Incense on the grass: a strongly perfumed Libation Bearers (1999)

Notoriously, ancient texts and dramas often refer to smells or perfumes. For instance, Homer describes a battlefield rich in smells, mainly of blood and sweat, covered with scattered corpses. Other texts evoke essences, perfumes and oils, not to mention the wood pyres where flesh and bones are burnt. In the past decades, modern directors have been staging Greek and Roman texts, but there is very little evidence for attempts to include olfactory perceptions in classical performances. It seems that their potential is ignored, or only sporadically used, by theatre directors. The essay offers a brief overview of the issues cited above, with a specific focus on the inclusion of olfactory perceptions in modern performances of ancient texts, and particularly of Greek dramas. In the final part, one example is analysed in detail: an Italian production of Aeschylus’ "Libation Bearers", translated by Pasolini and directed by Elio De Capitani (1999), which aims at translating ancient rituals, and their smells, on the contemporary stage.