (that looks remarkably like a
multi-colored Squeeze-It) back and forth. Of the nine and a half
representations of women surviving, two are running, one has weights, one
has a discus-like object, one is already has a laurel and a crown, one is
crowning and wreathing another, and the last half of a woman is only her
legs where the fresco was destroyed. I doubt this is a reference to
juggling but everyone else on my trip had to point it out to me because I
was known as that juggling guy. :) -JIP
Wolfgang Schebeczek
"Jonathan I. Perry" <jpe...@dooley.cc.emory.edu> wrote:
>Wow, thanks for the great source info.
You're welcome.
>[...] From what I have studied, Etruscans had celebrations to
>commemorate the memories of the deceased and this was a very festive time.
>While we know very little of the living society of the Etruscans because
>so much has been destroyed and built over, there is more evidence of
>burial rituals.
Gigliola Gori points out that finding sources has been a major problem
for him. He adds to the reasons you give that Greek and Latin literary
sources are unreliable. They are often critical of the Etruscans
because of the rivalry which existed between these peoples.
>I would completely agree that there is hardly any
>evidence of toss juggling, but I think the question of whether or not
>juggling was present is different.
Completely right. Maybe we even can say that the Etruscans *probably*
know of toss juggling, given their interest in circus games and that
both in Greece and in Roman empire toss juggling was known. At least I
wouldn't consider the loss of iconographic evidence as a
counterargument against such a thesis. Due to Gori the balancing dance
must have been very common in Etruria and there are still only two
pictures left which document it.
>We have had this debate many times in
>rec.juggling and I would maintain that many of these ancient Etruscan
>games, if played today, would still be enjoyed by jugglers.
Also agreed.
>I can just
>imagine a wine throwing workshop listed at the next IJA fest.
But maybe they have to change it to soda throwing because of alcohole
restrictions on the campus ground. And I am sure we would have another
debate about "What is juggling?". And of course: "Which wine is the
easiest to throw?", "Are you a wine thrower or a wine drinker?" etc.
;-)
>Semantics
>aside, I think these frescoes certainly represent a predecessor to modern
>juggling if not juggling itself. Also, through the limitation of Italian,
>it is also certainly possible that the Tomba dei Gioccolieri could
>translate to something other than Tomb of the Jugglers.
I think Gori would have translated it as 'Tomb of the Jugglers' since
juggling is the term he is using constantly. I don't see a serious
semantic problem here since also in English balancing is sometimes
considered as form of juggling. (E.g. the first chapter of former IJA
president Hovey Burgess' "Circus techniques" is named "Balance
juggling".) I hesitate naming the Etruscan ring thrower a 'juggler'
though.
wolfgang
----------------------------------
Wolfgang Schebeczek <ws...@ping.at>
Wolfgang Schebeczek
"Jonathan I. Perry" <jpe...@dooley.cc.emory.edu> wrote:
>I just realized that I have misspelled Gioccolieri. It is actually
>spelled - Gio_c_olieri. Pardon me.
Same mistake in my posting. Please, pardon me too.