Dionysia (1st-century BC), was an ancient Roman dancer-actress.
Dionysia was evidently a famous stage artist in Ancient Rome, as her name was known enough to be used in public debate. She is one of few female stage artists from antiquity of which there is specific sums of a notably great income, an example used in research that elite actresses in Ancient Rome could earn great amounts on their career.
In 66 BC, in his speech in favour of
Quintus Roscius
Quintus Roscius (ca. 126 BC – 62 BC) was a Roman Empire, Roman actor. The cognomen Gallus is dubious, as it appears only once as a scholia in a manuscript of Cicero's Pro Archia Poeta, Pro Archia.
Life
''Constiteram exorientem Auroram forte ...
,
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
noted that the famous dancer Dionysia earns 200,000
sestertius
The ''sestertius'' (: ''sestertii'') or sesterce (: sesterces) was an Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Roman currency, coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large ...
, which he appears to assume to be a well known fact. In an insult against the orator
Hortensius
Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114–50 BC) was a Roman Republic, Roman lawyer, an orator and a statesman. Politically he belonged to the Optimates. He was consul in 69 BC alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. His nickname was ''Dionysia ( ...
in 62 BC, his gestures are mockingly compared to that of an actress, Dionysia.
Aulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, ...
, ''Noctes Atticae'
1.5
/ref>
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Pat Easterling
Patricia Elizabeth Easterling, FBA (née Fairfax; born 11 March 1934) is an English classical scholar, recognised as a particular expert on the work of Sophocles. She was Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge from 1994 to 2001 ...
, Edith Hall
Edith Hall, (born 4 March 1959) is a British scholar of classics, specialising in ancient Greek literature and cultural history, and professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. She is a Fellow of the Bri ...
:
Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession
'
Ancient actresses
1st-century BC Roman women
1st-century BC Romans
Ancient Roman actors
Ancient Roman theatre practitioners
Ancient Roman dancers