"The World's a Circular Stage": Aeschylean Tragedy through the Eyes of Eva Palmer- Sikelianou Author(s): Gonda van Steen Reviewed work(s): Source: International Journal of the Classical Tradition, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Winter, 2002), pp. 375- 393 Published by: Springer Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30224223 . Accessed: 14/11/2011 11:35 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Springer is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to International Journal of the Classical Tradition. http://www.jstor.org "The World's a Circular Stage": AeschyleanTragedy through the Eyes of Eva Palmer-Sikelianou GONDAVAN STEEN At the first Delphic Festival of 1927, Eva Palmer-Sikelianoupresented a pioneering out- door production of Aeschylus' PrometheusBound. Three years later, she staged repeat performances of the Prometheusand added a new production of Aeschylus' Suppliant Women.At first sight, it appears as if, at both festivals, Palmer-Sikelianoupaid minimal attention to stage-design, whereas she took care personally of nearly all other production aspects. This study, however, based on the preserved photographicevidence, shows that Palmer-Sikelianou'sphilosophical conception of the "sacred"space of the ancient theater at Delphi, i.e., its near-circularorchestra and its open-view setting within the surround- ing mountains,inspired her choice of an elementalstage-design.